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Love Story | I Love You Through Rain or Shine | Twilight Sparkle rolled out of bed the morning of her wedding to the sound of rain outside.
It took her a moment to process these sounds. It was raining, on the morning of her outdoor wedding.
Twilight started to panic. They had spent weeks trying to make sure the date they picked wouldn't throw any surprises at them, but here they were. Twilight felt tears flood her eyes.
"Why are you crying, Twily?" Sunset appeared in the doorway. It wasn't 'traditional' for a couple to be together the morning of their wedding, but there wasn't much that fit the classic mold about this wedding, what was one more thing?
"It's raining." Her bottom lip quivered as she climbed up out of bed and opened the curtains, showing the raindrop streaked glass of the window to Sunset. Sunset smiled sadly.
"It's gonna be okay, I promise. I'm sure it'll slack off, the ceremony isn't until three." Sunset walked up behind her and wrapped her arms around Twilight's waist. Twilight leaned back, cuddling into her.
"It'll be okay." Sunset said again. A few minutes passed and Twilight could believe she and Sunset were the only people in the world. As they watched raindrops run down the glass and precipitation fall outside, Twilight couldn't be happier to spend the rest of her life with Sunset.
"So what's on the agenda for today?" Sunset asked after almost ten minutes of standing like that.
"We need to be at Camp Everfree at noon to direct set up, then hair and makeup at one, then everyone arrives at two, then we get changed at two thirty, then the ceremony starts at three and goes until four, then the reception in the Crystal Cave from four thirty to seven." Twilight rambled off, recited the schedule she had created for their big day.
"Sounds good. Now, how about breakfast, then we go get our nails done?"
Twilight giggled, nodding. She looked at her nails, bitten down from years of stress and anxiety. It was one habit she never could kick.
"Yeah, I could use some acrylics." Twilight thought back to the one time her sister-in-law Cadance had taken her to the salon to get a mani-pedi. She had gotten acrylics and broke them within two days, but it was worth it to spend time with Cadance. Sunset laughed, pulling Twilight out of her childhood bedroom, where they were staying while they were in town.
After a breakfast that was probably more sugar than not at Waffle House, Sunset and Twilight made their way downtown to the salon. They walked hand in hand with an umbrella over their heads as it drizzled around them. It was coming up on eight in the morning, just as they opened. Somehow they had managed to spend two hours in a restaurant. Maybe it was the power of being in love and having endless things to talk about.
They continued to talk about mindless things while they got their nails done. Their friends, family, even their future.
Before they knew it, it was time to make their way out to Camp Everfree. Twilight sat in the passenger's seat, watching the rain come down around them. It was almost noon, and the rain was still going strong. It was a race against time.
As they stepped into the camp, the rain lightened up, thankfully. It went from a steady pour to a light drizzle, and Twilight let out a sigh of relief.
Gloriosa was waiting for them while Timber had gotten a U-Haul to get the piano up to the camp.
"So Pinkie and Cheese are in the Crystal Cave setting up the reception, Pinkie planted a party canon under the docks. I have no idea what that's for." Gloriosa shook her head. "Fluttershy is setting up the cocktail hour in the craft room, and rarity is unpacking all the dresses in the main office that we'll have to use to get ready. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rara are on their way." She listed off. Sunset and Twilight nodded and headed off in opposite directions, Sunset towards the Crystal Caves and Twilight to the crafts room.
The cocktail hour started at two, meaning they still had ample time to set it up. As she entered, she was surprised with how much work Fluttershy had managed to do already. The room was set up with ten round tables to each hold six guests. Twilight and Sunset hadn't invited a ton of people to their wedding, and that was just fine by them.
Twilight helped Pinkie and Cheese bring the cake in from Cheese's car, the six layer cake having each layer a different color, from top to bottom being pink, purple, blue, a lighter pink, yellow, and a cyan color. Each layer was a different flavor too, and Twilight couldn't wait to taste it.
Before they knew it, Sunset and Twilight had to run off so Rarity could help them with their hair and makeup. They sat in the main office, Rarity doing Sunset's hair while Rara who had arrived with Applejack did Twilight's makeup. Cadence was there too, struggling to get Flurry's hair in its proper place.
The cocktail hours passed so fast that Sunset and Twilight hardly noticed they were alone for just over an hour. It was time to change before they knew it and Sunset was led into a side room so she and twilight wouldn't see each other's dresses until the ceremony.
As Sunset adjusted her dress, looking into the mirror, she heard the door open.
"Hey, sis."
"Sunburst!" Sunset spun around, looking at her brother. Despite being younger, he towered over her. She adjusted the pins in her hair. "You came!" Sunset was almost shocked to see her brother, even though she had invited him and her family.
"I wouldn't miss your wedding for the world, even if it's in another world. Mother and Father are here too, and so is Princess Twilight and Starlight." He smiled at her and she rushed forward, grabbing him into a hug.
"Wait- are you and Starlight a thing?!" Sunset asked, shocked.
"Uh- yeah," Sunburst rubbed at the back of his neck. Sunset began to bounce on her toes. The silver high heels she was wearing may be complimenting her icy blue dress, but they didn't allow for a very wide range of movement.
"Oh, a childhood romance!" Sunset cooed. Sunburst blushed.
"You look beautiful." he said, gesturing at her. Her hair was loosely curled, her makeup was neutral with hints of glitter that sparkled in the light, her dress was a gorgeous shade of blue that complimented the lightest parts of her eyes. She looked perfect.
"Really it's all Rarity. She's the one who did my hair and makeup and made this amazing dress." Sunset took hold of the sides of the dress and fanned it out to let Sunburst see it in all it's beauty.
"Sunset. Ceremony starts in five," Rainbow said, poking her head inside. Sunset nodded.
"I guess I should get to my seat. I'll see you out there." Sunburst brought Sunset in for one final hug before leaving. Sunset looked out the window to see the rain had stopped and the sun was shining. On the docks a purple altar with yellow flowers on green vines running up it was set up. There were chairs set up in the lawn in front of it and the aisle was lined with white satin.
Rainbow, Pinkie, and Rarity were Sunset's bridesmaids, dressed all in similar but different styled dresses tied together with the same teal fabric. They came into the room she was waiting in soon enough and let her out to the docks. All the guests were seated and she spotted her mom and dad in the front room next to her brother and Starlight. Princess Twilight was sitting two rows back. She stood on the dock next to Gloriosa, who had become an officiant for the wedding. The bridesmaids stood beside her, waiting. Rara, Applejack, and Fluttershy came out next and took their spots right in front of where Twilight would be.
Cadence came out of the main office, running up to her seat. She flashed a thumbs up at Rara, who slipped off the docks and to the piano they had wheeled up to the camp. She sat down, organizing her music and beginning to play a traditional wedding tune.
Sunset bit her lip as the door to the main office opened, Flurry Heart and Spike bounding out. Flurry and Spike scattered flower petals in purple, yellow, and blue along the aisle, coming up to the dock. Fluttershy pulled the six year old over to her, standing her in front of her. Spike sat down next to Rarity, watching as Twilight came out next.
She looked beautiful and Sunset almost started crying. Her dress was pink and flowed all around her, layers falling around her farm angelically. Her arm was linked with Night Lights. Sunset to Twilight Velvet. She hadn't even known she was attending her daughter's wedding and she was crying as she watched. Twilight flashed her mother a smile as she passed.
In a blink Twilight was standing in front of her. Twilight moved to take Sunset's hands into her own.
"You look beautiful," Twilight whispered.
"You look gorgeous," Sunset returned.
As Glorisoa read off all the traditional wedding commitment stuff, Sunset just stared into Twilight's eyes. She had sid that veils were dumb and refused to wear one and Sunset could see directly to her beautiful face. She looked down to Twilight's feet, where she was just wearing a pair of frilly white socks. Sunset giggled.
"Classic," she whispered. Twilight smiled.
"Do you, Twilight Sparkle, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Glorosia asked Twilight,
"Yes, I do." Twilight smiled wider than Sunset had seen her in a long time.
"And do you, Sunset Shimmer, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Glorisoa looked at Sunset. Sunset cracked a smile.
"I do."
She looked towards the crowd, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Or do I?" she asked. The crowd gasped, muttering.
She turned back to Twilight, laughing. "I do, I do." She nodded her head and Twilight giggled.
Gloriosa smiled, looking at Sunset.
"You may now kiss the bride."
Sunset pulled Twilight into a kiss, wrapping her arm around her waist as Twilight's hand graced her cheek as she was tilted backwards slightly.
They broke apart and the crowd clapped, Sunset taking Twilight's hand and running back towards the main offices. Spike bounded after them.
Rara slipped off the docks again, beginning to play the piano again to send them out. It was off to take photos while the guests were led to the Crystal Cave. Pinkie jumped on a board on the dock, her party cannon appearing out of seemingly nowhere. Confetti and balloons shot out of it
"Let's get this party started! Follow Cheese Sandwich to the cave!" Pinkie pointed towards Cheese, who was standing off to the side. He gestured to the crowd, leading them to the reception. All the bridesmaids followed with Flurry.
There was a beautiful forest behind the main offices. It was dewy from the earlier rain and slightly fogged over. It was the perfect place for wedding pictures.
Photo Finish lifted her camera. Twilight laid her head on Sunset's shoulder , Sunset arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close as she leaned up against a tree they had cleaned off as to not get her dress dirty.
As Photo Finish snapped more pictures than Sunset had had taken of her in her entire lifetime combined, Sunset couldn't help but think of how happy she was. She was finally married to twilight, all her friends and family were here to celebrate her, and everything was perfect.
Just as they were wrapping up, Spike jumped up into Twilight's arms for an impromptu photobomb. Both girls laughed, creating the perfect photo. Their little family, including their dog that now for some reason was living way longer than usual dogs. Sunset had attributed it to his ability to talk due to Equestrian magic, but even if he didn't show many signs of aging, they never knew when they could lose him.
Before they knew it they were running off to the Crystal Cave for their reception. As they entered each holding up their dresses with one hand and holding hands with the other, everyone cheered. They beamed, quickly finding their best friends. Pinkie grabbed them the second she saw them, pulling them both into a bear hug.
"I'M SO HAPPY!" she squealed. They all laughed as Applejack and Rainbow pried Pinkie off of the newly wed couple. "I can't believe you used the 'or do i'!" Pinkie laughed once she was back on her feet.
"Pinkie came up with that?" Twilight asked, barely containing her laughter.
"Yeah. I think she meant it as a joke, but I thought it would be funny." Sunset waved it off.
"I'm so proud of you!" Sunset was suddenly lifted into the air from behind. She began to laugh as Sunburst held her up. Twilight soon was attacked in the same fashion by her brother, giggling.
When Sunset was back on her feet, she wrapped Sunburst into a much more manageable hug. After they broke apart, he stepped aside.
"Mother, Father!" Sunset ran forward, grabbing her misty-eyed parents in a hug. They hugged her back just as tight.
"We're so happy for you, Sunny," Sunspot said.
"We're glad you found someone who makes you happy, and you're able to live the life you want," Stellar Flare said. Sunset teared up at that and hugged them tighter.
"I'm glad you're proud of me," Sunset whispered. They pulled away, and Sunset turned towards her wife. She held out her hand and Twilight took it.
"It's wonderful to meet you again," Twilight shook hands with each of Sunset's parents. At Sunset's coronation, Twilight had been introduced to Sunset's parents, but this was her first time seeing them since high school.
"It's great to see you making our Sunny so happy," Stellar Flare said. Twilight just blushed.
The reception was filled with dancing, delicious food, and meeting up with old friends. Twilight and Sunset couldn't ask for a better wedding.
That night, they crawled into Twilight's childhood bed together, just like they did in High School. Their dresses hung up in the closet and they were just in their bras and underwear. Sunset rolled on top of Twilight, kissing her as her hands roamed up her sides.
"I love you, Sunny."
Sunset giggled.
"Not as much as I love you, Twily." |
Love Story | It's Been Waiting For You (Welcome To New York) | The third plane ride was no less daunting than the first or second, but Sunset managed to get through it without having any nightmares that involved her and all her friends dying.
It had actually been pretty painless. Just her and Twilight in first-class seating on their way to New York for their honeymoon. Twilight spent the entire time holding her hand and listening to audiobooks while Sunset dozed, occasionally waking up to stare out the window at the clouds passing by.
They landed and were soon catching a taxi to their hotel. Sunset had never ridden in a taxi before, so that was something. Small talk with strangers wasn't really her thing, she learned. Twilight told her that she'd hate Uber.
Twilight got them checked in at the hotel while Sunset connected her phone to the wifi to text their friends and tell them they had landed safely.
Sunset: just landed in NYC and got to the hotel safely.
Pinkie: Yayyy!!! Have lots of fun for me!
RD: Ready to get it on? ;)
Applejack: Happy to hear you made it there okay. Have a nice vacation!
Fluttershy: Make sure to take lots of pictures!
Rarity: If you have the chance, visit an art museum for me and send pictures. I'm thinking of doing a new York inspired fall collection!
Sunset: will do girls!
Sunset smiled at her phone, then looked up to find Twilight standing in front of her, dragging her suitcase behind her and shouldering a backpack that was so full Sunset was surprised it had fit in the overhead compartment on the plane.
"We're in room 418," Twilight said, holding up the keycards. Sunset nodded.
"Shall I escort you, Princess?" Sunset held out her hand to her wife.
Twilight giggled curtsying to the best of her ability in her sweatpants.
"You shall, and stuff." She laughed as she felt Sunset's hand slip into hers. It was such a natural feeling to Twilight that she couldn't fathom how there used to be a time that she wouldn't have been able to marry the beautiful girl next to her that she was lucky enough to now call her wife.
They took the elevator up to their hotel room, walking down the hallway still hand in hand as Twilight unlocked their door and they dragged their stuff inside.
"Okay, checklist!" Twilight pulled out her phone, setting her suitcase down on the floor. Sunset raised an eyebrow at her but didn't comment, getting used to the fact that Twilight seemed to have a checklist for every situation.
"Sunset, go turn your phone camera on in the bathroom with the lights out and look for hidden cameras. I'm going to check for bed bugs." Sunset nodded, setting her bag down next to Twilight's and going into the bathroom.
She actually hadn't been surprised when Twilight had told her she had been diagnosed with OCD in middle school. Twilight had so many of the symptoms, a lot of things started to make sense. The way she always locked her locker twice in high school, how she hit her toothbrush on the sink exactly four times to get the water off of it after brushing her teeth. The lists and organization, it all started to fall together. Twilight had described it as suffocating. On top of the trauma she suffered from the Friendship Games incident, Twilight constantly had intrusive thoughts telling her that if she didn't do something like brush her hair for exactly fifty strokes that her family would die.
It had taken years for twilight to finally trust Sunset enough to help her with her checklist each night. She had a routine that she followed, making sure the door was locked, the stove was off, toilet lid was closed, closet doors were shut, even making sure the fridge was still plugged in, that after living together for almost three years she could finally let Sunset do parts of that checklist for her, just to take some of the stress off.
This was no different, and as Sunset flicked out the bathroom lights and scanned headphones camera all over the room, listening to the sounds of Twilight removing all the blankets from the bed and the covers from the pillows and lifting the mattress to check for bugs, Sunset was thankful that they had these routines. In some way, it made her feel closer to Twilight.
"All clear?" she asked as she came out of the bathroom.
"Clear. You?"
"Clear."
"Okay, the doors locked right?"
Sunset looked behind her, making sure the deadbolt was fastened and the lock was done.
"Locked up tight." Twilight nodded, opening the closet and giving it a once over. She opened all the drawers in the hotel room, even flipping through the bible. Sunset had once heard that sometimes people would leave money in the bibles in hotel rooms, but she doubted that was what Twilight was looking for.
She locked the balcony door twice and shut the curtains.
"What's the thermostat at?"
Sunset looked over at it on the wall.
"65 degrees."
"It should be 68." was all the command Sunset needed to turn it up three notches.
Twilight looked at Sunset and smiled before throwing herself down onto the bed. Sunset came over and sat down next to her.
"One bed, huh?" Sunset teased, playing with Twilight's hair as it fell out of her messy bun and onto the pillow.
"Oh shut it," Twilight giggled, lightly hitting Sunset's thigh.
"You wanna do anything tonight? Go out somewhere?" Sunset asked. Twilight looked at her like she had just suggested they go run a marathon. "Come on! We're in New York! You begged me to bring you here!" Twilight snorted.
"I planned the trip."
"Well I'm paying for it, so therefore I brought you here." Sunset smiled, looking very proud of herself. Twilight laughed, rolling over and burying her face into Sunset's lap.
"It's too late. I'm tired," she groaned.
"It's eight pm," Sunset said smugly.
"Timezones Sunset, timezones."
"California is behind us. It's five pm there. You of all people should know that, Twi."
Twilight groaned again, lighting hitting her arm against Sunset's chest.
"Less talking, more napping. We can go do something tomorrow."
Sunset giggled.
"Oh alright, but you need to change first." She gently patted Twilight's head.
Twilight groaned yet again, mumbling a quiet "Fine" as she rolled out of bed and dragged herself over to her suitcase. She came back in pajamas, curling up on the bed next to Sunset. Sunset reached over to turn out the light as she pulled up the covers and slid in next to her wife.
"Night. I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too. Goodnight," Twilight whispered back.
The following days were full of hustle and bustle as they explored New York City. They saw art galleries, they fed ducks in Central Park, they visited the Empire State Building, and took a ferry ride out to see the Statue of Liberty. They went sightseeing and visited too many shops, coming back with bags of stuff they would have to ship home.
On their last day there, Sunset surprised Twilight with tickets to see Hamilton on broadway.
"Hey Twily, I got you something." Sunset held an envelope behind her back. They were in their hotel room and Twilight was sitting on the bed, tying her shoes. Twilight looked up.
"Really? I thought we were just buying souvenirs for our friends. Oh shit, I didn't get you anything!" Twilight jumped up off the bed, a frantic look in her eye. Sunset laughed, grabbing her upper arm with one hand and slowly easing her back down.
"No, I bought this a long time ago. It's a thank you for planning this trip. Here." she held the envelope out to Twilight. She took it, carefully tearing into it and pulling out the two tickets inside.
She flipped one over, eyes scanning it and reading every word.
Her jaw dropped, and the next thing Sunset knew Twilight was hugging her like there was no tomorrow, envelope and tickets abandoned on the bed.
"Oh my God, you are the best wife ever!!! I love you so much! Thank you thank you thank you!!! How did you get tickets to a sold-out show?!" Sunset was then peppered with kisses from her wife. She didn't think she had ever seen Twilight this excited.
"You're welcome baby. And let's just say I pulled some strings." Sunset winked at and Twilight looked confused for a moment before she went back to being super excited. She grabbed the tickets and ran over them again.
"The show starts in two hours! We should go now!" Twilight had a wild smile on her face and Sunset laughed, letting her grab her purse and the tickets and drag her out of the hotel room.
To say Twilight enjoyed the musical was an understatement.
As they left the theatre, Twilight was crying and babbling on about how amazing it was. While Sunset wasn't as big of a history nerd as Twilight was (what could she say, it wasn't her history), she had liked the musical a lot too. It had catchy songs, she had to say, as a person who had only heard half the soundtrack once, she found herself with The Schuyler Sisters stuck in her head as they left.
The show had been at 3:00 pm, leaving them right on time to grab some dinner. They came back from The Cheesecake Factory with that least four different flavors of cheesecake to go.
"This was the best week ever," Twilight gushed as she sat on the bed next to Sunset, working on a s'mores cheesecake.
"Why? Because you got to see Hamilton on Broadway?" Sunset joked.
"Well that, but mostly because I got to spend it with you." She leaned over, resting her head on Sunset's shoulder. Sunset responded by setting her red velvet cheesecake in her lap and using her free hand to wrap Twilight in a side hug.
"Just imagine how I feel, getting to spend every single day with a girl who's ten times amazing than I could ever be." She tangled her hand into Twilight's ponytail, stroking her hair gently.
"You spoil me," Twilight whispered.
"And I wouldn't have it any other way." Sunset moved slightly so that she could press a kiss to Twilight's lips, pulling away with a touch of whipped cream on her bottom lip. Twilight laughed,
"Let me help you with that," she said, pulling Sunset back in for another kiss. |
Love Story | Late Night Conversations | "I'm making a TV show," Sunset blurted out one night as Twilight crawled into bed.
"You're what?!" The bespectacled girl asked, looking at her confused.
"Princess Twilight has been writing up journals of all her adventures with her friends. I wanna make them into a children's TV show." Sunset looked over at the identical journals that had been accumulating on their bookshelf.
"So that's what those are." Twilight hummed.
"What do you think?" Sunset looked at her wife. Spike jumped up onto the bed with them, settling down in between the two.
"I think it's a decent idea. Talking horses going on friendship adventures is certainly a premise nobody would ever guess is based on reality." Twilight giggled to herself.
"Sounds like something Flurry Heart would watch," Spike said. Sunset nodded.
"That's what I was going for." Sunset nodded. "I started on some concept art but can't really land on a style." Sunset reached for a nearby sketchbook on the nightstand. Twilight leaned over, resting her head on Sunset's shoulder to get a better look.
"I like that one," she said, pointing at a large-eyed sketch of just a pony's head. "It's simple. That's what kids like."
"Yeah. I was thinking that too." Sunset nodded before starting to yawn. She closed the notebook, setting it back on the bedside table. "Can we talk about it more in the morning?"
"Yeah. Ready for bed?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah. You?" Sunset looked down at Twilight, who hadn't moved from her spot on Sunset's shoulder.
"Uh-huh." She slid her glasses off her face and handed them to Sunset, who set them on the table on top of her book. She reached over and flicked out the light, getting settled into the pillows before Twilight moved to lay on her chest.
"I love you Sunny," she said in the dark of the room. The only sound was Spike's snoring as he was already fast asleep.
"I love you too, Twily."
It had been three months since they had that conversation. A lot had happened over the summer. Sunset had seemingly been working non-stop on this show. She had come up with the title: My Little Pony and now had at least four different sketchbooks and journals filled with notes and drawings as she went along the process of creating a script for a pilot episode based on Princess Twilight's retelling of her move to Ponyville and the defeat of Nightmare Moon.
Twilight also had her own thing going on. One she was both extremely excited and a nervous wreck about telling Sunset.
"You're acting weird." Sunset observed one night when Twilight crept into their bedroom. It was after midnight she had spent so long in her lab working on her secret project. She had assumed Sunset was asleep as the room was pitch black.
"Ah!" Twilight jumped as she dropped her bag to the ground. Suddenly the light flicked on and Sunset looked at her with a raised eyebrow from the bed. "Uhh..." Twilight looked down at the ground as she crossed the room to change into a pair of sleep shorts and a t-shirt.
"Come on, talk to me. It's obviously eating you up inside." Sunset crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her hair back behind her shoulder.
"I want to have a baby." Twilight rushed out. She didn't even realize she had said it until she saw Sunset's eyes go wide.
Sunset was quiet for a few moments.
"And I think I know how we could do it! I'm developing a new method for two girls to biologically create a baby! I have been for a while now, actually..." Twilight bit her lip, looking at the ground again.
"I dunno Twi. I guess I just never really ever saw myself as a person who would want kids." Sunset couldn't look at Twilight as she said it but sensed her visibly deflate from the corner.
"It doesn't have to be now... I'm still working on the logistics behind it all. I'm close, but I don't know how close..." Twilight shuffled over to the bed and climbed in next to Sunset. Sunset pulled her into her side.
"Tell you what, if you can get this method to work, we'll do it. I think I could put up with a kid if it's what makes you happy." Twilight beamed, looking up at her.
"Oh, you're the best Sunny!" Twilight wrapped her arms around her wife, hugging her so tight it rivaled that of Pinkie's hugs.
Twilight looked at Sunset and could tell she still wasn't very happy about the situation, despite her smile.
"Hey, I know you don't like kids. It's surprising considering you have a little brother and all, but it's whatever. What if I asked Cadence and Shining if we could babysit the kids? Maybe that'll help you warm up to the idea." Sunset bit her lip.
"Okay, sure. We'll babysit Flurry and Star."
"And if you still don't want one after that, we don't have to have one. I don't even really know if this will work anyway." Twilight looked off at the wall.
"Hey, I know you'll get it to work. You never stop, even when it gets hard. Just think of how many people you could make so happy with this. How are you doing it anyway?" Sunset cocked her head to the side.
"Bone marrow transfers! It's not my idea and most of the research is already there but the tech is lacking. I'm trying to figure out how to make it work and have the pregnancy be both viable and successful." She looked back to Sunset, finding her with the dorkiest smile on her face.
"Sometimes I forget just how brilliant you are." She slowly leaned forward, kissing Twilight gently.
"I couldn't do it without you." Twilight smiled.
"Ugh, turn the lights out and go to bed. It's sickening how sweet you are sometimes," Spike spoke from his spot at the foot of the bed. Both girls laughed before getting back under the covers. Sunset reached over and turned out the light.
"G'night Twi."
"Night Sunny." |
Love Story | Interlude II | "So we're really doing this?" Sunset asked as she climbed out of the passenger side of Twilight's car. Twilight nodded.
"It'll be good for us, if we decide we really do want to have kids." Twilight smiled at Sunset and Sunset gave a weary smile back. "Besides, it's just Flurry and Star."
Sunset nodded and reached out for Twilight's hand. The other girl took it as they walked up to the front door. Twilight raised a fist to know three times before stepping back to wait.
Cadence answered after a few moments.
"Sunset, Twilight! So good to see you, come in," she greeted, opening the door from the pair and letting them step inside. They could hear squealing coming from upstairs.
"Uh, what is that?" Sunset asked, gesturing towards the noise.
"Flurry. Shining said she couldn't have ice cream until after dinner." Cadence sighed. Twilight giggled.
"Oh, the problems of a seven-year-old." Sunset cracked a smile at that.
Shining Armor appeared at the top of the staircase, holding an eight-month-old Star Dreams. He was dragging a kicking and screaming Flurry Heart behind him. His face read: done with this whole "dad" thing.
"Flurry Heart!" Cadence scolded. Flurry stomped her foot. Cadence kneeled down in front of her daughter. "Flurry. You can have ice cream after dinner. Tell you what, if you stop crying right now and behave for Auntie Twilight and Aunt Sunset, you can have two scoops." At that, Flurry stopped.
"Two whole scoops?" She asked.
"Yes. Two whole scoops, but you have to behave." Flurry nodded, wiping her eyes.
Cadence stood up and moved to Star from Shining, passing her to Twilight.
"Flurry needs to be to bed by seven, Star's bedtime is six. Dinner's in the fridge, make sure both of them bathe and I doubt she'll let you forget about the ice cream. We'll be back around ten." Cadence told her. Twilight and Sunset nodded.
"Got it. Have a good night!" Sunset called as Shining and Cadence slipped out the door.
When they turned back around, Flurry had already run off.
"Where did she go?" Sunset asked.
"Uh..." Twilight looked around for the hyperactive seven-year-old.
Then they heard a crash come from upstairs.
"How did she get up there so fast?!" Sunset exclaimed as they raced up to find the source of the noise.
They found Flurry Heart in the hall bathroom standing on a stool with her name on it, trying to reach the top cabinet. She appeared to be surrounded by yarn that had fallen out of a box she had knocked down.
Twilight readjusted Star in her arms as she looked at the mess.
"Oops?" Flurry asked, looking down at the yarn that laid across the floor.
"What were you even trying to do?" Sunset asked, bending down to pick up a pink ball of yarn.
Flurry just pointed up at the cabinet. Sunset moved to look inside, finding it full of various craft kits.
"I wanted to make something with you," Flurry said, looking up at her aunt. Sunset was shocked for a moment, turning to find that Twilight wasn't in the doorway anymore.
"Okay, we'll make something, but we gotta clean this up first." Sunset glanced at the clock. It was almost 5 and they would probably need to feed the kids soon, but she resigned to let Twilight take care of that.
Together the two cleaned up all the yarn, rolling it back up and placing it back in the bucket. When they were done, Flurry pointed up at a box on the top shelf.
"That one!" She said. Sunset reached up to grab it and smiled, seeing that it was a friendship bracelet making kit. "Let's go to my room!" Flurry took it from her, racing out of the bathroom. Sunset laughed, following her out as she flicked off the light.
Flurry led her to a little white table in the center of her room, setting the box down and gesturing for her to sit in the chair across from her. Sunset took her seat as Flurry opened the box and pulled out the tools.
She and Flurry sat at the table making bracelets for almost a half-hour before Twilight came up to the open door, knocking on it lightly.
"Hey you two, dinner's ready," she said, a smile on her face.
"Yeah one sec," Sunset mumbled as she tied off the bracelet she was working on. Flurry hopped up from the table, running up to Twilight.
"Auntie! Look at what Aunt Sunny made me!" she exclaimed, holding up the yellow and purple bracelet. Twilight smiled at her.
"Yeah, great, now come on, dinner's gonna get cold," she said, gently pushing Flurry out of the room. When she turned back around, Sunset was standing behind her.
"Sunny? Where in the world did she get that?" Twilight asked.
Sunset gave her a mysterious look. "I guess we'll never know," she said before pushing past her and descending the stairs.
Cadence had prepped tacos for dinner and soon they were all seated around the table. Star was eating a variety of soft, cube-shaped fruits that Sunset was sure all tasted the exact same. Flurry Heart was excitedly talking about something that had happened at school that week and Twilight was listening intently.
Sunset smiled as she looked at the three of them. Maybe a part of her did want this. She looked down at the bracelet on her wrist that Flurry had made her.
Yeah, she definitely wanted this. |
Love Story | In A Magical Land Called Equestria | "Come on, Sunny! You've got this!" Twilight sat in the driver's seat of Sunset's car, dropping her off at work. Today was her big day, the day she would finally be pitching her TV shows to the executives she worked for at Hasbro.
"I dunno, maybe I should just throw it all out and forget about it," Sunset said nervously, thumbing through her notebook.
"Sunset! You've worked way too hard on this to throw it out now! You're gonna go in there, show them what you've done, and they're gonna love it!" Twilight smiled at Sunset in earnest, and slowly Sunset started to smile too. "Repeat after me. I can do this"
"Twilight can do this?" Sunset repeated, confused.
"No! You can do this. Sunset can do this." Twilight took Sunset's hands into her own.
"I- I can do this," Sunset said. Twilight smiled, nodding.
"Yes, you can. You're gonna kill it, babe. You've worked so hard on this, I believe in you."
Sunset took a moment to breathe before picking back up her notebook.
"Okay, I'm gonna do this." Twilight leaned forward and lightly kissed Sunset's cheek.
Sunset climbed out of the car, giving a final wave to Twilight before she headed into the office building. She took the stairs up to the meeting rooms two at a time, ready to get this over with.
She had to wait in the hallway outside the conference room before she was called in. She made sure that all her papers were in the right order and her outfit was straight. She couldn't have a single hair out of place. This might as well be the most important meeting of her life.
When a man finally opened the door and she was called in, Sunset was forced to silence her nerves and walk with steady steps.
She stood before a group of seven of her employers and Hasbro higher-ups.
"Hello, my name is Sunset Shimmer, and I have a proposition for you today." And with that, her meeting began. As it went on, Sunset became more confident, displaying all of her ideas and putting her best foot forward. She was proud of her work. She knew that it was good. She just hoped that the board of people before her agreed,
As she closed her presentation, the murmurs began. At the table, the group discussed in hushed voices what they had seen. At times, someone would ask her a question and Sunset would do her best to answer it adequately. Finally, they all turned back to her.
"We think what you have created here is very creative, Mrs. Shimmer." A man spoke. Then a woman piped up.
"We also believe that this could be very popular among children."
Sunset felt her eyes light up. She had to remember to keep her emotions off her face. She couldn't be too hopeful yet.
"We'll give you a contract to produce one season of your show. If it does well, then we can consider another one." A third man said. Sunset broke out in a huge smile.
"Thank you!" She realized how childish she sounded, but didn't care. This had been her dream since high school, and here she was, days away from signing a contract to launch it into action.
Sunset left the office with a spring in her step. She raced outside to call her wife.
She leaned against the wall of the building, waiting for Twilight to pick up. When she finally did, Sunset was greeted with screaming.
"Did you get it?!" she exclaimed, Sunset nodded before remembering that twilight couldn't see her.
"I did! They're giving me a season to see how it does!!"
Both girls squealed on opposite ends of the line, bouncing up and down.
"I'm bringing home cake and we're gonna make drinks and celebrate," Twilight said. Sunset giggled.
"Sounds great."
Twilight laughed. "I should probably get back to work. Congrats, Sunny."
"Okay. And Twilight?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for believing in me. I couldn't have done this without you."
Twilight smiled to herself as she leaned against her desk on her elbow, talking into the phone like a schoolgirl.
"Always." |
Love Story | Moving Out Is Hard To Do | "Ugh. Sunset! Could you stop leaving your paintbrushes all over the house?!" Twilight asked from the kitchen.
"Sorry! I forgot those were in there!" Sunset called back, coming in to grab them from the kitchen counter next to where Twilight was washing dishes.
Twilight sighed.
"Sunny, as much as I love this little condo, we just don't have enough space for both of us to work anymore. I mean, now that MLP is getting so big and you're working on the second season and my work and my research is taking up more and more space." She looked to Sunset hoping that she was catching on what she was saying.
"Yeah, I get that too. Everything is just everywhere no matter how organized we try to keep it." Sunset looked around the kitchen. There were papers stacked seemingly miles high on the table and the organized mess that was all the drawers was an annoyance.
"Maybe... we should look for a new place," Twilight said timidly. Sunset looked to the floor.
"But we've had so many great memories here. All of it, since we left Canterlot, has been here." Twilight set down the dishes she was drying, coming over to her wife. She carefully wrapped her into a hug.
"Leaving here doesn't erase the memories, Sunny. We still have all of them to cherish forever, but this just isn't functional for us anymore. Especially if we want to have a family someday."
Sunset leaned into the hug. Twilight threaded a hand into her hair as Sunset held the paintbrushes tight in her grip and close to her chest.
"I guess you're right," Sunset mumbled.
Twilight giggled. "I usually am. Bioethics and biomedical engineering degrees." Sunset snorted.
"Yeah, okay, I get it, you're a genius." She pulled away from the hug. Both girls laughed as the mood was lightened.
"I'll start looking for a place tonight. What do you think, four bedrooms, three bathrooms?"
Sunset nodded. "Somewhere around there."
"I'll try and watch the money, but it's LA."
"Yeah, can't avoid those million-dollar homes," Sunset giggled. "Keep it on the cheaper side. We don't need a mansion, just something bigger, but money shouldn't be an issue."
Twilight nodded and went back to finish drying the dishes while Sunset put away her paintbrushes.
That night, Sunset and Twilight browsed Zillow for what felt like hours, trying to find something they were happy with.
"I want it to have a pool," Sunset said.
"A pool would be nice," Twilight agreed.
They surfed the site for what felt like hours, each house they found either being too big or too small.
"21 bathrooms?! Who needs 21 bathrooms?!" Sunset exclaimed looking at a house.
"People with more pools than bedrooms?" Twilight guessed, laughing.
The two turned in for the night after finding nothing, reserving to look the next day.
Twilight contacted a realtor the following Monday so that they could find exactly what they wanted. A move-in ready home with at least four bedrooms and three bathrooms, plenty of space to entertain, and a pool.
That Friday, they were going to tour houses.
The first one was nice, but the kitchen was a little cramped and the fourth bedroom was tiny.
"Do you think this could work as a linen closet?" Twilight asked, joking. Sunset and the realtor both laughed.
"Possibly," Sunset mused.
When they walked into the second house, Sunset was in love.
"It's so... white," Twilight said. It very much was. The floors and walls were all a ridiculously bright white.
"We can paint the walls, silly," Sunset said. Twilight shrugged, walking into the house with her.
It was a really beautiful place. There was a fireplace in the main living rooms, the bathrooms were all fancy and huge, and the backyard was amazing for entertaining.
"What's this listed at?" Sunset asked as they walked into the kitchen.
"Two million," the realtor said.
Sunset looked to Twilight with puppy dog eyes. Twilight smiled.
"Can we put in an offer for it?"
Two weeks later and they had the house. Now they just had to pack their entire condo up and move it out. Piece of cake.
Sunset was crying after thirty minutes.
"Why are you laying on the floor crying, Sunny? You're supposed to be packing." Twilight asked, kneeling down next to her.
"I'm gonna miss this place. I don't wanna leave!" Sunset laid her head in Twilight's lap.
"I know you are, Sunny. So am I, but this is for the best. Think about the new house and how much you'll love it. Think about all the new memories we'll make there." Twilight stroked her hair. Sunset sniffled.
Twilight looked up around the room, and then to the boxes laid out around the room from where Sunset had been trying to pack.
"I guess we don't have much of a choice, we already bought the house." She let out a watery laugh.
"Come on, let's pack up." Twilight carefully stood up and held out a hand to Sunset. Sunset took it and together the girls packed their bedroom up and dragged all the boxes out to the U-Haul they had rented.
It took them three days to pack everything, sorting through everything they owned and throwing out the trash while packing everything they wanted to take with them.
After it was all packed away and being taken to their new house, Sunset and Twilight did one final walk through the condo before handing away the keys.
"So much happened here," Sunset said as they stood in the living room.
"We've lived here for almost six years," Twilight whispered.
"I'm gonna miss it, but I think that the new house will be better for us. More space to work, a place to start our family." Sunset wrapped an arm around Twilight's shoulders. Twilight leaned into her.
"Speaking of family, we're going into the testing phase for my method next month," Twilight said.
"Really?! That's great!" Sunset beamed. Twilight took one sweeping look around the condo.
"Ready to get out of here? I'll tell you all about it on the drive to the new place."
Sunset nodded.
"Yeah. Let's do this."
The two women walked out of the condo they had called home since they were barely 20, locking the door behind them and dropping off the keys with their landlord. They climbed into Sunset's car, starting the drive to the new place they would continue to love each other in. |
Love Story | The Outline and A Goodbye | Well guys, after careful consideration, here it is, the outline of the last chapters and the playlist for the story.
In parentheses are the chapter titles.
11: Three years later Twilight finally perfects her method for two girls to have a baby. Sunset and Twilight have a talk. (The Story of You and Me)
12: Sunset gets pregnant and Twilight starts to worry. (It's All Gonna Be Alright)
Interlude III: Pregnancy things, i.e weird cravings, cuddles, etc.
13: Skyla is born and Pinkie throws a party to welcome the new family home from the hospital. (Meeting a Princess)
14: Twilight and Sunset take Skyla to Equestria so she can meet her Grandparents and Uncle. (I Swear To Celestia We Are Not Having a Crystaling)
15: Skyla's first birthday; Twilight and Sunset reflect on everything that's happened in the 11 years they've been together. (The Magic of Love Grows).
If you were wondering, yes, Skyla was based on a toy released in 2013, probably as a very early prototype for Flurry Heart. She was part of the So Soft line, which contains many characters never seen in the show. As you can tell, I'm very creative when it comes to creating characters (no I'm not, that was sarcasm.)
A little background on each chapter if you're confused:
11: yeah, this is an actual thing that is being worked on right now and we're making great advancements towards it. I'm super excited about it, as a lesbian who doesn't want kids.
14: Skyla is an alicorn because Sunset is an alicorn, as this is connected to Fading Sun. Works in the same way Flurry's genes do.
I did in fact create a playlist for this story on Spotify. Here it is: Love Story Soundtrack
I was really excited about this story, and I'm sorry it couldn't be finished. I simply moved onto new projects and new things. This will probably be my last post on this site unless I need to rant about some stupid bullshit in the future. It's been fun, and I'd love to see some of you try and complete this story. If you do, PM me so I can read it, I check my account regularly (i.e, fourteen thousand times a day because I see validity from strangers on the internet for serotonin).
As always, if you wanna keep up with me, I'm active on Instagram (@lucyk011 and @powerponycustoms) and ao3 (NoirAngel011 and SuperMax18 (that's my smut account).
I hope you all enjoyed this story. In terms of numbers, it kinda flopped, but doesn't all my stuff these days? But I had fun with it, so I guess that's what matters. To think that I had a sequel planned for this too. That one will definitely never see the light of day! If you were wondering, it was just a compilation of snapshots of Skyla growing up. |
A King, The Queens, and Their Games | pre | "Chrysalis, hmm?" The creature responded completely ignoring the Queen part of her name. "Chrysalis, Chrysalis," The creature said her name a few times, apparently trying out the name. "I suppose that will do, for now. As for me," It performed an over exaggerated bow towards her. "You may call me Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony."
Chrysalis glared at this creature named Discord, the gears in her mind turning rapidly.
'Discord'
'Dizcord'
'Dezcord'
'Dez'Cord'
'Dez'Cared'
Chrysalis was brought out of her revelation by a feeling of utter shock. Turning her head towards the source, she found the perioeci that had come here with Discord staring in utter reverence at him. Apparently it had come to the same conclusion she had. It slowly turned to her, its pupiless eyes shining with excitement.
'Mother?' It's voice ringing through her head. 'Is he... This one wonders....Dez'Cared?!'
Despite the difference in beliefs between the two of them, Chrysalis couldn't help but chuckle lightly at her child's excitement. "Possibly, my little perioeci. But don't jump to conclusions."
"Umm, what did you call me now?" Discord asked, his eyebrows raised in light confusion. "And what conclusions am I jumping to? Did I completely black out or something, because we're clearly having a different conversation here."
"I wasn't talking to you." Chrysalis snapped at Discord.
"You weren't? Then who-" Discord began to ask before his eyes fell on the perioeci at his side. He then quickly snapped his head back to Chrysalis, an annoyed expression on his face. "Wait a second, he said he couldn't speak. Well said as in-"
"Not a he." Chrysalis interjected.
Discord paused, and then looked at the perioeci for a long ten seconds. "You're a girl?"
Before Chrysalis could respond, Discord grabbed the smaller changeling, turning it upside down. He then began to scrutinize the changeling's underside.
"What are you-" Chrysalis began to ask, only to be swiftly hushed by Discord.
"She's a girl right? I'm looking for her- AHA!" Discord loudly declared. "So you are a girl. So sorry deary. Seriously it's right there. How in Tarturaus did I miss that when I was questioning you?"
"How did you miss what?" Chrysalis asked, feeling annoyed at this bizarre creature's behavior.
"You know, her girl part." Discord answered. "True, it's on her barrel, a little higher then it would normally be, but it's still there." As he spoke he began to lower one of his fingers towards towards the changeling in his grasp's barrel.
"It's barrel?" Chrysalis wondered aloud. "What did you find on its-" Suddenly, as she thought of what Discord had been saying, she finally pieced together what it was that he had found. "Wait! Don't touch that! That's it's-"
It was too late though. As Discord's finger made contact with the small slit on the changeling's stomach, a sharp stinger shot out of the slit, piercing the finger. Discord jumped back, dropping the changeling and sucking his finger.
"OW!" Discord cried out. "What was that?!"
"That was its stinger." Chrysalis answered. "What you perceived as it's 'girl part' as you so eliquitely put it was actually its venom sheath. It's a chamber in our bodies that contains our stingers. The venom in our stingers is harmless to other changelings, although it does have an effect on me. However the venom is a powerful poison to any other species, so, unless you want to spend the next few hours in pain and unable to move, I suggest you suck the venom out quickly."
"My my. That does sound quite unpleasant." Discord responded, his voice very casual and unconcerned as he continued to suck on his finger. "It would quite the problem if I had any veins for blood to be flowing through."
"What? You don't have any veins?" Chrysalis asked, her eyes wide. "You're lying. That's impossible."
"Heh he he he he." Discord chuckled. He slowly turned towards Chrysalis. "I think you'll find that as you get to know me, your view of what is and isn't possible will change drastically."
Chrysalis just stared at the draconequus for a few moments before asking, "And what makes you think that I'll be getting to know you at all?"
"Wait, did I not tell you what I wanted?" Discord asked, chuckling to himself. "Where are my manners? Auntie Hurricane would have a fit if she was still around." For the briefest of seconds, Discord's face seemed to reflect melancholy before resuming the smirk that seemed to permantly grace his face.
"Well, allow me to elaborate. You see, I had just broken free from my prison of stone." Discord then put his face less than an inch from Chrysalis's own face. "Have you ever tried being encased in stone?"
Chrysalis shook her head. "No."
"Well lucky you. Here's a fabulous piece of advice. No, seriously. Burn these words of wisdom in your soul. You ready?" Discord, if it was possible, seemed to lean in closer.
"Don't... ever... leave your sandwich unattended or somepony will eat it."
A full three seconds passed before Chrysalis was able to respond. "What?"
"Never leave your sandwich unattended." Discord repeated.
"What in the stars does that have to do with being encased in stone?" Chrysalis snapped, her annoyance at Discord's mannerisms getting the better of her.
"My dear, I must admit that you lose me when you say strange things like that." Discord said, completely ignoring the question. "Is there some kind of dictionary I can read to at least partially understand your langue."
"Do not ignore my question, creature!" Chrysalis snapped, closing the distance between her and Discord's face. "What relevance does a sandwich have with being encased in stone?"
"You mean other then the fact that I had a serious craving for one after being encased in stone for a thousand years? Absolutely none." Discord answered. "Just seemed like good advice. I mean, what did you expect me to say? Don't be encased in stone? My dear, if I have to tell you that, perhaps I would be better off looking to other sources to align with."
"Then do so!" Chrysalis backed away, fury etched on her face. "Because frankly, you've wasted too much of my time already, and I don't intend to waste one second longer on you. I don't care if you are possibly Dez'Cared," Discord's eyes widened the second that name left her tongue. "You've evaded my questions, you borderline assaulted one of my children, and you've been nothing but an annoyance since you arrived! I see no reason that I should tolerate one more second of your presence."
"Dez'Cared." Discord muttered to himself. "Dez'Cared. Wow, it has been a long, long time since anypony has called me that. Azalea was the last one to call me that." Discord closed his eyes in thought, a somber expression making its way onto his face. It was strange seeing such a look on a face that was almost always smiling.
"The fact that you know me by that name, probably means she told you about me, am I right?" He asked.
Chrysalis answered, "Yes, there are stories passed down, that you gave the so called Goddess-" Chrysalis was stopped by a twinge of hurt coming from the perioeci. Looking over at it, she saw that sorrow was etched clearly on its face. It was upset and sad at her declaration of Azalea as a false god.
"Don't look at me like at me like that child." She said firmly, but her tone lacked any trace of anger. She then turned back to Discord, beginning her statement anew. "There are stories passed down, that you gave Azalea her power in exchange for her loyalty."
At this, a smile returned to Discord's face. "I'm sorry, did you say Goddess?" Discord tilted his head back in laugher. "Oh, she would have loved that. Azalea the Goddess."
Discord's smirk seemed to take a sinister undertone. "So, I guess from that little 'don't look at me' bit just a second ago, you and your daughter have conflicting views on what Azalea was, hm?"
Chrysalis flinched at the word daughter, wondering if he had dropped the word on purpose. No, that was unlikely. There was no he knew that part about her already. "It isn't a girl."
Discord ignored her statement. "I'll take that as a yes then." Discord began examining his fingers. "You know, if it pleases you, I could tell you about her."
That got both Chrysalis's and the perioeci's attention. "You would tell us of Azalea?"
"Well, that depends." Discord said. "I'm feeling a little tired at the moment, and I need somewhere to rest and regain my power over the course of a few days. Somewhere far away from pony eyes." Discord gazed over at her, the smirk never leaving his face. "Know of anyplace like that?"
Chrysalis snarled once, and turned her head away from Discord's gaze. She had been trapped in a figurative corner. He wanted to come back with them to the hive. And she wasn't in a very good position to refuse him.
This was without a doubt the so called demigod, Dez'Cared. He was something of a second minor deity to her children. There was less worship devoted to him then Azalea, but it was still there. If she refused him sanctuary in the Hive, her children would most likely see it as an affront to their so called gods. She was their mother and queen. They followed her faithfully despite her lack of faith in the so called gods. As long as she acted in the best interests of the hive and left them alone to their worship, there was almost nothing that they would not do for her.
This recent failure of an invasion would put the hive in a difficult spot. Her children would see the return of the demigod Dez'Cared during these troubled times as a sign from the so called goddess below that things would get better soon. If Chrysalis refused him however, they would feel as if she had spat in the face of their savior. This coupled with their failed invasion would lead to her likely death at their hoofs. Or at the very least, her expulsion from the hive.
She was trapped. How had she been outplayed like this? She snarled to herself before turning back to Discord. "I may have an ideal spot."
"Oh, wonderful." He said, his smirk growing into a wide grin. "And here I was worrying I might have to head to the Dragon's Kingdom, and that wouldn't have been a lot of fun for me." He then turned to the smaller changeling who had been sitting on the sidelines for most of the verbal confrontation. "Hear that little Menyanthes. You and I will be staying together for a lot longer.
'Menyanthes' seemed torn between smiling at the fact that the Demigod Dez'Cared would be staying at the Hive and worrying about its mother, who looked about three seconds away from killing something
"Menyanthes?" Chrysalis questioned the draconequus.
"Her." Discord answered, pointing at the changeling.
"It's not a boy. It's not a girl. And it does not have a name. It's a perioeci." Chrysalis snarled.
"Perioeci?" Discord raised an eyebrow. "Okay, is there some kinda translation book at.... Wherever it is that we're going. Because quite frankly, I'm getting just a touch sick of you saying words, and me not understanding said words." Discord said with a slight pout.
"Let's clarify a few things shall we?" Chrysalis said, walking forward until she was face to face with Discord. "We're going to My home, in which you're a guest. Therefore, you are expected to follow a few rules."
"Rules? Oh, are those really necessary?" Discord asked with a light mock whine.
"Rule number one," Chrysalis said, taking a page from Discord's book and ignoring his question. "Do not do anything that reveals anything about my people to the other species of the world. Do not do anything that draws attention to the hive."
"Um, considering that you just launched an invasion against the capital of Equstia, Is there anything that I could do to draw more attention then you already have?"
"Do you think you're a wise mule, creature?" Chrysalis questioned.
"Nah, I'm not all that wise. I'm more of a.... Smart cookie." Discord replied, an unusual smirk adjourning his face. The smirk possessed a level of amusement that suggested he was making some kind of inside joke.
"Whatever you say, creature. Rule number two. Do not go bothering my children in the same manner that you treated that one." Chrysalis continued, pointing her hoof at 'Menyanthes'.
"Got it." Discord answered, making a mock salute. "Find an entirely new way to bother your children. Easy."
"Shut up!" Chrysalis ground out. "Rule number three. Do not bother Me in the same manner you bother that one." Again, Chrysalis pointed at 'Menyanthes'.
"As if I need to bother, my dear." Discord said. "I'm quite confident that I can identify your sex without looking. You're a guy, right?"
Resisting the urge to bash Discord's head into the nearest rock solid surface, Chrysalis turned from him. "I am sure that I will add to this list as things come to me. But for now, we've wasted too much time already talking out in the open like this. I'm quite surprised we haven't been discovered yet." Chrysalis tilted her head to the northeast. "Come. I don't want to waste this stroke of luck. We must head to the Hive immediately." And with that, she began to walk.
She heard the sounds of her child and Discord following her. She wasn't happy with the current situation. She didn't like the idea of another creature worming its way into her hive. Particularly, one as annoying as Discord was.
And yet there was a flip side to it as well. If he knew as much about Azalea as claimed to, he no doubt possessed knowledge that would prove the she wasn't a goddess. If he confirmed it, more of her children would see the truth as she did. While a few of her children had joined her in her beliefs when she first threw away her faith, they were only a few dozen at most.
This would prove to be an interesting few days.
Present
{Queen Chrysalis}
It seemed as though she had been too optimistic. Those few days had promptly become two weeks. They had been interesting, though not in the way that she had wanted them to be.
When they had arrived at the Hive, he had promptly requested somewhere that he could sleep and be to himself. It hadn't been outside of her expectations of what he would want while he was in their home, so she had given him a small cavern, roughly the size of her chambers in the palace while she had pretended to be the princess of love.
He then spent the next three days sleeping. To her knowledge, he hadn't woken up once in those three days. It had been frustrating to her. She had wanted to start questioning him about the so called goddess as soon as he was able.
Then, when he had woken up, he promptly left for another two days, saying that he would be back shortly. When he returned, he went to his chambers and slept for another two days. When he woke up, she demanded to know where he had been. The only thing he had said was that he had been in Canterlot erecting a statue, and that it had been more exhausting then he thought it was going to be.
Discord had then spent most of the next week, laying about, doing almost nothing. He claimed that he was waiting until a good chunk of his power to return until he made his next move, though he refused to clarify what that was. All he would say was that he would tell her when the time came.
He also refused to divulge the details of Azalea's nature. That was the very reason that she had allowed him entrance into the Hive. Now he was refusing to keep his end of the bargain. He just said that he would tell her everything when the proper time came.
She was getting quite sick of having that sentence tossed in her face. She was also getting sick of the subtle implications that Discord seemed to have a plan for her. She was the Queen of this Hive and she would not be used in any matter.
"Mother?"
A voice brought Chrysalis out of her musing. Turning towards the source of the voice, she found that it had been the spariate that was accompanying her. When it had been promoted to the rank of spariate, she had given it the name, Nexus.
Physically, it looked like any other perioeci. The only difference was the dark blue armor that this child wore. The armor came in two pieces, a chest guard and a helmet. The armor wasn't crafted through the crude methods that the ponies used. The weak minerals of iron or steel weren't used in this armor. No, this armor was crafted from the chitins of the fallen.
It had been a tradition spanning back to the days of the cursed queen, Oleander. She had originally been experimenting to discover their race's strengths and weaknesses. She'd apparently been interested in performing raids against ponies, to enslave them. A shiver ran through Chrysalis as she again realized how close her and Oleander's motivations resembled each other.
Oleander had begun to study their species, particularly the chitins that had started to emerge on their backs, a result of evolution. The chitin was an armored shell that covered their backs all the way to their docks. Underneath was a large patch of exposed muscle. Nerves exited from the muscle and held the chitin down. Apparently, it was possible to rip the chitin away, but doing so would cause an enormous amount of pain for the victim. While Chrysalis didn't understand the specifics, their species magic interacted with the love that they fed on and, somehow took physical shape.
When Oleander discovered the defensive properties of the shell, she ripped them from seven hundred of her children and crafted them through magic, into armor for herself and her loyalist warriors.
When Chrysalis had first heard that story from her mother, she had been livid. Chrysalis had just given birth to her first set of broods. She had just become a mother. She was horrified and sickened at the fact that a queen could use her children as sacrifices so casually. It was no wonder that the hive remembered her as the Cursed Queen.
After Oleander had died and Chrysalis's mother, Queen Metamorphis had stepped up to take charge of the Hive. Most of the armor crafted in those cursed times were destroyed, though a few were kept in the hopes that if the Hive ever had to defend themselves, they could use the armor for the front line warriors.
There was no thought put forth as to destroy Queen Oleander's armor or not. It was a symbol of Changeling suffering. It covered every inch of her body and was made from the chitins of one hundred and fifty changelings. A sick artifact like that shouldn't even exist.
Over time however, Queen Metamorphis began granting strong warriors the ability to speak. These became the template of spariates, the strongest warriors. Eventually, it became a burden to tell which of her children were spariates and which were perioeci. This led to the tradition of gifting the spariates the armor, so that the Queen could tell them apart on sight.
Chrysalis was still not completely comfortable with the armor. Every time she looked at it, she was reminded of the story. The story of a queen that would willingly harm her subjects.
"Did you want something, Nexus?" Chrysalis questioned her companion.
"No, this one did not require anything, dear queen." Nexus spoke, its tone carrying a touch of concern. "This one just thought that you seemed to be lost in thought, and was worried you were unwell."
"Your concern is unneeded, but appreciated." Chrysalis responded. "I was merely thinking about Dez'Cared."
"The so called demigod?" Nexus asked. "He gives this one an uneasy feeling. How long is he staying here? Not that it is questioning your decision dear queen."
"That... is one of the many things I intend to ask, dear Nexus." Chrysalis said, looking up at the arch leading to the chambers that Chrysalis provided Discord.
As she entered the chambers, she was greeted by an unusual sight. Discord was sitting cross legged in the middle of the room, his eyes closed, and his arms holding each other in his lap.
She walked towards him warily, Nexus following, staying close to her, ready to jump forward to defend its queen if Discord made any threatening moves.
"Dez'Cared? I want to have a word with you." Chrysalis sternly declared.
He didn't respond. He just sat there, doing whatever it was that he was doing.
"Dez'Cared!" Chrysalis repeated.
Discord's head seemed to twitch. Chrysalis took this as a sign that he was listening.
"You've been here two weeks now, Dez'Cared." Chrysalis began. "In that time, you have refused to tell me anything about Azalea. I am here to tell you that that is no longer acceptable. I have been more then patient with you, but my patience has its limits. Now, I want to-"
Her words were cut short by Discord. He had lurched his head forward, grabbing his chest. He then started dry heaving. It had been so sudden that Chrysalis had been momentarily startled and had leaped back. After a few seconds, Discord raised his head again.
Chrysalis took a moment to observe his eyes. They were different then they had been before. His pupils were still the red that they had been, but his scleras were now a bright shade of green. A strange purple mist seemed to flow from his eyes.
"Dez'Cared?" Chrysalis asked apprehensively.
Discord held up a finger as he breathed heavily. His eyes began to lose the unnatural color they had momentarily possessed. His breathing began to slow, to the point where he stopped altogether.
After he seemed to regain his composure, he looked up to Chrysalis with a smile. "Ah, my dear Chrisy. I didn't hear you come in."
Chrysalis snarled at the nickname he had given her, but said nothing of it, knowing how well that argument would go. "I had only entered this place just moments before your...fit. What was that?"
"Oh, that? Nothing to worry about, I assure you." Discord answered. "Seems that Sombra is no longer among the living. A shame, I had wanted to use him just a touch more. Bah, but no matter."
"And just who is Sombra?" Chrysalis asked. "And what does he have to do with that fit of yours just now?"
"Sombra is someone I 'helped'," As he said the word helped, Discord starting poking his index and middle finger with his thumb. "Rise to power, though I doubt he saw it that way. Other than that, he was a worthless shell of a unicorn that the world is just better off forgetting. Put him out of your mind, my dear."
"I am not your 'dear', Dez'Cared! And surely there's more to this Sombra then that. You looked like you were in pain. If he really was so worthless, why did his death cause you pain."
"He and I are connected in more ways than one might imagine, Chrisy. That is all I will say on the matter for now. I promise that once I get back, I will tell you more."
"Do not change the subject on me Dez'Cared! I will have no more of this- Wait?" Chrysalis stopped. "When you get back? Are you going somewhere?"
"Oh my, yes." Discord replied. "Sombra's death gives me an opportunity, a light window if you would. You see," Discord paused examining his hand. "My powers are returning at a slower rate than I thought, so I'm fairly limited in what I can do right now. Sombra, in his death, left behind something that might boost my recovery somewhat. It will also allow me to bring her in sooner than I thought."
"Her? Are you planning on bringing somepony into my home? I will not allow this." Chrysalis growled at Discord anger building. How long had he been planning on bringing others here?
"Well, to be honest, I've been planning on bring two ponies here." Discord said, a smirk on his face, his tone clearly telling Chrysalis that he was amused with himself. "Don't worry, the one I'm planning on bringing here right now won't be a threat. She's merely coming here because she's too much of a wild card."
"Dez'Cared, I don't want more unpredictable things in my Hive." Chrysalis ground out.
"Even if she's someone I'm sure you want to hurt?" Discord asked.
Chrysalis looked him in the eye, a spark of curiosity flowing through her mind. "And just who am I so excited to see suffer, that I'm willing to let them into my Hive."
"Why don't we make that a surprise, my dear?" Discord answered. He began walking towards the exit to his chambers.
Chrysalis followed. "That's not how this works, Dez'Cared. You don't just bring strangers into my home, into my species home with no information on whom these strangers are."
"My dear," Discord turned back to Chrysalis. "You sound as if you don't trust me."
"I don't!" Chrysalis yelled.
"Good. That's good." Discord answered. "For now, know that I'm not going to bring threats into this place. Considering I'm staying here at the moment, it wouldn't benefit me in the slightest."
Chrysalis was silent for a moment. "If you expose me-"
"Calm yourself Chrysalis." Discord raised his hands. "Trust me, you'll love who I'm bringing. I imagine you'll just be dying to spend some private time together when she gets here." And with that, Discord left her and Nexus standing alone in the chambers.
For the next few moments, everything was silent. It was Nexus that broke it. "Mother?"
"Nexus." Chrysalis spoke with an air of authority about her. "Please go to the guards at the entrance to tell them that if they see a single pony, let me know. I don't care who it is, or what they're doing, they let me know immediately.
"Yes, dear queen." Nexus bowed and exited the room quickly, sensing that the queen was angry.
Chrysalis stood there for a moment fuming. She was tired of this creature having the upper hoof here. She would have to do something about that soon. |
A King, The Queens, and Their Games | Chapter 1- Preparation | Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony
Chapter 1- Preparation
{Discord}
Not many races seemed able to stand the cold. Evolution had not allowed many races to be able to walk through it comfortably, let alone live in it.
For the life of him, Discord couldn't understand why.
Snowflakes landed on him, here in the cold plains of the Frozen North. Layers upon layers of snow lay there undisturbed on the ground. The white seemed to stretch on for miles in all directions.
Discord stood there, eyes closed and arms outstretched, enjoying the physical sensation of the snow landing upon him. Next to the feel of chocolate rain, there was no feeling in the world that could quite match the pleasure he felt, standing here in the snow. Not even sex could compare. There was just something about the chill that the frost and rain did to him that stirred something deep within him.
Perhaps it was in part to the Wendigo in him.
Reluctantly, Discord opened his eyes and put the feel of the snow out of his mind. As tempting as it was to stand there for a little longer, he was on a little bit of a time constrain. For every moment that Sombra's horn remained hidden and unattained, it's power dwindled, ever so slightly and Discord would need all the power that he could get from the horn to put the next step of his plans in motion. There had been enough setbacks as it was.
Chrysalis had been the largest of them. He had been hoping that she would come around and begin to trust him, allowing him to more easily sway the changeling race towards his leadership. However she was proving to be more stubborn and strong willed then he would have liked. She openly questioned his motives daily, and she had been little more than an annoying thorn in his side.
And there was no simple solution to her brand of annoyance, oh no. Normally he would have used his charms and mind magic to simply reorganize her mind into something easier to control, but he couldn't do that here. Her children would sense the manipulation and would likely turn on him for trying to "harm" their mother. In the state of his being, that being that he was weaker then he would normally be, he would be taking fewer risks then he would be taking most of the time.
'One must consider both rewards reaped and dangers risked before action is taken. When the reward outweighs the risk, action can and should be taken. If the risk outweighs the reward, it might be better to try and come up with alternatives.'
Discord closed his eyes and chuckled, shaking his head. That stupid proverb had been stomped into his head ever since she had begun the process of teaching him. It served him well on occasion, but he would very often choose to ignore it.
However, for the time being, he was going to choose to follow it more often, at least until a large chunk of his power returned. Perhaps that was her punishment to him for ignoring what she had taught him. If he believed in such a thing, he would have said that she was looking down on him, frowning, clearly disappointed.
"Bah, no matter." Discord said to himself, shaking his head slightly. Thinking of her would only distract him from the task at hand.
He concentrated, searching the air for the feel of Sombra's horn. When Discord had twisted him into what he had been as the king of the Crystal Empire, he had been sure to put the mass of power corrupting his mind into His horn. He screamed for days while the shadows eroded his mind.
It had been an impossible task not to enjoy every second of his screams.
He could feel it. It was close, so close. All he would have to do would be to reabsorb the shadow magic he had "Blessed" Sombra with and he would gain back some of what he had lost.
And even if Sombra hadn't held Discord's power within him, he would have been able to find him. After all, they shared the same flesh, didn't they? The same blood? Even after these hundreds of years, Discord still questioned it. What connected those who called each other family?
Not that he considered Sombra family. He may have once, long ago. But no longer.
Discord's gaze was drawn to the ground a dozen or so yards away. There, in a small puddle of melted snow, was Sombra's horn.
With a sigh of relief, Discord began to walk towards the horn. There was more power holding onto it then he had expected. Finally, something unexpected but good. This would surely shave a few days off the time needed to gather power for his "Pep talk" with Luna.
As he approached, a warm air seemed to emanate from the horn. Unsurprising really. Considering how much power that he was sensing, a little heat was to be expected. It was going to burn his claw when he picked it up though. He wasn't looking forward to that.
Discord reached his griffon claw towards the horn. He could feel the air around his claw become hotter as it got closer and closer to the horn. As his claw came in contact with the horn, he heard a sizzle, and a second later, the pain coursed through him.
His claw felt like it was holding pure Tartarus fire. Unrelenting fire with an unquenchable thirst to destroy everything that it came into contact with. He winced as he lifted the horn from the ground. The pain was flowing through his arm. A part of him knew that the pain was only coming from his claw, but the pain was so intense that it seemed to be flowing through him.
Doing his best to ignore the pain (Though this was very much a futile effort.), Discord brought the tip of Sombra's horn towards his stomach. After taking a breath to steady himself, Discord roughly plunged the tip into his stomach, piercing his hide.
Without pausing, Discord used the horn to cut a larger line upwards. Once he was satisfied with the size of the wound, he brought the horn away. He then placed the fingers of his manticore paw inside the wound, pulling the wound wider, similar to what he had done to the changeling he had examined just weeks previous.
Where one might expect blood and bone to be, the inside of Discord was completely empty. There was nothing inside of him. Looking into him, one would see blackness, stretching on seemingly forever. It was like space, but without the stars.
Discord was a very unique creature (Obviously). Where most creature required blood, organs, food, even air to survive, he didn't. He was a being made entirely of magic. Forged from the blood and flesh of many, held together by magic. He wasn't quite sure how he was able to exist, nor did he care. He had life like any other creature and unlike all the others, didn't require an answer to the rhyme or reason to the specifics of his existence. He existed and that was all that mattered to him.
Inside of him, it was like a void. Whether or not this was his nature or not, he had never really cared to know. All that really mattered was that his power seemed to emanate from this empty still void.
Discord Brought Sombra's horn towards the open wound, placing it inside. With a gentle push, he released his grasp on the horn, and it began to gently float within the void.
Once he was sure that Sombra's horn wasn't just going to randomly float out of the gaping hole in his stomach, Discord called upon the magic he had at his command. The flesh (Or at least it looked like flesh. He wasn't quite sure if it was or not.) Around the edges of his wound morphed into what looked like tiny brown claws that were no larger than one of his fingers.
The tiny appendages stretched toward the other side of Discords wound, grabbing hold of the flesh. Their fingers began to blend into his flesh. This continued until there was no trace that there had ever been a wound there in the first place.
And now, he would wait.
This inaction was almost intolerable. This world was vast and there was so much in it. So much to do. Discord hated having to wait for anything. It was so boring.
But it wasn't safe to move. Not even for him. When Sombra's horn was completely reabsorbed into himself, there would be a massive surge of power. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that his Celesta and his Luna would feel it, even from all the way out here. Whether or not they would know if it was him, he was unsure. His little girls possessed quite the unpredictable thought processes, even by his standards.
A physical sensation pulsed through Discord's chest. It was about to happen. Sombra's power was about to return to him. He braced himself.
This was, however, something that one could not prepare themselves for.
His eyes transformed into a sickly bright green with red pupils. Dark energy flowed from his eyes in the form of mist.
The effects weren't just limited to his eyes. Black veins appeared on his skin, covering almost every portion of his body. As they spread, Discord grit his teeth. It felt like his body was on fire, both on his skin, and inside his body.
And then, the real pain began. An enormous amount of Dark energy blasted out of every inch of the veins. It spread in every direction, extending about thirty feet.
Discord let out of scream. The pain was intense. It felt like his insides (If he had any) were being ripped from his body only to be torn shred to shred.
He tried to endure, though the pain made it difficult to think. Once this pain subsided within the next minute or two, He would have the power he needed for the next phase of his plan. This pain was temporary. He was eternal. He would be here long after this snow had vanished. He would be here long after the stars burned out. He would be here long after everything ended, leaving him the only creature to exist.
The pain began to end somewhat. As the pain lessened, a feeling of power began to flow through him. Where he had felt pain, He know felt the dark magic he had "Gifted" Sombra.
This feeling. It was addicting. Unicorn felt a rush when magic flowed through their horns, but even they could not even imagine the ecstasy of pure power. The universe seemed to envelope you in a tight second lair of flesh. It was like having your body transform into another pleasure center.
It was... Intoxicating, but also, enlightening.
No other creature could match Discord in terms of power. He was unique and utterly powerful. There was no pony like him. Even using the same methods Sombra had, even he could not create another like him. And that was fine really. When 2 thing were exactly the same, they were incredibly boring.
It was why he had done nothing to change the pony's physiology when he had taken over. Despite the fact that they were insane, each one was so utterly unique that it had seemed like a crime to change them really.
But this was where the likeability ended and their insanity began. They could change nothing about themselves. They remained the same beings they were when they were born until they day they ceased to exist. They were all bound by personality, gender, color; Things that they had no control over.
While Discord was bound by none of these. If he disliked the color of his fur, he would change (not that he would at this point. He found himself greatly fond of his current color scheme and it would probably be a few centuries before he would grow bored of it). If he disliked his gender, he could simply switch.
How terribly stale, he would think to himself. What must it be like to be the same thing everyday when you wake? What must it be like to never question your role in life? What was it like to be branded on your backside, displaying to everyone your role in the world?
It twisted feelings of pity within him. Why did no pony question it? Why did they all just blindly go with what their flank told them to do?
It was madness in its rawest form. To be unquestioning to unsensible nonsense. To be completely illogical in the face of reason.
This also gave birth to anger, in addition to the pity he felt for pony kind. There was ignorance, and then there was denial. There was no way in Equestria that none could see the truth of their insanity. Yet, despite, they denied it, ignored it. How could they do that to themselves?
That would all change very soon. A wicked smile spread across his face, as he felt this new power flow through his being. He....He was Discord. He was eternal. He was immortal. Unkillable. Powerful. Intelligent. Sane!
He would show them. He would show them all. He would show them the truth by stripping away the insanity that plagued them all. He would show them the one simple truth of this world, if there ever was one.
"Everything, comes from, creates, and becomes, Chaos!"
As the high the dark magic provided him began to fade, His love and chaos and disharmony stabilized, as the time constrain he was under came back into his mind.
He looked off in the distance to the south, the sickly green glow leaving his eyes. His little Celestia and Little Luna would have surely felt such a large burst of Dark magic. That meant either that they would be sending a squad or two of guards to investigate, or (If he was lucky) they would be coming here themselves personally to discover the source. As tempted as he was to stay and reunite with them (Particularly his little Luna. He hadn't seen her in over a thousand years), he knew he couldn't take the risk.
While he had recovered a good chunk of his power from Sombra's horn, he was still severely underpowered (At least in his terms). He wasn't ready for this confrontation just yet. His little girls were quite strong.
No, this reunion would have to wait, just a tad longer. It was more pressing that he fetch, the one thing he still needed from Canterlot.
This wouldn't take long, now that he had more of his power. It would simply be a matter of teleporting to Canterlot (he hoped that the mere act wouldn't deplete him too much, otherwise he would have to wait a few more days to pick up Twilight.), possess one of the guards, and take one of the Unicorn Restraining Ring.
They were a fascinating piece of magic. They hadn't existed when he had reigned. He wondered if his little Celestia had helped in their creation. Probably not. They were a very fiendish device. He doubted she had the coldness of heart to commission them.
By placing these devices onto the horn of a unicorn, the device sent tiny sparks into the unicorn's horn, traveling along the nerves into the brain. These sparks were relatively harmless, though headaches were common among subjects wearing the device. These sparks however nulled the part of the brain that controlled the process of gathering magic from your body to the horn. As a result, any unicorn wearing a Restraining Ring would be unable to access their magic.
It was said that alicorns could shake off the effects in a few minutes and remove the Ring themselves, but there was no proof of this to be found. Apparently none of the alicorns had submit themselves to test this fact.
Normally, Discord would have no need for such a device. After all, if he wanted to ensure that a unicorn wouldn't be able to use their power, he would just take away their horns. His lack of power at the moment, as temporary as it would be, had led him to be unable to do so for an extended period of time. He could take Twilight Sparkle's horn only for a day, maybe two.
He was confident in his abilities. He truly was. But he was no fool. Twilight, was a very smart mare. She had been raised by his little Celestia, entrenched in her philosophies, conditioned to see anything different as wrong. It would take a great deal of time and talk to convince her of anything otherwise. His little Celestia was a very manipulative teacher.
In that way, she was so like him. She understood. Expose a young one to your truth. Let them know nothing else except your truth, and they will die for your beliefs. It was a shame that Celestia had exposed Twilight to the wrong truth. This false belief in Harmony, in control, in sacrificing yourself for the supposed "Greater good".
It sickened him, really. He felt shame that such an ideology could come from anything that had come from him. Though of course, the influence could have come from her. In fact, he was certain of it.
Shaking his head, Discord cleared his head of his thoughts as they began to slink back into his past, so long, long ago. He could not afford to fall into memories now, now that there was almost certainly somepony on their way.
His thoughts shifted to Canterlot. The closest thing he had to a real home. He had even lived there longer than Cloudsdale. It had been the seat of his kingdom. From there, the entire nation had bent to his will. It had been his ever changing paradise. Constantly changing building, shifting styles, and the spectrum of colors ever changing every moment. It had been his masterpiece.
The thought of seeing it as it currently was saddened him somewhat. His capital would no longer be the ever changing city he had left it as, but a boring, stale shadow of its former self.
With the image of Cantorlot in his head, Discord gathered his magic in his fingers, and snapped. And in a bright flash of light, he was gone.
There was no trace that had been there at all. Or if there was, though snow would soon consume any of the evidence left behind.
He hadn't stood a chance. Even if he had seen Discord.
But he hadn't. A pity. He would have liked to see the guard's expression when he performed the possession. But sometimes, one didn't get what they want.
Floating above his prey, Discord began to examine his target. He was a regular looking Pegasus guard, at least by his little Celestia's standards. A white coat with a blue mane and tail. His half lidded eyes were a shade of teal. He wore the traditional armor of the Canterlot guard. A golden helmet with a crest, similarly colored to much his mane. He wore a chestpiece of gold that went from his chest to his flank, but with hole to allow his wings freedom of movement. On each of his hoofs was a golden slipper.
He was a grunt in every sense of the word. Not a trace of emotion crossed his face. If there even was emotion on his face, it was indistinguishable from the stoic look he presented the world with. It was the same as his features. He had none.
There was nothing to distinguish him from any other guard. Their coat was the same. Their mane was the same. Their Armor was the same.
It was a crime against their race. Every pony was born with a unique look. Yet these "guards" (He would never understand why Celestia kept guards. She didn't need them. She was powerful enough to defend herself without the use of regular ponies.) seemed to throw away all of these unique features they possessed for the prospect of no identity.
Truly, these ponies were the very essence of the insanity plaguing the pony race.
Wasting no more time, pondering all this. Discord began the process. His claws took hold of the guard's front hoofs. As he took hold of them, his claws and arms began to sink into his victim. He/the guard instantly cringed at the uncomfortable sensation of another lifeform entering them. As more of his form entered the Guard, he began to become ghostly in appearance. His form disappeared as he became one with this pony.
As Discord became just a floating head, one that could be seen right through and be thought of as a hallucination. He opened his mouth, wider than any mouth was supposed to able to. Positioning himself so that the guard's head was inside his mouth, he snapped his mouth shut.
There many sensation as his head entered the head he now inhabited. He was afraid. Something was inside of him, something alien. It was amused. His fear was amusing this unknown force. He thrashed as best he could inside his own head. He thrashed in the vain hope that he could throw this thing out of him.
It took Discord a few moments to separate this guards thoughts from his own. Even though he was conscious in a sense of the word, he could no longer bother Discord with onslaught of fear and resistance. Granted, taking this route had ensured the pony would be brain dead when he left the body, but that was of little consequence. He wanted to dress and look like everypony, who was Discord to argue. Tarturaus, he would even help the guard. He would make it so that this guard looked and acted like any corpse in Equestria. What larger majority could one hope to imitate?
Discord took a moment to take in his surroundings. He was in a garden of some sorts. (He wasn't familiar with the complete layout of the castle. He wasn't really interested in what kind of mess that his little Celestia had made of His place.) Statues of ponies who had either lived long ago or never existed at all stood upon stone slabs on the grass. The body he inhabited was standing on a stone pathway, stretching out, turning and swirling, creating the road through this place.
Gingerly, he took a step forward with his new body. It felt slightly odd to be walking on all fours again, but there was nothing he could do about that. These bodies were not designed to walk on two hoofs. Still, it wasn't an entirely unpleasant sensation.
He continued his pace with an air of purpose. Now that he had connected to this guard, their knowledge was now his to access. He now knew where he had to go. The armory near the barracks. There he would find the restraining ring that he desired. Once he had that, the cogs of his plan would begin to spin. Everything would come together as he had desired, baring small variations in other's actions. Not that these variations would matter. Twilight and his little Luna would join him and stand by his side, the changeling hive would bow down and worship him properly as their God, and Chysalis would become his loyal follower. He was not sure though which role she would fulfill. His slave or his pet? Perhaps he would flip a bit.
As he walked down the path, he came across a familiar face. From down the path, he could see the statue he had left in place of his former prison, sitting atop a dais. Where once he sat atop it, stone covering the entirety of his form, draining him of his magic, now stood a stone copy of him, meticulously shaped down to the last detail. His little Celestia was a very sharp observer, and he had no desire to tip her off to the fact that he was no longer there, free to wreak untold havoc upon her so called kingdom. He still had so much to do before it became safe for her to discover his escape.
Discord had already decided that it would soon after, if not exactly after, he had brought his little Luna into the folds of his plans. Her corruption would be impossible to hide from little Celestia. And his involvement would also be impossible to hide, no matter how clever he was about it. It wasn't a question of whether his weakened state prevented him from pulling the wool over her eyes, it was more a question of how much he would have to screw with her brain functions before she bought anything he could come up with.
He wouldn't want to do that at all, not in a million years. A billion. Trillion! After all this time, watching her grow so smart, so strong, where would the challenge be in altering her state to bring her around to his way of thinking? Where would the fun be in watching her embracing the laws of chaos knowing that he had just snapped his fingers, bringing this change about by force? Where would his satisfaction be in taking the easy route?
Granted, he had no qualms about doing this to little Luna. In fact, taking the easy route was kind of what he was planning on doing to her. But, Luna was different. It wasn't her fault, it was just the way things had shaped up. She had been up on the moon for a thousand years sleeping, like him. She hadn't had the time to grow like little Celestia had. It wasn't a matter that one was better than the other. It was simply a matter of circumstances.
Shaking the pony's head, Discord brought himself out his thoughts. He found that he was having to do that more and more recently. He would need to work on that at some point. He would have time, he suspected, when he and Twilight Sparkle returned to the hive. For now however, his destination was the armory.
With his thoughts now turned towards his current goal, Discord turned away from his former prison's dais and continued down the stone path.
Within a few minutes of walking, he found himself arriving at his destination. The Guard's Pony Armory. It was a simple building. The standard gray brick ascending upwards creating three stories. The building had not windows. Its wall contained banners of the two princess. Some holding the sun of Celestia, some holding the moon of Luna. In front of the double doors leading into the building was one more of the guards who refused themselves any sort of individouality.
Walking up to this waste of sentient thought, Discord walked towards the door. He hadn't intended to waste his words on this lost cause, but of course, the stoic guard decided that he wanted to be sociable.
"I thought you were supposed to be patrolling the gardens?"
Slightly wincing at the prospect of having to talk to anypony, Discord schooled his body's expression into one of neutrality, and replied, "I was, but we're getting reports of a possible domestic dispute, so, being the never ending pot of luck that I am, I get to grab a ring and check it out. Yay."
A small, almost invisible smile graced the other guard's face. "I didn't hear anything about that. Then again, almost nopony comes here. And I am here by myself." The guard almost turned away, but looked back at Discord. "By the way, you alright? You're eyes are looking a little yellow."
An unavoidable side effect of possession. The sclera of his victims would become the same shade of yellow as his own. "I don't know. I guess I feel a little unwell, but hey. What are you going to do? Can't exactly bail."
"You know, there's been this amazing development in the work place in the last couple of centuries." The guard replied, a smirk making its way across his face. "It's called sick leave."
"Like I said, I don't exactly feel ill. Just unwell." Discord said. Wanting to end this conversation quickly, he began to turn the body and walk away. "Besides, who knows what'll happen if I go up to resources and request leave because my eyes are changing color."
"Last time I checked, they didn't execute ponys for requesting sick leave! Not in this country!" The guard shouted to Discord, as he walked away. "And I'm pretty sure that eye colors changing is not something they'd scoff at! Just get yourself checked out! Please!"
He had barely even heard that last part. He was already trying to rush ahead to where the rings were held. He could barely hold in his excitement. A short jog away was the tool he needed to keep Twilight Sparkle contained. Once he had that, he could see her again.
Oh how he was looking forward to that. To once again take in her visage. To see her and imagine all the possibilities that could be. He had so much to ask her as well. How she had been, how life had been without him in it? All that and more he would learn as soon as he had this one object.
The object he could now see. A shelf several feet ahead of him held many of the Restraining Rings, along with a wide variety of things that he could not bring himself to care about. Bringing himself to a slow, before stopping completely, he took a moment to admiring the ring.
It was about the size of a normal ring, only pitch black. He had read that they were made from molten rock. The inside of the ring was smooth, but the outside was covered in archaic symbols that even he himself could not read. A part of his mind wondered what they were, while the other part told him that they weren't important.
That part of his brain was correct. What mattered was that this object was the key to his reunion with his favorite lavender unicorn. Gingerly, he picked up the object with his hoofs. He wished he could use his fingers. How did ponies even hold things? Looking around for something to ease this burden, his eyes locked onto a small bag on a desk nearby. Awkwardly making his over to the desk while keeping the ring in his grasp. Placing the ring in the bag, he proceeded to tie the bag to the armor this guard word.
Making his way back out of the building, he could not help but feel his excitement building again.
Twilight Sparkle.
How would this time apart have changed her? Not a lot, he hoped. He liked her as she had been when she had sealed him up. He allowed a smile to stretch across his face.
"Hold on tight Twilight Sparkle." He said to himself. "Your savior is on his way." |
Equestria: Final Wars | pre | "Rest easy brother. We might need it." |
Equestria: Final Wars | Pinkie Pie. | "Cake, could you get that brownie batch out of the oven for me please?" Called Mr. Cake. "I would but I had to fight off the couch because of another of Pinkies antics."
"Sure thing dear!" Mrs. Cake called out from the kitchen.
She picked up her hoof-mittens and reached for the oven.
Right when Pinkie, a lobster pony, a porcupine looking pony and a large behemoth of one came flying out in a heap.
"Pinkie! What in Celestia's name were you doing in there!? And what are they!? Who are they!? And why are they here!?" Mrs. Cake screamed.
"Oh! This is Orga, Anguirus and Ebirah! The Queen said that they'll be staying with me and since I'm stating with you that means there staying with all of us! Isn't this great! Uh, Mrs. Cake, are you alright? You look green."
The mare smiled before falling to the floor unconscious. Pinkie shrugged and took out a fresh batch of brownies from her mane and setting them on the counter before grabbing the three kaiju again and dragging them up the stairs.
She shut the door with a quiet slam before turning around with a wide grin.
"Ooh! This is going to be great! Gummy, make the guest bed's for them please?"
The alligator detached from her head and waddled under the bed. There was a click and then three beds shot out from Pinkie's mane and landed side by side, all perfectly laid out with sheets and pillows.
"Now! Who's ready to party!?" She yelled pulling out a large cannon from her mane.
All three kaiju glanced uneasily at the mare before backing up to the wall.
She pulled the small cord on it and it shot out a table, punch, cake, confetti and cookies.
"Let's party!" She said picking up a foam cup filled with punch.
"Let's say we did and just go to sleep." Anguirus said lying on the bed he had already claimed.
"No! You deserve a party!" Her mane went flat and straight before her gaze turned icy. "even if you like it or not."
He gulped now seeing why Destroyah was afraid of her. He went over to the punch bowl and picked up the ladle in one claw and a cup in the other.
He took one sip of the drink and his eyes shot open before he knew it he was getting a second, third and fourth.
Orga looked at Anguirus and saw he was starting to move like the pink one. He looked over to the window and started to make his way towards it.
Only to bump into Pinkie.
"Atleast try some cake?" She begged holding out a slice on a plate.
"No. I do not want anything. I'm not hungry." He said backing away.
Her ears lowered, her lips started to squirm and she gave the largest eyes possible with tears on the brim.
"Please? I worked really hard on it. For me?" She asked tucking her front hooves to her chest.
He sighed before sitting in front of the piece of sugary bread.
He lowered his lower jaw and then raised his top one before a fleshy cone unfurled; each tip breaking into two small tips. He lowered his head to the piece and quickly grabbed it.
"Ooh! That's a neat trick! Gummy can do that too!"
"Please never let me eat that again." He shuddered.
"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"
"No. I require the life fluid of another being."
"Life fluid?" She tilted her head to the side.
"Blood. I need blood." He shook again.
Her eyes widened before she pulled out a clump of garlic and nailed him in between the eyes making him blink in confusion.
"Get back you vampony scourge!" She yelled taking out a crossbow.
He raised an eyebrow before lowering his head. He charged his cannon much to her amusement.
"What are you doing now?" She asked setting the weapon down and walking over to him.
He didn't answer, but backed away. She merely shrugged before jumping in and somehow breaking the laws of physics.
The odd sensation made him fire and all he heard was Anguirus eating the cake and Pinkie yelling, whee, before a loud crash left the room filled with smoke.
He looked up and saw a Pinkie shaped hole in the ceiling. Tongue out and all.
"That was fun! Can I do it again!?"
He jumped back before looking at the Pink and singed menace standing in front of him.
He sighed and slumped to the floor in exhaustion. She started to frown and poke him.
"Are you okay Orga?" She asked poking him in the side.
"I just need blood." He whispered out. "Just enough to make a copy to properly survive here."
"Okie dokie lokie! Here!" She stuck out her foreleg.
He merely glanced at her as if she was mad. And then he remembered, she was.
He bit down onto her making her wince but still smile as he started to suck her blood out.
As soon as the first drop entered his entire body felt like a bolt of electricity went through it at a snail's pace.
He let go and started to shake violently. His body started to metamorphosis.
He became slimmer, his teeth grew slightly more sharper and thinner, his cheeks stretched and his tail grew longer.
Anguirus and Pinkie were both smiling like fools.
"What?" Orga asked until noticing his voice was smoother. "Oh no."
"You're a female!" Anguirus laughed at his unfortunate friend.
He was right, Orga was now a mare.
He gave a growl before hitting Anguirus on top of the head.
"Ebirah, look!" The pink mare giggled. "Orga's a mare now!"
The mare on the floor grunted before curling into her bed.
"I'm going to sleep. Do not wake me until sunrise." She growled before putting the pillow over her head.
Pinkie only nodded before grabbing on her fur with her teeth and pulling it off leaving her night gown. She then pulled out her hat and climbed into her bed.
Anguirus climbed into the bed next to Orga and just laid his head on the pillow.
Ebirah, just stood in the corner with Gummy resting on his back.
"Goodnight everypony!" Pinkie yelled before clapping her hoofs together turning off the light.
Soon a loud snoring was echoing off the walls and out the hole in the ceiling.
Morning.
Orga awoke to the sound of a mechanical click. She cracked an eye open and saw Pinkie Pie holding a rectangular box that was dispensing a slip of paper.
"I didn't want to wake you but you two were just so cutesy-wutesy together!" She said picking up the picture. "Awww. Now isn't that just the most adorable thing ever!?"
She tried to get up only to find something lying across her shoulder and chest. She looked down and saw that Anguirus had his arm over her shoulder and his head resting over her lower neck.
"I can't wait to show this to everypony when we all get to see everypony today!" Pinkie squealed.
"No! You mustn't tell anyone of this!" Orga yelled cheeks burning.
"Ahh. Okay! Hey Ebirah what do you think!?" Pinkie asked the lobster pony.
"Jolly good show." |
Equestria: Final Wars | Applejack. | "A'hright here we are. I'll get Mac, Granny and Applebloom. Yall just wait here and not kill anypony." Applejack said going past the gate to Sweetapple Acres.
"We thought that weakling would never leave us." Destroyah said standing upon Biollante's back.
"How long have you been awake?" Biollante asked tilting her side so he would fall.
He slid off and fell onto his snout with a small crunch. He got up with a small stream of green blood coming from his snout.
He shook his head to fling off the blood before glaring at her.
"Do that again and we shall have your head." He hissed.
"Yall won't be havin' anyponies heads while yall are stayin' here."
Destroyah glared at the orange pony before noticing the other three standing behind her.
One was a large red one with a short blonde mane and what looked like a collar on him. A small yellow one, with a large red mane and a large bow. The third was a light green one with white hair tied in a bun and was leaning on a stick with one hoof while throwing a knife with the other.
He realized she threw the weapon and cut it in half through the air with his horn with a twist of his head. She looked shocked by what he just did and started to walk off.
"Granny! What is wrong with you!?" Applejack yelled.
"Those are the things I told yall bout'! But yall thought I'd finally went off my rocker!" She yelled back.
"We shall keep watch over that one. She has gained our interest." Destroyah said.
"Wow... I've never seen anything like yall before. What are yall?" Applebloom asked walking up to Biollante with wide eyes and mouth open.
"We are kaiju. The strongest things to exist before, during and even after our war with humanity." Destroyah answered before walking up to her. "Why is it you ask?"
"I've never seen anything like yall before." She shrugged. "What's your cutie mark mean anyway?"
He looked back at the picture on his flank in disgust, slowly snapping his smaller mouth. "It is the weapon humanity used to create us."
"Humani-what?" She tilted her head.
"Applebloom, could ya quit pestering our guests for a second?" Big Macintosh siad before walking up. "Howdy. Name's Big Macintosh, yall can just call me Mac if it suits ya." He stuck out a hoof.
"Where will we be staying?" Destroyah asked eyeing his hoof with hatred.
"Beg yer pardon?" He replied raising an eyebrow.
"Where shall we be staying?"
"Over in the barn for now. Mah' sister didn't tell me much bout' yall so, who are ya?" He asked more sternly switching his wheat stalk to the other side of his mouth.
"Biollante." She said reaching down with a tendril.
He gave a warm smile and nod before shaking it slowly.
"And you?" He asked Destroyah.
"Destroyah." He snorted before starting to walk away.
"Where do ya think yer goin'?" Applejack asked getting in his way.
"Food." He answered going around her.
"We have plenty to eat at the house. Why not join us for supper?"
"You do not have what we require." He said turning to face her.
"And what is that? I'm sure-"
"Meat."
A lump formed in her throat as her blood ran cold.
"Ah'm sorry, could ya repeat that one more time? Ah didn't quite catch that." She said grinning uneasily while wiping her hoof on her ear.
He walked up to her with a hideous smile that made Applebloom run behind her brother.
"Meat. The flesh of another, the very parts of the living. It is what we live for, to feel the crunch of bone within our maw, the screams of our victims as we dissolve every part from their being and watching as we eliminate every. Last. Breathe from them." He gave a maniacal laugh at the three ponies' faces. "And you, so foolishly led the predator to the nest. We will keep a careful eye on all of you." He snapped his smaller mouth at her making her yelp and fall back.
"Destroyah! That is enough!" Biollante yelled. "They are not food."
"What is wrong with you!? Have you learned nothing!? We feed off of life; we bring death wherever we go. We. Are. Destroyah!" He rose up on his hind legs and let out a stream of micro-oxygen.
Before he knew what had happened, something hit him in the side making him go through a tree and landing on another. He gave a hiss to see Biollante between the ponies and him.
"Please, we do not want to feed on those lower life forms. We will go and hunt for much larger prey. Prey that can fight." He brushed off the splinters and got up. "We know you too, are hungry Biollante. You cannot help but feed, just the same as us. Come, accompany us so we may... talk."
She looked back at the farmers. Applebloom had passed out, Applejack had anger and fear written across her face and Big Mac was angrier than he had ever been.
"If'n yall want to hunt. The forest is that a'way." Mac Pointed towards the Everfree.
Destroyah shrugged his wings and started to walk down the path leading out from the orchard. Biollante shook her head and followed.
When they were atleast a mile away Destroyah turned to Biollante, rage and disappointment in his yellow eyes.
"What has happened to you?" He hissed.
"What has happened to me!? You threatened their lives! And you ask me that?" She snarled.
"You have changed. This world is changing you all; which will make it easier to kill you all later."
"Why is it you need to kill every living being you see? Why is it you hate them so much, Destroyah? They could have killed you earlier, but they helped all of us. And now their giving us a place to rest until they can return us home. Why do you insist to try and kill them?"
"We must. It is what we were made for. Our only purpose is to spread death." He said starting to walk ahead again.
"That is not a reason. That is a choice. Battra, Gigan, Orga, Spacegodzilla and the Ghidorah's have not tried to attack the locals. Because they chose not to. Now, I'm asking you to do the same. For the sake of us all, including you."
"What have we to fear? The Pink one? No, we can wait for another eternity to have that one die. Everything dies. Everything but us." He smiled. "For we bare death itself."
"You are arrogant, stupid and blind. You cannot see the error of your ways. We were at war with humanity, but here, here the ponies help us. They have given us homes and have shown nothing but respect towards us. But not out of fear, out of their own hearts."
"Then, we shall see the, joy, in their heart soon." He chuckled darkly.
"I will keep that from happening. You are not going to cause another war." She said stepping in front of him.
"Tell me; for this still confuses us greatly, why is it you and all the other kaiju see these, things as allies and not food? Nearly all of us eat meat, so why are we not gorging ourselves on their entrails?" He asked leaning forward.
"Maybe we are tired of having to constantly fight, fight to survive. To exist! Maybe, maybe we just want peace. Something you will never comprehend in that small skull of yours, O' mighty Destroyah." She spat.
"Is that a challenge?" He hissed.
"I would say it is. If you fail, then you shall be the only one to return back. If you succeed then you shall stay with us."
"We... accept. How should we go through this? How is it that we shall see things in your way, if we could that is?"
"Let more than the thought of death and destruction into your mind. Do not, threaten or kill any of the ponies or their so called, pets. And you shall begin by apologizing to the farmers family."
"What!? Clearly you are the blind one. They loathe us just as we do them." He snapped.
"After you gave them reason to."
He opened his mouth to reply but found none, so he instead, watched the path in front of them grow more and more overgrown with vegetation.
"I think we're here." Biollante concluded. "Which means there should be food. Let us hurry."
The sounds of animals from crickets to even the hydra in FroggyBottom Bog were heard as the two walked along the dirt path.
Soon, a series of howls and a roar pieced the air, making all other sounds cease. Destroyah looked to Biollante with a deadly glint in his glowing eyes.
More roars were heard and the two sped ahead, first at a trot and then to a full blown gallop. Destroyah cutting through all the vegetation while Biollante went through it as if it was nothing.
They stopped when they both could hear breathing. Slowly Destroyah put his head into a bush and came back grinning.
"There's a large animal surrounded by two others. And the large one is hurt. Very, very badly." He grinned, drool dripping onto the forest floor. "Which is very good for us."
In seconds they both jumped through the bush and into the clearing.
The large animal was larger than Destroyah but smaller than Biollante.
It had a scorpion's tail, a lion's body and a bat's wings. The two other creatures looked like dogs only made of wood.
The two wooden creatures forgot their prey and went after Destroyah, who only grinned wickedly before firing a bolt of micro-oxygen through the first head. The second stopped and looked to its fallen comrade before giving a loud growl and charged again.
It jumped for Destroyah's neck but was stopped when Destroyah's crescent tail pincer was coiled around its neck where he held him in the air.
Biollante watched as he easily took care of the wooden wolves. She turned her gaze towards the manticore, who was unfortunate enough to be wounded in front of her.
She examined it closely. It looked like it was cut across the side, the cut itself wasn't deep. She smiled before running at it.
It gave a roar of its own and ran forward too.
Their heads collided for only a second as the manticore was thrown into the air.
It regained its senses and flapped its wings to regain balance. There in the air, it launched forward and landed on her back.
It started to claw and bite; she roared in pain and reached up with her tendrils. Each one eliciting a roar of pain from the creature as she threw it against the rock wall it was again cornered at.
It got up dazed, but had enough sense to try and fly away. She saw its wings start to move and arched her head back.
It suddenly felt pain, pain all over its body and it was spreading. Biollante had covered it in her extremely corrosive acid.
She watched as it ate away at the wings and skin before moving in.
She took one half in her mouth and bit down, cutting it in half. She held the other with her tendrils as she swallowed the first and then put the second piece into her maw.
She looked back to see Destroyah had sunken his smaller mouth into the wolf's underside and the color in its eyes fade.
"That was satisfying." He said pulling out his smaller mouth yellow blood dripping off from his jaws "Very satisfying." He laughed darkly.
"Then let us go back." She said, blood still dripping off of her lips as she talked.
He slung the corpse over his back and started to walk.
As they walked back through the forest he thought about what she had said earlier.
"Feelings... how do we know what different ones are?" He asked himself.
He looked up to Biollante, already with a lump in where his stomach is, if he had one.
"Biollante, what are feelings?" He asked sourly.
"Feelings? What is it you feel when you kill?" She replied brushing a log away with a tendril.
"We feel... warm inside. Why?"
"Than that is joy. You obviously know anger, fear and disgust. All that leaves is sadness and love." She smiled before talking again. "Although I will never see you finding love."
"Love... what does love feel like?" He looked at the ground in thought.
"Love, feels like joy, only greater. Much greater." She said looking at him. "Who knows, maybe you could fall for me?"
His head snapped up, his cheeks turning crimson and his eyes narrowed.
"Do not speak of such foolishness! We will never fall for anyone! Why should you be any different?"
"You obviously seem lonely. And you have no chance with Mothra, Battra or Rodan, so that leaves me."
He thought about what she said with a wide mouth before a thought struck his mind.
"What if we are able to make... friends? " He shuddered. " With the life giver, Mothra? Surely she and Caesar could help us. " He thought.
Soon they both saw lights ahead and were approaching the acres again.
Biollante nudged Destroyah in the side as they both saw Applejack sitting on the porch.
He gave a sigh and walked up to her.
"W-What do ya want now? Come to scar us some more?" She said defensively.
He reached around with his tail pincer and grabbed the hollow frame of the Timberwolf and set it down in front of her.
"We are giving this as a... gift. For our earlier actions. Consider this an apology for your family."
Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water before she started to speak again.
"K-Keep it. We don't have no need for any animal's body... what did yall hunt out there?" She looked at him.
He only stared in surprise.
"You do not accept our gift? Giving prey to another is how kaiju show good will towards others. Did we do something to offend you?" He asked tilting his head to the side.
"We... we don't give bodies to other ponies to make up. Just-we just apologize, with our words. Please, if'n yall could just take that away. I don't want Applebloom seeing that." She nudged the corpse towards him with a hoof.
He leaned down and bit back in with his smaller mouth before red sparks began to cover the wolf's frame and it dissolved like what was inside it before.
Applejack stared in interest and horror.
"We shall go and rest in for the night." He said before looking around. "Where is this, barn?" He asked.
"Just over there." She pointed over to a large red painted building next to the house.
He nodded and tried to give a smile, but that only made her gulp.
"Applejack, tell the others that we are sorry for earlier."
She nodded and walked back inside.
Both Destroyah and Biollante walked into the worn out barn.
"It seems better than a cave." She said lying down onto her side.
"We would prefer a bed of fire." He said getting down against her.
She raised her head at him doing so and narrowed her eyes.
"Why are you laying against me?" She asked, Tendrils ready to strike.
"The night is cold and without our full power, we are weaker to it. We need warmth. Now let us rest." He said resting his head on one of her claws.
She laid her head down and wrapped him in two tendrils making a blanket for him so he wouldn't be cold.
Soon both former kaiju were asleep.
But not noticing the pink pony wearing a black turtle neck, night vision goggles and a rope around her waist as she took a picture.
"Another one for the scrap book!" She silently whispered to herself before jumping into a barrel. |
Equestria: Final Wars | Rarity. | The small circular building was pink, light pink, white, blue and yellow. It looked more like a circus tent.
"Alright, I'll have to have Sweetiebelle sleep with me for the time being. You two can have her room." She said lifting up the welcome mat and retrieving a key.
She opened the door and let the two kaiju enter.
Rodan perched herself on a couches arm rest. Spacegodzilla was struggling momentarily with the door frame, his shoulder crystals wedged in the frame.
"So, now that were here does anypony have any questions?" Rarity asked locking the door behind her.
"What is it you do?" Spacegodzilla asked.
"I'm a seamstress. I make clothes for a living and sell them to the nobility and the residents here in Ponyville. You must have noticed the amount of crystals here?"
Spacegodzilla looked around, he saw many crystals from white to even black in color.
"I do not care for them as much as my own crystals." He said.
"I wanted to ask you about that actually. How do you make them?" She tilted her head.
"Why would you want to know?"
"I just think they're fabulous. Look at them, there white as pearls, smooth as a freshly cut diamond and foreign. They're truly remarkable."
"You... you enjoy my crystals?" He asked surprised.
"Why wouldn't I? What's not to love?" She said fluttering her eyelashes. "Now enough chit chat. I take it you two must be hungry?"
"Yes, I had not eaten before the battle which brought me and the others here."
Rodan gave a nod in response.
"Why don't you make yourselves at home while I go fix dinner? And Rodan, be careful of Opal, she likes birds." Rarity said trotting into the kitchen.
"I think I may enjoy this world even more than the small rock of one before. They respect and care for my glorious crystals as all should. What do you think Rodan?"
She gave a nod before perching herself onto Spacegodzilla's back.
There was a knock at the door before it swung open and in came a small white filly. She had a white mane with pink highlight's and green eyes. Which were staring at Spacegodzilla.
"H-Hi..." She said meekly.
"Hello." He said looking back at the mini-marshmallow.
She made a squeak before her eyes rolled up into her skull and she fell onto her side.
"Sweetieblle? Was that you?" Rarity called from the kitchen.
"Is she a small white and pink pony, like you?" Spacegodilla asked as he levitated her onto the couch.
"Yes. Why?" She asked coming out from the kitchen with freshly made salads. "The poor dear must have had such a rough day, she can't even stay awake." Rarity cooed.
"Yes... that's it." He said.
"So, why don't we learn a few things about each other? Rodan, why don't you start?"
The kaiju turned bird gave her a blank stare.
"Right, you're a bird now. Spacegodzilla, why don't you share something?" She asked before taking a bite of salad.
"I was made by a scale from Godzilla when it was blasted into space during one of his battles. After I started to reform, I collected many crystals as I went through numerous wormholes. And then, I went back to that small rock called Earth. That's everything."
She merely blinked before nodding.
"Not exactly what I meant, but alright. What was it you were trying to do though? When you went back?"
"I tried to tear the very planet apart and spread my crystals. Only, I suffered defeat at the combined forces of the old Godzilla and the human's weapons." He snarled remembering the fight. "They destroyed my crystals, nearly killed me and left me powerless when they destroyed my shoulder crystals. I managed to send away a small sample of my scales into space before my predecessor was killed."
"You poor thing. I understand why they did what they did, but killing you? Absolutely barbaric, uncouth and very unprofessional." She spat. "The nerve of some ponies."
"You feel sorrow for my defeat?" he asked curious.
"Of course! After all, everypony deserves a chance to redeem themselves for their crimes."
He merely looked at her, blinking before beginning to eat his salad again.
"So, what were the others like?" She asked.
He blinked in confusion at her question.
"The... others?"
"Yes, the ones that were... killed. What were they like?"
"I cannot tell you. I was made after many of them had perished. You must ask Godzilla or Zilla yourself." He took another bite of his salad.
"Spacegodzilla, would it be alright if I were to call you something else? It's just the name is a slight mouthful to say in a conversation."
"Yes, you may."
"May I call you Space then?"
He thought for a moment before giving a nod.
"Splendid. So then Space, how has your stay here been so far?"
"More comforting than the last two. Aside from Destroyah. His blindness will be the death of him." He shook his head.
"Why is it he wants to kill everything in sight?"
"He does not know anything more than death. He didn't when he was formed and he probably won't now."
"I feel slightly bad for him." She sighed before looking out the window. "So, it seems as Luna's deciding on lowering the moon now, why don't we all go to bed now?" She asked as she levitated the dishes from the table and went back into the kitchen.
Space Godzilla felt something nudge him in thee side and he saw Sweetiebelle moving.
"Rarity? Sis? What happened? I thought I saw a monster in the living... room." She stared at Spacegodzilla with wide eyes.
"You are correct, you did see a monster." Spacegodzilla said. "You have no need to fear me though. I mean no harm." He looked at Sweetieble. "Unless the inhabitants decide to react violently then i will cover this world in my crystals and tear it apart."
Sweetiebelle only stared before slowly trotting up the stairs where soon after, a thud was heard from above.
"Space, what was that?" Rarity asked walking back out.
"I think it was sweetiebelle." He said looking up at the ceiling.
"That silly little filly, she just over reacted, that's all. Come along, let's all get some rest. Shall we?" She smiled.
"Yes, rest is something that has avoided us for years." Spacegodzilla yawned showing every pointed tooth.
They all went up, step by step. Rarity turned around a corner and went into a room, she came out with Sweetiebelle on her back.
"You'll be staying in her room, she'll be with me. Goodnight." Rarity gave one last smile before going into her room across the hall.
The two former kaiju went in and looked around.
The room was white, pink and had some blue to it. The bed was white, big and poufy.
Spacegodzilla sighed and got into it.
It was comfortable and stable, soft and warm.
In minutes the kaiju turned pony was fast asleep, Rodan lying atop his head, wings covering the sides and head over the front of his eyes.
"Aww. They look so funny!" Pinkie whispered before taking a picture.
She then climbed back into the small horseshoe box at the end of the bed. |
Equestria: Final Wars | Fluttershy. | The small dirt path had very few overgrown patches, although it had many paw and hoof prints and the occasional claw print from the town's local drake.
Fluttershy kept her gaze at the ground in front of her as she silently walked in between the three former kaiju.
Mothra at her left, Caesar on her right and Battra on his right.
Soon a small cottage came into view. It was small, had multiple bird houses, a double one door, straw roofing and a little bridge with a small stream running under it.
"Here we are. Just let me get Angel... if that's alright with you all of course?" Fluttershy asked.
She nearly suffocated when Caesar put a paw on her shoulder. She looked up with dilated pupils and saw him giving a small smile.
"You need not ask young pegasus." He said. "We are your guests, you do as you see fit." He gently rapped the door and waited.
It opened and, all except Fluttershy, saw no one until they looked down.
A small white rabbit was glaring pure hell fire at the three former kaiju, which turned into cotton balls when he saw his owner leaning down to nuzzle him.
"Angel, were going to be having guests for a little while. If you could, could you help me set up the guest beds?" She asked smiling.
His beady eyes switched back to her and the kaiju before giving a sigh and salute.
"Please, wipe your hooves and... paws before you come in. if you don't mind that is...?"
Caesar gave a small laugh before wiping his paws on the small mat and entering.
The inside was painted a faint yellow; there was a small green couch, a small table, a bookcase in the back, a red rug with a golden leaf pattern stitched in and a bird house with a small ramp.
"You have a lovely home, Miss Fluttershy." Mothra said as she looked around.
The mare blushed and hid behind her mane.
"It is much better than the cave i had to sleep in for those thousands of years." He chuckled dryly.
"You slept in a cave for a thousand years!?" Fluttershy said. "That's horrible."
"It was more of a meditation." He sighed. "It was very disturbing when I awoke though. Rock flew everywhere." He smiled.
"Well... would any of you like some tea? I mean it is almost night, but tea does help calm the nerves." She said.
"That would be lovely. Thank you." Mothra said bowing.
As she left Angel came hopping back.
He stopped in front of the three former kaiju and glared.
"Hello small one. It is very nice to meet you." Mothra said extending a hoof. "My name is Mothra, and I already know you Angel."
He looked at her hoof before making multiple gestures. He put his paws around his mouth and moved them up and down before he raised them high and started to stomp in place, and ending with pointing a small white digit at them.
"You think of us as monsters?" Caesar said without emotion. "In a way you are correct."
Angel cocked his head to the side.
"We are considered to be monsters, but some of us mean no harm. We only mean to defend." He said. "You have nothing to fear about us hurting your care taker."
He continued glaring before giving a nod and saluting as he went to hop away.
"Alright, the tea is very hot so you should probably blow on it. If you want to that is...?" Fluttershy asked as she balanced a tray on her wings. "It's peach and cherry blossom." She said as she put it down on her small table.
Each of them took a cup. Mothra and Battra having slight trouble holding it, while Caesar had the advantage with his paws.
"Thank you for the tea. It was very lovely." Mothra bowed and gently put her cup back onto the tray.
"Yes, it was the only I had ever gotten the chance to taste." Caesar said as he placed his back onto the tray.
"It was... refreshing." Battra said.
"Was there something wrong with it?" Fluttersy asked worriedly.
"No, nothing was wrong. It is just that I am slightly hungry. I have not eaten when me and my sister fought alongside each other." She said.
"I could get a salad made if you like or some soup or-" Fluttershy was getting up before Battra silenced her.
"I feed on meat actually." Battra said in a matter of fact tone.
"Oh... ok. Would you like some fish?" She asked hiding behind her mane.
"You have fish here?" Mothra asked surprised.
"I have to. I take care of animal's that have to feed on meat, so I always have a fresh supply." She said. "Would you care for any?"
Mothra's face turned even whiter as she violently shook her head.
"I'll be right back. Angel could you show them to their beds please?" She asked the small rabbit who was watching from a bird house.
She went to go get the fish while Angel. Hopped down from his perch and pointed to a door in the back.
The three of them got up and proceeded through the door.
The room was small, yellow, had two windows, a closet and had three beds set up.
Caesar took the one on the floor while Mothra and Battra took the larger, plusher one.
"This is better than a cave." Caesar chuckled. "Much better."
"I do not mean to be rude, but I think I preferred my cocoon." Mothra said. "But this is nice too."
"It's better than being trapped beneath the merciless ocean." Battra sighed.
Mothra draped a wing over her brother before giving a comfortable nuzzle.
"I hope I'm not interrupting... am I?" Fluttershy asked from the door way, in her mouth she was holding a small plastic bag.
Battra got up and stopped in front of her before taking the bag gently from her grasp and sticking his head in. Crunching and slurping sounds were made before he retracted it and crumpled the bag up.
She picked up he bag, said a quick 'Goodnight.' To them and left.
Mothra blew out a candle and laid her head down over her brother's neck. Caesar was snoring slightly as he lay on the floor.
"Wow, he needs a humidifier for that." Pinkie said before taking a picture. She looked at it confused and looked back to the bed.
Two large, red eyes were narrowed at her. Piercing through her baby blues through the darkness.
She giggled nervously before jumping out the window. |
Death and Dying | pre | "Yes, let's move." Golden Heart and Luna flew down to where the disturbance seemed to originate from.
Upon landing, the tow noticed the island was made up entirely of black rock. There was a cave in the middle of the island.
"Luna, we should see what is in that cave. It may take us to the dark energy. Be ready, the scent is growing stronger."
Luna looked at Golden Heart grimly.
"Ready?"
Golden Heart and Luna headed into the cave, ready to take on anything.
Inside the cave was entirely dark, but there was a small light at the very end of the tunnel.
"Luna, I see a light! But we must be carefulb the dark energy is at the peak of its might." Golden Heart peered at Luna through the darkness. "Once we get out, we must be ready for whatever is at that light."
Golden Heart and Luna made it to the other side and saw something that surprised them.
A bright light stood in the middle of the cave.
Sitting there is an angel.
He was a simple pegasus stallion, except for the halo over his head.
Golden Heart inspected the angel. "Who are you?"
The angel turned around..
"I am Glabarious. Passing through the light will bring you to the mad realm, a place that even Discord cannot go. There, you will find the being responsible for the deaths of the ponies."
"I hope so. I made a promise to Twilight to find who is killing the ponies."
"Well, step through if you wish."
Luna stepped up. "I will go."
Luna trotted through the light.
Golden Heart clenched his teeth. "Soon you will be sorry for what you did."
And he stepped through the light. |
Death and Dying | Hellscape | The world was hazy for Big Mac. The center of his vision was focused, but the further to the sides he looked, the hazier it got. It hurt his head to look in those directions.
Elijah was standing in front of him.
"Come on. You'll be fine. It's just Demon Chills. You probably contracted it when the demon-Applejack jumped on you."
Big Mac attempted to take another step, but the whole world turned sideways, and the hot rocks of hell rushed up to greet his face in a painful highfive of sorts.
Elijah sighed, and walked over Big Mac and helped him back up.
"Come on. I know it's bad now, but the only way to get over it is to keep fighting. If you rest for too long, it takes over your body, and your soul is eaten away."
This motivated Big Mac to get up and try walking again, but he only got three steps before throwing up.
Elijah rolled his eyes.
"Come on. Get a hold of yourself. We can get you through this..."
Big Mac's hearing became filled with a ringing noise. How easy and reliving it would be just to lay down...
A brunt force hit Big Mac in his stomach, and he was forced to his feet.
"No. I'm not letting you fall. Just concentrate on following me, and everything will be fine."
Big Mac focused on Elijah's face, blonde hair obscuring one of his eyes.
"Ok. Steady... just put on hoof after the other."
Big Mac nearly tripped again, and stumbled, almost falling into a lava pool, but steadied himself.
"Ok, good... now follow me..."
Big Mac followed the human, past lava pools and sulphur pits, acid fall and ruins, until they reached a hill that pulsated and vibrated as though alive.
"Alright, climb that hill. Be careful though..."
Big Mac put his hoof to the hill. It not only moved as though it were alive, it also... felt alive. It was fleshy and had veins running through it.
Slowly, he climbed up it, and upon reaching the top of the hill, saw something that amazed and terrified him equally.
A huge, winged animal of some sort was flying towards him. It opened its mouth, and a fiery ball flew forth it kill Big Mac.
This is, if Elijah hadn't shoved him down the hill and took the whole fireball to his chest.
"FUCK!" elijah screamed, and fell down the hill. His shirt was burned off, and his chest charred and blackened, almost like it was a piece of meat someone had dropping in the fire of an oven.
"THAT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHIRTS, YOU PRICK!"
Elijah grabbed Big Mac, and dragged him down a crevice, and through a small tunnel, eventually reaching a small but sturdy looking shack.
Elijah looked down at Big Mac. He was pale, and breathing heavily.
"Crap."
Elijah though him down on a table, and injected him with a needle. Immediately, Big Mac could feel himself becoming stronger, and the world shifted back into focus.
"Good, it worked," Elijah said, his eyes rolling into his head as he passed out onto the floor.
Big Mac examined the charred skin. It looked bad. He owed Elijah his... what was it? Life? Afterlife? Anyway, he owed him something, and he was going to help him.
Big Mac grabbed the burn cream and lathered it against Elijah's chest. Elijah murmured something about potatoes in his unconsciousness, then was quiet.
Big Mac then peeled the burned skin off to reveal the shiny underskin. He grabbed some bandages, and managed to apply them after a few minutes. Then, he set Elijah on the table, and waited.
A few minutes later, Elijah's eyes opened.
"Damn, I liked that shirt. Big Mac, go get some mushrooms from out back. I'm going to make stew after I get some Bloodwater from a spring near some cliffs a few minutes away."
Big Mac nodded, and headed out back.
Elijah sighed, removed the bandages, washed himself down, applied new ones, and put on his "Nirvana" shirt.
"Nothing better happen to this one."
Big Mac looked at the strange mushroom garden Elijah cultivated. There were brown ones, red speckled ones, blue ones, and these strange technicolored tie-dye ones that gave Big Mac a headache from just looking at it.
He settled on the brown and red speckled ones, and gathered them up. Elijah never said how many, so he decided to take ten of each.
Easier said than done. It took some effort to dig them out of the rocky ground, and bucking them only yielded a broken mushroom.
After about an hour, Big Mac had all the mushrooms, then trotted back to the house.
Approaching the house, he heard Elijah say "Hey, Big Mac, you have the mushrooms for the stew?"
"Eeyup!" he answered, the entered the house.
There he saw somepony he had hoped to never see again.
His eyes going red with anger, he leapt upon Nirvana, intent on choking all the life out of him. |
Death and Dying | Been a Son | Applejack had lost count of how long she had been held in here, not that there was rational time in Limbo, anyway.
She had been thrown into the dungeons shortly after her meeting with Discord, and now, she had no idea when she would escape. She assumed that she would be stuck here for the rest of her life, when a life-changing event happened to her.
Octavia was thrown in her cell.
Applejack gasped "You're that music mare! Ah've seen some of yer shows! But how'd you end up here?"
Octavia's mouth opened in awe. "You're one of the elements! I heard you had died, and then... I was killed in an explosion."
Applejack and Octavia were quiet for a long time. They had nothing more to say to each other, just lamenting the fact that they were trapped in this dark dungeon with little else to do. Some time passed, but neither were sure how much. They just knew that it was a very, very long time.
Then, the unexpected happened. A droode opened the cell door.
"Master Discord wishes to see you up in his throne room."
The two earth ponies were escorted to the throne room of the mad king. Discord was juggling a ball of water, a chainsaw, and three shoes.
"Ah, good, the ponies have arrived! Come, I have a little something to show you!"
Applejack refused to move any closer to Discord. "Ah'll have nothin' to do with yah, Discord!"
Discord smirked. "Come on now, don't be difficult..."
Applejack responded to this by spitting on the Lord of Chaos. The droodes became agitated, and moved in on Applejack, but Discord halted them.
"Please, why do you insist on being so difficult? I wish to show you information that could help you greatly..."
Applejack continued to refuse Discord's advancements. Discord sighed. "Oh well, I guess we'll just have to-"
"Hello, Discord. Lovely day, isn't it?"
Discord and the two ponies looked over at the voice. A blonde haired human with a black t-shirt with the word "nirvana" written on it, and several gashes on his forehead and arms staggered up the grand throne room hall.
"Ah, hello, Elijah, my favorite child. How are you today?"
"Don't try that crap on me! Screwball's always been your favorite!"
Discord sighed and rolled his eyes. "I suppose you're right. At least she doesn't bitch at me."
The human glared at his apparent father. "You didn't leave Screwball with a psychotic bitch who tried to kill her!"
"Well, your mother does have a temper, and to be fair, you are my son. She hates me with a passion."
"I never understood why you two even got together." The human pulled out a cigarette and light it.
"Smoking's bad for you," Discord pointed out.
"Fuck off."
Discord sighed yet again, and got off his throne, addressing his captives. "Now see, this here is a prime example of why you shouldn't have children. I've had Elijah for over 1000 years, and he's just been a pain in my ass!"
Elijah grabbed his father and shoved him back into his throne. "You let these ponies go immediately, or else I'll-"
Discord smirked. "Or else what? You know I'm more powerful then you. So what you've been in literal Hell for a couple centuries? I've been here, and I've gotten much more powerful. It's a wonder how those six mares took me down. When I get unleashed once more, I'll be more powerful than you'll ever imagine."
Elijah blew out the smoke from the cigarette, but it was not smoke, but rather water, spiraling, free of gravity, slowly traversing the direction in which the human had expelled the liqued away from him. "It's funny, how you think that."
And everything changed.
Well, not everything. But on major thing.
Eris sighed her ever persistent sigh. "Well. That was uncalled for."
Samantha shrugged. "Well, I learned it while I was down in hell, mom, what did you expect. Dad did banish me there, and I wasn't going to just sit down there and let hellrats eat my face off slowly."
Applejack and Octavia felt... off. They were heavier, especially towards the back, and their faces... felt wider, somehow.
Eris chuckled, and poured herself some chocolate milk, the milk filling up from the top as per norm with her. "Care for a drink, sweetheart?" Samantha flipped her mother the finger that resided in the middle of all the others on her hand. Eris smirked and drank the glass. "Suit yourself." The chocolate milk was thrown by the older female, and it hit the younger one right in the face. The resulting explosion, Applejack and Octavia were sure of it, had killed the girl.
And everything was back to normal. Except, the human wasn't there, instead, a carbon copy of Discord with a smaller beard was laying on the ground, brushing the debris from his face. Discord shook his head sadly.
"Well, I was certain that would have done it. Oh well. I guess your mother was right. You don't go down easy."
Elijah shifted back into his human form. "I am going to take these two, and you can't stop me, neither you nor Eris, dad, so don't even try to-"
Discord coughed up a large bouquet of flowers, which he lit on fire with his spit, and threw it on the ground as it turned into cotton candy. "Sorry. You were saying?"
Elijah looked disgusted at his father's lack of interest in his attempts to intimidate him. "I'm taking the mares and leaving, and you can't stop me."
Discord shrugged. "Whatever. They'll be much safer here. Far away from all that trouble you always manage to cause..."
Elijah grabbed the chains that bound Octavia and Applejack, and they melted, first into vines, then into snakes, and finally, into orange juice, which fell to the floor and froze solid. It was a very unpleasant experience. Applejack and Octavia were at first unsure of what to do, then followed Elijah as he walked out.
"Big Mac! Nirvana! I got them!" Elijah shouted, and Applejack felt her heart skip a beat. Did he just say-
A big red stallion trotted into view, accompanied by the smaller, black one that had also the misfortune to be thrown into this crazy madmare's tale. Applejack's face broke into a huge grin, and she rushed up to huge her brother, and kissed him on his nose. "Ah'd thought Ah'd nev'r see yah again!"
Octavia smiled slightly at this display of sibling love, when she heard a voice behind her. "Oh, and music mare..." She turned around, to see Eris smiling at her. "I have something special planned for you, don't you worry." |
Death and Dying | Your Pain | The bright light took Golden Heart and Luna to a place of existence that was... flat, to say the least. A long, flat plane consistent of a silvery-grey metal, with a two small camp-like fairly close by.
"I feel as though we are close to the killer... but why do I feel as though I have felt this presence before?" Golden Heart said, more to himself then his companion, and walked around. The sky, if one could call it that, was black. Just one simple, flat color.
Suddenly, the smell of burning ozon assailed the two alicorns nostrils, and a rift, one could call it, opened up. From the rift entered four ponies and a human.
"See! I told you I wouldn't get us killed again!" The human smiled at his apparent creation, and then closed the rift.
Golden Heart eyes the human suspeciously. "I've seen your kind before... in old books."
The human laughs. "Oh, I'm not really a human. Just my real form... I ain't proud of it. And I'm not a changeling, so don't get any ideas."
Luna was staring in awe of the human. The human gave Luna an odd look. "Well, what are you-"
The princess of the night rushed over and hugged the human. "Elijah! You're alive! I thought you died when... nevermind! THOU ART ALIVE!" The last part was bellowed in the royal canterlot voice. Elijah, as the human was called, looked at Luna in surprise.
"Aunt Luna? You look... different."
Luna smiled. "Well, yes, as you may recall, I was banished to the moon."
Elijah smiled, and disengaged himself from the alicorn's grasp. Wandering around, he examined the first camp, which was full of medical supplies. Varying from heart/lung machines to sergical tape, the camp had it all.
"Weird... I guess the inhabitants of this dimension were killed or evacuated before they could take their medical equipment... oh, hey, a scalpel."
Immediately after the scalpel was removed, a large image started to flicker in the sky, akin to a giant TV screen. Up upon the screen was Princess Celestia eating a slice of cake. Looking down, she seemed to be able to see the beings below her. Then, everypony realized it was a live feed.
"Oh. Elijah. You're still alive. Why am I not surprised?"
Octavia looked very confused. "Why would Princess Celestia be here? Also, how did she know Elijah's name?" Big Macintosh shrugged.
Elijah's face contorted in anger. "It'll take a lot more then banishing me to hell to kill me, mom. Stop just throwing away your problems and deal with them! If you want to kill me, kill me right!"
Golden Heart looked up at the Princess in shock and horror.
"YOU ARE THE KILLER! HOW DARE YOU MATE WITH THE MONSTER YOU LOATH SO MUCH! HOW DARE YOU KILL PONIES FOR YOUR OWN AMUSEMENT! HOW DARE YOU MAKE TWILIGHT SPARKLE CRY!"
Princess Celestia laughed. "Oh, Golden Heart, we've been friends so long, surely you'd remember my personality disorder. Fortunately, I managed to defeat and suppress the 'kind' princess, and now I will always be here. ALWAYS."
Golden Heart was seething in anger now. "WHEN I GET OUT, I'LL KILL YOU, AND DISCORD! AND ELIJAH, YOU'RE NEXT!"
Elijah cocked an eyebrow. "Me? What did I do?"
Celestia giggled. "You do realize none of your are TRULY dead. Just like how Twilight Sparkle didn't truly die-"
"Actually, I resurrected her, remember?" Elijah interjected.
"Don't interrupt me, brat. The point being... I put you through all of this for my entertainment, and you delivered! Well, except Nirvana, he was going to kill himself anyway. But I saved him and transported him here. But all of you are very much alive, and still killable."
"Wait... how is that possible, Ah saw mah sister's body at the fune'al," Big Macintosh said, confused.
"Oh, you silly farmer worker, don't you realize that if I can raze the sun and deliver you all here, it would be one of the simpler things to make decoys and immediately replace your bodies with them? Well, except Octavia, she was blown to bits, I didn't have to worry about that."
"Why are yah doin' this, Princess?" Applejack asked, looking at the crazed goddess in pain and betrayle.
"Simple.I got bored. Tired, sick of it all. And I decided to mix things up a bit. Now die."
Upon those words, and explosion rocked the whole island, if that's what it could be called. Golden Heart threw up a protection spell just in time, which also shielded Big Macintosh and Octavia, but didn't reach Luna and the others in time. Elijah, who was at the epicenter of the explosion, somehow walked out of the rubble of what used to be the medical camp totally fine, save for the fact his left arm was twisted all the way around. With a sickening crunch, he twisted it back into position, wincing from the pain.
"Shit! She destroyed all of the medical equipment... except this!" The human held up the scalpel and two painkiller needles, one of which was cracked.
Luna lay on the ground, a chuck on metal imbedded deep in her chest. Nirvana was twitching, his eyes darting madly around, crying from the amount of pain he was in. Bruises appeared along his lower abdomen, indicating internal bleeding and possible fracturing. One of Applejack's ribs poked out from her body, and a piece of unidentifiable shrapnel had left an extremely deep cut along her lower stomach before burying itself into her left kidney region.
"What are we going to do?" Golden Heart said, looking over the injured ponies. "Wait! I know a healing spell!" Princess Celestia's image laughed.
"Nice try. I thought of that. Have fun without your magic!" Golden Heart attempted to heal the ponies, but to no avail.
"Well, guess we're going to have to go old fashion style!" Elijah held up the scalpel and grinned. |
The Crystal Empire of Flutterdash | pre | "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy! What are you two doing here?" Rarity asked fromt the protective embrace of Applejack.
Pinkie bounded up to the two pegasi. "Oh! I know, I know! You two were stripping down to do something private weren't you?" A cheeky grin covered the random party pony's face.
"N-No....!" Fluttershy squeaked, shaking her head. "We just...we wanted to take the armour off since it was very heavy..."
"Ah know... Ol' Pinks was jus' being silly, wernt ya Pinkie Pie?" The farmer threw the culprit a menacing stare.
"Who me?" Pinkie fell on the floor giggling. "I'm always silly, silly!"
"Well for your information, you guys, I just don't want Fluttershy to be that scared and start panicking, that's all," Dash said matter-of-factly.
Fluttershy nodded, blushing heavily. "Yes..."
"I can tell, anything like that can wait til we are back in Ponyville." Rarity interjected as she nuzzled a blushing Applejack. "I think we should go and check on the Princess though. I have a dreadful feeling that she is feeling most poorly."
"You guys go ahead, we'll be right there!"
"Awright, we'll be out with 'em on tha' balcony," said Applejack. "Let's go, y'all... Ah hope Twi's got somethin' up her sleeve."
"Where is that unicorn?" Dash asked from within the loving hold of her fillyfriend.
"I do believe she and Spike are gone to find the Crystal Heart..." Rarity responded thoughtfully as the the other ponies left the room to rejoin the Prince and Princess on the balcony of the palace.
"That pony's going to steal my spot and defeat King Sombra isn't she?" Dash was growing more even more annoyed. "I think I need to head up there and show everypony that nopony can beat me."
"Rainbow, please, no!" Fluttershy cried. "Stay here with us!"
"They'll slow me down. Come on Fluttershy!" Dash extracted herself from the hold of desperate mare.
"W-Wait! No...!" Squeaked the terrified pony.
Rainbow followed her other friends out onto the balcony where Rarity and Applejack were engaged, trying to calm the crystal ponies below.
A very sad Fluttershy followed her fillyfriend out only to have the bold pegasus back away from her, placing Pinkie Pie in between them like some kind of shield. Fluttershy let out a sigh of resignation 'She doesn't want to be with me now...'
Just then, the magic from the royal alicorn ran out, Cadence almost fainted as her last reserves failed her to the cruel laughter from the evil king. Ponies below cried out in panic.
"Well then I'll just have to go on my own! You stay there, on that balcony! I'll be able to keep an eye on you there Flutters." Dash lept up and gave her partner a parting kiss on the muzzle, before turning to gallop off, ready to fly into battle.
"Nooooooooooo!" Fluttershy yelled in anguish, reaching toward her in vain. But it was too late. She was gone. And nothing would change her mind. She wouldn't even catch up to her fast enough. "...Rainbow..."
Tears in her eyes, but trying to fight them back, the saddened pegasus slowly trudged over and sat at the back of the balcony trying to put the horryfying sounds from below out of her mind.
'This is going to be it, isn't it...? Are we really doomed? ...Rainbow...please come back here...at least stay with me...with us...to the end...' Fluttershy thought.
A cry from above caused the distraught mare to pull out of her distressed state. Fluttershy recognized it...it was Spike! He had the crystal heart! Her own heart did a leap, maybe things would work out okay after all.
A deadly roar sounded from below, "That is mine!"
Fluttershy 'eeped!' in fear and rushed off. She had to find Rainbow Dash, that was the only pony who could protect her. She couldn't let this go on, not like this. She couldn't let Rainbow go out there against this...this thing all by herself.
"Rainbow...! Rainbow...! Rainbow Dash where are you?! Rainbow!" Fluttershy yelled into the corridors inside, frantically trying to find her. "Rainbow!!"
"Fluttershy!" The equally panicked call from above reached her ears.
A burst of relief coursed through the frightened pegasus. "Rainbow...! Rainbow, I'm here! I'm here! Come back here, please! Please...! Don't leave me!"
Without any warning, a rainbow streak appeared, crashing into Fluttershy and sent both pegasi tumbling.. "I'm so sorry Fluttershy!" Dash cried, hugging her fillyfriend. "I shouldn't have left you. Now King Sombra's free! I need to get us both to safety."
"Let's go...to the balcony...if nothing else, we have to support Princess Cadence..." Fluttershy whispered, her voice shaking as she clung tightly to her lover. Tears poured down her cheeks as she buried her face in her neck.
"But Cadence failed! You saw that." Dash tried to defend her position as tears dampened her coat.
"But what happens if we can help again. You know... like we did in the arena with the crystal ponies. Our love might be able to help her." The shaking yellow mare pleaded. "It's...it's a long shot...but it's something we can do to try to help... I love you.... Rainbow I love you... And...and....my answer is yes."
"Yes?" The bold mare replied without understanding.
Fluttershy smiled through her tears, laying their foreheads together as she embraced her beloved. "....I'll marry you, Rainbow..."
A massive cheeky grin washed away the shy pony's fears.
"Oh yes?! I would love that!!" She leaned in and planted a kiss upon Fluttershy's glowing face. "Now lets go! We've got a princess to save!" She galloped off with her lover and future wife in tow.
"Yes!" Fluttershy agreed, feeling a whole new sense of confidence and excitement. Things were really looking up after all, and it just took a little moment of love. Even if a little. She too felt prepared to face this, no matter what would happen.
The pegasus couple burst back out onto the balcony only to spot the failed alicorn.
"Dash? What do we do?" Fluttershy pleaded.
I know. Come here you!" The bold warrior grabbed her shy lover and pulled her into a sweet kiss that froze time.
xxxxx
"Oh Rainbow. I'm so happy that worked." Crystal Fluttershy nuzzled her equally crystalized fillyfriend.
Crystal Rainbow Dash grinned widely, nuzzling her back. She admired just how amazingly beautiful Fluttershy looked as a crystal pony. If she'd been so adorably beautiful in the past, it just increased, tenfold.
"Hey Fluttershy. You should soo get Cadence to do this at our wedding. It makes you really shine. As in... I can hardly keep my hooves off you kind of shine." She nudged her crystal companion gently, knowingly.
Amazingly, Crystal Fluttershy blushed heavily and giggled, "And you look gorgeous as well, Rainbow... Hee...I think we should get Princess Cadence to do this again..."
"Me? I'm awesome. But I'll let you confuse that with good looking.' The cocky pony stroked her crystalized mane gently.
"Yes you are, and you know it," Fluttershy smiled brightly.
"Okay, for you, I'm gorgeous..." Dash admitted, proudly standing by her mare as the others celebrated around them.
Giggling, Fluttershy nuzzled her gently and also observed the celebration going on. Now the Crystal Heart had been returned to its rightful place, its full power restored. As well as that, Spike had been a great help in saving the day. The rest of the ponies couldn't help but find that to be wonderful. He was finally getting a little recognition he completely deserved.
Amidst the cheering, the two pegasi never strayed from each other's side, as their love helped even just a little bit.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Fluttershy nuzzled into her protectors soft mane. Although it had been awesome getting to be made of crystal for a short period of time, it felt nice to be back to normal.
They were all now on the train ride back to Canterlot, feeling a mixture of exhaustion and excitement after the day's events.
"I'm off to go see Twilight!" Spike announced, happily abandoning the presence of the cuddling duos in the room for something a little less lovey-dovey.
"Poor Spike Wikey." Rarity commented from within the light grasp of Applejack. "I'm sure he'll come round soon enough."
"O' course he will! He's a hero now, an' Ah'm sure he'll be celebrated by tha time we get back ta Ponyville!" Applejack remarked with a grin.
"Oh yes." Fluttershy agreed, snuggling into her own lovers forehooves. "I'm sure he will. A wedding will also lighten him up." She giggled softly, allowing her cheeks to heat up.
"A weddin'?" Applejack repeated. "Who's gettin' married?"
"How lovely, darling! A wedding! Do tell! Who's wedding?" Rarity asked, eager.
"It's not official yet." Dash defended, playing with her fillyfriend's mane. "We've just both said yes."
Applejack's jaw dropped and Rarity's eyes went wide, both mares staring with surprise at the two cuddling pegasi.
Fluttershy giggled with glee and kissed her lover's cheek. "Yes, we have.... We'll see when....but for now..."
"I have my snuggly wuggly and she has me." Rainbow giggled. "Just don't tell anypony else. I don't want to lose my reputation for awesomeness."
"OOOOHHH!! You guys are getting married?!" Pinkie popped out of nowhere behind their seats, grinning. "Then I'll have to throw you a wedding shower!! Fluttershy, you're the bride, right? Okay! I'll throw you a bachelorette party! And one for you too, Dashie!"
"N-no... I'll be f-fine..." Fluttershy did her best to evade the offer of a party.
"Why don't we just have one big party? Then I can be there for you Flutters." The bold mare nuzzled her companion's cheek lovingly.
Looking relieved, the creamy yellow pony nodded and smiled, "That sounds wonderful, Rainbow."
"I'll make the dresses dears!" Rarity interjected with an excited look upon her face. "This will be so much fun."
"Jes' don' have too much fun there Rar'. Ah' don't need mah good friend going and fogetting about everypony else jus' case there's a weddin'." Applejack chided.
But Rarity didn't listen, "Do tell! Have you set a date? A possible time when this shall be?!"
"Erm..." Fluttershy blinked, looking to Rainbow for help.
"No! Not yet. Give Fluttershy and me time. We'll figure it out. Then you can go get all excited over how awesome it's going to be." The bold pegasus spoke for them both.
"All right, but do I wish to know as soon as you figure it out!" Rarity winked, giggling.
As the moment passed, Fluttershy couldn't help but whisper, "You know...I always did imagine we'd marry in the spring..."
"Yes..." Dash grinned cheekily at her. "Then I can say... This is mine." She motioned to the whole of the pegasus in her hold, grinning like an elated school filly who had just won a prize.
"Well somepony wants some action I see." Rarity commented, a soft smirk adorning her features.
"Rarity...." Fluttershy blushed, hiding her face in Rainbow's neck shyly.
"What?" The alabaster mare glanced appealingly across at Applejack for support.
"Awright, y'all stop bein' silly..." Applejack chuckled, looking from one pony to the other. "Whaddya say, RD? Mind keepin' her a bit busy?" She indicated to Fluttershy. "Ah got this one."
"Well... I certainly won't mind." Dash grinned cheekily back. "Dear Flutters won't either. She enjoyed me getting a little too close just before we jousted. So I'm sure I can count on her support." She winked at her blushy lover.
Fluttershy giggled with shyness, but smiled. "Sure, Dashie... But not too much, we still have to wait until we get home. ...Until then...it does feel a little bit cold..." She winked.
"Well I'm guess I can fix that with my super awesomeness." A cyan wing descended upon the cuddling mare, covering her in a loving embrace.
Warm fuzzies flooded their systems, giving the pair of pegasi snuggled up a small elating buzz of joy. They slowly allowed themselves to fall asleep, contented, ready to enjoy the ride home together.
Despite the frigid air in the carriage, everypony inside felt the bubbly warmth of love. |
A DUSK IN EXILE | pre | Her look back at Dusk was one of sorrow. "You are not in jail, Dusk," she replied quickly enough. "You have never been in any kind of incarceration. Celestia only thought to keep you for a time to see whether you were a threat to Equestria, for the safety of the ponies here. I feel that you do not represent any threat. I merely wish to soften the hard edges of your personality so that you can find friends here with us."
Dusk scoffed, "Friends, huh? Friends only have value as tools to use, else they are not friends, but enemies. You truly have no idea what my life was before being exiled here, do you? Just another privileged pony, thinking yourself better than I. Fuck." He shook his head as he sucked on the cigarette and blew the smoke out of his nostrils.
"I do not think that Dusk Shine!" she fired back with ire. "I want to help you!"
"At what cost to me?" he snarled back. "I don't need help. I merely wish to live my life, alone if I must. However, I will hang with you, if only to get my eye candy from it."
She glared back at him, her cheeks turning red, "You don't make friends saying such things," she scoffed.
Dusk put out the stub of his cigarette calmly, then stood. "You are merely a female to me," he stated blandly. "And a cute one at that, despite how much you and I appear alike. Other than that, I have little need to be coached by some mare who to act. Most mares end up under me, which is where they belong, enjoying my tool."
She shook her head, unbelieving what she heard from him. "Come, Dusk," she said coldly. "I will take you to my castle now. Just so you understand, I will not be intimidated by your misogyny. You need to rein that in. This is not your world, and you need to stop acting if the world hates you. Now, come along."
She turned away after levitating her dragon companion onto her back and stepped down from the platform. Dusk smirked, his gaze fully upon her tailed rump. "Yeah, uppity bitch," he snorted under his breath. "And you loved every word of it."
Making sure his bags were secured, he trailed after her into the sunlight.
Stepping away from the train platform and into the sunlight, Dusk gazed at the town of Ponyville with disinterest. Well, it certainly isn't any Paradise city, and hardly any grasses, he thought with disdain. But at least some things are nearly right. I can see some cute mares...
Twilight paused to look back to Dusk. "Welcome to Ponyville, Dusk," she said. "It is no Canterlot, nor anything like you may have had in your world, but it is a decent place to live in. The ponies here are friendly enough. I will introduce you around soon."
Dusk smirked, but then looked up at the sky. He instantly noted a fluffy white cloud above apart from the major cloud with a city up there. The city he ignored, gazing at the small cloud with a pony's tail drooping off the side. A tail that he knew well.
"Why does that not surprise me," he remarked.
Twilight blinked and peered up when Dusk pointed to the cloud. "Oh," she chuckled. "Why, Dusk? Something familiar?"
He nodded. "My friend Blitz often took naps on a cloud."
"I can introduce you..."
He shook his head. "If that one is like Blitz, leave it be. Best not disturb it, else it will turn snippy." He then shot a look to Twilight. "Perhaps 'it' is a mare like you are, I would venture?"
Twilight nodded slowly. "Rainbow Dash is her name, One of my closest friends."
Dusk looked around the street, then frowned. "I suppose that I should expect to be assaulted by the mare I saw when I first arrived. The one with twenty million questions, yes?"
Twilight gave a short laugh. "Don't worry," she said. "I told Pinkie not to bother you until you get settled in. You will meet all of my friends tomorrow."
He shrugged. "Good. I don't need to worry that I will get a surprise party. Bubble did that on occasion to me. So, onward to your crazy castle, Princess."
"It's not crazy!" she cried defensively.
Dusk swatted a fly away with his tail. "It's a fucking tree, Princess," he said mildly. "A crystal tree that happens to resemble more or less like a castle, by my recollection of that day. How in Faust's name did that happen? I gotta hear that tale."
She gave Dusk an annoyed glance. "And I will tell you about it later. Right now, just shut up about things, okay? You really are getting on my nerves, Dusk. Just like Discord does when he wants attention."
"The serpentine slimebag with the mocking tone? Yeah, I already met that asshole."
Twilight was about to reply when a loud crash happened above Dusk and Twilight, only for a gray pegasus to drop before them. The mare had a yellow mane and appeared disoriented for a moment.
Dusk immediately knelt down to look at the pegasus mare. "Are you okay, miss?"
She rubbed her face with a hoof quickly, then shook her head. "I am fine," the mare replied in a cute and very feminine voice. "I just don't know what went wrong. I should have been high enough to avoid the building while looking down at Princess Twilight." She looked up at Dusk, and her misaligned eyes widened in surprise.
"You look like her!" she squealed.
He glanced back to Twilight, then turned to the mare. "Yes, I do at that. I am Dusk. What is your name?"
She became unsure in her tone. "Ditzy," she said in a small voice. "But most everypony calls me Derpy."
Dusk smiled at the mare. "Hell, what do they know, huh?" he said in a friendly voice. "So, Ditzy, are you sure that you are okay now? You are rather cute in your way, and I'd love to get to know more about you. Once I get settled in, perhaps you might come and talk with me some evening. Would that be all right with you?"
The gray mare stood and nodded while she shook off the dust from her wings. Meanwhile, Dusk gathered up the letters and packages which had fallen from her mailbag. Handing those back to the mare, he told her, "There you go, Ditzy. They are certainly not in order, but I am sure that you can fix that yourself. Just try to keep from banging into things from now on. A pegasus should always be more careful where she is at. Blitz always told me to keep my eyes open when in flight."
Her eyes widened again. "You're a p-p-prince!" she cried in astonishment.
Dusk sighed heavily, yet grinned at her. "I am an alicorn, yes," he said in response. "A prince? Hardly. Just me as a winged unicorn."
Ditzy nodded slowly, then glanced to Twilight, who stood by and not spoke a word yet. Ditzy gave a nod to Twilight, then smiled at Dusk. "Thank you, Dusk. I need to continue with my route. I'll try to be better at looking where I am going."
She gathered her mailbag about her neck, then took off with a flutter of her wings.
Dusk continued to smile at the pegasus mare, watching her depart until lost behind a building with a cupcake on the roof.
"You surprised me, Dusk Shine."
He regained his stance and peered at Twilight. "What?"
She stepped close enough to him where their noses nearly touched. "You are a fake and a liar, all bad and uncaring. Yet you acted so nice to Ditzy, helping her regain herself and giving her back the spilled letters. You just made a friend with her, and you haven't even been in town for more than a few minutes. No, you may reject it, but you are a prince, an alicorn prince whether or not you like it. Maybe there is hope for you yet."
She turned and walked onward, leaving Dusk to snort derisively at her. "Fuck being a prince," he muttered under his breath. "I hate royalty and all that it stands for, vir-gee pussy!" Scowling, he trotted to catch up to Twilight.
"You are wrong, Twiggles," he said once alongside of her. "A prince is supposed to be noble and snotty, disdaining everything below him. Blueblood is a good example. I simply despise most everything, based on my upbringing. Cute females excepted, of course."
She stopped and glared at him. "Are you deliberately trying to make me upset, Dusk?" she demanded. "I asked Celestia to give me a chance to make you into a nicer pony. Yet all that I have heard from you is your mean and foul mouth, at least until you helped Ditzy. What, are you hoping to get some from her, is that it? Playing a game to have sex with Ditzy? Really? You are that low as to seduce her right in front of me and Spike?"
Scowling, Dusk shook his head slowly. "You don't get it, do you, Princess? Life itself is a game, a game to get ahead of the curve and make it your own. You are my jailer, not a friend. What the hell do I care what you think, huh? I got my ass kicked into this stupid world of yours, and I am trying my best to maintain here. I never asked you to quote-unquote reform me. My life has not been all goody-goody four-hoof like yours has been. You have a family. I grew up with a whorse for a mother. You got things handed to you on a gold-plated platter. I fucking starved many nights while my mother was out selling her ass to stallions. Sometimes she even brought them home to have their sex with her. Fuck you, Twilight Sparkle. I don't give a shit what you think anymore, Prince-ass. Reform me? Fuck you. I'll die first."
Dusk stomped away, only to sit by a tree with grass about it, then lit a cigarette and smoked, fuming over her stupid nonsense. Fuck the bitch! Now more than ever, he wished to think of a way to escape and disappear into this world while considering how to get back to his Equineland and resume his life again.
He heard others gathering around him, yet they remained far enough away, talking amongst themselves. Dust glared at the ponies, then looked away and ignored them. Stupid cattle ponies. He snorted out smoke from his nostrils.
"Dusk?" It was Twilight's voice. "We should take our talk to the castle. Come along. Once you are relaxed, we can continue our discussion then."
He sneered at her. "Don't care to air any dirty laundry, Princess? I'm used to it. In my world, everypony knows what everypony says or knows, Privacy is a privilege for royals and nopony else." He noted that Spike was holding his claws to his head, as if attempting to not hear what was being said.
Her nose wrinkled at the smell of his tobacco, she stood beside him. "Look, Dusk. We obviously have our differences, so can we at least find some common ground here? As in, can you stop being such a jerk? Perhaps I could be a bit forgiving towards you..."
Dusk snorted and took another drag of his cigarette. "I think that you are attracted to me, Twilight," he said distantly. "I look like you, but I am not you. My dick says that in spades. That is why you wanted me here, isn't it. I represent what you wished to be, huh? A buck stallion."
She glared at him for a moment, only to release her anger again. "I'm going to my castle, Dusk Shine. Come along if you wish to be fed. Honestly, I don't care what you think anymore." She walked away, pushing through the crowd of ponies.
Dusk watched her go. Yeah, she is attracted to me. She even has her tail up, showing off her goods. A bit of a push, and she'll be in my bed soon.
Blowing the last puff through his nose, Dusk stood and trailed after his mare analogue under the glare of the warm, life-giving sun. |
A DUSK IN EXILE | V | By the time that Dusk reached Twilight's "castle-that-looks-like-a-tree", Twilight was nowhere to be seen. Only the dragon Spike was there to welcome Dusk into the castle-tree. Dusk grinned, knowing that he must really have upset her.
As he approached at a trot, Spike gave Dusk a welcoming wave. "Twilight left me to lead you to your room," he said once Dusk got to the doorway into the castle-thingy. It was just a solitary doorway, not even a proper gate and portcullis entrance like a real castle.
"So, where is Princess?" Dusk asked as he looked about at the imposing crystal tree-like castle.
Spike shrugged. "Dunno," he replied. "She merely said for me to show you to your room, then did her teleporting thing."
Dusk grinned down at the purple dragon. "Think that I might have pissed her off?" he asked with a smirk.
Spike stared back to Dusk with his big green serpent eyes. "She did seem upset, Dusk. She was muttering under her breath in a way I haven't heard her talk before."
Dusk laughed lightly. "Yeah, I may have pushed her buttons a bit. Good. Twilight seems to be in need of a good kick, just like all nobles do. Come now, Spike, and lead on. I'd like to get some rest and a bath. And can you have lunch brough to my room when it is time? I really am hungry for something."
As they climbed the stairs to the second floor, where the bedrooms were, Spike made the suggestion that Dusk could join in the game that Spike and some other pony named "Big Mac" played. "You know. Just us guys."
"What is it?" Dusk asked out of idle curiosity.
"Ogres and Oubliettes," he replied with a happy squeal. "You know, the role-playing game!"
Dusk wrinkled his nose. "I have no idea what that is, and I don't play games," he told the dragon. "I do enough role-playing in real life. Didn't grow up playing any game, in fact. The only time I played any game was when two of Boss Daddy's goons and I were bored one day, and we played Ponyopoly™ while BD was in the other room getting his cookie dust--"
Dusk peered down at Spike for a moment, then continued. "We will just say that Boss Daddy was having fun. I really need to think how to say things with you around, Sir Spike the Brave."
"--And Glorious!" Spike grinned up to Dusk. "So, you read that, huh? What did you think? Wasn't I a true hero?"
They had reached an unimpressive door that appeared just like any other door in the hallway. "I suppose that you may be called that," Dusk replied with a condescending chuckle. "Considering that Princess was, well, rather 'preoccupied' at the time, being surrounded with a wall of crystals. So, sure, Spike, you did what she asked, to deliver the crystal heart, more or less, from what I read of her journal entry." He had to chuckle again how the dragon had his chest puffed out proudly. "By the by, Spike, is this so-called castle a pocket universe? It sure seems much larger inside that the way it appears from outside."
Spike peered up at Dusk with a questioning look. "I have no idea what that means, Dusk," he replied brightly. "Maybe Twi knows. I don't."
"I'll ask her when I see her next time," Dusk said with a shrug. "Anyway, where are we?"
Spike pushed past Dusk and opened the door. "Yeah, this is your room, okay? It isn't much else but a room to sleep in. Kinda small, smaller than Twi's room or Starlight's."
Dusk stepped into the room anyway, looked about, then quickly pulled the window open for some fresh air. "Doable," he nodded. "Don't really care one way or another, Spike. A jail cell is a jail cell, even with green curtains. Thank you for leading me here. You may go now."
After Spike departed, Dusk opened his door again, then briefly lit his horn to mark the door with a sigil representing the letter "D". The sigil glowed for a moment, then faded and disappeared. He shut the door with a sigh, then undid his saddlebags, dropping them on the floor where he stood. He then lit a cigarette and stepped to the window to peer out.
A dirt lane that wove between buildings was all he saw, the lane having two ponies walking along, neither going in the other's direction, although the two ponies did nod to each other as they passed. Ponyville, he thought to himself. What a shit town. Fuck, I already miss Canterlot! At least that was a town with some life to it!
He smoked, thinking about various things, but soon turned away. His horn lit, and a bottle arose from his saddlebag, a bottle with a gold liquid inside. Bringing the bottle to the lone table in the room, Dusk sat in the chair, then summoned a small wide glass, to which he poured out some of the gold liquid into. Capping the bottle, he levitated the glass to his mouth and drank, enjoying the burn of the scotch as it slid down his throat. Wine would have been preferable, but plain old scotch would do for a good slug of alcohol.
Fuck, he really did miss his old world. This world hated him...
Well, mostly. That cute gray pegasus mare, however, did seem promising. He hoped to see her again soon. She did appear rather sexy in a strange way, despite her odd eyes. Almost like a bimbo, but not fully one. Ditzy. Yeah, that was her name, and it fit perfectly.
Pouring himself another bit of scotch, he moved his chair to gaze out the window and light a cigarette as he settled to watch the scene below. He could see more from this angle, and in just a few moments he spied a pair of ponies walking together that caught his gaze: one pink, the other gray and wearing glasses. As they passed by the castle without a glance, he saw that they were more likely teenaged mares by the way they were talking about some other ponies, but especially something called "CMCs", whatever that meant.
He let out a snort from his nose. The gray one he dismissed once she shrilly giggled. The pink one, however, he zeroed in on, noting that in her mane was a tiara that appeared sparkly, as if it had diamonds in it. She would have made a fine addition to his stable back home, and one that would have brought in plenty of coin from her being a young prostitute. He smiled, finding her attractive in a teenaged way. He'd mounted dozens like her before, so perhaps he might meet this one and see if she could be interested in him for a bit of fun...
Fillies and mares are always attracted to an alicorn stallion. Even if they say they aren't.
Knock, knock.
Dusk frowned at his door. Who was it, he wondered. Somepony is knocking at the door, but not ringing a bell, since he has none. Better get up and see who it is to let them in. Better not be sister Susan, or Uncle Ernie...
Chuckling, Dusk stood, finding the jingle amusing in his head. He flared his horn, opening the door, a grin on his face still. But immediately faded, his jaw dropping nearly to the floor.
No, not Twilight. But just as familiar.
One he should have expected to find. A mare of fuchsia, with dark purple mane having a stripe of aqua color amongst the waves of the mane and tail, and big blue eyes.
He sighed. Damn...
"May I come in?" she asked with a look of concern.
He jumped, then chuckled. "Please do enter, lady," and gave her a slight bow.
She stepped into his room and glanced about but then looked at Dusk with a tilt to her head, "You are the one that Twilight was bringing here," she stated with a raised eyebrow.
He nodded. "And I think that I did see you before I was whisked away by old Sun-butt," he said with a grin. He stepped forward and lifted a hoof to her. "I am Dusk Shine, late from Equineland in my world."
She giggled and took his hoof into hers. "I am Starlight Glimmer, formerly of Sire's Hollow," she introduced herself.
"Glimmer, Glimmer," he mused, then brightened. "Oh, yeah! The cutie mark thief! Equality mare, right? The mare that ran that town."
She lowered her head in embarrassment. "Yeah, me," she said distantly.
Dusk smiled at her, lifting her head with a hoof, "Hey, I didn't mean to sadden you or make you feel insulted, lady Starlight. I was only reciting what I read in Princess' journal about you. I see that you are much prettier than what I was thinking when I read that entry. And yeah, you are quite the mare, I see. It makes my heart flutter, seeing you, but not perhaps the way you may be thinking."
Starlight again tilted her head questioningly. "And what was I thinking, Dusk?"
Still grinning like a colt, Dusk fluttered his wings. "Alicorn," he said lightly. "Stallion alicorn."
She tossed her head back and laughed. "Maybe," she said. "But, if not that, what?"
Still with a grin plastered on his lips, even if put off a bit by her challenging question, Dusk backed away, then turned to face the mirror on the dresser. "Take a look-see, then tell me what you find there."
Starlight gave him a curious look first, then moved to stand before the large mirror. Herself peered back. "Okay. It is me. So?"
Dusk stood beside Starlight close, then turned and told her quietly, "Oh, and by the way, I really didn't mean to sound insulting again, Star. You know how it goes: 'Once a villain, they all see you as a villain, even if you are not now'." He sighed, then lit his horn, and the mirror changed then, becoming hazy briefly. When it cleared, he said, "Now what do you see?"
"Myself," she answered in an uncertain tone, then: "Maybe not." She frowned at her reflection, taking note of small changes in her appearance. Like the small curl of mane on her forehead, one that dropped from her mane yet unmistakably there. And a red scar on her left cheek, small but deep and angry. About her neck was a slender chain, a necklace of gold that bore a pendant in the shape of a four-pointed star, also in gold. And a hardened, tired look, as if having seen much of the bad side of life.
She looked at Dusk. "That is not me," she stated archly. "Who is that?"
Dusk sighed, still smiling as he gazed at the mare in the mirror with absolute devotion. "She is you," he said softly. "The you I knew back in my world. Her name was Twinkle Gleam." He sighed longingly. "My wife."
Dusk turned away then and went back to the table, where he poured another splash of scotch, which he drank down in a single gulp.
He felt a hoof touch his withers then. "I'm sorry," Starlight said softly.
Dusk shook his head roughly, and the mirror changed back. "She's gone now forever," he said in a choked voice. "We had only been married for a month before I was captured and tortured." He sighed heavily. Sniffing back tears, he added, "And no, she didn't run a village of equal ponies, nor steal cutie marks. Instead, she was an assassin in Big Daddy's employ when we met. I was Big Daddy's personal mage, and I also killed those who crossed Big Daddy, but with magic, not weapons. And other things he wished me to do."
Dusk turned to Starlight, tears on the edge of his eyes. "You see, Starlight Glimmer. I'm just as much a villain as you were before Twilight took you and forced you to make friends, or at least that is how I read in her journal. I kind of think that is her purpose in bringing me here, to 'reform' me as she did you. I don't need reforming! I'm no villain! Yet it seems that is how all of these ponies feel that I am here in this world. I'm just a paid mage. I wasn't trying to conquer the world like this crystal dude Sombra or that centaur Tirek! I was only doing what I could to survive the Downs! And what the fuck is a centaur anyway?"
Sighing, he poured another shot of scotch and downed that. Grinning weakly, he gave Starlight a glance. "I apologize, Starlight. I didn't mean to vent."
She hugged him then, her forelegs about his neck. "No need to apologize, Dusk," she consoled him. "I feel that you have a lot of things to tell. Mostly, you do look like Twilight, but you are certainly not Twilight."
He chuckled without mirth. "No, that I am not."
"So then, you were a killer, huh?"
Dusk glanced to Starlight, the looked away again. Lighting a cigarette, he leaned back in his chair. "I guess mostly," he replied evenly. "I did other things for him, like twisting minds of ponies and shit, beside raping new mares to be placed into his stables. I also pushed vine, which is a euphoric drug that happens to be also an aphrodisiac."
He again glanced to Starlight. "I suppose that makes me worse than you. All you did was steal cutie marks, then made a time spell that sent Twilight willy-nilly through various alternate universes."
Starlight waved off his observation and leaned forward to ask in a quiet voice, "Did you use dark magic?"
Dusk nodded. "I was formally trained in dark magic. That is, if you are referring to destructive magic. I am myself not evil. Nor were you, if I read between the lines of Twilight's journal, just misguided, correct?"
She sighed and nodded. "Misguided," she repeated. "Yeah, I suppose that I was. I was jealous of how Sunburst was taken away from me."
"Jealousy also led this Princess Luna to turn evil," Dusk noted. "And yet, from what Twilight said, this Night Mare Moon never did use any true dark magic but used arcane magic to be destructive."
Starlight peered at Dusk with surprise. "You saw that too, huh?" she asked with a bit of excitement. "I noted that also. I mean, why if you are so jealous of your sister, enough to try and kill her, but not use dark magic against her? Something wrong in that picture."
Dusk smiled and chuckled. "You are remarkably so alike to Twinkle," he observed. "And yet, not. I see so much of her in you, far beyond the look-alike thing. Even so, I hear that little difference in your words. Like Princess has gotten to you, taming you."
Starlight gave Dusk a look of pique. "I am not tamed," she gritted. "Just friendlier."
As if to show him, Starlight smiled, then leaned close to smooth out some of his rufus mane. "You are rather handsome for a killer," she remarked in a low voice. "In some ways, you do have a look like Twilight, only harder."
Dusk moved away from her ministrations. "Thanks," he said gruffly. "My life wasn't gilded as hers was, nor did I ever get any aid from the goddesses of my world as she did with the two princesses. The keyword of my life was survival growing up in a ghetto." He took another swallow of scotch.
"Doesn't sound fun at all."
He sighed heavily. "Too many memories, and many were bad or cruel. Just life in a big city, a dark and unfriendly city to a young colt." He then looked sharply at Starlight. "Why are you here?"
She grimaced. "I wanted to meet you, Dusk,": she answered without pause. "I am curious to know why Twilight has such an interest in you. Especially after you made her so upset earlier."
Dusk stared at Starlight for several minutes, then soon smiled. "Yeah, sure," he said. "She sent you, didn't she? Used you to pick my mind. She and those two old nags in Canterlot are so keenly interested in my mind, as if I am harboring some ticking time bomb, waiting to go off at a given moment."
Dusk stood up and went to the window, then lit a cigarette. "I know what Twiggles wants. It was so under-hoofed to use you like that, making you to try and seduce me into talking. Fuck her."
Starlight gazed at Dusk for a moment nervously, her mouth hanging open. "What is it?"
Dusk looked back to Starlight without any expression but gave her a hard stare. "My memory," he said stiffly. "A single memory that I have locked away in my sub-conscious. Apparently, Luna went digging into my mind while I was asleep and found that memory chained and barred securely. A memory that I do not wish to bring back. Yet, they think that it might be something terrible enough to harm this world, which is why they are so eager to unlock it."
He took a long drag from his cigarette, then let the smoke out from his nostrils slowly. "Get out, Starlight," he snarled. "We are done talking."
Dusk turned back to staring out of the window, completely ignoring the mare, even when she tried to talk again. Soon, she simply departed without further talk, yet very confused by his sudden turn of demeanor.
* * *
Just as the sun was touching the horizon, Dusk heard a knock at his door again. With a sigh, he opened it with a flare of magic from his horn, only to see Spike standing there. "Spike," he greeted with a nod.
"Dinner is ready," the young dragon said. "You want it here or at the table with Twi and Starlight?"
Dusk flipped the cigarette out from the window. "With them at the table," he replied. "May as well go meet the dragoness in her parlor. Lead onward, bud."
Spike led Dusk downstairs to a large room with a table and chairs, obviously the dining room of the castle. The dragon quickly trotted into the room, but Dusk stood at the entrance for a moment as he noted both Twilight and Starlight there already. Gathering his nerves before stepping into the room. he quickly took his seat at the empty place setting.
Keeping his expression neutral, he greeted, "Ladies."
Spike placed a plate of hot hay cakes in front of Dusk, then returned to his own chair with a bowl of gems, which he set on his lap and bit into a red gem.
The air in the room seemed chilly, as Dusk refused to look at either mare, even as both Twilight and Starlight glanced to him. Dusk merely ate the cakes without comment.
"What is wrong with you, Dusk?" Twilight finally asked.
Dusk gave her a quick look, then turned back to his meal. "Me? Nothing."
He munched on a bite for a moment, then added, "That was mean of you to use your friend that way, Princess." He stuffed another forkful of cake into his mouth.
"What way do you mean, Dusk?" Twilight asked with a frown.
"Using her to make me talk. I mean, let's be honest here. What the fuck is so interesting to you three princesses about some memory that I keep locked away? Isn't that why you told Starlight to try and seduce me into revealing it? If you really meant to have her seduce me, make sure that she does the seduction right, so I get my cookie with her. I'd love to get my nut, you know."
Twilight slammed a hoof on the table in anger. "Dusk Shine, you will cease talking like some foul-mouthed jerk, especially here at the table with Spike nearby. I will not have it!"
Still not looking at Twilight beyond a single glance, Dusk added quietly, "Another thing about this so-called castle, Princess. You really do need to open it and air it out. I am being suffocated with the overpowering scent of estrogen. It is so bad, my balls are about to shrivel."
Twilight gazed upward with a growl of impotent rage. Snorting back to Dusk, she spat, "Sorry if it doesn't meet your approval, Prince Dusk."
"I'm no prince," he retorted calmly.
"Oh, you have that right, Dusk Shine," she snapped. "Just some common gutter rat is what you are."
"I never said I was any better than that, Princess."
"Stop naming me Princess!" she yelled furiously, again slamming a hoof down.
Dusk still continued to eat, ignoring her. "It is in your title, regardless, Princess," he then said mildly. "Princess of Friendship, yes? And just how 'friendly' can you be? To me?"
"You are just too disgusting, Dusk," she snorted derisively. "I am of a mind to just kick you out of my castle now."
"And have to tell Sun-butt that you failed? Hardly, Princess."
Silence fell about the table as all three ponies ate, while Twilight stared at her stallion analogue with displeasure. After several minutes of complete silence, she looked to Starlight.
"I'm through with him. You get him to talk like a proper stallion."
Before Starlight could say any reply, Dusk perked his ears. "So, Princess, what is the itinerary for tomorrow? More bickering? Or perhaps we might come to a ceasefire? I probably should meet these friends of yours, at least, even if I feel that I know them from your journal book."
"If you act like a stallion, then maybe."
He finally glanced to Twilight with a smirk. "Should I wear a tie?"
"No need. Just be normal and not so foul with your words or actions. Be a good stallion for once in your life, Dusk Shine."
He shrugged. "I can maybe do that."
With a sigh, he pushed away his empty plate. "About that which you and your princesses have been trying to get to in me. It is a very painful memory that I wish not to recall. That is why I buried and warded it. However, if it is that important, I may allow Princess Luna to take a peek, as she is a dreamwalker. Afterward, I will need a full day of being alone while I reconstruct the wards again and shut it away back into my sub-conscious. Truthfully, I'd advise not to delve too deep, as it is very bad. Which is why I locked it away. Just give me a day or so to come to any decision. If you want to help me come to an agreement, let Starlight sleep with me tonight. I'm sure that with her help and sex, my decision would come quicker."
"No!" Twilight cried. "You will not do any sort of thing to her under my roof!"
"I will," Starlight said calmly. She peered to Twilight. "If it will help you two to stop arguing, then I will lay with Dusk. Besides, Twilight, he and I are both adults, not silly foals. If we decide to have sex, consensual sex, then that is our right. I also find him to be very attractive as a stallion. Oh, and also, did you know that back in his universe I was his wife?"
Twilight sat back in her chair with an open mouth of shock, unable to say anything.
Dusk stood up from his chair, preparing to leave. "Make yourself pretty for me, Starlight," he said. "Say a couple of hours?"
"I'll be there, Dusk," Starlight agreed with a bright smile as she also stood up. She turned to Twilight, who still sat there with a surprised look, "I wonder what kind of a stallion he will be, Twilight. Guess that I will find out later. I'll tell you about it in the morning."
Starlight then walked away, only to trot to catch up to Dusk as he departed, where she brushed herself against him seductively.
Twilight sat there for several minutes, her mind working overtime to make sense of these past hours since Dusk got off the train. |
A DUSK IN EXILE | VI | It was morning the next day. Dusk, after having his first smoke and a face wash, now stood at the entrance to the dining room, mentally preparing for yet another day of sparring with Princess Twilight.
Damn, he thought to himself. Why does she have to be so fucking hot of a mare, yet so chilly to me?
Steeling himself, Dusk entered the hall and calmly went to sit down at the table. Twilight was already there, an open book before her as well as a small plate with a single doughnut on it.
"Good morning, Princess," Dusk greeted, hoping to sound cheery. Once seated, Spike ran off, but quickly returned with a bowl, which he sat down before Dusk, then returned to his seat and munched on an opal gem.
Twilight looked up from her book. "Good morning to you Dusk," she returned the greeting. "Feel better after having slept with my friend Starlight?"
Dusk gave a slight grin, still not looking at Twilight. "Enough to try and find a cease-fire with you," he said, then began to eat the creamed oat cereal in the bowl. Spike had been kind enough to even put in the bowl a raw egg, just as Dusk had told him to do. Dusk could get his morning protein just from that egg.
"Also, Starlight said she'd be down in a few minutes, if you are wondering."
"I was, but I am glad you said so."
As he quickly spooned in the cereal, Dusk said, "I've been thinking."
Twilight placed a bookmark in the place where she was at in the book, closed it, then picked up the doughnut and took a bite. "About?" she asked.
Dusk said nothing for a time as he finished his meal, then pushed the empty bowl aside. "If my locked dreams and memories are of such interest to you and your princesses, perhaps we could come to an arrangement."
"Are you ready to talk about them?" she asked leaning closer. "I am willing to listen."
He turned to peer at her. "Maybe," he replied calmly. "But only if we can make a trade."
"What kind of trade?" She frowned, wondering what he had in mind.
He shrugged insouciantly. "One that could benefit both you and I."
She blinked, curious of his proposal. "What could that be, Dusk?" she asked, then pulled back, her eyes widening. "You are not suggesting that I trade away my crown, are you?"
Dusk kept his gaze impassive. "I am not interested in your stupid crown, Twilight Sparkle," he said. "I want you."
The room suddenly chilled, and even Spike looked up from his bowl, a half-eaten beryl in his mouth.
"Never!" she cried.
Unruffled, Dusk shrugged. "It's open for negotiation, of course, Princess. Just think about it. If you and those two old nags feel that my memories are that important, I am sure that some kind of arrangement can be reached between you and I."
"It is never open for negotiation, Dusk!"
Dusk sighed and continued to stare at his double. "Of course it is, Princess," he calmly stated. "Everything is always negotiable."
Her cheeks burning hotly, she gave him a withering look. "Some things are, of course," she said then, her tone barely keeping calm. "My sanctity isn't."
His mouth worked to form words for a moment. Then: "Sure it is, Princess. Isn't this the reason why you brought me back? To have sex with me? I assure you that once you've taken me, you'll never want another stallion. I am a good lover."
With her magic, Twilight picked up the plate and threw it at him. "GET OUT OF MY CASTLE!"
Dusk had ducked from the flying plate, but with his own magic, he kept it from shattering. Returning the plate back to the table, he calmly said, "You do not know what you are turning down, Princess. I am not here to make friends, but rather get some from you and Starlight. Oh, and did you know that Starlight is a screamer? Quite the enjoyable fuck."
Dusk barely avoided the blast of magic from Twilight. Recovering, he smirked. "Is that the best you can do, cutie?" he sneered. "You are going to fuck me, or kill me."
With a wild scream of anger, she again fired another blast from her horn, having stood up from her chair. Dusk this time easily deflected her blast and chuckled mockingly.
"You do look so cute when angry, hottie!" he laughed.
Steam wafted off her reddened ears. "GET. OUT. OF. MY. CASTLE!"
"Aw, where's that 'Princess of Friendship' shit you seem to call yourself?" he goaded her. "You are clearly not being friendly, even if I was."
"I WANT YOU OUT!"
Dusk snorted. "Make me."
Twilight charged at him, clearly upset and snorting in anger. Dusk stood there and calmly flicked a shield to deflect her charge. "We can do this all day, Princess," he smirked. "Or fuck."
Gathering herself again and with her nostrils flaring, she cried, "Never!"
Dusk noted that Spike had been smart and disappeared, though he could be close still. Dusk returned to look at Twilight, delighting in her curves with lusty greed. "Well?" he goaded her. "Are you going to stand there and ogle my dick, or what?"
She did not rush at him. Instead, she snorted with derision. "Think that you are the hottest stallion, do you? I am quite sure that you have no real penis to speak of."
He lifted his head and laughed. "Sure," he said with further chuckles. "Now you toss insults like a filly. Two can play that game, pussy-licker."
She slowly shook her head. "I am truly sorry for you, Dusk Shine. You are a sad pony. You lack so much that it is a waste to throw any further insults at you. Leave my castle. I'll let Celestia know that you are gone, so her Solar Guards can pick you up."
Dusk shook his head in refusal. "No, Princess," he said. "Not until I get some from your plot."
"Will you two quit being foolish foals and talk to one another?"
Twilight's eyes darted behind Dusk, finding Starlight at the doorway with her ears folded. "He started it!" she cried.
Dusk did not bother to turn to look at Starlight. "I was only doing what you suggested to me last night," he said calmly. "I offered a deal to Princess. Too bad she was too stuck up like all nobles are and refused my offer, then started screaming at me like sone pony banshee."
"I did not!" retorted Twilight. "You are being unreasonable!"
"Me? Unreasonable? Hardly, Princess. It is you who are being unreasonable."
"Stop the insults!" Starlight cried. "Look. I don't know what started this, but can't you both work it out in an adult manner?" Her tail stiffly lashing, Starlight continued. "I'm leaving to go spend time with Trixie. She may be arrogant, but at least she is an adult."
Dusk and Twilight glared at each other in silence until Starlight had left the castle. "So?" Dusk ventured. "Are we going to talk, or just stand here and glare at the other?"
"Get out of my sight," Twilight gritted. "Rapist."
Dusk shrugged. "Among other things."
"You are an ugly pony, and I now hate you."
He grinned. "What?" he mocked. "Where's the 'friendship' crap, Princess?"
Levitating her chair in the air, she tossed it towards him. Again, Dusk merely deflected it. He made to turn away with a sigh, and Twilight only barely caught a glance of his horn flicker once before he turned his head back and gave it a shake. Twilight found herself plastered against the wall on her backside, her limbs all splayed out. Even her neck felt glued to the crystal wall behind her.
"Let me go, Dusk!"
Instead, he slowly approached the magically bound mare with a smug smirk. "Well, well," he said. "Don't you look so pretty and even erotic there, Princess! And, oh, such lovely titties you have! They are truly cute, just underdeveloped. Let me impregnate you so that they can fill with milk, huh? Our foal will need his milk from his mommy."
"Fuck you, Dusk," she darkly spat back.
He chuckled. "Wasn't that the idea before?" he taunted. "You want my cock, Twilight Sparkle. Face it, for a noble, you are a whorse who worships a stallion's cock. My cock. Perhaps I should just go ahead and cream your pretty face with my cum."
She silently glared at him, daring him to make any move towards her. However, Dusk shook his head.
"Nah," he sighed. "It would be a waste of my little squigglies. They'd die from how cold your pussy is, Princess-ass." He smirked. "At least I finally got you to do what I wanted initially."
Backing a few steps from her, Dusk cried out, "Spike!"
The young dragon peeked out from the kitchen. "What, Dusk?" he asked, his big green eyes taking in his mother being held on the wall, only for his eyes to grow wide. "Are you going to hurt Twilight?" he asked suspiciously.
Dusk shook his head. "She's fine, Spike," he replied carelessly. "I need you to take a letter for me and send it to Sun-butt."
"Who?"
Dusk rolled his eyes. "Princess fat-ass, Celestia! Spike, grow up."
Spike glanced to Twilight still hanging against the wall, and she nodded to her assistant. He quickly pulled out a parchment and quill. "Ready, Dusk."
"After putting in the proper salutations, write that I am prepared to return to Canterlot, where I will accept facing the charge of 'Assault on a Princess'. Please send your tin soldier guards here ASAP. I will accept no less of a punishment than to be thrown into a dungeon cell with the key thrown away and lost forever, Sign it as 'Dusk, assassin-mage from Equineland'."
"Done," Spike said after a moment. But before he could roll the parchment up, Dusk took the scroll from Spike and rapidly scanned the message, only to correct a few misspellings and reword a sentence, then rolled it up and gave it back to the young dragon.
"Send."
Spike immediately spat green fire, and the message disappeared.
He peered up to Dusk. "Are you going to let Twi down now?" he asked.
Dusk gave Spike a half grin. "Not quite yet, little one. Oh, don't worry. Twilight is far from being harmed. She does however look quite cute hanging against the wall. I know that you feel for her; she's your mommy, yes? I am not going to hurt my dear cute double. I am just going to enjoy her like this for a few moments. Once Sun-butt replies, we shall see what to do with dear Twilight princess."
Just as Spike was about to reply, he hiccupped out a scroll. Spike grabbed the scroll and offered it to Dusk. "It has your name on it," the dragon said.
Dusk, still gazing at Twilight, shook his head. "Read it back to me, Spike."
Spike cleared his throat, then began to speak.
"Dusk? what is going on there? Is Twilight all right? Please, I need to understand what has occurred--"
"Enough," Dusk growled as he lit his horn again, this time letting off a bright flash to Twilight, who merely glared back to him silently. She blinked from the flash, surprised to find herself still alive and well, even if she was still being held against her will by Dusk's magic.
Meantime, Dusk now held a picture of Twilight in his hoof. Glancing at the picture with a lusty chuckle, he produced another scroll, to which he attached the picture to, then rolled it up and gave it to Spike. "Send," he told the dragon.
Dusk smiled to Twilight. "As cute as you are, Princess, you can come down now. You always could have come down anytime you wanted. You have the ability to negate my magic, as we are the same thing, yes?"
Freed from the spell, Twilight dropped onto all four of her legs, her cheeks red with both anger and embarrassment. An instant later, another scroll appeared from Spike.
Just as the dragon was about to look at it, Dusk snatched it away, then burned the newly arrived scroll. "No answer," he said with a heavy sigh. "I should gather my things and step outside to await my gilded carriage back to my jailer and cell."
"You set this up!" she accused him with a disdainful flick of her tail.
"Yep," he replied with a nod. "I let you bring me here just to see if you would have sex with me, as that was how you presented yourself to me the other day. When it didn't happen, I knew that I could not stay here with you, pining for the non-existent time with you to happen. So, I used you to make Sun-butt came and get me and haul me back to Canterlot. That is how I stroll, Princess. Ponies are there to be used. That friendship bullshit, I will never do. I only know how to use ponies to get what I wish."
She glared at Dusk for a few moments, then looked away. "I am truly sorry for you, Dusk," she sadly said. "You must be a very lonely pony. Ugly and evil, yet also lonely and afraid."
Dusk turned away without a word, then teleported to his room and gathered up his belongings and things, which he stuffed into his packs and strapped them to his barrel. Another teleport took him to the front door of her castle, and he briskly stepped outside, only to plop his rump down and light a cigarette as he waited for his ride back to Canterlot.
Twilight soon came out to stand close to him. "Dusk," she began, "you don't have to be this way. We can try to work through your problems."
Dusk shook his head. "Princess, you are just another brick in my wall, so don't try to make me feel as if I am hurting you. Now, go away and leave me alone to my fate. I have lost everything that I know, even my self-respect, so get away and forget about me." He blew out smoke from his nostrils, completely ignoring Twilight.
That is, until he felt the back of his head being smacked by a hoof.
"That was for being such a jerk," Twilight said, then smacked him again. "And that was for making my Spike afraid for me." Then another, only with more energy. "And that is for what you did to me!"
"I didn't harm you!" he cried back to her.
"You could have!" she shouted in return. "How was I supposed to know what you were doing, huh? If you were that bothered about being here in my castle, why didn't you just say it to me, instead of acting all big and bad? You truly need to grow up, Dusk Shine!"
A large shadow passed overhead, and within a few moments, a large party of ponies settled, as several armored Solar guards came to attention, their spears all leveled at Dusk, while Celestia stately alit from her carriage, peering at both Twilight and Dusk with a frown.
She then asked, "Are you alright, Twilight?"
"I am fine, Princess," Twilight replied stiffly. "I was never in any danger, according to him."
Celestia looked to Dusk, then sighed. "Explain this to me, Dusk Shine," she stated.
He shrugged carelessly. "I wanted to return back to Canterlot," he replied. "I don't wish to be here in this, this town. I am obviously not going to get any from Princess, so why hang around? Take me back to your castle and toss me in jail. I'll gladly go and accept my incarceration. Better there than be stuck somewhere I'm not wanted."
Celestia straightened herself, fluttering her great wings. "I was afraid of this," she muttered. "I see now that I must keep both of you separated from each other. I will take care of our guest now, Twilight. Rest assured, he will be punished for what he has done."
Twilight trotted to her mentor and nuzzled her. "Thank you, Princess Celestia," she said. "If I had known that he felt this way, I would have never thought to bring him here."
Celestia hugged her student maternally, then peered at Dusk. "You, young colt," she said in a firm voice. "You wish to be shackled? Then fine, so be it." A set of shackles dropped to the ground. "I am sure these fine gentlecolts will be happy to see you in chains."
Four of the Guards instantly began to place Dusk in those chains without any command from their monarch, then forced Dusk into the carriage.
Dusk sat down and waited, a thin smile on his face. He would have rather remained in Canterlot, where he may have found better entertainment. A dank dungeon would have been preferable to this stupid Castle of Friendship crap, and not be getting any from his double.
Celestia climbed into the carriage and sighed. "You have much to explain, Dusk," she said. With a curt nod, the carriage began to ascend.
He sighed, looking away. Before too long, he said wistfully, "I do need you to lock me up, Princess. It is for the safety of all of this world, and others. I truly am a bad pony."
"Well, at least you acknowledge what you are, Dusk Shine," she said while staring ahead. "But you must talk to me, as I am very disappointed with you, young colt."
He gave a short laugh. "Disappointed? You should be thanking me, Princess. I will explain once we are back in your castle. And after we talk, you will leave me behind bars and walk away, even throwing away the key to my cell. Perhaps even cementing my jail over."
Celestia turned and peered at Dusk. Shaking her head, she asked, "By that, what do you mean? I do not understand. You are truly a mystery, colt."
"Oo, I was thinking that myself, Celestia!" spoke a mocking voice.
"Discord, why must you always be nosy? Dusk is my problem, not yours."
He chuckled mirthfully. "Well, I was just thinking--"
A black hole opened in the sky, and Discord was sucked into that hole and disappeared.
"Good riddance."
"What did you do to him, Dusk? That was the Lord of Chaos! You cannot simply make him go away!"
Dusk turned to give Celestia an amused grin. "Oh, that one isn't harmed," he replied smugly. "Just like the Chaos Queen in my world, Eris, your Discord is rather annoying to me. I merely sent him back to his realm again, much like I did many times with Eris."
She gaped in shock at Dusk. "But, how? Even I cannot 'send Discord away' like what you did!"
He leaned forward a bit. "I know the trick, dear Princess," he said lowly, then winked at her. "He won't be bothering us any time soon."
The air around the carriage sighed as the alabaster castle neared, sitting there perched on the hillside. After a few moments, Celestia shifted in her seat to look at Dusk. "What are you, colt?"
He looked away at the countryside below them. "A murderer," he said simply. "A monster, really." He sighed heavily. "I will explain once we are down there. Until then, I hope that you will consider things to do with me, Your Highness. Killing me would be justice." |
A DUSK IN EXILE | VII | Just as the carriage was about to land before the palace entrance, Celestia lit her horn, then teleported both herself and Dusk straight to the throne hall. Dusk shook his head, pushing away the momentary dizziness of the translocation.
"I will allow you to explain yourself, Dusk Shine," she said, then walked imperiously up the steps to her throne and sat down, her gaze upon Dusk both harsh, yet without expression.
Dusk watched the princess ascend to her throne with a lusty smirk. What is it about these mares here in this universe that they cannot keep their tails down? In the few days he has been here, he has seen more plot than he had before back in his world.
"First, can I have a smoke?" he asked. "I need a few minutes to gather my thoughts coherently."
"No," she stated flatly. "You will not. This is a throne room, not a place to be filled with your foul habit. It is enough that you sully my hall with your presence, assassin pony. Now, speak."
"Forsooth, we also wish to hear what he hath to tell us, Sister," spoke the princess of the night as she entered the hall with her head held stiffly and eyed the shackled form of Dusk as she also took the steps to her own throne.
"Well, well, Dreamwalker," Dusk acknowledged Princess Luna with a nod, "Have you also come to humiliate me as well? Why am I not surprised to be held in judgement by you two mares? Mares who would rather see me burn at a stake than consider me as a gifted stallion, hm? Am I not like your dear Princess Twilight?"
"Thou art but a scoundrel, nothing like Twilight Sparkle, Dusk," replied Luna with a snort. "She hath saved our land, whilst thou art but a murderer."
Dusk stood on his four legs as his horn lit briefly, sending his shackles away with a clatter of the chains. "Ah, yes," he said with a sly grin. "Now I truly see you as you are, Dreamwalker. You remind me of a line from a poem I heard once before. It goes:
"Cold hearted orb, that rules the night / Removes the colors from our sight...""
Luna sneered, and Celestia noted, "My sister is far from being the cold-hearted creature you speak of. She is as warm-hearted as any pony."
"Except, she wasn't before, was she?" Dusk fired back. "I seem to recall where Princess Twilight had to battle against the Dreamwalker as a nightmare."
"'Twas was not me, but a foul demon," Luna sneered. "We art much better now."
"Ah, but that was you, Princess Luna," Dusk countered. "And you made your dear sister suffer all of those long years during your banishment. That, dear Dreamwalker, was quite cold."
Silence descended upon the throne hall for several minutes, with Dusk peering at both monarchs with a hint of a grin on his lips.
"You know," he said then, breaking the uncomfortable silence, "it really is too bad that I never met this Night Mare Moon. I would have gladly offered my services to the Empress of the Night. We would have been unconquerable. With her intelligence and me as her weapon, truly nothing could have stopped us. I would have been quite happy to be her servant."
"You speak boldly of your abilities, yet you have not shown any of them to us, alicorn," Celestia spoke with her nose wrinkling in distaste. "Regardless, you are to speak of why you are a kind of monster, a threat to be imprisoned."
He nodded. "True, true. First, a bit of context." He then sat on his haunches, only to be lifted again to his four hoofs by Celestia's magic.
"You will stand," she said in a chilly tone.
Dusk glared at her. "Fine, Princess." he snorted mockingly. "Fucking monarchs and their stupid rituals."
Instead, he turned and began to pace back and forth. "You know about the Harmony Trees, yes?"
"Indeed," Celestia admitted. "My sister and I have wielded such power before."
He paused to peer up at her. "Protecting your little ponies, no doubt," he remarked lightly. "That is one purpose they are meant for, of course. But did you know that they have a greater purpose for being?"
"And, what is that?" Luna asked.
"Firstly, are you aware that there are Harmony Trees all throughout the entire multiverse?"
Celestia gave a nod. "The concept of multiple universes is nothing new to me, or my sister," she said. "Continue."
He resumed pacing. "Each and every one of these alternate universes have their own version of a Harmony Tree, meant to be as a protector from in-verse threats and maintain the purity of magic in that universe. But, that is just a secondary purpose. The true purpose of the Harmony Trees is to stand as sentinels against that which exist beyond time and reality, things out there that which threaten all of reality and life."
"Chaos?" Luna asked.
Dusk shook his head, flattening his ears. "Oh, no, no. Much worse, dear Dreamwalker. Chaos, much as your idiot Discord represents, is simply a version of the reverse of Order, existing beside that which is this reality we all dwell within.
"No, what I speak of exists far beyond the limits of our reality. Forces that would devour not just life, but time itself, creating a vast void where all matter ceases to be." He again paused to look at both alicorn monarchs. "Within me is such a creature."
The silence in the hall was palpable and oppressive. Dusk let the import of his admission sink in. After a few moments, he again started to pace. "You see, my world, Equineland, lost our Harmony Tree, opening up a breach where such monsters can freely appear. It was during the Mage Clan Wars that began in Solarian Year 2746 when my world lost its guardian Tree."
"We also had our version of mages warring," Celestia noted. "Many centuries ago."
"The year I was born was Solarian Year 4259," Dusk told them. "Fifteen hundred years without a Harmony Tree is a long time. Even so, the Clan Wars left much of Equineland devastated. Even in my lifetime, huge swaths of land remains entirely unpopulated by any creature or pony save the hardiest, such as dragons or griffons.
"At any rate, the loss of a Harmony Tree is bad for the universe, as it leaves us unprotected. We think, that is, those whom have survived the Clan Wars which were my teachers, that despite the loss of the harmony Tree in our world, that other Harmony Trees may have built some kind of bridge between adjacent universes to cover the loss of one of their own, which is why our universe was not immediately attacked. Even so, one must have found a way into our unprotected universe. One that I have in myself contained and locked away."
"One of those monsters of which you mention?" Celestia asked, her ears twisting backwards. "If you have it contained, why should that be a problem to us?"
Dusk looked to Luna. "It is there which I have locked away in my memory," he replied. "You seek to open that memory, and I am telling both of you that to do so will release that horror upon yourselves." He backed away, then made a face. "I hope that you won't mind, but I need to drain my bladder."
Both princesses chuckled, dispelling the tension. Celestia pointed to a doorway to the side. "Go and take care of your need, Dusk," she said. "When you return, we will discuss this further."
Dusk hurried to the indicated door and swiftly disappeared. Celestia and Luna gazed at each other, as if not believing what Dusk was telling them. However, before they could talk, Dusk reappeared with a pleased sigh of relief.
"So, young alicorn," Celestia said as he stood before her. "What else is there in that memory?"
He sighed, folding his ears and switching his tail. "The worst part of my life," he replied in a low and sorrowful tone. "One that I wish never to remember ever again. Please, do not make me open that memory! I beg you both, leave it be. If not for my sake, but for yours as well!"
"We have fought many monsters over the long yeas, Dusk Shine," Celestia stated with a sigh. "What is another? We have our Harmony Tree, so if it does appear out of your memory, I am sure it can be defeated."
"But not one such as I have in me!" he cried. "That one is an extra-versal creature, a thing that takes several Harmony Trees to hold back! It cannot be fought by a single Tree. The easiest way to prevent your world's end is to kill me and let my death be its prison forever. Please!"
"Perhaps if I slip inside and peek, I might see enough before anything such as Dusk is saying could manifest itself and escape," Luna suggested to her white sister, slipping out of her usual archaic speech.
"But what you seek isn't in the surface of my memory, Dreamwalker," Dusk stated controlling his desperation. "Buried it many years before I encountered the horror, a horror that I found through my many researches of dark magic. I alone must bear this thing. Please, you must not do this! Please!"
"Do you feel that it may be doable, Luna?" Celestia asked. "Sneak in and get a quick look?"
"Forsooth, sister," the moon princess replied, nodding.
Dusk sighed heavily, knowing that his pleas was falling on deaf ears. "Fine, Princesses," he relented. "Allow me a day to prepare myself and unlock that particular memory for you. Now, can I have my cigarette?"
Celestia rolled her eyes, then lit her horn. A bookshelf on the far wall with numerous artifacts moved aside, revealing a set of double doors. The doors opened and let in a blast of frigid air. Dusk swiftly made for the doors, where he found himself on a balcony far above the valley below. Creating a shield, he lit a cigarette and smoked, thinking what he might do to curb the thing within from escaping.
Out of curiosity, Dusk probed the space beyond the balcony where he stood, quickly discovering that it had been shielded. It was immediately apparent that the shield was meant to contain, not prevent any assault from without. He snickered. It felt typical of that old whorse sitting on her plot on her throne. Oh, he had no plans of escaping, yet she had cast a spell to keep him from such an attempt. It did give him time to consider what he could do to get her back. Perhaps, after this is done and past, he might sneak into her private rooms for a night visit...
He suddenly felt a compulsion to return back, and he finished his cigarette hurriedly, then allowed himself to go back into the throne hall with the two old nags. Unsurprisingly, the bookcase slid back to its original place, blocking that exit once again. Dusk stepped to stand before the white alicorn princess and waited for her to speak.
Celestia peered down at him for a moment before she spoke. "My sister and I have talked," she said without any emotion on her face. "We have concluded that you are a skilled pony with your tongue, but it was easily seen that you must be lying to us. We therefore have decided that you will open your mind to us, regardless of your empty threat, Dusk Shine."
Keeping himself calm before the sun goddess of this universe, he replied, "I see that you seem to believe that I am some colt that has cried 'Timberwolf' far too many times. Fine. I accept your decision, Ancient One. However, when it manifests, don't go blaming me for it. I jeer your stupidity, but also welcome it. Let us get this over with so I might go on and live, even if the world is reduced to an unlivable habitat. I don't care anymore."
He looked up and stared at her. "I will need a day to prepare myself and unlock the spells keeping that memory sealed. Will that be satisfactory, Princess?"
"That will be granted, young colt," she replied magnanimously.
"Here." Dusk lit his horn. A paper appeared with a quill, and he wrote on the paper, then glided it to Celestia. "I will require these items to make my preparations. A proper mage robe would be nice, but not necessary."
"These will be provided, Dusk Shine," Celestia agreed with a nod.
He then looked at Luna, whose green gaze peered at him with keen interest. "You should have remained as the Nightmare, Princess. That one might have been strong enough to fight what I will become, but better if she had made me her servant."
"The Nightmare would hath belittled and pushed thee away, Dusk," Luna replied without any change in her expression.
He shrugged. "No longer my concern," he insouciantly said. "It was mere speculation anyway."
"Princess Celestia," he said after a pause. When the white alicorn looked down at him, Dusk went on. "My reluctance to open up my memory was not meant to keep you away, but rather my attempt to keep something else from appearing and causing great harm in your world. However, as I see that you are determined to see what is there. I must be prepared to battle that. I only hope that my abilities are sufficient to prevent it from breaking out. I had fought it once before when it had been weak back in my home world, and that had been a long struggle then. Contain it I did, but it had been close."
Celestia gave him a terse grin. "We are thankful for your consideration and warning, Dusk," she said. "However, all we need is a quick peek to see what you are hiding from us. A small look is all that is required. Should this quote-unquote monster you keep talking about be there and start something, we are well-prepared to fight that off, rest assured, colt."
"Yeah," he said in defeat, knowing that his warnings fell on both sets of deaf ears. "Still, it might be best if you put me somewhere secure, just in case. Somewhere deep enough to keep it contained."
Her smile was grim. "I have such a cell for that, Dusk. My guards will take you there. It won't be a comfortable room or apartment, but will suffice. After my sister takes a look, we shall see then where you may go from there."
The door opened, and Dusk turned to find several of Celestia's Solar Guards waiting to escort him away. He glanced to Luna then. "I will be expecting you tomorrow eve, Dreamwalker," he said with a bow. "Don't get too frisky with your Lunar Guards now."
Luna blushed, hardening her gaze down at him. "I doth never 'play' with mine Guards, scoundrel."
He chuckled. "Selene did, every night."
"I am not thy 'Selene'!"
Dusk smirked. "No, you are not her, Dreamwalker. Pretty like Selene, but too tight with your tail."
He spun about and flicked his tail at the two monarchs, then calmly walked to the Guard contingent. "Sirs," he gave them a bow. "I trust you know where I am to be led?"
The sub-captain grunted. "That we do, colt. If you will follow us."
Dusk stepped amongst the Guards and began to walk with them, not bothering to look back. He had a big task ahead now. He felt dread, but perhaps some relief that he could seek a way to rid himself of this darkness within his mind.
> VIII
Without his saddlebags, Dusk silently followed Princess Celestia and an escort of Guards to the lower levels of the castle, after she had teleported to lead him and the Guards. Much of the halls here were populated with servants going about with hurried steps, on some errand or another. The halls themselves were still lit just as brilliantly as the main levels above, but carried a distinctive odor that he knew well from his days in servitude back in his world. An aura of hopeless dreams and such fouled the halls here, yet also still held out a promise that was new to his senses. This was no Castle of Broken Dreams like the castle of the two goddesses back in his world, but rather offered something else: a camaraderie of ponies working together as an army of workers to please their overlords, the princesses and their staffs and guests, along with other ponies who call the Castle home or work. These halls were rather busy with such goings on, yet such activity did not cause Celestia to pause, but instead she was afforded complete passage, even if some of the servants had to press back against walls to permit the princess the freedom to go about her business, whatever it was.
She had not spoken much since coming down here, a place where she truly did not belong, Celestia was completely out of place down here amongst the servants, yet she did not bother to acknowledge the ponies other than a simple nod as she and her group swept past. Dusk, however, rubber-necked throughout the entire journey. These ponies here were much closer to him, even if he really knew none of them. If there was one single thing which held all of these ponies together was the goal of servitude towards the princesses and the castle population above. Dusk grinned to himself. He knew that another part of the lower levels was the hidden, but highly important part of these ponies went on behind closed doors: sex, and plenty of that.
Eventually, all of the servant business was past, and they came to a barren part of the castle, one level below that of the servants. Here were no ponies but a scarce few Guards standing at junctures of hallways. There were hardly any doors which led to rooms where ponies worked, but many of the few doors they passed were mostly storage. And after a short time, their travel brought them to a set of large double doors, a place where only absolute silence pervaded everything. Two Guards stood at the doors, and as Celestia approached, the Guards quickly opened both doors to permit her entrance to what lay beyond.
Dusk paused for a moment when he entered this cavern. The walls everywhere reflected light, and each wall bore reflections of the ponies present in multi-faceted forms. "Wow!" he exclaimed in a wondering tone of voice. "Crystals!"
Celestia chuckled. "Indeed, Dusk Shine," she agreed. "I must tell you that there is no real dungeon such as you have requested me to hold you in. Even so, these crystal caverns should serve your requirements. The caverns are a relic of a past when ponies were mining for certain kinds of crystals before Canterlot was built."
The group had paused at a large platform of crystal, beyond which was a crevasse lining the far edge of the platform. A single bridge spanned the crevasse, leading further deeper amongst the crystalline walls, darker passageways which dove far into the mountain. He chuckled at a passing thought.
Celestia turned her head to peer back at Dusk. "Yes?" she asked with a slight frown.
"Just a thought I had," he replied, his eyes still scanning the entire complex. "In Twilight's journal, she mentions some pony monarch with a lust for crystals. I was just imagining what that King Sombra would be thinking if he knew about this place."
Celestia faintly smiled back. "Oh, he knew about these caves, Dusk," she told him with a flick of her long tail. "He knew perfectly well about this place, which was why he put so much effort into starting a war with Equestria, to conquer it and also delve into these mines once he captured Canterlot. I'd rather not think about it, really, if he had been successful with his attempt. I am quite glad that he failed."
Dusk nodded sagely. "And yet, you did not remember these here when Chrysalis--"
Celestia laughed lightly. "Oh, I knew about these myself," she admitted with a smile. "I simply forgot once these caverns were sealed many centuries ago." Her face darkened slightly. "It took Chrysalis to remind me of them. Even since the changeling invasion, I have made it a priority to keep these caverns secure. Come along, dear." And she turned about to walk onward.
Several of the pegasi Guards flew over the bridge and landed on the far side, then stood stoically aside while the princess and Dusk crossed the natural crystal bridge. Once all were on the far side, Celestia again took up point, leading Dusk and his Guards deeper into the reaches through the only exit beyond the bridge, a passage which soon came to a split. Celestia confidently took the left branch which was brightly lit with a few torches dotting the walls, the light of which shone from all of the reflective surfaces along the walls.
She paused not far later at an opening, beyond which was a shallow cavern empty of much save a single bench. She nodded at it. "This should do well for what you need when you and Luna dream together, Dusk Shine," she said. "You will be far from innocent ponies should anything bad occur."
He stepped into the cavern, his ears both scanning for sounds while his mind expanded with thaumaturgic energy to look for any imperfections. While he might prefer a rocky cavern that can absorb magical energies, a crystal cavern will do for the short exercise between himself and the Dreamwalker princess. After a brief time to explore, Dusk turned about to face Celestia and the guards, only to discover that he had been sealed within the cavern with a shield spell across the entrance.
His ears instantly pricked forward, and Celestia smiled. "There now," she said with a nod. "Comfy, Dusk? Do be a dear and relax. A meal shall be brough to you later. For now, this is your home. Afterward, we will decide what to do with you. I am leaning to send you off to Zebrica and live in the jungles there. Perhaps you might learn a few things while there, such as some humility. Ta-ta, Dusk!" And the white princess of the sun turned and swept away with a flick of her tail.
Dusk wrinkled his nose and derisively snorted. "Bitch," he muttered. "Typical of a royal whorse. Go play with your soldier colts, Sun-butt. Hope one of them will knock you up." He turned away with a flick of his tail and lay upon the bench which stuck out from the smooth crystalline wall. He relaxed as much as he was able, letting his eyes close as he waited to calm so he could prepare himself for the invasion of her sister's dreamwalking.
Fucking whorses, he thought sourly. Stupid, stupid cunts. Why must they always fuck with him? He told them exactly what was within himself, openly admitting to them that he was a bad pony, that he had killed other ponies, but most importantly, he contained a spirit from beyond that could easily wipe out this civilization. Why couldn't they just let the creature lie? Why?
Another loud snort. He really needed a smoke, but without his packs, he had left them behind. Calm. Relax. Speak your mantra as you ease your breaths. Soon all will be done and forgiven. But, will they? So much depends on planning, and said plans involve another with whom he must trust, yet fully does not. How he hates having to depend on others. He always can depend on himself, and had before, many, many times.
Dusk knew that the nightmare creature dwelt within himself, yet he was not aware of it just now. He had spent some time to entirely quell the beast, and eventually it had subsided, and now merely waited to be released. He could not afford to allow that to happen. Yet there was another thing that he must depend upon: that of this wild and strange magic here in Twilight's world, the so-called "magic of Harmony" bullshit. He had never experienced such magic before, so the whole thing was too new and untested by him. Still, he had to rely on another for that, which meant so much left to chance. Never a good option when it came to magic, wild or controlled.
He did start to relax, his breathing slowing after a fashion. And, sometime later, his ears pricked, hearing clearly certain words spoken, even if murmured: "I was never here."
A soft presence made itself know to Dusk, and he sighed. "I see that you made it. Glad that you came to sit with me, Princess."
He opened his eyes and peered at Twilight Sparkle. She stared down at him after dropping his packs on the floor, then suddenly smacked the back of his head harshly. "Why must you be such a jerk, Dusk?" she demanded. "Celestia is my teacher and friend, yet you seem to enjoy pushing all of her buttons! It makes me so mad with you every time you do that!"
Dusk winced as he rubbed the back of his head where she had hit him. "Ow!" he cried. "That hurt this time, Twilight! Now I am sure to get a bump from it this time!" He turned to lay on his side and gaze at his analogue. "And to answer your question, I hate mares, especially those in authority over me. She is the analogue of one such mare who had me imprisoned and tortured, only to eventually kick me out of my home world. So, excuse me if I seem to relish taunting her."
Twilight snorted, then looked about the empty cavern. "Why a crystal cave?" she muttered. "It looks almost the same as the one I freed Cadance from."
Dusk lit his horn, and a similar bench to the one he lay upon appeared from the opposite wall. "Sit, Twilight," he told her. "I wish to go over my plans with you. And, by the way, thanks for helping me. You did well earlier to make Sun-butt come as quickly as she did."
She glared at him for a moment. "I'm not too proud of that, Dusk," she tartly retorted.
He cracked a slight grin. "I know, I know," he said. "She is your teacher and all, Princess. Get over it." He noted the pack laying on the floor nearby, and he quickly rose to grab the packs and sought for his cigarettes. Finding them, he lit one and sighed, letting the smoke fill his lungs with the poison.
"Why must you do that here?" Twilight spoke then. "This cavern probably has just enough air in it--"
Dusk looked up. "Vent," he said flatly. "Air can circulate. I'll try not to suffocate you." He took another drag, then lifted his head to breathe out the smoke, allowing it to curl upward to a small hole near the ceiling, where the smoke was drawn into and disappeared.
"One thing that I learned early on, Twilight," he said then. "There are two kinds of ponies. Those who use and abuse, and those who are used and abused. I was used and abused until I discovered how to use others myself. I'm a user now. I will never let myself be used and abused by any pony such as your Celestia. Capisce?"
Twilight had lain on the other bench. "I still feel that you are not as truthful as you say, Dusk Shine." She remarked with a frown. "And, why do you say that you need me again?"
He stared at her for a few brief moments before replying. "Twilight,": he finally spoke. "You have said it yourself in your journal. You are this world's Element of Magic, the focus of the Harmony magic here. I must use you to help me fight that which is inside of me. I cannot wield that kind of magic, but you can. I want you to be my failsafe, Twilight, should the worst-case scenario happen. I explained that to you last night. You may consider me a threat to your world, and perhaps I am, should that escape. But having you as back-up, I hope that I may relax enough with the assurance you will aid me in containing it, if not destroying the nightmare. Did I not make that clear?"
She folded her ears. "You did, Dusk," she relented. "I was just hoping that a better explanation would be forthcoming from you. Are you very sure that this 'thing' exists?"
Dusk didn't reply immediately, as he got up and pulled out his book of plants and flowers, the one which he kept his hidden packet of powder, Extracting the packet from his pocket universe there, he closed the book then, only to look to Twilight.
"As sure as this, Twilight," he said. "Catch."
She caught the packet in her magic and drew it to her, inspecting it curiously. "What is this?"
Dusk took another drag of his cigarette. "Many things to me," he replied calmly. "Courage. Something to let me focus my thoughts. Euphoria, amongst others. I need this, as it is my great sin. I cannot lie, Twilight. I am an addict, and that is my drug of choice. I've been addicted to that since I was fourteen. My mother made me addicted to it."
Her gaze quickly peered to him. "Your mother?"
Dusk nodded. "She told me that this would keep me calm whenever I had a panic attack, which I often did when I was younger. That drug has a few interesting side-effects, none which I will say to you. Just understand that I must have that now. If you wish not to witness me taking it, go stand outside for a time until I call for you again."
Twilight twisted her ears and frowned. "If it is bad, why do you still take it?" she asked curiously. "Must you really take it? And how do you take it?"
"Do I need it? Yes, Twilight. My body is on edge, so I must take it now. On the other hand, I truly do not need it, as it was made with things that are very, very bad for my body, things that in pure form would instantly kill me. That powder is made from a specific plant, the flower of which is deadly poisonous to ponies." He lifted the book in his magic. "Trade with you. Look through the book until you find a certain purple flower. That will be the plant which is the source for the powder. You may read about it while I prepare my line."
Dusk worked quickly and expertly while Twilight read through the book he had given her. He already had the short straw in his nostril, ready to inhale the sickly yellowish powder, when Twilight cried, "I know those! I've seen then in the Everfree!"
Dusk sniffed up the line, then set the straw aside as he sat back on the bench with a pleased sigh. "The purple flowers, you mean?" he asked carelessly in a tight voice.
She nodded with excitement, only to turn the book so he could see. "You mean these, don't you?" she asked.
Dusk nodded. "The drug is manufactured not from the flower itself, but rather the vine from which the flower grows. That is why the drug is simply called 'vine'. It is easily obtainable where I grew up, as there was an entire industry that grew and manufactured vine, which Big Daddy had as part of his organization, the same organization that I became part of as a member." He trailed off and looked away with a faraway gaze. "Gone, all gone."
"What are you feeling now, Dusk?"
He looked blankly to Twilight. "Hard to describe to somepony else," he said without emotion. "Edgy, but a good edginess. In a few minutes, my nerves will settle, then it will feel like I am riding on a carpet of soft fur through the air. Like I feel weightless, drifting on a soft breeze of warm air."
She looked at him carelessly lounging on the bench, unsure what to do with Dusk. However, something else caught her eye, and she snorted. "Is that also part of the reaction, Dusk?" she asked with a nod.
"What?" Dusk asked listlessly.
"You are showing a little."
He shrugged. "Happens when I am in the company of a cute mare."
Her ears perked. "Any mare, or just me?" she asked calmly, even if her heart began to quicken.
"All," he said in a faint voice. "I'm a stallion, so get over it."
She shifted uncomfortably, her gaze still peering at his semi-erection. "Want me to leave?" she asked then.
"Stay with me, Twilight," he replied forlornly. "I want company. Gives me the chance to ogle such a lovely mare while we talk."
"Dusk!" she cried, alarmed but also indignant. "You will not--"
"What?" he asked, with folded ears. "I am not going to harm you, I swear. I just wish to look at you and your cute body, Twi. You look so damn fine to me. I still cannot believe just how cute I am as a mare."
Twilight rolled her eyes then. She really thought about leaving anyway. "Well, I'll stay here in the castle tonight, then go back in the morning to bring the others here close, should you go monster. Okay?"
"Fine." He said with a careless wave of a hoof. "If things go bad, please kill me, Twilight. I deserve nothing less than eating that purple flower to poison me and making me die slowly and in pain, just because I came here with a nightmare."
"I will not, Dusk," she told him firmly. "I refuse to be your executioner."
He smiled wanly. "You will, Princess," he said, then sighed heavily. "I feel so much better now. Tell me, Twilight. Are ponies extinct, but don't know it yet?"
She frowned. "What kind of question is that?" she demanded.
Dusk shrugged. "Just a random thought is all," he said. "Sometimes I feel as though life is but a dream, a mad, mad dream from some crazy moon creature."
Twilight stood up. "I'm leaving, Dusk," she announced. "I am leaving you to your drug haze and your dick poking out. Honestly, you are something else, Dusk Shine."
His eyes shifted to peer up at her. "And yet you love me, don't you, Princess?"
She rolled her eyes again and stomped away.
Only to stop at the entrance and turn back. "Question, Dusk. When you held me against the wall, would you have done what you had threatened to do to me?"
"Possibly, Princess," he said with a faint grin. "I did elicit the precise look from you, didn't I?"
"I did think that you were going to. Spike probably thought so also."
"I considered it, Twilight," he added. "Yet I need you to be on my side. You do love me, after all, and you love your world, so you went along with me."
She snorted. "For this time only, Dusk. You are a nasty pony. Ugly, and a real jerk."
He chuckled without mirth. "Like I said," he went on, "you love me, and want me for a lover. We will mate, you and I, eventually, Twilight Sparkle. We will have sex many, many times soon after all of this is said and done. Even sleep together. You will enjoy our time together."
"That will never happen, Dusk Shine!" she stated firmly with a sour snort. "You are a sick pony!"
Grinning, he playfully blew a kiss to her. Twilight growled with disdain, then turned around again, quickly teleporting away.
Dusk thought, Cunt. She know that she loves me, she just doesn't know it yet. She will soon enough, however. And I will get her pregnant.
He lazed on the bench, allowing himself to drift and enjoy the drug coursing throughout his body without care for anything. And a random thought appeared.
Where in the fuck is Zebrica?
> IX
Later, Dusk relaxed on the bench. His belly full, and finding himself without distractions, he soon fell into a semi-dreamlike trance, his mind wandering back years before...
When Dusk had turned fourteen, he had become somewhat reclusive, his attentions mostly upon the books that he could lay hoofs on, studying the magic spells contained within the covers of such books. Mostly, however, the books served to distract him from his mother's promiscuous acts with stallions that she would bring home.
Dusk was not too fond of her having sex with them so openly.
His mother soon took things in hoof, introducing Dusk to the pleasures of vine, hoping that Dusk would turn to finding the pursuit of the drug a way to get him more active. When she discovered that he preferred to spend his daytime simply tripping on the drug listlessly, she did something else, one that would change his life.
Not too many days later, Dusk had returned home to find his mother with another mare, one hardly older than Dusk himself. His mother introduced the pegasus mare to Dusk, and he and the pegasus mare, whose name was Summer Breeze, soon became friends. Summer stayed with Dusk and his mother, usually sleeping with his mother in her room at night initially. Yet, she soon got closer to Dusk, and not too much longer, moved into Dusk's bedroom and slept with him, introducing him to a new pleasure: sex.
Dusk was one not to fully explore anything new, and he took to his developing fondness with Summer quickly. He began to enjoy her every chance he got, often mounting her several times each day. He more or less came out of his asocial shell for a time, and both he and the mare were usually either high on vine, or out on some date within the limits of the Downs. Summer never seemed to find Dusk silly or unbearable, despite the fact that she was older than Dusk by a year. Instead, she became both a lover and an older sibling to him.
Dusk couldn't be any happier.
He still attempted to bury his nose in books, yet Summer's natural charms distracted him from the books. She was too much fun not to spend all day with her. And the days turned into months as Dusk began to develop something new: love for the yellow mare and her stringy blue mane with silvery streaks in it. And each day brought the pleasures of sex with her to Dusk.
However, there came a time that Summer disappeared suddenly for several days, leaving Dusk alone during that time. Dusk became agitated, and began taking the drug more and more. He also sought Summer everywhere he could, even enlisting his close friend Rainbow Blitz to help find where Summer had strayed to.
During Dusk's affair with the older pegasus mare, Blitz had felt left out, being shut away from his lavender-coated unicorn pal. Both Blitz and Dusk had grown up together, being friends since both had been young colts. But the pegasus mare had taken Dusk away from Blitz, and while he could feel some delight that his studious unicorn companion was getting laid regularly, it still left Blitz without Dusk's usual nerdish attitude by his side.
Blitz had become jealous of his friend's fascination with the mare. And thus, Blitz was loathe to search for the mare, even if his friend was quite agitated over it.
In the following days, Dusk and Blitz became closer than ever before. They returned to doing things together as before, but this time there was some other feelings behind the companionship. There was a sense of togetherness neither had expected. And the two young stallion studs were soon the talk of the Downs, drawing both into a web that they never expected, once Big Daddy took interest in the pair of teenaged colts.
Blitz and Dusk became inseparable. Soon, not only were they best friends. They became lovers, with Blitz sleeping with Dusk...
While his mother had sought to learn where his sexual orientation was, instead she had driven Dusk towards the opposite from which she desired.
* * *
By the end of the second day, Dusk felt prepared to finish this. He had spent enough time to fully open his old buried memories and display them for all to see. Though for the life of him, he still could not figure out why it was so important to the old white nag. He understood the risk involved, even if she did not.
Stupid royal pain in the rump, he snorted to himself. They always think that they can just push ponies around like some giant game of chess.
Putting away the few things he had used to help focus on himself in preparation for this, he sat on his haunches to await on the Dreamwalker princess.
After a time, Luna appeared with a bright and calming smile on her face.
"Art thou prepar'd for our shar'd dreams, young Dusk?" she asked, stepping into the cavern.
He put out the cigarette he had been smoking, then sighed. "As much as I can, Princess," he replied with a shrug. "I have done one other thing to help you walk through my memories easier, so you don't go astray. I will manifest as an avatar to lead you though. Will this be acceptable?"
She nodded. "Thy aid will be most welcome, Dusk," she said, then lay upon the empty bench. "You only need relax, young colt. We will meet in thy mind anon."
Dusk made himself comfortable on his bench, allowing his mind free rein as he relaxed his muscles. He could not tell how he drifted off into slumber, yet he nonetheless did, even if she was nearby. Still, he did ignore the fact that this version of his goddess Selene was laying on the other bench, within his reach. Instead, he concentrated on getting this silliness over with and putting this at an end so he could move onward with his life here in this crazy version of his world...
Luna soon found herself in Dusk's mind and dreamscape, which, like so many others, was covered in fog. Although she wanted to start on this, she waited for a time, which soon proved to be best, as an odd thing soon appeared: a disk with a face, the disk in lavender color. A pair of large eyes peered at her from the face, and a toothy grin. But what truly made it odd was that it stood upright on two spaghetti-like legs which ended with what could only be described as some kind of hoof-shoe, Two other limbs were on either side, the limbs not meant to stand upon, but rather to manipulate things. These limbs ended with what appeared to be a kind of white shoe? No, sock? Glove?
"Hiya, Princess!" the thing merrily said. "Glad ta see you made it here. Shall we go?"
"What are you?" Luna asked then, her ears twisting backward.
The disk paused and looked up at her, only to suddenly float up to her eye level. "I'm me, Dreamwalker. Don't you like my avatar?"
"Nay, young Dusk," she replied quickly. "'Tis strange, but somewhat curious. Leadest onward, colt."
She followed the disk creature for a few steps, yet he paused at a point and turned to peer up at her. "I think that this should start off," he explained. "My most recent memory that I buried here."
Once he stopped speaking, the ground fog rolled back revealing a curious scene. It was obviously evening, and she stood in what appeared to be a central square that was dominated by a fabulous fountain. She only briefly noted a pair of ponies sitting by the fountain, yet Luna took the time to examine the fountain itself. A gloriously remarkable sculpture it was: a trio of ponies facing outward, each rearing up as if in defense, their forelegs curled as if ready to strike out. Each of the ponies, one each of all three tribes, was incredibly detailed so precisely, they seemed alive. Luna could almost hear the pony sculptures, so exact was the features on each. However, no water sprang from each pony's mouth, and the basin where water once collected was stained and discolored. Even more shocking to her was that all three ponies had been desecrated and vandalized with numerous obscene graffiti marks, some too horrendous to her very mind. In particular, the pegasus figure bore a phrase that truly made her blush furiously with embarrassment, enough for her to look away in disgust.
She looked down at the two ponies sitting close to the fountain, and what she was made her feel compassion then. It was alicorn Dusk, and he was holding onto another pony that was motionless, and perhaps deceased. Dusk was rocking back and forth, crying and murmuring to his expired companion. This other was light in color and a pegasus, and a sudden flash of lightning revealed the deceased pony as cyan in color with a tail of rainbow colors.
Luna glanced to disk Dusk with a raised eyebrow. "He wasn't supposed to be in the way," disk Dusk explained grimly. "But, you know, Blitz was always so impulsive. I never meant to kill him."
The fog returned again, shrouding that scene. "Come, Dreamwalker," disk Dusk said brightly. "Shall we move on? We must hurry before, you know."
Still affected by that what she had just witnessed, Luna silently followed the jauntily skipping disk figure several paces in the thick ground fog until it paused again, and didn't bother to look back to Luna, but the fog lifted again to reveal a dark street once again at night. Two ponies were seen nearby, and it became quickly clear that they were not friends. One was a teenaged Dusk, before he became alicorn, and he was using his front legs and hoofs to beat at the other whom Luna could not see. Dusk was yelling obscenities at the other, but then pulled back as the one he had been mistreating fell on the sidewalk before him at his hind legs, one Luna was certain she should know, but couldn't recall the name of. She watched as Dusk turned to walk away, but then planted a kick at the fallen one's muzzle, then disappeared into the night.
The fog again covered the scene, and disk Dusk moved onward without comment. They trod on several paces, only to pass another scene that the fog revealed, one which the disk did not pause at, but kept moving, What Luna caught was a younger Dusk sitting on the ground with a stallion leaning against a wall over Dusk, making a motion very clear to her. The stallion was using Dusk--
She turned away in disgust. That an adult would do such to a colt was beyond belief.
Luna snorted, bothered by these dark memories, yet she kept her counsel to herself. These were his memories, and it became clear to her why he had locked these away. Such ugliness was beyond her perception of how ponies can be so cruel. Yet that first scene she had seen was curious. What was his motivation for pushing that particular memory amongst all of these other memories? It was clear that he held some importance to that other pegasus.
They moved onward for several paces until the fog again lifted. Here, Luna's ears suddenly went erect. She had heard something. The scene before them was an abandoned warehouse, and her hearing had picked up a cry from within. Again, the scene appeared to be deserted, but the cry had come from somewhere. And disk Dusk was curiously silent. Indeed, her escort had suddenly disappeared.
There was a chill in the air here, and like the other scenes, this one also was at night. The warehouse looked empty, and had seen some damage taken over the years of disuse. Then, she heard a cry again which sounded as if from within. The cry was unmistakably from pain, and she trotted forward, quickly moving past the outside of the warehouse and through its dilapidated walls. What she saw then gave her pause.
The floor of the warehouse was empty, yet there were ponies within. One stood apart, ignoring the group further away. This lone pony was the same one that Dusk had abused in that earlier scene she witnessed, a mare, she now understands. A gray mare, not unlike that of Twilight Sparkle's mother.
Luna turned away from that one, as she didn't seem at any risk, nor was she crying, but seemed disinterested. Luna looked to the others, noting that they were a tight group of stallions in the far corner, and several of the stallions even appeared to be clad in noble's clothing. Approaching them slowly, she again heard a plea and an anguished cry from within the knot of ponies. Edging close, she then observed something that truly made her stomach turn, chilling her to her very core and bones: a young Dusk, hardly older than four or five, being so brutally used by these stallions--
Luna turned away quickly and began to run out from the warehouse and back into the night. All she could think about was how Dusk was still sane after experiencing all of these tragedies and ugly sexual abuse. It did now fit that he seemed so sarcastic in the way he views others.
As again the fog shrouded everything once more, Luna paused and searched for her odd companion, wondering if she should move onward. Her ears twisted about, seeking anything where it might have gone. And, just as she was about to start off in the direction where she thought they had come, the small disk thing appeared, visibly shaken and appearing to be in some distress.
"We must go now, Dreamwalker!" he told her in adamant terms. "Run!"
He was obviously agitated, and the face on the little disk creature dad seem as if in pain. Even as she began to move onward in the direction the disk pointed, she noted that the creature was beginning to distend, as if trying vainly to hold back something that was attempting to burst through. Her pace quickened, yet before she had gone more than a few steps, disk Dusk cried out desperately, as if in pain:
"You must go, NOW! Run! You cannot help me!"
She saw that by this point, it was no longer a disk, but had become horribly misshapen into something else, something beyond any comprehension. Spikes had appeared, along with tentacles waving about from what had been Dusk's avatar. He was becoming a vision of something nightmarish, so horrible to her that she was suddenly frozen by the thing that it was becoming.
Even frozen, somewhere in her mind knew what to do: she didn't bother to run. Instead, she immediately pulled out from Dusk's mind and back into reality. Turning to peer at Dusk opposite from her, Luna realized that he was indeed fighting off something that he had contained within himself. The pony that he was now twisted and writhed on the bench, his wings extended and flopped about uselessly. He turned upon his backside, legs kicking frenetically as his form was altering into what she had briefly espied in his mind.
Chilled by the sudden transforming thing she was seeing. Luna teleported herself from the cavern.
"SISTER! I NEED YOU HERE!"
She glanced back and was now fully afraid of what she saw... > X
Dusk returned his attention back to the problem before him, now that he felt the dreamwalker abruptly depart from his mind. While he might have preferred for Luna to fade away, much like his version, Selene, often did when she was spying in his mind and dreams, Luna's departure was satisfactory, being that he sensed her leave.
Looking back at what he had to try and deal with, Dusk returned back to normal pony form, thus separating himself from the other thing. He may still be within his mind, but he knew that it wouldn't be long before he had to try and shield it in the waking world. And he hoped that he could indeed recapture the otherworldly thing. He'd done it once, so he thought that it might be the same now.
As he gathered up his courage and magic, he peered at this creature, still attempting to fathom what exactly it was. It appeared as just an inky black blob that was mostly an amorphous shape without any discernible features. Just a black blob of negative energy floating in space. It seethed and roiled, but otherwise did not move, save to alter its orb shape to either an ovoid, then a teardrop, and again to pear-shaped, only to return once again to an orb.
Dusk blasted the thing with a spell of containment, only to observe the spell harmlessly bounce off the thing's surface. Damn, he thought. That should have worked! It did last time...
After firing several more spells, he knew that it had become much too powerful for him alone to handle and contain. He was dreading this possibility, but at least he had already figured on this eventuality. It pays to always have a back-up plan, as his old mage teacher told him so many times while Dusk was learning how to become a war mage.
Therefore, he had set it up with Twilight before-hoof in the eventuality that he would need assistance in the case that the creature would escape. The problem he worried about was if she would come to his aid. That was his greatest fear, and also the one thing he hated most, having to depend on others for help.
As he stared at it, the thing began to pulse, only to expand its outer form significantly. Dusk, realizing what was changing, backed away, fleeing quickly to the edge of his memory and attempted to close it off. However, before he could begin to lock it down, he felt the thing trying to break free. forcing against the door to the rest of his mind. Desperate to contain the thing, he slammed the ethereal door, only to be shoved back again before he could start the locking spell. This time proved to Dusk that he was no longer in control, and he had to abandon any further attempts, instead returning to the waking world.
As he came to, he sensed that the thing was barely behind him as he escaped, and by the time he had stood, the thing was now here in the cavern with him, still silently bobbing as if mocking him, daring Dusk to do something drastic.
A creature of the Void, he thought. Surely it had to be dealt with by the magic of the Guardians!
Nevertheless, Dusk again threw more spells at it, which only either bounced away harmlessly, or was absorbed by the black blob. And each spell it took made the creature swell in size. So much, that it was nearly filled the entire back part of the cavern.
* * *
Three others, two princesses and a slender patchwork worm with yellow eyes, peered into the cavern with alarm.
"What is that thing?" she asked. "Discord, do you know what it is?"
He paused, wiping a pair of glasses idly with a cloth, letting his spiked tail sway a bit before answering. "Hm," he hummed. "Well. It isn't anything chaotic, dear Celestia. If I were to guess, I'd say the creature was something out of the Void beyond the realm of matter. How in the name of Chaos did your alicorn prince friend ever corral it makes me wonder. That he could so easily send me back to my universe with a mere toss of his hoofs leads me to believe that Prince Dusk is no small mage. That said, I have no idea what to do about it, nor do I have any power to make it go away. If I were to say what best course was, I'd say, RUN! Because, you have no way to defend against something out of the Void. And if it gets loose, it will destroy your world, if not the entire universe."
Celestia bit her lip, considering how to calmly evacuate Canterlot. "Luna, go tell the captain of the Guard to go start the evacuation of Canterlot. Calmly, but with urgency. Where is Twilight?"
"Not far, Sister," Luna replied, worry on her brow.
"Find her and tell her to gather her friends, just in case. Go!"
Celestia peered at her old nemesis. "You stay, Discord," she told him. "You have some knowledge about it, and you may become useful for once, if need be."
Luna teleported away instantly, while both Celestia and Discord placed a shield spell about the cavern, hoping that would prove enough, although Discord knew that it might only delay the inevitable.
* * *
While he did acknowledge the others beyond the cavern entrance, Dusk had more urgent and pressing issues to deal with. The thing was expanding beyond his ability to hold it, and he hoped that Celestia was smart enough to summon Twilight here. However, even as he thought about it, the blob quickly surged, fully enveloping Dusk within its inky darkness.
Dusk froze, unsure where he was currently. The best he figured, he was now inside the Void creature. Somehow. He had expected to be consumed, eaten for being a creature of positive matter, but the blob merely sucked him inside of itself. He opened his eyes, but could see nothing save empty blackness everywhere. At least, it was warm.
And he could sense. Turning in the direction where the cavern entrance might be, he was able to see both Celestia and Discord just beyond, yet could not see Luna. Even more troubling was the absence of Twilight. She should be here, ready to lend Dusk aid, which he surely could use about now.
Oddly, he could also feel. He had touch for some curious reason, as he was not hanging freely in space, but was apparently standing upright, his hoofs firmly on some kind of flooring. Also, he could breathe. The air was foul, but still contained enough oxygen to keep him from suffocation. As if the creature was keeping Dusk alive. Why, and for what purpose, he lacked knowledge, or idea even.
What was weird to Dusk, was the complete lack of any communication between himself and it. Nevertheless, he was able to sense some form of sentience within the creature. No true sapience, just the most primitive type of sentience, probably operating on the most basic levels of instinct. Perhaps if he tried, he might be able to communicate with it. Couldn't hurt to try.
Before anything he could attempt, he sensed an overriding need for sustenance. The creature was hungry with a capital H. And it was ready to seek out food, whatever that was. Just as soon as he began to realize the creature's hunger, it began to swell again and bob, as if preparing to flee.
In that instant, it launched itself forward, easily bursting out from the shielding spell across the entrance. Dusk barely spied Discord shove Celestia aside, only to leap away in the opposite direction as the blob flew past both of them and splat against the crystal wall. Dusk figured that it was not that bright to do that, but he was wrong in that assumption. The blob instantly began to melt into the crystal wall, then started to burrow into the solid crystal wall. It even began to pick up speed as it continued on through, eventually coming to solid granite, where it only increased its speed again and also began feeding on the rock.
Well, that explains much, Dusk thought. It can eat anything.
Dusk quickly formed a command, curious to discover how much sentience this thing had. Eat no pony, he sent.
The Void creature moaned, even shook in response, as if fighting Dusk's command while it continued to eat its way out of the mountain. Still, Dusk was satisfied. The thing had responded.
The entire experience, while giving Dusk some fear, still left him speechless, yet curious. Just how much this thing was sentient was an open question. Sure, it wasn't sapient enough to talk, yet did respond to his directive, However, he then was shown a picture in his mind, a question asked but not spoken. He replied by instantly forming a picture of a pony in his mind, and the thing quickly accepted it. At that moment, Dusk sensed something else as he and the thing ate through the rock. It was adapting, altering itself to mimic Dusk's shape.
Dusk was then left breathless and alarmed. That this thing could change into something else meant that this was truly an awesome creature, but also horrifying.
Just as he was about to begin forming questions to ask it, they had come to the edge of the mountain, then burst through. Dusk felt nothing, yet the destruction he saw through the creature's perceptions was terrible enough, as the whole part of the mountain gave way, spewing rock and huge boulders outward as they exited. The Void creature ate what it could as it continued onward, flying through the air for what must have been at least a kilometer or more.
Dusk quickly looked back as they flew beyond the mountainside where they had bore through and left a gaping hole. It was then that he heard something else. As he watched, he sensed another horrifying thing: one of the main struts supporting the overhanging part of Canterlot began to shift. Not only did it shift, but also started to collapse, the metal making a terrifying shriek as it buckled under the weight of the structures and castle above.
At that moment, two figures appeared about the edge of Canterlot, both floating close: a white pony, wings flapping in desperation, and a pale brown worm beside it. Both seemed to begin stabilizing that part of Canterlot which was beginning to sag.
That was the scene left in his mind, of Celestia and Discord trying to keep Canterlot from total collapse against the orange glow of the setting sun. Dusk feared what would happen, and wanted badly to lend aid, but trapped as he was within the Void creature, he was left helpless, unable to help save anything. Instead, the creature, now in open space, began to drop downward toward the valley below. Canterlot was soon out of his sight as they fell.
That was when Dusk noticed that the shape of the creature had began assuming a definite form, one not surprising in the least. Since the thing had trapped Dusk within itself, he had been aware that the inky host had been studying him. Now, as they dropped from the mountain, Dusk sensed that it was altering its appearance, becoming somewhat of a caricature of a pony form, sprouting a head and elongating its body, only for legs to extend outward from the body. Four legs swiftly sprouted, then a pair of what he could only assume was representing wings sprung out from its body.
But it didn't stop there, as four more legs appeared between the initial set of legs, giving it an appearance of a giant black ant with a vaguely pony head, but without a tail.
Dusk used his sight sense that the creature provided, and he saw the forested ground rushing closer. He stiffened himself, expecting to feel it crash into the trees below.. As the trees quickly approached, the tops looking like large green spikes, the creature folded the faux wings, then slowed itself, coming to rest gently amongst the forest of evergreens. Its pony head still was above most of the trees, so Dusk was unable to see the ground, or at least much of it, yet he sensed that the creature was standing on solid ground.
Thinking quickly, Dusk began to draw on his magic to teleport out of the creature. Imagining the forest ground, he cast his spell, only for it to fizzle and die. And the creature about him grew larger then.
Fuck, he thought to himself. It was using his magic to live. Crap, where is she?
The Void creature reached down and bit off an entire tree, only to suck it up into its maw that had appeared then, and it moved onward to another tree, where it copied the first act of consuming a tree. It was beginning to feed on matter, much like a pony would when given a bowl of salad greens, or a bowl of raw hay.
Dusk looked about, desperate to find a way to stop it, but also to flee from his black prison and escape the creature. He struggled to find anything, magic, or even simply trying to burst out of the darkness he was imprisoned within, but to no avail. He was trapped solidly without hope of escape. Still, he knew that the creature was not only chewing up everything it stumbled across, but was also feeding off of Dusk himself.
Then, Dusk sensed something crash into the creature, only to quickly bounce away. After a moment, another crash and bounce off, this time on the opposite side. Then a third time from behind, each in quick succession.
Using his sense, Dusk noted a tiny speck of cyan flying at high velocity towards the black creature, and in the space of a breath, it once more slammed into the creature and flew away.
The creature paused, then projected a question to Dusk. Pony?
Dusk nodded in affirmation. Pony. Do not harm.
The creature sighed. It annoy.
The pegasus crashed into the head of the creature, but instead of merely fleeing, it paused and hovered before the creature, even standing up on hind legs while the forelegs moved in a threatening manner.
You fool, Blitz! Dusk screamed. Go away before you get hurt!
When the creature attempted to swat at it, the cyan pegasus backed away just out of the reach of the creature, yet still acted in a provocative manner at the creature, daring it to attack.
Again, the creature moved toward the hovering pony and tried to swat at it. And again, the pegasus dropped back while continuing to show a threatening manner. Dusk by now understood. Blitz was attempting to draw the Void creature away from the vicinity of Canterlot and away from any populated areas.
Dusk grinned, as it was exactly the thing that Blitz would do. Sure, Blitz lacked any actual ability to cause harm to the Void creature, but he could annoy it. Thinking swiftly, he sent to the creature, Follow.
The creature responded with an unvoiced question, yet trod ponderously toward the pegasus when Dusk did not reply. Soon, after several minutes of movement, Dusk saw that they had left the confines of the forest and had entered into a broad, fertile green valley meadow. The creature paused and moved its head, sensing out this new environment.
"Hey, lunkhead!" the pegasus cried, again slamming into the creature. "Come and get me!"
And the creature edged forward, chasing after the annoying little pony. But Dusk laughed to himself, realizing the ploy, but also noting that the words he had heard was not by a stallion, but a raspy-voiced mare.
Twilight's version of Blitz, he thought in amusement. Probably the one he spied napping on a cloud the other day in Ponyville.
He then saw a flash of pale purple flying towards them, and he sighed, relieved that the princess was indeed coming to help. She paused to push aside Blitz, then continued to fly at the creature, but instead of attempting to hurt it, she instead flew about the creature, examining it and no doubt calculating just how to approach eliminating its threat.
Another pony? came the creature's inquiry, and Dusk immediately nodded.
Do not eat, he sent in reply.
It not annoy. Why?
Learn of you, Dusk responded swiftly.
We take, the creature concluded. Feed.
No! Dusk quickly cried. Not feed!
The creature shuddered in annoyance at Dusk's insistence, yet then extended a faux wing to bat away the newer flying pony. Dusk chuckled when Twilight instantly teleported away as the wing tried to swat at her, only to reappear before its head.
"Dusk!" she cried then. "Are you in there!?"
I'm here! He tried to vocalize, yet she seemed not to hear him. Tentatively, he extend a foreleg out, and discovered that his hoof was beyond the creature's surface, and he wiggled it, hoping to catch her attention. She saw it apparently, and swiftly darted to the side of the head.
"Dusk?" she again asked. Then Dusk grasped her hoof with his and pulled her within the creature where he was, still unsure about how he had been able to reach out of the creature, yet glad he did..
She had shrieked when Dusk grabbed her, but after a brief moment of fright, she opened her eyes and beheld Dusk, who merely smirked in her direction.
"Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly," he said mockingly.
She punched him at his withers. "Damn you, Dusk!" she cried. "Stop being the ass for once! And, where are we?"
"Within the creature," he replied simply. "I was not sure that you'd come, Princess, but I am glad that you did. Are your friends close?"
She nodded, "Close enough," she replied with a nod.
"Can you feel your friends?" he pressed anxiously.
Again, her nod. "I can sense them, curiously," she said, then frowned. "But how? They are all outside."
"I have full sense of things beyond the creature, and even made contact with it," he explained. "It does have some sentience, and actually some consciousness, enough to communicate back to me. However, this truly is a monster that will devour everything it sees and feels. You must destroy it now, Princess. You have the power to do it. I cannot, as I am not linked to the Guardian's magic. You are. So, do that hoodoo, that you do, so well, Princess."
She looked at him with concern. "In here?" she asked
Dusk nodded. "It would be best," he agreed. "Killing something from within is the easiest solution. I should know, as that was my favorite way to eliminate any rivals and those I was directed to kill for Big Daddy. Made a mess, but it was effective."
Twilight stared at Dusk in horror. "You really did kill ponies?" she asked in a weak voice.
He shrugged. "I am a paid assassin, Princess," he stated blandly. "Now, do your thing, Princess before it begins to eat your world."
She hesitated, peering at Dusk cautiously. "You won't--" she began to ask, only for him to wave the question aside.
"I'll be here, Princess," he told her. "I'll just be standing aside, and I promise not to interfere." He grinned. "As lovely as you are to my male lust, I know better than to bother another while they cast magic. Now, Princess, do your Guardian magic thing that I've read so much about in your journal!"
With a curt nod, Twilight closed her eyes. Dusk backed away giving her plenty of space, unsure how she did that magic crap thing with the Guardian's magic. He watched in fascination as she hovered in the air, and he could vaguely sense her reaching out to contact her friends outside. It felt odd, and the space began to feel...different. In just a few heartbeats, she opened her eyes, and Dusk backed away again, astonished by the fact that her eyes were now glowing in pure white light. But that was not all, either, as a sense of such pure magic began to manifest and surround them and the creature, leaving him speechless.
Twilight felt so alive. She had reached out to her friends, and they in turn responded, bonding themselves to her magic. But then she sensed that the Tree's magic reaching out towards her, that pure magic of harmony which she had used before. Only now it was different. She had heard music while entranced by the Tree's magic before. This time, she heard an entire orchestra of sounds. And what was once a simple thread of harmony magic was now much more. She sensed a whole lot of magic from differing points, not just her Tree. Even more, she could sense magic flowing from other Trees far from her universe, and each Tree added to the power growing at an exponential rate within her. This was an entirely different type of magic, yet still harmonious in feeling.
The magic of the Guardians, as Dusk puts it.
The magic increased swiftly, enveloping her into a vessel of dire magic. This felt more like an offensive type of magic, and she was soon overfilled in this magic, almost to the breaking point in her mind. The orchestra of sounds had become totally deafening, and she tried to recoil away from the noise that had turned into a shriek that pierced her ears.
And, still more magic added.
Twilight was entirely lost, and she began to scream in agony at the level of magic being poured into her soul. She could hardly endure any more of this, and she gave her being to it, having no more thoughts.
The link stretched and writhed, only to become a rainbow of magic that shot instantly out about the creature. Twilight was barely able to witness the ribbon of magic slice into the inky creature, only to thread into Dusk and out of him, then further outside and up, where it contacted Canterlot and repaired what had been broken, even restoring the mountainside supporting the castle and town.
Then, as quickly as it appeared, the magic ceased, leaving a silence that was deafening. Twilight dropped to the ground and fell on her side, gasping for air at trying to make sense of what she had just experienced. At least she was alive still. Her friends all quickly came and surrounded her, even holding her close as they began to excitedly talk about their individual experiences.
"Is it gone?" Twilight blearily asked, shaking her head to clear herself, yet not the sensation of that pure harmonious magic. Her soul still sang in the feeling of that.
"Yeah, the meanie is gone!" Pinkie replied in a sing-song manner, even dancing about in sheer happiness. "What was that thing, Twilight?"
"Dusk," she replied with weariness. "Or, rather, what he had inside of him. I'll explain it later to you all."
Rainbow stood over Twilight, looking about with curiosity. "Okay, but where is he?" she asked.
Twilight bolted to standing, but nearly fell again when she felt dizzy from such a quick action. She walked slowly about with her head down, yet once she felt better, she raised her head and peered around. "Dusk?" she called out, frowning.
Rainbow instantly took the air in the growing darkness of evening. She looked around at the grassy meadow, even putting a hoof over her eyes as if blocking any light. She soon spied a dark shape in the grass some away, one nearly hidden in the tall grasses.
"There, I think," she said in her raspy voice, pointing in the direction.
Twilight turned to look, then took to the air herself and flew to the form in the dark. She landed beside the recumbent form of Dusk laying on his side,
Dropping to her belly, she tried to shake Dusk, "Wake up, you silly goose!" she cried.
Dusk, however, remained unmoving.
Twilight grasped him and pulled him close, again shaking him roughly. "Dusk! Dusk!" she shouted, yet he remained unresponsive.
She then looked about in desperation, and upon seeing Rainbow nearby, she yelled at her friend, "Go quickly and bring back Princess Celestia! I'm not sure, but I think that Dusk is seriously injured!"
Rainbow was instantly airborne and darted away towards Canterlot, a trail of rainbow colors behind her.
Twilight hugged Dusk close and rocked, saying his name over and over again while her other friends gathered about in silence.
Applejack tilted her hat back, then said, "Twilight, he might be dead."
Twilight shook her head roughly. "He can't!" she cried. "It was Harmony magic! He can't be dead!" She again stared down at him.
"Please Dusk! Awake and tell me how you lust for me, so I know that you are alive! Please!"
And the night closed in about her and Dusk.
> XI
The day was bright and sunny outside with a hint of Summer on the slight breeze blowing which blew a few wispy clouds high up in the sky. Surely the weatherponies had been hard at work creating such fabulous wisps and streamer clouds, yet only a few. The only other cloud was huge, bearing the great pegasi city of Cloudsdale hovering close to Canterlot, as if acting as protection for the Equestrian capital city.
Lately, the nights in Equestria had been quite beautiful, the moon shining brightly, trying to keep the dreams of ponies safe and lovely.
It was as if both princesses were doing their best to reassure ponies that all was safe again, after the nightmare of that evening barely three weeks prior. The scars of that time still lingered, but only just, and mostly in the minds of those affected. Canterlot had been saved, righted and once again the jewel of Equestria, the structures that had been damaged repaired by the Harmony beam which destroyed the monster that Dusk had brought.
Celestia paced about the hospital waiting room restlessly, still deciding what to say to that pony, Dusk Shine. He had been transported here to this facility, his body broken and barely alive. Just barely alive, she corrected. And since that night, he had been in a coma. And yet, she had received word from the doctors that her presence was requested concerning the alicorn prince. No word what about, simply that she should come and be consulted.
Celestia had brought Twilight with her, as she knew that Twilight would have wanted to accompany the princess. Since that night, Twilight had not returned back to her castle in Ponyville, concerned about Dusk's health. Celestia frowned, worried at Twilight's behavior regarding the fallen stallion. Twilight had not been resting well, and there was concern that the entire incident had affected Twilight deeply. Luna had looked into Twilight's infrequent dreams, but could not sense any anxiety about the creature. Only Dusk was paramount in the younger princess's dreams, giving Celestia another bout of her own anxiety.
Princess Cadance had come to offer assistance to Celestia, but has since returned back to the Crystal Empire. The only thing that Cadance has spoken of regarding her sister-in-law was that Twilight was displaying a touch of love, yet Cadance knew nothing else beyond that, not being privy regarding Dusk yet, something else that the pink princess of Love should have been told about, which Twilight had failed to do, for some odd reason.
Celestia continued to pace back and forth in the waiting room here in Canterlot Unity Hospital, nervous, yet calm at the same time. She only paused once to study the sign at the door next to the reception desk which led to the interior of the hospital. The sign read:
To all visitors to this facility:
Unicorns: Please refrain from using any magic, unless expressly permitted by staff. Ambient magic might cause unexpected incidents with other patients. Only staff are permitted to use magic in this facility.
Pegasi: Flying in halls are prohibited, as this may cause unduly alarm to staff, leading to disastrous results. Pegasi must walk only, wings kept tight at their sides at all times.
Thank You for your patience and adherence to these rules.
The staff of Canterlot Unity Hospital
Celestia snorted, not sure why such a declaration was needed. Everypony should know these simple rules of behavior. Still, there will be some who may try to do things without regard for other ponies. Things happen...
Twilight, having been curled up on a couch and reading, looked up at the Sun Princess with concern. "Something wrong, Celestia?" she asked.
Celestia, glanced to her student briefly, then smiled. "Nothing at all, Twilight," she replied gently. "Just thinking is all."
Twilight nodded and returned back to her book. Celestia resumed pacing the small waiting room.
Moments later, the door to the hospital opened, and a gray stallion wearing a lab coat entered, appearing to be flustered. "Ah, Princess!" he spoke to Celestia. "Many pardons, Highness. A problem came up that required my immediate attention. I hope that you will pardon this?"
Celestia nodded to the doctor graciously. "Indeed, Doctor," she spoke. "Why have I been summoned, if you could explain."
"Uh, sure," he replied with an apologetic bob of his head. "The alicorn patient stallion, if you please. He has awakened. I am sure you would like to speak to him, yes? That was implied when he had been brought in."
Celestia nodded, noting to her side that Twilight was looking up at both her and the doctor. "I would very much like to see Prince Dusk," she stated.
She looked to Twilight. "I want to see him first, if you don't mind, Twilight," Celestia said. "I have a few things I wish to say to him before you are permitted to visit him, dear. I promise to keep my temper down, if that is your concern, my dear faithful student."
Twilight flattened her ears, clearly understanding what Celestia said. "Don't hurt him too much, Princess," she said. "I'd like a crack at him also."
Celestia smiled at Twilight. "I'm sure you would." She then looked to the doctor. "If you please, Doctor," she said.
He bobbed his head again, then turned and held the door open for the Princess. "If you would follow me, your Highness."
Celestia trotted into the hallway, then waited until the doctor had joined her a moment after. He then started walking down the hall and began to explain.
"We were not sure if he would make it, Princess. He was barely alive, his body in a sad state with multiple broken bones. We did what we could to stabilize him, of course. Mostly, however, we could only do so much for him, figuring that as an alicorn, he would naturally heal himself." He glanced to Celestia and sighed. "That has not happened yet, and is cause for concern."
Celestia paused and peered at the doctor. "Why is that?" she asked.
He grinned sheepishly. "We do not understand ourselves, to be honest," he replied quickly. "As an alicorn, he should be healing rapidly, yet shows no signs of doing that yet."
"Odd," she said, and they resumed walking onward. They then turned down another hall, passing a few nurses pushing various carts along and avoiding a few other doctors, including one group of student doctors being led by a senior physician.
"To say the least, Princess," he agreed. "He has been under constant observation since being brought in, yet shows no signs of recovery, despite all of our attempts."
"That truly is concerning, Doctor," she said with a frown. "He has magic, certainly, or at least magic should be available to him, yes?"
The doctor sighed, and rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. "He has the best available care offered, Princess," he said uncomfortably. "Yet he has not responded to anything, and that really is remarkable, given what we know regarding alicorn physiology and thaumic abilities. This is one reason why you were summoned, Princess, as we were hoping that perhaps you might understand what is wrong with the patient."
"Hm," she said, thinking what kind of reason that was keeping Dusk from healing himself.. Alicorns always can heal themselves with no outside help, as long as they have magic available to them. "How is his horn, Doctor?" she asked, thinking that perhaps his horn may have been damaged.
He grinned. "Allow me to demonstrate, Princess," he said. "We are here."
The doctor opened the door, then stepped aside to allow the princess to enter first, then followed her within the private room.
Celestia paused and looked about. The room was spacious enough with only a single bed within, a common hospital-type bed, upon which lay Dusk. He was covered in a single thin blanket, of course, but what truly stood out was all of the various wires and tubes attached to him, from the IV drip to his leg down to the pair of thick tubes which disappeared under the blanket and attached to a pair of machines set on the floor, both containing reservoirs. Another wire was pasted to his chest that went to a machine that displayed a regular heartbeat, the tones evenly spaced with a numerical readout that showed the numbers 72 in red. At the head of the bed stood an O2 tank, a mask hanging from the valve and ready to be used if needed.
Dusk lay out on the bed on his side, his hoofs peeking out from the blanket, his head on a small pillow. He looked to be quite normal, other than the various tubes and wires about him. But it was the odd set of wires that were attached to a ring about his horn that was disturbing to Celestia. The wires led to another rectangular machine which also periodically beeped and showed another display that gave her chills, as the reading was something she had never seen before. The display read simply "0.1", only to briefly switch to "0.15" before returning once more to the previous reading.
She peered down at the stallion doctor. "But, that's impossible!" she cried softly. "No unicorn could possible live with that level!"
He shrugged. "He has shown that level of thaumic drawing since arrival, Princess," he told her. "We did an immediate scan of his horn, yet it appears to be perfectly functional. Here, allow me to demonstrate."
The doctor brought out a large green gem set in a gold ornate device, which he brought to Dusk's horn. Holding the gem over the horn, the doctor showed Celestia how the gem was glowing a bright green color. "If the horn was damaged or broken, the gem would show that by the light flickering," he said. "But, as you see, the glow is steady, thus indicating that his horn is fine. It is my opinion that something is blocking his thaumic drawing. Would you have any clue why this is so, your Highness?"
She shook her head. "Not a single clue, Doctor," she replied, puzzled by this strange outcome. "Is there anything else wrong, Doctor?"
"Well," he began and sighed. "Internally, all of his organs seem to be working properly. However, most of his skeleton still remains broken, and he appears to have no control over his muscles or motor activity. We have him on a liquid diet, since he cannot hold down any solid food, even of it was basic grass and not hay or oats. That alone is a cause for alarm, and yet he seems just fine without any solid sustenance. He even shows a good bowel movement and proper urinary discharge. I am at a complete loss why he is this way, Highness."
She frowned at what the doctor told her. It was just too odd, and in all of her years, she has never seen anything like this. The thaumic levels Dusk has should have left him dead, in fact. No unicorn could possibly stay alive at such low levels of magic, since unicorns are creatures of magic, not just living ponies. And, being an alicorn...
"Hiya, Doc!"
"You are awake, I see," the doctor spoke, and Dusk nodded.
"How goes it in the clean world?" Dusk asked brightly. "Good?"
The doctor nodded, shifting on his stance and again checking Dusk's vitals. "You could ask your visitor yourself that, Dusk Shine."
Dusk's eyes shifted to peer up at Celestia. "Ah, Princess Snow Goose," he said with a chuckle. "Have you come to gloat over my condition?"
Celestia tightened her mouth at his words, while the doctor rolled his eyes, not believing what he heard from the patient. "I do not gloat over a fallen hero or enemy, Dusk Shine," she replied with a snort. "I was summoned once you awoke, and there are a few things I wish to talk about, if you are capable."
Dusk closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again and sighed. "Well, you do have your wish anyway, Snow Goose," he said in a weary voice. "I may not be behind any bars, but I am in a prison just the same, only surrounded by tubes and wires and completely immobile, as if shackled."
"And, who's to blame for that, Dusk?" she asked crisply.
He glanced to the doctor for a moment, and the doctor suddenly backed away. "I'll be outside if you need, Princess," the doctor said, then left the room.
"At least the void beast did not eat any ponies," Dusk replied in a monotone.
"Praise Faust for that, Dusk," Celestia remarked. "How did you ever manage to corral that thing in the first place?"
"Luck, I suppose," he sighed. "Plus, it was small then. While I kept it, the beast must have been feeding on my magic without my knowing. So, how is everything now? Did that Guardian's shit work okay?"
"The magic of Harmony did return everything back to normal," she replied tersely. "Including Canterlot."
"Yeah," he said with another long sigh. "Sorry about that."
"If Discord hadn't been there to aid me, I would never had the strength to hold up the entire city in my magic," she stated. "As it was, I could hear the screams of my little ponies' fear while the city was hanging on the side of Cantermount."
Dusk said nothing, but looked away down at the tiled floor. "Sorry," he said weakly.
"I don't know what more to say about that thing, Dusk Shine," she said with a flick of her tail. "It is gone now. I hope you have nothing more like that in your mind."
"No, Princess," he replied forlornly.
"Anyways, my sister did tell me what she saw in your memories, and I do want to hear some explanation regarding those. But, what I feel from those is probably why you are as you are now. No pony should have ever gone through such evil as you did."
He said nothing for a few moments, then said, "My only regret was to relive such times, Princess. Some things are just too painful to remember."
She glanced to the thaumic machine. "Do you have any idea why you are not getting any magic, Dusk?"
"Not a single clue, Princess," he replied, then snorted. "I simply cannot feel any magic. Doc even told me that there is a major Leyline close to this hospital, yet I am not able to sense it."
Celestia frowned. "That is strange," she remarked. "Even so, as an alicorn, you should be drawing magic from the air, not just from a Leyline. This world is run on free magic, not only that from the Harmony Tree. Yet, you claim not to feel any, correct?"
Dusk nodded slowly, wishing to be somewhere lese now. "Tell me, Princess," he said. "Tell me where this place you mentioned about sending me eventually, this Zebrica."
She lifted her head and chuckled. "Don't worry, Dusk," she said. "It was merely a thought to keep you in line, dear. But, if you really want to know, it is to the southeast from here and across the southern Celestial Sea. It is where zebras come from."
Dusk nodded. "Zebras are okay with me," he said. "I wouldn't mind going there. I can even talk in their language, as I was taught to speak in Zebrikaans by a former teacher mage, who had been a zebra back in my world."
"Interesting," Celestia noted with a nod. "I take it that you are knowledgeable regarding zebra culture then?"
"Yes," Dusk replied, nodding. "I do find the mares quite attractive, you know. All but the maharisi."
"What is that?" Celestia asked curiously, as she had never heard such a term.
Dusk peered at Celestia for a moment, then replied, "The maharisi are a sect of zebra witches and seeresses who speak in riddles and rhymes. Some are even potion makers."
Celestia paused, thinking. She figured that it might be wise to let Twilight know about his dislike, since Twilight knew of one such zebra mare. "Anyway, I feel that I should leave and let you rest, Dusk," she said. She then looked at Dusk. "Are you up to seeing Twilight, or would you rather rest?"
"Princess is here?" he asked, raising his head slightly from the small hospital pillow. "Where?"
"In the waiting room."
He peered up at Celestia. "Bring her, please," he said. "I need to speak to her now."
Celestia gave him a curt nod. "She will be along in moments," she said, backing away to the door, then spun about. "Twilight and I will seek some sort of cause keeping you from magic, Dusk Shine."
He stared at the door after she left, a slow grin appearing on his face. At least Snow Goose had given him a show. That was one thing he didn't mind about this sun goddess; she was completely oblivious regarding the display of her marehood, unlike Solaria being such a tight tail. It was just as nice as any younger mare, despite the knowledge of Celestia's age. One of the benefits of being an alicorn, since alicorns never aged beyond their prime.
A few minutes later, the door to his room opened again, and Twilight entered with a quiet step. Dusk opened his eyes to look at her, his ears flat against his head.
"I'm sure you are ready to hit me again, Princess," he said in a monotone voice.
"Perhaps," she said contritely. "Perhaps not. I am only glad that you are still alive, Dusk. How are you feeling?"
He gave her a brief grin. "Want a good answer, or the truth?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
She tilted her head in askance. "Both."
"Well," he began, only to pause and cough for a few times. "The good answer is I am alive, much to my surprise, Princess. I was expecting the shit you used to pretty much kill me. But the real truth is, I am simply fucked up, and feel it so painfully. Yeah, yeah, I'm on some kind of saline drip, I know that. I really, really need a cigarette and a few shots of good whiskey, or at least a snort of what little vine I have left. Did you retrieve my bags, Twilight?"
She nodded slowly. "I have them, Dusk," she said. "Everything is still there, although to be honest, I'm tempted to dispose of that stuff you put up your nose. That is nasty stuff."
"Yeah," he said forlornly. "Tell me about it, Princess. Still, it helps me at times to face the world again when I need to. You would not understand, of course. Everything has been given to you, and you have received plenty of love from family and Snow Goose, plus your friends. Me? I had to fight for what I got, and there were days when I had nothing to eat. If it wasn't for my friend Blitz, I'd have starved. Blitz would swoop down and steal food, which he gave to me, or even bring me some of what he ate with his parents."
"He sounds like a good friend, Dusk," Twilight remarked.
Dusk nodded. "He was, until I killed him," Dusk said in a flat voice.
"Luna told me that she saw you holding somepony in your memory," she said. "Was that whom you were holding in your forelegs?"
Dusk nodded slowly with a faraway look. "Blitz should not have been there," he said. "I was preparing to fire at an enemy, thinking that Blitz was far enough away. But when I fired the blast, Blitz got in the way, not knowing that I was already firing my shot."
He sighed. "My magic killed him instantly, and when I came to terms with that, I vowed never to have another friend again. Acquaintances and accomplices, sure. No friends."
"I'm sorry for your loss, Dusk," Twilight said with sincerity in her voice. "But you should not have stopped making friends just because of a silly mistake."
"You are basing that statement on your world, Princess," Dusk wearily said. "Mine was so much different."
"Couldn't be that different," she noted.
Dusk sighed, dropping the subject. "How is Starlight?" he asked.
Twilight looked at him. "Fine," she replied evenly. "Starlight has been asking how you've been. She seems anxious to talk to you again."
He chuckled, only to again cough. "Did she tell you what I said to her, how she was in my world my wife?"
Twilight looked surprised at that. "No, she didn't," she replied, shocked at that admission. "It now makes sense why she has been asking about you more lately."
"Yeah, no doubt," Dusk said. "I do like your Starlight, but she is somewhat different than my Twinkle. I mean, sure, the sex was good, but the things that Starlight does is very different than my Twinkle. Also, Twinkle is pregnant with our foal, or at least she was when I was imprisoned. A shame that I will never see my foal."
"I have been trying to find a way for you to return, Dusk," Twilight said.
"Don't bother, Twilight," he said. "I'd only be imprisoned again, if not outright killed."
"All my friends still want to meet you, Dusk," Twilight said.
"Please thank them for me, okay?" he said. "And I should be very grateful for your help too, Princess. I was rather afraid that you would not appear, yet you did anyway, despite how I treated you."
"I still have a few things about that, Dusk. But I do accept your thanks anyway. I still wish us to become friends, despite your stupidity and abuse of me. I am open to give you a second chance, if you want it."
"Yeah, well," he began, only to sigh. "Not like I'm going anywhere, right?"
She glanced meaningfully at the machine. "And that is still bothering me after Celestia told me about that," she said. "I am trying to figure out why you cannot regain magic. It should be impossible, unless you are dead."
He peered at Twilight and sighed again. "Perhaps I am and I just don't know it yet."
She scrunched her face and said, "Dead do not talk, Dusk. You are alive, simple as that. We just have to understand why you are not getting any magic through your horn."
"Yeah," he said. "Doesn't matter anyhow. I'm not going to get up and dance, nor try to seduce you. Princess. Even though I wish it were so."
She gave him a look, then grinned. "Get better, and I may let you try, Dusk Shine."
He chuckled. "Oh, when Tartarus freezes, I'm sure," he remarked in a distant tone.
"You never know," she teased him. "Still, I want to do some research regarding your loss of magic, so I'll be around again, if you don't mind."
"Oh, I don't mind at all, Twilight," he said, trying to move his withers in a shrug and failing. "At least I'll have something cute to look for. Better than these damn nurses, including that one Nurse Ratchet who keeps attempting to make me move. I swear, mares are supposed to look cute and pretty, but that nurse is one ugly bitch!"
Twilight shook her head. "Still being Dusk, I see," she remarked with a small chuckle. I think that you need to calm down and try to become a better stallion, Dusk. And clean up your language, please. You may find that ponies may begin to like you."
"Faust forbid!" he said fatalistically. "That would be a fate worse than death."
"Aw, come on, Dusk," she chided. "Can't be that bad. Try it, and maybe you will find it enjoyable."
"Doubt it, Princess," he snorted. "I've done quite well on my own, thank you very much."
She frowned, then sighed. "Anyway, I'm glad that you are alive," she said. "I was afraid that you did die, after taking that Harmony blast like you did."
"As I intended, Twilight," he said. "I hoped that it would indeed kill me. But the damn thing decided that leaving me like this is death enough, I suppose."
"That is not the way of Harmony, Dusk," she insisted. "The Tree does not do things like that."
"Could have fooled me," he remarked with a sniff. "Anyway, I am glad that you are okay now, Princess. "I suppose that I'd better go back to sleep again before Nurse Ratchet comes back and torture me again. Tell Spike that I miss seeing his snout. He is quite the little dude, and also tell him that I am sorry to have made him upset then regarding you."
"He is another that has been asking about you, Dusk," she said. "You see? You do have friends here, even if you act like a moron at times."
"Will wonders never cease," he said bitterly.
Twilight huffed, exasperated at his attempts at being difficult. "I am leaving, Dusk," she said. "Try to relax. I'm going to see what I can do about your condition."
"Yeah, yeah," he said, then sighed. "Don't stay up too long, Princess. I do not deserve it. Best to just simply remove all of this crap hooked up to me and let me fade away while you go on living your life. And if you are a friend like you claim, you would do that for me."
She gave him an annoyed glance. "I would never think of doing that, Dusk Shine!" she huffed. "Friends would never kill another."
"I did." He looked away. "Good bye, Princess."
Twilight took a big breath, slowly exhaling to calm herself. She did not truly understand him, yet she is trying to. With a final glance at the thaumic machine, she turned and left the room, fully intent on seeing what can be done for Dusk. She felt something about him, a curiosity that still intrigues her. She also has another feeling for him, yet she really doesn't want to consider that yet. She cursed him under her breath as she walked away.
And yet, she did harbor a feeling for him. She just doesn't know if she should.
> XII
Despite staying up well into the early morning hours while researching as much as she was able from the Royal Canterlot Archives and Library, only to come up empty, Twilight Sparkle was awake and heading back to the hospital where Dusk was. She wanted to speak to him again, hoping that he knew something that she did not, or missed in their talk yesterday.
Once again, the day was bright and cheerful, yet with her mind elsewhere, she did not acknowledge it. Sending a letter to Spike last night, wondering how he was getting along with Starlight back in Ponyville, had helped alleviate some anxiety, certainly. She really needed to return back to her Castle of Friendship and relax, yet she couldn't simply leave Dusk hanging as he was currently. It may sound crazy to others, but Twilight wanted Dusk around her.
She did like him, although why she didn't want others to know. Especially her sister-in-law, Princess Cadance. No, Cadance would see right through Twilight's emotions, and at this time, Twilight was not ready to admit it that she had feelings for her counterpart, despite his often-grating manners and overall meanness. He would be a real challenge to reform, more than Starlight had been. And that was if he would permit Twilight to try.
Somehow, she doubted that Dusk would ever let himself be reformed. He was too into himself, and with his background that Luna had spoken of, Twilight knew that he was beyond any simple reformation of character. He had grown up with such hate, it would be too hard to change him.
No, it might be easier just to let Dusk be Dusk for now. After him seeing what real friendship could be, perhaps he might turn around eventually, but it would probably take more than a few days or weeks, certainly.
Then there was his quick gravitation to Starlight when he'd been there in Ponyville at the castle. Twilight had been quite eager to see if Starlight might help, but instead she and Dusk had slept together. Or so Starlight bragged, as did Dusk. That thought had rankled Twilight for a time, and she only now understood why. She had been jealous. Oh, sure, she still felt some resentment with the irritating manner that Dusk had treated Twilight herself, yet it had only acted to increase her interest in him. Still, she would let him see how friendship worked, and perhaps he'd calm down and become a better pony. Only then would she permit Dusk to attempt any seduction of her.
It was far from anything she was ready accept, yet she did want to be with him eventually, and perhaps not just friends. He represented something else beyond her experience, something to learn and explore...
Upon entering the waiting room, Twilight spoke to the receptionist and signed in, then sat down and waited, thinking what she would say to Dusk. She expected that it might take some time, yet before she was comfortable in the seat, his doctor came out and called her name. Twilight was instantly up on her hoofs and trotted to the doctor.
"How is he today, Doctor?" she asked as he let her into the hospital corridor.
"Same as yesterday, Princess," the stallion replied as they began walking. "His vitals are still the same, as is his magic level. His temper, though..." And the doctor sighed.
"Perhaps I could help cheer him," she said with a reassuring smile. "He is probably just lonely."
"Maybe," the doctor cautiously said.
Nothing else was said and at the door, the doctor let Twilight inside. "I'll be near, Princess," he said to her. "If needed, that is."
"Thank you Doctor," she said, then turned to Dusk laying on the bed, still hooked up with wires and tubes. Dusk seemed to be asleep, as he had yet to acknowledge her presence.
"Dusk?" she asked in a small voice. "Are you awake?"
He slowly opened his eyes and stared at her for a moment. "Princess," he spoke in a flat tone. "Why have you come?"
She approached the bedside, then glanced at the various machines before returning to look at him with a frown. "I just wanted to tell you that I am searching for an answer to your problem," she said with a flick of her tail. "How do you feel?"
Dusk closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, only to not look at Twilight. "I don't want you here, Princess," he said, sounding quite forlorn. "Go away. And as far as my horn, don't bother. Nothing matters anymore."
"Why is that, Dusk?" she asked, her frown deepening. "Is something wrong?"
Dusk did not reply for a few moments, still not making eye contact with her. Soon, he sighed and spoke. "If you must know, I had a visitor last night after visiting hours, one I was sure to expect. It told me that I am a bad pony, and I was only being kept alive while they figure out what to do with me. But what it told me after that is why I no longer care for anything, Twilight Sparkle. It told me that my world where I am from no longer exists, and that I am marooned here."
"Who told you this, Dusk?"
"The Guardian," he replied, still in his flat voice, a tone that spoke of resignation. "What you know as the Harmony Tree. It told me that all of the Guardians agreed to remove my world to prevent any further incursions by the Void creatures." His voice trailed off for a moment or two before speaking again. "They simply destroyed my world, Twilight. All of the ponies there are...gone. Everything I knew is no longer. My mother, Big Daddy, Twinkle... Dear Faust, she was my wife, and I will never see my foal. All of it, gone." And he lapsed into silence, closing his eyes.
Twilight blinked as she could hear the pain in his voice. He was broken, unable to reach magic, and now being told that his life was gone...Yeah, she could feel for him.
"But, Dusk, you are alive yet," she said, trying to cheer him.
He grunted. "If you could call it that, Princess," he mocked. "And if you were a friend to me, then simply kill me. Right now, here in this sterile room. I have nothing else to live for."
"As a friend, Dusk, I cannot do as you want me to," she said with a small snort. "I am the Princess of Friendship, not a killer."
Dusk sighed, then closed his eyes. "Then we are not friends, Princess," he said with finality. "Go away. I have no use of you any further. Good bye, Princess."
Twilight stood there, thinking what she could say to reconcile this. But as the moments passed and the silence grew with Dusk ignoring her, Twilight sighed and turned away to leave. Before she got to the door, she paused and said, "I will fix this, Dusk. I promise."
"Don't bother," he said with resignation. "I'm not worth it."
"Yes, you are, Dusk," she retorted and stomped out of the room.
Thinking furiously, she teleported to the castle and spoke to Celestia, informing her of what has transpired overnight. She also told the princess her determination of finding a cure for Dusk's current state. She then took her leave, and left Canterlot, returning back to Ponyville and her castle via Celestia's carriage, as it would be quicker than the train. She had a goal in mind, and wanted to reach there as soon as possible.
Once the carriage landed close to her castle, Twilight quickly alit and thanked the two pegasi guards, then sent them back. Turning to go into the castle, Twilight was grasped by Spike, who held her close.
"I'm glad that you are back, Twi," he said with sincerity. "What now? Some more research?"
She shook her head. "No, Spike," she told him. "I am only here for a moment to pick up something before I go speak to the Tree."
He looked up at his sister, his big green eyes full of wonder. "The Tree?" he asked. "Can I come along?"
Twilight rubbed the top of his head with a hoof in a placating manner. "Not this time, Spike," she said. "I need to discuss things with it regarding Dusk."
"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed. "Can you take Starlight with you at least? I'm sure that she would like to go with you."
"No, Spike," she told him firmly. "I must do this myself and not be distracted. Now, if you please let me go, I can get what I need and then go to where I must to rescue Dusk."
The dragon sighed and released her, disappointment clearly in his manner. "At least stay and have something to eat, Twi," he said as they turned to enter the crystal castle.
"No time for that, Spike," she replied with a huff. "I'm in a hurry. Dusk's life may be in danger."
"What do you mean, Twilight?" asked Starlight, as she looked on with concern when Twilight and Spike entered the castle. "Is something wrong?"
"Other than Dusk not having any magic?" Twilight retorted as she trotted past her friend and starting up the stairs. "And him telling me that he wants to die, even asking me to kill him? What other else could be wrong?"
"Calm down, Twilight!" Starlight cried, struggling to keep up to Twilight's hurried steps. "Why don't you tell me what is wrong? Maybe I could help."
Twilight paused and glanced back to Starlight with a frown. But then, she again started walking onward. "When this is done, I will tell you about it," she stated with a huff. "I simply have no time to explain it. I must hurry before Dusk..."
Twilight reached her room and went to a case standing by a wall, where she pulled out her crown and set it on her head. With a flick of her tail, she held her head high. "Listen, Starlight," she said to her friend. "This is very important. Dusk's life hangs in the balance, and I need to rectify it. And if you want him back so you can have," and she paused to glance down at Spike, "more fun with him, then let me try to talk some sense to that whom I must speak to. Please understand, Starlight, I'm not trying to be mysterious or silly. I like Dusk, even if he is a stupid stallion and so darn hurtful. He needs guidance, and between both you and I, we might be able to reclaim what he should be. But I cannot if he is dead, so please let me go and attempt to correct it."
Starlight gave Twilight a long stare, yet soon relented. With reluctance, she yielded and said, "I hope that you know what you are doing, Twilight. For your sake, please be careful. He is not worth your life if something goes wrong."
"What could go wrong, Starlight?" Twilight shot back with a frown. "I am only going to talk to the Tree of Harmony, that's all. I wish to speak to it and discover what can be done to help Dusk recover. I'm not going there and simply sit and look at it with a hope that it would tell me what I wish."
"But, it is in the Everfree!" Starlight cried stubbornly.
Twilight grinned at her friend. "Don't worry," she said calmly. "I'll be flying there. Surely I can handle any threat in the sky. I'll tell you what, though. When I am finished, I will return and sleep here tonight. Is that acceptable, Starlight?"
The other mare nodded, but only just so. She still had her doubts, yet had to accept that Twilight knew what she was doing. "Like I said, Twilight," Starlight said. "Please be careful."
Twilight chuckled and swept a wing over Starlight companionably. "I'll be back before you know it, Starlight," she reassured her friend and former antagonist. "I should be back before dinner, so we can all sit down and have a nice meal."
They left Twilight's room, and Twilight suddenly teleported herself and Starlight outside of the castle. Extending her wings, Twilight grasped Starlight in a hug, then turned and quickly ascended into the air, flying towards the forest outside of Ponyville. With her mind on what she would talk to the Tree about, Twilight winged her way to that large canyon where the Tree stood.
It was rather swift before she spied the canyon not far from the old abandoned castle that stood forlornly within the forest, broken and left to rot. It had been a quick journey to the Tree this way, as she never had to deal with any threat on the ground, which always made the trek not only hazardous, but took up a lot of time having to dispense with any threat, whether from a manticore or a Timberwolf, or some such. In addition, it was long enough that Twilight came to a firm decision.
Softly landing within the canyon with a sigh, Twilight then trotted to the bend where the Tree was. Here she could sense its warmth and friendly feeling, bathed in the light that was both golden and argent at the same time. It remained silent as she approached, yet she could sense that it was watching her, as once she was close enough, she felt a welcoming sensation.
The tree never moved, yet it was ready to hear why she came to it. Twilight reached a point close to it, then sat on her haunches and stared at the magnificent Tree, a crystal tree of silver, filling the nook which the Tree encompassed. The five branches, each ending with large globes, each bearing a cutie mark of her friends, while a sixth globe was astride the trunk amongst the branches and having her cutie mark, all seemingly reach out towards Twilight, yet remained still. The Tree was not just a plant, but a Presence, and the source of all Harmony in the world.
She waited, knowing that her arrival would be met with a greeting from the Tree. And that greeting soon came.
"Ah, Element Bearer, you are welcomed," spoke a voice seemingly from everywhere about her. It continued with, "You have been expected, Bearer. What would you like to learn from Us?"
A pony figure appeared from behind the Tree and approached with an unblinking gaze, only to stop a few paces away and stood waiting. Twilight stood and faced the avatar, her face set. "Dusk," she stated flatly. "What and why did you do what you did to him?"
A moment or two of silence, then: "Who?"
"The other me from a different universe," she said, her tail quivering.
"Ah, yes," it said without emotion. "The Bearer that unleased the Void beast here. Do not be concerned with it. We will remove it soon. Once that failed Bearer passes, its essence will be used to recreate a better world."
"No!" Twilight cried, stomping a hoof. "As long as he lives, he is a pony! You cannot simply allow him to die. That is so wrong!"
Another long silence with the ghostly avatar that appears exactly like Twilight staring back, still unblinking. Soon, it spoke again. "Wrong? That one is wrong. It is not worth your time, forget about that one, Bearer. It has at least some use to Us."
"Dusk is a pony!" Twilight again cried, becoming upset. "I will not let you simply let him live like this until he just 'passes away'! He has a life! He isn't something that you can merely use like a puppet! I demand that you allow him to return back to an active life!"
"Calm yourself, Bearer," the avatar said without moving its mouth. "It is not worth your worry, nor does it belong here. It is a failure, and needs to be removed. Why are you so passionate about keeping that one alive? It is a threat that cannot be allowed to continue."
Twilight flared her nostrils and stood firm. "Dusk is no threat to you or any other pony like this!" She tried breathing deeply to calm herself. Once she settled, she spoke again. "Dusk is a life. He can be made better, if you let me. Please, I beg, bring him back. He deserves at least some respect. And he didn't 'unleash' that thing. He had it contained until Princess Luna went looking into his memories."
Once again, silence fell between Twilight and the tree's avatar. The silence lengthened for several minutes with the only change being that the avatar's eyes closed, perhaps communicating, but to whom or what, Twilight wasn't sure. Until:
"No. Bearer. It has been decided. The failed Bearer will pass. Its life is forfeit."
Anger grew in Twilight, her nostrils again flaring ominously. "Fine," she spat, only to remove her tiara from her head and drop it between herself and the avatar. "I quit."
The avatar looked down at the discarded crown, then back to Twilight. "You are the Bearer of Magic," it said. "You are not permitted to quit."
"Try me," she spat back vehemently. "I will not be a party to another pony's death."
The avatar merely stared back for a few moments. "You have feelings for the failed Bearer, yes?" it said. And it closed its eyes again, falling silent once more.
Twilight stood unmoving for a short time before having to once again sit on her haunches as the time lengthened while the avatar kept its eyes closed and spoke no further. She still felt her emotions hot, yet as the minutes passed, she seemed unsure what is transpiring. The avatar was still present, yet it was not talking to her.
The sun had moved perceptively before the avatar opened its eyes again and spoke. "You are adamant to have the failed Bearer live, yes?"
"He deserves to live out his life, yes," she said, regaining her hoofs and nodding. "I will fight for his life, if need be."
"So be it," the avatar intoned without emotion. "If you want it to live, you must bear part of its failure. We have a proposal in that regard, Bearer. Your agreement will allow the failed one to remain alive and live out its existence. If you refuse, the failed one passes away."
"I don't like the sound of that," she said with a huff. "However, I will listen to what you are proposing and consider it."
A root sprang from the ground, and once it broke the surface, a slender branch grew out from the root, only to end with a blue flower, the petals all closed together and intertwined tightly. When the flower was large enough, the Tree spoke.
"This flower will be the key that will allow the failed bearer to return to its universe," the Tree explained. "However, the flower is not ready to be used. It will only mature once you have done what is needed, Element Bearer Twilight. For the flower to mature, you must cross-pollinate with the failed one and bear its fruit. Only then will the flower bloom, and the gem inside may be plucked and used to recreate a new universe for the failed one to return to. Do you agree to these terms, Element Bearer?"
Twilight's eyes bugged out with disbelief. "Wait!" she cried, her heart pounding. "Let me get this straight. Are you telling me that in order for Dusk to live again, you want me to -- ugh! -- have sex with him? And bear his foal?"
"Yes." The avatar simply stared back at Twilight, still unblinking, patiently awaiting her reply.
Twilight began thinking furiously. It wasn't about the notion of her and Dusk as lovers. She would have gradually allowed that to perhaps occur. However, this was now being pushed upon her, regardless of her feelings. She was initially wanting to refuse, yet her refusal meant Dusk would die. Trading her sanctity for his life, only to accept having a foal that he may never see nor share in raising, was just too much to fully comprehend, let alone agree.
"May I have some time to think about it?" she asked hopefully. "Like, a day or so?"
"You have all the time you need, Element Bearer, as long as you never depart before giving your answer. We must have your acceptance or denial soon. There is no other option here. Yes, or no."
Twilight stared at the ground for several moments, considering every option available to her. Yet, the fact remains: she must either have sex with her counterpart, or let him die. And in the end, there truly was no choice. Still, she would not simply lift her tail for him easily. He needed to change before she let him sleep with her. It was months before she would go into heat. which would allow time for him to become a better pony. Time to work on his character. And with help from not just Starlight, but also her friends, and even the princesses, it could be possible.
Twilight sighed and held her head straight, then peered at the ghostly avatar, which was then holding up her crown in its magic, yet still having a blank look. She took the crown in her magic and once again set it upon her head.
"I accept your proposal." |
Battle of the Kings | pre | "Wow Charlie, I didn't know you were poetic."
"Little something I picked up from being around Applejack and her family. Speaking of which, here come your sisters now."
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle got really nervous as their sisters approached. Both had unreadable looks as they stood before their siblings.
"Applejack I'm really sorry about doing this, but they were only-" Applebloom was cut off as Applejack and Rarity pulled their sisters in and held them tight.
"Ah was so worried about you little sis."
"We thought you were going to die in that volcano." Both sisters turned their attention to Echo and Charlie and motioned for them to join in. Charlie welcomed Applejack's hug, and Rarity pulled Echo close to her and Sweetie Belle.
"You girls continue to surprise us time and again Echo," Rarity said to the proud raptor.
"First ya save us from Timberwolves, and now ya save ma little sister from dragons. You are a true hero in this family Charlie." The young raptor felt touched by the compliments he was receiving. But there was one more matter that needed to be taken care of.
"Alright girls, we're sorry to do this, but we need to take the power back." The fillies understood and allowed the raptors to take the power back. Both ponies watched as the red marking and aura were pulled away from their bodies and down the raptors' throats. With the crusaders back to normal, the raptors turned their attention to the beaten dragon.
Garble finally regained his consciousness, only to find the raptors baring their teeth and drooling.
"You can't do this, you can't kill me." He looked at Smaug, hoping for some kind of escape. To his horror, Smaug only said one thing.
"You made a deal with them, now it's time to pay up." Blue closed in on the terrified dragon, Her voice sounded deep and deadly as she spoke.
"You challenged us and lost, and now, we will devour you in front of all these dragons. You're going to make a nice meal for what you tried to do to these fillies."
All four raptors went into a feeding frenzy and began chomping away at Garble's body. The dragon screamed out in agony as the raptors ripped his limbs off, tore out his eyeballs, and spilled his blood all over the place. All the dragons around were amazed at the gruesome feeding taking place. Seeing a dragon eaten and dismembered in such a horrific way was a rare sight to them. The screams continued even after the raptors tore open the stomach, and began ripping the guts and intestines out. Garble finally fell silent after Blue tore his head off his neck and ate his face. Once the body had been completely eaten from the inside out, the raptor squad pushed the mauled body into the volcano.
Smaug walked over and spoke to the winners.
"Well done Velociraptors, that was quite an amazing fight indeed. I'll be speaking to all of you later about those wings of yours, but now it's time for the King of the dinosaurs to have his turn."
Tyrannosaurus stepped forward, ready to take on whatever dragon would be his opponent. |
Battle of the Kings | Round 2: Rexy's fight | After the first round of the gauntlet had come to an end, Smaug began scanning the crowd for an opponent that would be worthy enough for Tyrannosaurus Rex. His golden eyes scanned over each dragon,seeing if any of them were up for the challenge. Plenty of them looked like they were ready to fight, but Smaug knew they were only bluffing and trying to look tough. Then his eyes fell upon a dragon in the back with searing yellow eyes, and jagged looking spikes along the back of his neck.
"Ah, he will do just fine. Step forward Predator." The dragon heeded Smaug's words and began to walk forward. Other dragons made way for him as he walked toward's T-Rex. When Tyrannosaurus got a full look at his opponent, his gaze intensified at the beast before him.
His opponent was a bulky, dark dragon with plenty of muscle, yet his arms and legs were sort of stubby compared to the other dragons. His underside had long tufts of fur jetting out from different spots, while his back mostly bristled with spikes. The most noticeable spikes were the red, jagged ones that spread out from his head like a twisted crown. His wingspan was wider than most of the other dragons, but what really caught Tyrannosaurus's attention was his eyes. This dragon's eyes were nothing but pure yellow, like there wasn't a soul lurking within them.
Seeing how perplexed T-Rex was with his opponent, Smaug proceeded to introduce the combatants.
"The dragon before you is known throughout these lands as Predator. He may not be as tall as the other dragons, but his ferocity more than makes up for that. He has fought in the Final Destination many times, and is one of the few dragons to ever withstand the eruption head-on. Predator has been in the volcano so many times that it's rumored he absorbed part of the lava during one of the eruptions. He is definitely a worthy opponent for you, Tyrannosaurus."
T-Rex stared back at the demonic look in the dragon's eyes with his own golden orbs. There seemed to only be savage, killer instinct buried in there that could match the dinosaurs at their absolute worst. Despite how terrifying this dragon looked, Tyrannosaurus feared no opponent. He didn't fear Black Death during their battle to the death, and he certainly didn't fear this monster. The others felt chills flow through their fur when the beast opened his mouth and talked.
"I'll see to it that your skeleton rots in the darkest part of the volcano." Tyrannosaurus might have been uneasy, but he wasn't going to let some killing machine talk down to him. So he responded with a clever comeback.
"I wouldn't count on it Predator. I'll show you why I'm called the King of the Dinosaurs."
The carnivores stared each other down as they made their way to the edge of the volcano. Before they made their way onto the platform, Smaug had a few more things to say.
"Before the second match begins boys, there are some things I need to address. For starters, I was quite surprised during the last match. Do all of you have your own set of wings? You might as well show me, since the cat's out of the bag."
Tyrannosaurus and Indominus unfurled their wings to display in front of all the dragons. Their mouths fell open at seeing the incredible wing spans before them. To wipe away any suspicions that Smaug might've had, they revealed their red auras just as the raptors had. The dragon lord had a satisfied smile on his face, he couldn't wait to see them in action.
"So you all had some tricks up your scales huh? Well I'll see all your power when your match begins, Indominus. Oh, one more thing. If any of your pony friends try to help again, I will send in additional dragons to fight them if they're so eager." None of the Mane Six were intending to step into the brawl. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had only been part of the last fight because Garble had tried to kill them.
Predator spoke up and his statement startled everypony.
"I would actually prefer to have a little pony for an appetizer during the fight." His gaze fell upon Scootaloo, and a demented smile formed on his face. "I'll start with the little chicken among the group."
Hearing that word sent rage into Tyrannosaurus's heart, and he smacked Predator off the edge and into the volcano. The dragon quickly recovered from the attack and glided onto the platform. T-Rex looked over at Scootaloo before he joined the monster.
"I'll destroy him for calling you that name, Scootaloo."
"Go get him Rexy."
T-Rex nodded to his girl, spread his wings and flew down into the volcano. He landed hard on the battlefield and bared his teeth at the monstrous dragon. The stage was set for a fight between two savage predators, each one determined to claim victory. Smaug flew above the volcano and called down to the fighters.
"Carnivores, FIGHT!"
The beasts charged straight towards each other, bellowing deep roars and flashing their teeth. Predator went in for a deadly bite, but T-Rex ducked and dealt him an uppercut with his head. Seizing the opportunity with his opponent stunned, Tyrannosaurus clamped down on the underside of the monster's neck. The underside was all fur and had little to no protection, so T-Rex's bite instantly caused blood to leak out from where he had bitten. Unfortunately, the attack had left Tyrannosaurus vulnerable to the dragon's claws.
Because the dragon's neck was rather short, T-Rex had to get in close and it allowed the dragon to slash away at the dinosaur's body. Predator's claws dug deep, but T-Rex wouldn't release his grip. The tyrant lizard shook his head wildly and the dragon's blood splattered all over the battlefield. Predator stopped his slashing attacks, and instead, grabbed T-Rex from the underside of the neck. The force from the grab caused T-Rex to release his grip, and turned the tables on him.
Predator used the advantage to force T-Rex back, then pushed the dinosaur back and bit down on the underside of his neck. With T-Rex's arms being so short, he couldn't grip Predator and stop the attacks. Instead, he shifted his body in all directions and shook the dragon loose from under his neck. T-Rex had to stop to catch his breath again after being held in the vice grip. Predator got back up and resumed slashing at T-Rex's body, and Scootaloo was getting worried for her savior.
"He's in trouble, I've got to help him." Scootaloo was getting ready to fly down into the volcano, but Indominus put a hand in front of her to stop her.
"You can't interfere in this battle Scootaloo, this is something T-Rex has to handle himself. After all he said he would make that monster pay for insulting you."
"I know Indominus, but he's getting torn up."
"He'll be alright Scootaloo. Tyrannosaurus has been in tougher battles than this. He can take care of himself."
Tyrannosaurus used his wings to push Predator away, then clamped down on the dragon's face. The monster was caught off guard by the tough teeth piercing his face. Tyrannosaurus threw him off to the side, and blasted his body, sending the dragon towards the edge. Predator stood back up with blood leaking from his face, and anger written on his face. In retaliation to the damage dealt to him, Predator flew over, slammed T-Rex to the ground and used his arms to pin the dinosaur in place. With Tyrannosaurus pinned to the battlefield, Predator leaned forward and began taunting him.
"Ha Ha! So this is the great carnivore that helped take down Black Death? You're nothing but a waste of my time, I'll have to end this soon so I can get to devouring that little rat on the ledge." T-Rex snapped his head up and got right in Predator's face, ignoring the blood trickling onto his scales.
"What did you call her." he said in a deep and deadly voice. Predator leaned back in and repeated his taunt.
"I said she was nothing but a ra-" Predator didn't get to finish because Tyrannosaurus blasted him at point blank range in the face.
T-Rex's blast sent the dragon skyward and right out of the volcano. Tyrannosaurus rolled back onto his feet, unfurled his wings and zoom climbed after the dragon. All the dragons turned their heads to the sky as T-Rex flew past them and rammed Predator head on. The dragon was sent reeling from the collision with Rexy's head. The dinosaur flew a few feet apart from Predator and said in a powerful voice.
"Let's dance Bozo!"
The carnivores flew back and forth towards each other, nailing slashes and devastating bites on the opposing beast's body. Predator unleashed a fiery blast that looked more like lava than fire. Tyrannosaurus countered with his own blast and the two exploded on contact with each other. It was a teetering battle of attacks and explosions all across the sky. Down below, Smaug's eyes were wide with excitement at the display of sheer power.
"Now that's what I call a dogfight. Tyrannosaurus is a much more capable fighter and flyer than I thought."
"Well he did learn from some very gifted flyers, Smaug," Indominus said while glancing at Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. The pegasi blushed at the compliment Indominus had given them.
"He's giving Predator far more trouble too. I wonder what triggered that much anger from him." Indominus didn't answer that particular question, because a shriek from above got his attention.
T-Rex had bitten down on the spikes around Predator's neck, and had broken several of them off. The beast had never fought an opponent that could deal such incredible damage, and outdo him in the air. The great dinosaur proceeded to deal several bone crushing attacks all across Predator's body, until the savage dragon was howling in pain. Scootaloo's training was working to T-Rex's advantage, and he was just getting started.
"I'm going to make you suffer now Predator. You're about to see what happens to those that insult my girl."
Tyrannosaurus broke off one of the long spikes near the dragon's face, but kept it held in his mouth. Predator tried slashing away at T-Rex again, but having wings had made Tyrannosaurus far more maneuverable and agile in the air. He dodged the beast's claws, and dealt him a smack across the face with his tail. Then T-Rex did something unexpected and incredibly violent. He took the spike he had been holding and rammed it through Predator's right eye.
Every dragon's eyes shrunk at what they had seen: to see one of their own impaled through the eye with one of his own spikes. They could see the blood spilling out of Predator and pouring into the volcano. The devastation only continued as they heard a deadly crunch and watched T-Rex bite down on Predator's neck. His head went limp and his wings were struggling desperately to keep him airborne. Tyrannosaurus had successfully crippled the dragon, and was letting him struggle with his own injuries.
Then T-Rex zoom climbed again until he was only a dot in the sky. None of the dragons were sure what he was planning. The dinosaur bellowed so that all the spectators could hear him.
"PREDATOR! I'M GOING TO FINISH YOU WITH THIS LAST ATTACK! THIS ONE'S FOR YOU SCOOTALOO!"
The Mane Six gasped as Tyrannosaurus dove straight for Predator, and made himself as aerodynamic as a comet. His speed began building rapidly, and as the mach cone began forming around him, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash's eyes shrunk.
"Rainbow Dash, is he going to do what I think he's doing?"
"I think so Scootaloo, but I've never seen him pull one off. Tyrannosaurus has never even tried to perform one during our training sessions. This will be his first attempt, and he's going to use it to kill the dragon. There's just one problem."
"I can already see it. He won't be able to pull out from the dive, and he'll wind up...in the...volcano. It's a suicide move, I just hope he know's what he's doing."
"Rainbow Dash, what is Tyrannosaurus trying to do?"
"He's going to attempt the Sonic Rainboom Twilight." The others were instantly shocked.
"But if he does, he'll be swallowed by the lava with that kind of speed," said Rarity.
"He'll die once his body reenters the volcano," Pinkie said horrified.
"All we can do is hope that T-Rex has thought this through and knows how to get out of the dive."
Back in the air, Tyrannosaurus's speed was building and the mach cone was tightening around his face. The velocity was also rattling his body and making it harder to keep track of his target, but fortunately he had it all planned out. His earlier attacks had disabled Predator, who was still in agony, and he wouldn't be able to dodge the collision. Once T-Rex saw the mach cone form a spear around his snout, he did somethin unexpected. He shot forth a blast of energy that got caught in the mach cone, and traveled forward with him.
Then everyone heard it.
BOOOOM!!
Everyone saw the trademark circles spreading out after the explosion, and there were quite a few interesting differences about this one. It was just like Scootaloo's Rainboom, with orange and magenta, but with the red aura around the edges. It left the dragons confused on what had just happened, the Mane Six however, were overcome. The ponies were amazed that T-Rex had pulled off the feat, but the biggest difference was what had happened to Tyrannosaurus.
His body was completely enveloped in the energy that he had shot out in front before he had achieved the Sonic Rainboom. Now he looked like a demonic monster from Tartarus, even his eyes were glowing a fiery yellow. The dinosaur let loose a loud roar as he clamped down on Predator's face, and dragged the crippled dragon back towards the volcano. His momentum didn't even slow down with the weight from hauling Predator, and everypony shrieked in horror at what happened next. Tyrannosaurus plunged through the battlefield and dove straight into the lava with Predator in his jaws.
All the spectators leaned over the edge to see if they could spot anything after what had just happened. None of them could see any sign of T-Rex or Predator, all was completely silent. The ponies were all worried that Tyrannosaurus had just committed a suicide move just to make the dragon pay. Then they felt the ground shaking violently and noticed the lava was bubbling wildly. Smaug noticed it too, and yelled for everyone to take flight.
The green dragon scooped up the rest of the Mane Six and the CMC while Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo flew up as the volcano released a colossal eruption. The lava went skyward like a rocket, and it forced the dragons to scatter to avoid the fiery liquid as it rained down on the landscape. Never had they seen the volcano react so violently, or release such a massive eruption. As the lava cooled and the dragons touched down again, Smaug was wondering what had happened to trigger the eruption. The fight hadn't been long enough for the volcano's timer to run out, something must've happened after T-Rex dove into the lava to trigger the eruption.
As the ponies got out of the green dragon's hands, they saw a fiery shape fly out of the volcano, and hover in the air.
One of the dragons called out, "what is that thing?" The shape touched down near the edge and the dragons watched as the energy dissipated. They were all shocked by the creature behind the energy.
Tyrannosaurus stepped forward and bellowed a grand victorious as the energy parted away from his body. Scootaloo was so overcome with joy that she ran forward and T-Rex bent down as she hugged him.
"You did it Rexy, you pulled off the Sonic Rainboom! I was worried you wouldn't make it out of that alive. How did you pull that off?"
"That's what I would like to know as well. How did you manage to survive an explosion of that caliber T-Rex? Smaug stepped towards T-Rex, looking surprised and pleased at the same time. Tyrannosaurus let Scootaloo climb onto his head as he gave his explanation.
"It's actually rather simple Smaug, before I performed the Sonic Rainboom, I shot a blast that coated my body in my own energy, The energy protected my body when I dove into the lava so I wouldn't be harmed. As for Predator, I blasted his face off while we were in the lava, my blast triggered the eruption and boiled the remains of his body within the lava. I really let him have it in there."
"Well done Tyrannosaurus, that was simple yet brilliant. I've never seen any creature employ such a creative attack on a dragon. You did all of that because Predator insulted the little pegasus on your head, am I right?" T-Rex nodded his head, yet none of the dragons were annoyed or troubled by it. "You hold her in the same regard that Indominus holds the rainbow one, right?" Again, T-Rex simply nodded his head.
"You're not mad at me Smaug?"
"Why would I be mad at a creature that absolutely destroyed an enemy for the sake of someone he cares about? That is one of the best motivators for any fighter, you are just as successful in fighting as the velociraptors, Tyrannosaurus Rex."
Both kings bowed their heads to each other in respect, and Smaug turned his head to the last dinosaur to fight in the gauntlet.
"I hope you're ready for your test Indominus."
"Send in your best dragon Smaug, I'm ready to show you what I'm made of." |
Battle of the Kings | Round 3: Smaug vs. Indominus | The final round of the gauntlet was ready to commence. Indominus was the last one that had yet to test his strength and prowess in a fight. Smaug was looking forward to seeing the hybrid in action, and the others waited anxiously to see who he would pick next. Tyrannosaurus was relaxing by his friends and family after his battle with Predator. He was also curious as to who Smaug had in mind for fighting against Indominus.
After only a few minutes of scanning the crowd, Smaug turned back to Indominus. He had an eager look in his eyes. Indominus was chomping at the bit to see who his opponent was.
"So, who's going to be my opponent Smaug?" The dragon king only smiled back.
"You're looking at him, Untamable King." Every dragon in the crowd gasped in shock, their king was going to do battle in his own gauntlet. Indominus couldn't believe what he had heard.
"You are going to be my opponent Smaug?"
"That's right Indominus. because there is not another dragon here that can compete against you. Also, I've been wanting to battle against you ever since you boys arrived in this domain. From the moment I spotted you, I knew you were an interesting creature. I couldn't think of any dragon besides myself, that could bring out the best in you."
Indominus felt honored that Smaug wanted to fight him. This was a challenge that he couldn't possibly ignore: a chance to brawl with the dragon lord was a rare opportunity.
"I'll gladly fight against you Smaug, I just have one request to make first."
"A request huh? Well it's unusual for an opponent of mine to have requests before a battle, but given that you're the one I'm fighting, I can make an exception. So, what is your request Indominus?"
"My only request is that halfway during the battle, I get to bring in a partner to fight alongside me. Oh, and it won't be any of the other dinosaurs." The odd request left Smaug baffled, a partner that wasn't a dinosaur? He couldn't have been referring to any of the ponies, and there wasn't a dragon in the lands that could best Smaug in a fight. The dragon lord decided to put the matter on hold for now, Indominus would have to last long enough for the request to be carried out.
"Very well Indominus, if you can hold out in the fight for that long, then I will let you choose your partner."
"Thank you, now let's get this battle underway."
Before Indominus went into the volcano, the ponies gave him some encouragement.
"Go show em why ya rule Indominus," said Applejack.
"Knock his scaly butt into next week," said Rainbow Dash.
"Pound him dead."
"Show em what yer made of."
"Give him the fight of his life Indominus," Scootaloo said as she nuzzled her other scaly savior.
"Don't worry Scootaloo, I'll come out of this fight alive. After all, I can't leave you or my fiance behind. I still need to bring the family of your dreams together."
With that, Indominus unfurled his wings and he and Smaug dove down toward the battlefield.
All the dragons spread out around the full perimeter of the volcano, each of them eager to see the great battle that was about to begin. The warriors touched down on the worn platform, staring into each other's reptilian eyes.
"As I'm sure you know by now, I've been waiting for this Indominus. I have yet to come across an opponent that can bring out my best. I'm counting on you to push me to be my absolute best in this fight."
"I always give my best in a fight Smaug, but this should be interesting since neither of us are fighting for destruction. We both just want to prove our worth in this brawl."
"Precisely, I'm not a mindless animal like Black Death. I am capable of finding common ground and a fine line between being reckless and testing one's strength."
Up above, the ponies were noticing how calm Indominus was while squaring off against Smaug.
"Just look at Indominus," Twilight pointed out. "He's staring at Smaug like it's just another day in Equestria to him."
"If I didn't know better Twilight, I'd say he's enjoying the moment." Rainbow said. "This is the first time he's fought a dragon that's not trying to kill us."
"He must have something planned to be this confident." Blue said after hearing Indominus's request. Then everyone heard Smaug's voice from within the volcano, and knew the battle was about to begin.
"Alright Indominus! This is the last round of the gauntlet, so make it a fight to remember, Ready?" Indominus nodded his head once, and Smaug shouted "BEGIN!"
Indominus charged towards Smaug and prepared to launch his first attack. Smaug raised his right arm and swung it forward to punch Indominus. The hybrid spotted the attack and stopped in time to catch the winged hand in his claws. He pulled the arm forward and swung his right hand at Smaug's face, but the dragon raised his neck to avoid the attack. He forced his head down to bite down on Indominus's back, but the hybrid evaded the attack and managed to block Smaug's left arm. Smaug used the moment and struck Indominus across the face with his free arm. Remarkably, Indominus used the momentum from the attack to swing his tail and strike Smaug in the face.
Both predators staggered slightly from the blows and easily regained their balance. When they faced each other again, both were smiling. It was like the fight was thrilling for both combatants. Up above, all the dragons had open jaws and wide eyes. They had never seen an opponent that could land a decent blow on their king. What they had seen however, was just a taste of what was coming.
Indominus resumed the fight by once again, charging towards Smaug. The dragon lord figured that Indominus was going for a repeat attack and hoping he would get lucky.
"You're going to have to be more creative than that Indominus," Smaug called out as he raised his fist to attack the hybrid again.
This time however, Indominus didn't stop as he charged toward the dragon. Rather than blocking the fist, he deflected it with his arm and continued straight on until he plowed into Smaug and began forcing the dragon towards the edge of the platform. Smaug was taken aback by how much strength Indominus was packing to be able to move him so easily. Then the dragon felt his body being lifted off the battlefield as Indominus threw him off and towards the lava.
Smaug cranked his head down as he watched himself plummet towards the lava below. He easily expanded his massive wings and flew back around to the opposite end of the platform. He hovered in the air staring down at Indominus, who had a smug smile on his face.
"Sorry, but did honestly think that you were going to win that easily?"
"Ha. I won't fall for a cheap prank like that. I knew all along that it wouldn't be that easy to bring down a dragon like you Smaug." The dragon king landed back on the battlefield with a grin on his face too.
"I thought the situation called for a little joke, since you're not giving me your full potential like you promised."
"Hey you're holding back the lion's share of power just as well."
"Oh I will reveal how tough I truly am in due time, but I'm more curious to see your potential."
"Then why don't you come on over and see for yourself?"
"My pleasure!" Smaug charged towards Indominus and began throwing punches and bites wildly.
The hybrid was blocking every attack effectively, and trying to strike back with his own blows. Every time Smaug threw a punch, Indominus would block and attempt to counterattack with his own. Their heads collided a few times in attempts to stun the other, but both carnivores were too stubborn to quit. The spectators above still had the same expressions since they weren't used to seeing a fight this grand.
Just after Indominus grabbed one of Smaug's punches, he and the dragon locked eyes with each other. They both were giving content smiles during the entire exchange.
"You look like you're having the time of your life Indominus. Is this the first fight you've been in where the stakes aren't so high?"
"It's because you're the first opponent that I'm enjoying having the privilege of fighting. Every other foe I've faced has had some bloodlust for destruction and chaos. But humor me Smaug, are you saying that you're loving this fight too?"
"Heh heh heh, I do love a good fight every now and then. As for how much I enjoy them, that depends on who I'm fighting."
"In that case, I'll try not to disappoint you."
Indominus broke away from Smaug, then unfurled his wings and took to the air. He was tempting Smaug into an aerial battle, and the dragon took the bait. With two jumps, Smaug was airborne and climbing after Indominus. The two flyers took their little dogfight out of the volcano and into the skies so all the dragons could see them. It was remarkable to see the two fighters dueling in the sky.
Indominus and Smaug were trading bites and slashes against each other, just like Tyrannosaurus and Predator had done. Unlike Predator, Smaug couldn't use his arms to attack while in the air. They had to be used to maintain his flight, so his weapons were his teeth and fire breath. Indominus noticed Smaug's chest was glowing after one pass with the dragon. When they came back at each other, Indominus was caught off guard by the magnitude of fire emitting from Smaug's mouth.
The dragon released a torrent of fire that covered so much space that Indominus had to really maneuver to dodge the blast. Unfortunately, after Indominus dodged the blast he found himself set up into a well planned attack. Smaug came at him from behind the blast and nailed the hybrid in the face with his clawed feet. Indominus was sent falling back towards the ground, and Smaug came diving after him to give chase.
"I've got you now Indominus," Smaug yelled as he dove after the falling hybrid.
He was getting closer and built up his flame breath for another attack, but Indominus surprised him. The hybrid suddenly turned his head towards Smaug and unleashed his blast at the dragon. Smaug was too close to dodge and took the blast head on. The attack forced his head back and flipped him onto his back. Indominus flew back up and rammed a fist down on Smaug's chest, but instantly pulled it back in agony.
Smaug grinned in delight, then grabbed Indominus by the throat as they continued to fall back down into the volcano. When he felt they were close enough, Smaug threw Indominus back onto the platform. Indominus landed on his back, but quickly rolled over and got to his feet again. His hand was still stinging from the attack, but he didn't know why. Smaug touched down on the platform again, and seeing the hybrid's confused look, decided to reveal his secret.
"Surprised Indominus? Well I have a little perk of my own to use in battle." Smaug stood taller to reveal the full extent of his chest. Indominus was astounded by what he was seeing: thousands of jewels, diamonds and crystals were embedded into Smaug's body. They acted as a reinforced layer of armor, to protect him against attacks. "I spent a few hundred years sleeping on jewels to get this armor, now no opponent can penetrate my strongest defense."
"Oh yeah, we'll have to see about that." Indominus didn't get a chance to charge forward this time because Smaug was already making lunging attacks at him.
The Mane Six noticed that Smaug was beginning to force Indominus towards the edge of the battlefield again.
'It looks like the dragon lord is in control again," said Twilight.
"Yeah, he's got yer boy on the ropes Rainbow Dash," Applejack added.
"I don't understand why though." All the ponies looked at Rainbow Dash like she was crazy.
"What are you talking about Rainbow Dash? He's going to corner your fiance, burn him alive, roast his carcass, and that's all you have to say?" Pinkie Pie was going into a fit, but Rainbow Dash continued.
"What I don't understand is why Indominus isn't taking this battle seriously? He's been messing around with Smaug the entire time." The three dragons knew what Rainbow was talking about, and it clicked in their minds.
"It's simple girls, Smaug and Indominus are merely having sport with one another." The ponies all turned to look at the green dragon as he continued. "They're having a little bit of fun before things get serious. Since Indominus is so new to Smaug, our king is getting some fun out of him before he decides to really test out the hybrid's skills."
The ponies looked back into the volcano to see that Smaug had cornered Indominus against the edge. One more punch and he would be knocked into the lava. Smaug threw his punch forward, but stopped in shock as Indominus slowly disappeared in front of him. The hybrid had completely vanished from sight, none of the dragons nor Smaug could see where he had gone. Rainbow already knew what Indominus was doing, for she had seen this tactic before.
"Where did you go Indominus? I know you did not just teleport out of the fight." Smaug was about to regret his question, for at that moment a blast of energy collided with his chest and sent him reeling back. As the blast dissipated, Smaug got back down on all fours and spotted a sneak attack too late.
Indominus nailed him right across the face with a left hook. Gritting his teeth at the fact that he had been tricked, Smaug smacked Indominus across the face, grabbed him by the leg and threw him across the platform. Indominus stopped himself by digging his claws into the ground until he came to a stop. He stood upright and looked at Smaug with satisfaction written on his face.
"H-How did you do that? There was no way that you could've teleported away from the edge like that."
"I never left the area Smaug, I was still on that ledge the whole time." This surprised Smaug greatly, and made him even more curious.
"Then tell me how you made yourself disappear like that."
"It's one of the many abilities I was born with Smaug: the power of camouflage."
"Camouflage!? I didn't think an ability like that would be given to a creature like you."
"It's actually ingenious Smaug. I camouflaged my skin to look like the inside of the volcano, and remained perfectly still to make it appear that I had vanished from sight."
"I'm thoroughly impressed Indominus, not many creatures can effectively use an ability like that for an ambush. It worked quite well, and now I believe it is time to fulfill your request." Indominus was surprised that Smaug still remembered, he was sure the dragon would've forgotten about it. Yet Indominus had clearly proven himself to be a worthy opponent.
"I said you had to make it halfway through the fight and you have, so who do you have in mind for joining you in this fight?"
Every dragon leaned in, hanging onto every word that Indominus was saying as he explained himself to Smaug. Tyrannosaurus was wondering who Indominus had in mind for fighting against a dragon as tough as Smaug.
"It might sound a little crazy at first, but you'll understand soon enough. The fighter I'm about to name is about on par with me in terms of strength and skill. So if you like the challenge of fighting me at my best Smaug, you're going to like my partner just as much. Of course, you probably won't feel that way about us after we beat you."
All the dragons and the ponies were completely alarmed. Indominus was so confident in the fighter he was going to pick that he was sure that they would beat Smaug together. Even Smaug himself was taken aback by the bold statement.
"That's quite a bold statement Indominus. You seem to have a lot of confidence in this mystery fighter of yours. I only hope for your sake that your confidence isn't misplaced. Very well Indominus, say the name of the fighter that will join you."
"Gladly Smaug."
Indominus glanced back up at the hundreds of spectators looking into the volcano. Each and every dragon was waiting with baited breath, none of them had any clue who Indominus was going to pick. They watched as Indominus directed his gaze to the Mane Six, Rexy and the raptors.
"Guys, I could take Smaug down by myself, but I feel it would be perfect if I had someone fighting alongside me in this gauntlet. That someone is you....Rainbow Dash."
The others looked at Rainbow Dash like she was the center of the world. Out of all the possible choices, Indominus had chosen to have his own fiance fight in the gauntlet with him. Twilight and the others knew that Rainbow Dash was strong, but even with the power Indominus had given her, they weren't sure she could handle a beast like Smaug.
"Rainbow Dash, he wants you to fight with him? Has he even considered your opinion on this matter?" Tyrannosaurus was beyond ecstatic, he bellowed into the volcano at Indominus.
"INDOMINUS STOP THIS FOOLISHNESS! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE ASKING OF HER? IF RAINBOW DASH FIGHTS AGAINST SMAUG SHE WON'T COME OUT OF THE GAUNTLET ALIVE!" Indominus didn't seem fazed by the volume in T-Rex's voice.
"I know what I'm doing Rexy, just trust me on this."
"Indominus, with all due respect I have to agree with him. Give me a dragon as your partner and I'll gladly fight him. But a pony fighting against me, even if she is your mate it would only be a waste of my time."
Upon hearing what Smaug had said Rainbow angrily stomped a hoof into the ground.
"Did he just call me a waste of time?" The others tried to calm her down.
"Now Rainbow Dash, it's not worth getting ticked at the dragon lord. Just let your fiance handle this," said Rarity.
"Yeah, there's no need to go and fight a monstrous, giant, powerful dragon," Fluttershy said weakly.
"Don't try to stop me girls, if Smaug thinks I'm not worth it, I'll just have to show him how wrong he is."
The others were about to protest further, but Twilight stopped them.
"That's enough everypony, this is Rainbow Dash's decision. If she wants to fight, then let her fight alongside her fiance so they can be at their best."
"Thank you Twilight," Rainbow said as she gave her friend a quick hug. "Oh, before I forget." She took off the Arkenstone ring and handed it to Scootaloo. "Keep an eye on my ring for me until we're done Scoots?"
"You got it Rainbow, now show that dragon what you can do."
"Oh don't worry, I intend to give him my best." Rainbow Dash made sure to give Scootaloo a hug for support and reassurance that she would come back. With her mind set, Rainbow Dash flew down into the volcano.
Smaug was shaking his head in disbelief, he was going to have to fight a pony after all.
"Indominus, I don't know whether you're serious or just messing with my head but this isn't-" Smaug stopped himself once he saw Rainbow Dash touch down. She had grown to about the same size as Indominus while standing next to him. Hm, perhaps there is more to this mate of his than I thought.
"So this is our opponent huh Indominus?"
"That's right Rainbow Dash, ready to show him how we destroyed Black Death?"
"With all the pleasure in the world."
Smaug watched as Indominus and Rainbow took on aggressive stances as they continued to stand side by side.
"Hope you're ready Smaug, cause we're about to blow your mind."
The dragon lord's eyes went wide as he witnessed the red aura come forth and flow around both of their bodies. The dragons gasped in shock at what they were seeing: a pony with the same kind of power that the dinosaurs had. Smaug was going to be in for one heck of a fight, Rainbow and Indominus's powers were going to be turned loose in the final round of the gauntlet.
Oh my, this is definitely going to be a fight that will be worthy of my prowess. Indominus, you and your mate might be the greatest challenges I've ever faced, Smaug thought to himself as the warriors began to unleash their power and transform. |
Battle of the Kings | Strength of Indominus and Rainbow Dash | Smaug watched in awe as the powerful energy surged around Indominus and Rainbow Dash. The platform beneath them trembled from the sheer magnitude the lovers were emitting. Lightning strikes burst out in all directions within the volcano. The dragons above were rendered speechless, never had they seen such incredible power before in their lives. Twilight and the others were simply grinning at the display beneath them.
"Those two seem to be more in sync with each other since the battle with Black Death," said Twilight.
"Well considering all the time they've spent together, it's no wonder their power is stronger Twilight. They love each other so much that it fuels their inner strength," said Scootaloo. "I should know, I've seen the way they look at each other."
"Perhaps I was wrong Scootaloo." T-Rex admitted. "Bringing Rainbow Dash into the battle is actually bringing out the best in him."
"It's ok darling," said Rarity. "You're just looking out for your new family members, it's completely natural."
"Hush everypony, the lovers are about to transform," said Applejack.
Over the roar of their own power, Indominus and Rainbow Dash stared into each other's eyes. They both knew that this transformation was going to be more powerful than when they had scared Black Death out of his scales.
"Let's do this Rainbow. Time to show Smaug why we work so well together."
"I'll be with you every step of the battle Indominus."
The couple stared back at Smaug and prepared themselves for their transformation. Smaug's eyes widened as the energy started growing in intensity, then the moment happened. Indominus and Rainbow Dash bellowed menacing roars into the sky, and the energy completely enveloped their bodies. Both pegasus and dinosaur disappeared within the red aura as it grew in size and caused eruptions within the volcano. The lightning surged upward and out of the volcano as the column of energy burst upward in a brilliant explosion of red. The energy was so intense that it caused the volcano to erupt and the lava was carried with the energy.
All the dragons were frightened as the ground around them shook with fierce intensity from the lovers' powers. Seeing the erupting combination of the red aura, lava and lightning was far more than they could handle. They had been wrong to doubt Indominus's decision to include a pony in the gauntlet. The sound of the combined roars echoing across the lands only added to their fears. All of them thought that Smaug had just gotten in way over his head.
Inside the volcano the dragon lord was witnessing everything first hand. The aura surging all around him, the lightning strikes that veered past his body and struck the inner walls. The roars from Rainbow and Indominus were causing fear to seep into his hardened heart. Smaug had no idea what was going to happen once the transformation was over. His jaw dropped when he heard the roars reach their peak and watched the column of red power explode.
The energy exploded and blinded all in the area with flashing red light. No one could see anything as the transformation reached its completion. As the light began to fade and the aura went back down into the volcano, each dragon tried to get a peak at what had happened to Indominus and Rainbow Dash. Their eyes were quivering and their bodies rattled as they caught sight of the transformed couple. Smaug's reaction was far more shocked and surprised than any of the dragons looking down from above.
"W-W-W-What h-happened to y-your bodies?" Cold sweat was running down the dragon lord's face as the lovers reemerged within the red aura.
Indominus's row of red spikes, red jagged designs and increased muscles were definitely surprising, but his wings had taken on a change of their own. His wings had strange red patterns flowing across them, a new perk that had been given to them after he regained his power at the Gala. Rainbow's refined body with the bat-like wings, elongated ears, sharp teeth and red designs across her body scared Smaug just as much. Her slit pupils stared right into his, and a smile formed on her face.
"You're going to see why Black Death had so much trouble facing against us."
"Take a good look Smaug, for we are two of the Guardians of Equestria," Indominus announced in his deep voice.
Smaug had no comment, the transformation had truly shocked him to his core. He had no words for the first time in his life to describe the transformation. Seeing that they had surprised Smaug so much, the couple began advancing towards him. Everyone watched as Indominus and Rainbow Dash casually made their way over until they were only a few feet apart from the dragon lord. The three contenders looked into each other's eyes, Smaug still had sweat running down his face, but he was more anxious than scared now.
"Your move warriors."
"Of course."
Rainbow and Indominus dealt simultaneous punches right into Smaug's chest. He felt the air leaving his lungs from the amount of force and strength packed behind the blows. Indominus proceeded to drive his fist down on Smaug's head, and Rainbow followed up with an uppercut that sent him into the air. They flew behind the dragon lord while he was stunned and dealt two punches to his back that sent him careening back onto the battlefield. Rainbow dealt a coup de grace by firing a blast at Smaug as he collided with the battlefield. The explosion rocked his body and sent Smaug skidding across the worn platform as Indominus and Rainbow touched down.
They heard Smaug laughing as he got back on his feet. He was laughing despite being punched, slammed and blasted into the dirt. When he turned to face the warriors, he had a line of blood running down his mouth. He looked simply thrilled as he wiped away the blood with his hand.
"Incredible. Simply incredible, fantastic work warriors. I have finally found what seemed impossible: true competition. You were right to bring your mate into the gauntlet Indominus, she has unbelievable power."
Rainbow felt humbled by Smaug's comment, even though he had called her a waste of time before.
"So tell me Smaug, do you think I'm a waste of time now?"
"Oh quite the contrary my dear, I just had no idea that you had such an amazing power within yourself. I didn't mean to offend you in any way, I thought Indominus was going to put your life in danger. I didn't know that this was Indominus's reason for bringing you into the fight. Now I see that I was wrong to say you were a waste, you are indeed as much a warrior as Indominus. Before we fight I must know this, how did you achieve a power this grand and what is your name? I've never seen any creature show a power this radical, and I want to be as proper with you as I am with Indominus."
Rainbow was surprised by Smaug's sudden change in attitude, seeing them transform had caused him to see just how wrong he had been to judge the lovers. So Rainbow felt he deserved to have his question answered.
"Very well Smaug, first off my name is Rainbow Dash. Secondly, I was given this power by Indominus during our battle against Black Death. This is how we killed Black Death and stopped him for good."
Indominus gave his girl a proud look while listening to her telling Smaug how she got her incredible gift. Smaug was taken with how the two had bonded during their battle against the rampaging monster.
"Well done Rainbow Dash, now I see why you and Indominus are so connected with each other. Now show me how well you two work together in a fight."
"With pleasure, let's do this Indominus."
"You got it Rainbow."
The three warriors charged towards each other, and the best fight of the gauntlet was underway.
Smaug swung wildly at Indominus and Rainbow, trying to nail punches or get his claws on them. The lovers blocked all his attacks and countered with punches to the head and any vulnerable spot that was exposed after Smaug tried to attack. Rainbow Dash was using all the agility she had to avoid Smaug's massive teeth, his mouth was more than intimidating. Indominus was spending his agility trying to dodge Smaug's massive tail, but the dragon lord maneuvered his body with each attack and struck Indominus across the head. Rainbow retaliated by smashing her hoof into Smaug's face before he could attack again.
Both Indominus and Smaug were slammed into the dirt by the attacks, but Indominus was able to recover more quickly. Smaug wasn't used to the kind of strength that the couple was packing. As he got up, he grinned when he decided where he was going to take the fight next.
"Nicely done, now let's see how you two deal with my power."
Rainbow and Indominus grew curious as Smaug began to take flight. He hovered just beneath the entrance to the volcano, and they saw that his chest was starting to glow. Smaug was preparing his flame for another attack on the lovers.
"See if you have what it takes to handle this blast," Smaug called out before the massive torrent of flame escaped his jaws.
The blast seemed to grow as Smaug continued to unleash his power down on the warriors. Indominus and Rainbow countered with their own blasts, and the collision from the incredible attacks caused a huge explosion. Smoke and debris expanded all throughout the volcano, no one could see anything inside. Smaug's vision was clouded by all the smoke, but he quickly began dispersing it with his wings. Unfortunately for him, his wings also revealed a very unpleasant surprise that was right in his face.
"SURPRISE!" Indominus and Rainbow nailed a double uppercut on Smaug's face, then blasted him back onto the platform.
Smaug landed hard on the battlefield and the warriors were diving after him. They weren't going to give him the time to counterattack this time. They were within striking distance and were about to attack again when Smaug suddenly surprised them. He instantly turned around and struck Rainbow and Indominus across the face with a single punch. Both fighters were stunned from the surprising amount of force and strength that came from his thin wing arm.
"Rainbow Dash!"
"Indominus!" Everypony was startled from seeing both of them stunned by Smaug's attack. The dragon lord had only just begun to fight.
Smaug was throwing his punches and slashes as fast as he possibly could. Rainbow and Indominus were pounded and assaulted by the relentless barrage from the dragon lord. He was quickly turning the battle in his favor. As Smaug swung another hard punch, the warriors ducked at the last second and dealt a very strong double uppercut. The force from the combined punches was enough to send Smaug flying straight out of the volcano.
All the dragons were shocked beyond belief as they watched their leader skyrocket into the air from the punches. Immediately Indominus and Rainbow were flying up after him, their speed increasing as they pushed themselves. They were upon Smaug in only a few seconds and had their blasts ready to fire. Before they could blast him again, Smaug whipped his massive tail around and smacked them away which caused their attacks to be sent away as well. The warriors steadied themselves after recovering from the sneak attack. Rainbow could see the frustration in Indominus's eyes as he wiped away some blood from his mouth.
This wasn't like their battle with Black Death, Smaug was a truly skilled dragon. He didn't need any fancy abilities or tricks, his prowess and strength was more than enough to challenge the hybrid and his fiance. No matter how many times they countered or blasted him, the dragon lord was always able to come back from every attack. Indominus charged back at Smaug, who flew up to dodge him. Only to have to maneuver in the air again to avoid Rainbow's attack. The battle had taken to the sky and it was a flurry of attacks and misses.
Down below everyone could see the battle more clearly. Indominus and Rainbow continued to make speeding attacks at Smaug, who was pushing his prowess in the sky to keep up with them. The sky was not just Smaug's domain, it was also Rainbow's and she was in her element. She was getting close to nailing a decisive blow on Smaug, and she knew it.
Smaug had just ducked underneath one of Indominus's punches and saw Rainbow Dash get in his face a second too late. Rainbow rammed Smaug in the face, rather than punching him. After her attack she called out to her fiance.
"NOW INDOMINUS!"
Seizing the opportunity that his girl had given him, Indominus zoomed towards Smaug and punched him straight in the chest. Unlike the other attempts, this attack dealt some serious damage to Smaug. The spectators heard a loud, agonizing crack and cringed as Smaug's eyes bulged and blood burst from his mouth. The dragon lord was frozen in the air because the hybrid's attack had truly damaged both him and his defense. Indominus followed up with a roundhouse kick to the head, and Rainbow finished with a punch to the face.
Smaug just hovered away from the warriors as blood spilled from his jaws. He needed some time to collect himself after being dealt such a strong blow. Both Rainbow and Indominus were breathing slowly, the battle was starting to take its toll on the warriors and their stamina. Smaug had an extremely pleased smile as he looked at the warriors and watched the blood spill from his teeth.
"This is the most exciting fight I've ever been in Indominus. You and Rainbow Dash are definitely worthy of fighting a dragon of my supreme stature."
"Well thanks Smaug, we always try our best," Rainbow said to the dragon lord.
"I truly have to commend both of you for your supreme teamwork. I've never faced opponents that could outsmart me in the air, and crack my armor on top of that. It's a shame all the fights can't be this good."
"But we'll try to keep this one going for as long as we can, won't we Smaug," said Indominus. "Now let the epic struggle continue."
The great fighters roared at each other and resumed their thrilling battle. |
Battle of the Kings | A glimpse at legendary potential | Smaug startled Rainbow and Indominus by punching them in the air, The attack caught the fighters and spectators by surprise. Indominus didn't think that Smaug was capable of using his arms to attack while trying to stay airborne. Smaug dropped a few feet, but easily spread his wings out and was flying again.
"This dragon is just full of surprises," Rainbow said to Indominus after the sneak attack.
"He's definitely got more brains than Black Death ever did. Regardless, we'll still beat him."
With one beat of his wings, Indominus was going after Smaug again. The dragon lord swung another punch at him, but Indominus was ready for this one. The scaly fists collided against each other and sent shock waves echoing across the sky. While the spectators were being rattled by the collision, the dragon and dinosaur shared a smile at each other. They were both pleased with how the fight was going, and Indominus decided that his girl deserved a chance to show her strength.
Indominus pushed himself off of Smaug's body, and flew back as Rainbow Dash came speeding forward. Smaug saw the mare coming and zoomed towards her with another punch ready. This time Rainbow met the attack head on with her clawed hoof. Smaug was surprised when he got the same powerful shock waves after his fist collided with Rainbow's hoof. It amazed him how a pony could be just as powerful as a dinosaur hybrid. The dragon lord wanted to see what else the two lovers were capable of.
He flipped his body over and smacked Rainbow down with his tail. Smaug used the momentum to follow up with another punch as Indominus lunged at him. All three fighters were heading out of the sky and back down into the volcano. Smaug shut his wings to gain speed on the falling warriors, but Rainbow and Indominus were one step ahead of him.
The couple brought back their red auras, zoomed straight to the ground and then bolted skywards back towards Smaug. At the rate the warriors were going, there wasn't enough time for Smaug to dodge the attack. Rainbow dealt him an uppercut to the face and Indominus hammered his fist into the damaged chest armor. The force from the hits knocked more air and blood out of Smaug's mouth, and the dragon growled in frustration. As he struck the couple in retaliation, Smaug's attack left bleeding scratch marks across their faces as they hit the ground.
Indominus staggered back to his feet, feeling more dazed after the attack. As he walked over to Rainbow Dash, he felt his legs getting shaky and unsteady. Rainbow was also having trouble standing up, Smaug's blow had gotten them good. They turned their heads when they heard Smaug touch down on the platform.
"Looks like I've finally managed to get through your tough hides. While I can't transform like you two, I can increase my strength. That last attack will leave you both feeling rather weak for awhile."
"Oh you think so?"
Smaug was appalled by Indominus's retort, then stared in shock as the red auras returned and healed the marks his attack had left behind.
"We've still got a few tricks left Smaug, and being able to heal during a fight is one of them," said Rainbow. Smaug bellowed a very frustrated roar and charged towards the winded warriors. Rainbow was about to brace herself when Indominus stepped ahead.
"I got this one Rainbow, you take a minute to heal yourself."
"Alright, I trust you know what you're doing Indominus."
The hybrid barreled towards Smaug and began building up strength in his right fist. He had a feeling that Smaug was also gathering strength for another powerful punch. The dragon lord had a look of pure anger on his face, likely from all of his attacks being outdone no matter how hard he attacked them. The carnivores drew closer to each other and once Indominus was within striking range, Smaug drew his fist back and prepared to attack with all the strength he could build up. The dragon lord and hybrid swung their fists at each other, but the collision produced a rare and unexpected result.
As the fists collided, Smaug watched as golden flames erupted from in between his fist and Indominus's. Indominus witnessed the spectacle too, and was shocked as the flames began to circle and surge around his body. What astonished the hybrid most, was that the golden fire seemed to be focusing solely on him and not the dragon lord. Smaug had wide eyes and he was shaking at the sight before him; what he was witnessing was a legend he didn't think was possible.
The dragons above had bulging eyes and dropped jaws. Everything in the gauntlet had blown their minds, but this spectacle was the icing on the surprise cake. It was one thing for Indominus and Rainbow to be on par with Smaug, but to see the dinosaur with gold flames around him was far beyond what they had expected. The Mane Six were also in just as much shock, Twilight had never seen anything so astounding in her life.
"I've never seen anything like this before, this goes beyond anything they've ever shown," said Twilight.
"What in the ever lovin' apple barrels is happenin' to Indominus?"
"The flames around him are almost like the ones Philomena had. How is something like this even possible Twilight?"
"You're asking the wrong pony Fluttershy, I'm still wondering how the dinosaurs are able to transform in the first place."
"From the looks of it, Dashie is the one that seems the most surprised out of us all," said Rarity.
She couldn't have been more right, Rainbow Dash had the widest eyes out of everypony else. She had a front row seat to the action along with Smaug, and shakily stepped forward to get a clearer look at her fiance.
"Indominus, what's happening to you?" The hybrid slowly turned around and Rainbow's jaw hit the floor as she took in the hybrid's new look. She could see new, different marks within each of the flashes of golden flame that wrapped around her fiance. The hybrid didn't know what to think of the new change himself.
"I-I don't know," Indominus said as he looked at the gold flame that flickered around him. This is far different than the power you gave us against Black Death. I don't even understand how a power like this can be achieved." Smaug's shocked tone caught Indominus's attention away from his new look.
"Y-You...are...the one. Indominus, you have the potential to become a true legend."
"You know what's happening to me Smaug?"
"What you're seeing is only a glimpse of the form's true potential. I've seen it only one other time, but you are definitely on the right track. It's a form I call the Immortal Phoenix, and it's as rare as the stone you chose for Rainbow's ring." Smaug was so eager to see what Indominus could do with the flames around him, and he was about to get his wish.
"Well, let's see what this glimpse of true potential can do."
Indominus exploded off the ground and lurched forward at Smaug, the speed was blinding to him and before he knew it, the hybrid was going into the sky while carrying the dragon lord. It all happened so fast that the spectators only saw a flash as Indominus went past them. The hybrid quickly reversed direction and threw Smaug back onto the platform with incredible speed. The dragon crashed and landed on his back, Indominus touched down by Rainbow who was smiling at how fast her fiance had been.
"Phew, these flames are giving me more of a kick than I thought."
"I'll say, with those gold flames around you, you can move as fast as I can," Rainbow said happily. In fact, I have an excellent idea that'll put them to good use."
"I'm listening."
While Smaug was recovering from the speeding impact and getting back to his feet, Rainbow whispered her little plan of attack to Indominus. The hybrid hung onto his girl's every word and when she was done, he had a devilish grin on his face.
"That is such a wicked idea Rainbow Dash, I love it! Let's put it to the test."
Rainbow kick started her aura and she and Indominus prepared themselves for their surprise attack. Smaug had just gotten back on his feet when he saw Rainbow and Indominus speeding towards him again. They rammed his body and drove him against the wall of the volcano. They fighters then began forcing him up the wall and into the air, where they began dealing another volley of fists and blasts. Smaug swung his claws and tails all over the sky to hit them, but Indominus's new flames had made him much faster. He could block and intercept every attack the dragon lord threw at him.
Rainbow took advantage of the situation and nailed Smaug in the back. As he fell, the dragon lord grabbed Indominus by the leg and punched at him on the way down. Once they were back inside the volcano, Smaug chucked Indominus at the platform. This time however, the dinosaur landed on all fours and immediately bolted for the sky. He rammed Smaug head on, but continued to climb skyward. Rainbow followed after him until the two of them were golden yellow and red dots in the sky.
From their high point of view, Rainbow glanced at her fiance.
"Alright Indominus, we're about to find out if this works. If it doesn't, we'll most likely end up as splotches inside the Final Destination."
"I know Rainbow, but if it does work then we've won the gauntlet." Indominus took Rainbow's hoof and looked her dead in the eyes. Regardless of what happens, we'll still be together."
The two shared one kiss before they opened their jaws and began building energy within them. Everypony below could see the energy building and the lightning surging out of their mouths. Twilight's eyes went wide at what she thought Indominus and Rainbow had planned.
"Everypony! Be ready to move! Rainbow and Indominus are going to launch their blasts!"
Smaug heard what Twilight said and started to get nervous. If they unleashed their attacks from such a height, then the energy would ignite the volcano and engulf everything in the area. His common sense began telling him otherwise the more he thought the situation over.
"There's no way they would fire such devastating blasts from up there, those two would wipe out half the dragon lands if they did."
Rainbow and Indominus clamped down on the balls of power stored in their mouths and held them. They glanced at each other, nodded their heads once and began diving towards the ground. With the amount of power they had, their speed was building at an incredible rate. The Mane Six could see the mach cone already forming around Rainbow Dash, and the golden flames were forming a spear around Indominus. Scootaloo's eyes shrunk as she realized what her sister and savior had concocted.
"Everypony! We need to fly now!"
The dragons didn't hesitate this time, they took to the sky with the Mane Six and CMC and began putting as much distance as possible between them and the volcano. They still kept an eye on the diving warriors, who were becoming more engulfed by the power surrounding their bodies. This was going to be a Sonic Rainboom to end all Sonic Rainbooms.
Down in the volcano, Smaug was rooted to the spot. All he could do was watch as the warriors continued to gain more velocity. The red aura and golden flames had engulfed them completely, and he could hear the mach cones reaching their peak. Whatever they had planned was about to take place.
"Let's see what you and your mate have in store for me Indominus."
Then everyone heard the tremendous explosion.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!
The Sonic Rainboom was triple the size of an average one. The golden flames and red aura had both been added to the mix, giving the Rainboom a much more sinister appearance. What scared everypony most was that none of them could see Rainbow or Indominus. After the Rainboom happened, both fighters had disappeared from view. All they saw was a red and gold lightning flash that dove into the volcano and vanished.
Smaug had shrunken eyes and a dropped jaw upon seeing the spectacle. He had no idea where either of the fighters had gone. He had watched the whole thing, and they had simply disappeared from sight. He had no idea however, that disaster was waiting right in front of him. He heard two crashes on the platform and as he lowered his head away from the Sonic Rainboom, his heart sank.
Rainbow and Indominus were right in his face at point blank range. The orbs glowing in their mouths with hundreds of lightning flashes. There was nothing that could prepare Smaug for the devastation he was about to endure.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Smaug's scream was drowned out by the roars of the warriors as the blasts erupted from their jaws.
The spectators all heard the thunderous roars and felt their hearts drop as a massive explosion burst from within the volcano. Tons of lava erupted with the blast and expanded along the entire width of the volcano. The volcano's crater was being expanded and destroyed by the sheer power that Rainbow and Indominus were pouring onto Smaug.
"They were capable of that kind of power!?" The green dragon was so shocked as he asked the Mane Six and CMC and witnessed the power destroying the volcano.
"I didn't think that their love for each other would be able to produce a blast of this caliber," said Scootaloo.
"There ain't no way in heck that Smaug will be able te walk away from an attack that strong," said Applejack.
Sweetie Belle added, "I'm wondering how they managed to pull off an attack that fast. I've never seen Rainbow Dash pull off a Sonic Rainboom that fast."
"I just hope they're alright," Fluttershy added.
"Looks like we're about to find out," said T-Rex.
The eruption died down and the spectators flew over to the widened crater to try and see what had happened. The inside was covered in black smoke and lightning strikes could be seen floating around the area. As the smoke cleared, they could make out two bodies that were glowing. The Mane Six had wide eyes and the CMC were astounded at the sight.
Indominus and Rainbow were panting heavily and their energy was continuing to surge around them. Indominus still had the little golden flames circling his body, and they seemed to have grown in numbers. They had done a serious number on Smaug, who was lying face down in the dirt as the smoke cleared up completely. The dragons were all mortified by what incredible damage had been dealt to their king.
Many of his scales had been peeled away from the force of the blasts. The skin near his wings was blistered badly and blood was spilling from his mouth and pooling around his face. Seeing that he wasn't budging or making any movements, it was obvious he had been truly devastated. Many of the dragons thought that Rainbow and Indominus had done the impossible: they thought the warriors had killed their king.
Each of the spectators held their breath nervously, hoping that their king would somehow be able to get up from the brutal attack. |
Battle of the Kings | The Gauntlet is Over | Rainbow and Indominus finally got a decent look at their handiwork as the dust and smoke lifted from the volcano. Smaug was still not moving and after being dealt such tremendous attacks at point blank range, it was a wonder he hadn't been disintegrated.
"You were right Rainbow Dash, your plan worked. I doubt any of Smaug's previous battles could've prepared him for that. There's definitely a lot of smarts behind that rainbow mane of yours."
Rainbow Dash felt herself blushing at Indominus's compliment, and he loved how cute she looked despite her transformation.
"Oh please, it was just an idea I thought to test out the speed your new flames have given you."
Indominus gave her a light kiss on the cheek.
"Still, the plan was all yours. I love it when my girl shows her strength and brains in the best of ways."
Then they heard a struggled groan coming from Smaug's body, and watched as the dragon lord tried to lift his exhausted body off the ground. The dragons above were all grateful that their king hadn't been killed after all. However, they were worried about his physical state after the incredible blast had shook him up so badly. The Mane Six could see how the three dragons watching out for them were getting nervous for their king.
"Do you boys think Smaug will be able to keep going like this," Rarity asked the group.
"It's hard to say at this point," the dark blue dragon said. "Smaug has never encountered an attack that brutal before. He's been ravaged by the intensity of the attack, and his body is severely damaged."
"If this battle goes on, then he will surely die," the green dragon added.
Hearing this shocked all the dragons. Each of them knew that Smaug had always won his fights, but this could be the one time that he wouldn't be able to come out on top. His body was still bleeding and his arms were shaking slightly trying to hold him up. There didn't seem to be a way for him to survive his own gauntlet.
"Well it also depends on what Indominus and Rainbow Dash decide to do," Scootaloo said.
Everyone looked at the filly like she had the answer to the outcome of the fight.
"Just what do you mean?"
"I mean that neither of them were aiming to kill him. They could decide to spare him, this isn't like the fight with Black Death. Smaug has been very reasonable and understanding this whole time. It all comes down to what each of them decides to do next."
Th spectators turned their attention back down to the battlefield, noticing that Smaug was facing off against the warriors again.
He was breathing heavily from the attacks, and he looked terribly exhausted. The dragon lord was on the verge of losing his own fight unless he did something soon.
"Maybe now you can see how wrong you were to doubt us Smaug," Indominus called out to the weakened king. "When me and Rainbow Dash work together there's nothing we can't accomplish."
Smaug gave a slightly weak, but fully satisfied laugh. Despite what had happened to him, he looked truly pleased with the results. He slowly began to make his way towards Rainbow and Indominus. They got ready to take action in case he tried anything sneaky. Smaug just kept walking at a slow pace towards them and stopped when he was within arm's reach of the pair. Indominus could see the pleased expression on the dragon king's face.
"Well done Rainbow Dash and Indominus Rex. You two fight with much fire in your hearts. That was a truly shocking sneak attack, I never thought the flames could make you move at such blinding speeds Indominus. As for Rainbow Dash, that was a clever tactic to use the flames to your advantage and catch me off guard. You are one of the brightest ponies I've ever met."
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel humble again at his compliments. Smaug was far more compassionate than any other dragon she had seen. He had a perfect combination of ferocity and courtesy, something no pony ever expected in a dragon.
"Though I have to say Indominus, you were both right and wrong about what you told me before the fight."
"Right and wrong about what Smaug?"
"Before this fight began you told me I would love the challenge of facing your fiance, but you said I wouldn't feel that way after it was over. That is where you are wrong. I did enjoy the challenge of fighting both of you. Yet I still feel that way now considering you two have beaten me."
The dragons all gasped in surprise, they swore that they had misheard their king. Did Smaug just say that the warriors had beaten him? All of them watched in disbelief as Smaug extended his arm towards Indominus in a friendly gesture. Rainbow and Indominus relaxed upon seeing the gesture.
"For the first time ever in Dragon Land history, Final Destination will not be claiming a victim. Rainbow Dash, Indominus Rex, I concede to you. You two are the winners and champions of my gauntlet."
The Mane Six, CMC and dinosaurs all erupted in applause after hearing Smaug. The couple had proven themselves to be too much for the dragon lord to overcome. The dragons couldn't believe it, Smaug, the dragon lord had given up in a fight. At first they thought that Smaug had been outdone by someone that had been able to match him. Yet seeing how he looked at Rainbow and Indominus showed all the dragons that their king must've gained so much respect for them.
Every dragon roared into the sky and let loose their flames in congrats. Indominus gladly shook the dragon lord's hand, glad for being presented with such a courteous dragon. Both hybrid and dragon stared at each other with pleased looks in their eyes. When Smaug congratulated Rainbow Dash, he extended a fist for her instead.
"No hard feelings for what I said about you before Rainbow Dash?"
"No hard feelings Smaug," Rainbow said happily as she hoof bumped the scaly fist.
The three fighters then took flight and flew out of the volcano. Smaug was a little slower than the couple because his body was weakened so much. When they touched down on soft ground again, Rainbow's friends toppled her in a dog pile, once she returned to her normal size. T-Rex and the raptors nuzzled the heck out of Indominus, and were surprised that the golden flames did nothing to them when they were touching him.
Scootaloo said from within the dog pile "Rainbow Dash you were amazing!"
"Darling you were fantastic in that fight."
"Ah've never seen ya move like that before."
"All that quality time with the dinosaurs has shaped you into an amazing fighter."
"This new power of yours is something else Indominus. How did it happen?"
"I'm still trying to figure that out myself T-Rex. All I know is that after my fist collided with Smaug's, the flames formed from the impact and began surrounding me. Oh, that reminds me. We have something to take care of."
Indominus called Rainbow and Scootaloo over and told them that they had to thank Smaug for the incredible fight. All the ponies joined them as they walked over to the exhausted dragon lord. All the dragons were deeply concerned for him seeing how badly beaten he still looked. They parted when the dinosaurs had walked over to speak with their king.
"Smaug we can't thank you enough for giving us this chance to prove ourselves."
"We've never encountered a dragon that has accepted us and didn't try to kill us on the spot," said Blue.
"You're quite welcome warriors. That was the whole point of this gauntlet, for all of you to show me why Equestria has looked up to all of you. I witnessed all of it today during the fights, and now I finally understand why Black Death was killed. Before you all head back home, there is an offer I want to give."
"Before you do, we have something that we need to do for you Smaug." This statement caught Smaug and the others by surprise.
"Oh, and what would that be Indominus?"
"You see, I'm not the only one who can transform. Everyone in our family can, Tyrannosaurus, Blue and her girls, even Rainbow and Scootaloo can do it. We want to show you how we looked when we killed Black Death."
"Now this I must see."
Indominus looked at the others to see if they were ok with showing their forms.
"So girls, you don't mind if we show Smaug our power, do you?"
"Not at all Indominus," said Scootaloo.
"Sure, why not."
"Gladly."
"Let's do it."
With everyone's approval, the family gathered in front of Smaug to show him their true forms. The dragons braced themselves for what was going to happen. Indominus stood back as his family members began surging with power and the red auras returned. Every dragon had dropped jaws once again, seeing the transformed family members. Seeing Scootaloo's transformed state alongside Rainbow Dash's was extremely pleasing to Smaug.
"I can see you already have a prodigy in your life Rainbow Dash." Rainbow wrapped one hoof around Scootaloo as she looked at her with proud eyes.
"Yes, she's made me so proud for everything that she's accomplished. For all the trials she's endured and for helping stop Black Death, I'm proud to call her my sister."
The dragons couldn't help but admire the touching display. Despite how fierce and strong they were, the dinosaurs and ponies all cared deeply for each other. They had a family bond that could conquer any challenge.
"Now this is our way of repaying you for this opportunity Smaug."
"What are you-"
Smaug was cut off as the family began pouring the red tangible energy on him. The dragon lord didn't move as the energy covered his body. The others were shocked as they watched the marks and bleeding wounds on his body healing at an incredible rate. All the flesh wounds and slashes were healed and in no time at all, Smaug's body was completely healed. He couldn't believe what they had just done for him, the dinosaurs and pegasi had restored him. All the wounds on his body had vanished and his strength had even returned in the process.
"Wow. This feels amazing. Thank you very much Guardians." They all bowed to him in return, and returned to their original states.
When Indominus transformed back the golden flames disappeared. It was rather strange to be normal again, considering that those flames had helped him and Rainbow Dash win the gauntlet in the first place. Now it was time to hear what Smaug's offer was.
"Now what were you saying Smaug," Rainbow asked the dragon lord.
"I was going to offer you the chance to train with all of us if you'd like."
No one could believe what they had heard. Smaug was offering them a chance to train in the dragon lands with him. Rainbow thought about it for a while, but in the end she couldn't accept the offer. She had ponies back in Ponyville that depended on her, and she had Scootaloo to take care of.
"I'm sorry Smaug, I can't accept your offer. I already have somepony to keep on training so she can be the best and remain part of my family." Scootaloo snuggled against her sister as the other dinosaurs gave their answers.
"Sorry Smaug, my place is with Ponyville. I appreciate the offer though," said T-Rex.
"Me and my girls have Scootaloo to care for," Blue answered.
Indominus seemed to be having trouble making his decision. So he asked Smaug a few questions.
"What would I get from training with you Smaug?"
"I would take you under my wing, teach you everything that dragons know about fighting and make you my personal prodigy. I saw so much potential in you during the fight Indominus, and I want to sharpen your skills so that you can be just as good as during our fight. Except you probably wouldn't need the red aura after you've gone through my training. Also, I could show you how to unleash the true potential of the Immortal Phoenix and more importantly, how to control it."
Indominus had only one more question to ask before he could make his choice.
"Would I have to remain here forever?" Smaug could see the worried look in Rainbow's eyes after Indominus asked his question. He already knew what to say.
"No, you wouldn't have to stay here all the time. Your only requirements would be to train in these lands for one week of each month. Then when the winter comes to Equestria, you will face off against me in a fight, without transforming. It will be a way to show me how much you've improved, if you pass, then you will be my true prodigy and be able to awaken the Immortal Phoenix by the end of the fight. However, if you fail, you will have to repeat the training process again and again, until you can beat me one on one. Also as a side note, if your friends miss you that badly they can always visit to see your progress for themselves."
Indominus turned towards his fiance to see what she would say.
"Rainbow Dash, you wouldn't be upset if I trained here for a while, would you? I'm not cancelling the promise we made to each other, I just feel like this could make me a better Guardian and protector." Rainbow Dash spoke very clearly to her hybrid fiance.
"Indominus I can't force you to decide, the choice is all yours. Besides, you're not going to be here forever. You only have to train here one week each month until the winter comes around. Besides I can always come by to check on you, Smaug said I could. If you feel that this can make you a better dinosaur, then go for it."
"Rainbow Dash, I love you." Indominus kissed his girl for being so understanding, no other ponies in the world would be as understanding as her and Scootaloo. Indominus bent down to tell Scootaloo as well. "Are you ok with me being gone for a while Scootaloo?"
"You go get em Indominus. You'll still be my savior." The hybrid happily licked her in response, then he walked over to Smaug to give his answer.
"Smaug, I will accept your offer. I will train with you and all the dragons to be the best dinosaur I can be."
The dragons roared in delight, they were going to help train a fighter that could show them a thing or two. Smaug had a proud smile on his face.
"I should warn you, I can be a difficult teacher. I accept nothing but the absolute best from all who train under my wing."
"I believe I can handle it."
"Very good Indominus Rex, welcome to our world."
The dragon lord and hybrid dinosaur shook hands then threw their heads back and roared into the sky. It was going to be a little sad for Rainbow Dash, to be apart from her fiance even for a week. Twilight walked beside her.
"There now Rainbow Dash, you'll get to see him regardless."
"I know, but this'll be the first time we've been apart."
"Come now Rainbow, there'll be times like these," Indominus said as he walked back over. "You can't get too sappy on me, or others might think you're turning soft."
Rainbow shook away the thoughts from her mind and reminded herself that Indominus was right. The dragon lord asked the three dragons to bring Indominus back in one week for his training. As they got ready to head back home, Smaug had a task for Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow while Indominus is back with you, make sure to test him every now and again to make sure he stays on track."
"You got it Smaug, I won't let you down."
The dragon lord even told the three dragons that had brought them to make sure to get him updated on Indominus's progress.
"You want us to keep going back to Ponyville? You're not mad at us for bringing the ponies here?"
"If you hadn't brought them here, I would've never seen Indominus or Rainbow's fighting potential in the first place. So yes, consider it a reward for bringing me such amazing fighters."
`With everything set and Indominus's training to begin in a week's time, the group bid farewell to the dragon lands and began making their trip home. Indominus was going to learn all the secrets of the dragons, and he would become a more capable dinosaur than he ever dreamed of. |
Battle of the Kings | Winter Showdown | The weeks of training that followed until the winter were far more difficult than Indominus had thought. The dragon lord put him through grueling training that pushed his limits in every aspect of fighting. Every week Indominus was tested in a different aspect of fighting, Smaug wanted to make sure the dinosaur could cover everything about fighting so he would have more tactics and strategies. During the sessions, Smaug forbade the hybrid from transforming in order to focus on strengthening his body more. Also so Indominus wouldn't feel like he had to resort to using his transformed state if a battle got to be too much. He did however, let Indominus use his wings and the blasts to train for better flying and for controlling the amount of power used in each blast.
Indominus's first week with the dragons focused on utilizing every weapon he had in his arsenal. The dragons taught him not to just rely on his claws or blasts, he had to make use of all the tools he had been born with. The hybrid faced many dragons during that week and the matches were relentless, but he learned quickly. By the time the week had ended, Indominus was able to hold his own and fight against five dragons at once. It warmed Smaug's scaly heart to see how much progress Indominus was capable of making, and how he was developing into an incredible fighter.
The other weeks focused on Indominus's flight speed, his combat prowess and energy control. Smaug had seen that Indominus was fast during the gauntlet, but he seemed to have difficulty with the higher speeds. Indominus was taught not to push himself too hard while in flight, because if he couldn't control himself in the air or sustain his flight, it could wind up with crashing into the ground. The hybrid did appreciate what Smaug was trying to teach him, but that area of training was best suited for Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo.
Covering Indominus's prowess as a fighter was a training session that involved him and Smaug spending so much of the day brawling with each other. The two carnivores got swept up in the thrill of sparing with each other that they often forgot about time altogether. It would be pitch black by the time the dinosaur and dragon had had their fill of sparing with each other. They would cap off their sparing session with a night hunt and enjoy the other's company while they chowed down on well earned meat. Those moments of training were a rare time for Indominus and Smaug to bond with each other as mentor and pupil.
Controlling the amount of power being put into each blast was a difficult area for Indominus to learn. He was so used to pouring as much power as he could into his blasts, but Smaug showed him that would only wear him out faster.
"You must be able to concentrate a certain amount into each blast. Otherwise you're just wasting your energy on the hope that you can kill your opponent with a single attack. Controlling the amount of energy will allow you to last much longer in a brawl, while maintaining your dominance over your foe."
Smaug's teachings were simple and brilliant to understand, and Indominus learned quite well from each lesson.
Smaug didn't just train Indominus til his bones broke, he was a stern yet understanding teacher. Halfway through each week of training, the dragon lord would give Indominus time to relax in the lava baths, provide him with plenty of meat and always gave the right amount of encouragement. The dragon lord found that the more time he spent training Indominus, the more fond he was becoming of the hybrid. The dragon lord had finally found a creature that could handle his way of fighting and was making him more proud with each day.
When he wasn't training in the Dragon Lands, Indominus had to keep up under Rainbow's watchful eye. Smaug had given her the task of making sure her fiance didn't slack off on his training, so at the end of every week the dragon trio gave her Indominus's training regime for that week. She could teach Indominus in the training of flying better than Smaug could, but had to transform for the combat parts. Rainbow and Scootaloo offered their support and help in keeping Indominus on track, but didn't put him through nearly as much training. He needed some much needed rest every so often after the constant training and sparing that would prepare him for his winter duel.
On the month before the winter duel, Smaug had a special training in mind for Indominus: tapping into the power of the Immortal Phoenix. Since Indominus had already tapped into the power during the gauntlet, Smaug was sure it would be easier to use over time. He couldn't have been more wrong, Indominus had been unable to trigger it since the gauntlet. Smaug knew the form could only be triggered by tapping into a pure, animal rage. Yet despite how intensely he and Indominus spared in hopes of triggering it, they didn't get any luck. When their strongest punches collided they got a few flames, but no significant results.
There didn't seem to be any way of getting Indominus angry enough to trigger the transformation. Smaug had one idea left, but he was going to save it for Indominus's final test in the winter.
When the time finally came for Indominus's test, the dragons returned to Ponyville once again to take the group to the dragon lands. They all made sure to bring extra gear because none of them knew how cold the Dragon Lands were in the winter. Tyrannosaurus and the raptors had the auras up the whole way because the brisk, cold air was more than they could handle. When they reached their destination, it was clear just how extreme the winter was for dragons.
The wind felt 20 degrees colder and the dragons that couldn't survive the cold were frozen solid. The snow was blowing so wildly that it was near impossible to see anything ahead. It was an insane level of cold that only the most durable creatures could handle. The ponies huddled close to the dinosaurs as Smaug descended out of the air. He touched down in front of Indominus, who had the most determined look in his eyes ever.
"So Indominus, are you ready for your final test?"
"Yes Smaug, I'll take it and prove my worth to you at last."
Smaug smiled at his pupil's determination. "That's what I like to hear. Now follow me."
The dragon lord led Indominus onto a frozen, barren battlefield for the final test. There was parched snow covered ground and mountains in the background, it was a grand setting for the hybrid's last test. Dragons began gathering alongside the dinosaurs to see how Indominus would fare. Everyone heard Smaug call out over the wind to Indominus.
"This is your final task: you must beat me in a fight without transforming, and make me bow before you with a roar. Not just any roar, the roar of a true dinosaur and king. The only way to achieve it is to awaken the Immortal Phoenix. If you can't awaken that power within yourself, then you are not even fit to walk among the ponies."
Indominus knew that he had to find a way to trigger the transformation, but if he couldn't change during the fight, how could he pull it off? There was a way, he would just have to find it before the fight got the best of him. He heard cheering coming from the ponies, but there was only one voice that truly stood out to him.
"Show him why you're my fiance Indominus. Prove to all of the dragons why you are the best they'll ever see!"
Indominus gave Rainbow Dash a nod and turned back towards Smaug.
"This I swear to you Smaug, I will come out on top in this fight. I will not LOSE!!!"
"Then let your last test begin. NOW FIGHT!!!"
The carnivores bellowed massive roars and charged at each other. As they got closer, Indominus was already planning his first attack. Smaug was wondering what Indominus had planned as he closed in on his student. When they were within striking range Smaug lunged forward and tried to bite Indominus. The hybrid's counterattack was far different than what Smaug had expected.
Indominus fired a contained blast right in Smaug's face. The explosion sent the dragon reeling back, but he was able to stay on his feet. As he recovered from the attack, Smaug spotted Indominus lunging for him almost immediately afterwards. The dragon lord swung a fist out to stop him, but Indominus grabbed it and clamped down on the underside of Smaug's neck. Indominus had gotten himself at a perfect angle to attack Smaug, one which the dragon lord couldn't defend himself.
Indominus was too close to Smaug's body and with his neck in the hybrid's jaws the dragon lord couldn't maneuver for a clean shot. Because his arms were also his wings, they could only bend so far in and Indominus was too close for his free arm to reach. Smaug had to admit that Indominus was still surprising him, with a sneak attack and already drawing blood the hybrid was definitely a worthy creature. That didn't mean that Smaug was going to take it easy on him, he was the dragon lord for a reason and he was going to remind Indominus of it.
The hybrid noticed that Smaug's chest was lighting up, that meant Smaug was getting ready to unleash his fire. Even though Indominus had him by the underside of the neck, Smaug had a clear shot of the hybrid's back. If Indominus didn't move he would be blasted by the full force of Smaug's breath.
"Alright Untamable King, let's see you get out of this one."
Indominus reacted quickly by releasing his grip on Smaug's fist and neck and pushed himself off the dragon's body to put some distance between them. Unfortunately, Smaug was ahead of Indominus this time. As Indominus pushed himself off Smaug's body, the dragon used his free arm to seize the dinosaur by the leg and throw him into the ground. Smaug then pinned Indominus to the ground so there was no way for him to fly away.
The ponies on the sidelines were getting really nervous from seeing how Indominus was trapped. All except for Rainbow Dash, who was completely calm about the ordeal.
"Rainbow ain't ya in the least bit nervous about Indominus? He's about to be blasted in the face by Smaug."
"I'm not worried Applejack, because I helped train him for this moment. I know that Indominus can get himself out of this mess."
Applejack had never heard Rainbow put so much confidence and faith in somepony before. But Indominus was a very capable dinosaur, so Rainbow's faith in was more than justified, She then took notice that Indominus was concealing a blast within his mouth. It was only visible by small amounts of energy that were coming out of his mouth. Then the Mane Six watched as Smaug and Indominus opened their mouths and fired their blasts.
The attacks couldn't have been more than a few feet apart, and the explosion covered their bodies. Smaug was sent flying away as the smoke began to cover more of the area. He landed on his back as he recoiled from the force of the explosion.
"That was fast, how could he possibly block an attack that close? I was right in his face when I released the blast."
As the smoke began to fade, Smaug saw that Indominus's body was steaming. The attack had done some damage to him, he had just blocked the majority of the blast with his counterattack. As Indominus got back on his feet, he gave Smaug the first snide remark of his life.
"What did you think of that Smaug, am I becoming more than you expected?"
"What's this now, am I sensing an ego and some pride in you? I didn't think my attitude was rubbing off on you. I must admit that you're still surprising me Indominus."
The hybrid gave his mentor a smile from across the battlefield.
"It's because you're strong Smaug, I find that my toughest opponents bring out the best in me. Plus I thought using snide remarks in a fight could throw my opponent off their game."
"Well that is a good idea, but use them with the wrong fighter and you'll wind up in a world of hurt. Besides, you're still a long shot from beating me. Remember, you needed your fiance's help to bring me down last time." Smaug had his own bag of retorts to use, after all two could play this kind of game.
"Oh don't worry, I've trained to prove myself to you. I'll show you just how much stronger I am."
Good, cause I'm just getting started, Smaug thought to himself.
Then Smaug took two leaps and went airborne, Indominus unfurled his wings and gave chase after the dragon. In the blinding snow and strong wind it would've been impossible to spot Smaug in the sky. However, Indominus had been born with a very unique perk: being able to sense the heat signatures of other animals. So even with the snow blocking his normal vision, his thermal detection allowed him to see Smaug's body clearly against the elements.
Smaug turned back and saw the hybrid was still chasing him, and gaining ground. The dragon let loose a torrent of flame at Indominus and waited to see what the dinosaur would do. Indominus fired a blast of his own and it countered the attack. Smaug waited for Indominus to appear from within the smoke, but there was nothing after the smoke had cleared. Indominus had disappeared and Smaug knew that he was using his camouflage to try and ambush the dragon lord.
Smaug scanned the sky, trying to spot the hybrid's movements in the air. With the snow falling Indominus should've been given away, yet Smaug couldn't spot him or hear him. The sound of his wing beats couldn't even be heard and it had Smaug wondering how Indominus was managing to stay so quiet in the air.
Then all of a sudden.
"SURPRISE!!!"
Smaug felt teeth clamp down on the back of his neck and his arms were being held back. The dragon lord was plummeting toward the ground with Indominus on his back, weighing him down and restricting his flight. Indominus had flown above the explosion, glided in the air so Smaug couldn't hear him and successfully ambushed the dragon. Now they were falling back towards the snow covered ground, but Indominus had something else in mind. As they got closer to the ground, Indominus began charging more energy in his jaws.
When they were close enough to the ground, Indominus bellowed out, "see how you like this one?"
He fired a powerful blast at Smaug and flew back as he released it. Smaug was sent speeding right into the ground and collided with a mountain of snow. When he resurfaced the dragon looked back at his prodigy.
This isn't going anywhere, he's just using fancy moves and clever tactics. He'll never awaken the power of the Phoenix like this. I didn't want to do this, but it looks like I'll have to get him angry myself.
Smaug burst from the snow angrier than ever. He looked at Indominus with a fiery glare in his eyes and spoke with a deep voice that could've been mistaken for Death's tone.
"Is this how you intend to win this fight? Using all these fancy moves and not fighting me like the dinosaur that I faced in the gauntlet? Maybe it was a mistake to train you if THIS is how you're going to fight me."
That last statement got under Indominus's skin, it had been so long since someone had called him a mistake. Smaug could see a red glare in the hybrid's eyes and knew he was getting close to bringing out Indominus's inner fury. As the hybrid began walking towards Smaug, he responded with his own deep tone.
"I am no mistake. I'm the Untamable King, Indominus Rex. I'm not afraid to fight you like a true dinosaur, I will fight you tooth and claw and nothing else. If that's how you want this battle to go down, then so be it!"
Indominus put away his wings and charged towards Smaug with ferocity in his heart. The moment they met each other head on, both dinosaur and dragon went into a flurry of punches and slashes. They had disregarded their flight and blasts completely, and were just throwing punches at each other as hard as they could. Indominus was putting all his strength into each punch, and every attack produced more golden flame as his fists collided with Smaug's.
This pleased the dragon lord, knowing that he was on the right track in getting Indominus to awaken his potential, but it still wasn't enough. Brute force wasn't cutting it, even with both of them angry as possible, or so Smaug thought. Then he remembered how Indominus had protected Rainbow Dash so many times during the gauntlet, and then a horrible idea popped into his mind. He realized that the only way for Indominus to awaken the power of the Immortal Phoenix, was to attack the one pony that Indominus cared so much for. Such action would push Indominus's anger over the edge and awaken the power within him.
It was a risky plan, but Smaug didn't have any other choice. After he and Indominus separated from their fists colliding, he called out to the spectating dragons.
"DRAGONS! GRAB RAINBOW DASH AND HOLD HER FOR ME!"
The dragons obeyed Smaug's word and seized Rainbow Dash before she could transform. Scootaloo tried to help her, but the dragons outnumbered her and captured her as well. T-Rex and the raptors were surrounded by the others and couldn't move in to help their family. The Mane Six could only look on in horror as Smaug began charging towards Rainbow Dash. Indominus tried to stop him but Smaug just smacked him aside and continued dead ahead.
Smaug was almost within striking range when Indominus stood right between him and the captured ponies. The hybrid stood his ground and held Smaug's fists as the dragon lord continued to press further ahead. Indominus didn't understand why Smaug was suddenly resorting to lashing out with anger and going after the ponies.
"Why are you doing this Smaug? What have they ever done to you?"
"I'm going to do whatever it takes to make you angry and bring out your full power. If your family ends up dead in the process, then you can blame yourself for being so stubborn."
Indominus was hoping that he didn't just hear Smaug threaten his girl's life.
"You did not just say that."
Smaug continued to push Indominus back more as he was getting closer to reaching Rainbow Dash.
"So what if I did, it's not like you have the power to stop me. I'm going to slaughter your whole family, and you won't be able to do a thing about it."
Smaug was about to regret saying the few words Indominus hated to hear. The dragon lord suddenly found that he wasn't moving and couldn't push Indominus back any further. He then saw that more golden flames were starting to form around Indominus, and the hybrid hadn't done anything to trigger them. Suddenly Smaug found himself losing ground and was being forced back despite trying to fight against Indominus.
"You dare say that you will kill the pony I love more than anything!?" The deadly tone coming from Indominus sent chills down Smaug's spine. He had no idea what rage he had awakened within Indominus. "How dare you. HOW DARE YOU!!!!"
Suddenly Smaug felt himself being lifted off the ground and thrown with the strength of a thousand dragons. Indominus felt himself boiling over with anger and it was threatening to take over him. He was going to tear Smaug apart for making a threat against his family, but a voice brought his reason back.
"Remember Indominus, you can do this. Don't let Smaug tell you otherwise. You are my fiance and one of Scootaloo's saviors, there's nothing you can't accomplish."
"Thank you Rainbow Dash," Indominus said to himself before he threw his head into the sky and bellowed a roar that shook everything around him.
Lightning streaks burst from within his body and were arching in all directions. He had found a power greater than what Rainbow Dash had given him, and everypony was witnessing it firsthoof. Smaug watched in shock as golden flames came from within the hybrid's body and began to envelop him. The flames were also spreading out in shock waves, going over anything that was in their way. As his body began undergoing its new transformation, Indominus turned around to face the dragons that were holding Rainbow and Scootaloo.
"Let. Go. Of. My. Girls. NOW!!!! " The dragons immediately let go of the pegasi and backed away trembling at the authority in the transforming dinosaur. With his girls safe, Indominus turned his attention back to the dragon that had made the threat against their lives in the first place.
Smaug was stunned at the magnitude of power Indominus was emitting. The hybrid's wings unfurled and the gold flames instantly covered them. Indominus was being enveloped by the inferno, thousands of fiery tongues licking at his body and filling him with incredible power. The dragon lord had underestimated Indominus's rage, and now the dinosaur was going to kill him. Smaug immediately released a long torrent of flame as Indominus exploded off the ground mid-transformation, and bolted forward.
The fire breath flowed over the dinosaur, but it didn't even slow him down. Indominus was plowing through Smaug's blaze as if he didn't even feel the attack. Smaug continued to pour on the fire until he saw a clawed hand covered in golden fire come out from within the blast and smack him across the face. The force from that one attack sent Smaug reeling and drove his head into the ground. As he got up the dragon lord was paralyzed as he caught sight of Indominus's transformation as the dinosaur stepped out of the flame.
His body was covered completely by the golden fire, there wasn't a scale to be seen on him. Not even his eyes were visible, only glowing red patches were where his eyes should've been. The falling snow evaporated the moment it made contact with the flames. It looked like his entire body was made of golden fire, he no longer looked like a dinosaur. Indominus had finally become what Smaug had seen within him: the Immortal Phoenix was born. The transformed hybrid walked in front of Smaug and spoke in a demonic voice.
"You shouldn't have threatened my girl, now you'll see what happens to those who hurt my family."
Smaug felt his whole world turn on its head as Indominus punched his face with enough force to send the dragon lord crashing into a mountain. The attack happened so fast that Smaug didn't have time to react. All the spectators had wide eyes and dropped jaws at the unbelievable display. As Smaug got up from the attack he noticed something peculiar about Indominus.
The dinosaur seemed to be battling the anger within himself and trying to stay in control. He had experienced so much anger and now he was doing his best to keep it from getting control of his mind. The dragon lord had to commend Indominus for his perseverance and not let the rage control him.
"Excellent work Indominus. Now let's see what you can do as the Immortal Phoenix."
The carnivores flew back into their fighting frenzy, only this time it was far more intense. Indominus was punching at a faster rate than before and could easily block all of Smaug's blows without any trouble. The golden fire covering his body had enhanced all of his potential and made into a fighter beyond anything Smaug had encountered. Indominus was truly giving his best and Smaug was loving every minute of it.
The spectators couldn't make out much, all they could see were the lightning strikes and flashes of gold flames coming from Indominus's attacks. Rainbow was still amazed at how Indominus had transformed and the great creature he had become. This great dinosaur was going to be part of her life and she would get to see him in action with this new gift more often.
"Go Indominus! Kick his tail!"
The transformed hybrid seemed to hear Rainbow's cheer because he broke Smaug's flurry of punches and nailed an uppercut on his head. Indominus instantly followed up by grabbing Smaug's mouth, pulling his head in and nailing a right hook across his face. The dinosaur exploded off the ground and gave chase, easily catching up with the reeling dragon and catching him by the back of the head in his mouth. Without wasting a minute Indominus used Smaug's momentum to spin him around and throw him clear across the battlefield.
Indominus's speed and agility were far greater than when he fought Smaug in the gauntlet. While Smaug was still reeling from all the swift attacks, Indominus began dealing a wide array of fiery slashes and bone breaking blows. Smaug was helpless, against Indominus's fury he couldn't strike back at all. Indominus's new transformation had completely turned the tables on Smaug and now the dragon lord was getting what he had wanted.
Indominus finished his round of attacks by kicking Smaug into the sky and zooming past him. The spectators lost sight of them for a moment, but gasped in horror as a giant golden blast rained down from the air, with Smaug on the receiving end. The blast exploded into a flurry of fireballs and expanding flames as it made contact with the ground. When the fireworks died out, Smaug was lying face down in the dirt and steam was pouring off his body.
The dragon lord had one hand on his face as he struggled to get back up. He didn't think Indominus would reach a level of such an extreme caliber. He knew the Immortal Phoenix would make Indominus strong, but he never imagined that Indominus would be able to exceed him and render him unable to fight back. It was a rare moment for the dragon lord, he never expected to come across a creature that could outclass him entirely. However, he didn't have time to dwell on it as the golden dinosaur landed in front of him.
"Now to finally finish my test and prove myself."
Smaug knew what Indominus was talking about and prepared himself for the roar that was going to be heard. He had no idea how much power Indominus's roar had until it escaped his jaws. The roar had so much magnitude that it shook the entirety of the Dragon Lands. All the dragons felt their bodies trembling and were forced into bowing. Smaug felt his own body tremble under the power and authority in the dinosaur, and was shocked as his own body was brought into submission by Indominus Rex.
Indominus Rex, the Untamable King, had completed Smaug's task and had truly defeated the Dragon Lord. Everypony was applauding for Indominus and the hybrid had a delighted smile on his face after having proven his worth to all of the dragons. Indominus could see a happy and extremely proud smile on Rainbow's face. He couldn't wait to hear what she had to say now that he was finished with his training. But first there was his mentor who had some praise of his own to give.
As Smaug got back up he too was applauding his prodigy. The dragon lord extended his arm to Indominus and despite the golden flames still surrounding him, Indominus gladly shook his mentor's hand now that he had won.
"Congratulations Indominus, you truly are my prodigy. I'm sorry about everything that I did during the fight, it was the only way I could bring out the Immortal Phoenix inside you."
Now that Indominus understood his mentor's methods, his frustrated mind relaxed.
"I see, well next time try to let me know ahead of time. If Rainbow hadn't given me some much needed encouragement I could've killed you."
"If you had known beforehand, you wouldn't have gone to such a degree to protect your girl. I'm amazed at how you've turned out because of it. This is the very same form that I've only seen one other time."
Now that the fighting was over, Indominus finally got a good look at his newfound power. Seeing the golden flames covering his body was startling at first, but he still liked how wicked he looked. It was so bizarre to see his body flowing with such power and to have control over it. One thought occurred to him that had him concerned, how was he going to change back?
"Uh Smaug, how am I going to change back?"
"You have to relax and allow the anger to seep out of your mind. Once your mind is calm and no anger is present, the flames will part away."
"I'm not good with that."
"I can help with that." Indominus and Smaug turned to see Rainbow Dash walking towards them, having increased her size and ready to help her fiance.
"Rainbow I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to be around me while I-" Indominus was cut off as Rainbow put her wing to his mouth. The flames didn't burn her at all, they felt very warm against her fur. Despite how Indominus looked, she wasn't afraid because Rainbow knew Indominus was still the same dinosaur that had helped save her and Scootaloo so many months ago.
"Let me help you as you've helped me Indominus. Now brace yourself big boy."
Indominus was taken aback as Rainbow Dash went and kissed him on the mouth. He hadn't expected her to be so bold, but he didn't care as his eyes closed from the warmth of his girl's kiss. The Mane Six were still marveled by how Rainbow Dash wasn't afraid to show her feelings around Indominus, but were shocked as the flames began to leave the hybrid's body. Her love was soothing Indominus's mind, and before long the golden flames had completely parted from her lover's body.
Unfortunately for Indominus, he nearly doubled over from exhaustion after he had changed back. Rainbow laid his head on her back to keep him from falling over, Smaug and the others rushed over to check Indominus and make sure he was ok.
"What's happening, why do I feel so weak?"
"Your body spent quite a bit of energy during the time we were fighting Indominus. It seems that while the form protects you from pretty much any attacks, it also drains your body of energy. I think it would be wise for you to practice with the form and limit how much time you spend using it. But only after you've given your body time to recover after this fight. After that I'll be looking forward to seeing you back here again."
Indominus's head perked up when he heard Smaug.
"You mean, you still want me to come back here? I thought that once the test was over I wouldn't be needed around here anymore."
Smaug brought his head alongside Indominus's and looked into the eye of his student.
"Indominus, you are my prodigy now. While you aren't required to come back, you are always welcome to seek me out for advice. There is still plenty about the Immortal Phoenix that you're not aware of, and that is where your next level of training will be. Now that you have obtained the Immortal Phoenix, you must learn to master and control it."
"Consider it done Smaug, I will continue to remain your prodigy."
The dragons all roared in great cheer, grateful that Indominus would continue to learn under their guide. With his test complete, Indominus and the others began making their way back to Ponyville. After the dragons had treated the dinosaur to some well deserved meat for all the work he had put into his training. On the way back Rainbow insisted on helping Indominus since his body was still drained, but by the time they were halfway home Indominus was feeling strong enough to walk on his own.
Training with the dragons, becoming the Dragon Lord's prodigy and gaining a new power, all just another part of Rainbow and Indominus's bonding over the year until they would be married. There would be plenty more adventures for the dinosaurs to have, and they had all the time in the world to explore them. |
The Canterlot Guild | pre | Book didn't seem to hear as he had his back against the lockers. "Now I'm trying not to get into trouble with the teachers, so here's my offer. Quit trying to hit people at mark one, and we'll be good."
"What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked, "I never hit anybody!"
"Really? Then what did you nearly do to me? How did Wilde get metal teeth?" Book asked.
"Book!" Moon called for his cousin.
"He wasn't such a good soccer player," Dash explained, "I passed the ball to him, he was flirting with Rarity, and he didn't notice the ball."
Book looked a little sceptical, but he could tell from Moon's face that she was most likely telling the truth. "Okay, my bad. But just know that I have my eye one you."
"I forgive you, egghead, just because your wolfy's cousin." Moon's eyes grew Wilde as Rainbow said his nickname.
Book scoffed a bit. "Egghead? Are you in kindergarten or something? I've got enough black belts to wrap around your fat ego twist, and that's no easy feat."
"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash raised a skeptic eyebrow, "Let's see this black belts in action. What do you say egghead? You, me, a soccer contest, if you win, I will not skate in the halls, if I win, You call yourself egghead for a whole month." Rainbow gave a grin as she knew that if he accepted he'd be up against her best sport.
Book grinned confidently. "Sure thing, Rainbow Crash."
Dash started glaring daggers into him as she walked off. "Just make sure to put the money where your mouth is!"
Moon and Wilde ran towards their friend, "Are you crazy?!" Moon asked his cousin, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Come on," Wilde smirked as he put a hand on Book's shoulder, "He can do this."
"I will not be intimidated by some punk with superpowers." Book explained.
"That's the spirit, knight," Wilde Shock smiled, as Book turn his head to him with anger.
"And why didn't you tell me that she didn't hit you?" Book asked coldly.
"You never asked me how I got it," WildeShock smiled, and Book was ready to punch the rat, pushing him back to the wall.
"I will not start a fight for your entertainment!" He barked, not liking to be made a tool of some new guy.
"You know what," Wilde raised his hands calmly, "My bad, I will make it up to you. Lunch on me, for you, Moon, and your brothers."
"Fine, but never lie to me again!" As the three walked, as Moon walked to his friend.
"It was messed up, he is my cousin!" Moon told Wilde.
"It was just fun and games, wolf boy," Wilde smirked as he put a hand around Moon's shoulder, "You know I will not put any friend of you in danger."
As Book was trying to get over the fact that he was playing, he suddenly had a thought. "Moon, why does he call you wolf boy?"
Moon nervously tried to think of an answer. "Uh... I might have... howled like a wolf at a school night party."
Moon waited for a response from Book, and was glad when he said it. "Sounds like you to do that."
Moon was glad that Book actually bought his lie, but the truth was that Book was more focused on Rainbow Dash. Book was now seeing the physical effects of magic in front of him, and maybe this game was the way to help train against them.
The three walked to the cafeteria as Book noticed FlashTruth and HottenBright. "Moon, wait here." Book told his cousin as he walked to greet his new friends, "How are you doing Flash?"
Truth looked around to see if they were talking about Sentry. Seeing that he wasn't there he turned to face the brother of his new friend. "Oh hey, I'm doing good, I've been showing your brother around the school." He said with a smile. "It's a good thing that we are in the same class."
"Ooh, what a lucky coincidence!" Pinkie said happily.
HottenBright rolled her eyes to Pinkie. She wasn't a fan of this girl's taste in food. She was about to go back to eat her kale and avocado when suddenly to her surprise three more guys joined their table.
"So, Book," Moon and Wilde walked towards Book, Flash and HottenBright, "Are you going to introduce us to your friends."
"Yeah," Book smiled, "Flash, Hottenbright, meet my cousin Moon," Moon smiled, and he walked to greet his cousin's friends.
"Name's Full Moon, nice to meet you two," Moon shook Flash's hand, "If you're my cousin's friends so you are mine as well. The man next to me is Wilde Shock," Wilde smiled at the two.
"And this is My cousin, HottenBright." Truth introduced her to Moon.
"How are you?" Wilde Shock asked, "Did you know that your friend here, Book Knight is going to face Rainbow Dash!"
Flash didn't look comfortable at all when he said that. "You're getting into a fight with her?"
"Some faith," Wilde Shock put his hand on Truth's shoulder, "I will bet with you over 100 bits that Booky boy is going to beat her."
Book rolled his eyes. "Einstein here tricked me into a soccer match with her. He doesn't even know that I've never played soccer before."
"I'm just saying right now," Moon said, "I have nothing to do with this."
"Wow thanks friend," Wilde Shock said, pretend to be hurt.
Hotten giggled a bit. "You've never played, and yet you challenged our best soccer player?" She asked while think of what he would need to eat to have enough proteins to have at lest 1% of change to win.
"I may not have played the sport, but I studied kickboxing. It's got to be close enough, as long as she doesn't run me over at mack one again. I'm still trying to believe it." Book said, rubbing his bruise a bit.
"Again," Wilde protested, "A little trust, I believe in you Book. And if you need help, I can help you cheat." Wilde look right and left, and he opened his hand, and his hand sparkled with lightning.
Book gave Wilde a stare. "Wait! You have this... magic too?"
"Why do you think I'm a believer?" Wilde smirked as Moon hit him in the head.
Book believed now that this whole town has some form of power, leaving him behind a bit. However, this was the type of hero that he was, and it's a chance to prove that he can be like his grandfather. "No thanks. I'll beat her fair and square, and without powers."
"Suit yourself," Wild closed his hand, "But if you won't beat her, I am not going to lose my bets on you."
"She's arrogant and prideful. Those are the best kinds of enemies. They never bother to learn, and I can use that thick head against her." Book said with a grin.
"I seriously need to ask Light if you're always like this." Flash said as he started looking around for Light.
"Book," Moon took his cousin from his corrupting friend, "Do not be stupid. I know you see me as the great and cool guy that I am, but that is a bad way to make friends. Here it's not the world of superheroes. You want to be cool? Be nice and take some hits to the back."
"Please tell me that he didn't get himself into something." Everybody turned to see Light Heart walking to the table. "He's competitive as I'll get out. He'll never back down from a challenge."
"I am sorry Light," Moon went serious for a moment, "But Book is an idiot, please tell him that to beat Rainbow will not help him, it's a lose-lose situation. If he beat by Rainbow Dash, he will be mocked, if he beat Rainbow Dash, he will make an enemy and will be challenged by everyone!"
"While I'm at it, I'll try selling some Eskimos snow cones." Light said disheartened.
"Don't do it Light, they don't need snow-cones"! Moon told his cousin.
"I'll come back tomorrow when you get the joke." Light said, still looking at Book.
"And I'll wait that you understand sarcasm."
"Listen, I frankly do want to learn about magic in this town and what it does to a person. I've got more things that I need to study about in this town and this is just crossing something off of the list." Book explained.
"Alright," Moon sighed, "If you won't fight Rainbow Dash, I will show you something." Applejack heard her boyfriend and she was nervous. She wanted to help, but Moon looked at her, and she reluctantly went back to sit with her friends.
"What kind of man would I be if I backed down?" Book asked, thinking of his grandfather.
"Very well," Moon sighed, "If I can't beat them, I'll join them. "
"It's only a soccer game. All I've got to do is kick the ball into the net. I may not have magic, but I've got brains and skill."
"Well, you've got skill." Light muttered.
It didn't go well for Book. In spite of the fact that he had a strong kick, it didn't give him an advantage. He had never kicked a soccer ball in his life, and it was backfiring big time.
"Come on egghead!" Rainbow dash laughed as Book missed every gate he kicked to. While most of the kids cheered Rainbow Dash, within them Wilde Shock who sold Rainbow hats. Light Heart, FlashTruth, HottenBright, Full Moon, Applejack, Fluttershy and Sunset, were cheering Book that was still focused on winning.
Light looked to Flash with a worried look. "Why did he pick soccer of all sports, if they played basketball then it would have been a closer fight."
"He didn't want to fight her," Moon explained what happened, "From here to there, it led to a soccer match."
Light looked over to Wilde. "I have the feeling that I should keep away from that guy, unless I want to get into..." Light stopped as a bit of anxiety started kicking in.
"Hey, hey," Moon tried to comfort his cousin, "Don't worry, breath in and out, relax."
"Just don't think about what could happen in the future." Flash said, recognizing his fear. "I think your brother is actually going to score a point." The ball just barely bounced off of the rim. "Or not."
"I know what I have to do," Moon looked at Applejack, "Maybe can you tell Dash to relax?"
"Sorry, honey, but ya know how Dash can be," Applejack rolled her eyes thinking about the times Rainbow beat her, and how sweet it was when she ended up beating her.
"Maybe Book will give up?" Fluttershy suggested.
"Book never gives up. My grandpa lived by a set of morals. One of them was to never give up or back down." Light explained. "When he passed away... Book wanted to be the man who could take his place."
"I know what I have to do then," Moon looked at his girlfriend that again looked terrified, "I'll be back." Moon left the audience leaving his family and friends, "It's time to unleash the beast! Hope Book will understand." As Book was mocked by Rainbow Dash, and being beaten in score of 10 to 0, a monstrous wolf came to the stage, roaring and towards Rainbow Dash and Book. It was a green wolf in the size of Bulk, with his green fur was stained by red marks on it and purple pants.
Light jumped from his seat as he started running in fear, trying to drag Flash with him.
Out of politeness, Truth followed Light.
Book was shocked for a moment, but he quickly adopted a fighting style, "Everybody, clear out of here!"
"Are you insane?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Leave, I'll deal with him."
Book shook his head as he cracked his knuckles, "I can't do that. I've got people here that I need to protect." Book instantly started running for the beast.
The wolf roared and leaped to attack Book, but Book dodged and kicked the beast in the gut.
"You think you can beat me?" The wolf asked with sinister voice, "Do you know who I am kid?"
Book took of his black jacket and twisted it to the shape of a rope, "Old Yeller?"
"I don't get it," The wolf said, confused as everybody except Dash left the court, leaving the two mostly alone.
"He was put to sleep in the end. I won't kill you, but you desperately need a nap." Book said, waiting for the right opportunity.
"Okay that's enough man," The wolf said, but Book didn't listen, he kicked the wolf in the face, knocking him to the ground. "What the hell are you doing dude?"
Book took the jacket and wrapped it around the wolf's neck, hanging from his back. "Go to sleep! Go to sleep! Go to sleep!"
"Man, It's me!" The wolf to say, but he was choked by the jacket, "It's Moon, your cousin!"
Moon was starting to feel like he was going to black out, but a shout soon stopped him. "Stop it, Book!" Book turned to see Dash standing there.
Book grunted a bit as he was trying to keep this... thing under control. "Get out of here Dash! I've got this!"
As the wolf started to stop struggling, the fur of the wolf started to fall, revealing green skin, the wolf shrunk, and he turned from the vicious beast to Book's cousin, Full Moon, sleeping on the grass.
Book was shocked to see his own cousin unconscious in his arms. "W... what? How?"
"That is why I didn't want you to face Rainbow!" Moon started to stand up breathing and shaking in cold, wearing nothing but purple pants.
"I... I didn't... how.... I wouldn't..." Book was speechless, knowing that he had strangled his own cousin.
"I'll explain all, but first, can I get a shirt?"
Book quickly took off his shirt and handed it to him, putting on his jacket to somewhat cover his chest. "Moon... I'm.... I'm sorry."
"It's fine, If it was the opposite, I would do the same to you," Moon smiled to his cousin as they entered the school.
Book was now in a whirlpool of thoughts. At first, he thought that the people who have magic here would be corrupted, but not it seemed more like the whole town itself was magical. He was a mortal man, fighting with the powers that be. Book turned to Moon in concern. "How did this happen to you. How does everybody here have some form of power?"
"Well," Moon looked at Book, "It happened two years ago, I was bitten by a green wolf that apparently was fused with Equestrian magic. The magic bonded with my D.N.A, so now I can turn into a green werewolf. That's how I met Applejack. She was the one who stopped me and helped me control this."
"Then how are the other students getting this power?" Book asked, looking at Dash.
"I told you, Sunset Shimmer is the best to ask, she told me about what I can say it's an unlifted curse." Moon sighed as he looked at his hands, "When it's started, I did terrible things, I was like an animal, now I always have to be in control, to not let the animal control the man."
Book wasn't happy. He knew that somebody with knowledge like this would be the perfect person to have on your side when you want to rule the world. With power like this she could most easily be the girl from the other night. But then again, why didn't she use that power the other night.
Book knew he had to take a chance before they got into the men's locker room. "Hey Dash, you're a friend with Sunset, right?"
"Yeah egghe..." Rainbow chuckled, " I mean Book, You know it was brave what you did with Moon there."
Book then remembered that there were only two people who stayed to fight, him and Dash. "Well, I honestly expected you to save your own skin, I was wrong, big time."
"Hey," Rainbow smirked, "If I never met my friends I would have left you to the big bad wolf, no offense Moon."
"It was still offending, Dash!" Moon shouted across the room.
"None taken. I just was trying to be like my grandpa. Have you ever heard of Sterling Silver?" Book asked.
Dash shook her head. "Not really."
"He was the best sheriff that ever lived. Criminals would shake in their boots whenever he gets within a mile. The town had a saying. One riot, one Sterling." Book said, clearly idolizing him.
Moon sighed as Book was talking about him. "Book... practically worshiped him. He'd spend every moment with Grandpa just talking about how to be a good guardian of the city. I think Book took it the worst when he...."
Dash was shocked to see a few tears going down Book's face. "He died peacefully. Natural causes. I always feel... like I'm trying to live up to what he was."
Dash was silent for a moment. She was always trying to be the best to be cool, but Book was trying to do it out of respect for his grandfather. "I... I'm sorry for your loss."
Book tried to wipe the tears away. "Don't be. It just woke me up. It took my mind off of tornadoes and just reading books. I spent a lot of time researching and training to be the best he... the best fighter I can. That's why I have so many black belts. I keep wanting to learn new ways to protect people."
Dash took a quick glance at Book's partially exposed chest. Even though she wanted to ask about the large bruise, she was taken aback by the fact that he was very muscular in spite of how thin he was. She blushed a bit at the sight, but she now knew that this wasn't just some egghead.
"W-Well, maybe I could show you some pointers on some of the sports around here. We could always use another good player." Dash offered.
Book smiled a bit to see her a little more humble. "I'll think about it."
"M-Maybe in return you can show me some of your fighting skills?"
Book was taken back a bit by her request. He still didn't know her as a friend yet, but then there was his mission. Being a bit closer to one of Sunset's closest friends could give him some much-needed Intel. "Alright then. By the way, I saw some redhead running through my backyard last night, and I was wondering if that was Sunset."
"No way it was Sunset. She would never do things like running in other people's backyards. Even if she was, she was in my house last night."
"I mean no offense, but can you prove that?" Book asked.
Dash took her Phone, and she showed him a picture from last night where she beat Sunset in a video game.
Book noticed that the timestamp on the photo was timed right before the robbery took place. He didn't know how, but he was up against somebody else. "Alright, thank you. Tell me if you find her twin." Book said.
"Sunset doesn't have a twin," Rainbow Dash answered confused.
"She does now." Book thought to himself.
As Book helped Moon into the locker room, he started to think about Dash. He knew that rule number one was to judge by actions, not by looks. At first her actions suggested a prideful and arrogant jock, but now he started to see this form of loyalty in her. Maybe there was more to her than he thought.
Book set Moon down next to his locker as he took his jacket off to get a new shirt.
"Ouch MAN!" Book turned around to see an extremely muscular guy staring at his bruise.
Book nervously chuckled a bit. "Rolled out of bed... onto my helmet."
The big guy reached into his locked and tossed Book a bottle that read 'Extreme Muscle Ointment. For all sprains, tears, and bruises.'
Book smiled a bit. "Thank you. I'll get you a new one tomorrow."
Dr. Caballeron, one of Canterlot most dangerous crime bosses was invited to a meeting of the families. "That must be the place," Caballeron thought as he looked at an old castle standing in the middle of the forest. The castle looked abandoned, the trees around it were dead, the grass wasn't cut for months, and green molds were growing on the walls. Caballeron knocked on the door, but no response.
"Maybe it was a prank from the sirens?" One of his goons asked.
"Maybe," Caballeron nodded, "Let's go send them a dead horse's head for an answer." As the Doctor and his minions were about to leave the castle's garden, the wooden doors were open and a young yellow woman, with red hair and black dress was standing there, with a red pit bull standing next to her.
"Come please," The young woman called for Caballeron, "The prince is waiting for you." Caballeron did as he was told, and he followed the woman through a hall of rusted armor and pictures of kings of old Equestria. Caballeron and the woman stopped in their place in front of a metal door. "Through here, Doctor," The woman smiled, and she left Caballeron and his minions alone. Caballeron opened the door, and he saw all of the crime families in Canterlot sitting in front of a long wooden table. From the changeling gang, to small robbers like Iron will, all of the scum in Canterlot appeared there.
"What in the world is going on?" Caballeron asked Phyrax the leader of the changelings?, "I thought the prince invited only me!"
"So did I!" Phyrax responded.
"And so did we!" Adagio Dazzle, leader of the sirens gang said as her sisters, Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze, nodded.
"Ladies, gentlemen," A young voice that belonged to a young man said behind them all. All of the criminals turned around to see a young man with an orange skin and grey hair, wearing a black coat, dark green buttoned shirt with golden lines, a white tie, and a silver amulet with red ruby in the middle. "I invited you all for a reason." The man walked across the room until he arrived at the end of the table, where a throne was waiting for him. The man sat at the throne, and the yellow woman returned to the room with her dog. "My name is Edmond Sombra, I called for each member of the scum of Canterlot to inform you that from this day onward you will work for me. You will not attack and rob any place unless I say so, you will not kill or attack anyone unless I say so, and you will not kill each other... Unless I say so." The room was filled with silence, but the silence was killed by Caballeron's laugh.
"You really think that an old castle, a young lady and a pit bull, will make us take all that we have built all the years, and hand over to you." The families and the thieves agreed, "You're just a child, what do you know about control?" The young woman was furious about the words of Caballeron, but Edmond didn't care for the words, he just stared at Caballeron coldly. Edmond snapped his fingers, and the woman walked towards Caballeron, and she took him by the hand toward her boss.
"I assure you Mr. Caballeron that I can lead your people better than you," Edmond smiled, "But if you don't agree," Edmond took Caballeron's arm and ripped it from his body with one simple pull. As Caballeron screamed in pain, the woman took a knife from her dress, and she cut his throat, leaving him bleeding to death on the stone floor as everyone watched in terror.
"Mrs. Shimmer," Edmond looked at the young woman, "As a gift for you my love, I give you the minions of Caballeron. Take his body and tell them that they work for the house of Sombra." The woman smiled, and she bowed to Sombra, and she took the body that bled all over the floor out of the room with the dog following her. "So, do you agree now?" Edmond asked and everyone there nodded in fear for their lives. "Good, you may leave now." Everyone did as their new boss told them, they left the room, all but the sirens.
"Do not trust your love," Adagio told Sombra as he cleaned the blood out of his suit, "Sunset Shimmer is not our kind."
"Leave Miss Shimmer to me, Miss Dazzle," Edmond told Adagio as he held her hand and kissed it, "I can take care of those who oppose me." |
The Canterlot Guild | Two crimes, One day | Rainbow Dash ran to find Sunset Shimmer, she had the greatest news. Dash finally found Sunset with the girls practicing on a new song, and she took deep breaths. "Is everything alright Dash?" Sunset asked, "Was Book was hurt by Moon?" Rainbow Dash tried to explain, But Applejack stopped her.
"Was Moon hurt by Book?" Applejack asked, more worried about her boyfriend.
"No," Rainbow Dash tried to answer, and Twilight brought her a cup of water, "Thanks. So after Moon did the wolf thing, I was talking with Book, and he told me he saw someone like you running in his backyard."
"Well it wasn't me," Sunset said, "I was at your house last night."
"I know!" Rainbow Dash answered, "I think we found her." Sunset excited, finally after all these years, someone found her counterpart.
Pinkie started jumping around in excitement. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! What is she like? Did she have a rough start too? Does she have magic? Is she allergic to marshmallows?"
Dash shrugged a bit. "I'm not sure, I didn't ask him about it too much."
Rarity gasped at this knowledge. "Darling, whenever you talk about gossip you need to learn the details."
"I'm sorry!" Dash said, slightly annoyed. "All he told me was that she was a redhead that looked like Sunset, and in the middle of the night that with glasses it makes it hard to tell if he's right. He's new to town, so he might not know."
Sunset gave Dash a gentle pat on the back. "It's a lead, and the first one that we've had in a long time. Let's just ask Book what he knows about her."
Applejack sighed. "With our luck we'll be back where we started."
"Hey! He can only tell us what he knows!" Dash barked.
Fluttershy gave a yelp at the outburst, but Applejack was now grinning. "Are you building feelings for the nerd?"
Dash blushed a bit. "Uh... no... maybe... Awe, let's just get going!"
While the girls were joking about Dash's new crush, Book was going through a history book focusing on the tyranny era. It seemed like whenever supernatural stuff happened it was focused on this town. This amulet in particular was said to have made Sombra invulnerable on the battlefield.
As Book was trying to understand more about the cause of the magic, Fuze and Light walked up to him. Light seemed to be finally relaxing. "Finally, the day is over! All we need to do is head to a lunch with Wilde and I can go home and do some toy-making."
Book nodded. "Glad to see that you're not hiding in a broom closet again. Tell me, have you guys have heard about the magic in this town?"
Fuze nodded. "I wanted to laugh at them for trying to tell me that it's real, then I watched a girl levitate her tool box to her. This school is nuts, I love it!"
Light chuckled. "Glad to see that you're not bored here. The last time you got bored you ruined the fourth of July."
"The fire was put out, and it was the best fireworks show ever in my opinion." Fuze said with a grin. "I also took care of some of your personal stuff Book. I stuck your spare suit under the loose bricks on the wall in those woods. I also worked on hacking into the emergency dispatch and syncing your special phone to it."
Book took the phone back from Fuze and looked at it. "And mom and dad wonders why I fuel your crazy inventions."
Suddenly the phone vibrated as the screen read 'bank robbery in progress, museum suspect spotted inside.'
Book's eyes widened as he saw this. He turned to see the other Sunset in the distance, confirming that she wasn't his girl. "This is the girl from last night. If I hurry, I can catch her!"
As Book tossed his school bag to Light, Light hollered at him. "But what do I tell Moon and Wilde?"
"Tell Wilde that his directions stink!" Book yelled as he ran off into the woods.
Fuze grinned a bit as he turned to Light. "It's going to be a long walk home."
Before Light could reply Sunset and her friends walked up to them. "Hey, where's Book? We wanted to ask him some questions."
Light gave a nervous chuckle as he tried to explain. "Um... He went out to lunch with Wilde, although I should tell you that his directions were vague at best."
Rarity rolled her eyes a bit. "That does sound like him. No matter! We shall just find them and ask them in person."
As the girls walked off Light and Fuze were left alone. Light sighed in frustration. "Now we start walking." As Light walked past the statue in front of the school, his arm brushed against it. Suddenly a jolt of energy shot into his arm, sending a burning sensation into it.
Light jerked back from the pain. "OW!"
Fuze looked confused as Light grabbed his arm. "What is it?"
Light looked at it to check for some form of minor injury, but it looked perfectly okay. Light felt a little silly as he kept walking. "It's nothing. Let's just go home."
Golden Blade was now sitting down alongside the other officers of the town. All of them were clearly whispering about the new guy in the room. Golden knew that he had more experience than most of them, but he thought it best to do what he was good at, and that is his job.
"Hey buster!" Some young looking officer was now right in front of him, looking like he was trying to intimidate him. "Did you know that I got a ninety-five on my gun handling test? What about you?"
Golden wanted to keep to himself for the time being, but a sheriff known to the men as Silverstar answered for him. "He got a hundred. That's Sterling's kid, and that man's blood is dangerous."
The kid chuckled for a bit, until he realized that nobody else was laughing. He looked a little scared as he went back to his seat.
Golden decided to stand up and give a few words. "Yes, I'm my father's son, and I am mean with any gun. I'm also a dad with six kids, so I do have a heart. I'll respect you all as you respect me."
Silver grinned as he shook Golden's hand. "Name's Silverstar. I'm your new partner."
Golden smiled a bit. "Nice to meet you. You seem like a more experienced guy. Why'd they stick you with me?"
"Because he knows every inch of this town and almost every person in it." Everybody stood at attention at the sight of Chief Thunderhooves. "Now that you are all here and acquainted, we need to get to business. Last night we had a robbery at the history museum. We have two suspects and a reported vigilantly who tried to stop them. An ancient amulet was taken. The eye witness said that the male suspect had an obsession with Sombra and the female holds a striking resemblance to Sunset Shimmer. You can see the sketch artist's work and the full report of the robbery in your files."
One officer in the back raised her hand. "Why don't we bring Sunset in for questioning?"
"Because we have reason to believe that this isn't her. Sunset was live streaming on her channel with a friend for most of that night, and during the robbery. They said names as they were being messaged, and my daughter was one of them, so we are looking at a frame up job that failed badly for them."
Golden raised his hand. "What about the vigilante?"
"That is not our main focus. He did use throwing stars and didn't seem to go for the kill, but currently we have no knowledge about him. That brings me to our main focus. We found a body today belonging to Caballeron. The kill was very recent." Chief said as he passed out more files.
Silver winced at the sight of this. "In my whole time here I've never seen anything like this."
Chief nodded. "A major crime lord is down, and this may be the dawn of a new gang war. Mayor Mare is looking to keep this town and its people safe. That's why I'm putting my best men on this case. Detectives Encyclopedia Brown and Sally Kimball will investigate the robbery. Maybe these cases are related. Sheriffs Silverstar and Golden Blade, you two are our most experienced men, work together and start looking around town for anything new. Canvas the streets for our Sombra friend, and ask Miss Shimmer about this double of hers. Check for a wound on her right hand. Our witness said that she was stabbed there."
Silver nodded. "We'll also check the local and private hospitals for any patients matching her description."
"Good. I also received orders to order you all to have at least one high caliber weapon locked in your vehicle while you're on patrol. We are the wall that keeps the town safe. Any questions?"
One more officer raised his hand. "What happens if we have a code M?"
Golden was confused when he heard this. Chief had a stern look on his face. "We'll call it in. If it's not handled normally, then it'll have to become her case. Dismissed!"
As the officers all got up, Golden turned to his new partner. "There's no code M in the manual, and I've got a few years of my own under my belt. What is it?"
Silver chuckled a bit. "Something that even an old timer like me had trouble understanding. This isn't your normal town Golden. Maybe once I show you around this town I'll explain it."
Golden felt like he was left in the dark, but he knew that some departments have their traditions for their new blood. He decided to just follow Silver's lead and do this job the best that he can.
"Alright everybody!" Three thugs shouted at the bank customers, "All we ask you to do is nothing, but hold the grenades like your life depends on them." The customers of the bank cried in fear as the robbers' leader was coming out of the safe. She was a young yellow woman with red hair and yellow lines. The woman wore black top, and she held a sword and a gun.
"Alright boys!" The woman smiled as she took her sword, and two more robbers took the bank's manager by the hand, and they pushed him towards the woman. The woman bent down to look at the old man's eyes as he tried to stay strong. "So, Mr. Pipe Down, will you provide 55% of the money you store to the house of Sombra for protection?"
"I cannot do such a thing," Pipe Down tried to explain, "Please, understand, this money does not belong to the bank, but to the customers."
"Very well then," the woman snapped her fingers and the two robbers held Mr. Pipe by his hands and the woman took her sword, ready to decapitate the man, "Let's hope that the next manager will understand." The woman was ready to swing the sword as a star was thrown at her hand, making her drop the sword. "What the-" The woman look behind her, and she saw a dark man wearing black suit and spikes, and she smiled, "Shadow Knight."
As the three guards aimed their guns at Book, they quickly found themselves struck by throwing stars. "Miss Shimmer, I won't say it's good to see you again." Shadow ran towards Shimmer, ready to kick her back, as a giant blue man wearing a white top stood in the middle. "You really think some big guy is going to terrify me?"
"No," Shimmer smirked, "He is just going to crush you." Shimmer took the manager, and she ran, as the robbers stayed with the giant man. Book threw 3 stars at the man, as he ran behind him, and he kicked him in the back, but the man didn't even flinch, and he took Book's leg, and he threw him towards the wall.
"The Great Shadow Knight," The man laughed, "It seems that the legends they told about are nothing, just a mere mortal!"
"I don't need powers to beat ugly thugs like you," Book got up on his legs as he was surrounded by the robbers. Book's hands turned into fist's as he took a brick that fell from the wall. "Have you ever heard about the story about the man with broken ribs that beat three thugs with a brick?" The thugs looked at each other with confusion. "No well it goes like this." Book took the brick, and he threw it on one thug's leg, making him fall on his other leg. Book took the man's gun and used it to punch the other one's faces with before taking out the bullets. "Now, big and stupid, its just you and me!"
"You mean just you and me!" The giant man leaped towards Book, ready to smash his bones under his body.
Book leaped over him and grabbed the guy's neck, putting him in a choke hold. "Second time's the charm, now go to sleep!"
"Not today, little one" The giant smashed his back to the wall, along with Book, making him fall from his back, "You really thought you will beat Iron Will?"
"If not him, maybe me!" Iron Will heard a deep sinister voice said behind, he turned around to see a wolf closer to his size, with green fur and red dots, wearing purple pants leaping to him, pushing him away from the people,
"And who do you think you are?" Iron Will asked as he caught the wolf's fists.
"Name's Night Beast!" The wolf roared, "And you will be my lunch!"
Book was shocked to see his own cousin helping him. Book knew that he couldn't let his identity slip, so he quickly started running for where Shimmer ran off to. "You take care of the big guy, I'll save the hostage!"
Night beast nodded as he opened his mouth, revealing sharp fangs and teeth, Beast tried to bite the giant's head, but Iron Will, dodged the attack, and he released one of his hands, and he closed the beast's mouth, leaving the monster's hand open to attack, and Night Beast punched the giant towards the street, and he ran to finish Iron Will, but the thug escaped. Night Beast ran back to the bank, as he tried to calm the hostages, but the police arrived, pointing their guns at him, and making him to jump, and leave the place,
Golden's jaw dropped as he saw this thing. "What in the world is this thing?"
"It looks like a code M, otherwise known as a code Magic. Welcome to Canterlot Golden." Silver said as they ran inside. "Expect some lady in a suit to show up, and don't worry about the filing paperwork for this. Government stuff, pretty common around here."
Golden was still shocked, but then he saw one of the hostages pointing to the door. "Their leader took the manager, and the masked man went after them!"
Golden quickly readied his rifle and started running after them.
As he ran out the back door, he managed to see an armored man on a black motorcycle chasing after a white van. Golden quickly ran back around the front and motioned Silver to join him in the car. "The others have it here, let's move!"
Golden quickly pulled out of the driveway and started trying to catch up with the chase. "Dispatch, this is Golden. We have a 10-80 in progress, requesting backup."
"10-4, we are unable to send backup at this time."
Golden took a deep breath as he gripped the wheel and put the mic away. "We're on our own. You ready for a gunfight?"
Silver nodded. "This ain't my first rodeo, and it won't be the last."
The guard walked at the Canterlot museum of weapons, as the halls were filled with the sound of Mozart. Prince walked, relaxed to the music as he heard the sound of window broken, and he ran to see the windows shuttered and glass pieces were on the floor. "What in-" The man's stop talking as a black hand held his mouth and took pushed him to the shadows. From the shadows a new figure arrived, black with green eyes, wearing the guard's uniform and another man went out, wearing black coat with green buttoned shirt and silver amulet with red diamond. The man in the guard's uniform led the other man through the hall, towards the room with a big sign that carried the name of King Sombra.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Dark Prince asked the man as he walked towards a sword made of black metal, with golden dragons serving as a cross guard, and an orange diamond in the middle. The man in the uniform took a key from the belt, and he opened the case of the sword. Dark Prince took the sword, and he turned his back to see seven girls looking at him. One was a purple with glasses and her hands glow in purple, one was a blue with rainbow colored hair and a pair of wings, one a blonde with a cowboy hat that knuckled her fingers, one was a white with purple hair that giant diamond shields were covering her hands, one was a pink with curly pink hair that held two cans of sparkle candy. One was a yellow with pink hair, and wings like the blue one, and one was looking like his bride, Miss Shimmer.
"Leave the sword now," The girl that looked like Shimmer ordered the prince, Dark prince looked at the sword with confusion before the sword started to glow in orange energy, and a blast of orange energy pushed everyone away, all but Sunset and Rainbow Dash who took two swords from the sets, and they ran towards Dark Prince and the man in the uniform.
"Take the blue one Phyrax, leave the other to me," Phyrax nodded, and he took two swords form the set, and he ran to fight the rainbow colored girl. The girl that looked like shimmer ran to fight Dark Prince that smiled at her, "Hello, Sunset."
"How do you know my name?" Sunset asked Dark Prince as she tried to hit him with her sword, but every attack was blocked by him.
"I know more than a name, Miss Shimmer, I know you," Dark Prince smirked as he swung the sword at Sunset, but she dodged every attack as well. The swords clashed each other many times, and the two left the room as Sunset walked backwards, trying to defend against the sword artist, "I know how abandoned you were, by your parents, by your teacher, by your old friends, by all." As the two fought, Sunset noticed Twilight getting up, and ready to attack from behind.
"I don't know you, but I can tell you have a problem," Sunset said, trying to distract the prince, as she was throwing her sword aside, "You are a coward, fight me without a sword."
"A challenge?" Dark Prince asked as a smile grew on his face, "Very well." Dark Prince took the sword, and he threw it aside, letting Twilight the chance to take it. Sunset jumped to kick the prince on his face, but the prince rolled over as he took his coat and threw it off. Dark Prince sent fist after fist to attack Sunset, as Twilight saw the sword, and she ran towards it, grabbing it from the floor, and running back to her friends.
"Please don't," Twilight turned to see Dark Prince holding Sunset by her neck, "I still need it."
"It doesn't have to go to murder," Twilight tried to calm the spirits, "You can still surrender."
Dark Prince smiled, "I don't seek redemption, Miss Sparkle. The sword, or your friend's life, what's more important?" Twilight sighed and she dropped the sword.
"Leave her, and I will kick the sword to you." Dark Prince agreed to the demands.
"On a count of three," Dark Prince said, "One..."
"Two..." Twilight added and she got the sword ready be kicked.
"Three!" The two said at the same time. Dark Prince threw Sunset to Twilight, while she kicked the sword to him. Twilight ran to Sunset, helping her to get on her legs, as Dark Prince took his coat and sword, and he jumped out of the broken window.
"Where did he go?" Rainbow Dash asked the two as she held Phyrax.
"We had no choice," Twilight sighed in shame, "It was Sunset, or the sword."
"You chose right," Rainbow Dash reassured her.
As the girls managed to calm down, they started to hear police sirens from outside.
"Let's get out of here," Sunset told the girls as the rest started to wake up.
While the girls were trying to escape, Dark Prince walked behind the alley to find Miss Shimmer pulling in. He grinned as she came out. "Ah, Miss Shimmer. I'm glad that you could join us. Apparently the Equestrian heroes have shown up, and one of them is you."
Shimmer looked confused, but she knew that she had to be quick. "Well, the Shadow Knight showed up on my end again. How he beat Iron Will is a mystery to me. I did bring the manager, so we could send a message to the people."
She proceeded to drag the whimpering man out of the van. "P-Please don't..."
Dark Prince chuckled a bit as he readied his sword. "I'm afraid you don't understand. I need to establish my rule, and nobody is going to fear me if I let everybody live. You are now merely... a message."
As Prince was ready to kill the man, Shimmer cried out in pain. Prince looked to see two throwing stars sticking out of her back. A sudden rev of an engine made it clear where it was coming from. Shadow was sitting on a bike at the end of the alley, waiting for the prince to notice him.
Prince started walking towards Book casually and Book charged him in his bike. Prince had his sword out, ready to end this little pest. Just as he was ready to slice at the hero, Book jerked the bike to the right, barely dodging the blade.
Book drove right to Shimmer and spun the wheels to hit Sunset. She avoided the bike, but not without dropping her hostage. Book quickly grabbed the man and draped him over his shoulder. Prince was shocked to see Shadow driving off without a fight.
He started to charge up a blast to deal with this insect, but he was quickly distracted by police sirens. A cop car pulled up, revealing Golden and Silver. "Freeze! Drop the weapon!"
Book looked back, and he noticed that again his enemies disappeared and was there but a note.
Book quickly let the man go next to the nearby apartment building. "Get inside and wait for the cops to show up."
Before the man could even ask for a name Book drove over and quickly grabbed the note. He knew that he couldn't hang around. As much as he'd love a second chance to send some volts running through Prince, the police were too close behind him. Book quickly started making his escape. As he entered the forest, Book slowed down a bit to read what the note said.
My dear Shadow Knight, once again you almost stopped me. How does it feel to know that no matter how close you are, you're always far from stopping me? How does it feel to step onto a world of magic trying to find reason in it. I'll give you last chance in our next meeting to give up and join me.
Book was about to crumble the paper up, but then he started wondering if he could find a few clues on this paper. It was too thin for a tracking device, but it could have anything from a rare ink to a few fingerprints. He quickly tossed it into his belt and promised to go over it as soon as he got back to his house.
"How are you?" Book heard the deep voice and saw Night beast walking towards him, turning into a human, "Do you mind if I get the cape, it's kind of cold here."
Book knew that the cape part of his uniform served for nothing but for style. Book took the cape and handed it to him. "Thanks for the assist back there."
"Is the manager safe?" Moon asked as he cuddled in the cape. "And you welcome, cous".
Book was now trying to keep it cool. He had no clue that Moon would know who he was, but he had to call his bluff. "I have no clue who you're talking about. The manager's fine. I dropped him a few blocks away from the shootout."
"When I'm in beast mode I can smell people, how do you think I found you? Same smell from the court."
Book wanted to argue with him, but then he remembered his dad talking about how cops would have canine tracking units, and that it was next to impossible to fool them. Book sighed a bit, not wanting to take off his mask. "You do know that you can't tell anybody. Only my brothers know about this."
"It's part of the idea yeah, and you can't tell about the curse."
"Deal." Book said. "I found Dark Prince being picked up by Sunset Shimmer's double outside of a weapons museum, and it looked like he went shopping."
"If that was the craziest thing that happened to me. I guess we are partners then." Moon smiled
Book didn't seem to return that enthusiasm. "I work alone. If you want to help, text me what it was that Prince stole. The last artifact was an amulet that gave him heightened strength and dexterity."
"There is only one man who knows about that stuff. But you won't like him." moon said
"Please tell me that it isn't that manipulative friend of yours? The guy still owes me lunch for our last encounter." Book muttered.
"Sorry partner, that's the man" Moon smiled.
Book groaned a bit. "I can think of three other sources to learn this, and the first two are the news and the paper. Can you ask him without sharing my identity?"
"Fine, then you must tell sunset about her twin, we can help you."
"Dash already said that she doesn't have a twin, and you're asking me to avoid sharing my identity with one person in exchange of sharing it with another." Book said.
"She does now. And if it helps I will tell her that night beast met her."
Book sighed a bit. "Fine. I'll tell her that this girl is a prime suspect in the robbery cases, but we do not share the mask with anybody."
"Than you partner" Moon smirked.
Book rolled his eyes as he turned his bike back on. "I work alone."
"Then what were you saying about your brothers?" Moon asked raising an eyebrow.
"Fuze helps make my gear, and Light tends to patch up my wounds." Book explained.
"Well, it seems that now you need partners, your enemies won't be all in the same place. And even batman had Superman at his side."
"He had Robin, and couldn't stand Superman half of the time. Get your comics straight." Book said coldly.
"Do I look like a bird boy to you?" Moon asked pretending to be hurt
"You sure don't look like a man of steel." Book replied bluntly. "Your heart's in the right place, but I'm not going to have blood on my hands if something happens to you. I do this so other people don't have to. You know the Sterling code, always protect your family."
"Listen, you said that this guy has super strength and dexterity. Something tells me that you haven't found a way to combat this. I'm your guy! I can take on the big guys!" Moon tried to say.
"I'm sorry Moon, the answer is still no, what if something would happen to you??" Book asked.
"How did you really get those bruises." Moon asked, trying to make a point.
"None of your business. Go home. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Book said as he started moving around him.
Moon rolled his eyes, and he turned again into his wolf form, "Fine, but you must tell Sunset, she deserves to know the truth!" Moon jumped away, leaping from tree to tree and disappearing from the eye.
Book knew that a part of him could trust Moon, but he knew what kind of danger he was in. He wasn't willing to risk his cousin over something which he promised to do. |
The Canterlot Guild | Learning the truth | Light and Fuze were starting to realize two things. One was the fact that their house was a pretty far walk from the school. The second one was the fact that they had no clue how to get home. As they were trying to find there way to their homes, a nice looking car drove and parked next to them. Before Light could start worrying, Flash walked out of the back driver side door. "Hey... Light, do you need a drive home?"
Fuze scoffed a bit. "We're not dumb enough to go someplace with strange..."
Light quickly interrupted him. "These are some friends from school, and yes. We'd love a ride home."
"Ok Fuze, you can go in the front passenger side, while you Light can be in the back with me and my little sisters." Flash told the brothers.
A big grin came over Fuze's face. "Finally! I get shotgun for once!"
Light chuckled as he got in the back with FastFox and ShyStone. It was a bit of a squeeze, but they managed to all fit in there.
Shy and Fast were both excited to see Light again. "Hi Light!" Fast said excitedly.
Light smiled a bit. "Hey kids. How's Wolfy doing?"
Shy pulled him out of her bag. "We've been taking good care of him."
Light was comforted to see his favorite toy in one piece. "I'm glad to see it. I'll be sure to get started on those toys for you the second I get home. I might also introduce you all to my parents."
As the girls squealed in excitement, Fuze was paying more attention to the car. "40 miles to the gallon, good horsepower, it definitely had some work done recently, but not a bad job."
"Ya, just got it out of the shop, it has been there for 3 days, I had been hoping to have it ready and have it before school starts." HottenBright told them. "But at last." She finished with a frown, before programming the GPS.
Fuze looked at the GPS with a disapproving glare. "They never make these things good enough. Let me mess with it."
Hotten watched as Fuze plugged his phone into the car and started messing with the coding for it. As she was about to object to it, Light spoke up. "Just let him have his fun. It'll keep him from taking this thing apart and building a new one. He gets bored easily, so we are always trying to find ways to put that brain into good use instead of him blowing the town up."
"That was one fireworks display. You set one field on fire and you'll never hear the end of it." Fuze muttered as he kept messing with the GPS.
Light chuckled a bit as he turned to Flash. "Hey, I wanted to ask you about one of the people here. She's... been helping me adjust a lot to this place. She's been very patient with me, and I was wondering how I could make it up to her. She's the kind girl with the yellow skin and the pink flowing hair. She... is also about as shy as Shystone."
"Oh, that's FlutterSHY!" HottenBright told them. "She loves animals, quiet places, and has a lovely singing voice." She said while giving Light a wink through the mirror. "But for some reason, she is friends with that unhealthy eating talking cotton candy hair girl, Pinkie Pie."
"Will I think she is a fun and likable girl." Flash said.
"If you say so." HottenBright told her cousin. "I just think she should eat a fruit salad, instead of candy and chocolate all the time."
"Carrot cake counts for a veggie, right?" Light asked with a grin.
"Don't you go putting ideas into those kid's heads!" Hotten said while the girls were giggling in the back.
As they got to the house, they saw their dad pulling in. Light jumped out and ran over to hug him. "Hey dad! How was work?"
Golden smiled a bit to have his son with him and noting tears. "It was... unique. I need to talk to Book about you guys not walking home from school anymore. There's... something big going on. Where is your brother?"
"He took his bike. He made friends with one of Moon's buddies, and they went off for a meal." Light said, trying to remember the complete lie.
"Unfortunately, he didn't give good instructions." They turned around to see Book walking from behind the house. "We'll be doing lunch another day. Are you introducing dad to your new friends?"
Light was comforted to see his brother in one piece. "Of course. Dad, this is FlashTruth, HottenBright, FastFox, and ShyStone. At least three of them are autistic too."
"Actually all 4 of us have AS!" HottenBright told Light's father.
Golden smiled to see that Light was already making friends. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm glad that you're all getting along. Would you like to come inside? I'd love to talk to you for a while."
The girls had a pleading look as they were tugging at Flash's vest, but their wishes didn't come true. "I'm sorry sir, but I promised my parents that I'd have my sisters home before it gets dark. I hope you understand."
Golden nodded. "Sure thing." He noticed how disappointed Light the kids were, so he decided to help them out. "Well, I'm having a get together with my family and the Apple family, maybe you can ask your parents if you can bring your family."
Flash soon saw the excited looks in his sister's faces. He sighed as he gave in to them. "I'll talk to my parents about it. Thank you sir."
Light waved to them as they drove off. As Light walked inside he realized that he had forgotten to ask for Wolfy. Light took a deep breath as he turned to his dad. "Hey, I promised them that I'd make some toys for them. Is it alright if I worked on them for a while?"
Golden nodded. "Sure thing. I'll tell you when dinner is ready."
As they all walked in, Golden looked tired. Gentle noticed this and walked over to hug hum. "Hey honey, how was work?"
Golden groaned a bit. "Well, I doubt you'd believe half of the stuff I've been learning about this town. There's apparently a crime lord now that we need to deal with."
Gentle gasped as she heard this. "I thought that this town didn't have any major crimes?"
"It didn't... till last night. Then there's the fact that... something's strange about this place. I went to a bank robbery... and found out that the people there were saved by a masked man and a large wolf."
Gentle's eyes widened. "What? You mean like a big dog?"
Golden wished it was just that simple. "No, I mean like from a horror film. The wolf runs off and I find out that the manager was kidnapped. Me and my partner followed them to an alleyway and found nothing. They got away without a trace. The manager was found in an apartment building a few blocks away, and then some people in suits show up half an hour later and take all of the evidence. My chief told me to just let it go and focus on crimes in progress. I got off duty a little while ago, but I'm still having a hard time believing what's going on here."
Gentle looked scared as she wrapped her arms around her husband. "Dear... do you think that we made the wrong decision moving here?"
Golden stopped and thought about it for a minute. He knew that there was now a danger that just came into town. A part of him would have liked to find a safer town, but then he thought about his kids. The three girls loved the new town. He had no complaints from the teachers about Fuze's antics, meaning that he found this place interesting. Even Light was making friends and getting out of his shell.
Golden gave his wife a smile. "No. Our kids are growing here like they haven't been before. I can handle this crime lord and whatever he throws at this town. I promise, this is the right town for our family."
Gentle hugged Golden tightly, feeling safe with him. As they were talking about some of the other oddities in the town, Book was listening upstairs. "People in suits? That can't be good." He thought to himself.
The group arrived at school the next day, and they walked into the hall to find Applejack and Full Moon talking about something. Applejack slapped Moon and stormed off as Moon punched the locker in rage.
"What happened?" Light asked his furious cousin.
"Applejack is quite angry at me for doing something I wasn't supposed to do," Moon explained as he looked at Book, "I mean she does the same thing, but when I do them, she is angry."
Light put a hand on his cousin, "Hey, I sure you two would fix this, maybe buy her a flower, or talk to her."
"No," Moon told Light, "I know what I have to do, but can you help me with this?" Light nodded.
"What do you need?" Light asked.
"Remember that wolf monster from the other day?" Moon took his phone, and he showed him a picture, "I need you to build a bear that look like him with a heart in the middle. Could you do that?"
Light nodded, "Yeah, it would be easy enough, but why this monster wolf? Wouldn't you prefer a smiling apple?"
"That is a great Idea!" Moon smiled, "You should give him an apple to hold in his paws. Great idea."
"Anything for you," Light smiled, "But can you do something for me?" Light asked his cousin
"Yeah what do you need?" Moon asked, as he walked along Light and the others.
"I need you to help me with Fluttershy."
Moon smiled, he wasn't surprised at all to hear that, "Yeah of course, I can help you now, every day after school she is working at the animal shelter, sign there, try to learn what she is love, and try to be that guy." Light nodded, and the group walked to the class, leaving Moon and Book alone.
"Did you told her?" Moon asked Book who tried to go the class, "You need to tell Sunset."
"What would I tell her?" Book asked, annoyed, "That I saw someone who looked like her, robbing a bank and helping a new mobster?"
"Sunset could help us," Moon told his cousin, "She is aware of this kind of things."
"I told you, I work alone," Book repeated himself, "And I could defeat this Dark Prince myself. I fought bigger than him."
"I don't think you have a choice," Moon told his cousin, "After I left you, I returned home, and some woman came to me, she knows who we are, Book, and she wants our help to stop Dark Prince."
Book's eyes widened when he said that. "My dad was talking about some organization who took over the investigation. What did this lady look like?"
"She was old, with grey hair, and glasses, she was wearing a business suit, and an old hat, and purple glasses."
Book winced a bit as he talked about her. "You didn't tell her about me, did you?"
"You don't listen," Moon answered, annoyed, "She is already knows who you are, she is aware of all those who is with powers, or know about powers, she wants us to stop the man."
"Has it comes to your mind that she might be with Dark Prince? How did she even learn about who I was, let alone what you can do?" Book asked
"She knew about my curse Book," Moon answered with sorrow at the mention of the subject, "How I got it, how I control it, and she told she could help me with a cure. She told me if we will help her to stop Prince, she would help me, she told me she needs the beast, but after that, she would help me."
"But how do you know that we aren't being played?" Book asked.
"How much of a choice do we have?" Moon asked, "She told me that she needs the heroes of Canterlot to save the city, and we must do what's right. She told me that what my father would do."
Book took a deep breath. "Well, if she does know my identity... I don't have much of a say in it. Tell you what, I'll just tell Sunset that my dad had a description of the robbery suspect and I thought it might have been her. I keep my secret from her while letting her know that there's an evil double of her. Deal?"
Moon nodded as they enter the classroom. Book continued to walk as Moon grabbed his arm, and he pointed at the teacher. The woman had a business suit, grey long hair, an old hat, and she had a purple glasses, "Book, that's the woman."
Book looked at her for a moment and then turned to Moon. "Does she remind you of some action movie? I could have sworn that I've seen a face like that."
"No," Moon answered immediately, "But she reminds me of Rainbow Dash."
"Speaking of which, now I get to practice sports and fighting with her. Well, at least it will keep my skills sharp." Book thought as he was trying to find a way to talk to Sunset without the lady noticing.
"Mr. Moon, Mr. Knight," The teacher called the two, "If you two be kind to follow me to the principal's office, and explain to me why you are late."
Book knew that they were there on time, but this was her way of showing them who was in charge now. All he could do was nod and follow her.
Moon and Book followed the teacher to the principal's office, where they saw Wilde Shock, Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight.
"What are ya' doing here?" Applejack asked Moon.
"I can ask you the same question Sugarcube." Moon smirked as Applejack rolled her eyes.
"At least they don't know that Light and Fuze helped me make my stuff." Book thought while sitting down with them. "We were three seconds late. A perfect excuse for us to join you here."
"Mr. Knight, don't play me for a fool," The teacher said in cold tone, "Your cousin already told you about me, and my offer to him."
"Which I am very thankful," Moon answered, "But, why are the girls and Wilde Shock here?"
"More importantly, are you telling then about... me?" Book asked seriously.
"You know why Mr. Moon," the teacher answered, "And for you Mr. Knight, I am willing to keep your secret in exchange for your help. This Dark Prince is not the usual criminal, he's a cult leader, and he had more than he seems."
"Wait! What secret is she talking about Book?" Dash asked in confusion.
"You don't have to, Book," Moon told his cousin, "You don't need to tell them."
"Tell us what?" Dash asked again, standing to her feet.
"That he is the vigilante that has been known as Shadow Knight." Moon stared at the woman with rage, and Applejack held her boyfriend arm, as she knew that glare.
Book glared at the lady. "There's an intercom right behind you, why don't you tell the world? Thanks for keeping the secret, A.K. Yearling. That's your name, isn't it?"
"Impressive, Mr. Knight," Yearling smiled, "Very impressive."
"The film version looks way younger, but it's becoming clear to me where the inspiration comes from. You never made a public appearance for your films, and now I know why."
"Ohh, you need sunscreen, because you got burned!" Wilde Shock laughed, and Rarity hit him in the head.
Dash was now in more shock to see her favorite movie maker and writer in front of her. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"
"Dash!" Applejack shouted at her friend, "She is making us, ma boyfriend, and his cousin do something against they will." Applejack turned to Moon, and she knew what was on stakes.
"To be frank, I already had full plans to take on Dark Prince, even fought him twice already." Book explained.
"And yet, you failed to catch him. I give you a better chance to stop him.
"He has found a source of superhuman strength and dexterity. My throwing stars did nothing to him. By the way, Sunset, may you show me your hands real quick?"
"And I fought him as well," Sunset answered as she gave Book her hands, "He is aware of my past somehow, and he had knowledge about magic."
Book saw no scars, so he figured that he was good. "I can explain that. I lied about where I met your double. She was there when I first fought Dark Prince. She was swinging a sword at me and I gave her a lovely scar on her right hand."
"Did ya knew about that?" Applejack asked Moon.
"I will explain all later, okay?" Moon smiled.
"He only found out about me yesterday after the bank robbery. He and his canine nose." Book explained. "Nobody else knows about my hobby."
"Wolf senses of smell, thank you," Moon fixed him
"Wolfs are a breed of dog..." Fluttershy started to explain, but turned silent when their eyes turned to her. "Nevermind."
" All of you have special gifts," Yearlings explained, "This is more than you fought before, this is a universe that is at stake. Prince has already two of the seven artifacts of Sombra, if he gets them all, he will tear the wall of Equestria and our universe, and he will bring back Sombra."
"So... we know about Wilde's and Moon's powers. What kind of powers do you have Book? Teleportation, transmutation, shadow manipulation, maybe vampirism?" Twilight asked.
"None of the above." Book said plainly.
"Well, you're not just some guy in a costume darling." Rarity said, waiting for a response. All they saw from Book was a big grin. "Darling? You're scaring me."
"Well not," a voice came from Wilde Shock's jacket, Shock took his phone, and he found out that he was hacked, and Book knew the voice, "He also has the best technology wizard in town."
"Expect me to... borrow all of your phones." Book muttered as he took the phone and yelling at it. "FUZE!!! Are you trying to get wrapped up into this? I had your cover secured until you showed up!"
"Do you have any mind wiper?" Moon asked Yearling, "We need something like that."
"No," Yearling answered, "But we can take him out."
"Don't! He... Fuze is the guy who makes my gear. He had a knack for getting bored and I wanted to be a hero, I bought him the tools needed to make my stuff, and he loved the challenge. So only he and I know about the whole Shadow Knight thing."
"And now us!" Two feminine voices answered through the phone.
"Who in the world are you two?" Book asked.
"I know that voice!" Pinkie answered, "It's on the tip of my tongue."
"I am sorry," Fuze answered, "These are FastFox and Shystone."
Book bit his lip. "And now my identity means nothing. Thanks a lot Fuze! In your attempt to spy on us and look cool you blew my identity!"
"It was already blown." Fuze replied. "I'll just offer them some candy."
"So," Wilde Shock smiled, "A dark knight, a monster, a group of super powered girls, and super genius, sounds like a dream team."
"You mean you will let me make the gear for this group? YES!!!" Fuze yelled on the phone.
"Wait a minute!" Rarity took the phone from Book, "No one will make a new suit for my friends and my annoying ex except me!"
"Lady who I can see though the camera, have you ever made homemade body armor before? Have you made any weapons before? Have you integrated shock paddles into a pair of gauntlets that can be turned on and off?"
"Well no, but," Rarity tried to explain, and Wilde took the phone from her.
"Hey Fuze, buddy, just agree, it would save a lot of time."
"Fine, I'll handle the useful stuff, the lady can just make it look pretty. Sounds good?" Fuze asked.
"Sounds fabulous, darling," Rarity answered, and she closed the phone, and turned to Wilde Shock, "I didn't need you for that."
"Of course not, darling," Wilde Shock smirked.
Book groaned a bit. "Great, now there're two kids who Fuze is going to try bribing with candy to keep them silent. I blame you A.K. So, what Intel do you have on Dark Prince?"
"I have the information on two possible targets that he would attack, the armor of darkness, and the key to the cape of misery," Yearling answered, "The key is under the custody of a Spoiled Rich and her husband Filthy rich, who Sunset, Applejack, Wilde Shock and Rarity would need to defend. The armor is under custody of the museum to dark lords, and it would be moved in two weeks to the docks, we must protect the truck, Moon, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Pinkie, that'll be your job."
Book soon realized that he was the odd man out. "And what about me? I'm glad that I'm working alone, but what's my mission?"
"I need you to break into the castle of Dark Prince, and find the plans of attacks and targets."
"Wait! You're going to ask this guy to break into the main bad guy's place and have him steal his plans alone?" Dash asked in shock.
Book just grinned and nodded. "Sounds good to me. I'll do it. Just tell me where the castle is."
"If it helps, I would send my best agent with him," Yearling answered to unrelaxed Dash.
"Don't bother, I work the best alone." Book said as he stretched out his arms.
"Good, so tonight, we will meet at the school for training as a team," Yearling smiled as she gave all of the kids' id cards with their names, "Welcome to E. M. P. " Yearling left the office, leaving the kids alone.
Book looked at the card for a minute before turning to the others. " We'll need a better reason than detention to get together though. How about a club? It's give A.K. A way to babysit us and would give us an excuse to be out late."
Twilight thought about it. "I guess it could work. Most club activities aren't monitored unless a teacher is there."
"We need a name," Pinkie said, "Like the power ponies, or the equestrian defenders or..."
"How about the Canterlot guild?" Sunset asked, and everyone agreed.
"Why not? We are fighting against a guy with medieval tactics and styles. Let's fight fire with fire." Book answered with a shrug.
"And we will not be sued for copyright infringement," Pinkie answered, and everyone looked at her with confusion.
"Hey SugarCube," Moon looked at Applejack, "It seems that now we are super couple." Applejack laughed as everyone rolled their eyes.
"Don't ya think Ah am not mad at you," Applejack told Moon as the boy walked for a kiss.
Book felt a little concerned with this new team. "Tell me, do any of you have any combat training?"
"You saw me fight this Iron Will," Moon put his hands behind his neck, proud of his achievement, "I think I would do just fine."
"And we fought monsters in our past," Sunset smiled, "No offend Moon."
"Why do you think that say no offend is not making the words less offensive," Moon asked himself.
"Good. I don't want to be the guy to be carrying the whole team." Book muttered as he got ready to head back to his own class.
Light was glad whenever there was a pause between the classes. It gave him a chance to breathe. He was barely able to keep up with the classes, and was dreading the day when he'd need to write a paper in a time limit. He could do multiple choice, math, and basic questions fairly well, but writing sentences longer than a paragraph was a nightmare.
He was doing whatever he could not to get into trouble for his disability, but that did nothing for his anxiety. As he was getting his books for the next class he heard two voices from behind him. "Hi Light!"
Hearing the two kids actually took away some of his stress. Light gave FastFox and ShyStone a big smile as he turned around. "Hey girls. How are you doing?"
"Better than yesterday." Shy answered. "By the way, here's Wolfy. We took good care of him and made sure that he didn't get dirty or anything. Thank you for letting us borrow him."
Light was relieved to have Wolfy back. "Thank you both. Now, I think that I made a promise to you two." Light reached into his back to reveal the two toys they requested.
The girls squealed in joy at seeing their toys for the first time. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" They both chanted simultaneously.
Light smiled to see them so excited. Something about helping them out helped take away the stress of school. "Now, if your toy ever gets hurt then you can tell Flash, and he'll let me know, so I can fix them."
Both of the kids hugged Light. "Thank you so much Light." Fast said.
"You're welcome. Now, you had better get going to your next class." Light said, letting the girls run off with their new toys.
"Oh yeah, We promise to keep your brother's secret." Shy said before they turned the corner.
"My brother's what now?" Light didn't get a response from them.
Light took a deep breath as he once again felt alone. Book was becoming more distant, and he only got to talk to Flash a few times a day. He wanted to talk to Fluttershy again, but a part of him was asking if she'd even be interested in somebody like him.
Light lowered his head as he patted Wolfy. "I guess it's just you and me Wolfy."
As Light was rubbing Wolfy's head, his arm started glowing. Light could only stare in fear and disbelief as his hand was doing something he couldn't control. "What is this?" Light asked in fear as he tried to stop whatever what was happening to it.
Light's hand finally stopped glowing, leaving him in a panicked state. Light rubbed his hand and arm to try to feel if something was wrong, but it still felt like a human hand. "How... What... My..." Light was trying to string together a sentence, but the words seemed to fail him.
"Hey Light, are you okay?"
"Um... I don't know. I've got no..." Suddenly Light realized who, or what was speaking.
Light looked into his bag to see his favorite stuffed animal now looking at him with innocent eyes, his crossed arms resting on the top of the bag. It's form seemed to change, making the mouth and eyes move. "Is something wrong?" The toy asked.
Light yelped as he dropped the bag. Wolfy didn't seem to get hurt. He merely crawled out of the bag and stood up, walking towards Light. "Hey man! What's wrong?"
Light tried moving his mouth, but no words could come out. This toy had the exact voice that he imagined for him. Slowly one word managed to escape Light's mouth. "W... Wolfy?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm your best friend, remember?" Wolfy asked in an innocent voice.
Light was in utter amazement. He cautiously picked Wolfy up, shocked as his paws held on to his hands. "B... But how?"
Wolfy shrugged as he looked at his paws. "My guess is as good as yours. Hey, at least this will be more fun, right?"
Light did have dreams about Wolfy coming to life, but never expected it to become a reality. Light knew that he was the cause of this, but had no clue how he did it. Suddenly his watch went off, warning him of the bell. Light mentally thanked Flash as he covered his ears to the piercing sound.
He quickly picked up Wolfy and put him in his bag. "I need to get to class. We'll figure this out later."
Wolfy whimpered inside of the bag. "Why do I need to stay here? It's stuffy in this bag."
"Because people are going to go nuts when they see you walking and talking." Light whispered as he bumped into a lady in a suit.
A.K. Looked curious at Light as he tried to back way. "Where you talk to somebody?"
Light nervously grinned as he tried to back out of the conversation. "Um... I'm a ventriloquist. I was just practicing."
"Hey! Do I look like a dummy." Wolfy asked from the bag.
"You look more like luggage to me." Light said, faking a laugh as he walked away, whispering into the bag. "I need you to keep quiet. You're going to get me into trouble!"
As Light left place, A. K took her phone, and she called her best agent, "Agent Drops, I think we found another enhanced by magic, I need you to keep an eye on the police as I will stay here and find more about the students." A. K closed her phone and walked away.
Phyrax was cuffed in the interrogation room as Golden and his partner questioned him.
"So," Golden looked at the gangster, "What the leader of the changelings do with a new gangster in town?"
Phyrax smiled as he looked at the two, "Why do you think I need a reason to do trouble?"
Golden chuckled. "I just wondered if you were just wanting a room for the night. Our hotel isn't the nicest, but the security is nice."
"Trust me, officer..." Phyrax asked the name of the policeman.
"Name's Golden, but you probably don't know me as well as my dad. Silver Sterling." Golden said, hoping to scare him.
"Have some daddy issues?" Phyrax smirked, "You need to mention your daddy to get respect?"
"Well, I just bought him up because I thought you were afraid that I would use his interrogation technique. Don't worry. That's illegal now." Golden said, towering over him.
"What do you know about my people Officer Golden?" Phyrax asked Golden as he looked at the cameras.
Golden pulled out a file. "I know about your brother. He got a scholarship for a school, and is currently the head of a fundraising group to help your town out. Although once people get wind of this, maybe you'll see him in a cell next to you in a few months."
"Are you threaten me?" Phyrax asked Golden, annoyed.
"Of course not. I'm just saying if people find out that you are a dangerous gang leader they'll not be willing to help your brother. You know what little brothers do when they're confused. They follow in their family's footsteps. You have no parents, so what do you think your brother will do? I'm just... stating the inevitable." Golden said.
"The changelings are my family, and I will accept my brother to my people, and you will suffer for trying to make me afraid."
"But you're going to jail. No brother to help him. Tell me, do you love your brother?" Golden asked, sitting down in his chair.
Phyrax started to laugh, "You think he is my only brother, as I said, the changelings are my family, as we are the blood of the old Changeling warriors, now that the true king has returned, we will rise again."
Golden chuckled as he looked at the file. "Word on the street is that you're not the big man anymore. Somebody else has taken over your hive. Tell me, who is this king of yours?"
"I believe you met him, the blood of Sombra. Now tell me, who is the one who took my hive?"
Golden didn't bother to answer. "So, you're a slave to a tyrant. I expected more from the leader of the changeling. No wonder you lost the hive."
"I heard enough of you, officer! If you think that I will spill the plan of Sombra, then you are wrong!" Phryrax shouted
Golden grinned. "Wrong, I know that you have a plan. That's all I need to make you suffer. Do you know that we can release you right now? Most gang members take it as a sign that you ratted them out. You'll be telling the truth, but they won't believe you. You'll be a threat to be taken out."
"Then you don't know Sombra, you caught me, I am dead. His bride soon will come to kill me, why do you think I am afraid of you."
"Because you need to know that I'm the only person here who can protect you. I'm the most dangerous person here. I'm either your guardian angel, or your demon."
"My life will be meaningless soon, there is no place that the bride of Sombra won't break into, but if I tell you something, I want your word that my brother will be safe."
"Tell me what I want, and I'll make sure of it personally." Golden assured.
"Sombra is after the armor and the key," Phyrax wrote it down, "Can I have some water?"
Golden handed him a plastic cup with water. "I'll try to make sure that you'll live through this, along with your brother. Is there anything else you can tell us?"
Phyrax drank from the cup as he started to cough, "I have nothing more to tell... You, officer," the coughs grew larger and larger as blood started to get out of the man's nose, and his body turned purple, "Remember the... Promise!" Phyrax fell to the table, all life was sucked out of him.
Golden quickly ran to him, trying to help him. "Get me a medic!" Golden tried checking his pulse, but found nothing. Golden hit the table as he realized that he gave him the tool of his death.
As the other officers ran in, Golden walked up to Silver. "We need to put his brother into protective custody. Sombra is after some form of armor and a key."
"I am afraid that the case is out of your control, Mr. Golden," A feminine voice spoke behind Golden, and he turned to see a teenage girl, in the age of Book and Light, wearing a business suit. She wore black sunglasses, and her hair was split into blue and pink.
"Can I get some I.D.? No offense, but our water supply was just poisoned. I hope you understand." Golden said, looking sceptical at the little girl.
"None taken," The girl smiled and gave Golden her I. D, "Agent Sweetie Drops of E.M. P, Equestrian magic protectors. The case you're in is now under our control, M sent me to work with you."
Golden looked at the badge before handing it back. "I met one of your agents the other day. So, we have a dead rat, his brother in danger, and a vague clue. I'm surprised that somebody... your age would be sent to help us."
"It seems that you need all the help you can get," Agent Drops smirked, "And the brother is now on a plane to Spain as we speak, but the rat was murdered by one of us. I ask you now to keep the case in secret."
Golden raised an eyebrow. "We've got a dead body on our hands. We can't just sweep that under the rug."
"And how do you think the man was murdered?" Agent Drops asked, as she took the files about the robberies from Golden's desk, "There is a mole here."
Golden thought about it for a minute. "Meaning that nobody here can be trusted... not even me. Especially not me." Golden started to realize that he would be a prime suspect. He was the one who gave Phyrax the poisoned water, and was the newest officer there.
"Now you're understood," Drops said while she finished with the files, " That is why I'm here. M doesn't want Prince to know anything we know, so now you're my partner."
Golden raised an eyebrow. "In spite of the fact that you're about the age of some of my kids, why me? I've just had a suspect die on me. All I have going for me right now if the fact that I'm the best with firearms here."
"M seems to trust you, and I am not arguing with M." Drops walked out of the building as she turned to Golden, "Do not worry about the armor and the key. M had it all planned." Agent Drops left the building, and Golden was more and more confused.
Silver walked up with his hands in his pockets. "So, what now? We have no evidence, and no case. We also might be looking at the end of your career if you get the heat for that kid's death."
Golden knew that he will be the one thrown under the bus if he didn't find anything. "Let's go over all of the security camera footage, after that let's do a bit of research on Sombra. From what it looks like, that's our mastermind's pattern."
Silver looked concerned. "Golden, I know that there's now one kid safe, but what about your family? If they find out that you're still looking into this, your kids might be a target."
Golden patted the gun on his belt. "Then that Dark Prince will see me at my worst." |
The Canterlot Guild | Team building | Book waited next to the statue outside the school to his new 'teammates', and he still wasn't sure about that.
"Book?" Book heard her voice and turned to see Rainbow Dash alone, walking to him.
"I didn't expect you to be here early." Book said with a grin.
"I finished my game early, so I thought, why not come here?" Rainbow Dash shrugged, and she leaned on the statue.
"I'm just trying to deal with the fact that the secret I've been hiding for a while now has been exposed." Book said somberly.
"What's the worst thing that is going to happen now?" Dash smiled, "People will know how awesome you are."
"One, I'll be arrested. Doing the stuff I do isn't exactly legal. Two, my dad will kill me if he finds out. Three, all of my enemies will know where to find my, and won't stop until they get me through the people I care about." Book said, looking like he could continue for hours.
"Four, he will have to talk with people now," Moon smirked as he walked with Light to the statue, "So you tell me that you can talk now?" Moon asked Light's bag.
"Yeah, pretty much. It is cool, right?" Wolfy said as he poked his head out of the bag.
"My wolf man," Moon gave Wolfy a fist bump, and he smiled to him.
Book raised to his feet as he saw Light's toy and anti-stress mechanism talking and moving. "Light, what did you do?"
"I don't know. My arm started glowing and then this happened." Light explained, looking stressed out. "My arm hurt when I rubbed against that big thing, so I thought I'd find some clues."
"Fluttershy would love that," Moon crossed his arms, and he leaned on the statue as well, "A pet that she can talk to, I mean it's a chance of a lifetime."
Light raised an eyebrow as he paused for a second. "Really?"
"She can already talk to animals." Dash said as she poked at the toy.
"And this is a toy with a superhero costume." Book said as he backed away from the statue.
"And Dash is super fast, and Light have the powers of god. So what?" Moon asked, "It's still a way to break the ice."
"What do you mean I have the powers of god? I just brought a toy to life!" Light said in fear.
"Think about it, this is a god like power," Moon put his hands on Light, and he took Wolfy, "I mean, anyone can kill, but only god can revive."
Light stared at him in fear before grabbing Book and shaking him. "We've got to fix this! I don't wanna be a god!"
"I am afraid we cannot yet," A. K Yearling told the teens as she walked down the stairs of the school, "This power could be essential to our plan."
Light looked scared as this lady walked up. "Who's this?"
"She is an agent of the government that work with magic people, like in the movies," Pinkie Pie answered as she and the rest of the girls walked towards the group.
"Light, the thing?" Moon asked Light.
Light sighed as he reached into his bag and handed Moon the stuffed animal. "Well can you tell her that I can't control my magic? I'm also an autistic nutcase who shouldn't be playing god. Wolfy... was my imaginary friend. Having this toy was the only thing that kept me calm, and now it's a sign that I'm losing it!" Light said as he started to panic.
Moon gave the stuffed wolf to Applejack, and the cowgirl sighed, "Thank ya Light."
"It was Moon's request. Rather, unique, but he said that you'd love it." Light explained, distracting him from his anxiety.
"Really?" Applejack asked, and she walked to Moon, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Ya do know ma, Sugarwolf."
"Everything for my super girl," Moon winked.
"That is disgusting," Wilde Shock said as he arrived as well.
While the two lovebirds talked, Book placed a hand on Light shoulder. "I need to explain something. Almost everybody right here has some form of magic, except me. We've... be recruited to take on the Dark Prince that I was telling you about."
"They found out your secret identity?" Light asked in confusion.
Book groaned as Light exposed himself. "Fine, all of my brothers knew, but that's it!"
"They aware about all of us, Light" Moon sighed, and he started to breath deeply, and looked at Light, "They know about my wolf curse. About Sunset's double, about Equestria."
Light looked scared as he looked at his arm again. "Listen, the hero gig isn't my thing. All I want is this... thing fixed. Amputation is an option for me."
"I don't ask you to be a superhero, Mr. Heart," A. K told the boy, "I ask you to help us to stop a danger that is beyond our powers."
"How? Should I bring his teddy bear to life?" Light said as he was clearly becoming worse. "I'm not a fighter. I'm just a freak with a glowing arm. I didn't need magic to know that I'm..." Light started to breath heavily as tears started running down his face.
"This is why you are all here, to test your powers and abilities and train you as a team." A. K took her phone and pressed a button, as the statue, with the floor started to move down. The kids soon enough found themselves in a giant building full of agents, weird monsters, hydras, hippogriffs and centaurs. "Welcome to E.M.P."
Book looked around in amazement. "It kinda makes you realize how normal you are, no matter what you are."
"I'm just thinking about how did they put a building under our school," Moon told Book, "I mean it's a building under our school."
"I thought they just put the school over the building. I mean, it's the last place they'd look." Wilde said with a grin as he took in the sights.
"Alright," A. K turned to the group, "Follow me." The group followed Yearling to a large black Room where they saw a young blue girl with yellow blond hair training there. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Lightning Dust, your trainer and the tester of your abilities."
"So which one of you, is the wolf?" Lightning Dust asked as all eyes turned to Moon. "Disappointing," Dust sighed.
"Awe, I thought I was the better wolf and the best superhero." Wolfy said, pretending to be disheartened.
"Mr. Moon please show her," Yearling smiled. Moon sighed, and he closed his eyes, and fell to the floor, screaming in pain as green fur grew on his body, his legs and arms grew and claws grew outside of them, his mouth grew longer and sharp fangs grew as well. Where was Moon, now stood Night Beast.
Light stood in fear and total silence.
"Impressed now?" Night beast asked as Lightning Dust's jaw dropped.
"Well, she's not running in fear, so she's doing better than most people." Book quipped as he took off his glasses and started putting his contact lenses in.
"Alright, what about you?" Dust asked Light, "What tricks do you have?"
Wolfy jumped out of the bag and held his arms out in a superman pose. "Behold, his creation! Wolfy the super dog!"
"Can you do that to robots? Or armor?" Dust asked as she bent over to look at Wolfy.
"I don't even know how I did it to him!" Light yelled, still having an anxiety attack.
"That's what we'll find out," Dust smiled, "I'm here to test your abilities and see what can you do, and I will start with you, stressed and cute."
"Oh man," Wilde Shock smiled, "It seems Light here has a fan already."
Book looked concerned as Light looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown. "With a friend like her, who needs an enemy? Dust, I don't think he's ready for this."
"Alright then, I saw you and Beast here in action," Dust looked at Beast and Book, "I would like to see more. You two are first."
Book nodded as he turned to the beast. "Keep in mind that as the only person here without magic, I'll be working twice as hard, but it did work for me last time."
Night Beast and Book walked to the front of the room, "I will try not to hurt you," Beast told Book.
"Keep in mind that I beat you without my gear last time, and I'm once again without it. I may be an over planner, but on the spot fights are my specialty,"
Night Beast smiled as he started to walk on his legs and arms, and started to run towards Book.
Book took off his jacket and waited for him to get close. He knew that trying to strangle him again would be predictable, and with walls around it wouldn't be as effective.
Night beast started to take larger and larger steps, leaping towards the boy with his claws ready to attack. Dust smiled, and she pushed a button on her wrist, releasing a sound that made Beast to fall on his knees and to cover his wolf ears.
"Beast, are you okay?" Book asked but Beast didn't answer, "Moon?"
"Stay Back!," Night Beast got up on his legs and roared in rage as he tried to fight the animal inside of him. Night beast walked on four as he walked around Book, growling on him.
"Dust, what have you done?" Book asked, seeing his cousin getting more savage
"I wanted to see his full potential," Dust smiled, "I need to know that what we have here is not just a boy in a wolf clothing, but a real animal."
"The preservation of others is clearly not high on your list." Book said as he.gripped his jacket tighter.
Beast started to leap towards Book, ready to strike, but Book rolled before his cousin would kill him, "Moon fight it!" But the beast could not understand, he just looked at him, and he started to tear apart the floor and threw it on Book.
Book fell back as the large metal plate slammed onto him. He started to curse the fact that he was always fighting people with superhuman strength, but he knew that his life was on the line now. His first thought was to try holding him back with his jacket, but then he had to question how long would that cloth hold up. He knew that as long as he was trapped, he was dead.
Night Beast started to walk towards Book, ready to bite his head off, as Dust pushed again on the button and Night Beast faded away, turning back into Moon. Moon woke up and he ran towards his cousin. "Book, I am so sorry, I don't know what..." Moon tried to get the plates off Book.
"Don't blame yourself, we got stuck with the lousy teacher." Book grunted silently as he tried to help Moon free himself.
Applejack quickly ran over and helped lift the heavy metal off of Book. Her attention then turned to Moon. "Are you alright?"
"I don't understand what happened. I usually control those instincts, but for some reason, it was like I was pushed back from my own brain." Moon turned in rage to Dust, "What did you do to me?"
Dust didn't seem concerned about what happened. "I was just seeing how bad this beast is. Now I like what I'm seeing. As for you Book, it seems like your lack of magic is making you the weakest link."
Book glared daggers into her. "You nearly got me killed you sadistic maniac! The next time you pull a stunt like that I'm going to show you personally how skilled I am at beating people up!"
Twilight seemed more interested at the contraption. "So, you've found a way to harness Moon's beast form?"
"It's more like an on and off switch. Canines have sensitive hearing, so using certain frequencies activate certain parts of the mind. I didn't make it, but I was happy to test it." Dust said with a grin.
"I am not some pet you will call!" Moon shouted with rage, "The next time you will do it, the beast will kill you!"
"If I don't beat him to it!" Dash said, looking ticked as well.
Applejack looked worried as Moon started to grow fur again, "Hey, just relax, she isn't worth it." The fur slowly returned to Moon's body as nodded.
Light looked terrified at all of this. He felt like he was in deeper than he'd ever want to be in this. "Forget this. I'm an autistic kid with no clue how his powers work, not a hero. I'm out. How do I get out of here?"
"You're too deep in it," A. K told Light, "If you out now, we must take care of you."
"Are threatening my brother?" Book asked as his hands turned into fists, and Moon's hands started to grow claws.
Light held his hands up defensively. "Listen, I'm the last person you'd want in the field, let alone with magic. I... I can't do this. All I want is this... thing with my arm gone."
"Light, most magic can only be obtained through magical objects. People with magic infused to them are rare. The Rainbooms have both, and you have the rarer one. You're too valuable of an asset to let go." A.K. Explained.
Light's hands started shaking as he pointed at himself. "Let me explain... what kind of... nutcase I am. I'm autistic... I have problems learning... talking... being... Normal... I can't fight... or.... Do.... This..." Light's breathing became more stressed as sweat and tears were pouring down his face.
Book knew that this was a clear sign of him getting ready to have a mental breakdown. "Light, take a few deep breaths."
Flash was holding a strange pin in his hand. When he closes his eyes, he could fill the same sort of power that he felt when he touched Pinkie Pie's necklace. He just wished that his Cousin, HottenBright, could get along with her.
Before he could ponder that even more, he heard someone coming, without ever think, he looked around, saw the bush, and somehow, when he blinked, he was in the bush.
Flash was both confused, and relieved that when he teleported, he only expanded onto the place, unsted of fusing in it.
From the bush he could see Light's brother, Book Knight, Pinkie Pie and her friends and also his new friend Light Heart. They were with the new lady, chatting about something that Flash couldn't hear. The lady touched the status, and it open. The group stated to walk in. Flash wanted to join them, and started to stare that the statue, but nothing happened. He thought about it, relaxed, and looked at the statue ones again, and blinked his eyes. He did teleport next to the statue, but was a bit off of the opening. He quickly got in the statue before it could close on him.
Dust scoffed a bit. "Funny, some kid with a mental defect get awesome powers and goes crying away. You have to be the most pathetic kid I've ever met. I'm starting to doubt that you can do anything right."
"That's enough," Wilde Shock told Dust, and he took her by the wrist, "I know your kind, making fun of others, but you came for our help." Lightnings came from Wilde's eyes as he spoke, "The next time you will insult any one of them, I will send 300 volts into your body, got it?"
Book noticed the tears running down Light's face. "Yearling, there are other ways for him to help. Right now he needs to back away."
"I think we call it a day," Yearling said as she released Dust from Wilde's grip, "Tomorrow, we will do real training."
"Um, I think it's too late." Wolfy said as Light didn't seem to be responding to anything. Wolfy was trying to shake Light's leg, but to no avail.
"Call a medic," Yearling told Dust and the girl ran away.
"It's mental, not medical. I'd say call my mom... but I'm guessing that's something that we can't do here." Book explained.
Suddenly they all noticed Light's right arm starting to glow. Light arms kept shaking as he was yanking his hair. Book knew that he was only this bad once, and it ended worse than the time he was hiding in a broom closet. Before Book could try anything to help calm him down Light screamed and slammed his fists into the ground. Everybody was thrown back as the magic from his hand.
Flash stood behind the equipment when this happened, but tried to continue teleporting behind different things, trying to get a better look.
As the others got up, they managed to see a small crater where Light was standing. Light was crying into his hands. They could barely hear the soft whimpering of Light. "I'm worthless. I'm nothing but a freak. I just want the pain to end."
Flash teleported in Light's crater, not caring to stay hidden, and started to pet him. "Heey... Shh... that's not true, you managed to help my little sister on her first day, in the first minutes of meeting her."
"Look at me. Look at the people who I've hurt. I'm an idiot. This world would be better without me." Light whimpered.
"And what do you think Shy would be doing right now if you weren't around to be there for her, and give her that bear ?" Flash asked Light will think about if his sister's doll would have life to.
"It hurts. I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be the mess I am." Light said as he was still crying.
Soon Light felt another person hugging him. Flash looked up to see Fluttershy trying to help him with Light. "You're not alone, and you're not a freak. You're just hurting.
Soon every one was giving a pat on Light's back, but it was only Flash, Fluttershy and Book that was next to Light, hugging him.
Dust wasn't giving the same sympathy. She grabbed Flash and picked him up by his collar. "Wait! What are you doing here? I ought to throw you into..."
Dust was suddenly cut off by a swift right hook from Wilde. "I'm not going to lie. That felt good."
Dust quickly got up, looking ticked. "Did you just..."
She was cut off again by Book's right hook, knocking her out. Book grinned a bit as he turned to Wilde. "You need to lean in with your body."
Yearling looked concerned at the intruder. "Who is this?"
Flash still held to Light, will he turned to face Yearling l. "I'm Flash, and I'm not going to stand by while my new friend is hurting!"
Book stood up and kept between Yearling and Flash. "Listen, this is a friend of Light's, and he just helped make sure that my brother didn't go suicidal again. Right now he's your best hope of keeping my brother sane, because if you kill him then Light's going to blame himself. Do we have an understanding?"
Yearling looked at Flash, seeing how he manage to calm Light down, relatively quickly. "Fine... but this Teleporting Flash better join us!" She told both Book and Flash.
"Can we talk about it?" Flash asked her while getting up.
As Yearling and Flash want to another room to talk, Book stayed with his brother.
Fluttershy looked worried at the crying boy in her lap. "Is he going to be okay?"
Book shrugged. "I hope so. The last time he broke this bad... he nearly died."
She gasped as she realized what Book was talking about. Che cradled his head in her arms as Light looked like a trembling child. Somehow she felt that the two people there who could help him through this was herself and Flash. Flash understood Light and was currently his closest friend, but she started feeling a connection between herself and Light. She started to see that Light was as scared and as nervous as she was. Maybe he just needed a little help from her. Almost as a sign to her he seemed to start calming down as she kept petting him. She blushed a little at his tired face.
Flash came back with Yearling. "So we agree, only me, his brother..." Flash saw Light in Fluttershy's embrace, looking like he was at peace. "... And it would seem Fluttershy to, are to be the only one to ask him to do magic."
Yearling begrudgingly agreed, if that was the only way to get Flash and especially Light to cooperate and join the team.
Light weakly got up, looking embarrassed. "I... I'm sorry."
Dust slowly got back on her feet. "You should be sorry you little..." She was cut off by a backhanded punch from Book and Wilde at the same time.
Yearling merely sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I saw you as an asset and forgot about you as a person. I should have focused on helping you understand your power and keep calm instead of pushing you beyond your breaking point."
Fluttershy and Flash kept close to him as Light nodded. "I forgive you."
Yearling sighed. "Clearly we need to put more thought into your training, and we still don't have much time to do it. Let's call it for the night. We'll discuss the mission later."
Flash walked next to Light. "Should we stop at the sugarcube corner where Pinkie Pie works?" He asked Light, hoping that maybe something there could make him feel better.
Pinkie Pie jumped up and hugged Flash at the idea. "Yes, we can have a super secret don't tell anybody spies party! All we need to do is head to my work, pick up some treats, and then head to Moon's house for a secret slumber party!"
Flash was about to smile to the filling of having Pinkie Pie, one of hand-fulls of person that he was ok with having in his personal space, being some close to him. But he turned to look of that was what Light wanted to do, it was his that need to... Put a smile on his face. "What do you want to do Light?"
Light still looked emotionally exhausted, but he gave a small nod. "Sure."
"We should get to know each other better if we are going to be a team. I'll call dad and let him know that Moon invited us to the sleepover." Book said calmly as he was checking himself for any cuts or scars.
"Do I get to come too?" Everybody turned to see Fuze walking in with a box.
"When did you get here?" Book asked.
"Well, after school I was bored, so I wanted to see if our new boss had a secret base here. Turns out that I was right. Yearling gave me access to the research and development lab and I made you all some basic goodies before we get into making suits for you all. Speaking of which, I'll need your measurements."
Rarity gasped. "A man taking a woman's measurements? Well, I've never!"
Book rolled his eyes. "It's kinda necessary."
Rarity merely pulled out a paper from her purse. "I happen to know all of our measurements by heart."
Flash pointed to him, Light, and Book. "What about the guys?" He asked Rarity.
"I only know Book's. I'll handle the rest at the sleepover. Now, who wants to see their new toys?" Fuze asked as he held up the box.
Flash looked at Light then back at his friends brother. "Ummm... what do you have for me?" He asked joking.
"Well, this is mostly general stuff. Watches for everybody. I made them in different styles, so they aren't noticeable as spy tech. They look normal, but also work as communicators and GPS's. We can also access Intel which Yearling sends us through it. Second, new shoes. I had to hack into the school's supply for your shoe sizes, but I did it. They have a hidden blade inside of them for self defensive purposes and it's a good place to hide stuff. Everybody still with me... because I'm hiding the fact that I didn't expect Flash or Light to be here." Fuze asked as he was handing stuff out.
Twilight looked shocked as she found the blade in her shoe. "This is how you use your free time?"
"This is some of his better stuff. I wouldn't guess that these were useful at first glance." Book said as he put on his watch.
Fuze grinned as he continued. "I also met this great girl named Trixie, and it inspired me to make these." Fuze pulled a container of mints out of the box. "Smoke pellets. Don't suck on them. I'm also coming up with designs for weapons specifically designed for our royal friend. I don't know how tough he is, so it's mainly ranged stuff."
Yearling raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Well, I needed somebody who knows about biology and chemistry to come up with some form of chemical to put him to sleep, but I've got a few more practical items in the woodwork. High strength grappelling cables, improved shock gauntlets, and a few others." Fuze explained. "If anything I think we need a place to store an extra uniform, just in case the school is ever under attack."
Flash lifted his hand. "My cousin, HottenBright, and Twilight could help with that"
"So can Sunset." Twilight said. "Our Sunset, not the evil one."
"HottenBright doesn't know about this and shouldn't. She has no magic, and we already are risking a lot with two kids knowing about this." Yearling explained. "Use who you have and what you have."
"Kids?" Flash was confused. "We are teens!" He looked around at the group. "And there more than just 2 here!"
"Fox and Stone know about it." Book explained. "Fuze blew it when he found out about Yearling."
"W.. WHAT?" Flash asked them. "How... Why... " He was out of words.
Light's eyes widened too. "You let them know?"
Fuze shrugged. "I gave them candy and told them to keep quiet. That should work... right?"
"And you didn't think to ask me?" Flash asked Fuze. "Before giving them CANDY!" He tried to stay come, but now it was Flash that was having his panic attack.
Book rolled his eyes as he grabbed Flash. "Listen, they only heard a bit. They are kids, so it's easy to lie to them. As long as Yearling doesn't do anything stupid, we're good. Nothing to worry about."
"Yeah, and I didn't give them too much. I gave them the hard candy that they have to suck on, so they're not going to have any sugar rushes." Fuze said calmly.
Got out of Books grasp. "When my family adopted them, I promised that I would keep true to my name, and always be FlashTRUTH!" He told them.
Pinkie hugged him again. "Great! Now we can have them join our party!"
"NO!!!" Light yelled. "I want them away from this craziness of... magic!"
Flash patted him on the back, happy to hear that he cared about his little sisters.
"And we'll be talking about classified information and planning. We are not going to expose them to more of this then we already are." Book said sternly.
"What if they also got magic powers?" Pinkie asked.
The whole group looked at her.
"Pinkie... Darling. The chances of them having magic, well it's..." Rarity turned to Twilight, not knowing what to tell Pinkie.
"Not likely. I'm willing to look over this minor breach in security, but keep your sisters out of this mess." Yearling warned.
Flash noted.
"Then it's settled. Tonight, Moon's house, meet up at eight o'clock." Book said.
Applejack crossed her arms. "Hold on! Who put you in charge?"
"I have the most experience on the field. I fought battles that couldn't be solved with friendship, but if you insist, we'll vote tonight." Book said sternly.
"Umm... I vote sugarcube corner!" Flash said.
Moon shrugged. "Why not both? We can head there to get treats, and then we can have a sleepover. I'm pretty sure my house could fit us all. We do need to get to know each other, and we can't talk about... this in a public place."
"Umm... Ok, I'll just to stop home and get some of my stuff, like me P.J." Flash told Moon. "What time? And are we having dinner?" He asked the group. "If so, S.C. C or Moon's place?"
"We'll all go home immediately to get our stuff, meet up at Sugarcube, maybe grab a few pizzas, then we'll meet up again at Moon's place. Any questions?" Book asked.
"Um... Yes, I have one" Fluttershy spoke up.
"Yes Flutter?" Twilight asked.
"We are having vegetarian? Right?" Shy asked.
Wilde groaned. "One cheese pizza for Fluttershy."
"Alright, we'll work out food at Pinkie's work. Let's get going." Book said as he started walking out.
Flash followed, asking himself what he will tell his parents.
As the group left the facility of E.M. P, Lightning Dust walked aside, and she talked to her wrist, "Brother, the information is here, sending it now." |
The Canterlot Guild | Testing Trust | As the group walked to Sugar Cube corner, Moon walked to Twilight, angry about what she said at the room, "You seemed interested in machine that almost made me kill someone, Twilight."
"I'm sorry Moon," Twilight apologized, "I know what is like to have this power and not being in control."
"It's starting to be a hobby for some of the people around here." Wilde quipped, before getting a jab in the ribs from Moon.
"Don't tell Applejack, but I'm starting to fear that I will not control the beast anymore." Moon said somberly
Twilight nodded and their followed the group to their cars. Soon everybody was gathering their backpacks and sleeping bags and were making arrangements for their sleepover. Flash's girls were excited about the idea of a sleepover, but they were disappointed when they learned that only Flash was invited. As for Gentle, she was glad that the boys were making friends, and trusted Moon to make sure that they were taken care of. Her main concern was the fact that Light looked out of it, and needed help from Book and Fuze to get his stuff together.
As everybody got to the Sugarcube corner, they were met by an excited Pinkie Pie. She quickly led them inside and showed them around the shop. There were so many baked goods and ice cream flavors. The team soon settled down and relaxed to some treats. Light kept to himself, not speaking to anybody.
While they others were enjoying their food, Wilde Shock took some treats and walked towards Rarity, "How are you sweetheart?"
Rarity looked at Wilde, and turned her head, unhappy to see his face, "I have nothing to say to you."
"Come on," Wilde smiled, "I have your favorite, Chocolate with vanilla diamonds," Wilde showed Rarity the cupcake, and the girl sighed "Fine, we can have a moment or two."
Wilde smiled as he took a seat by her side, "I know we have our differences, but we must learn to forgive if we will work together. So I forgive you for ditching me for that guy."
"You forgive me?" Rarity laughed, "I should forgive you for forgetting our day."
"You are adorable when you think I'm wrong," Wilde smirked as he took some whipped cream from his cupcake and put some on Rarity's nose, "But I am not the one to apologize."
Rarity smiled as she cleaned her nose, and she took the cupcake from Wilde, and she pushed it on his face. "I am always adorable."
Flash looked intrigued. "So... you both care about each other, but why did you break up?"
"She always cared about her clothes before all," Wilde told Flash as he cleaned his face.
"He always tricked others to pay our dates," Rarity complained as well.
"She tried to post us as the couple of the year, after one date."
"He wanted me to just relax and watch a stupid movie for our 3rd date."
"It sounds to me like you two were so focused on what the other person was doing wrong that you didn't ask yourself the most important question that needs to be asked when you care about each other." Book said with a grin.
"We did have our moments," Wilde nodded, "And she did was pretty in her outfits."
"And it was nice to be treated like a queen by others," Rarity agreed.
"I think you two were more concerned about what you were getting out of it. That's not love. Love is asking how can I change, how can I help the person I love? Love is selfless, and isn't greedy." Book explained. "I'm willing to bet that if you both tried again, looked for your own flaws instead of your partner's, and focused more on helping each other, you'll find if the chemistry between you is real."
Wilde and Rarity looked at each other. Neither one of them wanted to think about what they had done personally to bring them to breaking up, but the guilt inside of them told them the truth. They both wanted to see this work between them, so maybe a few changes would work.
"What do you say?" Wilde turned to Rarity, and smiled, "Would you give another try?"
"Why not," Rarity smiled, and she held Wilde's hands and the two got up on the table, "We are officially back!"
Dash looked interested as she looked at Book. "How do you know about this stuff?"
"My dad would give me and my brothers talks about how important finding the right somebody was. I won't date for an experience. I'll date to see if it leads to something... real." Book explained.
FlashTruth was thinking back of what happened when he got home to pack his bag for the night.
"So it true, Truth?" Flash turned to see his little sisters at the opening of his small bedroom.
"What is?" He asked them. Hoping that they weren't thinking about what he was thinking.
"That is our room, was your room..." Shy asked timidly.
Flash sat down on his bed. Originally this room was supposed to be ShyStone's, but will he was trying to convince his parents to also adopt FastFox, they pointed out that the room wasn't big enough for both of them, that's when he offered to take the small room, and give up his large bedroom.
"Yes, I did give up my large bedroom so that our parents would adopt both of you girls." Flash knelt down to tell them this.
Both girls want and hugged him.
"Now I have to get packing, I have... A... a party to go to!" Flash said trying to avoid the hole magic thing.
"Ohw... With who?" Fast asked with a grin.
"Umm... Light Heart." Both girls jumped with excitement when Flash said that. "Oh, oh, Can we came to?" They both asked while pleaded.
"Um... No, it's... It's... just for them one in somewhat the same class." Flash told them that. It wasn't mostly true, then did share some classes together.
"There's also Pinkie Pie." He said matter-of-factly.
"Oh..." Fast winked. "Ok"
Flash turned to look at her. "What does that mean?" He asked both curious and worried.
"Nothing." Fast said while running downstairs with her sister.
Flash was getting nervous, he was getting worried that they were going to say something they shouldn't. After putting his old Neon Red coat, a Yellow safety shirt & Orange pants, a glow-in-the-dark Halloween mask and some long black cloths, he went on his belly to get out a board game that was under his bed, 'D&D's Fantasy Detective, if they ever say something, he could try to bluff and jest say that they will be playing this game tonight, he was planning to have this be the cast.
When he was done packing, he went down stairs to let his parents know that he wasn't going to be them for dinner, and not to wait for him tonight.
When he got to the living room, his sisters were there with their mom.
She turned to him and asked. "So... You're having a Party with some of your classmates?" She asked him.
"Umm... Ya!" he replied, "And we are sleeping over at a friends house."
"And some of them are girls!?" she told her son. "And one of them is that girl Pinkie Pie?"
"Y... Yes!" He said, not knowing where she was going with this.
She started to walk towards him, and places something in his hand. "Well, good luck." She winked before walking away.
"Hey silly! Whatcha thinking about?" Pinkie asked him, snapping him out of his trance.
Flash turned to see a Pinkie Pie one millimeter away from his face. "Umm... n... Nothing." He blushed profusely, as he looked into her beautiful blue eyes, eyes that he could stare into it for hours.
"Okie dokie! Well, I hope you're having fun." Pinkie said excitedly.
"Um... Yes, I am." Flash told her. Every day was fun with Pinkie Pie.
"Um, hey." They both turned to see Light sitting next to them. "I... I forgot to give this to you earlier. Here you go." Light handed him a toy dove with a hat matching Flash's.
Pinkie gasped when she saw this. "It looks just like you Flash! It's amazing!" She proceeded to hand it to him while hugging him.
"Thanks Light!" Flash told him before pausing and looking at Light then at the toy, then back to Light. "Ummm... Does the toy talk?"
Light lowered his head. "No... I still don't know how that happened."
Wolfy's voice spoke up from his backpack. "At least I'm still here."
Light cringed when Wolfy spoke. "I couldn't leave him at home. What are my parents going to say when they see him?"
"That... Your little brother help you put some... Robot parts in toys?" Flash asked Light.
Light sighed as he leaned back. "With an AI smart enough to respond to whatever they say to him and mechanics so smooth and precise to move around freely, but stuffing thick enough so that the mechanical parts can't be felt. It's not that easy."
Wolfy shrugged as he peeked his head out of the bag. "I guess I need to watch some more Toy Story and see how they do it."
"Andy is coming into the room!" Pinkie told Wolfy.
"So... I just go limp, right?" Wolfy asked.
"Pretty much." Pinkie said cheerfully.
Wolfy then did his best to go limp and not move. "How's this?" Wolfy whispered.
"Mhm... I can see your lips move, Mr. Ventriloquist!" Pinkie told Wolfy
"Mhm... Maybe you could pretend that you are ventriloquist." Flash told Light and Wolfy.
"I used that line on Yearling. I don't think she bought it." Light said disheartened.
"I think it's because of the super duper magic detective that she was." Pinkie said.
Both guys looked at her.
"I'll just leave you two to talk." Light said somberly.
Flash was afraid that ever him or Pinkie said something wrong. Light seemed distant from everybody, but Fluttershy went to sit down next to him.
"He'll be fine. I think he's still upset over what happened. I'm sure that Shy can help him out. She's dealt with more anxiety than either of us. So, how have you been doing with your new magic?"
"Oh... Um... I just found it." Flash told him will point to his new pin he got. "Look at it, If I'm not mistaken, this is the symbol for the teleporting-gateways in the game 'The Revenge of the Tirek'."
"I heard about it, but I also heard that the actual fight with the other Twilight was more epic." Pinkie said, oblivious to the fact that he had no clue about the mirror world.
"I'm ya..." Flash was about to question her, but got sidetracked by her eyes. "Um... Well, I would seem that when I teleport, I expand to the point I am going to."
Pinkie nodded. "Well, I think your power is cool. Mine tends to make things blow up." She looked a little embarrassed when she admitted that.
"W... Everything?" Flash asks with worry.
"No, it has to be made of sugar." Pinkie explained.
"A." He said related. "But wait, does that me I would explode!?"
Pinkie tilted her head, both confused and worried. "Why?"
"Because" Flash said while putting his sunglasses on. "I'm a sweet guy!"
She giggled as she hugged him again. "Don't worry. You're safe for snuggling."
Flash could feel her heartbeat will her two softly moaned pressed on his body. "I'm... I'm glad of that." He smiled while thinking of what his mom gave him before he left.
"Guys, something's going on" Wilde called for them, "Moon said he smelled something, and there are people who are not here for the ice cream!"
Pinkie let go of Flash to go see who were the 'new friends' coming in.
Flash was disappointed to getting blocked by this new arrival. But he got, straightening himself up, and join them to see what was going on outside.
The group followed Wilde outside where they saw Night Beast out with the others as they stood in fighting position.
"There are at least 30 people here" Night Beast told Book. "And a familiar smell, but still new."
Book looked concerned. "You think that it's a threat to us?"
Flash was wondering if he should put on his Halloween mask on.
"I don't... Haaa!" Moon fell on the ground in pain as a group of criminals led by a female masked woman approached them. Moon fainted away, and he turned to his human form, unconscious.
"I will take him" Sunset told her friends as she carried Moon with her to the store.
Book nodded. "I'm unarmed. I'll... need you all to stall for me." Book quickly grabbed a bag off of his bike, leaving the others to face this group.
Light looked nervous as he was looking at the large group heading for him. "I'm guessing that you don't want to talk about this?"
Dash cracked her knuckles. "If they want to fight, they'll get it!"
Flash was looking around to find a place to teleport his friends, especially Light.
"Take them out!" The lady ordered. Suddenly a couple of thugs drew out some tasers and fired them at Light, only for Fluttershy to step in front of him. She screamed in pain at all of the electricity coursing through her. As she fell to the ground, Light caught her. He quickly pulled the wires out of her, not feeling the electricity.
As she passed out in his, arms Light's arms started shaking. "No... I... I can't..." As everybody was thinking that Light was going to have a mental break down, he turned to the others in anger. "You... GET... AWAY... FROM... HER!!!!" Light's arm glowed brightly as her charged the criminals.
One of them reached for his sidearm, but the lady stopped him. "Don't kill him! He's too valuable!"
Almost instantly after she said that Light reached one of the thugs, punching him straight in the face and knocking him across the street.
"Ooooooo! It's just like the other hero with the glowing fist." Pinkie pointed out.
Everybody was shocked to see this, but Dash quickly realized that this was still a fight. "Let's take them down!" Instantly she ran towards the crowd of criminals, quickly disarming them and throwing a few punches.
Applejack quickly handed Fluttershy to Flash. "Get her out of here. I've got some much-needed punching to do." She then turned to the larger criminals and started charging them.
Without even thinking Flash teleported to the only place he could think of to rest, his new bedroom. Seeing where he was, he placed her on the bed and checked that she was still breathing and her heart was still beating. Seeing that they were both stable, even though she was panning. He sneaked out of his room, and looked at the outside window and started to teleport back to the fight, so that he could help out.
As Flash got back to the diner, he saw that everybody was already fighting. He backed up the store front and started wondering how he could actually fight.
"Never threw a punch, have you?" Flash turned behind him to see Fuze messing with a pair of shock paddles.
Flash looked nervous as a few thugs noticed them. "What made you think that?"
Fuze quickly handed him the paddles. "I messed with the charge on these, so just keep holding down that button and just punch them with those paddles. Easy as pie."
As Flash was about to ask him what he meant, one of the thugs tackled him. Flash was trying to push him off with the paddles, but nothing was happening.
"Press the buttons!" Fuze said.
Flash quickly looked down and pressed the buttons, shocking the guy and knocking him off.
Rarity quickly put up a shield to protect herself from any ranged weapons while Twilight stayed next to her and used her powers to disarm those foes.
The masked lady groaned. "I guess I have to do it myself."
"You know, if you weren't greedy and hired some trained muscle, you'd have a chance." The lady turned to see the Shadow Knight right behind her.
She grinned as she swung a knife at him. "DO you think that I'll go down without a fight."
Book blocked her swing with his gauntlet and held onto her arm. "No, but now I get to test my new toy." Book flipped a switch on his belt, sending electricity into his gauntlet and charging his punches. "Now, you may find this shocking, but for the sake of science, tell me how this feels." Book and the girl started trading punches as the fight raged across the street.
While the other kept the fight outside, Sunset tried to wake Moon up, but for no use, Moon was still unconscious. "Wake up! We need you, Applejack needs you!" With no other choice, Sunset used her power, trying to bring herself into Moon's Mind and wake him up. She held the green boy's hand, and her eyes started to glow. Soon enough, Sunset found herself inside a dark forest, as she saw Moon fighting a green beast with red dots and purple pants. Sunset saw moon fighting Night Beast.
"Moon," Sunset called for her friend, "You need to wake up, we need Night Beast." Moon looked at Sunset with shock and confusion as Night Beast saw her and started to run towards her.
Moon took Sunset by the hand and the two ran away from the beast.
"What are you doing here?" Moon asked Sunset, "How are you inside my head?"
"I can read people's minds, so I tried to talk to your mind." Sunset sat down next to Moon as they heard the howling of the beast, "What is going on, I thought you can control yourself."
"The sound," Moon looked at Sunset, "Until then I thought I am Night Beast, but I just controlled the other side of me, a side with a will of its own. When Night Beast broke free from me, he won't come back."
"But you changed, I saw you changed minutes before"
"And when I turned back, it was the beast returning into my body." Moon walked away from Sunset as he looked at the direction of the howl, "There is no "just me" now, there are me and it."
Sunset looked at Moon with sorrow as she noticed her hand started to fade. Sunset found herself again at the sugarcube when a yellow woman with hair just like her, clothes just like her and a face just like her, looking at her.
"Time to go, sister." The woman told Sunset in her own voice.
"Who are you?" Sunset asked and she was ready to fight.
"I am Sunset Shimmer," The other Sunset told her counterpart as she copied her fighting position. Sunset leaped on her doppelganger trying to punch her face, but the other dodged the attack and kicked her in the back. Sunset fell on her back as her counterpart held her and cut her in the arm, making an identical scar to her own. Sunset screamed as the other sunset smiled.
"Twinsies," The evil Sunset smirked as six thugs entered inside the building, "Take her and the boy." The thugs nodded, and they took Sunset and moon, leaving the evil Sunset to take her place. Sunset looked at rage at her doppelganger as she waved to her, "Don't worry, I will take good care of your friends."
Book was still locked in combat with this strange lady. She was clearly trained professionally, but seemed to be arrogant. He decided to try using her emotions against her by playing the guessing game. "Who are you? I doubt you got up this morning and said "I'm going to lose a fight to a bunch of kids." What brought you to this neck of the woods?"
"The true king sent me to bring him a hunting hound," The lady smiled behind her mask, "And he paid well for it."
"Really? Why this group?" Book asked as he sent a kick flying at her. "You're trying to get thugs for free? You have no real standards." The two fought as the communicator of the old lady started to talk.
"Miss. Tsud, we have the beast, ready to return to base, over."
Book's eyes widened when it said that. He quickly threw a couple of throwing stars at her legs. "Eye for an eye! You're not leaving this place!"
"Maybe you should check on your cousin," The lady laughed as she threw a smoke bomb, blinding Book, and she and the thugs ran away.
Book was shocked as he lost them, but not at the fact that they lost. He just got the most shocking clue. As a few police sirens started heading for them Book quickly ran off. As he ran past Wilde and Applejack he spoke quickly. "Moon has been taken, and possibly Sunset. There's a spy here too. I'll explain later."
"What?!!" Applejack asked Book, before falling on her knees, and tears fell from her eyes. Wilde helped her to rise.
"What do you mean a spy?" Wilde asked as the girls surrounded him and Applejack.
"I can't explain now, I'm a vigilante, remember?" Book yelled as he ran off into the alley.
"Guys!" The group turned their heads from Book to see a wounded Sunset, "They took Moon, I tried to fight them, but they were too many."
Light Heart had tears going down his face as he heard this. "I... I failed him?" Light's glowing hand shook a bit before he punched a light pole with his glowing hand, knocking the whole thing over. Flash ran over to him to comfort him as he started crying again.
"We will find him," Twilight told Flash, and she turned to Sunset, "Have you seen their faces, anything that would help us find Moon?"
"No," Sunset sighed, "I'm sorry."
They soon turned to see Book exiting Sugarcube corner, quickly changing clothes. Light was concerned when he didn't see Fuze. "Where's Fuze at?"
"He ran off during the fight to call the cops." Book explained. "Alright, let's keep the story straight, they were trying to rob the store with extreme prejudice, and we locked ourselves..." Book stopped when he saw how beaten up Sunset was. The main thing he took notice of was the scar on her hand. It was in the exact same spot as Shimmer's was, and looked like it had been healing for a couple of days. So my brother was right. Now we have two spies working with us.
As they were all standing in front of the store the police showed up in force, checking the others for injuries and assessing the situation.
Moon woke up in a dining room of a medieval castle, he was chained to a chair, and in front of him, on the other side of the table, there was a young boy in his age, with an orange skin and grey hair, his eyes were yellow, and he wore black coat and green shirt, and the amulet that was taken.
"I assume that you are the Dark Prince?" Moon asked as he tried to get free of the chains.
"Please, call me Edmond Sombra," The Dark Prince smiled as three thugs and the masked lady came in, the lady put down her mask to reveal the face of Lightning Dust. "Well done, miss Dust. The money is already in your bank account."
"Nice," Dust smiled, and she handed Sombra the wrist controller that was on her hand, "This would make it easier to control him."
"Thank you," Sombra said as he put the wrist on his arm, and Dust left the room.
"So she was a traitor?" Moon asked, "Of course she was."
"She was loyal to me, and not to my mother," Sombra told Moon, "You can be loyal to me as well." Sombra pushed the button and Moon started to scream in pain as he tried to break free, the green boy grew fur on his body, claws extracted from his fingers, he started to grow sizes, and he broke free of the chains. "The Night Beast." Night Beast looked in Rage at Sombra, and he threw the table away, as he started to run towards him. Sombra stood in silence as the beast ran to kill him, and as the beast stood in front of him, he pushed the button, and the beast stood there silently. "My own monster." Beast looked in fear at Sombra as Iron Will came into the room with chains, "Take it to the garden, and give it some bones to eat." Iron will nod, and he chained Beast as Sombra walked out of the room to a hall that led him to the dungeons where a yellow girl with a red hair looked at him in hatred.
"What did you do to Moon?" Sunset asked Sombra.
"The boy is dead, there is only the beast at my command," Sombra smiled as Sunset tried to choke him, but her hands were chained to the wall.
"My friends would stop you!" Sunset told Sombra as he walked away from her.
"Why do you think that?" Sombra giggled, "You're double is in your place, they would never tell the difference. You and your friends lost." |
The Canterlot Guild | Killing the virus | Book, Wilde, and Flash were all sitting by the sidewalk while the others were being medically and physically checked. Book seemed to be the most somber of the three. "How much can I trust you two?"
Flash looked hurt by this question. "What do you mean?"
"Right now you two are the wild cards of this team. I don't know either of you well, and you didn't belong to the group that has already been dealing with magic. What reason do I have for not asking you to leave the team?" Book asked coldly.
Flash looked concerned. "Because of my family. I could never hurt my sisters or my cousin. I want to help you. Tell me how to gain your trust and I'll do it."
Book looked at Flash. "I want you to learn about Sombra's bloodline. Also, look into the other Sunset Shimmer of this world to see if anybody else has been using that face or name." Book's eyes then turned to Wilde. "What about you? Can I trust the man who set me up with a fight that I didn't need?"
"If it's about Moon, I need to know," Wilde told Book, "I know sometimes I can be a jerk, but Moon is my best friend, and if you won't tell me what is going on, I'm going to show you my unlimited power." Lightning came out of Wilde's right hand as he started to get angry.
Book looked at him for a moment. "Do you know that you can tell a lot about a person just by their eyes? I've learned a lot about you two just by that one question. Tell me, who all knew that we were going to be here?"
"Are you blaming me?" Wilde Shock asked and his eyes started to glow in blue, "Do you think I would sell my friend? You have the nerve to blame me?"
Book leaned over to Wilde. "I... don't... blame... you. Your eyes told me the answer. Now tell me, who is not in this group comes to your mind who knew about us being here. Who would rat us out?"
"Only us and A.K," Wilde Shock's eyes turned back to normal.
"Come on, think about it. Combat expert, could disable Moon, has a big ego." Book said, force-feeding him this answer.
"Dust!" Wilde Shock gritted his teeth and he got up from his place, "Let's go!"
"Hold on, we need to wait until we are let go before you and I can go talk to Dusty. We also have a new problem." Book said. "There's now another spy in our team."
"You mean her?" Wilde's eyes turned to Sunset, "Three thugs fought her off, sure, I knew she had never changed, just some prick."
"She has been with us from the start. Why would you question her?" Flash asked.
"Look at all of the fresh wounds on her body. They all happened recently except one. Look at her right hand." Book said silently.
They both looked closely to see a scar on her hand. "Are you certain that she didn't already have it?"
Book nodded. "I had her show her hands to me several times. It's the Sunset I've been fighting this whole time."
"So what are we going to do?" Wilde asked, "Maybe a little shock therapy for the imposter?"
Book grabbed his arm and brought him close. "If she's captured what will happen to our Sunset and Moon? I don't think my way is the way to handle her."
Flash was now scared at the prospect of having a spy next to them that they can't touch. "Then what do we do?"
"We discreetly warn the others, and we treat her like one of our own. We just need to make sure that she doesn't get our full plans. When we start missions we have somebody else in charge of the team that she's on and switch things up on her. Until we can find and rescue Sunset and Moon we need our enemies closer."
"Fine," Wilde rolled his eyes, "But not trying to redeem her, once we have Moon back, I kill her."
Flash looked nervous at the idea of killing somebody. "Well... what if we can convert her? If she has information on Dark Prince then she could be a big asset."
"Do you think she would turn on her boss?" Wilde turned to Flash, "She would never betray him, we must act now, before Moon would die."
Book held up his hand. "We'll see what we can get from Dust, but if... Shimmer gets outed now and escapes then we're only signing two death certificates. You're playing checkers right now. The game Shimmer and Prince are playing is chess."
" I hope you have a plan," Wilde told Book, "As a known master of gambling, the odds are against us."
"I don't play chance, I play chess. Try to spread the word without her noticing. She's getting patched up, so now's the best chance. Don't let anybody get caught alone with her." Book ordered.
"I'll text Rarity," Wilde took his phone, "After all, you the one who told me to trust my girl."
"Good, make sure that they all keep it a secret. Lives are on the line right now, and we have the advantage. Fuze witnessed this and is worried that he might have been spotted, so he's backed out of the group until he's safe." Book explained. "He's heading for the school and is waiting for me."
"Rarity already opened a group," Wilde told them to take their phones, "It's called Copysun Fake Shimmer. Not a great name but,"
Book opened his phone. "Everybody being stealthy right now?"
"Well, I had to take a cab back here, but I'm here now," Fluttershy said.
"I'm sharing a phone with Fluttershy while she's hugging me. Am I insane?" Light asked.
"You're just as sane as the rest of us. Sunset Shimmer is compromised. Her double is currently getting bandages in the back of the hospital van. Dash, sit down." Book said as he glanced at the speedster who was starting to stand up.
"Alright, what's the plan?" Applejack asked as they all sat down, as Shimmer left the group and she headed to Caballeron's base.
Book paused for a second as a couple of officers walked by. "Nobody can let her know that we are onto her. If she gets exposed then the other Sunset is worthless and will most likely be killed. Don't be alone with her, and be ready to change plans to accommodate for adjusting plans last minute. Applejack, disqualifying Sunset, who is the best tactician on the team that A.K. Assigned you to?"
"Rarity and Wilde Shock are the best ah can offer, they both know how to keep things and manipulate people."
"Then Rarity and Wilde are in charge of your group now. Be careful when planning for Shimmer. Also, we are moving the sleepover to your place Applejack. Treat Shimmer like you'd treat Sunset. Keep cool and don't do anything to let her onto us. Once I can find and rescue Sunset and Moon we can beat the tar out of her." Book said sternly.
"Why don't we just try making friends with her?" Pinkie asked. "It's always worked for us in the past."
"That's what I was suggesting," Flash said, glad that she was on his side.
"You really think we can get along with... her?!?" Wilde nearly barked at the phone.
"I don't know, but it's worth a shot. Keep her as an ally for now. Once I get to Prince's castle I'll search for info that could sway her along as our missing allies. Text Sunset in thirty minutes, tell her that the sleepover is still on and the location moved. Keep it a secret and just pick her up. Applejack, Pinkie, you two are in charge of picking her up." Book ordered. "I've got to hang up." Book quickly added as his dad walked up to him.
Golden hugged Book as he came over. "I came over as soon as I heard about what happened. Where's Fuze?"
"Oh, he's at school. Something about asking the principal about what rules and restrictions for making stuff. You know how he gets." Flash was amazed at how blatantly Book was able to lie to his dad.
Golden nodded. "Good, because I'm taking you boys home right now."
Book's cool face turned to fear as he said that. "No! I mean, Light's been having a bad day. He needs this to get him back to his childish self."
Golden grabbed Book's arms. "Book, Moon is missing. I don't care which kid in a suit talks to me, I'm going to find him. You know that Light's panicking right now."
"Which is why he needs this party. If we send him home like this then he'll just feel guilty. We need to get his mind off of this and back into a positive state. We're moving the party over to Applejack's house, and that's a ways away from town. I promise that we'll help Light, all I'm asking for is your trust." Book pleaded.
Golden sighed as he turned to Light. Fluttershy was still trying to keep him calm and was doing a pretty good job. "Alright. I'll... trust you. Just make sure that you call me personally if anything happens."
"Don't worry Mr. G," Rainbow dash assured Golden and she leaned on Book, "Book will be safe and sound under my protection."
Golden looked confused. "Who is this?"
Dash grinned as she shook his hand. "Rainbow Dash. The coolest person here."
Book blushed a bit as his dad was staring at him. "You told me to make some friends."
"Never mind her, she's our idiot," Wilde grinned and he returned to his jerk self, "I am the coolest guy here." Rarity punched Wilde in the guts and apologized in his name
"He's actually Moon's friend, so that's not on me," Book said.
Golden rubbed his forehead a bit. "Just... remember what I taught you."
Book blushed a little more as he said that. "Yes, sir."
Dash raised her eyebrow a bit. "What exactly did you teach him?"
Golden grinned as Agent Sweetie Drops walked over. "K.I.S.S. Or, Keep It Simple Stupid." As he turned to see Drops walk up he groaned a bit. "Come on! This was an attempted robbery, not a magic incident."
She pointed over to the broken light pole with the impression of a fist on it.
"It seems we have enhanced on the loose, maybe it's that beast that attacked the bank three days ago."
Golden sighed. "Well, now this is also a family matter. My cousin has been kidnapped, so I'm not going to be kept in the dark on this."
"Family late... oh hey Rainbow Dash!" Dropps waved as she looked at Rainbow Dash and she took off her glasses. "Have you seen Lyra, I didn't saw her in ages."
Book grinned a bit at this. He turned to his dad and grinned. "I guess this organization isn't a secretive one."
Golden looked shocked as this girl was talking to Dash. "So she'll share information with a random teen, but not to the people who need it. I hate this flipping group."
"Come on, rookie, we need to go," Dropps ordered Golden to return to the car, as she looked on her phone for any news from Lyra.
"Hey, I've been on the force before you were going to school!" Golden said as he followed her.
"Cop, agent," Dropps reminded her rank to Golden, "I'm in charge, sorry," the young agent smirked."
Golden rolled his eyes. "I can't imagine what idiot would place a child in a position like this. In all of my years, I've never seen an underaged kid being put in charge."
Book took a deep breath as the two of them drove off. "Alright. Officers are clearing out and detectives are coming in. Wilde, let's go to the school, get some answers, and talk to A.K. About what to do with my brother. I'll message Fuze to dig up some dirt on Lighting."
"Fine, let's go, see you later babe," Wilde winked as he created a heart made out from lightning and Rarity blushed and sent a kiss in return, "It seems that the relationship is on the track, like titanic."
"Hey loverboy, on the bike," Book ordered as he got onto his motorcycle.
As they drove off Fluttershy walked up to Flash. "Um... I did find it a little awkward when leaving your house, but your mom is a nice lady."
Flash bit his lip when he realized that he had forgotten to bring Fluttershy back. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" He looked down. "What did she say?"
"Well.. She is happy for both of us, even tho.. She told me that she thought you were into the other Pink haired girl," Fluttershy told him.
Flash just was hoping that this wasn't going to make it awkward for him and Pinkie Pie, especially him and Light Heart.
As he was thinking about it he was suddenly approached by Pinkie. "Hey, I have something to say to you."
Fearing the worst, Flash slowly turned to face Pinkie Pie.
He was surprised when he didn't see an angry face, but a beaming one. Pinkie wrapped him in a tight hug as she spoke. "Thank you so much for saving Fluttershy back there!"
"Umm... you.." He patted her back. "You're welcome." He was happy that she didn't have any issues with his mom finding her friend, and what he hopes and thinks is going to be his new friend's girlfriend.
Pinkie giggled as she let him go. "Well, it's going to be strange to explain what happened with Fluttershy to your mom, but I'm willing to bet that we'll all laugh about it later. At least you didn't leave her someplace smelly."
Flash tried to recall if it was yesterday or tomorrow that he was going to wash his bed-sheets. "Well.. My mom now thinks at best that I was showing off my bed-room to her, and at worst..." Flash had to pause to think about what he should say. "and at worst that I would have stolen my new friend's.. Female-calming-down-friend/buddy!?" He didn't know what to call Flutter and Light relationship right now.
"Hu, I just called them huggy buddies, kinda like us." Pinkie thought about it for a minute. "Well, just tell your mom that she is my friend and that she was just in the neighborhood and decided to visit. She... might buy that. I know Light will understand what happened. I think he would have had a problem if you had just left her on a random street."
Flash found it strange that she was so fun but so smart at the same time. "I guess you have a point."
Pinkie gave him another hug. "Of course. So, do you need a ride to Applejack's house?"
Flash did like the idea of riding with her, but he knew that he needed to get comfortable with his new powers. "I'd love to, but I think I should try getting this teleportation under control."
Pinkie didn't look offended at all. "Okie Dokie! I'll see you there."
Flash got his bag of things, made sure that everyone was out of sight, and started teleporting, or at the least practicing to teleport around and trying to some sort of parkour. "It would be easier if I had a drone to show be an aerial assistant from up top."
After a while, he started to managed to teleport in the air but has to teleport back down before he started to fall.
Book and Wilde soon found themselves back at the school. Both were ticked and ready for anything.
As they parked Book's bike Fuze came out from behind the bushes. "Did Shimmer ask about where I was? Does she know that I saw her?"
Book shook his head. "I don't think so, but I'm not sure. Did Lightning Dust come back here?"
Fuze nodded. "Yeah. I also went through her stuff for that dirt you wanted. I also got bored and started coming up with some new suit designs for the team. It's mainly the mechanical features, and it's a rough sketch."
Book nodded. "We'll talk about that later. Right now we need to talk with the mole. Ready Wilde."
Wilde gave a cruel grin as a spark of lightning came off of his hand. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Book looked at the electric hand for a moment. "So, you're an infused magic user too? How did that happen?"
"Someone challenged me to fly a kite in a storm, and I was electrocuted, when I woke up, I had Palpatine powers."
"I guess Thomas Edison didn't teach you about that lesson." Book quipped as he was looking for the entrance to the base.
"You mean franklin?" Wilde laughed, "You think Edison did the kite experiment?"
"Nope, I just wanted to make sure that you weren't all brawn." Book went on to explain. "I've been on a few teams in school where I've had to carry the whole team. It's... annoying to say the least."
"Wow, you sound a little like Dash," Wilde raised an eyebrow, "That sounds like her, play alone, thinking she's better."
Book chuckled a bit. "She's really something, isn't she?"
"Well, we got Fuze," Wilde quickly changed the subject, doesn't want to talk about Rainbow Dash, "Let's go before Shimmer would find anything."
"We still need to talk to Lightning. If Shimmer finds out that we know about her then Dust will be worthless to us." Book explained.
"And Yearling?" Wilde asked Book, "Do we still count on her, as long as we know, she could be Prince's mother."
Book paused when he said that. There was a small possibility that he was right and that they were gathered just to make them all targets. Book didn't have a good reason for trusting Yearling. "You're right. I... I don't know if we can trust her. We have evidence for Dust betraying us, but we don't know if Yearling just priming us for the fall."
"So let's do what she asked us, take the key and the armor," Wilde smiled, "Then we will have something to bargain with Yearling, information for what she wants. Fuze could make a copy so we won't give the keys of heaven to the devil's servants."
Fuze nodded. "I think I need to put some more focus on these copies and our gear. Just take me home. I'll try working on our gear for tomorrow."
Book nodded. "I understand. Hopefully, once we learn more about Prince we'll understand our enemy better."
When Flash got to A.J.'s place, he could see that Light was very close with Fluttershy and standing close to Fluttershy. He was hoping that they didn't have a problem that she had been in his bed. If Light knew about it, he wasn't showing it.
Light gave a weak smile. It was clear that he was still upset over everything that happened that day. Fluttershy was staying next to him, hoping that she was keeping her calm. Ever since she learned about him trying to commit suicide she had been worried about him.
As Fluttershy was trying to think of something to make Light happier, one of A.J.'s cows mooed. "Well, now I can just go and do that. We just met!" Fluttershy told the cow.
"So how will we find Moon?" Sunset asked the group, "There must be a way." Applejack took the bear that Moon made her and tears came out of her eyes.
At that point, Book and Wilde drove back. "We're still working on that. Fuze has elected to pass up the sleepover so he can work on some ideas for it, but I'll see to it that we'll get him back. I'm just glad to see that you're okay Sunset." Book said, fitting into the role of her being his friend."
"Yeah, it was rough there," Shimmer smiled tried to hide the instinct to kill Book, "So what will we do, talk to A. K about the fact that the best gun has been taken?"
"Just because he was big and tough, doesn't mean that he's the best gun. The best people rely on skill and brains. We'll focus on performing to the best of our abilities, and Prince won't stand a chance." Book said with a grin.
"You right Book, I'm sorry," Shimmer told Book, "But we need to tell her, she will find a replacement or something."
Book shrugged as he walked past her. "One of those agents were on the scene, so I bet that she'll find out anyway. We have the watches Fuze gave us, right?"
Everyone nodded, and they took out their special watches with their symbol Fuze worked on. On Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, Twilight, and Sunset were their symbols of apples, butterflies, diamonds, balloons, stars, and sun. On Wilde's was blue lightning bolts making an x. Book had a knight's helmet on it, and Light and Flash were still waiting to get their watches.
"Well, most of us do," Flash said.
"Sunset are you with us?" Twilight asked Shimmer who didn't have her watch.
"I forgot mine at home," Shimmer tried to get off the hook.
Book suddenly realized that he had a good advantage. As long as the others didn't know about the communicators he might have a way to track her. "Well... after school tomorrow we'll talk to her about it. Alright, this is our first sleepover as a team, so let's try to have some fun."
Wilde went to the fridge of Applejack and he threw bottles to everyone, "Revenge of Tirek, first round, who is bold enough," His eyes turned to Shimmer, "What about you, Sunset?"
"No thanks," Shimmer answered, "My hands are still hurt." Wilde shrugged, and he walked to the console to fight Rainbow Dash. Twilight walked to Shimmer, still thinking she could help her.
"You know," Twilight told Shimmer, "It reminds me a lot of the camp Everfree."
"Yeah," Shimmer answered, trying to keep herself calm, "It was rough there."
Book raised an eyebrow. "My family is new to town, why don't you girls tell me about it?"
"I think I let Sunset tell you," Twilight winked to Book.
"No it's fine," Shimmer told Twilight, "Tell him."
Twilight shrugged, "Fine, So there was a lady named Gloriosa that she was in charge of the camp, and she tried to stop a businessman from taking over the camp, but she has gone mad by the equestrian magic and we stopped her."
Book was actually impressed. "Wow, you've been taking on magic longer then I've been handling normal crime. So, what was it like when the cops showed up?
"They didn't show up," Twilight told Book, "After that we and gloriosa had a party, trying to raise money to save the camp
"So, you just... trusted her..." Book said in a bit of disbelief
"She wasn't evil," Twilight answered and Shimmer tried to keep herself calm, despite not believing in her words, "No one is truly evil."
"She was just a little misunderstood and desperate. Hey Twi, tell him about the time we got stuck in a mirror." Pinkie said.
Book and Shimmer were now both interested in their stories.
"Maybe another time," Twilight smiled to Pinke, "Let's just enjoy the party."
"Yeah, let's just say that we have a habit of making friends with people who have tried controlling the city, including Sunset." Pinkie said, lounging next to Sunset.
Shimmer smiled as everyone looked at her, "It was a different me back then."
Flash turned to Pinkie. "So.. Do they still have their magic?" Flash asked them.
"Usually, not," Rarity answered, "But with Moon it was different. When he became that thing at first, he was dangerous." Applejack sighed in sorrow, and she nodded.
"He almost killed us when we met him," Applejack looked at the doll of the wolf, "Ah thought he was nothing but a monster, but when he turned back, he was something else, he was afraid."
"Well it a good thing you were there AppleBelle." Rarity said. "You managed to tame the beast." She giggled. "Tale as old as time, True as it can be, Barely even friends ..."
"We will find him Applejack," Shimmer told Applejack, "I'm sure that he is safe."
Book bit his lip a bit. "I don't know. People like Prince get what they want, using whatever gruesome tricks are at their disposal."
"He is not like that," Shimmer told Book, and she almost went out of character, "I think."
Book shook his head. "The leader of the changeling gang was poisoned today. The only reason why the Moon is still alive because he's an asset. The secant he loses his worth is the second he dies. We got sold out by somebody, and I'm willing to bet it's our new boss." Book said, trying to see if the theory is right.
"I thought no one is evil," Shimmer turned to Twilight, "Trust me, I don't think he's doing it because he is evil."
Book scoffed a bit. "You all have beaten people who could be reached with friendship, but I fought people who just want one thing, Power. This Prince wants a throne to sit on that crumbled decades ago."
"Maybe," Shimmer agreed, "But we cannot be the ones who decide who lives and who dies."
"Unlike him, I have one rule that I always keep. I never kill. I detain and even render unconscious, but never kill." Book explained. "Well, let's change the topic..."
Flash went to were Light and Fluttershy were sitting, and sat other Light's other side.
Fluttershy looked worried at Light. "Are you okay Light?"
Light took a deep breath as he spoke. "I have magic that I can't control, and I'm... losing my family. How am I supposed to deal with this?"
"By keeping the ones you care the closest to you." Flash told Light. "And also keeping the one that cares the most about you also close to you."
Light looked at the two people sitting next to him. Light had shown everybody how mentally crippled he can be, and yet they still cared. "Why do you two care about what happens to me?"
Fluttershy carefully placed a hand on his arm. "Maybe it's because you're somebody worth loving."
Light soon realized that he was surrounded by two people who care about him more than he deserved. Flash was trying to be a good friend and Fluttershy... was starting to become something more. Light felt safe whenever these two people were next to him, as his anxiety and pain all melted away.
"YAY! We're all becoming friendzies!" Pinkie yelled as she jumped onto Flash's lap. "So, are we all going to be working together on FastFox's and ShyStone's birthdays? I can handle the party and cake and let Light handle the presents. Also, are Light and Fluttershy a thing now?"
Light and Fluttershy both blushed when Pinkie brought that up. "Oh... Well, we're still trying to know each other as friends..."
"Well start asking questions silly." Pinkie urged with a big smile. "You'll never get anywhere if you don't start talking. I can tell you right now that Flash's favorite color is (Orange), his favorite treat is(Lindt Excellence Dark Strawberry Chocolate), and he always (add Garlic and Cinnamon unto his toast at the same time)."
Flash blushed a bit. "Well the color wasn't hard to find out, the chocolate was the only one that I try to snick in, and I can't believe that you managed to figure that out."
Light and Fluttershy giggled a bit. "Well, we do have all night. I guess we could ask each other a few questions." Light suggested.
Fluttershy blushed a bit. "I'd... like that."
"Hey Book!!" Wilde called for Book as he threw the controller in rage towards him, "Your turn against the cheater here." Wilde's eyes turned to Rainbow Dash.
"What type of game is it? If it's not a first-person shooter then this is going to be a repeat of yesterday." Book said, not entirely trusting Wilde.
"Tirek's revenge," Rainbow Dash told Book, "It's a fighting game, like Mortal Kombat or Streetfighter. One of Sunset's favorite's"
Book cringed at that. "Fuze was always better at games in general. Sunset, can you give me any pointers before I commit myself to be unfairly crushed again?"
As Shimmer was trying to think of a way to get out of this mess Book's watch lit up. Book quickly covered it. "Sorry, it's one of the watches Fuze gave me. It doubles as a phone. Just give me a minute. It's either him or the boss lady."
"Alright," Shimmer shrugged as she drank one of the ciders, "Just come back quickly."
Book quickly walked outside where nobody could hear him. "This had better be good." Book quickly turned on his communicator to reveal Fuze.
"Book," Fuze called his brother as Book saw him working on Applejack's gloves, "Filthy Rich's house is being robbed by, and hear this, three girls and a boy with a sword. The girls are known as the Sirens gang, watch this." Fuze pushed a button on his computer and the watch showed a video from the bank three months ago, where the Sirens sang a song and the people just gave them their money, and then they started to attack each other.
Book looked curious at this new form of magic. "So when they sing, they hypnotize people. Do we have anything to counteract that?"
"If only there was a genius who could improvise with everything," Fuze sighed in irony and he smirked to Book.
"I'm just keeping in mind that you are rotten with chemistry and cooking. What do you have for us?" Book asked.
"Check your bag, there are headphones Amun to songs. When anyone is singing, it blocks the sound waves. Just in case the girls would sing some lullaby to you."
"How many do you have, and how will I communicate with the others?" Book asked as he pulled out his bag.
"Do you really trust 'Sunset'?" Fuze raised an eyebrow, "I think she is the one who told the prince about the place."
"Impossible, none of us talked to her about Yearling's plan... meaning that info came from Lightning Dust." Book said.
"But you told me she went to Sunset's home, maybe she put it in her diary," Fuze shrugged. "Either way go alone for now."
"Good point. By the way, can you track our watches?" Book asked.
"So maybe I would find Moon and Sunset," Fuze smiled, "It wouldn't take much time, I would let you know after you beat Prince in his flanks."
Book nodded. "Good, cause I'm not waiting for Yearling to tell me where he hangs his coat if she isn't double-crossing us. I still need something big to handle Prince. My last two fights with him didn't end well. Anything I can pick up on the way to work?"
"I am working on something," Fuze told Book, "In the meantime, just take Wilde and Flash if you're worried about losing."
Book nodded. "Alright, our house is between here and Filthy's mansion. I'll stop there for any toys, but it'll have to be quick. Book out."
Book quickly turned his watch off and walked back inside. "Wilde, Flash, Fuze needs you two. He's trying to adjust for your powers and needs to experiment with them for your new tech."
"Sure," Wilde shrugged as he and Flash walked outside of the house. "Let's go."
Flash looked a little upset that he had to be pulled away from Pinkie, but he knew that he'd need this tech is he was going to stand a chance in a fight.
As the three of them got outside and into Wilde's car, Book got serious. "Fuze will have some basic tech for you two along with masks. He hasn't worked with Rarity yet on design, but it'll suffice."
"Now you're talking," Wilde smiled, "But I don't work with a mask, don't like to cover this," Wilde pointed to his face.
"The mask isn't for you. It's for the people you care about. Either way, it's the way we have for now." Book explained.
"Maybe a hood or something, like star wars guy who shoots lightning."
"Wait, why are we getting the gear now?" Flash asked in concern.
"Filthy Rich's house is being robbed by the Siren gang and Prince. We need to stop them before he gets his hands on the next artifact." Book explained.
"Let's blast the bastards," Wilde smiled, as he was excited to use his powers again. "I needed a good fight,
"Let me make a few things clear. I'm in charge right now, but that won't mean much because we'll all be wearing headsets that should block out the Siren's song. We do not kill, only detain and beat the tar out of. Nobody else can know about this, not Shimmer, not Yearling. Understood?" Book asked.
"Fine," Wilde rolled his eyes, and he started to drive to Book's house, "But still, you think Prince already knows our identities?"
"Most likely, and I don't know who all he's shared that information with. My current goal is to not have my face caught on a security camera. I don't want to be on the news. My dad will kill me if he finds out about this." Book said.
"So, maybe Flash and I would have nicknames as well?"
Flash nodded. "That'd be cool."
Book sighed as he started thinking. "You two wouldn't happen to have a couple of original names under your belt, would you?"
"I thought about Dark Bolt or Electro-fist," Wilde told Book as he heard how cool the names were in his head.
"Well, I can teleport when I blink my eyes.." Flash thought about it. "So...Blinking-Pop!"
"Alright, we'll go with Dark Bolt and Blinking-Pop, but only expect me to call you by the latter part of your name. It's quicker." Book explained.
The two nodded as they arrived at Book's place, "Alright, where is your bat cave?" Wilde asked Book, "If you're a good Batman knockoff will have a bat cave."
"I do try to be original, but I was low on options when I moved here. Follow me to my cave." Book said, rolling his eyes a bit.
"Really," Wilde grinned, "I was half-serious about the cave... Do you really cleaned up a cave and built a bunch of devices, or did you paid for some miners that they wouldn't tell?"
Book looked at Wilde like he was judging him. "I cleaned it myself, and it's nowhere near as big as Batman's. Fuze made all of my techs, and I just told my parents that it's a cool place for me and my brothers to hang out. Currently, we're the only ones who have access to it."
"Let's go, Mr. Wayne," Wilde laughed as they followed Book to his cave. Book led the two into the woods outside his house, where a cave was open there, and inside the cave was an elevator.
The others looked shocked to see an elevator in here, but Book didn't seem phased. "This was an old mining shaft, so we took this old elevator and fixed it up."
The three went through the elevator and went down to a cave deep underground where Fuze was waiting for them with a bunch of new gadgets
Book was glad to see Fuze already prepared to their arrival, "What do you have for us?"
Fuze had a few boxes with him. "You're gonna love it, bro," Fuze opened box one that revealed new spiked black suit with a mask, "This suit's fabric can absorb energy, and release it,"
Flash suddenly realized something. "Where're Mine and Wilde's suits?"
"I haven't gotten to that. I've got a few individual pieces, but no whole suits for you yet." Fuze explained.
"Do you have any cloaks and hoods?" Wilde asked Fuze.
Fuze thought about it a bit. "There's the prototype suit that I made Book, but I guess I can work the gear into that."
Wilde turned to see the suit Fuze was talking about, a simple black suit with a hood and cape. Wilde took the suit and he tore the sleeves, and he wore the black suit covering his face in the hood and he put a pair of fingerless gloves he had in his blue jeans. Covering his
Fuze then got some whips that looked like they had strains of some form of metal in them and handed them to Wilde. "These I made to go with your electric powers. You can course your energy into them for a shocking good time."
"So I could be like electro Rocky?" Wilde asked as he tried the strains on his hands, and they glowed blue as his eyes did the same
"Sure, just try not to kill me with those. Flash, I've got you an auto-piloted drone to help you out with teleporting. I made it to where it'll tend the transmission to a pair of (the color) shades I made so you'll be able to see the whole battlefield at once." Fuze explained as the small drone flew next to Flash.
Flash looked that the drone. "What if I want the drone to follow someone or go somewhere else?"
"What you gonna call him?" Wilde asked as he punched a training dummy with his electric punches, almost setting the dummy on fire. "T2, small eye?" The dummy burned from all the electric as Wilde ignored the flames.
Book quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher and put the fire out. "How about 'don't burn my base down'?"
"Maybe next time," Wilde winked to Book as he removed the stains from his hands. "Hey Fuze, do you think I can fly with my electric powers like if I will hit the ground I would float?"
"If you can do that, then I can teleport a whole building." Truth said jokingly.
Fuze had to think about it. "I don't know. You'd have to hit the ground with enough energy to force your own body into the air, so I think if you could it'd still need a lot of power to do it."
"We need to go," Book told Fuze as he put the new suit, "I'll talk to you later." Fuze nodded
Book motioned for the others to follow him to a thin tunnel with a jet black motorcycle waiting for him. "This is what I call the Knight Rider. Fuze and I made this from scratch to avoid it getting identified by cops if I lose it."
"Really," Wilde raised an eyebrow, "The knight rider, you called this as a joke, or you called your name just so you could use it as a joke."
"Batman gets the batmobile, I get the Knight Rider. Now, I know that Flash can teleport there, so Wilde, you'll be riding with me." Book said.
Flash nodded as he got his gear in his bag. "How hay can the Drone go?" Flash asked. "I have to see it in my mind to teleport there." He explained. "So I ever have to see it, or know the place by heart."
"No way," Wilde told Book, "I have a car. I will meet you there."
"Your car has a license plate and serial numbers on it. This can take back roads and make up for the lost time." Book explained.
"There is no way I will be behind you on a bike," Wilde told Book, "No way, not anytime soon, not in a thousand years, No!"
Book pulled on his headset and turned on the communicator. "Fine, but if you fall behind, you're on your own." Book then hopped onto his bike and revved the engine, darting out of the tunnel.
"See you there." Wilde smiled as he walked back to his car, leaving Flash alone.
Flash cringed a bit. "Now what?"
Suddenly the shades that Fuze gave him came to life, showing two screens, one with a map of the town, and the other one with Fuze's face on it. "Hey, I figured since I didn't have a suit that I'd playback seat on this. Now, let's test these new toys."
Flash noted before putting on some black cloths, then the safety shirt and pants, then he replaced his normal (color) sunglasses with the (color) shades on, Fuze face disappeared and was replaced with a normal enhance Vigen of what was in front of him. He walked out of the cave, with the drone, set it to fly up, the map was replied with the VU from the drone. When it was at its highest, Blinking-Pop teleported the farthest the drone could see. The drone automatically followed Blinking-Pop showing him what was up ahead.
"So explain to me why do you want to enter my house?" Filthy Rich asked Wilde as he rubbed his eyes.
"I told you, sir, three teenagers are trying to get the key to something, so they could the world," Wilde explained, "Now, may I go in?"
"No!!!" Filthy shouted at Wilde, "Now leave now before I call the cops." Filthy Rich closed the door, leaving Wilde alone in the yard of the big white house.
"Well, you're doing a good job," Book said as he pulled up next to him.
"Hey, at least I didn't stick behind," Wilde smiled as he tried to look for any way to break in.
"You try filling the gas tank without letting your identity slip," Book muttered.
"Fill it back in the Batcave?" Wilde suggested.
"Does it look like I have a gas station in there?" Book asked.
"You have enough money to build an entire base to fight crime, but you don't have money to build a gas station."
"Keep in mind that I had to lie to get most of that stuff. The mechanical tech Mom let me buy for Fuze to keep him occupied, but I had to lie about what he built and sometimes say that it broke. Becoming Batman isn't as easy as it looks. Not even I can afford some of the stuff that gut has, namely the heavily armored car." Book explained.
"Anyway, Shadow Knight, do you have any idea how do we get in?" Wilde asked as a beam of light appeared in front of them, and Flash came out.
"Sorry, I'm late. I'm still trying to get used to using the live cameras and teleporting at the same time. What's going on?" Flash asked.
Book pointed to a window. "Odds are that Rich is being hypnotized. I'll take the roof with Wilde, you teleport into the building and give us a lay of the situation."
"Please, call me Electro fist!" Wilde smiled as his eyes glowed in blue
"Right, Fist, come with me. You'd better have the upper body strength to climb a rope." Book muttered as he started sneaking to the side of the building.
"I am flattered Knight, but I have a girlfriend," Fist told Shadow Knight as he followed him and prepared himself to climb the building
"Well, I've got a grappling hook. Took twenty models before we got the thing to work." Book said as he pulled a gun-like device from his belt and fired it at the roof.
"Race you to the top," Wilde told Book as he started to climb the windows, leaning with his back on the corner of the walls, and catching the pipe that would lead him to the roof.
Book grinned under his mask as he flipped a switch on it and it started pulling him up. "Smarter, not harder."
The two arrived at the roof, Blinking-Pop greeting him before teleporting back down, as Wilde stretched his limbs, "Do you have any other ideas on how to get in?"
Book motioned to the sunroof. As the two walked up to it Book motioned for them to hold there. "Pop... you need another name. What's your status?"
"I'm inside the kitchen," Flash told Book as he heard the sound of two girls and he ran to hide.
"Sonata, we should not take some tacos from them." A purple girl with two ponytails told her blue friend.
"Why? We are robbing them, so I should rob their food as well," The blue girl told her friend as she opened the fridge, "Come on tacos where are you?"
Book silently pulled out a throwing star and unlocked one of the panels. "Rich people, cheap security system."
"No, he is just cheap," Wilde told Book, "Never pays a tip even when I arrived at his house within five minutes!. Do you mind if I would destroy one of his statues?"
Book glared at him. "Focus on the mission. Find the key before Price. If you find one of the sirens, take them down quickly and silently. Try not to get caught. This is a stealth mission."
"Fine, I would take blue and hungry, you take the purple girl. We take the orange together!" Book nodded, and he tied a rope to a pipe in the roof, and he slid down to the treasure room
Book kept silent as he snuck through the place. "Pop, if you find Prince, try to get some footage. The drone should be silent, so keep it up high."
"Got it," Flash told Book as he used a remote that was on his wrist, "Come, one little guy, let's see what you can do." The drone floated above the two girls' heads and he flew from the kitchen around the house to find anything, when he arrived at the bedroom of the rich couple he found Prince and Adagio next to tied people.
"Mr. Rich, I am a businessman like you," Prince told Rich as he took his sword aiming for his child's head, "I am offering you to think good before you open your mouth, where is the key to the chest?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about!" Filthy Rich cried for Prince's mercy, "Leave my daughter and my wife alone and I would give you whatever you want." Filthy Rich agreed and Adagio untied his hands.
"You better not lie," Adagio whispered to Rich's ear, "My boyfriend here does not like when his time has been wasted."
"Guys, we've got a hostage situation. Pinging their location to you." Flash whispered softly.
"Understood. Keep an eye on Prince and try to figure out where they are going. I'll handle his family, you guys focus on the prize." Book whispered back, pulling out a moist cloth rag and waiting to find one of the Sirens.
"Like I said," Wilde turned to Book, "I take the blue, you the purple," Wilde jumped out of the rope, and he landed on the floor, making an echo in the giant room.
Book glared at him as he traded the rag for a rope and throwing star. "Could you jump down here again? I don't think they heard you in Canada."
"Hey, I wanted them to hear us, so we wouldn't have to split up, and get beaten by them," Wilde told Book, trying to make his words sound like a plan.
"You're going to get Prince in here you fool. I said stealth and you thought about nothing." Book scolded.
"Again, all part of the plan," Wilde told Book.
"Fine, new plan. Wait here and let them find you." Book said as he ducked into the shadows.
"Who is it?!?" A female voice asked in the dark, "What are you doing here?" Wilde kept his calm face and his eyes glowed in blue.
"I am Electro Fist!" Wilde talked in a deep voice, and he sent a lightning bolt towards the source of the voice, hitting the source of the voice. "Tell me now where is Dark Prince?!?"
"Who?" The woman asked before she was blasted into the wall, and fell unconscious
"That's not good." Wilde checked the woman's pulse and he sighed in relief, "She is still alive!"
"But you won't!" Two girls stood behind Wilde, "Sonata, what do you say? Should we give this new hero a taste of our song?" The two girls started to sing as Wilde's eye turned from blue to green and he started to get dizzy.
"Hu, I'm more of a country guy myself," Shadow said as he grabbed the girls' heads and rammed them into each other.
"See," Wilde told Book as he got up on his legs, "All part of the plan."
"And you ask why I work alone," Book muttered as he started to gag and tie up the girls.
"It would explain a lot," A familiar voice told Book, "Mr. Knight, it is a surprise to see you here. And you brought a friend."
"It's impossible to find a babysitter nowadays. I guess we just can't spend a day alone." Book said calmly.
"My love," Prince turned to Adagio putting his hands on her chin, "Would you give me the honor and kill the parasite?" Adagio nodded and smiled.
"And I thought you would never ask." Adagio took a spear from an old armor in the treasure room and she ran towards Book.
"Fist, hold off Prince, pop, free the hostages and get the key, I've got this girl," Book said as he countered her stab.
Pop teleported behind the hostages, frightening them at first, but they started to relax when he started to undo their knots.
But he then soon came to regret this when they started to attack him. He got a chance to see that their eyes were now green spiral.
While the others ran off, Book was facing Adagio with nothing but his armor. "So, new boyfriend. I hear he's got some previous users. Are you sure that you want a used model?"
Adagio chuckled a bit. "That dumb redhead is just his little pet. You've already beaten her several times, you should know how weak she is by now."
"Well, I haven't had a lot of lover girls to fight to compare her to. Give me an example of what a real one should fight like," Book said, taunting her to come and fight him.
She started twirling the spear around, making it impossible for Book to just grab it from her. He had to stay on the defensive as he used his gauntlets to deflect the attacks. She was extremely aggressive, not holding back or letting up in any way.
As she lunged forward she managed to cut the spot where Book's body armor met his belt, giving him a long slash in his stomach.
She gave a little grin and she paused to gloat. "Tai Quan Do and the belt is black."
Book could feel that she didn't cut too deep, so he merely rolled his neck a bit. "Yeah, I feel bad for you too."
As she spun the spear again Book used his gauntlet to block the strike as he quickly closed the distance to her. She looked terrified as Book wrapped his arm around hers and raised his other fist to punch her face. She recoiled back in tears as she held her head. "AHHH! YOU BROKE MY NOSE!!!"
"I'll fix that for you," Book said as she grabbed her by the nose and forcefully yanked it back into place. Book tilted his head as she was stunned by what happened. "Actually, I think I like it the other way." Book then landed another solid hit to her nose.
She angrily wiped away the blood from her face as she glared at Book. "You're a strong fighter, but you'd be better on our side." She then started singing a hypnotic trance, not knowing what Book was wearing.
Book could only grin under his mask as she sang in vain. "No thanks. I like being a hero."
As Adagio tried hitting him again, Book threw a throwing star into her leg. As she winced in pain, Book took the moment to yanked the spear from her and whacked her with the bottom of it, knocking her down.
Book tossed the spear aside as she started tying her up. "Just so you know, Miss Shimmer lasted longer."
Suddenly a voice came from his headset. "Um, can you help me out here? Some of the hostages are not wanting to be saved."
Book rolled his eyes a bit. "I'm on my way, and I've got to teach you how to fight."
While the others were focused on saving the hostages, Wilde ran to find Prince. Wilde ran across the hall until he found Prince inside of a room with Rich and a key inside a glass box. "I got you," Wilde whispered as he sneaked to the room, and he hid behind an old armor.
"Open it," Prince ordered Rich, and the old man nodded, and opened the case, "Now, where is the chest?"
"I have no idea," Rich told Prince, "The key was the only thing I bought in the auction."
"Then you are useless," Prince swung his sword upon the head of Rich and he was about to decapitate him as he was blasted to the end of the room by an electric shock.
"Are you alright?" Wilde asked, and Rich nodded, "Good, let's get you out of here before..."
"Before I would awake?" Prince smiled and he looked at Wilde, "I must say, you were better than Mr. Knight, you actually hit me."
"Well thank you," Wilde smiled, "Let's see if I can do it a second time." Wilde used the stains Fuze gave him and he charged them with his energy. "Drop the sword, let's do it mano o mano."
"Tempting," Prince thought about it as Wilde ran to attack, but every punch he threw at the prince, he dodged, "But no." Prince took his sword as Wilde went for a punch to the neck, but Prince caught his arm before and he broke it.
"Ahhh!" Wilde screamed as a helicopter came above and a ladder was dropped.
"Tell Mr. Knight I would see him next time!!" Prince told Wilde as he flew with the helicopter.
As Prince flew out of sight Book ran in with Flash. "Alright, the Sirens are now tied up to a chandelier, the hostages are tied up again, trust me on that, now what's..." Book suddenly realized that Wilde's arm was broken.
Flash quickly ran over to him. "Are you okay?"
"The bastard got me," Wilde told the two as he got up on his better arm, and he revealed an old key inside of it, "But I have the key."
Book grinned under his mask. "You sly dog. I'm impressed. How'd you pull it off?"
"His grace watched my hand trying to punch his throat, the other hand went to the key in his belt, watch both hands next time, a royal prick." Wilde smiled and the pain stopped his happiness.
"Alright, we need to get out of here before Prince realizes that we have his toy. Fuze, I'll come up with a name for you later. Call the cops and send them here. If Yearling asks, we lost the key." Book said.
Flash nodded. "Hey Fuze, did this drone record the whole thing?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?" Faze asked curiously.
"My drone recorded Adagio getting sweet-talked by Prince. I know it sounds mean..." Flash started to say.
Book kept his grin. "We could use that against Shimmer. This could do a number on her loyalty."
"What I told you," Wilde turned to Book, "We will not redeem her, if she doesn't turn, we turn her to the cops."
Book rolled his eyes. "And here is what I'm saying. We turn her our side or get her to give up. We save Sunset and Moon, we stop Prince. You're still thinking too small. You see the battle and how to turn it to your favor. I see the war, and you can't go to a hospital for that arm."
"Fine, but someone has something to ease the pain?" Wilde asked.
"Is it dislocated or broken?" Book asked.
"How should I know!!!" Wilde stopped talking as Book returned the arm to its place, "I guess it dislocated."
Book nodded. "Saves us a lot of grief, now imagine the pain of relocating it on your own. Alright. We hide the key in my cave, then head back to the slumber party. Only the three of us know about the key, let's keep it that way for now."
"Cool, cool." Wilde nodded as he tried to stop the tears of pain.
"Glad that you're listening. Flash, drive his car for him and let's get out of here." Book said as he patted Wilde's bad shoulder.
"Go to Tartarus!!" Wilde shouted at Book.
"Take this as a lesson. You might have died on that gambit." Book said as some blood dripped from his armor. "Take the lessons of your wounds and learn from them. Experience gives you the test first, then the lesson."
Wilde rolled his eyes as he followed Book and Flashback to his car. "Let's go to sleep a little."
"You forget, this is a sleepover. I frankly need to learn more about you all, and I need to show them the recording of Prince's dating video."
"First you need to think about how to tell his ex the bad news, and make her good like her twin." Wilde looked at Book, "I don't think she will turn."
"I'm not showing it to just her. I'll have Fuze take clips of the fight and have told them stat this is to learn from the mistakes and how to handle themselves in them. The loverboy scene would just pop in." Book said as he hopped onto his bike.
"Guys," Flash looked at the two as the drone came with new pictures, showing the sirens escaping.
"... And to show them how the Sirens fight," Book said as he tried to cover up his embarrassment. |
The Canterlot Guild | Turn of heart | At the slumber party, Rainbow and Applejack continued the fight as Fluttershy and Rarity talk about to a double date with both Light and Wilde, as the two returned with Book and a pizza plate. "Miss me?" Wilde asked Rarity as he walked to hug her, but Rarity stopped him.
"We're just started to date," Rarity smirked before hugging him.
Dash ran over to Book, but he held out his hand to stop her. "Sorry, but I have a cut on my chest that needs healing. Sorry it took so long, but Fuze told us when we got to my house that Prince was robbing the Rich family. We were close, so we tried to stop him and his new gang."
Dash's eyes widened. "Why didn't you call for us?"
"We didn't have your gear ready and we had to move fast. Sadly, in spite of saving the Rich family, we lost the key. Now we only have the truck to protect." Book explained.
"But we have some royal gossip," Wilde smirked and he turned to Book, "It's a good one."
Book held up a case with a disk in it. "We have footage of the fight. He's working closely with a gang known as the Sirens, so this is a chance to learn how our enemy fights. We only have what Flash recorded, so it's mainly the girls fighting, but I still think we can learn about how Prince works."
"It seems that the prince has a new girlfriend." Shimmer's eyes grew wide as she heard this.
"What did you say?" Shimmer asked Wilde.
"Book should we tell her?" Wilde grinned, "It could break someone's heart here."
Book chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Wilde, gripping his bad shoulder. "Don't forget the long game!" Book whispered harshly to him.
"Stop touching the bad arm!" Wilde whispered to Book as he kept on smiling.
"When I first fought Prince there was another girl with him, who seemed to be pretty close to him. Now he has a new girl by his side. Watch closely, and tell me how he manipulates people." Book said as he walked over to the TV and put the disk in.
"It seems that the girl's under his spell," Applejack chuckled, "So ya' think that we could do the same thing?"
Book was pointing out how he was treating her. "This isn't a laughing matter. This man is a powerful manipulator. With his high power level and a goal to be a prince, we can gain allies easily."
"Like who?" Shimmer asked keeping looking at Prince and Adagio, and she was filled with rage.
"With male leaders, it's a matter of dominance, but for some, not all, ladies, it takes a soft tongue, sweet words, empty promises, and knowing how to play them. Research shows that most men respond to visual seduction while women respond to audible seduction. If he tries to talk you to his side, keep your morals strong and block out your desires." Book explained.
"I don't think anyone of us would join him, Darling," Rarity pointed out, "We are with you."
"That's the drive and loyalty that you all need to keep. Glad to know I can trust all of you." Book said with a smile. "Now, do any of you know how the Siren's powers work? They are inexperienced fighters, but still masters of their magic."
"They have magic songs that can turn you into a rage monster," Rainbow Dash explained, "We beat them with the help of a magical princess that looks just like Twilight."
Book's jaw dropped. "Are you saying that there's more than... I mean, Twilight has a double?"
"Yeah, I met her in her world," Twilight smiled, "She is a nice girl, well pony."
Light dropped his drink in shock. "World?!? Pony?!?"
"Trust me," Wilde gave Light another drink, "Don't think about it, as all we know, everyone of us has a pony-double. We won't meet them, so why should we care?"
Book looked at Shimmer for a second. "Tell me about this other world. Does this have something to do with all of the magic here?"
"Yes," Twilight nodded, "That's the source of the magic. Sunset is actually from that place, so she knows more than me."
"Well... I'll be sure to ask her some questions about it... keep watching the film. Observe how they fight and tell me what you would have done in that situation. Fuze is incorporating tech to combat this, but try to think about how you'd fight without the tech."
"I would run around them and tied them up," Rainbow looked at her fingers in pride.
"But how would you handle Prince? He has super strength and dexterity. Moon was our best shot at beating him, so now we need a few new plans. Which of us could take him in a fight and win?"
"He was a big wolf, I could beat him!" Dash told Book, but she turned to Applejack, "Sorry."
"Wilde fired a large electric blast at him to no effect. My current gear isn't going to work against him. Light's glowing fist is currently uncontrollable and unstable. We still don't know what it does, so how can we beat Prince?"
"So maybe we could find Moon and send the beast on his flank?" Pinkie asked, "I mean we have his..." She was stopped by Wilde.
"Have some candies," Wilde took a pack of toffees and gave them to Pinke.
Book quickly tried to change the subject. "Do any of you know where the Sirens hang out at? Tomorrow night I could hunt them down and get some answers."
"I would come with you!" Shimmer turned to Book, "You know for help."
"Sorry Sunset, but there's another mission that has your name on it. I'll be going solo tomorrow. He won't expect me to be gone from the group, and I can deal with them my own way." Book said. He had no plans on finding them and had to deal with Yearling's mission on sneaking into the castle. He had to keep it a solo mission.
"I know where they are, and I will tell you if you let me in." Shimmer smirked.
Book stared her right in the eyes. "You'd have to play by my rules. I'm in charge. We do things my way. We don't kill, and I ask the questions, understood?"
"Fine," Shimmer smiled, "I will do it by your rules," Shimmer took Book by the arm and she whispered to him. "I know you are on to me."
"And then you must know that I'm five steps ahead of you. You're our wild card. Something bad happens, then you're going down faster than Dash can run." Book said calmly.
Shimmer nodded, "But you leave Adagio me."
"If you kill her, you're going to be locked up in no time. Applejack, Dash, you're coming with us. I don't play into somebody's hands that easily." Book said coldly.
"You can count on us," Dash grinned as Book turned to the rest.
"Playtime is over. We will talk strategy later. We all sleep in the same room with two-hour watches. Wilde and I will take the first, Applejack and Dahs will take the last, and work out the other ones on your own." Book ordered.
"Relax man," Wilde smiled, "We are not at the army. We can have some fun."
"No..." Light said as he got up, arm glowing. "She knows our game, and I'm done playing!" Light then grabbed Shimmer with his other arm and pinned her against the wall, ready to punch her with his glowing hand. "Where is Moon?!?"
Flash jumped up when his friend did that.
"What are you talking about?" Shimmer asked Light, "Are you mad?"
"Mad? This is my family you're threatening! I'm ready to send you back to Prince in a body cast! Now, where is he?"
Flash was starting to get worried, he had never thought he would ever see Light acted like this.
"I don't know!!!" Shimmer told them, "Prince is always moving, never stays in the same place!"
"Oh really? Does your lover care if I punch your teeth out?" Light asked angrily.
Flash was about to go to Light to stop him.
"I telling you the truth!" Shimmer cried, "I don't know where is your cousin, but Prince wants him for a reason, and I want prince dead!"
Light's eyes widened a bit. "What?"
Book motioned for Light to lower his fist. He looked into her eyes, looking for any tell of a lie. "You're mad at him for betraying you, aren't you? You thought he loved you."
"I will help you against him, but it doesn't mean I would save you!" Shimmer told him, "Or that I would save my other self."
Book sat down in front of her. "Shimmer, I'm not going to lie to you. I never planned on finding the Sirens. I'm playing my own game to find my people. I'd all honesty prefer it if I could lock you up right now, but the girls tell me that this is a place where magic villains find redemption. You're standing here right now because I know if Sunset will die if Price finds out that your usefulness to the group is gone."
"Shimmer please, we are not prince," Twilight put a hand on Shimmer's shoulder, "We don't manipulate you, and I'm sure Sunset would love you as a sister more than prince pretended to love you as his bride. Help us find our friends."
Flash nodded eagerly. "We're just trying to keep our family safe. Help us, please."
"Do you really forgive me?" Shimmer asked them, "Do you think she would forgive me?"
"I don't know," Book admitted. "I'm trying to get a read on you, but a part of me can't tell if I can trust you or not. I can only tell by how you act. May I ask you a question?"
Shimmer nodded.
"Who is your spy in the E.M.P.?" Book asked.
"Dust. Prince sent her to spy on his mother, keeping her out of his business"
"And who is his mother?" Light asked curiously.
"A. K. Yearling."
Dash's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "She has a son?!?"
"That is what you're amazed by?" Wilde asked, "Not that she was married to royalty, or her son is a psychopath?"
Book looked at Shimmer for a minute, his eyes seemingly burning into her soul. Finally, he stood up. "Alright. I'll let you stay on the team. I don't know why, but for now, I believe that you're on my side. Just know that you're still taking orders from me. Don't stab me in the back."
Wilde still looked skeptical. "Are you sure about this?"
"Everybody who agrees that Shimmer should have a second chance, raise your hand," Book ordered.
Twilight was the first to raise her arm, "I agree."
Pinkie was immediately after her, and so was Flash, "We agree." The two said at the same time.
Rainbow shrugged, "If you trust her, I trust her."
Fluttershy raised her hand as well, "I agree as well."
Light wasn't sure, but he trusted Fluttershy, "I trust you."
Rarity nodded and raised her hand, "I trust her."
All raised their hands except Wilde.
"The hands have it, Wilde. I know that it's gotten to the point where I've been shoving the team around, but we are still a team, and this is our choice. Understood?"
"Very well," Wilde nodded, "But you must stop these speeches, we are not politicians."
"He's always like this when he's being the Shadow Knight. He loves being dramatic in that suit." Light explained.
"That is adorable," Shimmer smirked, "You need the suit to feel like a leader."
Book turned to her, then simply grinned. "How's your hand?"
Wilde grinned as he gave a fist bump to Book, "You got burned Shimmer."
All the teens went to their sleeping bags to sleep, all but Pinke and Flash.
"So what did your mom give you to eat?" Pinkie asked Flash before she took out what Flash's mom gave him before he left.
"Um... I..." He gulped as she pulled out the container.
She opened it, and then took it out. "Oh... minutes." She took one and placed it in her mouth. "Mmmm, yummy, you want to try one?
Flash was now sweating. Pinkie leaned over to him and then she placed the breath-mint into his mouth.
She kept a finger lingering on his lips for a second while she smiled brightly. "Don't worry, this will be fun."
Flash know what was going to happen. As Pinkie leaned over to his face she giggled a bit before leaning next to his ear. "It's alright silly, I love you." She whispered as she suddenly kissed Flash.
Wilde and Book chuckled as Flash blushed, and his head turned red.
"Now it's just you and Rainbow Dash." Wilde turned to Book, "Then it will be a full set. Do you want to play cards?"
Book looked at Dash for a second. "Just so you both know, I never kiss on the first date."
"You've never been on a date in your life." Light said with a grin.
"So cards and dating tips?" Wilde asked, "It seems you need some distraction."
Book chuckled a bit. "I don't know if it's wise to be taking dating advice from a guy who broke up with somebody when I got here, but go ahead and deal those cards. You tell me what you think you know, and I'll fill in the blanks. It's my father's wisdom vs yours."
Wilde started to set the cards and they started to play as Wilde looked at Shimmer, and he didn't trust her. "Okay first thing you should be yourself with her. No matter how hard it might be you must stand for yourself, and you must give her the life she deserves."
Book nodded. "Understanding when to compromise, and respecting her morals and purity. Keep going."
"That's all I got." Wilde shrugged, "And I win." Wilde showed the cards and took Book's cards well, "About what did we bet again?"
"I don't play with cash. I'm not a gambler, but we had plenty of cookies here." Book said calmly
"Very well, next time about the cookies," Wilde grinned and before he could take one of the cookies, Pinkie took his arm and stopped him.
"No one touch the cookies." Pinkie hissed towards him.
"Never mind," Wilde turned to Book, "Let's just waste time."
Book grinned as he nodded. "While we're at it, let's make it a fair game and stop hiding cards in your sleeve."
"Why.. I never..." Wilde tried to pretend he was honest, but his smile stopped it, "Alright you got me." He shook his hands and cards of jokers and aces fell.
"I've seen you fight. I saw it coming. You're the guy who was talking about honesty." Book said as he took the cards and started shuffling them.
"Trust me, one day I would surprise you." Wilde smirked, "When you think you got me, I would surprise you."
"So it's a chess player verses a poker cheater, sounds fun," Book said as he dealt the cards.
"That's life in a nutshell," Wilde said as he got his cards. "Luck is not fair so you must make it fair."
"I believe it's about getting ahead of the storm before the tornado comes," Book said calmly. "I now wish I had something to bet against your hand."
"If I win," Wilde's eyes turned to Dash, "You will call Dash for a date, what if you win?"
Book gave a cruel grin. You go to bed... in only your underwear. I'm sure your girl will love looking at that,"
Wilde thought about it for a moment, "Agree to the terms." The two shook hands and they started the game.
While the two of them kept playing cards, Light and Fluttershy kept talking to each other. They had spent the whole time talking while the guys were gone earlier.
Fluttershy blushed a bit as she looked at Light's eyes. "So... do you think I'm... nice?"
Light looked like it was the simplest question in the world. "You're one of the nicest people I've ever met. You're tied with my mom and Flash, but you... care about me. When I'm with you I feel at peace, like my life has meaning. My only question is why do you love somebody like me?"
Fluttershy gave a small smile. "Because you're kind and considerate of others. You can be fun at times, and you aren't forceful with anybody. You... make me feel confident around you."
Light and Fluttershy stared at each other for a minute before Wolfy jumped out of his bag. "Will you two kiss already?"
Both of them blushed but slowly started to move closer to each other while turning away every few seconds in embarrassment and nervousness.
"Roll up your sleeves you lousy cheater!" Book yelled as she glared at Wilde.
"Hey, this time I didn't cheat!" Wilde defends himself, "Maybe the Shadow Knight cannot lose in honor."
"I had a full house, and somehow you got four of a kind. Let me check!" Book said as he walked over to Wilde
"I play this game since I was eight years old," Wilde said as Book checked his sleeves and found nothing, "See, won fair and square."
"Lucky little spark plug..." Book muttered to himself. "Hey Dash, when we get a chance, want to go on a date?"
"Romantic," Wilde smirked, "When you get married just throw the ring to her."
Book sighed a bit. "Well, you should have included that in your dating tips."
Light and Fluttershy both giggled at this but soon lost track of the idea of a first kiss.
"Oh for Pete's sake." Applejack muttered as she used her bare foot to shove Fluttershy into Light.
"What did Moon found in you?" Shimmer asked as she was shocked by Wilde, "What?!"
"A little something called thinking, copycat, try it."
While the others were distracted Fluttershy found herself on top of Light and an inch away from his face. Both of them blushed as she slowly closed the distance between their lips before kissing. They were both gentle at first but soon started hugging each other as they leaned into the kiss more.
Applejack sighed as she looked at the bear and tears dripped, "Ah promise ya' we will find ya'." She hugged the Bear and Dash comforted her. "Ah miss him."
As Book walked up to Dash he noticed Light and Fluttershy kissing passionately. "Um... shouldn't you two go up for air sooner or later?"
Neither of them noticed as they stayed locked in the kiss.
Wilde walked to Rarity as well, "Well, if we're in Rome," Rarity nodded and the two kissed each other as they held their hands. It felt weird, but it was right for them both, and electricity came out of Wilde's hair and it passed down to his hands, and from them to Rarity's hands.
Book was now blushing as three couples were now kissing. He looked at Dash for a second. "Um... I don't think I'm ready for that yet."
The group went to sleep as Wilde and Book stayed awake, "Do you really trust her?" Wilde asked as he looked at Shimmer asleep, "She is still an abductor and could be a killer."
"Trust me when I say that I'm treading carefully around her. You let me worry about her." Book said.
"I know, I trust you, but she has kidnapped your cousin and my friend, I don't kno.." Wilde stopped speaking as he noticed a sound of a howling outside the forest, "Did you heard it?"
Book nodded. "What are the odds that's a normal wolf?"
"I don't know, but I think the girl is lying about something." Wilde looked at Shimmer, "I am sure she is aware of the place Moon is."
"We don't need her to find it out. By tomorrow morning I'll have a location.
"Where are you going tomorrow?" Book heard Flash waking up, "What location?"
Flash reopened his eyes, Pinkie was fast asleep next to him. He looked at the time and saw that 30 minutes had passed since the kiss.
He looked next to him and saw that Light Heart and Fluttershy were sleeping next to one and other, both holding on Wolfy, like it was their child.
"I don't know precisely yet, but I'm hoping that my..." Book turned to see is Shimmer was awake, then he slowly pointed to his watch to where Shimmer wouldn't see it. "... Ace in the hole works out."
"If you think I lied to you, I didn't," Shimmer crossed her arms, "The howl you heard is not from the wolf boy, Prince wouldn't be dumb enough to stay in the same place, but maybe your friend left you clues in the last hideout, that I am aware of."
"And what place is that?" Book asked.
"The Castle of Sombra, out in the ever-free forest," Shimmer told the group.
Book nodded a bit as he thought back to earlier that morning. "That's where Yearling was sending me."
"If Yearling knew of the place, then he must be in another." Shimmer looked at her arms as she took another bottle of cider, "He will be prepared for the night after he will get the chest and the armor."
"That's why we can't afford him getting the armor. Tomorrow night it's going to be moved, and our team needs to escort it. I'll be elsewhere, so it's going to fall to everybody else to take care of this. If Prince shows up we'll need the biggest and badest guns on him." Book explained.
"You do not know Edmond as I do," Shimmer told them, "He will be prepared for the truck, and he will bring everything to gain the armor."
Book started thinking for a bit before a grin came over his face. "I'll have to strategize with Yearling."
"Are you sure?" Pinkie asked, "Didn't we just said the Yearling is Prince's mother?"
"Why gather a team to take him down if you're trying to protect him?" Book asked. "I think we need to ask her about her relationship with her son." |
The Canterlot Guild | Midnight hunt | Prince walked through the castle as Iron Will ran towards him, "Sir the beast escaped." To the news, Prince only sighed disappointedly.
"Let's go get him." Prince wore his coat and he with Iron Will and Dust walked out of the castle. The group walked through the forests as they heard a howl turning into a cry, and they spotted a green boy in his pants crying and sitting on a rock next to a tree. "It's been days Mr. Moon, admit it! They forgot you." Moon turned to see Prince as he started to get afraid.
"Please, I didn't mean to escape, I don't control.... Ahhh!" Moon shouted as he fell on his knees, and transforming into the wolf beast again.
"Now there, my hound," Prince smiled, "You have a mission to attend to. Iron Will, take him and prepare the armor." Iron Will nodded and he chained the beast again. As Iron Will left the area, Dust came.
"Do you think they would be there?" Dust asked Prince as he took his sword and decided to practice a little.
"Did you told mother?" Prince asked as he started to cut down trees.
"Yes, Brother." Dust answered.
"Then we have nothing to worry about." Prince smiled as he put a hand on Dust's shoulder, "Soon enough we will have the kingdom we deserve under my command, and he will bring what you wish for sister. Go try your new armor." Dust bowed and walked away as Prince looked over the hill to see where his pet wanted to leave, and he saw a gravestone with the title "General Black shield." And he smiled.
The next day, everybody was at school. They were hanging out by the statue as they were waiting for the first bell to ring. Sadly enough Applejack was having an interesting argument with a toy dog.
"That is not an excuse to take AppleBloom's bear!" Applejack turned to Light, "The poor girl is terrified now, thinking there are ghosts in the house."
"Wolfy was the one who brought it downstairs. All I was trying to do was sew up the tear on it." Light tried explaining.
"And what about Big Mac, he saw Wolfy talking with the horses!"
Wolfy blushed a bit. "What? I got bored. I'm a toy and I don't need to sleep, so I had to find something to pass the time."
"But horses?" Wilde raised an eyebrow.
"Light took the other toy I was playing with to fix it, so I needed something else to do," Wolfy said.
Book moaned a bit as he got up. "Alright, the court is in session, what's going on?"
Applejack looked ticked at the toy. "Light's living toy was walking around the house last night. How am I supposed to explain this to them?"
Light shrugged. "Sleepwalking?"
Book groaned a bit. "Just let doubt take care of their accusations. Who's going to believe them?"
"Alright kids," The group turned to see vice-principal Luna walking towards them, "Have any of you seen Full Moon? He needed to be at my office a half-hour ago."
"Full Moon?" Wilde asked, and he came up with an excuse, "Yeah, he had to leave for a family trip to his father's place, you know the usual."
Book rolled his eyes at him. "You do know that there was a police report. She'd call his folks who have already been notified by my dad."
"You didn't know?" Luna asked Book
"What? About what happened to Moon? My dad is handling that. We'll have him back soon." Book said calmly.
"About Moon's father, I thought you would know it." Luna put a hand on Book's shoulder.
Light lowered his head a bit. "He was... too busy with our grandpa's death to have noticed. I tried telling him, but he was too busy."
"Book's father, Black Shield died in a military project." Luna comfort Book as he shocked."Just tell me when Moon is back." Luna walked away as she looked back at Book and sighed.
"That was the place where he found the wolf," Applejack told Book.
Book's eyes widened a bit. "B... but what about his mother?"
"Calypse is fine Book," Wilde told him, "But it was hard for them both."
As Book stood in shock Light patted him on the back. "When you are too busy with your life you tend to forget that other people have lives too."
Book lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"Why didn't he told you?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Light lowered his head. "When Grandpa Sterling died Book put all of his time and energy into being able to take his place. He isolated himself. The only reason why he kept talking to me and Fuze was because we helped him, hoping that it could help him find some peace."
"What is going on?" The group turned again to see Shimmer walking towards them, "You don't know how weird it is to walk in another's shoes and being greeted by everyone. Usually, I would be chased right now."
Book raised an eyebrow. "Well, Sunset was a pony who came into this world... apparently. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how weird this place is."
"Please," Pinkie laughed, "This isn't the weirdest thing that happened here, there was the sirens, the two Twilights, the giant woman, the time loop."
"What time loop?" Wilde asked.
"Ya, Sunset, the other one, was stuck reliving the first day at _____-Crush." Pinkie explained. "Those it is a bit weird that we met the siren there."
"Ahhh," Wilde nodded, "Weird."
"How has this town not blown up by now?" Book asked, shocked to see all of the chaos that goes on around in this town.
"Because we are here," Rainbow Dash answered, "We are awesome."
"I'll give you that," Book said calmly. "Maybe tonight you can teach me how you handle magic after I show you some real fighting styles."
"But first," Wilde returned Book to reality, "We must find out more about Yearling's little psycho, how you're going to do that?"
"Well, the first step should be running over here soon..." Book said as Fuze came over.
"You will not believe the pains I had to go through this morning. I had to sneak several boxes of gear to the base which is impossible with Luna around. I had to hack into the server and find an alternate entrance." Fuze complained.
"Poor unfortunate soul," Wilde smiled, "Take it easy, I broke my hand last night."
"You dislocated your shoulder, Wilde. Did you find anything about the key?" Book asked his brother, "Like what does it open?"
"No luck there, but I found out the real name of the guy we're up against after going through all of the files on Yearling." Fuze explained.
"Yeah, Edmond Sombra," Shimmer answered, "He is the son of Yearling."
"Exactly. My guess is that when his father passed Yearling was so busy being the E.M.P's best agent that he wanted some of that power for his own." Fuzed explained.
"But why?" Applejack asked, "No one ever wanted power for the sake of power."
"Tell that to Book and he'll argue it with you. Greed is a criminal's fuel." Fuze shrugged "We also do have some proof about him being related to king Sombra, so maybe the dude was upset that he didn't get anything from that."
"He had enough power to take Canterlot back," Twilight answered, "He had super strength, he is immune to any sort of attack, and he has an army. So why would he want some box and armor?"
"Security? When I first fought him he seemed to know about you all, so maybe he was afraid that people like us would show up." Book theorized.
"No," Wilde told to himself, "This man doesn't afraid to do things by himself, he has enough power to do whatever he likes, but what all rulers need?"
"Well, my only plan is to have a stern chat with Yearling, after we make sure that Dust is out of the way." Book explained.
"I forgot!" Fuze remembered, "Yearling had another child, guess who."
"If you say Lightning Dust then Yearling's not getting the mother of the year award." Light quipped.
"She never was the mother of the year," Shimmer told them, "She left them alone. Sombra told me, we bonded over this. His father was for him and his sister. Edward Sombra was the one who found me, and he trained me with them. He was a father figure for me."
Light looked hurt when she said that. "Where are all the good parents nowadays?"
"It wasn't his fault!" Shimmer defended her father figure, "He told us about the day the name Sombra will return when all the realms would acknowledge it, and the four reapers would bow."
Book started to think about what she said. "Maybe that's it. You grow up without a dad and a mom who doesn't care, so you want to get noticed. You want to feel like you're worth loving or respect."
"What are you talking about?" Shimmer asked, "I told you Edmond had a father."
"What happened to him?" Book asked.
"He was murdered by agents of E.M.P, his loving wife was nothing more than a spy against him, and she sold him out." Shimmer explained, "One night, after 20 years, she came back, and all of us were excited, I thought that we will have a mother, but no, she just wanted information about the amulet. She came, asked questions and she left. The next day we were at an orphanage."
Light now looked extremely nervous. "I think I'm going to turn in my resignation."
Book had a cold look on his face. "That spineless witch! I think when we ask the hard questions we should make sure that we all live through it."
"What are we waiting for?" Applejack asked, "Let's go ask the witch about her son." Before they could do anything, the bell rang. "Okay," Applejack corrected herself, "After school, we will ask the witch!"
"Fuze, can you sneak our gear back up here during recess?" Book asked.
Fuze sighed as he nodded.
"Good. Dash and I will talk to Luna about starting our club. I mentioned it to Yearling before, so that'll bring her to us. We won't have time to train, so if things go south then we'll need to be smart. We'll equip ourselves as the teachers leave." Book said calmly.
"Well," Shimmer smiled, "I would take Sunset's schoolwork, lucky me."
"Do you prefer jail?" Wilde asked, "Because I wouldn't mind if you do."
"Take it easy," Shimmer turned to Wilde, "I am not your enemy."
Wilde walked towards Shimmer and he got angry, "While you are here learning in the classroom my friend is in danger! As long as you're here and Sunset and Moon are in danger, you are my enemy." Shimmer and Wilde got close to each other ready to fight.
Fuze took the opportunity to hand Book a small phone-like device. Book looked at it then grinned. "Wilde, stand down. If you're not as good as I am at hand to hand then she's going to beat you up."
"I could kill her with an electric blast right now, she is dangerous."
Book grabbed his jacket and pulled him back. "One, we don't kill! Two, we need her!"
"We know where Prince could be, we can go right now and save Moon." Wilde turned again to Shimmer, "Unless she lied as well about this."
"I won't lie to you," Shimmer gritted her teeth, "I have no reason to lie to you."
Book pulled Wilde close to him and whispered to him. "I now know exactly where Sunset is, and Moon has to be close to her. Relax a bit."
"Then why do we still talking?" Wilde whispered back, "If you know, let's get him!"
"We've got to go to school. Yearling has already got me working independently from the group. While you guys protect the armor I'll save the others." Book explained.
"Fine, but I am coming with you," Wilde told Book, "You will need any help there is."
"And I am coming too," Shimmer told Book and Wilde, "I want to see Sombra dead, and I want to make amends with my hopeful sister."
Book rolled his eyes. "What part of no killing can you murder hobo's not understood? Sombra will be focused on the armor. I doubt that I'll run into him at whatever cave he's got our friends inside of. I need you two to make sure that the armor stays safe, understood?"
"Do you know how the castle work? What about the traps?" Shimmer asked, "You need me!"
Book sighed a bit. "Fine, but this is a stealth mission. No killing, and you both, namely Wilde, will follow my orders."
Light cringed a bit. "Yeah, he can be controlling at times."
"Fine!" Shimmer rolled her eyes, and Wilde rolled as well. The group was ready to go to class as Principal Celestia's office called for them.
"And I was going to be able to play with a car battery today." Fuze complained.
Book looked a little concerned. "Yearling might be a step ahead of us. Keep sharp. I don't trust murderers."
"Shimmer," Wilde turned to the redhead girl, "You will be quiet, as long as Yearling knows, you are Sunset Shimmer." Shimmer rolled her eyes and nodded. The group arrived at the office where Yearling was waited for them, with a familiar agent.
Book grinned a bit as he sat down in front of them. "How's it going ladies?"
"Mr. Knight," Yearling leaned over the desk, "I am aware that you lost the weapon known as Night Beast."
"His name was Moon!" Applejack shouted as Rainbow Dash held her.
"Well, we were just having a snack when we were attacked, almost like it was planned," Book said.
"Usually I would be disappointed, but for our fortune, we have Mr. Heart over here to take its place," Light was nervous as Dust gave the team flies with the mission, "The armor would be transported tonight, and Mr. Heart would replace the place of the beast."
"Sure, the autistic kid who's still trying to learn how to trigger his power." Dust said marking the ideal.
Book glared at her. "Tell me, who's in charge of the plan for the transportation of said armor?" He asked with a grin.
"That would be me," Dust smirked, "I know better than anyone about Sombra's artifacts, and I would be nearby if anything would go wrong."
Book chucked a bit as he motioned to Fuze who pulled out a tablet. "Funny, I thought you'd be too busy shopping." Book pulled up the screen to show Dust's bank account. "You just did win the lottery, didn't you?"
"My saving is none of your business!" Dust gritted at Book as she took the tablet.
"No, but the fact that we were ambushed, not in uniform, in a place where only the people in this room knows about is my business
"Are you blaming me?" Dust raised an eyebrow, "Just for your information, I was in the E.M.P all night."
"Why not? I'm not a believer in coincidence. Tell me, how is big brother doing?
"What are you talking about?" Dust asked, "What brother?"
Book grinned as he turned to Yearling. "You didn't tell her? Shame, you were so close to the mother of the year."
"That is enough!" Yearling started to be annoyed, "Sweetie, it seems that Mr. Knight is aware of our secret." Yearling sighed and she removed her glasses, "It's true, Edmond Sombra, A.K.A, Dark Prince is my son, and Lightning Dust's brother."
Book grinned a bit. "I've been hearing a lot of stories about you. I did learn to play detective as well as a hero. You've got a bad parenting streak."
"So you would know that Dust was a spy for me," Yearling raised an eyebrow.
"Actually," Dust smiled, "I am loyal to my brother." Dust pulled a knife out of her boot and she pulled it to her mother's throat, "He is right mommy, you are the worst parent."
While the others got to their feet Book was still sitting calmly. "I can see why your kids went crazy, you burned that bridge and left them hanging."
"That wasn't what happened," Yearling sighed, "Their father brainwashed them, manipulated them to be like him, to gain the power he knew that would turn them mad, and could kill them." Yearling turned to Dust as the girl's hand started to shake, "I know I wasn't there, and it broke my heart to let you two go, but you know it's true."
"I don't know." Dust dropped the knife on the floor, "I don't know."
Twilight's hand was a bit shaky. "Listen, you are not beyond repentance. We can help you. We can give you the family you never had. Just let us help you."
Shimmer smiled as Dust hugged her mother. She wanted to join, but she needed to keep quiet. If Dust is now with them, then she is now a target as well.
"Now what?" Wilde asked as everyone smiled and was happy.
Book closed his eyes as he started to think. "The truck plan is compromised, and the Rich family's house was already robbed." Book then had a large grin on his face. "But Sombra doesn't know that we know. Wilde, I think it's time for us to cheat at poker a bit."
"Now you are talking," Wilde smiled.
Fluttershy was now curious. "So.. What's going on?"
Book grinned brightly. "Team two now has a new mission. Also, I need Wilde's and Sunset's skills. Having a mind reader with me will get me more info if I find one of his lieutenants, and if Sombra shows up then I'll need a big gun with me."
"Very well," Yearling nodded, "Tonight, you three would invade the castle, while the rest would protect the truck."
Book still had a sly grin on his face. "Well, that's the thing. We need them split into two teams, and we'll need two trucks."
"Why do we need two trucks?" Pinkie asked
"Sombra most likely knows that we are shipping the armor in a truck and the route that truck will take. We need one truck to spring Sombra's trap, and one to ship the armor."
Wilde grinned at that plan. "I think I'm a bad influence on your Book."
"Very well," Yearling nodded, "We can get the trucks." Dust looked at her mother and Yearling sighed, "Book, I am asking you as a mother, please try to reason with Edmond, that thing out there, that is his father inside, please tell him what happened. He is a good guy inside."
Book nodded. "I hope that he doesn't end up confronting me. He's a tank and I'm a pain in his neck. I'd have to play it stealthily and talk from the shadows."
"Very well," Yearling understood, "You are dismissed." The kids left the office as they had a new task, protect the truck and stop Sombra.
Golden was going through the reports on his desk. He was now looking at another attack that happened at the Rich residence. This was the third robbery, and he was starting to see the pattern. "Hey Silver, come here and take a look at this."
Silver made his way over to him. "I thought we agreed that this was an E.M.P investigation."
"They couldn't find their way to the doughnut shop. Look, all robberies took place in places with extremely valuable artifacts, but only one was taken from all of them. Tell me what pattern you see." Golden said as he handed Silver the files.
Silver looked at them for a minute. "They are all related to some old king named Sombra."
Golden grinned as he pulled out one more file. "And the armor is being shipped tonight. This guy has a pattern, and we found it."
"Very good," Golden and Silver turned to see agent Dropps clapping her hands, "You finally figured it out.
Golden raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You mean... you already knew about this?"
"Of course we knew," Dropps smirked, "We are the E.M.P after all."
Golden looked ticked as he walked up to her and got right up to her face. "You had the info all this time. What were you thinking when you kept it from me? The Rich family was robbed, and this Prince person could have killed them! You've been playing with people's lives when you should have been saving them!"
"The attack on Rich's house was a mistake that happened to us," Dropps admitted, "And soon enough the key will be returned to us."
Golden slammed the filing cabinet next to him. "You and your people are incompetent! My nephew's life is on the line, and you're too pig-headed to share this important information with us! You're a disgrace to the badge!"
"You care about your brother's son?" Drops asked, "Where were you when he needed you?"
"In a truck moving my family here. I wasn't there to save him then, but I'm not going to let any more of my family die!"
"That is enough!" Silver defended his partner.
Golden pointed at the girl. "I've had enough of your people's incompetence. I'm taking charge of this truck!"
"Take it easy rookie," A new agent came, grabbing Agent Dropps and cuffing her.
Golden reached for his gun. "What's going on here?"
"We found the mole," Another agent Drops came by and pulled the arrested Drops' mask off, revealing the face of a changeling warrior. "This is the one who killed Phyrax. And he is the one who stopped us from helping with Rich."
Golden looked slightly confused. "So... I've been working with fraud the whole time?"
"Yup!" Agent Drops answered, "He was undercover for some time, and M wanted me to pick an eye behind the scenes."
Golden walked up to the fraud. "Well, you're pretty clever. You conned me pretty good. Before these people drag you away, where's my nephew at?"
"You don't know your nephew when you look at him," The fraud laughed and he started to howl, "Search the woods, that's usually where the monsters are hiding.
The cops took the changeling away as he laughed, "Goodbye officer! I would see you at your family's next funeral!!"
"Hold it!" Golden stormed over to his desk and pulled out a live rattlesnake. As of the officers jumped back from him as he stormed up to the changeling. "My father locked a man in with one of these once, you want to learn what happened to him?"
"Golden!" Silver shouted at his partner, "Are you insane? We must be better!"
"Not so smart," The changeling asked, "The true king's plan is already moving as we speak, better catch the truck!!!" The changeling laughed as his face turned blue and froth came out of his mouth and he fell on the floor.
Golden checked his pulse, only to find another dead criminal. As the other officers watched Golden toss the snake into the desk he clarified something. "No fangs. It's harmless. Alright, we know that next target, meaning we can get ahead of them. I want two swat trucks and two squad cars ready to go. We'll be using the high caliber gear. I want us ready to move in ten minutes! We'll secure the perimeter until the truck is ready to move. After that, we'll ride alongside it the whole way."
"Let's go," Silver smiled to Golden, "Ready partner?"
"Let's show Prince what happens when the family gets mixed up with this. Drops, I don't care what your people say about this. You can either help us or stay out of our way." Golden said as he walked past her.
"Very well," Drops got a phone call, ignoring Golden and as she finished she turned to the cops, "Alright everyone, the team moved to protect the truck."
"Backup, finally something we can use. Alright, let's roll people!" Golden ordered as everybody there getting ready for the coming war.
Book, Shimmer, and Wilde waited outside of the Everfree patiently as they waited for the others.
"You know, I've been trying to figure out how Light's magic can breathe life into a toy and also deliver a crushing right hook, and I have a theory," Book said as they were sitting around.
"We some time until they would get the truck to move," Wilde shrugged as he wore his hood on his head, "What do you have?"
Book closed his eyes as he meditated a bit. "Think about a car battery. You hook it up to a car and it sparks to life. It adds functionality to the machine, but if you apply it to something like human skin..."
"The battery would burn the skin," Wilde looked confused, "I am afraid I don't follow."
Book sat up a bit. "When Light used his hand on a toy, he gave that thing magic and life. He took something personally and made it real. When he punched people his hand became a cannon against things that he couldn't or wasn't trying to bring to life. So, maybe it's some form of a violent mythical reaction." He theorized.
"So anger is the key to his power?" Shimmer asked, "And I thought I have a problem."
"You have problems," Wilde grinned, "More than one."
Book shook his head as he smacked Wilde across the head. "No, I wouldn't think that he would have been angry when he brought Wolfy to life, and he was stressed out when he made the crater in the training room."
The three thought about it as they saw three motorcycles coming out of the forest. "Alright," Shimmer nodded to the two, "Tell the others that Prince sent the sirens as he planned."
Book nodded as he pulled out his new earpiece. "Fuze said that these would still block out their song and would allow us to talk better. Shadow to Fuze..."
Fuze's voice interrupted him. "Call me M.O.A.B., mother of all bombs. I'm a pyromaniac, I want that to be my codename."
"Moab?" Wilde laughed, "Is that the best you thought of?"
"I'm not taking name advice from Mr. Fist." Fuze replied.
"That's Electro Fist for you," Wilde told the boy through the earpiece.
"Cool it! Now... Moab, the Sirens are on the move for the truck. No sign of Prince yet." Book said softly.
"We have to move," Shimmer turned to Book, "We need to take Prince down if we face him."
Book nodded. "We'd need a lot of luck to do that. The prime objective for us is finding his plans and saving Sunset and Moon. Fuze, are the others ready?"
"They're equipped and ready at their posts." Fuze said.
"We are, egghead," Rainbow Dash's voice was heard in Book's earpiece.
"Good, now stick to the plan. When the sirens attack set off the speakers in the van to give the police a chance to not be affected by their magic. Move fast to take the girls down." Book said with a grin.
"Got it," Applejack answered, "We will stop these no good sirens, and Book, if you see Moon..."
"Trust me, We're going to save him. By the way, Moab, why is there only one target on the toy you gave me?" Book asked.
"Because Moon's was broken as soon as he transformed. They should be both held close to each other, so don't panic." Fuze explained.
"Don't panic? Our dad is escorting the truck that I'm helping to protect. How am I supposed to panic?" Light asked on the radio.
"What we have here?" The three heard a deep sound behind them and they turned to see a muscular big blue guy with short black hair looking at them, "Some kids come to die here?"
Book stared blankly at him. "Hello again. Fist, take him down."
"I thought you would never ask," Wilde grinned as his hands pointed at Iron Will and he started to send lightning at the big man, sending him back at the trees.
"Now I am angry!" Iron Will shouted as he got up, slightly burned.
Book straightened his mask a bit. "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't fight me again. Well, time for another lesson." Book said as he threw a couple of throwing stars at him.
"I got you now..." Iron Will ran towards Book as he started to slow down, realizing that his heart wasn't working.
"Works every time," Wilde smiled, "Like David, I defeated goliath!"
Book looked a little worried as Iron Will was struggling to breathe. "What did you do him?"
"I send shock waves at his body, making his lungs burn a little, so oxygen wouldn't go through the bloodstream and he would go to sleep."
"You stopped his heart?" Book asked, now looking scared. "Are you trying to kill him?"
"No?" Wilde asked, "I'm pretty sure he would be fine." Iron Will started to breath a little as he was unconscious.
Book quickly restrained Iron and he checked his pulse. Book sighed in relief as Iron was going to live through this. "Moab, in two minutes let Yearling know that we have a lieutenant who needs a medic."
"Shimmer are you a doctor?" Wilde asked and Shimmer nodded.
"I am," Shimmer smiled, "My adoptive father wanted someone to keep his children safe." Shimmer took Wilde towards Iron Will.
Book nodded. "Light was the better medic for me. I had a couple of times when he had to walk me through stuff on the phone. Will he be okay?"
"I don't know," Shimmer shrugged, as she put Wilde's hands-on Will's chest, "Now Fist, give a small dose of shocks to jolt his heartbeat." Wilde nodded and he started to send small electric shots. After three shocks, Will was awake.
Book twirled a throwing star in his hands. "Don't try breaking the ropes, they're tougher than even your big muscles can rip. Tell me, where's Prince?"
"Like I would tell you!" Iron Will laughed.
Book raised an eyebrow. "First, how many times can a man have his heart stopped and restarted?"
"I think three" Wilde grinned and crossed his arms.
Book leaned over Iron and stared at him, letting him the fiery rage in his eyes. "Do you want us to test that number?"
"I am not a doctor... But" Wilde looked at Will with a sinister smile.
Book kept his eyes locked on Will. "Now, you're either a guinea pig or a rat. Choose wisely."
"Do you think that Iron Will would talk?" Iron Will asked with a cocky smile, but the smile faded as he saw lightning came from Wilde's hand. "Okay, Iron Will would talk."
Book grinned under his mask. "Good, now let's try this again. Where's Prince?"
"Prince is in his castle!" Will cried, "He is waiting for the armor, and he kidnapped the last owner of the heart." Iron Will begged for mercy, "I tell you the truth, let me go!"
"Sounds good to me," Wilde looked at Book and Shimmer, "What do you think?"
Book raised an eyebrow. "Who is the last owner of the heart?"
"I don't know, some rich boy name Blue Blood," Will told them.
"What is the heart?" Wilde asked with interest.
"It's an artifact the key open." Will explained, "That's all I know."
Book nodded. "Now wait right here. They usually collect the trash in an hour."
"Maybe they don't know where it is," Wilde suggested.
Book leaned over to Wilde and whispered into his ear. "If they do find the key then Moab is in big trouble."
"They don't know," Wilde told Book, "But why would Prince need a heart?"
"The heart of Discord," Shimmer turned to the boys, "Some says that the heart controls the minions of Discord, the reapers."
"Well, we can't have that happen, but now we also know that the most dangerous person is still at the castle. We need to exercise extreme caution." Book explained
"Guys, do you copy?" The earpiece worked, and they heard Twilight's voice, "The trucks are moving."
"Understood, the prince is still at the castle, and he kidnapped a new hostage. We'll make our way to the castle immediately. Stick to the plan." Book ordered. He then turned to the other teammates that were with him. "Are you two ready?"
Wilde and Shimmer nodded as they heard Rainbow Dash's voice talking.
"Good luck egghead," Rainbow Dash told Book, as Wilde shocked Will unconscious and the three started their way to the castle.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack led the team inside the trucks as they heard the sound of the wheels running out of air.
"What was that?" Rarity asked.
Light could feel his part of the truck lowering a bit. "Feels like a flat tire. Can we not tell my dad about it?"
"Stand ready," Applejack told the group, "Ah going to check it." The group nodded, and Applejack got down from the truck and she lit up the wheels with a flashlight, "Yup, Someone shot out tires," The cowgirl bent to check the problem as she heard the sound of motorcycles, "Do someone heard it?" Applejack asked via the earpiece.
"I'm hoping our escort show up now." Light muttered as he tried to get his right arm glowing.
"Guys, the..." Applejack's voice cut out, and the gang started to get worried for them, "I am going out!" Rainbow Dash turned to the group, "Are you coming?"
Light was trying to slap his arm to get it to work. "Just a sec. I just need my magic to work for me."
"Take your time," Fluttershy put a hand on Light's hand, "I'm with you." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she and the others got out. The group went out of the truck as they saw three girls in biker suits. One was blue with a blue long ponytail, one was purple with two ponytails, and one was yellow with orange curly hair and next to them was Applejack with green eyes.
"I thought Moab's earpieces were supposed to work." Light moaned.
"That's why we had to break it," the purple girl smiled, "Now, the armor."
Light felt Fluttershy hind behind him in fear. He gritted his teeth as his arm started to glow. "Alright, I'm ticked now. Come at me girls."
The group stormed at the sirens, but Applejack blocked them, and she used her strength to tear apart a piece of the truck and threw it on the gang. Twilight held the piece as Rainbow Dash tried to take Applejack away from the sirens, but Applejack held her by the neck as she came towards her. "Applejack!" Dash cried as the brainwashed girl looked at her with dead eyes. Applejack threw Rainbow Dash at the group, making Rarity protect them with her shields, and Twilight held Rainbow Dash.
"Sorry, Jack!" Light yelled as he ran over and punched Applejack in the face. As Applejack stumbled back a bit Light turned to the others. "Stop the sirens. I'll try to wake up Applejack... and the rest of us seriously need codenames."
The group nodded, and they ran to attack the sirens. Flash teleported with Pinkie to the high ground on the top of the truck where she threw explosive candies, trying to get Sonata to go blind.
"You think candies would stop me?" Sonata laughed until she felt a sudden strike on the head, knocking her down. As she was blacking out she saw that Flash stood behind her with a bat.
"No," Pinkie smirked, "But a bat would."
Rarity and Twilight took Aria. The purple girl took out a pocket knife and she ran to attack Rarity, swinging it against Rarity's shield as Twilight tried threw rocks at her. Aria dodged the rocks, but Twilight used them a distraction so she could take the knife with telekinesis. Aria now stood without a weapon, and she knew that her song won't help, but she didn't go without a fight. As the purple girl was ready to last fight, she was knocked out by a blue blur that turned out to be Rainbow Dash with a wounded arm.
"You got Dashed!" Rainbow Dash cheered to herself as if she was striking the final goal.
Flash cringed a bit at what she said. "I'm saying this, to be honest, but you need a different catchphrase. Should Applejack have snapped out of it."
They all turned to see Light trying to keep her in a headlock. "Come on! Night night! Go to sleep!"
Fluttershy looked at her friend in worry, as she noticed a line of ants and she asked them to go on Applejack, and the ants did as she asked them. The ants walked on Applejack, biting her and making her scratch herself, giving Light the chance to strike.
Light took the distraction and used it to lift Applejack over his head. "I always wanted to try doing a suplex." Light grunted as he slammed Applejack into the ground headfirst. It failed to knock her out, but her eyes stopped glowing green.
"What is going on?" Applejack asked as the group helped her to get on her feet, and they turned to see Adagio in fear, and Light noticed a familiar remote on her wrist.
"Dash, isn't that the remote that dust used?" Light asked.
"Yes it is," Adagio smiled as she pushed the button, and the group heard a shiver crawling scream coming from the truck with the armor, The scream grew stronger and stronger, until it stopped and the truck started to break, as if something punched it from the inside, tearing a hole from inside.
Flash stared in fear as he switched on his radio. "Good news Shadow, we found Moon. Later."
"What do you mean?" They heard Book's voice. Flash had no time to answer as the truck broke and a green beast with the face of a wolf and red dots came out of the truck walking on four legs and ready to kill.
"Moon?" Applejack asked, but the beast grew angry at the mention of the name.
"No Moon!" The beast shouted in rage with a savage voice, and he ran to attack the guild as the sirens ran away.
Light jumped in the way as he tried to hold Moon back. "Get the remote. I have no clue how it works, but it sounds like it's the smart thing to do."
Night beast held Light by the leg, and he threw him away as he chased Rainbow Dash, and his speed was a match to her's. Twilight tried to hold him, but he threw a stone at her trying to smash her. Rainbow Dash lost the chase and she ran to save Twilight, and Beast chose to go after Applejack. Flash tried to find Adagio with the drone, but she was a goner, nowhere to be found.
"I'm sorry," Flash sighed, "The remote gone, we have to kill it." Flash got Applejack from the beast as the rest tried to restrain the monster.
"Ah can help with him," Applejack told Flash, "Let ma try to talk to him."
"It's too dangerous," Flash declined Applejack's request, "You could get killed."
"Ah did it before," Applejack told Flash, "All Ah need is you holding him for some moments." Flash sighed, and he agreed, teleporting her to the fight, there they saw Rarity trying to defend unconscious Twilight and Fluttershy as Rainbow Dash with a giant shield as Beast tried to smash her with his paws. Light jumped from the truck and he punched the beast away, getting his attention again.
Light tried to talk with Moon. "Come on big guy. I seriously don't want to hurt you, Moon."
"No Moon, Only Beast!" Night beast shouted and he leaped at Light. The two got ready to go at it. Beast held Light in his hand, ready to eat him as he heard someone calling to him
"Beast!" Applejack called for the monster, "Come here!" The beast looked at her, and he threw away Light away, Flash teleported to cash Light, sending them both into the truck. "Beast, ah know what ya want, ya want to be free?" Beast nodded as he looked at Applejack and she seemed familiar to him, "Moon is not your enemy, and neither do we, we here to help." Applejack started to cry as Beast looked at her. The monster raised his hand at her. Light was ready to attack, but Beast didn't harm Applejack, he cleaned the tears from her eyes.
"Sorry," Beast told Applejack as he looked at his friends, and he got on his four legs and he ran away into the distance.
"Goodbye Moon," Applejack whispered as she returned to her friends, "Are ya' alright?"
"Well, now we know why Book wanted us fully geared up." Light moaned as he tried to help Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash wake up gently.
"Let's see if the armor is safe," Rarity told them, the gang agreed as the police arrived, and Golden came out with his gun ready to fire.
"Light?" Golden asked confused.
"And this is why Book also insisted on masks for all of us." Light whispered. "Hi, dad... I can explain... would you believe me if I said that this truck was being robbed by some teen girls and a giant wolf?" Light said as he raised his hand, noticing that it was still glowing. "Uh... this is body paint."
Golden smiled as he hugged his son, "No, but I'm glad that you are okay. But what have you said about Moon?"
Light cringed. "And I thought the lie was far fetched. He's... the giant wolf... and he's gone."
"I know, Light, where is he?" Golden asked, "Where did he gone?"
Light shrugged. "I have no clue... WAIT! YOU KNEW?!?"
"Yes he did," a female agent came by, "We met, I am agent Drops."
Light stared at her for a moment. "Aren't you in my math class?"
"Bon Bon," Applejack turned to agent Drops, "Yearling told us that you have a cure for Moon, if we find him could it help?"
Agent Drops sighed, "There is no cure, M wanted him on the mission, so she made a lie to help herself."
"What?" Golden asked, "You're telling me that M is Yearling, and she manipulated my family?!"
Light nodded nervously. "Sort of... By the way, how much did Drops tell you?"
"Not much," Golden told Light, "Is there something more? And where is your older brother?"
Light chuckled nervously as he took out his earpiece. "Fuze, you tell him."
Book, Shimmer, and Wilde hid behind a bush as they watched the castle, and they saw enough goons to fill an army.
"Great, I knew I should have brought Flash with us," Book muttered to himself.
"You wanted to go alone," Shimmer smirked as she looked at the army, "I think I can fool them that I am with Prince."
Book nodded. "It'd be a distraction. While you head in I'll take the world's worst ninja and find another way in."
"Or," Shimmer suggested, "I will take you as prisoners, and we could enter without a struggle."
"That's a dumb plan. I'd lose all of my gear and Prince would look for us if we try to split." Book whispered back.
"Then I would take only the worst ninja, and we see would enter faster," Shimmer took Book's hand to shake it to confirm the competition.
"I always did work better alone. Wilde, let her tie you up. Be sure to use something that isn't conducive." Book said as he took some of Wilde's gear.
"Can I say something for my defense?" Wilde asked, not comfortable with either of the plans. The two looked at him with anger, and he shut up and gave Shimmer his hands. Shimmer smiled and she tied him up, and she took him to the guards as Book watched.
"Who is there?" The guard asked as he pointed his gun at Shimmer, "Oh my lady," The guard took down his weapon, and he noticed the prisoner and let her in. Shimmer smirked to Book from behind the door as she and Wilde entered in. Shimmer and Wilde walked to she untied him and he rubbed his wrist.
"Well, I think that's one point for us." Shimmer said with a grin.
"Good for you," Book said from behind them.
"How?" Shimmer asked, as Wilde grinned, "How did you do it?"
Book pointed to an open window and an unconscious guard. "Some guy was taking a break, and I decided to relieve him of duty."
Before Shimmer tried to kill Book with her sword, Wilde called for them, and he pointed at a cell. "Shimmer found you!" Wilde smiled.
Book and Shimmer quickly ran over to join him.
"Does anyone have a master key?" Shimmer asked, "Prince never gave me keys."
Book pulled out a lock picking kit. "This is how I usually got around. You forget that I'm a vidualaty."
Before Book could do anything, Wilde just decided to break the lock with an electric shock in 300,000 volts, melting the lockdown, "You are slow." Wilde told Book as he cleaned his sweat, and opened the door.
"And you are subtle as a broken leg," Book muttered as he walked in.
The three found Sunset chained to the wall as she was sleeping. "Who is it?" Sunset asked as she woke up, and she saw Book, Wilde and herself standing in front of her. "Why did you brought her!?" Sunset shouted at rage, "She is evil!"
"She's with us now, and we're your ticket out of here, let's get you away from this place," Book said as he started trying to unshackle her.
"Take it," Shimmer gave Sunset a chocolate bar, "An apology card." Sunset rolled her eyes, but she was hungry and she took the bar and ate it.
"It doesn't mean anything," Sunset told Shimmer as they walked outside the prison and they walked towards the room of Prince.
"We'll talk about these reformations that you and your friends are so good at later, right now we need to get you out of there safely." Book explained as he carefully leads the team with Shimmer.
The group walked outside as they saw the guards coming, "Follow my lead," Shimmer told them as she kicked Book in the face. The guards pointed their guns at the group as Shimmer pretended to fight them.
"You are a traitor!" Book shouted at Shimmer, trying to make the scene believable.
"I'm afraid you are right," A familiar voice behind the guards spoke, "But she is a traitor to the house of Sombra Mr. Knight." The guards moved to reveal Prince coming in with the sword aiming at them, "Take them to the dining room, let's give them one last meal."
Book looked a little ticked as the guards cuffed him. "Is this a family dinner? I have nothing to wear."
"I believe that you refer to my excuse of a mother," Prince glanced at Book, "No, Mr. Knight, your suit is enough."
"I was talking about daddy. How is the old man?
"Do not mention my father!" Prince shouted in rage and punched Book in the face and he took off his mask, "You have no right to speak of him!"
Book spat out some blood as he looked up at Prince. "It hurts, doesn't it? He always raised you and your sister to give him his crown."
"He wanted me to be the king that was promised!" Prince looked at Book in rage, "He trained me in every way to become the heir to my ancestor!"
"But did he ever treat you like a son? Did you ever play ball with you? Did he let you play with other kids? Did he let you decide your fate? Did he even tell you that he cared about you and loved you?"
Prince started to smile as he took Book's left arm and he broke it, "You have no idea who you are talking about! My father was a saint, he took the waste of others and he made me a better man, an example of a king and a warrior, what did your father do?"
"A real man can stand for himself, but a better man will stand for others. That's what my father taught me. Your father tossed down on others, using you and your sister as his tools." Book said, grunting through the pain. "You know that your mother sent me to save you, not kill you."
Tears came of Prince and he looked at the guards, "Release him," The prince told his guards.
"Sir, are you.." A guard asked only to be killed by Prince's sword.
"Release him!" Prince shouted and the guards released Book, taking his gear and gadgets from him. "I would teach you respect!" Prince Shouted he dropped his sword and took his coat off.
Book grunted a bit. "No magic, no toys. Admit it, you want to fight me like this. It's... more personal."
"You are an insect, and I shall release you from your pathetic existence." Prince ran towards Book, and he kicked him back.
Book grunted as his new wounds were taking a toil on him. "Your mom kept you from her because she didn't want you to be corrupted by magic. She still believes in you. She made sure that I'd never kill you."
"She is a murderer!" Prince shouted at Book as he blocked his attack, "She didn't care for me, for Dust, for anyone but herself. She murdered the man who loved her for her job, and then she threw her children to an orphanage!" Prince kicked Book again, but Book dodged the attack and he kicked him in the legs making him fall.
"Love doesn't care about a job! It doesn't even care about a crown. I agree that she was never suited to be a mother, but maybe that's why she left you. She was hoping that you'd find parents who would love and care about you. Flash did that for his sisters, gave them love when they didn't find any." Book grunted.
"Then you are a fool!" Prince leaped at Book punching him in the face and the chest making him fall, "You have no idea what it is for a kid to protect his sister alone, to keep everyone at command to keep themselves from killing each other, the world needs a king to keep order!"
Book spat out more blood from his mouth. "You're wrong. A king can always be corrupted, and become the evil which he hates. The world needs people who learn from the mistakes of the past and look for a brighter future. They don't lead by power, but by example. Tell me, did your dad love you like you "Love" Shimmer? Or is it more of an Adagio love?"
As the two continued the fight, Wilde looked at the guard, smiling at him, "What's so funny?" The guard asked as he got closer to Wilde.
"Oh, it's a private joke," Wilde told the guard as his eyes turned blue, and he shocked the guard who held him, taking the gun and shooting the guards that held the twins in their legs. The guards left the two and they ran to help Book.
"You have no right to speak," Prince told Book as the Shadow Knight was behind his boots. "You are nothing to me, and nothing to the rest of the world
"Just like Shimmer and Adagio are to you! They are your tools, just like you and Dust were your father's tools." Book spat out.
"Shut up!" Prince shouted as he was kicked by an enemy from behind, and he turned to see double. Both Shimmer and Sunset stood in front of him as Book and Wilde were behind them. "You will never kill me!" Prince shouted as Shimmer took her sword and she aimed for the head.
"NO!!!" Book yelled as he blocked the sword with his now bare arm. The blade sliced halfway into it as Book held his arm up.
"Book!" Shimmer shouted as she stopped the sword, and she threw it away, "I am sorry."
Book held her with his other arm. "We... are better... Never... kill...." Book said as his breathing became more taxed.
"He is a monster, he used me, I thought he cared about me." Shimmer cried.
"That's why... You can't... Kill him... You need... To become... better... than.... Him... Be... a... hero..." Book said as he started to pass out from the blood loss.
Shimmer nodded as she helped Book to get up on his legs, and she turned to Sunset and Wilde, "I know you don't trust me, but please help me." The two looked at each other, and they agreed.
"We trust you, sister," Sunset smiled at Shimmer as she helped her to Carrie Book.
Book mustered up the strength to look up at Prince. "This... is... how... to... change... the... world... Let... go... of.. The.. Pain..."
Prince was in pure shock at what had happened in front of him. The man whom he had beaten the living daylights out of just saved his life. He had no reason to expect his values. Sombra looked at the sword on the ground. It would be so easy to grab it and take those kids down, but he started to see the real leaders in the room. Sombra lowered his head and knelt on his knees. "I yield to you and your guild, Shadow Knight."
The police showed up as the four kids were out and Prince was cuffed. Golden ran towards his wounded son as Book was being wheeled out on a stretcher, heading towards an E.M.P. Van.
"What happened?" Golden asked his son as the cops took Sombra.
Book looked worried as he was now facing his worst nightmare. "I... I guess I can't lie this time, can I?"
"No," Golden smiled, "No you can't."
Book knew that this was most likely the end of him being the Shadow Knight and the end of his dreams. "I... I just wanted to be like grandpa... I wanted to be a hero." Book explained as he was trying to hold back tears.
Golden understood what his son had gone through, and he hugged him, "I know what you feel, Book," Golden told him, "After dad and Shield died I still wanted to be your hero too. I won't stop you from the job you took on yourself, but never lie to me, okay?"
Book nodded as they stuck an IV in him. "In that case, there's a long list of stuff that I did with my part of the inheritance, but at least I saved half for the future."
As Golden smiled, Book noticed the cops taking Shimmer away.
"Hold it!" Book yelled as he pulled out his E.M.P. Badge. "She is one of my teammates and helped me save her twin. She goes with my team."
"Book, she killed people," Golden tried to explain, "She needs to go for a trial."
"Dad, I understand the risk, but at least let me hash it out with Yearling. This isn't a normal town. This is where magic lives and lives change." Book tried to plead.
"Okay, I would give you five minutes," Golden told Book, as his partner took him aside.
Book winced in pain as he switched his headset back on. "Moab, get me Yearling on the line."
"I am already on the line, Mr. Knight," Yearling's voice answered, "And I believe you would like to ask me to pardon The doppelganger of Sunset Shimmer?"
"She helped us and could use a second chance. Do parole or anything you like. My team can handle her." Book said.
"Done," Yearling answered, "And I changed her name as well, I would see the guild in 3 months at the E.M.P for a new assignment."
"By the way, while I'm healing, my team needs some stuff. Fuze needs better tech to make new gear. I also want my medical bills completely covered. I'll probably be recovering for a month with the wounds to my arms."
Yearling sighed, "Very well, I would see you all in three months, I'll have a new mission for the guild."
Book took a deep breath. "Moab, What's the status on Moon?"
"There is news about wolf-like figure walking around Ponyville, but I'm not sure." Fuze answered, "It could be some fake news."
Book sighed a bit. "Keep the team updated. I don't want to lose my cousin now."
"Book, I am not sure if Moon is in there anymore, maybe the beast is in charge," Fuze suggested reluctantly.
"I hope not. I need to go to the E.R. Shadow out." Book said as he painfully took the earpiece out. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm down. He knew that he was a far way away from finding peace in this town, but he found comfort in one thing. He wasn't alone anymore. |
The Canterlot Guild | the party | The whole group, excluding A.K. and Bonbon where at FlashTruth's place having a "We just beat another bad guy with friendship" party.
For fun Sunset was touching her friend's hands to see what they were thinking of their love. She and her twin sister Moonrise Shimmer enjoyed the party and discussed how their shared house life would work
Book's arms were all bandaged up. He was glad that E.M.P had some pretty good medical technology, but he still had a while to wait before his arms fully healed. De did feel a little insulted when the doctor said that this guy was a glutton for punishment.
Dash patted him on the back. "Hey, you'll be back to your full strength in no time. You'll be getting all of the trophies for the male competitions in no time... once I'm able to start teaching you more about sports."
Book was still looking at Applejack who was sitting by herself. A part of him thought that he just should have thought his plan through more. "I should have saved Moon... I feel like I've failed the team after trying to be its leader."
"He wasn't sure he could be a hero." Applejack answered, "You helped him more than you think."
Book kept his head lowered. "My job has always been to be the smartest man in the room and to take the hard hits. We saved Shimmer and stopped Prince, but I still lost my cousin."
As Applejack was about to answer a howl was heard through the room.
Book was about to rise to his feen, but his heavily bandaged arms reminded him of how hurt he still was. He motioned for Dash and the others to get up and look.
But when they were outside the source of the voice was away out, and Applejack could swear she saw a giant wolf in the forest.
Book raised an eyebrow at Applejack. "Well, as long as you still love and care about Moon, I there's hope for him."
"Ah just hope he will return" Applejack sighed.
Dash grinned as she sat on Book's lap. "Alright "Batman", I think that you need some nursing for your wounds, and I've got just the thing for your brooding."
Book's eyes widened as Dash kissed him firmly on the lips.
Rarity was thinking of being in an upper-class ball, with every guest wearing her clothes
while Wilde took her from the thought and danced with her to the music.
"Not bad for a first date" Wilde smiled as he span Rarity. Rarity giggled as she took the charge.
"I think it one of our best, Darling."
Light Heart was Snuggling on the couch with Fluttershy as Wolfy walked over to them. "So, now that your dad knows about the whole "Magic" thing, can I go around the house normally instead of hiding all of the time?"
Light grinned a bit. "Let me explain it to them, but then I'll say yes."
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Wolfy chanted as he physically flew up to Light.
Light's eyes widened as he saw his toy flying around the room. "I'll never understand my magic for as long as I live." Light complained as the others chuckled a bit.
Fluttershy hugged him a bit. "You're funny, you know that?"
Light chuckled a bit. "I try to be. Tell me, what do you think about when we're together?"
Fluttershy blushed a bit. "Well... I guess... I imagined us like... Tarzan and Jane?"
Dash laughed a bit at that. "Alright, time to make that dream come true lover boy, take off your shirt."
Light blushed as everybody agreed with her. As he looked at Fluttershy it seemed like she was blaming herself for this. Light didn't want to see her upset, so there was only one thing to do. Light stood up on the couch and took off his shirt. As all of the girls cheered, Light was doing some goofy poses and even gave a failed attempt at a Tarzan yell.
"Ohh" Wilde cheered for Light as he hugged Fluttershy.
Light gave a goofy grin as he hugged Fluttershy. "Jane and I go to the jungle, live with birds and puppies."
Fluttershy blushed at Light's goofy antics. She soon planted another kiss on his lips, letting them both fall back onto the couch.
Book was still shocked by how far they were getting into their kisses. "Light? Are you two using your tongues? How long are you holding it this time?"
Dash looked a bit frustrated that she was being outdone by Fluttershy by all people. "Two can play at that game!" Dash said as she pulled Book into a deeper kiss.
Pinkie Pie was giggling as she sat next to Flash. "Do you want to know about the crazy dream I had?"
Flash nodded, always interested in what Pinkie is thinking about.
"Well, we were living together in a place that looks just like Candyland. We had a nifty looking gingerbread house with a cherry soda swimming pool in the back. Your sisters were there too. They were calling you dad and me... mom." Pinkie said as she leaned closer to him.
Flash was blushing as Pinkie was getting onto him. He did things of his sisters like his daughters.
As Pinkie tried to tack Flash shirt off, and slide her hands the 6 pack and other muscles that he had started to gain from the packed he been doing will practicing his teleportation, he stopped her and asked. "Has anyone seen my sisters?"
They all shrugged and shook there heads.
Flash looked out side, and saw ShyStone standing next to a FOX!
He immediately teleported to Stone, and grabbed her, and teleported up in the play structure.
"Are you ok? are you fine?" He asked in a panic. "Where is your sister Fast..?" He looks at the fox and sees that the fox has Fast's hairpin in her hair.
Flash pause, before looking at Stone, who jest noted her head, as the fox walked to them, and started to revert to Fast.
"Oh.. boy... This is going to be fun to explain this, and hide this at the same time." Flash said sarcastically. His sisters didn't get it.
As the gang enjoyed her time, Yearling came with news. "Alright guild, a new mission." Yearling opened the case and a hologram appeared of a man in brown robes and a mask of a skeleton. " this is Phobia appeared from nowhere and his powers are unknown." A video started of Phobia robbing a bank and he summoned a dragon from a red smoke, breathing fire and killing people. "He is building his team and I want you to stop him" more images of places came out. Ponyville, Gryffinstone and more. "E.M.P found children like you there with powers. It's a race against time."
Book looked curious at this new power. "Well, this guy sure is interesting. We'll need to be a lot more clever with him, especially if he's recruiting an army of his own. What do you say, Tarzan?"
Light couldn't find his shirt, so he was hiding behind Fluttershy. "Zip it Book!"
Book stood up, much to Dash's disappointment. "One thing, we won't blackmail them. We offer to help teach them to become heroes, but your recruitment methods don't work. Let us try it our way."
"Sure thing I gave you tickets for the train next week, first place Ponyville.
Book looked at his bandaged arms. "That doesn't give me a lot of time to heal, does it?"
"No it doesn't but this is a recruit mission," Yearling explained, "You need to recruit the power kids before Phobia will".
Book nodded. "And how will we know if something happens here?"
"Well, since This town is a major magic hotspot we agreed to... cooperate with the police department. They said something about testing a.."
As Yearling was talking everybody glanced outside to see a spotlight in the sky with a symbol of an alicorn on there. Book grinned a bit at this. "Well then, I guess the Canterlot guild is now officially in business."
"What is.. what?" Flash asked will pointing to the sky, and walking back into the house with his sisters.
Book smiled proudly. "A symbol, that no matter what magic-user threatens this town it will be protected."
"I get that, but why 2 wings are a digging-drill?" Flash asked A.K.
"In the history of this town, the alicorn symbol was one of power and royalty, used by many of the great rulers and heroes of this land." Yearling explained. "It's also the symbol on your club sheets, but in less detail."
"Oh.." Flash blushed in embarrassment, as his sisters tried to tack out his club sheets from his pocket. |
The Rivers of Avalon | pre | "Really?" Squirrel let loose a bark of laughter. "You two are easily the strangest pair of tourists I've ever travelled with."
"What did I do?" Twilight asked, sounding vaguely offended.
"Fire, levitation, and wind magic? Those alone beat most unicorns I've ever heard of!" Squirrel said, still clearly amused.
"Yes, well... alright," Twilight admitted - such breadth was uncommon, after all. "Still doesn't make us 'strange' though."
"Fair, fair," Squirrel chuckled before clearing her throat. "Alright, let's see about getting your wings free then, Rainbow. The incense should be able to keep most of the bugs off once you get it going."
Rainbow flexed her wings a little, rubbing them against the cloth, trying to find a discrete way to get them out just enough to build a vortex around them. "No good way to do this," she eventually huffed. "I'd have my whole sides showing."
"If we timed it right it could work?" Twilight mused as she fiddled with the now-open tin. "At the rate this was burning before... we wouldn't have too much time bug-free, but we only need enough to throw off this swarm before it chokes us." A fact that was little exaggerated - the insects seem particularly attracted to their breaths, clustering all the more densely around their muzzles.
Rainbow nickered, shifting her weight between her hooves indecisively despite that she'd already made up her mind. "Right - I'll do it. Get some of that smoke going around me and I'll get my wings out."
Twilight looked like she was going to give her a reassuring nuzzle but thought better of it, giving a pleased bob of her head instead. "Brilliant! You won't be exposed for that long, Dash, so don't worry. First thing's first though - what's our next direction?"
Squirrel craned her neck up as high as she could, bobbing up and down on her forehooves to try and get some extra height over the rushes. "That way," she eventually declared, looking what Rainbow figured was directly southeast.
"Right. Rainbow, you'll take centre; I'll lead. Let's get this cloud ready." Twilight opened up the tin, levitating out the crumbled incense inside. "From the looks of it I can probably get the smoldering embers of all this spread out in the air all around us - actually, we might be better off if I just keep it as a melon-sized lump above us?" She shot Rainbow a questioning glance.
"Yeah, once I get the wind going I can keep all that smoke right close around us."
"Well then - here goes nothing." The loose ball of incense - Rainbow still couldn't figure out what type it was - flew a few feet above them; a couple of brief flashes within later and bluish smoke started billowing out.
Rainbow took a deep breath - or the deepest she could, at any rate - whipped her wings down low and out, raising the cloak and exposing a good bit of herself to the swarm. Acting quickly, she concentrated on the feel of the magic in her, so much like cool raindrops running down her coat, and forced it down her wings, channeling it into her feathers and out into the air around her, extending that same ability that let her manipulate the winds into giving her flight into instead twisting the air around them.
With a twitch of her wings the air behind her shunted backwards, and with a subtle pull it came up and over her back, catching the smoke within its embrace. With a sudden jerk it veered off to the side as the first bite of an insect caused her to flinch, losing control. Not. Happening, she thought to herself with a grimace, steadying her wings and bringing them back into a cupping, paddling motion, circulating the sickly-sweet air into a slow cyclone around them. The cloud was anathema to the swarm, almost immediately repulsing it to its edges, leaving Rainbow with only a hooffull of itching spots to ignore.
"Let's go," she said, eyes half-lidded in concentration.
"Right - follow me. Dash, if you need to go slow, do so; Squirrel, call out if she does." With that said Twilight started the trio onwards again through the reeds, the tips of Rainbow's primaries tickling the water's surface with every pass.
It was blessedly little time later when the barrel-deep water began to drop, soon leaving them to plod through merely fetlock-deep muck and spongy moss. The bulk of the swarm had since abandoned them, but the group was keen to keep the cloud circulating as long as possible for the relief of it; plus, the scent of it helped distract from the biting cold that was beginning to set in.
"I hope we don't get thrush from this," Twilight muttered in the late-afternoon light.
"We'll be out soon," Squirrel assured her. "The mountains are looking about right for it."
"Can't hold this much longer, guys," Rainbow cut in between slow, calm breaths.
Squirrel looked around at the thinned-out cloud that had protected them for so long. "It looks about spent anyways."
Rainbow waited until Twilight gave a nod of agreement before letting the smoke disperse; she gave a few brisk dry-flaps of her wings to try and relieve them of the strain that the slow movements had caused them before hurriedly tucking them back under the cloth for safety. "Muuuch better," she sighed, stopping for a second to adjust her cloak. She was frankly relieved she didn't have to keep that up much longer - she was starting to cramp.
"You still held that far longer than I'd've thought," Squirrel said, sounding impressed. "That was what, twenty minutes?"
"Could've gone longer! Like, way longer," Rainbow insisted good-naturedly. "Twenty-minutes is nothing!"
"Dash's great at that," Twilight said, smiling back over her withers.
"Totally," Rainbow agreed, doing her best to strut through the mire. "Rainbow 'Super Fine' Dash they call me!"
"Really," Squirrel drawled. "And that'd make you Twilight 'The Wizard' Sparkle I suppose?"
"Definitely," Rainbow said before Twilight could speak up. "Purple Smart here is spooky good at magic."
Squirrel broke into soft, wheezy laughter as Twilight fought to find her voice. "Okay, no! We are not calling me that!" she insisted, bristling with indignity. "'Twilight' will do nicely!"
"Can do, Twilight," Squirrel said, her grin evident in her tone.
"Good! So long as that's settled then."
Dusk was just falling when their hooves touched their first bit of dry ground since the mesa hours ago - they'd at last gotten through the swamps. "Freakin' finally," Rainbow grunted as she trudged up the shallow stone slope, cloak catching lightly in the yellowed grass peaking through the cracks.
"Let's get up high first," Squirrel said from the rear. "Once the bugs're gone we can set up camp." Although there was still light enough to carry on for another hour or so, the troupe was far too tired to even consider it.
"Right," Twilight puffed out between heavy breaths. "We'll... right," she finished lamely, choosing to focus instead on putting one hoof in front of the other.
The ground this side of the Green Leek was, like the rest of Basin, a mix of flat, earthy areas and tall - often sheer - rock hills and outcroppings; it was to the top of one of these that they were heading. A faint breeze blew in from the east, tamping down on the bugs, but bringing with it another problem.
"M-maybe we should stop here?" Twilight asked meekly, shivering, soaked as she was in water and sweat.
"A bit further," Squirrel insisted, looking around in the failing light at the few small trees that made up the otherwise barren face. "We'll want some cover from the wind - a clump of trees, a rockface, anything like that. Any chance you could just take off and fly around for something, Rainbow?"
"Clothes and bags too dang wet and heavy to fly in," Rainbow grumbled. "Carry 'em and we're good."
Ignoring the commanding tone, Squirrel nodded. "Yep - quickly now though: night'll be here before we know it."
Working fast, Rainbow undid her neckstring and hastily shucked the fouled cloak and censer to the ground, stretching her wings in relief at the sudden freedom. She started fiddling with her satchel straps before they lit up magenta - Twilight had come over to lend a hoof. A few moments later saw Rainbow sitting back on her hinds to doff her jacket and scarf. "Finally," she muttered. "I can breathe!" She almost immediately shivered in the cooling breeze, still just as wet as before but without any clothing to try and block out the wind.
"Alright, I'll be quick," she said, stepping off from the other two. "Stay in the open so I can see you."
"I'll put up some lights if needed," Twilight said as Rainbow nodded and bounded forward a few paces, her wings flaring out and down to get her some lift.
She took off aiming back downslope, towards the wetlands. Angling away, she strove for height as she circled over the two mares below, taking care not to lose them as she worked out which landmarks - which clump of trees or erratics - they were near, and which way they were going; it would be simpler if they just stood still and waited, of course, but they really needed to keep moving to stay warm.
The chill was biting at these speeds, but she knew from experience that any water would evaporate or blow off fast at this rate; plus, as a pegasus, she was a bit fluffier than most.
Once she found a good altitude she widened her circle, sharp eyes looking for anything within reach to abut their tents against. Need safe room for a fire, too, she added to herself. Ideally it'd also be near a clean stream - their canteens weren't looking so full anymore - but there just wasn't anything like that within reach by nightfall. There! she thought, pleased, as she caught sight of a small alcove, itself tucked within a little copse of trees. Checking beneath her, she was still able to quickly spot out Twilight and Squirrel - dead easy considering the former had, in fact, lit up her horn with some manner of light cantrip - then eyed the alcove again. Once she'd worked out the best route to get there she began her descent, her slow circles belying her eagerness.
Picking her spot just a few metres behind the two, she flared her wings and, with a mighty thwump, beat down hard to land trotting on all fours. "Found it!" she called out to the two startled, cloak-less mares. "'Bout ten minutes thataway," she jerked her head off to the left.
"W-wonderful!" Twilight chattered, smiling despite the cold, as she changed the trio's direction. "O-once we're t-there I'll get a fire going."
"I'll get us fuel," Squirrel added, the stolid earth pony handling the cold quite well. "Easy enough to find dead wood."
"And I'll... well I'll do something too," Rainbow insisted, not wanting to be left out. "I can do tents!"
"That should be fun to watch," Squirrel smirked. "That said, I'll do my own, thank you."
Rainbow snorted. "As if I'd set up yours for you, miss 'gets-lost-in-her-own-swamp.'"
"W-what!?" Squirrel spluttered. "How in the world is that my swamp?"
"You blended in well."
Squirrel didn't seem to know quite how to respond to that. "I - what? Whatever - but I didn't get us lost!"
"You totally did. You remember that, right Twi? Twi remembers everything," she added to Squirrel. "You remember, right?"
"I d-don't have perfect memory," Twilight countered over her withers, still shivering lightly. "It's mnemonics, m-mostly. That said, we did get lost for a bit, yes."
"Hah! See? Totally got us lost."
"Fine," Squirrel deflated. "We did. For a bit. But we got through it anyways, thanks to the ninety-nine percent that I did remember."
"Riiight," Rainbow drawled as they crested a small ridge. "Ah! Right - Twi, the campsite thing's just other there - those trees next to those rocks, see?"
"Umm... yeah, there," Twilight nodded, angling straight for it.
"So did you want your gear back?" Squirrel asked as they stepped under the boughs of the dozen or so short, bristly trees that made up the copse. "Or should I just toss it on the ground."
"Don't toss it! Place it," Rainbow snipped as Twilight stopped in a flattish, clear spot next to the stony back of the alcove some metres tall.
"This'll do," Twilight said, working her own gear off. "If we c-can get some wood I'll get the fire going."
"Yep," Squirrel said, shucking Rainbow's gear unceremoniously into a pile before veering off into the trees.
Rainbow spared her a frown before picking up the small tent that Twilight had picked up in Cherry Point; it was just a small, cramped, two-pony thing, but it should do the job well enough. "I'll get this up right quick," she said, giving Twilight a flank-bump. "It'll be cozy enough with the fire going outside."
Twilight hummed distractedly, shoulders hunched as she slumped in on herself against the night air. Rainbow considered ignoring the tent for the moment - there was no way she'd get that up as fast as she'd like - and just tucking Twilight up under a wing for warmth when Squirrel trooped back up to them. "Here," she said, dropping a pile of sticks and branches as she settled back down on her hinds. "Let's get this going; I'll grab some more once it is."
Twilight gave a shaky nod as her light spell dropped only to be immediately replaced with sparkling flashes, both at her horn and in the midst of the pile. The scent of ozone filled the air as the wood lit, pine-scented smoke curling out of it. Squirrel leaned down, keeping half a wary eye on Twilight's horn as she blew softly onto the embers. Within moments the fire flared up, bathing them in its warmth. "Alright," Squirrel sighed wearily, leaning back on her haunches. "I'm going to get more wood for this. Dry your clothes next to the fire and get that tent up as soon as Twilight's fit." Without waiting to see if they'd listen, she disappeared again into the gloom.
"Let's get that jacket off then, eh Twi?" Rainbow said, helping Twilight out of her heavy, wet coat. Laying their jackets and scarves out on the needle-ridden stone next to the fire, she set about unrolling the tent as her friend scooted closer to the flames. She had the thing half-built when Squirrel came back into the clearing, a piddling little pile in her arms. Dropping them, she walked purposely over to her panniers. "Not enough wood on the ground," she said, unstrapping a short hatchet as she did. "Don't like doing this, but we need the heat to dry."
Rainbow quietly watched her leave - she didn't like the idea of felling living trees either, but needs must and all that - before busying herself again getting the tent's rods set just so.
A faint thocking sound came from the darkness just as she finished up and began setting up their sleeping bags. Twilight, startled, perked up to stare owlishly towards the sound. "It's just Squirrel," Rainbow said as she inspected their bags, one hoof deep inside and rooting about. "Good news though - our sleeping bags are dry! So that's nice." Perhaps the bags were overkill for the weather, but Twilight had been worried the mountain passes closer to Hurricanum would be too cold and windswept to do otherwise.
"Mmhmm," Twilight said, settling back down. "M'hungry," she mumbled, her horn aglow as she pulled one of her panniers towards to her; she tugged out a spare canteen and a couple oatbars and began nibbling on them, while nearby there was the cracking and rustling sound of a small tree coming down.
"Grazing's going to suck," Rainbow grumbled as she lay down the two sleeping bags in the tent. "Unless there's a place between here and Beech, at least." She plopped down next to Twilight and reached over to start fishing around in her own satchels. While midway through a bar of her own Squirrel trudged slowly back into the firelight, an arm-thick pine being dragged behind her.
"This'll do til we dry out," she said, dropping the tree and hatchet before doffing her own damp clothing and gear. "The night's warm enough once we're dry to do without; one of us'll have to stay up until the fire's out though."
"I imagine we'll all be up til then," Twilight said as Squirrel took to lopping the branches off the trunk. "Do you want any help with that?"
"Nah," Squirrel replied without breaking stride. "Done this plenty in the past. You just keep warming up."
"Better now," Twilight mumbled from where she still lay, close to the fire. "I guess the water just got to me after a while."
Squirrel paused in her work for a moment before continuing. "The swamp was... wetter than I remember. There were fairly dry paths woven throughout it the last time I went through."
"Seasonal, perhaps?"
"Probably."
They fell back to silence as the night deepened, busying themselves with their meals, such as they were. Having finished her's, Rainbow set about preening and figuring out if the bug bites she'd gotten earlier had gotten through her fur. No welts, at least, she thought as she went back to aligning her primaries. Happily for them, they'd left all the insects behind.
"We'll need more water tomorrow," Twilight said as she stared lazily into the fire. "Canteens are low, and a bath wouldn't go amiss either."
"Waterways will clear up not far southwest of us - we'll get some good water by late morning, I should think," Squirrel said from off to the side, as she finished setting up her own narrow one-pony tent.
"We've enough til then." Twilight sat up, rolling her shoulders and neck. "Are the clothes fairly dry? We should get some sleep if we're to be up early tomorrow."
Rainbow leaned over to poke at them. "Eh, good enough," she shrugged - from the feel of it they'd be dry by morning.
"Best douse the flames, then," Twilight sighed as she stood up fully and cast her gaze around her some dirt to smother it.
"Just a moment... there!" Squirrel said, standing back with a pleased look at her tent. "Needed to finish up while we had light; douse whenever!" With that said she grabbed her clothes and walked straight into her tent, disappearing behind the flaps; a bit of shuffling and rustling followed, ending with her head poking back out of the opening to watch them, head cocked. "Need to make sure you smother it right," she said, in answer to their curious looks.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "As if we could muck it up," she muttered, turning with their own gear to crawl into their tent. The faint hum of unicorn magic, followed a few seconds later by muffled thumping, heralded the darkness as the fire was extinguished. Still robbed of her night vision she felt, more than saw, Twilight shuffle in beside her and crawl into her own sleeping bag.
Rainbow figured she'd leave her's open - with how snug it was with the two of them practically pressed into one another's sides she had a feeling it would be far too warm not to.
"Wish I had a bath before getting into this," Twilight grumbled softly beside her, her voice almost in Rainbow's ear.
"You sound like Rarity," Rainbow teased as she wiggled around to try and find a more comfortable position.
"Oh, shush," Twilight said, doing much the same. "Now go to sleep."
"Heh. Night Twi."
"Night Dash." |
The Rivers of Avalon | Chapter 4 | Twilight awoke to the dim predawn light seeping through the canvas. It was quiet - pleasantly so - and she shuffled around to poke her muzzle out the tent flaps to get a better idea of the time.
Or rather, she tried to. Rainbow, as she'd learnt so many weeks back when they'd shared a bunk in Sunrise, waiting for the schooner to take them across the Calise Sea and off to Avalon, was a natural cuddler. Back at Cherry Point's inn she'd foiled the mare by simply sticking a pillow between for her to latch onto instead, but here? She was effectively trapped, pressed against the little pegasus's side, arm slung over her chest.
It wasn't that it was unpleasant or anything - quite the opposite, come to think about it - she just really wouldn't mind being able to see whether or not they should be getting up. She made a soft clucking noise whilst gently poking her friend's side to see if she was awake; unfortunately Rainbow's only reply was to stretch out more, covering her with a fluffy wing and clamping down all the snugger.
"Guess I'm getting up later," Twilight mumbled as she settled in for some more sleep.
"Hey!"
Twilight started in surprise at the shout from right outside the tent.
"You two sleepyheads up yet?" Squirrel called out to them.
"Yes, yes," Twilight called back as she rolled over to crawl on out - luckily the shouting had startled Rainbow enough to let her go.
Nudging aside the flaps she found Squirrel already disassembling her tent in the bluish morning light. "Close to seven, isn't it?" she guessed as she awkwardly stepped out onto the bare ground. "We slept in."
Squirrel grunted. "Needed to. No immediate rush either, although it's probably best we eat on the move."
"Yep," Twilight agreed - the sooner they got to a clear stream, the sooner she'd get her bath. Leaning back into the tent she gave Rainbow another nudge. "Up you get, Dash - we've slept long enough."
"Blppth," Rainbow mumbled as she tried to curl around somepony that was no longer there.
"Oh no you don't," she briskly nudged her again. "Up! There'll be plenty of time for bed tonight."
"But sleeeep."
"Rainbow..."
"Ugh! Fine, fine," Rainbow grunted, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Gimme a second."
Twilight hummed, pleased, as she pulled out their panniers, jackets, and scarves. Finding them dry, she nodded in satisfaction as she sat back to pull on her own jacket, its coziness only slightly diminished by its thick mud splatters. She had her scarf on to help against the early-morning chill and was already rolling up her sleeping bag when Rainbow finally came out.
"Alright," the pegasus yawned, "let's get this done, then."
It was a surprisingly short time later that saw them fully packed up and ready to go. The tent and sleeping bags weren't as tightly packed and furled as they were when she got them - which annoyed Twilight more than she cared to admit - but she didn't want to waste any energy magically forcing them into shape.
It was overcast and cool as they struck directly southwest towards the lower Sul as it flowed south out of the wetlands. "Ideally we follow this right down to the Whither," Squirrel chatted amiably - they'd been lucky to chance upon a wild apple tree and found their moods much buoyed by the unexpected fruit. "That'll then take us straight down east-ish to Autumn."
"Is this the same route you took last time?" Twilight asked as she carefully navigated her way down the steep, shrub-strewn slope they were switchbacking on.
"Nah - I went further east then, along the mountain slopes; was going to meet up with some friends in a little mining town that way."
"So you don't know this route at all then?" Rainbow said, shooting her a skeptical look.
Squirrel gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes. "Don't get your feathers all in a fluff, Rainbow - I said I'd get you two to Autumn and I meant it."
"That's not an answer."
"Oh for goodness sakes, Dash!" Twilight practically shouted, frustrated by Rainbow's persistent problems with the mare. "Squirrel's been doing a fine enough job thus far and there's no reason whatsoever to split up now when we're going to the same place!"
"That's - dangit, that's not what I meant," Rainbow said, her wings ruffling in irritation. "I just wanna know if we can expect another bug-infested super swamp - that's all. If Squirrel's not been this way before then she wouldn't know one way or the other, right?"
"Oh." Twilight wasn't quite certain what to say to that. "Right. Sorry."
Rainbow sighed, blowing strands of her disheveled mane out of her face. "It's fiiine, Twi - really. I don't hate Squirrel or anything - I just don't like her."
"Smooth," said the eponymous mare.
"I mean, she got us lost, what, eight times now? Bought us things without asking - "
"Which you two needed. And what do you mean, 'eight times!?'"
" - almost got us eaten alive by bugs - "
"Okay, you can't possibly be blaming that on me."
"And!" Rainbow said loudly. "And! She's totally charging us, like, a billion bits for this!"
"What're bits?" Squirrel asked, not even bothering to argue the fact.
"Currency back home," Twilight volunteered. "About three drams to the bit. And Squirrel only got us lost the once, Dash."
"Yeah, well, it was a really big lost."
Twilight nodded sagely. "Well, when you put it that way, I suppose that sounds reasonable."
"How're you taking her side in this!" Squirrel spluttered. "I thought you were the sane one!"
"What, Sparkle here? My best bud Purple Smart? Sane!?"
"I thought we agreed not to call me that..."
"Actually, now that you mention it, she'd have to be mad to be your best friend."
Twilight smiled, her mind drifting to the thick sheaf of banknotes tucked within a waterproof satchel deep within her panniers. "You know, strictly speaking we haven't actually paid you yet."
Squirrel snorted at that. "How the heck did it seem like a good idea to remind me of that?" She laughed at the spooked expression on Twilight's face. "Haha! Don't worry about it though - keep holding onto it til Beech - it's not like I've suddenly acquired somewhere safe and dry to stuff 'em."
"Right," Twilight said, pleased that Squirrel hadn't taken her comment the wrong way. "Because we will be paying you, all jokes aside - you've been very helpful so far."
"I know, I know," Squirrel flicked her tail at her. "You two hardly come across as the sneaking-thieving type, anyways."
"I can be sneaky!" Rainbow said, looking offended at the idea that anybody might think otherwise. "Totally ninja-like."
"Uh huh."
"I can! You agree with me, right Twi?"
"Uhh..." Twilight hesitated. "You can definitely be, umm... yeah."
"There, see? Twilight says I'm sneaky!"
"Suuure," Squirrel drawled. "That's definitely what she just said."
"Oh look!" Twilight cut in, eager for a change of subject. "Is that the river?" Below them, just now visible around the trees and rocky slopes, was a dull, choppy little stream, barely as wide as a house, snaking its way southwards.
"Yup," Squirrel confirmed, relief evident in her voice. "There's our water; now's our time to fill canteens and bathe. Since we'll be following it all the way onwards we won't have to worry about being parched anymore too." That latter was particularly welcome considering how low all their water supplies had gotten since Cherry Point.
"Wonderful!" Twilight moaned as she could hardly wait to wash off the mud and sweat of the last day and a half. It was a pity she couldn't have justified taking along a small brush - her mane and tail were a nightmare of clumped-up, filthy hair that she was really hoping wouldn't mat.
"If we're heading down there right now, then first I'm going for a final fly-around before I'm weighed down by all that water," Rainbow said, before, with a nod farewell, she bounded forward to take off gliding downhill towards the Sul.
"Heh, I bet you've been wishing for some wings all this time, eh?" Squirrel chuffed as she watched Rainbow circle rapidly upwards on some unseen thermal. "Would've saved you more than a little fuss."
"No kidding," Twilight agreed. "We'd probably be back by now if I did. Mind you, if given the choice between a horn or wings... well, I just don't know where I'd be without my magic."
Squirrel nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean - I can hardly imagine not feeling the plants around me - I think it'd be like I was blinded."
Twilight's ears perked at that. "I've always wondered what that was like! I've never found a spell that could emulate earth pony magic in the least to know."
"Well, I don't know what to tell you," Squirrel said as they came to an especially steep bit. Carefully sliding down, she stood at the base of the rock to lend Twilight a bracing hoof. "Just scootch down to me - I can catch your weight, no problem."
Twilight nodded uneasily as she slowly scrabbled down sideways, dust and moss scraping off beneath her hooves. A few uncertain steps later and she was being supported by Squirrel who quickly helped ease her down to flatter ground.
"There we go," Squirrel said, falling back to all fours as they carried on towards the river. "So what was I saying? Oh right - since it's the only way I've ever lived I can hardly describe what it feels like. It's not like you won't have asked others, either."
"True," Twilight conceded. "Still - it'd be fascinating to feel what is was like."
"I'd imagine being able to levitate things would be too," Squirrel mused. "I can think of more than a few times that would've been helpful."
"Helpful enough to give up your earth pony qualities?"
"Hah! No."
They continued quietly save for the sounds of their laboured breaths, while Twilight pondered if there wasn't some spell that could give unicorn magic to a pony for a time.
The water was cold, brisk, and clear as Twilight trotted through the stone-bottomed shallows. "You think this is potable?" she asked, smiling as she envisioned her long-awaited bath. "I've got a collapsible pot if we need to boil it."
"Should be good here - the river's always flowing on the west side of the wetlands and doesn't really mix much, as I understand it." She gave the water a scrutinizing look. "Or maybe it does? Shoot - I can't remember; best boil it til we're further downstream."
"That's going to add some time to the trip," Twilight sighed, stepping back onto the weedy grass. "But better safe than sorry I suppose." Luckily for them, she'd taken the time back home to refine her fire cantrip for just this purpose. After Squirrel hastily scrounged some wood, Twilight set it alight, letting her magic-born flames mingle with those wrought from tinder and branch. It took some finesse, but she was soon able to blend the two into a small, pseudo-arcane blaze, burning with all the heat of a natural flame, but with the control of a magical one. She leaned in close, ears folded back as she concentrated on keeping the blue-hot flame stable, the water already simmering. "Swap the water out with more from the river," she began, still staring nigh-unblinking at the flames. "When it's done - I need to keep focusing."
Judging by the movement in her peripherals Squirrel was readying to do just that, pulling out their quartet of canteens and lining them up. "There's no huge rush," she clarified, "it's just quite a bit more difficult and draining to get this going than to keep it going, so I don't want to drop it."
"What about the feather-head?"
"Dash'll show up soon," Twilight replied tersely, ignoring the slight. "Once she sees the fire."
True to her word, the water was only just roiling when an airy thump heralded Rainbow's arrival. "Canteens out," Squirrel said. "We have to boil the water, with us so close to the swamp."
Rainbow grunted, but complied. In short order, Squirrel, her hooves covered by her jacket, grabbed the pot handles and filled a pair of their canteens. Right after that she hurried to the river, refilled the pot, and got it back on the flames - now edging towards purple - to get boiling.
Not five minutes later they were done, and, fire tamped, had some time to bathe while they waited for the canteens to cool enough to put back in their packs.
"Finally!" Twilight sighed as she sat down in the shallows and splashed herself down.
"No kidding - the smell of salt gets real old, real fast," Rainbow said as she and Squirrel did much the same. "Only downside is we can't wash our heads here," she clucked - it would be rather silly to go through all the fuss of boiling the water just to end up drinking some while washing off the sweat and dirt.
"It'll be cleaner downstream," Squirrel assured her. "Might even be here - just want to play it safe."
"Meh," Rainbow shrugged, staring doubtfully down at the clear water. "Does this even come out of the swamps? 'Cause it sure don't look like it."
"The river and its tributaries pass around it, feeding into the lowlands we were in yesterday," Squirrel elaborated as she walked back to shore, briskly shaking the water off. "So I suppose if the water's only flowing in - and this is all mountain-born - we're good."
"Nevertheless!" Twilight butted in, "I didn't go to the fuss of boiling all that just to drink from this anyways." She shook herself down as she headed back to her gear. "So we're following this due south, then?"
"Mmhmm - as much as we can, at any rate," Squirrel said as she wrung out her tail. "As long as we keep it in sight, we're good. The main plan then is to find any ol' village or town and get ourselves a boat, or a couple of canoes."
"Which we'll be paying for, I imagine?" Rainbow said from the little spot in the sun she'd found to laze and dry off in - luckily the spring sky had cleared and warmed a great deal since dawn.
Squirrel snorted, not rising to the bait. "Nah - just take it out of my pay."
"Done," Rainbow said primly.
The three of them idled a little longer, until they'd dried enough to sling their jackets and panniers on their backs without chafing. That done, they carried on, accompanied by the cheerful, burbling sounds of the river.
"I think I see something," Rainbow said, peering into the distance. They'd been travelling for some hours, sometimes by the riverside, other times detouring off to the side to get by some unpassable clump of thickets and thorns, or some water-abutting cliff, but always while keeping the Sul in sight. Standing now side-by-side on a small rise, they were hoping to spy some sign of civilization that had escaped the map-maker's notice or care.
As she was finding was often the case around the Basin, that very sign was in the form of terraced paddies or gardens. "You two want me to fly ahead? Won't take more than half-an-hour, tops."
"Sounds good to me," Twilight said, puffing after the climb and already looking for a place to sit and doff her panniers; beside her, Squirrel nodded and moved to do the same.
Rainbow immediately took to removing her own neck and flank satchels - even without the mostly-empty canteens they were still too heavy for her to fly properly - and took off flying. While gaining height she checked for landmarks to find her way back again. Below her were Twilight and Squirrel atop that greeny moss-and-shrub-covered rise they'd spent the last quarter-hour climbing; around them were similar rises surrounded by increasingly-dense clumps of trees - something they'd been seeing steadily more of since that morning. A moment's flight to the west of them was the river, while not far off to the east was a great mountain range - Squirrel couldn't remember the name of it, but she did say that there was apparently a giant, underground gnoll city somewhere in there.
Looking back to the north she could just make out what was probably that backwater Cherry Point, while ahead to the south... yep! Definitely terraces. Double-checking the landmarks beneath her, she gave several powerful pumps of her wings, the ends of her long scarf trailing behind her as she rocketed forwards.
It felt great to take to the air once again - she'd been grounded for far too long for her tastes, ever since the ship went down. Nothing to be done about it, mind - but still. Only a hooffull of clouds dotted the otherwise blue skies as she neared the distant village.
There, the river cut through a long, squat mesa, branching several times between sharp cliffs as it traveled through, with the terraces in question built up on the softer slopes just north of it. Much like Cherry Point, small, grassy-roofed stone-and-wood houses lay around it, trailing along the riverbanks and into the canyon itself.
Maybe they're built into the rock all underground-like? Rainbow wondered; certainly there were so many splashes of colour within the canyons that she knew something must be in there.
Much of the unshaped land was covered in thin forest, unsurprising considering that most of the people Rainbow could make out below were deer.
Even as she got nearer she still couldn't make out any signs of danger about - nodeer looked armed in any way, there weren't any walls or the like either. Despite that she thought there might be a dock around the western side, and maybe more buildings atop the mesa too, she figured she should just turn back now so the others wouldn't have to wait any longer than necessary - they could always just check it out together once they got there.
After one last scan she circled back, still reveling in the feel of the wind, of the feel of control - of freedom! that flight always gave her. Smiling wide, she checked the ground below to see what paths they could take to the deer village - a trip of not even an hour by her guess. By the time she neared the rise she'd left the other two on, she'd already spied a couple different routes.
Bleeding speed, she passed over a few times before landing deftly right next to them. "Looks clear," she began as she headed straight to her packs. "Little deer village along the river - goes into the rockwalls, too!"
"Should have what we're looking for, then," Squirrel said as she stood and stretched, looking eager to carry on.
"Unless they're too small? I doubt a, umm, place as rural as this even knows how to make boats with any sort of efficiency," Twilight fretted. "Might not have anything to spare."
"We'll have to play that by ear," Squirrel assured her, looking bemused at the mare's utter lack of subtlety. "Did you happen to see any good paths, Rainbow?"
"Yeah - a few. Hey! This means I get to lead for once, right?" Rainbow perked up at that - it had been all Squirrel up front at first, until Twilight had gotten fed up in the swamp and taken point - she hadn't had her own turn in charge yet. "'Cause that's totally what this means."
"Lead on, then, Dash," Twilight smiled good-humouredly.
"Alriiight," Rainbow said, taking the nearest path down the rise's southern face, the others close behind. "I'm the boss now!" After a short distance though she figured there was no point in wasting a perfectly good downhill and so, flaring her wings and giving them the slightest of pumps, she took off for an easy glide.
"You know it's not really leading if you're just flying above us!" Twilight called out to her.
"I'm just gliding here!" Rainbow shouted as she switch-backed in front of them. "And I'm technically in front of you, aren't I? So kuee-ee-dee I'm leading!"
"That's not what - that's not how you use Q.E.D.!" Twilight shouted back, exasperated. "Just don't get too far ahead! The trees are too thick for us to see where we're going down there." Although the tree cover they were heading into was hardly what Rainbow would call a 'forest,' she supposed she had a point.
"It'll be fiiine - I'll land at the bottom with ya."
"You better," Twilight grumbled as Rainbow took this opportunity to coast further away from the slope while she waited for them to descend the slow way by hoof.
The three of them reached the first of the many riverside outbuildings not long afterwards; it was more of a shed, really, sitting at the base of one of the many terraces. Although they'd surely been seen by any of the several deer tending to the crops, none had seemed bothered to do anything about them. "Too busy tending their... bushes?" Twilight wondered, her hooves shifting on the loose, pebbly riverbank beneath her. "Tea, I'd imagine, given the region."
"Sounds about right," Squirrel agreed. "I wouldn't've expected any real reaction anyways - there should be enough boat traffic down the Sul that passersby are hardly noteworthy." By now the river had widened and deepened, stretching perhaps a dozen metres across on average as various tributaries had merged into it. Although they hadn't seen a single ship all day, if Twilight's memory of the maps was correct, Squirrel was probably right. "Bit odd though - deer herds don't normally settle down enough to bother putting up terraces or anything like that."
The village - or perhaps it was a town? Twilight couldn't quite remember when the one became the other - was larger than she'd thought, given the dozens of deer (and scattering of ponies) she'd seen so far working the crops or quietly fishing along the far bank. She'd tentatively given these ones a wave, but they seemed more perplexed than communicative, waving back before whispering to one another. Maybe they've never seen a unicorn before? "I've never understood why they still do that - migrate, I mean."
"It seems fine by me?" Squirrel said, a questioning lilt to her voice.
"But with the agricultural advancements that even Avalon has surely seen this last century make seasonal migrations a waste of time! They could build something far more... grand than this" - she jerked her head at nearing cluster of buildings ahead, all small, grassy, rustic affairs - "if they gave up the practice."
"And I suppose they could ask the earth ponies to help with their crops more, then, too?" Squirrel said, still with that odd tone.
"Exactly! Deer magic isn't bad with plants by any measure, but you know as well as I do it's far more animal-centric. Ponies are much better at agriculture."
"Naturally," Squirrel said, giving a satisfied bob of her head. "I understand you completely."
They continued unaccosted until they reached a slow, wide bulge in the river. Here, a wooden pier jutted out a short ways, at the end of which a pair of bucks appeared to be fishing. The smaller of the two was bedecked in numerous colourful bead necklaces and bangles; his antlers too were decorated, their bases wrapped in thin gold chains. Teardrop-shaped earrings swayed in their hoops as he turned to peer at them.
His partner - large, with a rich, dark brown coat - was far less decorated, favouring only simple bangles and a voluminous scarf that trailed back over his withers. "Hello there!" he boomed at the three of them. "We don't often get visitors on hoof - did you flounder or something?"
"After a fashion we did, in fact," Squirrel said before Twilight could speak up. "Or these two did at least. We're looking to buy a canoe or two to get us down to Beech - anyone we can talk to about that?" The ponies' hooves clunked on the wooden pier as they tiredly climbed onto it.
"Hmm..." he dithered, glancing at his smaller companion. "Maybe. Boatwright's at the southern part of the town - follow the river and you'll find them."
"That's not exactly a 'yes,'" Twilight spoke up, fearing her worries were true.
"Don't think I've heard that accent before," the big buck said, head cocked. "We're not exactly a major harbour here - there might be something Channel's willing to sell - but maybe not." He shrugged, rubbing a hoof distractedly at the base of his antlers. "In the worse case you could probably stay around here until an open barge comes through, then hitch a ride downriver with them - won't be long before another one passes through, I suspect."
Squirrel flicked Twilight with her tail. "Thanks - we'll ask around," Squirrel said, raising her muzzle high in the air in a sort of inverse-nod. The two deer did much the same before staring at them owlishly as the trio carried on down the riverbank.
"What was that about?" Twilight asked as soon as they were out of easy earshot.
"The flick? That was to keep you from antagonizing them. Again. Obviously." Squirrel looked to be restraining a roll of her eyes with great effort.
"I wasn't going to antagonize them!" Twilight grumbled. "I just don't want these people trying to pull a fast one on us." They'd have a heck of a hard time bailing out if things got questionable within the river canyon itself.
"Uh huh. So I imagine that means these people are 'rural hicks' and not 'charmingly quaint?'"
"And what's that supposed to mean!?" Twilight huffed at the sheer indignity of it. "Are you calling me a tribalist?"
"I'm called you an Equusian," Squirrel retorted, shaking her mane in irritation. "So kind of you to humble Avalon with your presence, by the way."
"Stuff it, Squirrel!" Rainbow snarled.
"I've got nothing against deer, or any other kin for that matter! And just because Equus is considerably further along in its development doesn't mean I think Avalon is backwards, Squirrel," Twilight reasoned, wondering where in the world the mare was coming from with this. "Why, the art alone we've seen in Hurricanum has been fantastic!"
Squirrel snorted, but left it at that as she pulled ahead a few lengths, walking with her shoulders hunched and tail low.
"What the hay was that about?" Rainbow muttered to Twilight, taking the words right out of her mouth. "This some weird custom thingy? I kinda slept through the meetings about those."
"I don't" - she paused a moment, parsing through what she'd just heard - "no, I don't think so."
As they neared the mesa the river sharply branched, with one, wide path curving west to run along the cliff face, whereas the smaller, noisier path they were following cut right through. Signs hung above a large, stout wooden gate, thrown open to the world. Whereas at any other time Twilight would've been keen to look around, now she was far too lost in thought.
They passed through the gates and into the canyon in sullen silence, the cliffs either side of them enveloping them deeply in shade as they passed beneath banner-laden ropes strung across the entrance. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did she found that Dash had been right - there were buildings built into the rock.
Running down the canyon's centre was the river, perhaps a dozen metres at its widest here; a bank about half that in width ran on either side, all cobbles and stones. Raised on either side were walkways, onto which opened homes, shops, storehouses - Twilight could only guess what, really. These were all faced with stone and wood, but were clearly dug some ways into the cliffs. A trio of giggling fawns ran past them and out into the sun, as a doe's voice yelled at them to behave from the walkways above.
"Well, this is quaint," Twilight said, cheering up at the ambiance of it all before realizing what she'd just said. "I mean - oh buck," she cursed, trying not to catch Squirrel's eye. "Still! It's colourful at least, right Dash?" Smooth Sparkle - real smooth.
"Yeah," Rainbow agreed, her gaze darting between the vividly-painted signs and banners. "Glad I didn't try to fly into this though," she added, looking up at the irregularly-strewn wires all about the place. "What's up with all those?"
"Singers," Squirrel said over her withers. "You'd hear 'em if the river wasn't so chattery."
"Singers? What in the world would they need mana-cables here for?" Twilight paused before hurriedly continuing. "And it's a legitimate question! I normally only see these things around the bigger workshops."
Squirrel shrugged. "Don't know - ask around if you get the chance."
Twilight harumphed at the dismissal before turning her attention back to their surroundings. They were entering a large circular cutout, in the centre of which the river pooled before branching down a triplet of different, narrower canyons. The area seemed to act as an agora of sorts, with what were undoubtably several shops and markets bordering the walls. "It's surprisingly busy here," she noted as she glanced over what must've been a couple dozen deer and ponies moving about.
"Trade," Squirrel answered, slowing down to once again walk alongside them as they crossed one of the several littles arch-bridges that spanned the riverways. "I suspect that bigger branch at the entrance carries the barges around - probably to a proper dock - and the crew would hoof-it around in here once they did."
"This place must be a lot bigger than I thought it was, then."
"Likewise," Squirrel admitted. "Never actually been in here before."
"For that matter, this place wasn't on any of the maps I got - what's it even called?"
"Must be some crummy maps then," Squirrel snorted. "It's Nestle."
It was about now that Twilight realized they'd managed to misplace Rainbow. "Oh for goodness - where's she gotten to?" Twilight reared up on her hinds and did a quick pirouette, quickly spotting her friend's rainbow mane a little ways behind them. Worried, she stalked back to find Rainbow staring hungrily at a row of sizzling kebobs being worked on by an amused-looking doe.
"Twi!" Rainbow called out once she'd noticed her. "Food!"
"That is indeed food - well done Dash," Twilight snipped, still a bit on edge. "Don't go wandering off like that! We're strangers here and it's not like you can just fly around to find Squirrel and I if we get separated."
"But, but food!" Rainbow whined as she tried to tear her gaze away from the veggie-sticks. "I don't even recognize like, a third of the vegetables on that! And if the food's good, then today can't be all bad, right?"
Twilight sighed, but she couldn't really argue - food was one of Rainbow's major motivations for... most trips, really. "Fine - but if we get sick, it's on you!" She rooted around her panniers for some notes while Rainbow eagerly selected their fare. After a moment's hesitation she decided to get something for Squirrel as well.
Before long the three of them were munching away at their surprisingly-tasty snacks as they continued down the snaking waterways. At some point the buildings here had become multi-layered, with stairways leading up to a second, or even a third level; rope bridges crossed between scaffold walkways well above them as the general hustle-and-bustle of the place grew.
"Okay, I'll admit it - this place is much bigger than I thought it was," Squirrel said as they wove through the crowded walk.
"Maybe there's a main entrance somewhere? And we just took the quieter side one?"
"It'll be the docks - there's not much in the way of river-level supply stops in the Basin. This place must've grown a lot since Callow came through here."
"Callow?"
Squirrel shook her head. "Old friend that told me about this route, ages back. If this place is as big as it looks, we should probably ask for directions soon."
"Laaame," Rainbow said as she blithely chewed on her wooden skewer. "That buck said downriver, right? And we're going downriver, aren't we?"
"How far across was the mesa, anyways, Dash?"
"Few hundred metres I think - it's thinner in some bits, but it's more like a mini-mountain on the east side."
Twilight nodded thoughtfully. "Should be out of it soon enough; we can ask for help if we're still not by then."
As luck would have it, it was only around the next bend that they found their exit, the daylight blazing in from without. Passing into the afternoon sunlight, they found themselves in a great beach-fronted alcove of sorts, at least a hundred metres across at its widest; numerous warehouses and workshops were set against every face. The smaller riverstream they'd followed out continued on down a worked-stone channel before merging again with the main body as it flowed eastwards far in front of them. Judging by the general noise coming from the western extreme, Twilight figured the docks were likely just around the corner.
"Ya know, I can't exactly imagine them not having boats for us here," Rainbow said as the three of them stood and looked around for some sign of a boatwright. "'Cause this place looks nearly as big as Sweet Apples."
"Sweet Apples?" Squirrel asked. "And we're looking for canoes, not barge repairs."
Twilight hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose you might be right - let's ask around." She led the way towards a nearby arch-bridge that crossed the stream - there was a pony and deer in local beadery leaning on it that didn't seem too busy to answer a question. "Oh! And that's where we're from."
"Sounds nice," Squirrel mumbled before speaking up. "You two're from an orchard town?" she asked, giving them an appraising look.
"Not originally," Twilight shrugged. "But it's nice - it's peaceful there."
"I'd imagine; don't think I could handle that myself, mind - it's not home if I can't hear the thump and grind of docks and forges."
"That's right! Wanderbelle's a mining city, isn't it?"
"Yep!" Squirrel chirped, her tail twitching. "Only city in the northern passes, so it's got a little bit of everything! Can't wait to get back."
Rainbow chuffed and giggled. "Shoot - hey Twi! Look! I think Squirrel's actually happy about something for once!"
Twilight looked back over her withers just in time to see Squirrel shoot Rainbow a red-cheeked glare before settling into a pout. "Oh look," Squirrel said, "people to ask for directions." She darted ahead to grab the bridge-pair's attention.
"Maybe she's homesick?" Twilight wondered as the two of them sat back and watched the mare converse. "We are keeping her from getting back with this."
"We're hardly holding her hostage, Twi," Rainbow insisted, head tilted as she studied the mare. "Plus, the fees! Oof."
Twilight cocked a brow, a faint smile adorning her lips. "Wow - did you just say 'oof'? Aloud?"
"What? No."
"Uh huh."
"Hey - Squirrel's coming back! And she's got a partner too!"
Squirrel had indeed returned, a lithe, pale-furred doe in tow. "Back!" she said, pointedly not looking at Rainbow. "Serenade here has offered - well, insisted - on guiding us."
"Hello," the doe said in a quiet, little voice. "So it's canoes for the three of you then?"
"That seems to be the plan," Twilight answered with a glance at Squirrel - the transport was kind of in her hooves, she figured.
"If we've any to sell, they'll all be at Channel's," she said gently, nodding her head towards the eastern portion of the alcove. "His workshop's this way."
The three ponies followed close behind Serenade, near enough to hear the quiet jostling of her bangles and beads as she walked. Some sort of local custom? Twilight thought as they crossed the trodden-down green. Nodeer back home was so reliably done up; plus, several of the ponies around here are too.
"We don't normally have people looking for canoes or the like around here," Serenade started saying, her head half-turned to watch them. "It's mostly ship repairs. With a little luck Channel will have something big enough built up or dug out that he's willing to spare."
Not the most fortifying of words.
"I could always fly?" Rainbow offered. "If a two-pony canoe can take my satchels that could work."
"You sure you can keep aloft all day?" Squirrel asked, doubt clear in her voice. "Even with periodic rests we'll be covering a lot of distance on the river."
Rainbow gave a humourless snort. "Don't worry - I can keep pace, easy."
"I don't doubt she can," Twilight added before Squirrel could say anything more. "Dash is an exemplary flyer."
Rainbow puffed up her chest, smiling smugly.
"I suppose that simplifies that, then," Squirrel hedged as she changed the subject. "Hey Serenade - what's with all this bustle? It can't be this mad all the time."
"Part of the herd is going south on kinsday," she answered, an amused twinkle in her eye. "Where did you three come from not to know that?"
"Cherry Point," Squirrel answered easily. "On hoof. I didn't think anydeer in Nestle still migrated."
"Most don't," Serenade admitted. "But some do. There's good land south of here, across the Whither; it's not far. It's only because of this that Channel might have a spare canoe at all, as we won't need replacements for a few months afterwards." She came to a stop in front of a large, open workshop at the extreme edge of the clearing. The unfinished ribs of some larger ship sat in its braces in the shop's centre. The air was laden with the scent of wood chippings and pine. Out of one of the bay doors wooden beams and slats led down a pebbly beach and into the river. "Channel should be around somewhere - please wait here while I look." Without waiting for a reply, Serenade took off, quickly disappearing into the back.
Twilight found a pile of cut lumber to sit down on while they waited. "I suppose he might be out and about - looks like the rest of the workers are," she gestured towards the empty workshop.
"Geez, I hope not," Rainbow said, plopping herself down next to her with a relieved sigh. "Would suck to be stuck walking all the way to Beech."
"Might be able to barter passage with one of the trade barges," Squirrel said, rearing up on her hinds to lean lazily against the weathered shop wall. "If one's going east, that is."
"Well, as you said," Twilight began, pausing to take a swig of water. "Let's just play this one by ear."
Rainbow wasn't half bored by the time Serenade came back. Frankly, she was rather hoping they couldn't get a canoe big enough for three - she was already finding herself looking forward to spending the next few days flying near and around the other two, and not just to prove Squirrel wrong.
Although I guess I could do that even with a three-pony canoe...
"Apologies for the delay," the doe said with a dip of her head. "But you're in luck! Come - Channel's in the back."
They followed Serenade into the workshop proper, hooves kicking up little whorls of sawdust as they went. Weaving around benches piled with tools and half-finished fittings, they passed into a rear supply room; here, amidst stacks of fresh-cut lumber and cluttered shelves they found an older buck sitting cozily in a sunlit corner, pouring himself a cup of steaming tea. "Channel," the doe said, muzzle briefly raised.
"Thank you, Serenade," he answered, blowing gently on his tea before taking a tentative sip. "You three are looking for a canoe, then?" he asked, shifting in his seat to better face them.
"Three-person, ideally," Squirrel said, taking point. "Although we can likely make do with something else if needed."
"Well, you came at the right moment." He leaned far back in his chair, his antlers tapping softly against the rear wall. "I've a spare one ready, and what with the migration already well prepared we won't be needing it anytime soon. Lucky for you you had Serenade here - technically I'm closed right now for the festival."
"Ah - thank you, then, the both of you," Squirrel said as Twilight echoed her; Rainbow just settled for a nod.
"Well now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let me show you what I've got," he said, lurching off his seat with a clatter of hooves before sidling past them towards the door they'd come in through. "Right this way."
The trio followed as the old buck continued chatting, but Rainbow tuned him out in favour of wondering just how many more drams this was going to set Twilight and her back.
"And you're sure he didn't just rip us off?" Rainbow pestered Squirrel yet again. They'd settled on a price for the boat - a pine canoe just a squeak over three metres long - after a little bit of haggling, but Rainbow couldn't shake the feeling they'd been taken advantage of.
"For the last time Rainbow, no, I'm not - but I am certain that if he did, it wasn't by a huge amount."
"Easy for you to say," Rainbow grumbled, kicking a stray stone at the riverside.
"Settle down girls," Twilight chided them with a much put-upon air. "What's done is done. We were never going to get out of this cheaply, Dash" - she shot a disapproving glance at Squirrel - "but priority's on us getting out, period, drams be danged."
"I guess," Rainbow sulked. Despite having paid for the canoe with their rapidly-diminishing bank of probably-technically-stolen banknotes, they decided against picking it up until the morning - that way they'd have the full day to travel and find a solid place to put down for the night; plus, now they could use the remainder of the afternoon and evening to restock on food, as well as follow up on some advice they'd gotten about a better route through the passes.
Their loose plan now was to tent outside the town - away from the noise - and be ready for an early start. "Let's get going then," Squirrel said, ceasing her pacing. "If we're still sleeping under the stars we'll want all this well done by nightfall."
"Right," Twilight agreed. "If you'd like to purchase what we'll need in food, that'll leave Dash and I to ask after those route suggestions."
Squirrel nodded - since the changes were for after Beech, they weren't really any of her business anyways. "Sounds good."
The three of them crossed the green, reentering the crevice before splitting up at the first fork - Squirrel to go back to the agora, and the other two to follow what directions Serenade and Channel had given them. "We're looking for a junk shop, right?" Rainbow double-checked.
"Curios, but yes."
The whole thing sounded a touch odd to Rainbow - why would a shopkeep know more about course-plotting than Twilight? But they had the time, and Twilight seemed interested so... here they were.
The little passage they were in - well divorced of the stream now - was visibly cut from the stone itself, its walls gouged smooth from whatever tools or magics were used; singers ran the length of the ceiling, while brilliant faery shards hung at rough intervals, bathing the hall in warm light. Side passages came and went, noise echoing out of all of them, but this one seemed more like a steadily-ascending backalley than anything else.
"Definitely bigger than I thought..." she murmured over the dull, echoey sound of hooves as they slowly gained height.
"Wealthier too," Twilight chipped in as she reared up for a moment to squint at one of the shards. "To've had these side tunnels cut, that is. Lights are a bit cheap though - I can practically see the weave."
Rainbow nodded, peering up at a shard herself. "Oh yeah. Definitely. I totally saw a loose thread dangling from one back there too."
Twilight gave her a strange look. "I'll never understand how someone so very competent with her own magic can be so ignorant of even the fundamentals of academia."
"Natural talent."
"Of course - how could I forget."
Rainbow was saved a response when the two of them reached the end of the side passage and stepped out from underground, entering a bowl-like sunlit depression. Cottages, half-buried in the earth, were scattered hither and thither. "Looks about right," Rainbow said, recalling what she could of their directions. "It's 'go straight and look for the sign' now, right?"
"Mmhmm." She and Rainbow carried on down a surprisingly soft dirt path, their hooves welcoming the reprieve from the hard stone. They'd been told the shop was really just somepony's home's main floor, so they weren't even amongst the other shops, but rather out here, in a little clump of topside homes.
"This is nice," Twilight smiled calmly at her surroundings. "Cozy."
"Oh yeah - super quaint."
"Oh don't you start now too!" Twilight chuffed. "I can't believe the nerve of that mare - accusing us of tribalism!"
"Just you, actually," Rainbow grinned widely at her. "I'm totally clean on this."
"She clearly meant - I mean - dangit, I'm not a tribalist!"
Rainbow gave her a companionable flank-bump. "I'm teasing! Squirrel's just crazy."
"Exactly! I can hardly help drawing comparisons to the way things are back home, and it's not my fault that unlike here, we have a functioning continent-wide government and not this polis nonsense, superior airship design, a far better zephyric network" -
"No loose threads on our weaves."
"That too! Wait, no - that's not a thing, stop confusing me." Twilight shook her head in frustration as she petered out. "The point is, these are all objective things, and being objective in saying that set 'A' is greater than set 'B' is fine. Completely fine."
"Yeah! Although I do, uhh, think the whole 'cities are their own countries' thing is kinda neat," Rainbow admitted. "Would make it waaay easier to manage the weather if I didn't have to care about junk like 'regional schedules,' and 'not flooding the neighbours.' Plus we could actually start with that whole 'fixing the Everfree' thingy you guys wanted to try!"
"Well... alright, there is that," Twilight agreed. "But I'm sure the regulatory forms will be back from Canterlot by the time we get home! They might even be approved," she added with a grumble.
"The food's not bad here either..."
"Okay, there's that too," Twilight said, thinking back to those veggie-sticks, as well as all the much-finer cuisine they'd had back in Hurricanum.
Refocusing on the present she took notice of what building they were about to walk past. "Oh! I think this is it." They were standing outside a squat, two-story home that backed into the loam at the depression's edge. Various knick-knacksand metal trinkets could be seen through the big window next to the door, lying on green-velvet-covered shelves and tables. Hanging above the door was a wooden sign, creaking faintly in the breeze.
"'Waffles' Relics'?" Rainbow cocked her head. "What kinda name is 'Waffles'?"
"Possibly noone's; now let's go ask this friend of Channel's for help." After briefly discussing their intent to get back to Hurricanum - they needed to be certain the canoe was sufficient, and if it wasn't, at what point would it fail them - the buck had suggested they'd likely have a smoother trip if they portaged across several tributaries after Beech, rather than risk getting swamped on some of the rougher parts of the South Whither and Coriander rivers. Apparently the mare here was well-traveled in those parts and could advise them best.
The door opened with a tinkle as a chime above it sang out. There was a soft thump somewhere in the shop. "Just a moment!" a voice yelled out to them.
"We can wait!" Twilight called back politely before she started poking her muzzle around the place. So far as Rainbow could tell there wasn't really anything of interest here - sure, there were lots of neat looking things of crystal and brass, odd glowing whatsits, and far too many books for her tastes, but they all seemed like whatchamacallits? Mathoms. Come to think of it, the shelves looked pretty bare too.
So she waited as patiently as she could, taking care not to touch anything too delicate in case it broke, until a mare clomped heavily into the room. Turning, Rainbow saw that unlike most of the people here the mouse dun mare was dressed practically normal - just some tall boots, a vibrant green scarf, and a thin jacket over her heavily-muscled frame. "Howdy! You two don't look like locals," she said with far too much cheer. "Which means you're practically guar-an-teed to find something wonderful to bring home with you here!"
"Riiight," Rainbow drawled, put off by the mare's enthusiasm. "A little help here, Twilight?"
"Hello there," Twilight stepped up to bail her out. "We were told by the boatwright Channel that we could get some plotting advice by the mare that runs this shop, miss...?"
"Waffles!" the mare smiled widely with a toss of her peacoat mane. "And you got that right! I'm always bouncing twixt here and Riven, so I know those waterways like the back of my own hooves!"
"Riiight," Twilight couldn't help but drawl as well, shooting her friend a bemused glance. Shifting around, she made to open up her panniers. "So would it be alright if I took out my maps? Any help at all would be appreciated."
"No trouble at all - just bring them to the counter," Waffles said, blithely jerking her head towards the back. "And don't worry about buying anything in return - I'm happy to help."
Rainbow breathed a quiet sigh of relief - she was worried there for a moment that they'd be not-so-subtly told to do just that if they wanted the info. "Umm, neat shop you have here," she said as she followed, hoping to be polite.
"Nah - you're just saying that," Waffles said with an amused flick of her tail. "Practically out of anything to sell at all, to say nothing of anything good."
"Well, I wasn't going to say anything..."
The mare snorted. "Can't compete with what the barges can bring in just in passing; think I'm just going to close up soon and head back home."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Twilight said, unfurling her maps on the clear countertop. "Is all this traffic new? It seems odd Nestle wasn't on any of my maps considering its size."
"Fairly so," Waffles nodded, smoothing down the canvas and giving it a close look. "Last few years, really. Maps don't update often, and seeing as this was just a cute little tea-and-orchard village before that, it's little wonder it's not on any of these."
Rainbow reared up, setting a hoof on the counter to look over the mare's withers. The map is question had the entirety of the Basin of Fangs on it, as well as everything as far east as Weld and Riven, and south right down to Chestnut lake; she was fairly certain she could make out where Nestle would be, but she'd always been far more inclined to finding her way via landmarks - not maps.
The Whither ran from here almost directly southeast, flowing past Autumn Beech before branching; one fork carried on eastwards, but more importantly the other flowed back southwest into Chestnut lake, where Hurricanum lay at its mouth. A series of tributaries ran due east between the arms of the Seven Mines mountain range; according to Waffles, these arms were riddled with old tunnels and mine shafts. "Ideally, you two could just portage the streams as needed and pass through the mines," she said, gesturing with a pencil held in booted hoof. "It's slower than taking the river, sure, but way safer - a little canoe like yours has a good chance of flipping over on the Coriander with how nasty those rapids can be."
"I fail to see how walking through abandoned mines is any safer," Twilight said doubtfully, grabbing a fine pen to begin marking down the different route.
"Nah - the old miners wanted to move supplies through them too, ya see, so a lot of the little rivers cut through the same stone that the main tunnels do," Waffles waved away her concerns, still wearing that pleasant smile. "You'd barely have any portaging to do, really - just let the current take you."
"Uh huh. And have you actually run this path before?"
"Yep! Just the once though, and not alone either. It was a bit spooky, sure, but it got us down to Chestnut quick, and most people have to walk the hundred-and-whatever miles between ports if they don't want to take the really long way around instead."
"I suppose..." Twilight nibbled her pen uncertainly, clearly put off by the risk. "Dash?"
"Can't do the river rapids," Rainbow said pragmatically. "And walking the whole way would suck. Doesn't look like we could bail on this halfway through though. Do people use this mine-path often?" she asked Waffles, giving her a pointed look.
"Reasonably, yes," Waffles said, fiddling with her scarf while avoiding Rainbow's gaze. "I think. The more experienced ones take it, at least."
"Squirrel seems pretty capable," Twilight muttered before giving the counter a sharp rap. "We'll have to take it up with her - see what she thinks. Any other advice about the area, Waffles?"
"When in doubt: follow the river. Ground's a bit soft and reedy in some areas, but the grazing's good and the water's clear, so worse case scenario this route merely takes longer than anticipated." She shrugged. "It's why people started taking it at all despite how far it is from any towns or roads."
"It doesn't sound too bad then. Thank you, Waffles."
"No problem! Good luck on your adventure."
"'Adventure,' right," Twilight snorted as she packed up her things, the map newly inked with the paths they'd have to take, more notes on landmarks besides written in her notebook.
"Feel free to hang around town this evening," Waffles continued, walking them to the door. "Things are always festive for a few days before part of the herd goes on migration."
"Perhaps," Twilight hedged before they made their goodbyes, the door closing with a soft whump behind them.
"So what do you think?" Rainbow asked, rolling her wings as she enjoyed the warmth of the late afternoon sunlight.
"The rapids sound worrying, but I can hardly imagine anything good coming from abandoned mines."
"She said other people use it?"
"I know... just worried - I was hoping something good would come up before we got to that point."
"Still could - Beech is sure to have something or other, isn't it?"
"Yep," Twilight said, her voice echoing as they stepped back into the cool little passageway. "We'll run this by Squirrel tonight anyways."
"Yup."
"Mines, eh?" Squirrel sat back on her haunches, back braced against the carved stone wall as she unfolded the map. They'd met up back at the agora within the hour, now much quieter given the time. People were still moving about, and the air held a certain sense of cheer and anticipation to it, but the noise of the day-market had faded.
"She said they were fairly well-traveled," Twilight said, poking through the supplies Squirrel had picked up, checking that everything was there.
Squirrel hummed thoughtfully. "I know of this path," she eventually said. "It's what I would've taken you two on if I was heading down to Hurricanum myself. I'm not so certain you two could manage it on your own though."
"And here I thought you were warming up to us." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "We can do this just fine."
"And if you can't?" Squirrel asked pointedly before folding up the map and hoofing it back to Twilight.
"We graze."
"Lost in a mine, deep underground? In the endless dark?"
"Well what do you suggest then!?" Rainbow snapped at her, wings flaring. "Walking would take weeks!"
"But you'd still get there," Squirrel insisted, glaring.
"Ahem," Twilight cleared her throat, drawing the two mares' attention to her. "Waffles told us this route was fairly straightforward - just follow the river and we'll be fine. I can make light spells or even set a weave in a pinch."
Squirrel deflated a bit. "And I suppose you hardly want to spend any more time out here in the sticks than possible, eh?"
"Yes."
"Yep."
"Weeell... you could probably manage it then," Squirrel admitted. "If you're cautious about it."
Twilight nodded, smiling at Squirrel's - albeit reluctant - approval of their plan. "With how much time this saves us there's no reason not to be slow if needed."
"If that's settled then" - Squirrel shoved herself off the wall and back onto her hooves, jerking her head at the items on the floor. "I got what we needed here; food, mostly, although I got a rough smallscale map of the area - it has Nestle on it, and as you seem to collect the things I figured you'd want it."
"Thanks," Twilight said, unfolding a thick sheet of waxed parchment she'd glossed over at first, finding on it a charcoal map of the grounds and hills around them. Although it wouldn't help their navigation any, she nonetheless appreciated what it would add to her journal. "Now let's go find a good place to set up our tents for the night," she said, packing away the new supplies in her and Rainbow's satchels. "Noone will mind if we're outside the town when we do."
It was dusk by the time they'd finished setting up in a small copse not five minutes walk from town - close enough that the occasional shout of cheer could be heard echoing their way.
"Wonder what the food's like..." Rainbow stared dreamily towards Nestle. "Festival food is always good."
"You already had some local fare earlier, Dash. We should get some sleep."
"Well yeah, but this could be the last time before Hurricanum!" Rainbow said, prancing eagerly in place. "Or, like, ever! Squirrel totally said we're gonna die in the mines, right?"
"I didn't say that..."
"And if we're gonna die," she continued, "then do you really want your last thought to be not eating whatever's down there?"
"I suspect her last thought will actually something to the tune of 'curse you Rainbow, you've doomed us all.'"
"And!" Rainbow plowed on relentlessly. "And, and, and! It's local fare! We're diplomats, right? Kinda? So we've got, like, a duty to eat the stuff!"
"We really do need to get up early tomorrow," Twilight hemmed, but Rainbow could tell she was about to break.
"Please?" she tried. "Super please?"
"Oh fine," Twilight huffed, grabbing her coat. "Let's go then. But! Only for a couple hours - we're getting up at the crack of dawn!"
"Alriiight!" |
The Rivers of Avalon | Chapter 5 | Upon reentering the river-crevice, they found themselves alone. "I guess they're all at the festival," Squirrel said, smiling pleasantly in the warm shard-light. One of the few things she really enjoyed about her travelling vacations were little spots of culture and occasion like this; admittedly, there didn't seem like there was going to be anything grand about this - just a few evenings of farewell and good luck for the herd - but still. "Follow the sounds of cheer, then?"
"As good a plan as any," Twilight nodded, leading the way down the walk. She'd been doing that ever since the swamp; it was kind of annoying to have a client - or whatever the two of them were - bump her off like that.
Oh well.
"Now remember - we're just here for a bit," Twilight reminded them. "My hooves are sore enough as it is, no nevermind all the added weight from shopping."
"You could've left your gear back at the tent," Squirrel said, feeling somewhat frustrated with the two ponies' persistent paranoia. "Hidden it in a bush, like I did."
"No chance of it getting stolen if it's on me, and I don't trust every good spot around here not to already be known about."
"You could still get mugged and lose it that way."
"Yeees," Twilight drawled impatiently. "But at least then I'd feel like I'd've had some control over the situation. Now shush! The more we talk about it the more tired I feel."
"Speak for yourself," Rainbow said as she bounded past, wings out and gliding with each jump.
"Anyways," Twilight rolled her eyes. "Let's just get these snacks. If they even exist."
"And chat up some of the locals too," Squirrel hastily added. "See what things are like compared to Equus." She knew she was being really unsubtle right now, but she'd found she'd taken a liking to the two. Somehow. "For that matter, are there any distinct differences? Besides the 'princesses' thing, I mean. And the tech. I know we had a landbridge once, at least."
"Oh yes!" Twilight said, her tail swishing excitedly. "Scuffle! I hear it looks lovely, but just imagine it! A determined person could, with the right season and weather, practically walk across the Calise!"
"It's only a few metres deep in most places, isn't it?" Squirrel tried to remember what she could of the sunken Scuffle landbridge; she'd had friends that'd entertained the idea of crossing, their gear towed behind on a raft, but it never seemed particularly appealing to her - given the advent of long-distance airships, it seemed more a fete than anything else.
"Yep! The waters are supposed to be warm and clear and just filled with relics and tokens of expeditions centuries past!"
Squirrel tried to dredge up what she could of her friend's plans. "Only warm when the sea flows more north than south; can't remember what season it reverses in."
"Spring, I think? That wasn't really the focus of my studies. Where were we though? Right! The locals."
They'd entered the agora by this point, Twilight presumably figuring they'd do best to retread familiar paths rather than wander back routes to find the noise. "Sounds like it's coming from the green."
"Then let's hurry, slowpokes!" Rainbow called, bouncing back and forth across the little streams. "This way!" She bounded forwards, looking back over her withers to check if the other two were following.
"We're coming, geez," Twilight called back, picking up her pace. They'd chased her rainbow tail out of the agora and were well on the way to the green before Twilight spoke up again. "So: locals! There's a herd not far from Sweet Apple Orchards, actually."
"Really? Are they migratory?" Squirrel asked, curious. "I can't think of any other race that so reliably is - I've always thought it unique." Or mostly so at least - there were a lot of varied, semi-nomadic groups on the east coast.
Twilight shot her a surprised look. "Are there no buffalo on Avalon?"
"Bison? Nooot to my knowledge." Squirrel had read about the cloven-hoofed race before, of course, but had never even heard of any on the continent, no nevermind met them.
"Really! Fascinating," Twilight said, a genuine perk to her ears. "The buffalo tribes back home migrate almost continuously along an admittedly quite-complex route. I don't believe any of our traditional deer herds do anything of the like, or at least not anymore."
"I can't imagine too many of them living in the towns like ponies. That never seems to be the case around here, at any rate."
"Mmhmm! The demographics I've seen have most of them in smaller forest villages here and there - the ones near home are well up in White Tail, for example, bar the few in town."
Squirrel nodded, pleased that at least some things were held in common between the continents - just as ponies spooked easily and gryphons were physical, deer didn't much care for the hustle and bustle of cities. "I suppose it's quiet enough topside here, once you get away from the docks."
"Yep! Now let's see what this thing is all about."
The greens looked much the same as they did scant hours ago, but down by the riverside several bonfires were blazing, their light flickering as the crowds occasionally passed in front. A pair of long tables had been setup, but Twilight couldn't make out what was on them from this distance. All in all it looked rather comfortable, much like the festival nights back home, only here there couldn't've been more than a hundred present all told. "Well, this is cozy," she said before giving Squirrel a preemptive swat with her tail. "And don't say it."
"Wasn't going to," Squirrel snorted. "If we get split up, we can just meet back up at the tents whenever, eh?"
"Sounds good." Twilight slowed down, letting the other two overtake her as she took the chance to veer off to the right, intent on checking out the docks first. There wasn't actually much to do here - it wasn't their going-away festival, after all - but she was still curious about the size of this place, and hadn't had a chance to check it out earlier.
She was still curious about the mana-cables, too.
The wooden slats creaked beneath her as she stepped up onto the dimly-lit scaffolding built out upon the scree. She could make out water flowing languidly through the gaps, while a few passageways were bored into the face beside her.
The docks were pretty simple: just a triplet of piers jutting out into a widened section of the Sul. She could make out the silhouettes of people working on a pair of long, low barges that were moored here, resting like two great whales amongst a school of smaller canoes and cats.
Wandering out onto the nearest pier, Twilight stared up at the stars, or what few were bright enough to be seen this early. Almost the same as home, she mused, taking note of a few familiar constellations. Just... off to the side a bit. She'd always been fond of stargazing, and found it one of the scant few benefits of their grounding. Admittedly, being only a couple thousand kilometres from home meant there wasn't too much difference in the night sky, but she enjoyed it nevertheless.
So distracted was she that she almost blundered straight into someone laying on the dock edge. "Shoot!" she exclaimed, hopping quickly to the side. "I'm sorry - I didn't see you there!"
"No kidding," the short figure said, craning her neck to look up at her. "One of these yours? 'Cause if you're drunk and trying to get aboard I hardly need you stumbling into the river and drowning instead."
"What? No!" Twilight insisted, blushing as she realized she probably seemed just that. "I just wanted to check out the docks while I was in town and got distracted by the stars."
"Ah, of course," the doe said, an amused smirk on her face. "Stargazing. Definitely."
Twilight sighed, intending to just turn around and forget about this when the doe stopped her.
"Oh I'm just teasing," she said, tapping the boards next to her. "Sit! Where're you from?"
It's dark, I'm a visitor, and a strange doe wants to chat above inky waters. "Just passing through with a couple friends," Twilight said as she remained standing. "We thought we'd check out the festival before we did, though. That's where they are now; probably looking for me too."
The doe's smirk didn't falter. "Smooth. Real subtle-like - I definitely won't bite you now. And it's not a festival - more of a goodbye with a few dinners."
"Uh huh," Twilight demurred, wondering if she was maybe jumping to conclusions here. "Well, I suppose that fits the air more. Are you heading out with them?" she asked, hoping to cover her awkwardness.
"Me? Nah," the doe shook her head, the beads tinkling gently on her snub antlers. "I've been on them before, but the town's homely enough for me these days. Besides, I like working the orchard."
"Really! I've found the tea in these parts quite pleasant," Twilight said, thinking back on the several different brews she'd tried back in Hurricanum. "Do you grow them or....?"
"Tending and harvesting, mostly," the doe said, looking off in the vague direction of the tea terraces. "I like the scent, and it gives me plenty of time to chat with friends or just enjoy the quiet."
"It sounds nice when you put it like that," Twilight said, sitting down on her haunches. "Oh! While I have your ear, I do have to ask - what's with all the resonance cables strung throughout the tunnels?"
"Those?" The doe shuffled around a bit to better look at Twilight. "We have some narrow tunnels that the water rushes through quick-fast. A couple of little dams and we can skim just enough mana for the ships to have a charge."
"I guess it's obvious when you put it like that," Twilight admitted sheepishly - she really should've thought of that herself. "I can't imagine you can generate all that much though." Water-based siphoning, however common the method, was notorious for how little mana one could gain from it.
"These ships don't have much citrine to worry about," the doe shrugged. "But really now - where are you from? You clearly didn't take a ship here."
"Hurricanum," Twilight hedged - it was technically true, after all. "But our airship floundered some ways north of here; hence we're hoofing it back. Or 'canoeing it,' as of tomorrow."
"Found a boat here, eh? Lucky - I know Channel doesn't normally have much to spare."
"We were fortunate, yes," Twilight agreed. "You know, it was lucky we even found this place at all - Nestle wasn't on any of the maps I'd gotten."
"Meh," the doe shrugged again. "We weren't worth mapping not long ago. One of the rivers went oxbow a year or so back, so now the cross-basin trade ships pass by us on the way east, and not... wherever they did before."
"Not particularly interested in trade then?" Twilight wondered, as it seemed strange for the doe to not even know what stops the town were replacing.
"I like tea."
"So we've established."
The doe chuffed. "Tea, friends, good food - it's not like I need anything else, so why stress? The ships went somewhere before, and now they come here until a river goes all wonky again. Simple."
"I don't think I could manage like that," Twilight said, kneading the ground contemplatively. Just making do with work and friends? Sure, the latter were great and all, but she didn't doubt ennui would wreck her given enough time.
"Not the first to say that, but hey, whatever works for you, eh?"
"Mmhmm," Twilight hummed, turning to stare out at the gently flowing river. With the sounds of the not-festival drifting around the bend, accompanied by the dull knocking of boats against the pier, she found the whole thing rather... peaceful.
While Twilight was splitting off for the docks, Rainbow was instead making straight for the nearest of the loaded tables - she was here for the food, after all, and with a little luck nodeer would notice her having a nibble.
Squirrel tailed close behind. "Going to eat yourself sick?"
"Cuts down on food tomorrow," Rainbow said, distracted by the pleasing aromas wafting over to them. "Plus we totally have, like, a diplomatic duty to eat stuff here."
"Good ol' cultural exchange, eh?" Squirrel said, her eyes boring into the back of Rainbow's head. "Is that why you're here?"
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow stopped dead, glaring back over her withers.
"Well, you hardly seem like a diplomat," Squirrel persisted. "Twilight, sure, but you? I'm not trying to ruffle your feathers or anything - I'm just curious."
Rainbow whickered, taking a deep breath before responding. "Sure. 'Cause I sound too dumb for diplomatic stuff, right?"
Squirrel's ears folded back uncertainly. "I didn't say that."
"Then what did you say?"
Squirrel took a half-step back. "It's only that you're very, uhh, 'casual'? So it seemed odd that you'd be part of a stuffy equusian embassy - that's all."
Rainbow nearly laughed even as she puffed herself up - not because of what Squirrel had said, but simply because she'd never expected her to be so flustered. "Riiight," she said, calming back down. "'Casual.' I'm here for Twilight." Mostly true, but she didn't really feel like getting into the Elements and how that'd pulled her into boring politics.
"As a bodyguard or a... you know?"
"Geez, knock the blush off your face!" Rainbow smiled and laughed aloud at how abashed Squirrel was being. "As friends, if you know what those are. I'll keep her safe too, sure, but she needed someone to tag along with her that wasn't just there 'cause it's their job, and I had some vacation time saved up, so... here I am!
"Oh, and I wanted to try out the food, too."
"Food and friends, gotcha," Squirrel said, not entirely meeting Rainbow's eyes. "So you two aren't...?"
Rainbow swatted her with her tail. "Wow, one-track mind, much? If you're done with your fantasies let's go get some food."
"I was just curious!" Squirrel insisted, walking alongside Rainbow as they continued onwards.
"Yuh huh."
"It was a reasonable conclusion!"
"Yuh huuuh."
Squirrel could only sigh.
Despite Rainbow's best efforts, Squirrel wasn't keen on letting her long out of sight. "I'm not leaving you alone here, Rainbow."
"Five minutes? Can't you just give me five minutes?" Rainbow whined, pausing in her attempt to stuff an entire wrap into her mouth.
"And have you get into some bizarre argument ending in a hooffight!? Not a chance," Squirrel insisted - there was just no way this mare wouldn't find some way to stir up trouble. "And chew your food! I don't need Twilight setting me on fire because you choked to death."
"It would serve you right," Rainbow grumbled, slowing down to chew. "Besides, it not my fault if some people need a good bonkin' from time to time."
"How in the world the two of you even made it this far I'll never know," Squirrel groaned, massaging her temples.
"How could we not? We've got me!"
"Oh yes, how silly of me to forget." Squirrel shook her head, staring off into the dark. "Can you see Twilight at all? If we're heading back we might as well go as a group."
"Haven't seen her yet." Rainbow leapt straight up with a pump of her wings, getting just enough height to pirouette a few metres above Squirrel's head before coming back down. "Nah - no lavender. Still at the docks maybe?"
"Maybe. We should probably find her."
"Geez, now who's the paranoid one?" Rainbow said as she nevertheless lead the way.
"I hardly need her getting spooked and setting someone else on fire, either."
"I guess it is dark out there," Rainbow agreed.
The pebbles slid and crunched underhoof as they passed out of the firelights. They'd snuck a bit of food, but otherwise hadn't much felt like mingling - they didn't know anyone here, after all. "So," Squirrel said after a time. "What do you do, anyways?"
"Didn't we just talk about that?"
"No, no - I mean, you said you've got vacation time saved up, right?"
"Are you... surprised I have a job?" Rainbow asked, bemused. "'Cause like, wow, I've got a job, ya know."
"Oh for goodness sakes - I know that!" Squirrel scoffed. "I mean, what do you do? Postal service? Courier? Mail?"
"Aren't those literally the same things?"
"Are they? I hadn't noticed."
"I'm a weatherpony," Rainbow said, lightly jabbing Squirrel with a wing. "Sweet Apples is an orchard-town, remember? Gotta keep it rainy when the trees need it, and not when they don't."
"Kind of - not enough pegasi around these parts for a dedicated weather service; not anywhere I've been, at least. Does it really help all that much?" Squirrel was curious here - plants seemed to do alright to her reckoning with natural weather, but she was also quite well aware that nobody really tried to force plants to grow where they couldn't do well on their own, either.
"Yep! I don't really know myself, I guess - I've only ever been there as a weatherpony, ya know? But all the old farmers say their stuff grows way better since Sweet Apples got its own weather team." She paused to race up the flight of steps leading up to the dock's walkway, great, hollow thunks resounding with each bound. "Right!" she continued, impatiently waiting for Squirrel to plod up after her. "So... weather! What about you? Got a job?"
"Yes. Obviously."
"Being a mean hobo doesn't count."
"I'm not a hobo," Squirrel rolled her eyes. "I'm a cook."
"... a hobo-cook?"
"Dangit Rainbow - I'm trying to be friendly here!"
"... hobo-friendly?"
Rainbow squealed in laughter as she darted forward, dodging Squirrel's half-hearted swipe. "Just a normal cook, Rainbow!"
"Wow, cranky Squirrel's a cook? For some reason I thought you'd be something different."
Squirrel caught back up to walk alongside her. "I can do other stuff," she said, feeling suddenly defensive. "My skills just don't travel well - so when I moved to Wanderbelle for a bit, the only job I could get was in cooking. I like it, anyways - it does travel well."
"I guess they're always hiring cooks somewhere, huh? And I can totally do more stuff than weather, too," she added, a touch defensive herself. "I'm just... not, right now."
"Fair enough; I mean, you're technically a bodyguard right now."
"Exactly!"
"Just like I'm a chartered guide, I suppose."
"Sure - a lousy one," Rainbow snorted, darting ahead again to keep out of reach.
"You two'd still be stuck in Cherry if it wasn't for me," Squirrel said, catching up to Rainbow, stopped as she was at one of the jetties. "Or blundered off in to the swamps and died."
"Meh - we'd have worked something out," Rainbow shrugged, jerking a wing down the pier. "Found her."
Squinting, Squirrel could just make out Twilight's coat and jacket in the dim moonlight, seated down amiably next to somebody. "She found someone to chat to, it seems."
"Not my fault noone here has anything interesting to say."
"How would you even know? I've been with you this whole time and you haven't said a thing to anybody here."
"Well there's your answer, isn't it?" Rainbow said, clopping heavily towards Twilight. "You scared them all off."
Squirrel hesitated. "I don't frown that much."
"You totally do. You glare, too. Hey Twi!" Twilight had been watching them as they approached, only now giving them a nod.
"Dash, Squirrel," she smiled at them. "It's getting late, isn't it?" She stood, stretching catlike before giving the doe a friendly nod. "Thanks for the chat, Crennel. Good luck!"
The doe waved her off with an amused look. "Yeah, yeah - off you go, Twilight."
Twilight joined the other two as they made their way back up the pier. At least the evening wasn't a total waste, Squirrel mused as they took what looked like a shortcut, heading into one of the tunnels. Hopefully meeting a few friendly locals would help Twilight relax more - she was far too quick to think the worst of things. "Have fun?" she asked after a bit.
"Mmhmm!" Twilight said, looking immensely pleased with the evening. "We chatted a bit and stargazed some - they have different constellations here! I mean, the stars are the same, but the symbology! The mythology! I'll definitely have to find a book on the subject once we get back."
"Ah, good," Squirrel said approvingly. "I'm no good with stars myself - if you don't count a few for navigation - but it's nice someone was a little outgoing tonight."
"I'm outgoing!" Rainbow said, indignant. "I just didn't wanna talk about boats and tea and stuff!"
"Well, look at Twilight - I bet she didn't expect a stargazing discussion this eve."
"Not in the least," Twilight chimed in.
"See? For all you know there could've been someone here that liked talking about, I don't know, cow-tipping or napping or something."
"Yes, because those are my hobbies," Rainbow drawled. "I hardly saw you trying to strike anything up! Heck, there're probably, like, a dozen people here who get lost in swamps for funsies - you could've shared tips."
"It was one time! You'd still be in there without me - don't deny it."
"I'd've flown out."
Squirrel gave a theatrical gasp. "And left poor Twilight behind? Scoundrel!"
"As if! I'd've carried her! Somehow. We'd've made it work!"
The stream burbled merrily beside them as they turned into the main tunnelway, Nestle's main river-entrance not far ahead. "You seem chattier than usual," Twilight opined, interrupting the two's banter. "It's nice, I mean - just surprising."
Squirrel's shoulders hunched uncomfortably before she straightened back up. "I suppose I was mostly irritated with you two at first - a pair of dumb tourists in over their heads, you know? But you did alright in the swamps." She shot Rainbow a smirk. "That's 'you' singular, not plural, by the way."
Rainbow swatted her with her tail.
"Anyways! You did well enough in the swamp, Twilight, sooo yeah."
"Smooth."
Squirrel settled for giving Rainbow a sharp poke.
"Well, I for one think it's nice you're opening up a little," Twilight said, resolutely ignoring the two mares' attempts to jab one another. "It's quite mature."
"Thank you, Twilight. I'll see you safe to Beech yet - ow!"
"Ha! I win!"
"For goodness sake's, Dash - do you have to prod everybody you meet?"
"...no?"
Twilight couldn't seem to think of anything to say to that, and it wasn't until they'd left the caverns that she spoke up again. "This was nice."
Squirrel nodded contentedly. "Not quite as... festive as I'd hoped, but yeah, it wasn't a bad evening."
"Food was alright," Rainbow shrugged. "I think it was a potluck though, and those are always kinda iffy."
"I, umm, actually forgot to eat," Twilight said sheepishly, mussing her mane. "Good thing we've got plenty for the trip."
"Eating right before bed? Tut, tut." Rainbow teased her. "And we've got to get up so early, too."
"I'll sleep just fine, Dash."
They were well approaching their tents, set up in a little copse; Squirrel veered off to retrieve her hidden packs from the dense bushes she'd tucked them in.
She breathed a quiet sigh of relief when she found them still there - despite what she'd said earlier, there was a chance they'd go missing, and she'd've been more than a little upset if they were. Hatchet, compass, flint... yup, all here.
She rejoined the other two good-naturedly bickering with one another, but chose to ignore them, instead crawling right into her tent, dropping her panniers next to her, and going to sleep. |
The Rivers of Avalon | Chapter 6 | "You can barely even see it from this angle, can you?" Twilight rested on her haunches, staring north, back towards Nestle. Although she knew where it was - the rivers betrayed as much - she couldn't make out more than a few buildings and terraces from here.
"Well, it is underground. Mostly." Rainbow said, likewise resting. They'd picked up the canoe in the morning with little fuss, and were originally intending to simply set it in the river and be on their way; Channel, though, had recommended a short portage to a much nicer starting point that should shave off some time.
Unfortunately, they hadn't anticipated just how ruddy awkward portaging was going to be - with their backs so cluttered with jackets and panniers, they were forced to carry the thing overhead whilst on their hinds. It was doable, certainly, but quite fatiguing.
The path had taken them over a small rise, giving them their last look back; it also gave them a good look forwards, too.
From here, the three of them could make out the steep embankments and cliff faces ahead, beginning almost immediately where the Sul merged with its tributaries to flow eastwards as the Whither. Luckily - at least in so far as Twilight was concerned - the pillar-cliffs so common to the Basin's topography continued on for just a little ways yet.
"They're just so pretty!" Twilight gushed, as they prepared to move on.
Rainbow shrugged, hoisting her own end of the canoe up with a grunt. "Cliffs are cliffs."
"You can't tell me you don't enjoy the change of scenery from back home," Twilight insisted. "We have so little karst like this in Equus."
"They're rocks."
"You don't like them even a little?"
"Meh."
"And you're not just being difficult?"
"Mmmmeh!"
"You know," Squirrel interrupted the budding bickering. "There's more of that kind of thing south of here, or even far to the east - Riven and Tipple and all that."
"Really! But, shoot - no time to see it."
"No kidding," Rainbow grumbled, her head occluded by the boat. "We're heading straight home once we get back. Now! Are you gonna pick up your end, or...?"
Twilight jolted, hurrying towards the middle of the canoe to stand between the other two. "Oh! Right - sorry." She reared up, settling the gunwales as best she could on her shoulders. "We're good!"
"Off we go then," Squirrel said, her voice echoing dully back from the front; they'd quickly found it easiest to orient themselves by height, tallest at the front, to better balance the burden.
Almost immediately they were far too busy concentrating on where to place their next step to carry on talking. Occasionally one of them would trip, or would lose their balance, falling forwards safely on all fours before rearing back up to continue their journey.
Twilight puffed tiredly; while she could manage the weight of her gear and canoe - if only just - her posture was just killing her. It was none too soon when Squirrel, after hefting the canoe above her head once again to check on their progress, finally gave them the good news.
"We're here!" Squirrel huffed out. "Let's get this set down - don't drop it!" she added, as the grass and soil beneath Twilight's hooves shifted abruptly to mud and pebbles. Lowering the boat down gently, Twilight got her first good look at where they were.
Or, at least, she got a good look at the far bank, seeing as the one they were on consisted wholly of sight-blocking trees, left and right. Across the river - swollen now to some dozen metres wide or more, its current noticeably flowing leftwards, to the east - were yet more densely-set trees, climbing back up the cliff slope behind. Gone were the limnic pillars - facing them now was nothing than unforgiving granite, stretching unbroken down the riverway and out of sight.
"It'll be a canyon, for a bit," Squirrel said, having noticed her gaze. "Steep-sided, I think. Haven't been down it myself, but I've never heard anything bad about its waters."
"'No rapids' is good," Twilight said perfunctorily, as they'd already covered this briefly with Channel. He'd hedged a little about the details, but seemed confident they could take the canoe down - apparently it was uncommon for anybody to try, though seeing as most would use the barges this made sense.
"Might take us a couple days," Squirrel added, shooting Rainbow a look. "And you're sure you can fly all day? Because if some of these sections are too gnarled or steep for us get ashore, you won't be able to get aboard if you're tired."
"I'll be fine, mom," Rainbow snipped, flexing her wings wide. "And I'm definitely flying for the first bit."
"Just signal if you want us to pull ashore," Twilight said as she loaded her gear into the canoe, sitting now as it was at the water's edge. "Hoof me your satchels, please."
Squirrel joined her, stowing their gear more or less evenly across the boat. With little ado, she started pushing the boat into the water. "Let's get in - quick," she said, hopping in herself.
The canoe rocked disconcertedly beneath her as Twilight clambered onboard, quickly making to plant her rump on the thwart nearest the bow. They coasted a few metres out, leaving Rainbow to stare owlishly at them from the shore. "Geez!" she called out to them. "Not even a little warning? What if I'd changed my mind!"
"Too late!" Squirrel shot back at her, as the canoe turned to face downstream. "Now get flying! If you end up with a cramp or something we're still close enough to notice!"
"Flying doesn't work that way!" Rainbow shot back as, with a few quick paces, leapt into the air to glide low over the water, catching up with them in barely a moment. "I mean, the wings are important and all," she said, zooming past. "But they're not really the thing, ya know?"
"Not really," Squirrel muttered as Rainbow angled up, gaining height.
"Wings are more for steering and expression," Twilight said, beaming brightly as she lounged at the bow, staring down through the water at the rocks and fish below. "But the flight itself is ultimately wrought from one's own innate magic."
"You and your fancy words," Squirrel rolled her eyes, smiling.
"Merely precise," Twilight said, still immensely pleased that they were finally at the part of the journey that didn't involve grotesque amounts of walking.
They let the canoe bob languidly downstream, not even bothering to pick up the oars and get to work and instead simply enjoying themselves. Looking up, they could make out Rainbow slowly circling high above.
Alas, it couldn't last forever. "Well, let's get going then," Squirrel said with a heavy sigh. She grabbed the oars, hoofing one over to Twilight, and began slowly rowing. "I never did ask," she said after a minute. "How accustomed are you to this?"
"Hmm?" Twilight looked up back over her withers, distracted as she was with the scenery. "This? As in, rowing?"
"Yeah."
Although the motion wasn't quite like anything she did on a regular basis, it hardly seemed difficult. "I'm new, but I doubt we really need to pace ourselves much."
"Good, good.
"...
"So! Do you normally camp much?"
"Not really."
"Swim?"
Twilight gave her a funny look. "Are you... is this you trying to make small talk?"
"I, uhh," Squirrel hemmed with a guilty look. "Maybe? It's just that I chatted plenty with Rainbow yesterday - did wonders to confirm just how annoying she is."
Twilight giggled, but couldn't really defend her best friend in this.
"So I figured I might as well try it with you," Squirrel continued.
"Weeell I like books!" Twilight started, figuring she might as well play along. "Or rather, I like knowledge! And books contain that, after all."
"I've gotten that impression, yes."
"But I suppose you were asking about swimming, weren't you?" Twilight said, dutifully trying not to get too offtrack. "I enjoy it well enough - used to vacation with the family to a lake not too far from home."
Squirrel's brows shot up. "You have foals!?"
"What? No!" Twilight snorted, nearly dropping her oar. "'Family' as in 'parents and brother.' I'm way too young to think about kids."
"Oh, uhh, right! That does make more sense," Squirrel said, looking anywhere but at Twilight.
"I should think so!"
By this point they'd traveled a good ways downriver; Twilight was glad she'd kept her jacket on - however warm it may've been in the sun, it was jolly chilly down here; given how steep the cliffs were, this place probably saw no more than an hour or two of sunlight a day. Dense trees lined the banks, evidently able to grow comfortably enough within the shade.
Rainbow had long since disappeared from sight, but this was of little worry - it wasn't as though she could fail to find them. Squirrel's attempt at small talk petered out too; Twilight was little surprised - forced chatter didn't seem her style.
The river wound steadily onwards, joining with other tributaries flowing out of little side gullies and cracks. The morning passed, and the shadows lessened.
Twilight and Squirrel were just rooting through their gear for some lunch when Rainbow reappeared, angling low to swoop once overhead; banking sharply, she came back around to a rough hover. "Hey!" she shouted breathlessly down to them. "Pull over! We gotta talk!"
"Alright!" Twilight shouted back to her, hastily dropping her pannier to look around for anything resembling an approachable beach.
"Over there," Squirrel said, catching her attention and pointing to a small, shaded alcove they could tuck themselves into. After several metres of rowing the water had become shallow enough for Twilight to simply stick her oar on the pebbly bottom and drag the canoe closer. They soon hit land with a soft bump moments before Rainbow glided to a landing beside them, cobbles crunching as she slid.
"Much better," Rainbow said, still sounding a little winded. "Needed to talk to you two before you got much further."
"Tired?" Squirrel asked, eying the beads of drying sweat adorning the pegasus. "You've been flying all morning."
"Well you'd be tired too if you just scouted everything for I-don't-know how many miles!" Rainbow said snappishly. "Look, I can't even see the river up ahead - the trees are all overhanging it like mad. No way around it, either."
"Then you're with us from now on," Twilight nodded. "Too much of a risk otherwise. Did that section look okay otherwise?"
"Dunno - it all just looks like trees from above," Rainbow shrugged. "Flew low over a bunch of it though; not nearly as many birds fluttering around as I'd've expected, but maybe that's just normal here?" She shrugged again, aiming a look at Squirrel.
"Well don't at me! I walked around all this the last time I was here, remember?"
"Mares and gentlecolts: our guide," Rainbow snarked, hopping onto the canoe before Squirrel could respond, the boat rocking violently beneath them.
"I - hold on," Squirrel muttered, fighting a moment for balance. "I'll still get you two through this - just because I don't know about your mysterious bird-lacking doesn't mean my bushcraft isn't leagues beyond your own."
"If you two are going to fight, then at least do it while we're moving," Twilight interrupted, straining against her grounded oar as she sought to push them back out.
"We're not fighting!" Rainbow insisted as she scrounged around for her own. "Besides - I totally won."
"Gods, you're annoying. Remember how I said she was annoying, Twilight? She's really annoying."
"Oh shush, Squirrel," Twilight said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. "Now let's get rowing."
It was startling just how sharp the transition had been. They'd been floating on, enjoying the barest hint of the noon-day sun shining down on them, when the trees either side suddenly started changing from the mostly-straight sprawl of evergreens and cottonwoods to ever-thickening clusters of short, willow-like trees, their upper boughs spreading wide and weaving together like a light-blotting mesh above.
"Aaand it's night now," Rainbow said, only partially joking.
"As long as the water keeps flowing, we'll be fine," Twilight assured her, staring up into the dense canopy. "The barges do this trip regularly enough, after all."
"That they do," Squirrel affirmed, still quietly rowing from the stern. The river here was as much as twenty metres across, and probably a few metres deep to boot - they weren't likely to flounder anytime soon.
"So," Twilight said in the dimming light. "Any guess how long it'll take for us to get out, Dash?"
"Yeah - dozen miles or so," Rainbow said, her wings fluttering faintly as she scowled into the woods. "Was a little hard to tell, but I'm sure I saw glints about that far along."
"Well, it won't take us long at all, then."
Although it felt like hours had passed, Rainbow was pretty certain it'd only been one - tops. The scarce light that filtered through had settled into an evening-like gloam, but the air was still fresh and clear, and the water flowed steady, if too slow for her tastes.
She was starting to feel antsy too, having done little more than continuously sitting and rowing - the sheer lack of movement was irking her. "How are we not out yet!?" she burst out into the silence.
Twilight jumped in her seat. "Geez! Don't scare me like that, Dash," she scolded her, scrambling to retrieve her oar from the hull.
"It's just so dumb!" Rainbow continued griping, her wings stretching and folding reflexively. "I should've just stayed flying!"
Squirrel, for once, stayed quiet.
"It's better that you're here with us," Twilight said in a calming voice. "We should stick together in this."
"I know, I know," Rainbow grumbled - it wasn't like she needed to be told that, though it was obvious why Twilight was saying it anyways. "Just... yeah, I know."
"We should be out soon enough - with the way the river's narrowed, we've definitely picked up speed." She was right about that - the Wither was not a dozen metres wide here, little whitecaps foaming at shallow spots hither and thither.
"I guess," Rainbow grumbled, but before she could continue griping her eye was caught by a mossy smudge up ahead. Squinting, she could see it - a great boulder sitting squat in the river, dividing it in twain. "Yo," she said, prodding Twilight in the back.
"What? Oh," Twilight said, as her gaze followed Rainbow's pointing hoof. "Squirrel?"
"Yeah, I see it. It's a rock."
"Yes, well done Squirrel, but what I meant was - "
"I know what you meant," Squirrel huffed. "I asked around about this kind of thing in Nestle - the Wither forks and wiggles a bunch, but it all ends up going where we're going. Barges always take the wider path, I think - it's deep enough and wide enough for them."
"Wait! So there's faster rivers?" Rainbow asked, trying not to get her hopes up.
"Yep. I was going to suggest we take them, actually."
Twilight turned back from peering out at the approaching fork. "Do you know if the branches stray that far apart? My map doesn't have the detail for that, but if they're close enough we could always portage back to the main route if we change our minds."
"Should do," Squirrel said, adjusting her oar. "We'll take it, then? The more time we save the better, and I'd hate to still be in the boat when night falls."
Twilight nodded. "Sounds good to me."
"Alriiight!"
The trio angled off towards the southern side of the river, aiming to take what seemed like the quicker of the two paths. Rainbow figured they'd probably have a bit of a bumpy ride - maybe there'd even be rapids! - but it shouldn't really be a problem given how big their canoe was.
The boat bumped and rocked as it passed over the unexpectedly shallow mouth of the branch, immediately picking up speed as it did. "Yes!" Rainbow cheered. "Finally! Some actually speed!" No nevermind that they weren't even at a trotting-pace, because compared to before? Like lightning.
"You that claustrophobic?" Squirrel asked.
"What? No," Rainbow said with some confusion. "But if we've got these dang trees above us then I can't scout and find you again, obviously. Plus... yeah, I hate it when I can't fly even if I wanted to, but that's more of a takeoff problem on this thing," she said, giving the hull a solid thump with the butt of her oar, "than a tree-thing." Admittedly, she probably could takeoff on such an unstable base, but since she'd just as likely tip the canoe as not when she did, it wasn't really an option.
"I hadn't thought about that," Squirrel admitted, tapping a hoof against the hull herself. "You've been taking off from a standstill the last few days."
"Well sure - on solid ground."
Around them, the river kept picking up speed until it reached what must've been a solid trot, the water burbling loudly all about. The trees thinned perhaps a touch too, letting them see further around them than they could before.
"What was that?" Twilight said, jerking her head sharply leftwards. Looking, Rainbow couldn't make out anything - just bushes, trees, rocks, and... hang on.
"Wait - I see something too," she said, peering into the gloom. "A bear, maybe?" It'd looked like a dark blob darting low over the ground, its form soon lost from sight.
"Whatever it is, we're on a boat," Squirrel said frankly. "There's no pony-threats out here, anyways. There's no way I wouldn't've heard about it if there was."
"I wasn't getting spooked."
"Well, just ignore it then."
Rainbow intended to do just that, except -
"There it is again!" she said, pointing to another of the blobs, like a low, spindly-legged mound. "Or a different one - can't see nothing in this."
"I... yes, I can see it," Squirrel admitted, a note of uncertainty in her voice. "Can't say I know quite what it is, but again - we're in a boat. We're fine."
They didn't see anything more of the odd creatures for a while after, their canoe drifting happily downstream as their branch of the river soon turned to butt up against the cliffwalls, giving them a pleasant sense of security.
Their speed had picked up once again though as the river became ever shallower. "Left!" Twilight shouted back to them. "On three! One! Two!" With a grunt, Rainbow pushed down hard on her oar as the three of them worked to heave the stuck canoe off the rocks. With a lurch, they rotated almost perpendicular to the flow before dislodging and continuing down the budding rapids.
"'Both paths should be fine,' she said," Rainbow muttered mutinously. "'They'll both take us where we're going,' she said."
"And they are, aren't they?" Squirrel replied testily, doing her best to steer them on. "We'll be fine!"
Rainbow just grumbled in response, not at all happy with how rough the trip had become. She was jostled back heavily as they rammed against another cluster of stones. "This isn't working!" she shouted to the other two.
"Leftwards, then!" Twilight called back. "Port! Let's beach before we break something!"
Rainbow grunted again, her oar digging in as they fought the current and aimed for shore.
"Canoe's okay," Twilight confirmed, having gone over the outer hull carefully with Squirrel. The two of them were on a short, rock-and-mud section of the riverside, still puffing softly from the fight it took to get them just this far. It was abundantly clear that they hadn't the skill to take to the river again - at least not here, where it was so rough. Unfortunately, the portage was anything but a pleasant alternative.
A rustling, crunching noise heralded Rainbow's return. "It looks pretty clear in there," she said as she pushed back out of the woods. "It's only bushy here by the river."
"Walking's back on the table, then," Squirrel said, sitting back on her haunches as she pondered the situation. "Might be our only option."
Twilight nodded slowly as she tried to work out just how far away they were from the main river route. "The canyon's not that big," she began, scuffing at the ground in thought. "We can't be more than a kilometre - maybe two - from the Wither proper."
"Oh joy," Rainbow said, grabbing her gear in resignation. "More boat-carrying, but this time through weird bug-bear-thingy territory."
"I'm sure whatever it was, it was harmless," Squirrel said, sitting up to gather her own belongings. "And if it's not, Twilight can always blow them up, right?"
"I can?"
"Well... can you?"
"Umm..." Technically, battle-magic was well within her abilities to perform; unfortunately, she'd never seen any reason to actually learn any such spells before. "Let's not count on it."
"Oh. Shoot."
Rainbow rounded on her. "Hey! I thought you said there weren't any pony-eaters out here!?"
"I did! There aren't! I definitely would've heard about them if there was!"
"Not if the Nestlonians didn't want us to know!"
"'Nestlonians'?" Squirrel mouthed, aghast at the bizarre word.
"Dash, I really don't think the village conspired to send us to our doom," Twilight said, hoping to temper Rainbow's defensive... enthusiasm. "I'm certain there'd've been better methods to do so it they did."
"Yeah, well - fine. But if we all get eaten then I totally told you so," Rainbow harumphed.
"Wouldn't 'Nestlians' sound better?" Squirrel mumbled.
"No, that sounds pretty awful too," Twilight said, securing her and Rainbow's pannier straps. "Now let's get this canoe up and going while we still have plenty of light. Which way's north, Dash?"
"That way," Rainbow said, pointing as she wrestled her end of the canoe upside down.
"Then we've a heading." In short order they'd gotten the canoe up and over their heads before trooping heavily into the woods, leaving the merrily babbling river behind.
Rainbow was right - it was pretty clear out here, the initially thick line of bushes having only extended a hooffull of lengths in. Twilight couldn't see too much from her place in the middle, but she knew she should have a fairly straightforward time of it - the trees were spaced just far enough apart their path wasn't too serpentine, although the rocks and ruts in the ground led to more than one instance of cursing and stumbling. Unfortunately, there was one other problem.
"Can you still see them?" Rainbow asked, her voice low.
They'd been forced so slow by their route that they didn't even need to stop for Squirrel to heft the canoe above her head. "Yeah," she said, voice hushed. "Two, now. They look skittish." The odd creatures had returned; at barely more than barrel height, with four spindly, arched legs, thickly-scaled back, and what Twilight was fairly certain were a pair of pedipalps, they hardly seemed too threatening as they lurched and skittered about. Intimidating, certainly, but logically not too threatening.
Unless they were venomous, of course.
It didn't help that all her senses were screaming 'pack animal,' either. They appeared to just be observing the trio for now. Normally any sensible pony would find another path, but they were becoming increasingly worried about the waning sunlight.
"Slow and steady, then," Twilight said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. "They're probably just curious, anyways."
"Seriously, Twi?"
"Well... they're not doing anything but watching us, right? So that's good." Of course, it was a bit difficult to know for sure given that the canoe's bobbing kept blocking their sight.
It was only a few minutes later, after having dragged the canoe up a particularly difficult slope, that the third one appeared almost directly in their path. "Hold up," Squirrel whispered, abandoning the canoe as she crouched down low.
"Maybe get your hatchet out?" Rainbow suggested, eying the creature warily.
Squirrel shook her head. "I'm better off bucking - grab it if you want it."
Twilight split her attention between the two of them while she tried to figure out what to do. Something about this didn't seem to add up to her, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. "Don't go charging in, Rainbow," she cautioned, creeping up to join the other two as they huddled against an adjacent tree. Almost immediately the creature thumped its forelimbs down into the earth, screeching.
"You sure you don't know any blow-things-up spells, Twilight?" Squirrel asked, not even bothering to keep her voice down now.
"Nothing appropriate for this!" she squeaked.
With a grinding, tearing noise the creature tore rough lines into the earth, chunks of dirt and rock flying all about. A moment later, however, it skittered backwards and out of sight. The trio stared after it for several quiet moments before speaking.
"That's... odd," Twilight finally said. Was it a sentry sounding an alert?
"Gone is good," Squirrel said, hushing her voice once again. "We going back?"
"And walk the rapids? The shore, that is," Twilight said uncertainly. "But we must be nearly there, right? Maybe we should press on."
Rainbow snorted, standing on her hinds and peering around suspiciously at everything. "They'll follow us if we go back, won't they? They've been following us since we took the fork."
"Maybe. Unless we're nearing their nest, or warren, or whatever." Going forwards hardly seemed the sensible option, but going back didn't seem much safer. "What happened to the other two?"
"Gone. Or hiding."
They settled into an uneasy silence. Although Twilight knew that the sensible thing was to turn back, her intuition kept poking holes in her thoughts. "Right, let's look at this rationally," she began thinking quietly aloud. "Either route can get us to the main river, but as both can attract these creatures those points cancel each other out. Going forwards is more likely to attract attention, mind you, but as it should also have us out of here sooner there'd be less time to attract attention in." She fell to muttering to herself before speaking clearly again. "Getting there sooner helps us get out of these woods sooner too, though, so that would seem the better option... if it's a burrow of sorts it'd be even worse, though. Shoot."
"I say we go forwards," Rainbow chipped in in a whisper, hatchet still in hoof. "Running from things just makes you more scared, right? So let's not run."
"Don't know if we can hack and buck our way through them if we get in trouble," Squirrel dithered, clearly not too fond of the idea, but just as clearly wary of the alternative. "Can you levitate and bash things with rocks and sticks, Twilight?"
"Hmm? No - telekinesis impels virtually no force upon the levitated object. I'm surprised you don't know that."
Squirrel shrugged self-consciously. "Never thought to ask anyone before."
"We can look after you, Twi," Rainbow assured her, tucking the hatchet under a wing as she fell back to all fours. "So... forwards or back?"
Squirrel peered quietly at Twilight, apparently leaving the decision up to her. Well, here goes nothing. "Let's go on." The sooner they were out the better, and it was feeling far too much like the creatures would be harassing them no matter which path they chose.
"Okay then," Squirrel nodded as she moved back to the canoe. "Let's be quiet about this."
The three of them carefully, fretfully, heaved the canoe back overhead and started forwards once more. Progress was exceedingly slow, with either Squirrel or Rainbow's end hefted high enough at all times to let them keep lookout. While occasionally they could make out one or more of the creatures, they were always keeping their distance - much to the ponies' relief.
They'd reached a small rise when they put the boat back down to rest. Taking long pulls out of their canteens, they sat on their haunches, staring worriedly out into the gloom. "I wonder what time it is," Twilight whispered to herself.
"Probably after noon?" Squirrel muttered back. "Not long after. All goes well, we should be well down the river by nightfall."
"Can we backtrack to Nestle? There's a deer or two I'd like to yell at."
"Heh - nah, it's all upriver I'm afraid."
"Dang."
"More of them over there," Rainbow interrupted, pointing down and left of the way they were going. "See that ridge?"
Twilight peered out into the distance; a particularly large tree, fallen with its roots exposed to the sky, quickly caught her eye. Squinting, she could make out movement in its divot.
"There's more around the tree itself, too," Rainbow added, frowning.
"We'll go wide around it," Twilight decided. "If that's some sort of nest, then we don't want to get any closer than we have to."
"Would've expected more of them around there if that were the case," Squirrel chipped in. "Unless they're scared?"
"I suppose they could be," Twilight conceded hesitantly. "We are considerably larger than them; plus, we've only really seen a few of them at a time - maybe there isn't actually that many of them?"
"Let's not count on it," Rainbow said dismissively, looking eager to move on. "Safer that way. I'm good to go."
"Same," Twilight nodded.
They carried on down the steep northern side of the rise, keeping an ever-watchful eye on the ridge. By this point they could see several of the creatures moving about. Curiously, only a few of them were actually watching the party; the rest appeared to be darting in and out of sight, or disappearing up into the canopy. "At least we know where the birds went," Rainbow mumbled, ears folding back.
"And at least they don't seem to be web-spinners," Squirrel added.
"Unless it's invisible thread?"
Twilight, head ducked low, saw the nearest of the creatures jerk towards them as they spoke. "Quiet!" she hissed out, giving Rainbow a telekinetic poke in the back. "They can hear you!" As if on queue, the creature rapped hard on the ground before charging towards them.
Twilight held her breath as it approached, hoping it was just feigning.
"It isn't stopping!" Rainbow barked, ducking out from beneath the gunwales before the creature got too close. "Drop the canoe!"
Squirrel and Twilight hastily tossed the canoe aside to land heavily on the ground. While a single one of these things wouldn't be much of a threat, the shadowed divot was writhing with activity - more were coming. "We should get out of here!" Twilight yelped, frantically looking around.
"We can't leave the canoe!" Squirrel insisted, standing her ground. This wasn't a canyon for walking through - they were committed now.
The creature darted at Rainbow before coming to a thumping stop only a couple paces away, pounding on the ground with its adze-like legs like a baying dog.
Rainbow lashed out, swinging her hatchet with abandon, missing as the bug-thing fell back and continued to pound on the ground. "Get the canoe out of here!" she shouted back at them, her voice cracking.
"Grab your end," Squirrel said as she started pulling her own end forwards. "We'll drag it!"
Twilight hurried, pushing the canoe scraping along the ground while Rainbow kept close, her wings wide as she postured at the creature.
More of the things were pouring out of the divot - Twilight was far too busy for a good count, but guessed as many as a dozen.
Fear gave them legs as they quickly made more progress in those few minutes than they'd made in the last quarter-hour, as they pulled and shoved their transport onwards, heedless of the stones and roots they scraped and butted against.
A shout from behind broke the daze she'd fallen into - Rainbow had lunged again to swipe at the thing, its brethren fanning out close towards them. With a dull thunk her hatchet clove into one of the creatures limbs, cracking it, pink and white poking through the broken shell. It leapt back squealing as Rainbow readied herself for more, roaring indiscriminately at the creatures.
Something seemed to break inside of Twilight. She was frightened, she was tired - a small part of her was even sad at the poor thing's misery.
But she would not just sit there while Rainbow was hurt, 'no combat-magic' be damned.
She abandoned her efforts with the boat, looking desperately around for anything she could use as a weapon. Her horn glowed as she spied a long, straight-ish branch, ripping it from the nearest tree and shearing off its twigs. Rearing up, she held it spear-like in her hooves, her pasterns locking it tightly into place. She never learnt much about using weapons, no matter her brother's attempts to teach her, but she thought she could remember just enough to go down swinging.
Squirrel had settled on Rainbow's far side, hunched low to the ground, muscles taut. As much as Twilight wanted to say something - anything - her mouth didn't seem to want to work anymore. She was breathing rapidly, deeply as though she'd just run a race, but before she could try and tame it the nearest of the things pounced at her.
Frantically, Twilight thrust at the creature, striking it a glancing blow midair; the thing slid along the shaft, bouncing off her shoulder and nearly knocking her to the ground. She struggled to regain her footing, berating herself as she tried to remember everything she could about how to stand, how to step, and how to strike.
But in the heat of the moment all she could do was thrust and bash awkwardly, knowing that she could do it with so much more force, knowing she could do it with so much more alacrity, but being far too busy just trying to survive to actually do so.
The creature reeled under her clumsy assault, skittering back to hide amongst its kin. Beside her, Twilight could make out the blur of movement, of cyan and dun rolling and leaping and darting, but it was all she could do to concentrate on her own situation.
She stepped forward, the knobly branch sliding roughly through her forehoof as she harried the creature, trying to keep it as far away from her as possible. The creature easily sidestepped her attack, but she kept at it, thrusting over and over at whichever beast was closest, at whichever one wasn't moving for even a moment.
She stumbled, dropping her point to the ground to keep her balance. As if waiting for this moment, the nearest creature leapt up at her neck, smashing against her shoulder as she cowered instinctively. It clung to her, scrabbling and scratching as it tried to bite its way through her jacket. Branch dropped, she batted frantically at it with her hooves; panicking anew, her horn glowed bright as she dumped a blast of raw magic towards it, a discordant mass of pressure that made her ears pop, but succeeded in knocking the thing off of her. She swung an empty hoof blindly at its retreating form before scrambling to pick up her branch again, thrusting wildly in front of her as she hastily retreated back towards the others.
The creatures started falling back almost as one, hissing and thumping - but clearly wary of them. Risking a glance, Twilight saw three - no, four - of them on the ground, writhing, or trying to drag themselves away from the ponies. Rainbow and Squirrel both looked worse for wear, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with them.
"We need to move the boat." It took a moment for Twilight to realize that the words had come out of her own mouth. Squirrel blinked dazedly at her before darting towards the bow of the canoe, pulling it onwards as she stared wide-eyed back at the things. After a moment's hesitation Twilight moved to join her, shoving at the stern, her head turned perennially over her withers to keep watch.
They had a dismal time of it, far too distracted and ill-coordinated to make much progress, but their efforts in the fight seemed to have intimidated the creatures - they'd followed only enough to hover about their injured kin before they all faded from view amongst the trees. The next half-hour passed in panting silence; Twilight pushed, Squirrel pulled, and Rainbow stood vigil - that was enough.
"Stop," Squirrel said suddenly, making the other two jump in surprise. "We've some distance now - grab some water and check for injuries."
Twilight hadn't realized until now just how parched she'd become. She didn't protest, releasing her end of the canoe to lay back wearily against the hull, her horn aglow as she plucked out a pair of canteens. "Dash," she said, hovering one over to the grateful pegasus. Taking several long pulls, eyes on the thin woods around them all the while, she rolled her shoulders, examining herself for any open cuts or breaks. Not finding any, she looked over the other two.
"Just bruises, I think," Rainbow said, hoofing back her canteen. "If there's any blood, it's not enough to go through my jacket."
Twilight nodded as she tried to ignore the mixed fear and anger at the thought of a maimed Dash.
"'Bout the same here," Squirrel added, stretching widely and carefully. Undoubtably they'd all be feeling this tomorrow, but for now they seemed to be okay.
"I don't know if they have venom or not," Twilight said, lurching tiredly back to her hooves. "If anyone feels weak or, I don't know, dizzy, say something immediately." Not that there was anything they'd be able to do about it.
The other two nodded as, in unspoken agreement, they stowed their canteens and set about pushing their canoe onwards, still far too wary to blinker themselves with a portage.
The merry chattering of water was like music to their ears. Twilight had long since lost track of time, but given the dappling of sunlight ahead, it was likely not long past noon. While they hadn't seen any sign of the creatures since the fight, they hadn't dropped their guard either. So it was that, rather than break into a trot at the sight, they only breathed sighs of relief as they warily carried the canoe onwards.
Her back and shoulders were killing her. They'd ceased pushing along the ground, instead taken to holding up the boat between them - while good for keeping on eye on their surroundings, her body really wasn't meant for this.
Even Squirrel was starting to flag.
"I think you'll be doing all the rowing, Dash," Twilight puffed out as they neared the river. "My arms feel like lead."
"Current'll do most of it for us," Rainbow replied, hatchet still tucked under a wing. "But I gotcha."
They stepped out onto the narrow bank and sat the canoe on the water's edge. Although the tree cover was noticeably thinner here, the area was still cast in gloom and shadow. "Right - let's get this loaded." They quickly doffed their gear and stowed it back under the thwarts; once done, they pushed off into the river, soon getting caught up in the current.
"Oars out and rowing," Squirrel said once they'd reached the deeper central parts. "I want to get out of this mess as soon as possible."
"No kidding," Rainbow said, hesitating a moment before finally setting down the hatchet and tucking it close to Squirrel's gear, before she grabbed an oar.
Twilight just groaned as she picked up her own and made an effort to keep pace. The rare spots of sunlight felt warm on her fur, their number growing as they went, the canopy thinning above them. "Sorry," Twilight mumbled.
"Hmm?"
"About before - going on instead of falling back to the rapids was a really dumb idea." She shrunk in on herself, unable to look either of them in the eye.
Rainbow snorted, wings ruffling in agitation. "Going back would've been dumb too, right? Those bugs would've attacked us either way, but this way we're on a river now, and not lugging a boat all over the place anymore - that's way better."
"But they weren't aggressive before," Twilight insisted. "If that fallen tree was their burrow, or an entrance to their nest or something, then they might've left us alone if we'd gone back."
"Maybe," Squirrel chimed in. "Or maybe they'd've just waited til nightfall - we wouldn't've gotten out otherwise today."
Rainbow growled, digging her oar in angrily. "Yeah, about that - how the hay didn't anyone tell us about the pony-eating monsters in there?!"
"I... don't know," Squirrel admitted. "I didn't specifically - I just asked about dangers along the route, you know? Maybe they're new."
"Maybe they're not even pony-eaters?" Twilight wondered. "Herbivorous animals can be quite violent when defending their territory. If true, maybe that's why noone told us?" The explanation sounded weak, even to Twilight.
"Pretty sure you're just splitting hairs there, Twi," Rainbow said. "Like, fire doesn't eat people or anything, but you still tell people if things are on fire, right? 'Cause it's still hot."
"Yeah," Twilight deflated in her seat. "Yeah. Perhaps a newly invasive species, then. I suppose the barges don't stop anywhere along the river, here?"
"If there's no docks or villages, then definitely not," Squirrel said, staring into the woods around them. "It's a pretty big canyon, too, and there were, what, only a dozen of them?"
"'Only,' she says," Rainbow scoffed.
"Something like that," Twilight said, studiously ignoring her. "Let's make a note to ask about it in Beech - maybe someone there'll know more." She also carefully made a note to never to go back to Nestle again, just in case Rainbow's conspiracy theory was right.
They relaxed in the afternoon sun; with the canopy ever-thinning above them, they were largely content to simply drift downstream, enjoying what little light still pierced the canyon walls.
Having given up on her attempts to row, Twilight tugged out her mapbook, figuring she'd do well to at least work out where they were. Unfortunately, the maps were too large-scale for her to make out much in the way of details; she could make out what she thought was the ill-fated branching they'd taken earlier, but for all she knew it could just as well be a different one further ahead. If that wasn't the case, however, then there was a solid chance they'd get to within a couple hours' travel to Autumn Beech by nightfall.
What further branching there was appeared relatively inconsequential, with wide plains that should open up soon on the northern bank. Beech itself appeared to sit right at the fork where the Whither split into a myriad of little riverways, the majority of which then joined together to flow north and south of the low mountains east of the city. One of these southern branches was what they were looking for - one that would take them through the Seven Mines mountains, thus swiftly bypassing the treacherous north Coriander.
Unless they'd been mislead about that, too.
Soured by the thought, Twilight huffed, slapping the maps irritably.
"What's up?" Rainbow asked, midstroke.
"Remember Waffles? From Nestle?"
Rainbow set aside her oar, ears perked. "It's been, like, a day, Twi - yeah, I remember."
"I'm just wondering... can we even trust her and Channel, now? About the shortcut through the mines. After those creatures..."
Rainbow frowned. "I hadn't thought about that."
"Weren't you two going to ask about that in Beech?" Squirrel chimed in from the stern. "I still don't think the pony-eaters were a trap - doesn't feel like it, anyways - and the bypass is kind of well-known."
"We're definitely double-checking on that in Beech, yes." Twilight shook her head slowly, clapping her mapbook shut and tucking it back away. "I don't know - maybe I'm just being paranoid."
"Understandable," Squirrel conceded. "On that note, how's everyone feeling? It's been a couple hours now, I think."
"Sore," Twilight grimaced. "Just sore - luckily."
"Same," Rainbow grunted, returning to her rowing. "The sooner we set up camp the better."
"We still need some distance," Twilight said, gesturing at her stowed maps. "We should be able to get to within a couple hours of Beech by evening."
"Ugh. At least the current's still good."
"Mmhmm."
The sun was beginning to disappear behind the hills rising ahead. It was some hours now since they'd come into view, appearing low in front of them as soon as they'd left the canyon. The day had warmed up around them nicely, leaving them in good cheer as they kept a weather eye out for somewhere to pitch their tents.
"And that's when I punched it right in the face!" Rainbow crowed. "It totally would've bitten grumpy Squirrel in the flank if I hadn't!"
"Really," Twilight drawled, glancing at Squirrel to see her rolling her eyes; Rainbow had spent the last several minutes regaling them with her actions in the fight, despite the fact that they were both there beside her.
Perhaps it was practice for when they got home?
"You know it! It was all she could do to not fall down crying in thanks."
"That doesn't sound very much like Squirrel," Twilight noted doubtfully.
"She hides it well," Rainbow nodded sagely before whipping around to grin at the mare. "But that's why she's gonna give us a discount, right? A flank-saving discount."
"... I'll think about it."
Rainbow shrugged. "Meh - better than nothing."
"Are we close enough to call it a day?" Squirrel asked, none-too-subtlely changing the subject.
"We should be good," Twilight nodded, quietly pleased with how far they'd gotten despite their fatigue - they'd have plenty of time to plan things in town tomorrow, this way. "See somewhere good?"
"Sort of - the bend up ahead has enough of a beach for us; the trees will be nice, too."
The three of them began rowing again with renewed vigour, eager for rest and a hot meal.
The canoe bumped gently up the pebbly slope, Twilight hopping on out with a splash to drag it further ashore, the other two close behind. Taking stock of the location, they found themselves in fairly clear wooded area that should hopefully shelter them should the weather turn foul overnight.
"I'll scout around," Rainbow said, immediately taking to the air.
"While she's doing that, I'll find somewhere level to camp," Twilight said, heading into the woods, needles and twigs crackling with each hoofstep.
"Plenty of firewood," Squirrel added, head held high as she peered about cautiously. "We're well away from the beasties here, too."
"We'll be safe," Twilight said, as much to assure herself as Squirrel. "Dash'll spot anything suspicious, anyways."
"Except they burrow, right? That's what you said," Squirrel said, as she started to sound rather spooked.
Twilight gave her a friendly shoulder-bump. "We'll be fiiine, Squirrel - don't worry about it. Besides, we roughed them up once; we can do it again."
"Of course we can," Squirrel said, relaxing somewhat. "Of course we can. This looks as good as anywhere, doesn't it?" They'd wandered several metres in, finding a fairly even, stony spot that looked decent. First checking around for any ants or the like, Squirrel began setting loose rocks in a circle before gathering some firewood; at the same time, Twilight made her way back to the canoe.
She was just shuttling the last of their gear to the campsite when Rainbow thumped down.
"How are we?" Twilight asked, pleased that Rainbow didn't look worried.
"All good," Rainbow said with a flick of her tail. "We're in a thin strip of trees, maybe a hundred metres at most across? Just meadows and more mountains after that."
"Sounds lovely," Twilight said, dropping the gear into the pile. "How's Beech? Could you see it?"
"Yup! Built on some hills around the rivers. Lots of farmland too - might be rice or something?" Rainbow frowned before shaking her head dismissively. "Danged if I can tell from this far - it's growing in mud, whatever it is."
Squirrel tossed the last of the tinder into the small stack she'd gathered. "Does sound like rice," she agreed as she grabbed her panniers and began rooting through them. "If you've got any food you want cooked, grab it and we can get going on dinner." They'd picked up some tubers and roots in Nestle, figuring the variety would make up for the extra bulkiness.
In short order they'd gotten Twilight's pot out and set to boil on the fire, while the three of them kept busy gathering more wood and getting their tents set up. Night had fallen by the time they were done.
"Potatoes and carrots," Rainbow mused, poking at the pot. "I guess it counts as a stew. Sorta. Would be better if it hadn't gotten dark so quick though."
"We could pick up some herbs in Beech?" Twilight suggested. "You won't likely be able to scrounge anything growing wild afterwards."
"Or before," Rainbow sighed. "Ah well. Maybe they'll have some oregano?"
"We've the time to check," Twilight said, as Squirrel passed out some cheap wooden spoons and bowls she'd picked up in Nestle. "It wouldn't make sense to leave until the day after tomorrow, bright and early in the morning." She yawned before digging into her food; it wasn't half-bad, all things considered, though that may've just been her hunger talking.
Eventually they ran out of excuses to stay awake. They chatted briefly about keeping a watch, but ultimately decided there was no need to feed their paranoia; plus, not only did they all really need the sleep, but none of them had any experience keeping watch, so they'd probably just end up passing out anyways.
With that decided, they doused the fire, crawled into their tents, and tried to find some rest. |
The Rivers of Avalon | Chapter 7 | Twilight awoke from her lingering half-sleep to the nattering of birds. Several times throughout the night she'd wake up, tense, listening for the sounds of breaking twigs, shifting rocks, shuffling dirt, before falling back into an uneasy sleep. The only positive was that she didn't think she was alone in this, if that was even a positive at all.
She rolled over as best she could in the cramped tent to find Rainbow already awake. Twilight grunted faintly in greeting.
"Mmph," Rainbow replied, wriggling around as she dozed.
Judging by the soft, blue light shining through the canvas, it was later than she'd've liked; as much as she wanted to sleep in, she really didn't want to have to spend more than a day in Beech. She shuffled awkwardly upright, shaking Rainbow gently as she did. "Up you get," she mumbled, forcing herself out of the tent.
Blinking dumbly in the daylight, she followed the sounds of splashing down to the riverside. Pebbles crunched underhoof as she came up to Squirrel, busy dousing her face in the brisk water. "Morning," she said as she followed suit.
"Oh, good," Squirrel said, giving her a friendly splash. "I didn't have to wake you."
Twilight gave her head a vigourous shake, water spraying as her mane whipped about. "Great - now I'm wetter than I wanted to be," she pouted.
"You'll live," Squirrel smirked at her, turning back to the camp.
Feeling about as alert as she was going to get, Twilight clopped out of the water after her. "I suspect we'll need to wake Rainbow again."
"We could collapse the tent around her?"
Twilight snorted as she entertained the idea. "Leeet's give her a few minutes first."
Unfortunately, there wasn't actually that much to do; so, after scattering the ashes in search of any stubborn embers to extinguish, Twilight poked her head back into their tent. "Up you get!" she repeated, giving Rainbow another nudge. "Up! We can sleep in Hurricanum."
A hoof reached up to push Twilight's muzzle away. "I'm awake! Geez," Rainbow said, rising more quickly to her hooves than Twilight would've guessed. "Just give me a sec," she added, leaving the tent to head riverwards.
While she was off waking herself up, Twilight pulled out their gear and bags. She was mostly done rolling them and the tent up by the time Rainbow'd gotten back. "Took you long enough," she teased, finishing up her work.
"Yeah, well... whatever," Rainbow shrugged, glancing around their clearing. "We good to leave, then? I don't want to take to the air until you do."
"Should be good," Twilight said, sharing a quick look with Squirrel. "Yep - we're good." She tossed her gear onto her back, balancing it carefully until she could load it back into the canoe. Rainbow waited until she and Squirrel had pushed off from the bank before taking off once again.
"Back soon!" she called down to them as she gained height and disappeared downstream.
There was barely a scattering of clouds in the sky. The day promised to be a warm one too, with the morning chill already fading despite that it was little after dawn. They rowed languidly, letting the current do most of the work for them as the tree-lined banks drifted past. "Well, we got started nice and quick today," Twilight said after a while. "Couldn't've taken more than twenty minutes."
"Helps that you've finally gotten down how to collapse your tent properly."
"It did take a mite longer to learn than I'd anticipated, yes," Twilight admitted - much to her annoyance, the canvas-bound frame really didn't like being folded unless it was being done just so. "Should be able to make it to town before noon."
"Mmhmm."
"I - actually, I suppose you'll be leaving us, then." Twilight had more-or-less forgotten about that until now - Autumn Beech had always seemed so far away before.
"That was the deal, yes," Squirrel said, shrugging disconsolately.
"Well... thanks for getting us this far?" Twilight said, a questioning lilt to her voice; she couldn't help but feel that most of the trip she and Rainbow could've done on their own. "We'd, umm, oh! We'd still be stuck in the swamps without your help. So there's that." She was poking a bit more fun at Squirrel then perhaps she should'd've, but she couldn't really help herself here.
"Yes!" Squirrel cheered up a bit at that. "I definitely helped there. The forest, too."
Twilight wasn't entirely certain what else to say - it seemed even Squirrel knew she'd been less of a guide for most of the journey, and more of a travelling companion. Still, a deal was a deal, and an egregious sum of money was an egregious sum of money. "Sooo..."
"..."
"What're your plans after this?"
Squirrel shrugged, clearly lost in thought. "Don't know. I'll need to head back home soon - might just wait until a westwards convoy flies through? Take that to Calendar, then another back home." She didn't sound very convincing though.
Twilight nodded along distractedly. "Oh, right - you're on vacation right now, aren't you?"
She shrugged again. "After a fashion."
They fell into an uncomfortable silence as they focused instead on rowing. The trees had thinned enough to fade almost entirely into grasslands and meadows. Steep mountain slopes lay close by to their right, while far greater ones lay far to the north, blued by distance.
It wasn't too much later that Rainbow reappeared, coming in to circle low overhead. "Hey!" she shouted out excitedly. "There's a rocky bank up ahead - pull over there!" And with that, she took off again grinning.
"She looks pleased," Squirrel noted, eying her curiously.
"Better that than stressed," Twilight said, watching her friend do a few figure-eights before dropping down and out of sight. "I wonder what she wants?"
Not five minutes later they spotted her again, standing on a wide, rocky beach of sorts, where the river turned sharply. It took little effort to direct the canoe thence, beaching themselves on the gravel. Rainbow bounded out to pull them a little more secure before leaning on the prow. "Alright, so bear with me," she began, still grinning widely. "But the river branches up ahead."
"Not again!" Twilight groaned.
"No, no! It's good this time!" Rainbow insisted. "Look, most of the paths around here are fine - they're flat, they're shallow, they're boring."
"Safe, you mean," Twilight countered. "Safe is good."
"But still boring!" Rainbow repeated, wings fluffing out as she struggled to find the right way to word this, before, apparently, just giving up and blurting it out. "Let's take the rapids!"
Twilight raised a brow skeptically. "Excuse me?"
"They're fine! They're not that bad at all, I think," Rainbow said, her hooves bouncing up and down, the boat bobbing beneath her. "But they look fun! I mean, we're splitting up after this, right? So, like, let's have some fun with this first! Worse case, we aim for the shore and just walk the boat to the next river - it's barely more than a hundred metres or so at most, so it's not like it'd be any trouble."
Twilight wasn't entirely sold on the idea - getting to Beech as quickly and soundly as possible made the most sense to her. Still though...
"Sounds good to me," Squirrel said, a smile gracing her muzzle. "We missed out in the woods, after all."
"Exactly!"
"I don't know..." Twilight hedged - it would make for a neat last-leg of the journey, though. Unfortunately, Rainbow chose that moment to bring out her secret weapon.
"Are you..." Twilight hesitated. "Are you making puppy-dog eyes?"
"Yep!" Rainbow exclaimed, tail flicking as she put back on her best begging-face. "Pleeease?"
Ugh. "Oh for goodness' sake." She rolled her eyes. "Fiiine."
"Alriiight!" Rainbow cheered, immediately pushing the canoe back out into the river. "I'll tell ya which way to go!" she said, hopping in between them.
Twilight was too busy trying to keep the canoe steady to respond for a moment. "Fine, fine; you're sure this is safe?"
"Totally! I don't think it's more than a couple feet deep; plus, I don't think it's even rough enough we couldn't just swim through it in a pinch. I just thought it'd be fun."
All things considered, it didn't sound that bad to Twilight. It would hopefully make for a nice sendoff for Squirrel too - after going through the mess in the woods together, she felt she'd miss the mare. With the sun beginning to fully rise, and the cool breeze blowing in their faces, she was actually starting to look forward to it.
"There it is!" Rainbow called out, pointing ahead to where the river visibly branched, a little cluster of stubby trees growing between the streams. "Take the right one!"
They reangled the canoe, Twilight sitting up tall to try and scout out just how bumpy it was going to be. As Rainbow had said, both banks were shallow and easy to climb, while the water didn't have much in the way of white caps - which was good.
They picked up speed almost as soon as they entered the branch, their oars out and pumping as they fought to keep stable. "This isn't nearly as bad as in the woods!" Twilight shouted.
"We'd've needed a proper raft for those!" Squirrel called back over the sound of rushing, splashing water.
Between them, Rainbow was laughing as they paddled around little obstacles, having an entirely unreasonable amount of fun considering she could fly, Twilight thought, especially considering these rapids could hardly be called 'whitewater'; in fact, she had a feeling they shouldn't even be calling them 'rapids.'
A brisk splash of water sprayed over the bow, soaking a grinning Twilight mane-to-tail. After everything since their airship went down, she finally felt like she could relax and enjoy themselves - they were practically there! Autumn Beech was more than big enough to have made it onto every map, no matter the scale; sure, they had the Seven Mines to pass through next, but that was it! One more obstacle and they were done.
The canoe bucked beneath them as it bumped up against a boulder, the water frothing all around. "Give it a shove!" Twilight shouted as Squirrel and Rainbow heaved, pushing them off and away from the mess of caught flotsam, the current quickly yanking them back around.
The water swirled as they fought their way out of its eddy, getting thoroughly soaked in the process. Paddling hard to regain some sense of control, they aimed for a relatively calm bit. "This is great!" Twilight laughed out.
"Hell yeah!" Rainbow cheered, whipping her mane out of her face. Behind her, Squirrel poked questioningly at their gear.
"Panniers should still be dry inside," she said, hoof splashing back down into the layer of water their canoe had picked up. "Let's take it easy though - we don't exactly have anything to bail this out with."
"Right," Twilight agreed, sobering up a touch as she noticed the pooling water. "Can do."
"It doesn't last much further than this," Rainbow said, shaking her head. "We'll be fine. Now! Let's get going again."
The trio eagerly rejoined the rougher parts, as ahead of them Autumn Beech loomed ever closer. Set on the tip of the long, hilly arm that divided the North and South Whithers, Beech was an old river-trade and farming town, built sprawling around the fertile riverbanks; dominating its centre, set on a stony rise, was a wooden fortress turned now to governance.
The river soon started to smooth out, much to the ponies' disappointment. "Aww," Twilight pouted. "I don't suppose there's more of this up ahead?"
"Nah," Rainbow said, looking equally put-out. "Nothing."
"Maybe there'll be something on the mine route?" Squirrel wondered. "Could ask around about that."
"I guess..." Twilight trailed off, giving it a bit a thought. "Might not be safe though - we've the town right here, after all, so it wouldn't really matter if we capsized. Not much, at least."
Rainbow shrugged, kicking idly at the water pooled in the boat. "We can deal with it when we get there."
"Mmhmm." They passed close by a herd of cattle, grazing near the riverside. "Almost there, aren't we. Do we just keep following this path?"
"Yeah," Rainbow said. "There's a big dockworks that all the little rivers end up joining near. Bunch of sheds and stuff too - I guess we store our canoe there?"
"Yeah," Squirrel chimed in. "Could rent a spot there overnight, or just leave it tied up in any old place and hope for the best."
"And risk having it stolen?" Twilight said, scandalized. "We'll pay. Doubt it costs much, either."
"Nope."
As they got closer they started passing short, wooden piers jutting out into the river; scores of dinghies were tied off or dragged ashore nearby. The occasional pony or deer could be spotted minding the herds, their dogs sprinting around madly as they directed the cattle to wherever they were off to, but for the most part the agriculture seemed to be based around the many terraces built into the hills. "I'd've thought there'd be more wheat fields or the like around here," Twilight remarked, gazing around as best she could at their flattish surrounds. "Seems like it'd be easier."
"Nah - it's all a rocky mess around here," Rainbow answered. "Couldn't see anything like good farmland when I was scouting this out."
"Ahh."
As they turned a bend the city-docks came into view, a frenetic melange of piers, mooring piles, and anchored boats. Here, the river, swollen now by multiple converging branches, was slow and wide, its current weak, as it parted north and south about the docks.
The place was busy, with dozens of canoes, dinghies, and cats puttering around, to say nothing of the myriad of boats moored at the many docks.
"Let's get up to shore," Twilight said, pointing at a mostly-clear section not far off. "We can drag it out of the water there. One of us can then ask around for someplace to store it."
"I can do that," Squirrel volunteered. "You two just guard the canoe in the meanwhile."
Squirrel wound her way alone through the wall of sheds they'd beached behind. Finding a dry-berth to rent for the night should be trivial - she'd seen a couple on the way in, in fact; rather, this was probably going to be her last opportunity to make up her mind about what she was going to do about the other two.
Sure, she'd only agreed to take them this far, but after all the mess with the swamp - and the woods too - she was kind of inclined to see this thing through all the way to Hurricanum. It probably wouldn't even take her any longer to get back home from there either, if she didn't count the extra few days' travel through the Mines; plus, she'd never been there before, so going might actually make her vacation feel like a vacation.
She arrived at the first shack and poked her head in the open bay door. Canoes of various makes were stacked on beam-shelves nearly to the canted roof high above, while dust and scattered chips covered the well-worn stone floor.
"Hello there!" she called out to a stallion near the back. He paused in his planing to spare her a glance.
"Can I help you?" he said, waving a shavings-covered paw at her as he slumped comfortably on his stool.
Squirrel ambled into the storehouse, the noise of the docks muffling behind her. "Any chance of storing a canoe here til tomorrow? Not looking forward to trying to drag it to the inn with me."
The demigryph glanced up and down the storage racks, ears flicking in thought. "Yep," he nodded. "Got room if it's not for long."
"Terrific - I'll be back with it soon," Squirrel said, turning to leave. "Oh!" she added, pausing at the threshold. "That reminds me - you wouldn't happen to know if any of the convoys are stopped in town right now, would you?"
He shrugged. "Don't know. Head over to the northside - you should be able to see the skydocks from there."
"Sounds good - thanks." She'd figured as much, but it hadn't really hurt to ask. Stepping out again into the late-morning light, she hurried on back to the other two.
It wasn't long before she found them. "Hey!" she shouted down to them, as they hunkered impatiently beside the canoe. "Found a place."
"Great!" Twilight called back up, looking relieved to be able to get back to doing something. "Let's go, Dash."
The pegasus grumbled as the two of them awkwardly carried the canoe high enough up the embankment for Squirrel to get some purchase on it. Together, the three of them heaved it over their heads and made their slow, cautious way back to the storehouse, doing their best not to knock anyone over in the crowd.
"Sorry!" Twilight apologized to yet another poor soul they'd accidentally clocked with the thing. "Really sorry!"
"Almost there," Squirrel called back over her shoulder as she watched the annoyed pony stalk off in a huff. She gave a sigh of relief as they approached their destination. "Here we are!"
"Finally," Twilight echoed her sigh. It took only a few minutes for them to work things out with the stallion inside, their canoe hefted on high by block-and-tackle.
"I know an inn or two," Squirrel said, nudging them back outside and towards the central rise. "Cheap, but clean."
"Right," Twilight nodded as they began to weave past the many shops and stores around them, their alleys becoming ever narrower and their roofs ever taller as they ascended the hill. "So..." she trailed off, words almost lost over the bustling clatter of hooves on cobble. "I suppose we'll pay you your due there?"
Squirrel shrugged, trying to look disinterested despite her traitorously swishing tail. "I guess. Mind if I meet you there later though? I'd like to check out some things first."
"Alright? I mean, I can't see that that'd be a problem."
"Good, good," Squirrel smiled, as she began humming to herself. She ignored the nonplussed looks the two were giving her, being far too interested in trying to remember everything she could about the Mines. On that note, however, it occurred to her she probably shouldn't wait til later to say something - just in case they disappeared on her. "Do either of you mind if I come along the rest of the way? I haven't been along that route before, but I'm sure I could pull my weight."
Twilight stared at the mare - while this wasn't wholely unexpected, she still found herself surprised.
"And how much would that cost us, exactly?" Rainbow asked, looking Squirrel up and down skeptically. "Another bazillion bits?"
"Drams." Twilight couldn't help herself.
"Yeah, drams - whatever," Rainbow huffed, ruffling her wings. "It's still a bazillion of them."
"Don't worry about it," Squirrel waved her off. "Or about the first bazillion, for that matter."
"See? She - wait, really?"
Squirrel shrugged in her best attempt at nonchalance. "I only asked for that much 'cause I figured you two'd say 'no' if I did; was kind of annoyed when you agreed to it anyways," she added, shooting Twilight a displeased look.
"For goodness' sakes, Squirrel, why didn't you just say so!" Twilight exclaimed, giving her a poke in the chest.
"You two looked like you were going to try to cross the Green Leek no matter what," Squirrel scowled at them, trying to make it abundantly clear how foolish she thought that was. "I could hardly let you blunder around and die."
"It wasn't that bad," Twilight tried, fighting her blush.
"Wait, hold on," Rainbow cut in, flapping her hooves. "Hooold on - this means we get to keep the cash, right?"
"Of course you're hung up on that," Squirrel rolled her eyes - a habit she was gaining from Twilight. "Yes. I don't want your money."
"Is it 'cause you did such a bad job?" Rainbow grinned, giving her a nudge. "I bet it is, 'cause you really did a bad job."
"Umm..." Squirrel hesitated. "Maybe a little?"
"Hah! Knew it."
"Well, sorry for having standards! I'd just feel kind of dumb taking any money now, all things considered."
"Aww, you did a fine job guiding us," Twilight said, patting her on the withers. "A very fine job indeed."
Squirrel snorted, shaking her head. "Great - even you're ribbing me."
"Maybe a little," Twilight echoed, grinning. "Well I for one don't mind you coming along in the least. Rainbow?"
"Meh."
"How enthusiastic," Squirrel drawled.
"Oh, she's just being difficult," Twilight said, flicking her with her tail. "Why do you want to come along, anyways?"
"Haven't been through the Mines before," Squirrel explained, walking a touch more lightly now. "Haven't seen Hurricanum either - or the lake for that matter. Shouldn't add much more to my trip home, too."
"What about work?" She and Rainbow were technically on a mix of vacation days and government pay right now, but Squirrel presumably didn't have that luxury. "Must be a heck of a vacation you planned."
"It's less of a 'vacation' and more of an 'I'll reapply when I get back' kind of thing?"
Rainbow let out a low whistle. "You quit work just to go hiking!? Weirdo."
"Be nice, Dash," Twilight chided, giving her a nudge. "She probably just wanted to give up her grueling day job in pursuit of her lifelong dream of kinda-sorta-poorly guiding people around the continent."
"Did I just get burned twice?" Squirrel said indignantly. "By the librarian?"
"Hey!" Twilight giggled. "I can be witty! And how'd you know what my job was, anyways?"
"Lucky guess? You give off vibes, you know."
"Super book-vibes," Rainbow nodded in agreement.
"Would've guessed you were some sort of archivist if you weren't so young-looking."
"I'm not that young," Twilight pouted.
Squirrel laughed. "You say that like it's a bad thing!? Equusians are nuts."
"Uh huh," Twilight huffed over their giggling. "So where exactly is this inn we're heading to, then?"
"Ahhh just up ahead, if I'm remembering rightly," Squirrel grinned, looking around to get her bearings. "Shouldn't be far."
In short order she veered off down a side alley, its jettied buildings looming darkly overhead. Signs jutted out to hang on rusted chains, naming shops and inns alike. It was but a few doors down that Squirrel found what she was looking for, entering an otherwise nondescript building. Twilight and Rainbow followed close on her tail.
They trod into a smokey, cramped barroom, chairs and tables stretching straight across to the far windows. Despite the low, sooty roof and general disorder of the place, it wasn't particularly gloomy - Twilight figured it would, in fact, be rather cheery once it had filled up come evening. Not seeing anyone about, Squirrel beelined for one of the side doors near the bar; judging by the muffled conversation she could hear through the wood, she was probably on the right track.
After getting bounced around between a couple of workers, they were finally able to find someone to talk to about getting a room.
Once they'd sorted out their lodgings for the night, it was time to hit up the town for supplies and, hopefully, some sound advice for their next leg. "Might want to split up for this," Twilight tendered as they stepped back outside, still fully geared up. "I don't know how big this town is, and we still need food, maps, and info."
"Not many thousands here, last I heard," Squirrel said, still looking pleased as punch. "We've got plenty of time; best we stick together too - I still know where the markets and airdocks are, after all, and it's those latter that'll likely have any maps we're looking for, I think."
"Fair enough," Twilight said, figuring that all sounded reasonable enough - most people travelling through here likely did so via the aerial convoys, after all. "Which first?"
"Docks," Squirrel said, looking left and right down the alley as she tried to work out which way to go; with a hum, she took off further down the alley. "Best view from there," she added as an afterthought. "Might as well get the uphill stuff out of the way first, too."
They soon crossed into a wider street, hanging a right to keep going up. The buildings were less dense here, with little yards and sheds adorning many of the corner streets; the sounds of chickens were omnipresent. "This place used to be a military town, didn't it?" Twilight asked as they passed through an old, mossy palisade half-hidden amongst the homes. "Ages back?"
"Kind of," Squirrel said. She jerked her head to the hill's peak, where they could just make out the top of the wooden keep. "Used to be a more aggressive polis, you know? So of course it had its own little army; being at the fork of the Whithers was no small boon, and what better to do than enforce a toll? Nothing of consequence here anymore though."
"How'd that work?" Rainbow asked as they passed by yet another sturdy, stone building within the bailey, vertical arrowslits littering its top floor. "Can't exactly stop a bunch of big barges going through if they don't wanna be."
Squirrel chuckled. "You can, actually. If we're lucky we'll be able to see them from the docks, but there're a couple towers each side of the both the rivers; what they'd do is, is they'd raise a giant chain between them. It'd be too heavy to get onto the surface, so it'd end up sitting a couple feet under the water - low enough for paddleboats to go over, but anything bigger would have its keel cut out from underneath it if it tried."
"Oof," Rainbow winced.
"Yep! Chain's still there too, buried somewhere at the bottom in all that muck."
"A bit mercenary for my taste," Twilight frowned - such a toll would've been far too prone to corruption to be of any real benefit to the town. "What happened?"
"About as you'd imagine - a bunch of the towns and cities around the Basin banded together and came down here in force."
Twilight grunted. "Predictable, from the sounds of it."
"Mmhmm. Think that was a century back, now? Thereabouts." They were passing back out of the bailey, entering an area clearly built out over the hill, as dirt and cobble switched to stout wooden planks beneath them; between the cracks they could make out the slope slowly falling away. A stairway ahead led up to a higher platform. Given the lack of shops here, it seemed likely this wasn't the main entrance - that, and that they still didn't have much in the way of a view encouraged them to keep climbing.
Pausing a moment at the base of the stairs, they waited for a group of people to finish coming down, its members chatting amiably as they balanced rucksacks and panniers on their backs.
"Tourists?" Twilight wondered aloud, glancing back over her withers at the noisy group as they made their own way up.
Rainbow snorted. "Doubt it - not much to see around here."
"Probably just passing through," Squirrel said as they clopped up onto the next platform - this one much longer and wider, with a triplet of airship hulls hovering in bays just off to their left. They'd need to ascend yet higher if they wanted to reach them. "Good camping around here though - that route I took last time goes all the way to Drizzle, and it's supposed to be quite beautiful."
"Drizzle's the underground one, right?" Rainbow asked, perking up. "With all the gnolls? And dragons and gold and treasure?"
"I... don't know about those last bits," Squirrel hedged, side-eying the mare. "But, yes."
"We totally gotta go there, Twi."
"I'm pretty sure we want to get to Hurricanum, actually."
"Well, yeah," Rainbow admitted. "Obviously. But, like, afterwards."
"You'd trust one of these airships again?" Twilight asked, doubt evident in her voice. "The last one was supposedly of quality build."
"Nah - we'd hike!"
Twilight sighed, but didn't much feel like arguing about just how silly that sounded. "Let's just save this conversation for when we finally get back, okay?"
"Aww..." Rainbow slumped. "That means 'no.'"
"Alright kids," Squirrel interrupted them, just as they reached the main loading dock. "Time to focus." She settled down onto the planks and stared back out over the town. From here they were roughly level with the top of the fortress; below, the town sprawled out downhill, right up to the rivers' edges. Just as Rainbow had said, there was little in the way of farmland beyond - what had looked like grasslands from the canoe were in fact a patchwork of meandering rivers, rocky beaches, and thin, tree-lined bogs, stretching nearly the entire width of the mountains north and south. Although Twilight could just barely make them out from here, most of the food was grown on terraces carved into the northern face; likewise, facing them from across the North Whither - where the ground evened out away from the river-nexus - were the town's orchards.
Well to the south they could just barely make out the break in the cliffs they were heading to next, where the South branched to pass through the marshes and drowned tunnels of the Seven Mines. "Doesn't look too far from here," Twilight said, squinting into the distance. "I think I can see part of the mountain chain the Coriander runs along, too - Hurricanum's just at the end of that."
"An afternoon's flight, if we had one of these," Squirrel said, jerking her head at the ships behind them. "Still some days off for us, though."
"Almost there," Twilight muttered before, with a shake to clear her head, she turned her sight back to the town below. "Right, then - where're the markets? Any ideas? I can't make out any open-air ones from up here." At this angle everything was just rooftops and yards. Logically, the cluster of buildings making up the main entrance to the port would have one or two supply shops somewhere among them - lugging heavy gear back up to this height would be a menace - but it seemed equally unlikely anybody would bother hauling food up this high when travelers would favour the fresher markets below.
"Over that way, maybe?" Squirrel had stalked off to the ship-side of the gangway, nodding down to something. Stepping over, Twilight could see a small clump of colourful buildings on the far side of a northern bridge. "Orchards likely drop off their produce there," Squirrel reasoned. "Would make sense if the main open-air wasn't too far off."
"We've a destination, then," Twilight said, pleased they had a heading - it was already just after noon, from the look of it.
"Hey - you two are just gonna look around that entranceway for some things, right?" Rainbow said, jerking a wing towards the port entrance. "'Cause if so, I can take a fly down, check things out, then come find you after."
"Sounds good to me," Twilight said with a nod. "Need me to handle your gear?"
"I can take it," Squirrel offered. Rainbow shrugged before doffing her satchels and hoofing them over.
"Back soon!" Rainbow said as she bounded towards the end of the dock.
Squirrel took a moment to wedge the satchels between her own panniers before speaking. "Well, off to look for maps, then?"
"Yep - we'll want some sort of markers for the tunnels, too." Twilight led the way back down, weaving through tarp-covered crates and bare struts - the dock presumably didn't see enough traffic to warrant keeping things tidy - and towards a series of small, ramshackle buildings wedged tightly against one-another. There were a few stevedores milling about outside what looked like the harbourmaster's office; rather than simply passing them by, she figured she'd try asking for a spot of help instead. "Hello there," she began, smiling tentatively. "Know of any places around here that sell maps or travel gear?"
"Or rope?"
"Yes, or rope, or anything like that?"
One of gryphons grunted, giving her a disinterested look as he pointed a claw vaguely a few doors down. "Hang a left there - should be the third on your right."
"Ahh, right, thanks," Twilight said, walking on as the dockworkers went back to chatting amongst themselves.
"Not particularly comfortable talking to strangers, are you?" Squirrel asked as they watched a dirt-smudged group of foals gambling merrily past. "'Cause I'm pretty sure I saw a sigh of relief when they spectacularly failed to maul you."
"I didn't think they'd attack me!" Twilight scowled - hassle her a little, sure, but outright assault her? No. "I just don't like - I mean, I don't know what they're going to say or do, after all."
"Don't like jumping in if you can't see the bottom, huh?"
"Precisely."
"Which does rather beg the question as to just what you're doing in Avalon, then," Squirrel noted. "I can't imagine they sold you on the idea that being a diplomat was an entirely predictable job - not all the time, at least."
Twilight hummed to herself as she tried to work out the best way to word this - she felt like she owed her some kind of explanation after all this, especially considering she was following them onwards. "A... friend back home encouraged me into this."
"Encouraged, or 'encouraged,'" Squirrel said, rearing up for a moment to make air-quotes.
"Bit of both," Twilight admitted as the other mare clopped back down. "She's always been high-up politically - myself too, if to a lesser extent - and she's been wheedling me into this for ages. Said I needed to get out more."
Squirrel's brows shot up, a great grin on her face. "Wait, wait - your friend wiggled you into a high-end, long-distance diplomatic gig because she thought you 'needed to get out more'?" She let out a bark of laughter. "Wow."
"It does sound kind of silly when you put it like that, yeah," Twilight said sheepishly as they drifted to a stop outside an old stained-wood storefront, its varnish peeling off in droves; unlike the open-fronted workhouses either side, this one had a pair of dirty front windows and a heavy-looking door, crooked open in the hope of tempting a breeze. "Technically we're observers, but in reality this is more of a paid vacation of sorts."
"Equusians are definitely weird. This looks like it, by the way," Squirrel said, nudging the door a little further open before stepping inside. The interior was cramped, with packed shelves running down the length of the shop; still more gear lay on beams and trellises above.
A disheveled-looking buck glanced up from where he was rummaging behind the far counter, just barely visible in the back. "Hello there!" he called out to them. "Got something in mind, or just browsing?"
Squirrel stepped in front of Twilight with a friendly flick of her tail, clearly taking point. "Heading through Seven Mines tomorrow, actually," she began, heading towards the counter.
While she was busy with the clerk, Twilight figured she'd best get to browsing for what they needed. Largely ignoring what the other two were talking about, she wandered down the narrow aisles seeing what they had. A great deal of what was there seemed to consist of parts for various ship systems - a lot of which amounted to tubing, piping, gauges, and so forth - but there was a decent deal of general gear here as well. Rearing up to sidle down a particularly thin section, she found the rope they were looking for. Should be well made, too, considering it's for ships and all.
Finding things in the right gauge was proving to be a bit of a nuisance, however. Luckily, Squirrel took that moment to poke her head down the aisle. "There you are! Find anything we can use?"
"Yep," Twilight said, unhooking a couple of lengthy coils that looked about right. "Still want something to mark our passage through the tunnels though - paint, maybe?" Although if it wasn't bright enough it probably wouldn't help.
"Picket here's got some real bright stuff we can use," Squirrel said, disappearing from view again. Squeezing her way out of the aisle, Twilight followed her to the back counter proper to see the buck had set down a few small tins.
"Doubt we need all that," Twilight said, nudging the cans around to face her. "Which is brightest, do you think?"
"Yellow looks good to me," Squirrel said, tapping one of them. "Should be able to see it well enough on the walls - let's go with that."
It was not much later that saw them stepping back out into the alley. "Shame about the maps," Squirrel said as they wandered back the way they came.
"Yeah..." Twilight said, a touch put-out; unfortunately, they didn't have any back-country guides for where they were going. "We might have to wing it."
"The route's pretty straight-forward - just follow the main river. It's supposed to have some decent flow compared to all the deadends that branch off it, so we shouldn't really be able to mess it up."
Twilight hummed irritably - she hated winging it. "Still not ideal."
"We'll make it work."
"Mmm."
They'd just reentered the dock when Rainbow dove down to meet them, landing with a clunk. "There you are!" she said, ruffling her wings as she stepped up to them. "What happened to being in a hurry?"
"Oh, shush," Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. "We've got our stuff, sans the map - any luck finding the market?"
"Yup! Squirrel was totally wrong by the way," she said, preening. "Nowhere near the bridge at all."
"Well, off to it then," Twilight said, ignoring Squirrel's grumbling. "Lead the way."
Rainbow nodded and took off jauntily back the way they'd just come. "Looks like there's a shorter path down here," she said back over her withers. "Then it's just a more-or-less straight shot down to the bottom, hang a right, and boom! We're there."
"Wouldn't that put us right next to the bridge?" Squirrel drawled.
"Pffft! It's, like, ten miles away from it!"
"I don't think it is, actually."
"We'll find out soon enough," Twilight cut them off. "In the meanwhile, daylight's burning."
As it turned out, the market was, in fact, right next to the bridge. "Nuh uh!" Rainbow insisted. "There's, like, an entire block between us and the river!"
"It's not even a hundred metres!" Squirrel countered, stomping a hoof. "Practically half that!"
"Twiliiight!" Rainbow whined. "Tell her I'm riiight!"
"Oh for goodness sakes, girls, how in the world are you arguing about this!?" Twilight huffed - she was hoping to avoid being drawn into their inanity. "We should focus on replenishing our rations - oatbars, dried fruit, that kind of thing - so enough bickering already; honestly."
"Hear that?" Rainbow smirked. "Twilight says I'm right!"
"She literally didn't."
"You're just jealous 'cause I win."
"Girls. Food."
"Fine, fine," Rainbow relented, going back to checking out the stall-fronts either side. The market here was quite probably the only one in the town considering both how large and crowded it was, but also how varied its wares were. Food - fresh and otherwise - was prominent, but more than a few canvas-covered stalls or permanent shops were displaying clothes and other things.
They didn't really need much - this was more precautionary than anything - but Twilight would hate for anything so easily preventable stymying them later on.
"How 'bout we get some new stuff?" Rainbow asked as they passed by a line of coat-racks. "We're never going to get the smell of the swamps out of our clothes. Or the tent."
Twilight was tempted - the stink was faint, but nigh omnipresent - unfortunately... "Much as I want to say 'yes,' anything we get is as likely as not to get just as mucky on the next bit. We should probably wait til Hurricanum."
Rainbow wilted. "Makes sense I guess. Only a few more days, at least."
"Just a few more," Twilight agreed, trailing off as her eyes finally caught on something. "Here we go." She veered off towards a display of neatly-stacked piles of bars and patties. Little signs hung on small stands next to them.
"Oats, fruits," Rainbow read off as they wandered down the line. "Jerky, pemmi - wait, pemmican?" Her face scrunched up. "Ew."
"I don't think those are for us," Squirrel said, peering over her withers. "Fish I'm fine with, but game? I think not."
"I don't think I've had fish jerky before," Twilight said as she scrutinized the pile herself. "Any good, Dash?"
Rainbow shrugged. "It'll get stuck in your teeth, but otherwise, yeah - it's kinda nice."
"Ick. Maybe not, then."
They ended up just sticking with the fruit and cereal types, taking care to buy more than they'd need. 'Just in case the boat goes down and we have to walk it,' Twilight had said. After that, there was little left to do but wander around some more and take in the sights, such as they were.
"Bit rural, isn't it?" Twilight said as they meandered down the riverside. "More so than I'd thought it'd be, I mean."
"'Rural'?" Squirrel snorted. "Didn't you say you lived in an orchard-town? How much more 'rural' could this possibly be?"
"Sweet Apples is... well, it is small, yes, but it doesn't feel small."
"Uh huh."
"It's..." Twilight cast around for the right way to word it.
"There's a city," Rainbow said, beating her to it. "A big one! It's in the distance, but it's close enough - that totally makes Sweet Apples way more fancy than this."
"I was going to talk about the railways and that we've one of Equus' five Great Libraries, but sure, Canterlot on the horizon works too," Twilight finally managed to get out.
"Those things do sound more impressive than 'a big city in the distance,'" Squirrel rolled her eyes. "It actually doesn't sound as backwater as I'd thought."
"It kind of is, actually," Twilight admitted. "It should be far larger, given its location and history, but seeing as it's abutted the Everfree forest for some centuries now, most people don't want to live anywhere near it."
Squirrel kicked a stone idly out of her way, watching it skip briefly along the silty water. "Something wrong with the woods?"
"The magic there's... erratic," Twilight said after a short pause. "Makes people feel uncomfortable - like a chill breeze that no coat can keep out."
"Spooky."
"Hence the small population."
The continued down the riverside, passing pebbly beaches and stubby docks, lazing adults and gamboling foals and chicks. "Could grab some food?" Rainbow said as they stopped by the northern terraces. "Do it now and we'll still have time for dinner later."
"Not much else to do while we wait til evening," Twilight said, glancing up at where she thought the sun was. "Don't think it's much after noon, so... sure! See something nice, earlier?"
"Not really," Rainbow said as they turned back the way they came. "Should be something around here, though."
It hadn't taken too long to find a nice place to grab a bite - after a bit of walking they'd come across a tidy little restaurant on a street corner, with red blooming flowers and pale pink awnings. Rainbow poked idly at her empty cup of tea - a nice lemongrass blend - as they lazed in the coloured shade. Street traffic ambled and clattered by as people and cargo were moved up and down the cobbled slopes. There wasn't really much to do until tomorrow, after all, and the inn here sure beat another night in the tent.
Or would that be curled up in the canoe? She was still a bit sketchy about just how wet this next section was going to get. "This is kinda dull," she eventually said, breaking the comfy silence.
"It kind of is, isn't it?" Twilight smiled at her. "I still think it was best to wait until morning, though - that'll give us plenty of time to get acclimated and sort out our pace before nightfall."
"I know," Rainbow shrugged. "Still bored waiting."
"Could go for another fly-around?" Squirrel chimed in. "Scout ahead a touch."
Rainbow shook her head. "Don't want to leave you two here."
"We should be alright on our own for a few hours," Squirrel tried, shooting a quick glance at Twilight. "This place sees enough visitors that we hardly stand out."
While quite true from what she'd seen so far, Rainbow still didn't feel comfortable leaving them behind. "I can do it tomorrow, once we're on the river - it'll be fine then."
"Yep," Twilight nodded. "That it will." |
The Rivers of Avalon | Chapter 8 | Rainbow awoke to heavy prodding.
"Up you get!"
She grumbled, latching harder onto her pillow as she snuggled further into the blankets.
"Oh no you don't," Twilight growled beside her. "The sun's nearly up! Let's go! I want to be out of this inn within twenty." She poked her one final time before stalking heavily off.
Rainbow groaned and stretched, her joints popping as she sat up in bed. They'd ended up just wandering around and window-shopping for the remainder of yesterday before heading back for an early bed - helpful, as from the looks of it the sun hadn't even come close to rising yet. "Is the boat place even going to be open this early?" she wondered as she slid out from under the covers. "'Cause I swear it's still midnight."
"Of course there'll be someone there," Twilight chided her from the other room. "It's a fishing town - fisherfolk get up early."
"Ugh." She set about gathering up her things and getting her gear on while Squirrel lazed, fully dressed, by the door; they'd only gotten a one-bed, so Squirrel had drawn the short straw and slept on the wicker couch - presumably the less comfortable sleep was why she was already up and about, and tired-looking to boot.
It was only a few minutes later that saw them stepping out into the predawn light; despite the time, the town was indeed already stirring. "And we're certain we've got everything?" Twilight fretted, her horn flaring as she poked at everyone's panniers. "Nothing was left behind?"
"We've already triple-checked, Twi," Rainbow said, lightly flicking her with a wing. "Seriously. I thought you were the one that wanted to get going early?"
"I do!"
"Well, time's a-burning then!" Rainbow said, stepping jauntily down the alley and out of her friend's range. "Let's go!"
"Fine, fine," Twilight muttered, still staring back worriedly as they kept a swift clip downhill.
They arrived at the boatshack to find its doors already open, its interior lit orange by lamp-glow. Leading the way, Squirrel cast her head about before stalking into the gloom towards the same stallion from yesterday. "Hello," she said, getting his attention. "Boat?"
He snorted. "'Boat' indeed," he said, getting up from his workbench to help them retrieve their canoe from the upper racks. A few minutes later and they were on their way.
"We going to the same place we came in at?" Rainbow asked, grunting as she shifted to get a comfier grip. "Or are we going south?"
"Same place," Twilight replied. "Won't save much time otherwise, and at least this way we won't get lost or jammed in an alleyway."
The streets and docks were picking up as they neared the little spot of land they'd beached up on yesterday; from here they could see a triplet of barges coming into the piers, their decks hives of activity. Scrambling clumsily down the slope, they set their canoe in the water and quickly cast off, hoping to get out of the growing bustle.
"Wonder which route they took?" Twilight mused, shuffling around for her oar as the three of them set about rowing away, southwards. "Must've been the main path? Unless they came from downriver..."
Squirrel shrugged. "They've the sails to have - so maybe. Going to be a bit annoyed if they did come from Nestle - we could've hitched a ride!"
"And missed out on the forest monsters?" Rainbow said with far too much excitement. "Where'd the fun be in that?"
"'Fun,' right," Squirrel snorted. "Here's hoping the next bit is nice and dull."
"Hear, hear," Twilight muttered. Passing around an anchored fishing boat - its outriggers spanning nearly as wide as its hull was long - they found themselves caught up in the South Whither's current and pulled swiftly away.
The river would soon branch again, but they had a short ways to go yet before they needed to do anything but paddle onwards. "See the towers?" Squirrel said, jerking her head towards a pair of run-down stone-and-wood structures, some three-stories tall, straddling the river either side. "I mentioned them yesterday."
Rainbow'd noticed them the day before, but with how much they'd blended in with the surrounding buildings she hadn't realized what they were. Here though, on the river, she could clearly make a great rusty chain, each link as wide and long as her barrel, slinking out of their ground floors and disappearing into the silt. "Think it could still go up?"
Twilight hummed thoughtfully. "I suspect the weight of all the mud will've buried it beyond the strength of the mechanisms to heave. That, and I imagine the same forces that stopped the tolls would've also seen to it that they couldn't've been easily reimplemented the moment they'd left, either." They rowed between the towers, the canoe tilting as Rainbow leaned over the side for some glimpse of the chain in the muddy waters.
In very little time they drifted past the last of the hillside homes, leaving Autumn Beech behind them.
The sun had just risen in front of them when they neared the fork. "Main river's straight ahead, of course," Twilight chattered on as they kept themselves near the western bank. "The right path's the one we want. It's small and slow now, but the map says it'll join up with another soon, so with a little luck it should pick up then."
"I'll scout once it does," Rainbow said - she'd been neglecting to up til now, far preferring to just laze around and enjoy the canoe ride a little longer; still though - no sense going in blind.
They soon reached the wide, stony mesa around which the river branched, and took the languid, shaded waters of the rightmost path. The dull susurrus of the Whither faded behind them, leaving them with nothing but the splash of oars and faint buzzing of insects for company. "At least they're not nearly as bad here as in the swamps," Rainbow muttered, wing lashing out to swat away a particularly large beetle. "Not like we have the smoke anymore, anyways."
"These're harmless enough," Squirrel said, her ears flicking every time one tried to land on it. "The only even remotely-dangerous ones can't bite through our fur. They are annoying, though."
At this point the river turned to face the very edge of the mountain range they looked to pierce; from what Rainbow could remember of the maps, they'd be heading more-or-less straight south once they reached this bit of it, and wouldn't stop until they got to Hurricanum. "Hey guys - the rivers are going to meet up soon, right? So I should probably get airborne about now."
Twilight gave her head a little shake to clear it before looking around at their surroundings. "Might be rapids ahead, yeah. Need us to get ashore? Don't really like the idea of you rocking the boat over on takeoff."
"Umm..." Rainbow set aside her oar and stood up as best she could. The canoe bobbed unsteadily as she shifted her weight around. "Yeah, might be best."
What with the abundance of pebbly beaches either side, it took little time at all to get near enough to land for Rainbow to leap out into the chilly, fetlock-deep water. Splashing quickly away from them, she called back over her withers. "I'll poke around and let you know what's up before you get to the merge!"
"Yep!" Twilight called back as the two of them paddled back out and downstream.
Stepping on shore, Rainbow shook the water from her legs, stretching her wings and giving them a few warmup flaps as she did. Once content with that she bounded into the air to coast low over the river, hooves just stroking the surface. Cruising lazily past the canoe, she angled up to grab some height and get a proper look around.
Not half a minute later she'd gotten above the squat mesa bordering the river's eastern bank, and got a good look at the far side.
It was... surprisingly unthreatening. Once the two rivers merged together they simply flowed across a rather mundane-looking grassy plain. While one path branched back to what looked like the main river, the one they were interested in seemed to just fade into the mountains some dozen or so miles away. She couldn't make out the mines from here, but a shiver of anticipation ran through her all the same; she'd passed by more mine shafts than she could count back home, but she'd never actually gone more than a few paces into them - she'd wanted to, but some annoyingly sensible part of her insisted she not do so alone, and she'd never managed to convince anyone to come along with.
But not this time!
Double-checking that the river seemed more-or-less calm - no churning eddies or perilously-rocky sections - she took to circling again for height; seeing as she was about to be stuck underground for who-knows how long, how could she not have some fun first?
Twilight glanced up at the slowly-dwindling form of Rainbow before turning back to the river. "I imagine it's all good up ahead," she said, as the river turned sharply south around the mesa and joined up with its sister. "Seeing as it looks like she's more interested in goofing around than coming down to warn us about anything."
"Mmhmm," Squirrel agreed as the waters picked up pace. "Burning off some energy, perhaps? Though I doubt we'll be underground for too long at any one stretch - the longest part is only supposed to be a few hours long."
"Does she know that, though?" Twilight wondered - Rainbow had a habit of just letting Twilight take care of all the planning, even before their ship went down; she'd be little surprised if she'd zoned out during all their talks on the matter yesterday.
As the river straightened out due south again, they got their first look at the range ahead. "One way or the other, we'll find out soon."
Rainbow landed deftly beside the others on a little beach but a few stone-throws shy of the tunnel entrance. Rotten shacks lay on carved terraces around the face, with more besides half-drowned in the river pooling about the cliff. The waters here were shallow enough to see rusted rails and stoney roadways below.
The tunnel itself was blessedly tall despite the flooding, granting them enough room that they needn't duck or stoop. "I guess this is it?" Rainbow said, suddenly feeling rather skeptical about the whole affair. "There's nothing else around?"
"You'd know better than us," Squirrel snorted, gesturing at the otherwise deadend they were in. "But as this is the only river going in this direction, it must be." The river had flowed with the scree immediately against its western shores, leaving little room for some alternative path hidden away.
Rainbow grumbled, still feeling uneasy. "Alright, alright," she groused. "We doing this then?"
Twilight gave her a little nuzzle. "Hey - you feeling alright, Dash?"
Rainbow's wings fluttered as she lashed her tail. "Yeah, I guess," she muttered, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, Twi, I'm fine - really. It's only for a couple of hours anyways, right?"
"This section is supposed to be straight and easy," Squirrel said, interrupting her pacing. "A couple of hours - no more."
"Good," Rainbow rolled her shoulders. "Right. Good."
"Probably best we get going, then," Twilight said, bobbing her head back towards the canoe while keeping a worried eye on Rainbow. "Sooner done the better."
"Yeah," Rainbow said, pushing the canoe a little ways out before hopping in, one hoof braced against a jutting stone to keep it from floating away. "In we go."
The other two clambered in before, with a push of their oars, they floated out slowly towards the yawning, black mouth of the Seven Mines. |
The Rivers of Avalon | Chapter 9 | The light cut off sharply as they passed beneath the arch; Twilight reached a hoof up to push off against a wooden buttress, stained pale with age. They drifted gently forwards, giving their eyes time to adjust to the gloom. "It's not so bad," she said, once she could see properly. The tunnel was squared and unadorned, bar clumps of tools and supplies poking above the water. "Can't even get lost like this."
"Yeah!" Rainbow chirped. "Totally straight! This'll be easy as pie!"
They carried on, the sound of their breathing and splashing of oars echoing tinnily off the walls. As the sunlight dimmed behind them, Twilight spared a moment to conjure a brace of little floating lights that cast them all in a warm glow.
"Much better," Squirrel muttered appreciatively from the stern. The light showed what they'd already expected - bare, chiseled walls, with little to break up the monotony.
"You know," Twilight remarked after a few minutes, "this is really quite dull, isn't it?" They butted up against a pile of rubble before flowing slowly around it. "I kind of expected... well, more, I suppose."
Squirrel shrugged. "Don't complain. Never heard of a perfectly straight, no-side-tunnels mine before, mind you, so it'll probably change up soon."
She was right about that - not a few minutes later the tunnel opened up abruptly into a wide, squat amphitheater of sorts. A hulking, rust-eaten mining machine lay sills-deep in the water, its zephyric tanks long since salvaged. "Sooo," Rainbow began, her wings twitching. "Now what?"
"Follow the flow," Squirrel answered, eyes darting around the space. "There's only one way out for the river here - everything else is flooded and stagnant."
Twilight concentrated, multiplying and scattering her lights throughout the cavern. Several side passages ran out at irregular intervals - some narrow, some wide. Frustratingly, the water didn't seem to have any flow at all - at least not that she could see from here. "Let's poke around a bit," she said, squinting for any sign of movement on the surface.
They paddled to the nearest one, its mouth barely visible in the craggy walls. It was roughly-cut; sending a light down, they could see it rose sharply out of the water, the tunnel beyond going well out of her spell's reach. "Clearly not right," Twilight muttered as they moved to the next one, taking as much care as they could not to disturb the water any more than needed. "I suppose it would've been too much for the path to be marked, wouldn't it?" While the walls were covered in scrawled markings - some carved, some painted - none of it looked at all like directions.
"Nah - that'd be too helpful," Rainbow said as they peered down another one - this one wide and with a well-trodden look to it. "At least the water's gotten way shallower here - we can see the bottom!"
Leaning over, Twilight could see she right - it was barely barrel-deep here, and the rough, cobble-strewn ground could be clearly made out below. "Should make any movement more visible, too."
"Check for tracks," Squirrel said, oar braced against the bottom as they waited for the surface to still. "Could you keep some of those lights near us, Twilight? There's a good chance the way out for the river is the same way out the miners used to get to the far side - should hopefully be able to tell which way is which from the rails."
Not the most flawless logic, but Twilight was quite willing to go along with it - the air was starting to feel cramped down here. She pulled several of the smaller faery lights back to ring them like little white embers. While there weren't any obvious signs that this was the way out, she did think she might've been able to see the water moving a ways down the tunnel - assuming it wasn't a trick of the light.
"Aww, there's a bunch of little fish down there!" Rainbow cooed, leaning over the side. "Fishy, fishy!"
Ignoring Squirrel's bemused look, Twilight glanced over to see a small school of minute, dark-scaled fish darting beneath the lights. "Makes sense there'd be some in here," she said, watching them flit about as they chased one of her motes. "Wonder what else is down here?"
"Way to jinx it," Squirrel snorted, still giving Rainbow an odd look. "At most it's probably just crayfish and the like."
Twilight looked back at the water, checking again for any sign of flow; behind her, Rainbow continued to stare happily at the fish, tail swishing across the thwart. "Let's call this passage a 'maybe,'" she decided. "We've still a couple more to check."
By this point they didn't even need to row, instead finding they could merely set their oars on the bottom and drag themselves around. Much like on the other side, one of these tunnels was half-blocked and tight, but the other one clearly saw heavy mining work at some point. "There's even a rail down here!" Twilight said, eagerly pointing off the side. "You can't it much under the silt, but it's definitely there!"
Squirrel smiled. "We've a heading then."
"Yep - let's go!" They began dragging themselves slowly down the new passage, eyes well on the lookout for any other signs of use. Occasionally the tunnel would open up into low rooms, with still more passages branching off into the dark within and along the way; luckily, the further in they went, the clearer still the floor - and rails - became.
As they drifted ever further under the mountain, old signs of work and habitation became increasingly common.
"Some sort of check-in point, maybe?" Squirrel guessed as they floated past a wooden booth, table and chair too caught up in rope to drift away. "For equipment and stuff?"
Twilight shook her head doubtfully. "Wouldn't really make sense for it to be this far in, would it? Perhaps some sort of singer booth - for orders from wherever the HQ would be for this place." Running burst-signals through singers would've been horribly expensive, but the mountains would've interfered too much with the normal pulses - needs must, after all.
"What were they mining here, anyways?" Rainbow said distractedly, as her eyes continued scanning the water for another school.
Squirrel shrugged. "Don't know - not gems or anything precious, at any rate. Iron, maybe."
"Water's not brown," Twilight muttered as they entered yet another cavern. Unlike the others, this one was wide and tall, its roof well out of sight of her lights. Wood and metal shacks, in various states of disrepair, lined the room as far as they could see. Carts and tools similarly littered the place. "Well, now - this is something."
Rainbow let out an appreciative whistle. "Some sorta whatchamacallit - barracks thingy, right?"
"I doubt anybody would be sleeping down here," Twilight said as she dug her oar into the shallow bed, bringing them to a halt. "Not counting naps, of course. I can't see the other side - we need to be careful."
"Mmhmm." They pulled their way forwards, the canoe bumping and grinding over rubble. The room seemed to stretch on forever, as workshacks shifted to stacks upon stacks of girders and iron meshes. Squarish hallways led out at odd intervals, but a sense of oppression had fallen over the group, leaving them with little enthusiasm for exploring.
"Wonder where they go?" Twilight muttered. "Seems like an awful lot of work for something the equipment could never have gotten through."
"Oh, that's easy," Rainbow said, unexpectedly waving away her question. "They're to check for new seams!"
"Really?" Twilight's ears perked up in surprise, not in part because that actually sounded rather obvious now that she heard it. "I suppose that makes sense; where'd you read that?"
"Daring Do," Rainbow grinned.
Twilight snorted. "Naturally." Any follow-up was cut off as the canoe juddered beneath them, coming to a jerky halt. "What the - ?"
Squirrel pushed hard on her oar from the stern, looking to dislodge them, but all that did was grind them further in. Twilight pulled some of her lights back close, shining them low over the surface. "Well, shoot," she said after barely a glance over the side.
"That's like, what, knee-deep?" Rainbow said, the boat rocking back and forth as she twisted from side to side, looking down at the shallows. "I don't think we're boating any farther."
"Mmhmm." Twilight frowned as she peered out around them, hoping there was a deeper path somewhere. "Let's back up and check around," she said as she braced against her oar, heaving them off the ground. They paddled to either side of the hall, but to no avail - it was just as shallow near the stacks as in the centre.
They fell to silence, the canoe bobbing around errantly as they tried to work out their next step.
"There wasn't any big passage we missed, right?" Squirrel eventually asked. "There was that one tunnel in the first room, but otherwise...?"
"Reaaally don't want to have to paddle all the way back there," Rainbow mumbled, wings shrugging uncomfortably. "Doubt we're getting out of here by nightfall if we do."
"The rails only ran through the route we took," Twilight reasoned, casting her gaze around until she spotted the dull glint some metres to her left. "Still running through here, too."
"... so we're walking this, then, aren't we."
Twilight looked up, nibbling her lip as she caught Rainbow's gaze. "Unless anyone has a better suggestion... yeah - we walk it and hope things get deeper, quick."
Rainbow wilted, clearly not looking forward to this. "Oof."
"'Oof' indeed."
After a few moment's pause Squirrel let out a gusty sigh as she clumsily stood up. "Well, no point in waiting," she said, stepping out of the boat with a small splash. She shivered, shuffling in place. "Cold," she spat out, turning to brace her chest against the stern. "Out you two get - I'm not pushing with you in here."
Twilight didn't hesitate, taking a deep breath and hopping out with an ungainly splash of her own, the water nipping at her neck and barrel.
"Might not be the right time for a swim, Twi," Rainbow chuckled, having taken a bit more care stepping off.
"Oh, shush," Twilight said, quickly bracing herself against her side of the canoe. Once Rainbow'd done the same, they started forward, the canoe shoving along between them, light enough now to clear the shallows.
Buoyed on by their joint desire to get out of the frigid waters, they made swift progress; it was after only a short bit of trudging on that the hall abruptly ended, leading into another cavernous space. Pausing at the threshold Twilight again sent out her lights, revealing what may well have been a garage of sorts - multiple large mining vehicles sat scattered around haphazardously or in neat little rows; the room was, in fact, so large that the miners had left numerous pillars intact, as wide around as their canoe was long, throughout the room to keep the low roof from collapsing.
"By this point I imagine we're at least a few-hundred metres underground," she stated matter-of-factly, rolling her neck as she looked up at the ceiling not half-a-metre above her. "I wish I could remember what the average temperature increase with depth was - a degree every hundred metres, I think?"
"That's what's going through your mind right now?" Squirrel asked incredulously. "And here I was simply hoping it wouldn't all fall down on us."
"It hasn't yet," Twilight said quickly, noting Rainbow's worried gaze above. "So it's highly unlikely it will anytime soon; needless to say, we should probably carry on."
Squirrel grunted, giving Rainbow a little poke out of her reverie as they continued on, taking great care to follow the tracks as closely as they could.
The sloshing of water about their ankles echoed eerily as the rails veered hard to the left and down another tunnel. Taking a last look around, they plowed on, leaving the garage behind.
"This is kinda boring again, isn't it?" Rainbow said, having apparently gotten over her earlier anxiety. "I was kinda hoping for more treasure."
"'Treasure'?" Squirrel huffed. "I thought we already agreed this wasn't a goldmine."
"Could still be booty! Stashed by pirates centuries back!" Rainbow insisted, shooting a disgusted look at the plain, unadorned walls. "Instead we get this. Laaame."
"'Pirates'! You look at this mine and think pirates!?" Squirrel spluttered, the canoe drifting on as she missed a step. She splashed forwards, catching back up. "Do you have any idea how far we are from the coast?"
Rainbow looked back at her and grinned. "No."
Squirrel sighed, her mouth opening and closing as she failed to come up with anything to say.
"Water's getting deeper again, girls," Twilight said, bailing her out. "We can probably get back into the canoe again."
"Finally," Rainbow said, rearing up to try and climb back in again; unfortunately, the boat just bobbed and tilted as she tried. "Hey, hold it steady back there!"
"Yes, boss," Squirrel rolled her eyes, rearing up to do just that. Once the other two had gotten on, she simply backed up a few paces before taking a wet, bounding leap into the canoe; the boat sagged, bumping off the bottom before settling down.
"Smooth."
Squirrel gave the gunwale a hearty slap. "It's sturdy enough."
Twilight frowned and took a quick look along the bottom for any leaks. "I suppose so..." she murmured, finding none.
"Right, then," Squirrel said, oar in hoof. "Let's keep going."
While earth ponies could hardly be considered creatures of the underground, in Squirrel's reckoning they might as well have been gnolls compared to pegasi. From the stern, she'd been able to keep a weather eye on Rainbow - the mare had taken to some worrisome twitching and glancing about. It'd been some hours since they'd entered the place, and although everything Squirrel had been able to find out about the tunnels back in Beech - which, admittedly, wasn't nearly as much as she'd've liked - told her they should be just about out, without even a glimpse of sunlight ahead she was beginning to doubt herself.
Over the last couple of hours they'd passed through multiple rooms and tunnels, some even with junctions splitting the tracks this way and that. In those they'd come across their first signs of helpful graffiti, rather than the scrawls and doodles there'd been closer to the entrance - white-painted streaks daubed on walls pointing them down unobstructed routes.
They'd occasionally see encouraging signs of movement in the water - minute eddies here and there, or the slow and steady drift of flotsam.
They were passing by to one such thing - an aged, stained parchment that had spent who-knows how long safe on some forgotten shelf before an errant breeze or falling stone knocked it into the water - when they ground to a sudden halt.
"Again?" Rainbow grumbled, rocking the canoe side-to-side in a futile attempt to dislodge them. "Lights!"
Twilight huffed, her horn glowing brilliantly as her lights grew from fitful embers just barely enough to navigate by to little blazing suns.
"Well, shoot," Squirrel muttered, squinting in the sudden glare. Rubble blocked the way, water churning through its many cracks and gaps. While not too high to walk over - at least, in as far as she could tell from here - there was no way that getting the canoe over that would be anything other than a nightmare.
Rainbow snorted, frustrated, before suddenly leaping out of the canoe and splashing over the pebbles and cobbles to stamp forwards over the rocks. "Lights!" she shouted out again without even a glance back.
The glow immediately dimmed to near-nothing, leaving them in almost total darkness. "There were two ways to say that, Dash," Twilight growled out from the gloomy bow. "And that was the wrong one. Again, if you please?"
There was a ruffling of feathers and shuffling of stones ahead. Long moments passed before Rainbow let out a low, noisy sigh. "Umm... could you shine your lights further out in front of us, please?"
"Why yes, I can," Twilight said as the tunnel was once again warmly lit. Ahead, Rainbow stared back at them owlishly from atop a boulder, awkwardly scuffing at the stone.
"Umm... thanks," she mumbled, refusing to make eye contact. "Sorry Twi."
Twilight wilted. She looked like she was going to say something, but instead hopped clumsily out of the canoe. Clambering over the rough ground to Rainbow's side, she gave her a little nuzzle before quietly murmuring something.
Not wanting to intrude, Squirrel took care to be extra noisy as she stepped out of the canoe. Twilight's departure had been enough to dislodge them from the bank and send her bobbing a couple lengths back, so she took her time guiding the canoe forwards and pulling its bow securely out of the water, making a show of slapping a few cobbles out of the way as she did. Looking up, she noticed they had switched to staring quietly off into the gloom.
"Uhh," she began cautiously. "So are we heading back, or pressing on? Because I'm all for at least trying to see if the blockage is short enough to portage."
"Hmm?" Twilight shook herself, half-turning to look back at Squirrel. "Yes. Umm..." She shook her head again, her mane tousling about wildly. "Yes! Of course. If we're lucky this is an old cave-in and the path still goes through."
Squirrel nodded, jerking her head towards one of the many burbling streams running beneath their hooves. "Stones don't look freshly broken - no powder anywhere either, so this'll have happened at least before the last time it flooded."
"Wait - flooded!?" Rainbow's head whipped around.
"Relatively speaking!" Squirrel hastily added. "Probably only a few hooves - when it rains hard enough."
"Which means there's nothing we have to worry about," Twilight said, gently bumping her friend.
"Right... nothing."
Squirrel hesitantly stepped forwards, heading to the left where the rubble seemed lowest. "Best leave the canoe here for now."
"Mmhmm," Twilight said, as she and Rainbow brought up the rear.
From the fore, Squirrel was keeping a sharp eye out at the walls and ceiling above, hoping - perhaps futilely - that she'd see if something were to collapse in time to dodge it. Most of the right side's roof had come down, calving off great chunks of the wall with it. The cave-in seemed oddly specific - they'd gone some metres in and it still only affected the one side of the tunnel - but she couldn't hope to guess why.
Progress was slow, as all three of them were taking as much care as possible to not turn an ankle in any of the gaps and crevices underhoof. "The water's still flowing fast," Squirrel noted aloud. "Good sign the way's clear." It wasn't, of course, but she was finding herself increasingly worried about everyone's morale ever since the novelty of being underground had worn off.
She was trying to come up with something more convincing to add when the tunnel abruptly opened up. "Well hold on," she called back, pausing at the threshold for the other two to catch up. "What's this?"
A wave of lights flew past her, pouring into the new room. It wasn't nearly as cavernous as the others, instead being barely a dozen metres wide and maybe twice that long; what was notable, however, were the assortment of bunks and desks tucked neatly between numerous cabinets and drawers. Stacks of aged papers and ledgers lay about everywhere.
Some of the lights glided along the water's surface - smooth once again - and to a smaller, buttressed passage on the far side. There were no rails in sight.
"So they do sleep here!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Knew it!"
"It seems so," Twilight said, stepping down into the room. Squirrel followed close, looking over at the collapsed right-side as she did; it looked like there'd been another room there - probably on the far side of the tunnel wall - before it'd been buried.
"Check for markings," Twilight said as she made her way straight for the far passage. Squirrel made to follow Rainbow's lead instead and aimed herself right at the nearest table to start poking around at all the junk.
"Finally something interesting," Rainbow grumbled to herself, tail lashing irritably behind her. She hated feeling like this - all snippy and tense - but it wasn't her fault the dang roof here had to be so low, and the air had to taste so flat and stale.
Her tail lashed again as she got to the nearest desk, its top laden with dust-covered notebooks and sheets. Rolling her shoulders, she opened the top one. "Schedules," she muttered, tossing it unceremoniously aside before grabbing another. "Check-in times, shift-times, cart numbers," she sighed, tossing away a triplet more. She began pulling open the drawers, their wood stiff and swollen with moisture, but there were just more books inside.
She scoffed, abandoning her search to stalk after Twilight, her hooves splishing through the puddle-deep water. Way too shallow for the boat, she thought, hoping it got deeper ahead. Really don't want to have to walk this.
"Hey," she said, coming up behind Twilight.
"Hmm?" Twilight glanced back at her, a smile on her face. "Oh - hey Dash. Look!" She nodded her head down the passage, a few metres wide and echoing with a dull, airy roar. "The way out, I think! It's deep enough for the canoe, and I can't imagine what else but the outdoors would be making a sound like that."
Rainbow felt a knot untangle inside her as an errant breeze blew up at them. "Awesome! Let's go exploring then!" She turned back around and made for one of the nearer little hallways that ran off the room.
There was hurried splashing behind her. "Wait! Seriously?" Twilight said, catching up. "But we're almost out!"
"Exactly!" Rainbow said, feeling better than she had all day. "Open skies are just, like, what - five minutes away, right? But we haven't found a single bit of treasure yet!"
Twilight gave an exasperated sigh. "I really don't think we'll find anything but old paperwork here, Dash."
"Well, what about monsters, then?" Rainbow said, determined to find something cool before they left. Off to her left, Squirrel gave up her own poking around and trotted over to them. "We've been in here for daaays now and we haven't even seen a single one!"
"It's only been a few hours, Dash; besides, a monster's just an animal you don't know yet."
"Geez - take all the fun out of it, why don't you," Rainbow huffed. They stopped and peered down a short hall; burnt-out shards hung from frayed rope along the walls, while their own faery lights could just make out stacks of barrels in the far room. "I'll bet there's hundred-year-old triple-distilled apple brandy in those!" Rainbow said, taking an eager step down the hall. "That'll be worth a fortune to someone!"
"Woah there," Twilight said as Rainbow was jerked to a halt, her tail wreathed in lavender magelight. "How about we at least get the canoe over here before we start poking our noses down random passages?"
"For a quick getaway," Squirrel added when Rainbow didn't look convinced. "In case of sudden monster attack."
Rainbow rolled her eyes, but gave in - they'd have to drag the thing over here eventually, anyways. Walking the several minutes back over the treacherously-uneven rubble, they found the canoe right where they'd left it.
"This might be a bit tricky," Twilight said, stepping down into the water. "The roof's too low to stand upright with this above us."
"Can't you just magic it across?" Squirrel asked, looking unhappily down at the frigid water. "It's only a short distance..."
Twilight nibbled her lip and gave the canoe a few tentative shoves around. After a few moments her horn lit up and the boat glowed dully before dimming again. "There's the volume, of course," she quietly muttered, only partly to herself. "Wood's always tricky, too. I can do it - definitely - I'm just worried about it tiring me out before we've reached daylight again, especially seeing as how I don't know what we might encounter next."
Squirrel poked the canoe skeptically. "Really? Because I bet I could lift this thing on my own if I could just balance it on my back. What's wood got to do with it, anyways?"
"Something about it still being kinda alive," Rainbow interrupted her, impatient to get moving again. She pulled the bow around to her and started unloading their gear, already having an idea of where this was going.
"Essentially yes." Twilight began pulling out her gear as Squirrel, one hoof in the canoe and the other on land, followed suit. "Trying to cast on something living is... difficult. A little like trying to mash two like-charged magnets together, or grab a slippery bar of soap - you can manage it for a few seconds, sure, but after that it just slips away."
"Huh. I always did wonder why noone just fished with magic."
"Mmhmm." Their gear lay slumped on the rubble, alongside the oars. Twilight nimbly hopped back out of the water and dragging the canoe a little further on land. "I'll carry it along in bursts - it'll be a touch slow, but it'll be easier this way."
"Expecting trouble?"
Twilight shrugged, striding a few paces forwards. "Cave-ins we might need to clear, mostly." Her horn lit up again as the canoe slowly rose out of the water and hovered towards her. "Right - let's get this thing through."
Having crossed the rubble, they portaged the remainder of way and set the canoe down next to the far entrance. Once they'd filled it again with their gear it sat soundly on the bottom, but they shoved a few large stones around it to hem it in - just in case. That done, they made their way curiously back to the side hall.
"Finally!" Rainbow smiled, taking a tentative step towards the stores. "Booze time!" Though she couldn't see her, Rainbow could just feel the weight of Twilight rolling her eyes behind her.
"It's probably not alcohol, Dash."
"Well... black powder then!"
"How in the world would that in any way be good!?"
"I didn't say it would be!" Rainbow insisted as she stepped cautiously up to the nearest one, its staves stained and warped. "Only that it'd be cool." She gave the barrel a tentative sniff for all the good that would do.
"Well?" Squirrel, still way back in the main room, called out to her.
"Smells dusty!" Rainbow shouted back before giving the barrel a smack; little clouds of whitish-grey dust flew off it. "Definitely dusty!"
"But it's not going to explode, right?"
"They wouldn't've stored black powder in the open like this," Twilight called back to her, giving the barrel - one of several stacked against the corner - a once-over of her own. "It's safe!"
Squirrel's hoofsteps echoed off the walls as she rejoined them, Rainbow giving her a flick of her tail once she had. "Ya know if this did explode you'd hardly be any safer being what, thirty feet away from it, right?"
"I'd've ducked," Squirrel absently waved her off, busy now taking in the rest of the storeroom. While crates, barrels, and shelves lined the walls, the main body of the room was filled with workbenchs and tools. Reams of diagrams and sketches littered the place, with half-assembled gear lying forgotten, heaped neatly in piles or still hanging in the grips of long-abandoned vices.
"Right," Rainbow snorted. "'Ducked.'"
"Honestly, you two," Twilight sighed as the other two walked past her to begin nosing around the workroom. "I don't think we're going to find anything here - everything of value's almost certainly been long looted by now."
"You don't know that," Rainbow insisted, scattering papers about as she rifled through thick stacks. "Might be a treasure map in here," she added in answer to Twilight's questioning look. She couldn't help but doubt that there actually would be anything of value here, but it felt like such a waste not to find something for a souvenir.
"Might have something here!" Squirrel shouted back from up ahead, having pushed open another door just enough to poke her head through.
Rainbow trotted up to her, Twilight close at her heels. Squirrel still had her head in the other room, having reared up to extend an arm through the crack, faery shard lit and in hoof. Too impatient to wait, Rainbow shoved her head in beside her, cheek brushing against her belly. Ignoring Squirrel's grumbling, she found the next room was lit not just by the shard, but by a brace of glassy chunks, glowing with a faded, inner ocean-blue light.
"Ooo," she cooed, trying to force her way further inside. The door grated along the floor as the gap widened all of an inch before grinding to a halt. Huffing, she pulled back and braced herself alongside Squirrel, together giving it a solid shove. "Dangit!"
"The wood's too swollen," Twilight said, nodding her head towards the rot-blackened base of the door. "It's just wedging itself against the floor."
Rainbow harumphed, settling herself into a lower stance and leaning again against the wood, prodding Squirrel to do the same. "Nothing another good shove won't fix!"
The door strained behind their combined strength, but stubbornly held firm. Rainbow pushed off it with a huff and shot Twilight a pleading look. "You can magic this open, right? Right?"
Twilight gave the door another glance before shrugging. "Sure, but from the looks of it it's just a bunch of half-spent celestine."
"Ohhh don't make this lame, Twi!" Rainbow whined, stamping her hooves like a foal. "Can't you just pretend it's something awesome for once?"
"Like soulgems," Squirrel nodded sagely. "Could be the souls of ancient liches in there."
"Yeah! Exactly!"
Twilight snorted, her horn aglow as she concentrated. "Right, firstly, liches use phylacteries, not soulgems." Impressions formed upon the aged wood, the door creaking and buckling. "And secondly, liches don't exist!" With a grunt she took a half-step forward as the door gave one final groan and snapped, the upper hinges tearing off, canting the door back to violently slam it against the wall.
"Alriiight!" Rainbow cheerfully trotted into the room, ignoring the arcane glyphs pressed into the buckled wood as she beelined straight for the hopefully-not-just-celestine laying on the shelving opposite.
She reared up to stand with her muzzle almost touching the first of the crystals; bigger than her hoof, it was cloudy and glowed with a soft, azure light, so dim now that she doubted it would've been at all noticeable in the daylight. Examining it closely, she gave it a little poke and watching as it bounced lightly off the stone backwall to rest against her nose. It was cold and smelt faintly of ozone.
She sighed glumly.
"Sooo is it anything good?" Squirrel asked, coming up alongside her to peer at the line of stones herself. "Any wailing faces drifting through the fog?"
"Nah," Rainbow sighed again - she'd spent more than enough time on airships to know what this was. "Just some stupid floatstone."
"Dang."
They explored the room a little further, but it was mostly devoid of anything of interest, or really anything at all. "Everything's been looted already," Rainbow shook her head, dejected. "Was really hoping to get something cool outta this."
"There's always the experience!" Twilight tried to cheer her up as they started back to the main room. "And the stories! And let's not forget the friends we've made along the way!"
Rainbow shook her head fondly. "You are such a dork."
They found the canoe right where they'd left it. They'd taken a brief look at the other halls branching off the main room, but all bar one were blocked up, and the one that was clear just led to another looted storeroom. Shuffling aside the stones, they guided the boat back to the passage onwards.
Twilight led the way into the mouth, lights shining brightly as she looked for somewhere deep enough to launch. The water had gotten cannon-deep when her hooves slipped on the slick rock, sliding her down to the barrel. "It drops off here, girls," she shivered as she fought for purchase.
"No kidding," Rainbow said as she splashed up to her. "You good?"
Twilight nodded as she continued peering down the tunnel. The water didn't appear to be getting any shallower ahead, and she didn't exactly fancy spending any more time in the cold scouting than she could help. "Right," she said, carefully turning back around. "It's clearly deep enough for us to get back to rowing."
"Excellent," Squirrel said as she bobbed the canoe down to the drop-off's edge. After a spot of awkward clambering, they were all onboard.
Twilight dug her oar into the ground and pulled them slowly forwards. "Nice and slow now, girls," she said, eyes as much on the water as on the darkness ahead. "Let's not ground this thing again."
"Leaks would be bad," Squirrel agreed.
"At least we wouldn't sink very far," Rainbow muttered, squinting up at every errant crack in the ceiling. "That is, if we don't get squished first. We're almost out, right?"
"Just a couple more hours," Squirrel assured her. "Just a couple more hours."
The passage did deepen, eventually, if only a little. While it occasionally branched off into tunnels both large and small, more scrawls and graffiti kept them on track. "I guess this saves us needing to use our own paint, huh?" Rainbow said as they passed by a great, white arrow pointing them on. "'Cause it's kinda heavy."
Twilight's ears twitched, distracted from the dull thumping she'd been trying to make out in the distance. "We've still got two more sections to go after this," she said, head tilted to keep an ear forward. "Best keep it just in case. Do you two hear that?"
The trio fell silent, leaning forwards as a group. The sound was rhythmic and growing sharply in a way the earlier sounds weren't. "That's not a draft..." Rainbow began excitedly.
"That's a waterfall!" Squirrel finished, slapping her oar against the hull. "Or deadly rapids - but probably a waterfall!"
"I'll bet it's covering the exit! Like a secret tunnel hidden behind the falls!" Rainbow flexed out her wings happily, looking for all the world eager to get out and fly. "Maybe there's a treasure chest next to it!"
"With gold and rum in it," Squirrel agreed, her tail swishing beside her. "And maybe a fancy hat."
Twilight snorted, but left them to their fancies - like them, she could barely wait to see daylight again.
It was scant minutes later when the first glint of light, shining off the damp walls, reached them; the breeze picked up too, blowing a cool mist into their faces as they dug in their oars, pulling and pushing themselves forwards with renewed vigour.
They rounded the next bend and immediately reeled back, eyes shuttered, as they were blinded by their first sight of sunlight in hours. Blinking rapidly, Twilight wiped her watering eyes on her coatsleeve as she tried to work out their surroundings. The tunnel had enlarged greatly, with alcoves full of half-submerged carts tucked on either side. Thin streams of water poured down the entranceway - much wider than the one they'd come in through - and pounded noisily into the river. "Probably runoff," she mused as they drifted towards the light.
The canoe rocked beneath her as Rainbow crawled towards the bow. "Was kinda expecting something more," she said, her breath tickling Twilight's ear. "Maybe the treasure's outside?"
They passed under the streams, the shocking cold not bothering them in the least. The sun's warmth hurried to greet them as they entered a wide, sheltered valley, open to the west; to the left and right more streams poured out of the rocky cliffside, joining together into a wide river meandering southwards.
"Finally," Twilight smiled, glancing up at the sun. "From the looks of it it's not far off evening - we should see if there's anywhere to set up camp."
Rainbow chuffed, slinking back amidship. "No kidding. Let's get to shore - I can take a fly around and see what's here."
The area about the entrance was littered with stony shoals and beaches, so it took them little time to beach themselves. "Gimme a bit!" Rainbow shouted, shrugging her gear off unceremoniously onto the ground before taking off in a hurry.
"Aaand she's gone," Squirrel said, stretching out as she watched Rainbow build up into a wide arc in the blue sky above.
"With a little luck she'll see something near the next mine - we've still time to get there before evening." Twilight gazed out over the tall grass towards the southern ridges - somewhere at its base was yet another tunnel network they'd need to brave, with another still after that. "If my maps are right, it should be shorter."
"Well, that's good - spelunking isn't as fun as I thought it'd be."
Twilight shot her a surprised look. "I'd've thought you'd've gotten used to them up in Wanderbelle," she said, settling herself down on a mossy stone.
Squirrel shrugged. "Lots, sure, but I never worked in them, and there's a heck of a difference between passing through one to get between homes and ledges, and going through that." She jerked her head back the way they'd come.
"It did rather lose its charm after a while, didn't it?" Twilight agreed with a grunt.
"Yeah. Hey - how long could you keep those lights on, anyways?" Squirrel asked, leaning forwards as she changed the subject. "I don't think you had more than an hour's rest that whole time."
"Probably not much longer," Twilight admitted, unconsciously rubbing at the base of her horn. She leaned over to tug at her pannier, rummaging through it for a snack. "We'll need to use our shards more tomorrow - I'll need the break."
"Simple enough." They both fell to munching on some oatbars and refilling their's and Rainbow's flasks in the glassy stream. Rainbow had been gone longer than they'd expected, but given how she was feeling in the underground they weren't surprised she was taking advantage of the moment like this; plus, they could still occasionally catch glimpses of her up above, so they knew she was safe.
They were just starting to get impatient, however, when Rainbow landed, sliding on the loose pebbles.
"There you are!" Twilight sat up, clucking her tongue. "The sun's practically set!"
"Plenty of light left," Rainbow waved off her concerns. "And I got some good scouting in, too! We're gonna want to set up camp about halfway - there's a rise there with a flattish top that looks perfect."
Rearing up to get a better look, Twilight could just make out what she guessed was the rise in question, laying not much further downriver. "Can't we get any closer? I'd rather we enter the next bit as soon as we can come morning."
"We could, yeah," Rainbow replied slyly. "But that's why it's so good I scouted more! The river oxbows out like mad over there, and the bugs are thick enough I'm surprised I'm not painted in them for how many I hit on my pass through."
"... eww."
"That's why the rise will work!" Rainbow insisted, fluffing out her wings. "Should be high enough and far enough away from them to sleep easy."
As none of them could argue with a bug-free sleep, they quickly agreed to only going so far for the night. Realistically, they'd only be a few kilometres from the entrance anyways, and with the next part being shorter than the last they should still get through it all before nightfall next - such was their hope, at any rate.
Getting back in the canoe, they followed Rainbow's guidance to bring them through the erratic network of crisscrossing streams to join the main river channel. The sun was just beginning to fall behind the mountains when they reached the rise, sitting some dozens of metres off the shore across a short paddock of rock and reedy grass. Just as Rainbow had said, they were perhaps halfway to the next mine some kilometres off.
"So are there seven of these things, or what?" Rainbow asked as they dragged the canoe well ashore. "'Cause I'm really not looking forward to six more of them."
It took Twilight a moment to work out what she meant. "Oh! No - it's just the mountains that're called the Seven Mines; we've only got the two more to do."
"Well that's dumb," Rainbow said with a scoff. "Should've called it Three Mines then, or the Triple Tunnels, or something."
"That's not quite how geographical features are named, Dash."
"Actually, it kind of is," Squirrel interjected thoughtfully. "I mean, Nestle's nestled in the hills, right? And Calendar has a big calendar in it."
"Lame."
Squirrel waved her off. "It's more impressive than it sounds."
"Well what about Hurricanum, then? There're no hurricanes just idling in the city centre," Twilight countered, unable to resist. "And Thistle didn't have any... oh, wait."
Rainbow chuffed, setting the last of her gear over back as they set off across the field. "See? Should totally be called Three Mines."
"There're probably more mines scattered throughout the range," Twilight insisted, thinking back as best she could to her little-labeled maps. "Although given its size, seven would probably be underselling it."
"The Hundred-Mine Mountains?" Squirrel suggested.
Twilight shook her head, quietly enjoying herself. "And what if there were one-hundred-and-one? Or ninety-nine? It would be misleading."
"The same problem we currently have, yes - I see your point."
They continued chattering even as they climbed the rise - a massive boulder, easily a hundred paces across, and ascending nearly half that in height. Setting up their tents was awkward considering the rounded, knurled ground, but while there didn't seem to be any mosquitos up here, none of them were much inclined to take the chance and camp without.
As they set about getting a small fire going with the errant bits of tinder they'd picked up along the way - just long enough to get some tea going - Twilight found herself staring off into the south. From here she could make out the yawning mouth of the tunnel, like an inky stain on the darkening cliff face. In Rainbow's own words the entrance had crumbled, with great slabs of granite flaked off to lie in heaps all about the place. The river still flowed through, however, and the fallen segments looked old - that a clear route through remained still seemed likely.
Certainly Twilight wasn't looking forward to finding out there wasn't - she had no intention of adding 'mountaineering' to her growing list of skills. Tearing her gaze away, she turned back to the sputtering flames and the little collapsible pot perched on a pair of stones above.
"I still can't believe you thought to buy some back in Beech," Squirrel muttered, sifting through her own packs while Rainbow busied herself blowing on the budding embers.
"Why not?" Rainbow answered indignantly between breaths. "Tea's like water, but better!"
They stayed up a little later, but with the fire out and night falling they found their conversations stifled. Not wanting to discharge any of their shards, they muttered their goodnights and retired to their tents, full of cautious optimism for the morrow. |
The Rivers of Avalon | Chapter 10 | "It looks like it's frowning," Rainbow muttered glumly. Their canoe drifted along in the surprisingly swift current, carrying them right to the tunnel's mouth; even the early morning light shining on it did little to make it more appealing.
She swatted futilely at the swarm of mosquitos insistently buzzing around her before readjusting her scarf - every time she tried to speak it sagged a little lower, and she had no interest whatsoever in having it fall off her muzzle. Her ears ached from having them continually flattened down to keep the insects out - her scarf just wasn't quite long enough to wrap around everything. "This sucks."
"At least it's not the swamps again," came Twilight's muffled voice from where she sat huddled against the bow, curled up to expose as little fur as possible. "These ones are just annoying."
"Reeeally annoying," Rainbow said, picking up her oar to dig it deep into the water, propelling them forwards. "Let's just get inside already." She wasn't particularly looking forward to spending who-knows-how-long underground again, but at this point she was up for anything that wasn't bug-ridden.
Apart from being partially-collapsed, the entrance looked about what she'd expected - dark, grey, and foreboding. Quite foreboding, in fact. The rotting clusters she could see laying just inside weren't helping things, either.
"Hold up," Twilight said as they passed into the mine, propping her oar against a grainy wall to stop them. The canoe rocked as she carefully stood to peer up at one of the fetid growths. From where Rainbow sat, she thought they looked a bit like bulbs, or flowers with their petals closed.
Twilight's horn lit up as she prodded at one too high to reach. It crumbled like brittle ceramic, sending a little cloud of brownish dust rising into the air.
"... well, I certainly didn't expect that," Twilight mumbled, waving away the reddish cloud.
"Sooo not a monster's egg, then?" Rainbow guessed hesitantly, uncertain if she was pleased by that or not - while the fight in the woods may've been a great deal more frightening than she'd care to admit, encountering mysterious cave-monsters eventually just made sense to her.
"Just some sort of plant, I think," Twilight said, sitting back down heavily. "Might be seasonal? I know there're some species of mushroom that'll puff up like this to release spores before fading away a few days later."
Rainbow nodded along sagely. "So what you're saying is, there's a good chance that there're mushroom-people up ahead."
"Yes, Rainbow - I definitely just said that."
"Oh, good," Rainbow smiled as the current caught them back up, carrying them further inside. "I'd hate for this to be boring."
More clumps of dead-looking maybe-mushrooms lined the ledges carved or broken into the stone either side. Behind them, the spot of daylight slowly dwindled as the entranceway pinched down into a single wide, squat tunnel. Unlike the last part, the roof here was arched and jagged, as though it had suffered a partial collapse years ago. The water was deep, cold, and black.
Squirrel leaned back from her usual place in the stern, content to rest while the current carried them steadily on. She shook her head sharply to rid herself of the few drops of water running down her mane and muzzle from the omnipresent dripping above. They passed more faded scrawl on the walls, though thus far it hadn't seemed necessary to pay it any heed - what few side-passages they'd seen so far were thoroughly blocked up, the rocks and scree covered in fluffy blankets of dead or dying moss. Another of the odd, little mushroom things crumbled to dust as Rainbow gave it a curious poke with her oar.
The air reeked of cinnamon.
Twilight lit up the tunnel around them as the last of the sunlight faded behind. This time her faery lights were a warm orange - rather like peaches - and only illuminated a few metres around them. "Any reason for the colour change?" Squirrel asked, hoping a bit of chatter would help calm her nerves. "Was whiter last time."
"Need to save the energy," Twilight replied, tugging down her scarf as she stared suspiciously at the walls. "We'll want to swap off with shards in a hour or so."
"Mmhmm," Squirrel agreed, following her gaze; even the walls here were mottled, covered by the dried skeins of long-dead lichen. If it wasn't for the graffiti she'd wonder if they hadn't taken the wrong path altogether.
At length the broken, arched roof - up until now hanging barely a foot above their heads - rose up abruptly, disappearing as they cruised into a cavernous, branching room. She dug her oar into the water - it only just reached the ground - to try and bring them to a stop. "Deep here," she muttered, suddenly aware of just how bad capsizing would be right now. The sound of running water echoing sharply off the walls did little to help her apprehension.
"No kidding," Rainbow said, her gaze darting about in the orange gloom. "Which way, do ya think?" The darkness seemed deeper off to their left, while a small, wood-buttressed passage lay dead ahead of them.
Naught but the gentle sounds of plinking in the distance answered her, as they all fell to glancing at each other uncertainly. The canoe spun in slow circles, caught as it was in some persistent eddy; every half-turn passed them under a frigid rivulet that would beat a tattoo upon the hull. Finally, Twilight spoke.
"Well, let's think about this logically for a second," she began, the lights around her glowing more brightly. "Mines have a purpose, right?"
"... yes?" Squirrel answered, flinching as they passed under the stream again, the water splashing right across her head.
"Right! Locate the ore and extract it with the minimal amount of fuss. Sooo this whole thing should really just be a series of exploratory tunnels - with the successful ones ending in mined-out chambers - and a main road for the railcarts."
"And an elevator," Rainbow corrected her, a quiver of anxiety in her voice. "You gotta have an elevator for the villain to fall down later."
"Probably chutes then, too," Twilight continued, mussing her mane contemplatively. "To drop the ore from higher sections to the collection sites."
"Not like you could break it or anything, sure," Rainbow shrugged, switching her gaze skywards. "You saying that we're under one of those? That we gotta go up?"
"Maybe? I just mean that it's got to be a great deal of work to dig these tunnels - I can't imagine the miners wasting any time doing anything that wasn't strictly necessary. Yesterday's section was fairly straightforward - we followed the excavation tracks through a tool-storage site and later a checkpoint. The main problem I'm seeing here is..."
"No rails," Squirrel frowned. "So we're not on the main track through. This could just end up deadending at some mined-out chamber, then, couldn't it."
"We need to find the tracks," Twilight said, sounding more confident than she probably felt. "Because I sure can't see any more cavesign." Sure enough, she'd lit her lights up enough to see a good ways down either path. Lines of water dripped steadily off the roof or ran down minute stalactites - any scrawl that may've once been on the walls will have long since been washed away, or simply covered over with moss. "Luckily it's a straight-shot back if we want to turn around," she added in a mutter, staring out at the plantlife.
"Wouldn't've thought that kind of stuff could grow without sunlight," Rainbow said, her pack rustling as she pulled out a flask. "Twi?"
In response, the lights dimmed so low as to be nearly extinguished. Squirrel strained her eyes into the darkness, figuring there must be a point to this, when... there! "Above," she whispered, gesturing futilely to a lighter spot in the gloom. "Off to the right." Twisting her head this way and that, the greyish patch far above stayed stationary - it wasn't just a trick of her eyes. "A crack going to the surface, maybe?"
"Enough light could bounce down here for the plants," Twilight breathed out from the bow. "When the sun's in the right position, at least." Her horn glowed as she relit her lights, revealing the flooded cavern once more. "This place is in rough shape."
"Definitely gonna be monsters here," Rainbow said eagerly, her gaze still fixed above. "A falling-apart mine with shafts of sunlight and weird crumbly plant-things all around? Finally! This is what we came here for, Twi!"
"I thought you two came here 'cause Twilight's a shut-in?"
Rainbow waved away her question. "Well sure, that too. But also this!"
"Right," Twilight cut her off indignantly. "Improbable adventures aside, which way are we going? Because I imagine the smaller one's not leading to daylight."
Rainbow chuffed, readying her oar. "Well, why even ask then? Let's get going!" Unanimously, they steered the canoe away from the little buttressed passage and down the wider path. With no obstructions - and a slow current to help as well - they made swift progress, but even after some minutes rowing they still hadn't seen any sign of markings on the walls, while above, the drip had gotten drastically worse.
"It's like it's raining!" Rainbow called out over the noise, ruffling her wings to shake the droplets off. "We're not sinking, are we? 'Cause I think I could fly with all the room here, but you two would have to swim!"
Squirrel stamped a hoof on the bottom, hard enough to feel a few stray drops splash up to strike her face. "'Bout an inch or so - we're fine for now!" She paused in her rowing to peer once more over the side. "Still can't see the bottom!"
"Reassuring, as always," Twilight drawled, barely heard, as her lights flared brightly. Though they could see much further down the tunnel, there was still no land in sight - the mossy walls and falling rain simply carried on as far as the eyes could tell.
The lights dimmed again, returning to their feeble glow. Exchanging looks, they all began to row a little harder.
In time, the walls became more jagged and angular as the passage increasingly came to look less like a mine and more like a natural cavern. The dripping continued, but more quietly now, the noise muffled by the space. "Spooky," Rainbow muttered, sounding almost pleased. "Wonder how far this goes on for?"
No one had any answer to that as they carried on deeper into the mountains, the current beneath them steadily picking up pace. Finally - it must've been a full quarter-hour later - they noticed a change in the tunnel, as the gloom above them started to glow a dull orange.
"It's the roof!" Twilight exclaimed after staring at it for a few moments. "It must be getting low enough to bounce some light back." Sure enough, it wasn't long before they could make out the tips of stalactites pointing down at them. The further on they went, the closer the ceiling became, now so near Squirrel suspected she could touch it if she reached up as far as she could.
"We, uhh, we have a plan for this, right?" Squirrel's gaze darted left and right, looking for any sort of side passage - at this rate, they'd hit a deadend soon. "Because this is definitely one of those roads you mentioned, right?"
"It - it must be flooded," Twilight said uncertainly, her lights spreading out around them with a wave of her hoof. "There's still a strong current though."
"Which is bad if we can't fight it! How long have we been travelling down this thing anyways!? We can't row all that way back!" She was suddenly starting to panic as she realized there was no clear way out of this. She dug her oar in to try and fight the current, but to no effect.
With the renewed brightness, they could all clearly see just how low the ceiling had become; Rainbow began fidgeting heavily in the claustrophobic air, her breathing audible even over their speech. Somewhere in the darkness far ahead she thought she could make out a spot blacker than the rest, with a smudge of white about its base. "Is that a branch there!" Squirrel shouted, voice cracking before she forced herself to take a slow, deep breath to try and regain her centre.
"I don't see anything!" Twilight called back. "I think we should turn back now - before this current gets even worse!"
"Won't make it," Rainbow spat out, staring hawkishly ahead of them. "There's a path on the right - might go up. We should go for that." Her wings flared out and down, giving a couple of jerky flaps that sprayed mist all about them before she retracted them with visible effort.
"I don't see it..."
"My eyes are better than yours!" Rainbow snapped, slapping her oar against the gunwale.
"We must be moving at a trot by now," Squirrel added, looking around at the walls passing by them. "I say we go on."
Twilight hesitated again, clearly caught in two minds about this, before nodding. "Right," she said, her voice quavering faintly. "Right. Let's go on then - we'll need to move faster than the water if we want to gain any sense of control."
By now even Twilight could make out the large t-junction ahead, so fast were they moving. They aimed straight for it, far more intent on making the turn period than on whether or not they'd capsize when they did. Just have to hope for the best, Squirrel thought to herself, hunching down.
They reached the passage suddenly, their bow plunging down into the eddy swirling at the junction before piercing back up as they rose out the far side, the canoe pitching sideways in the still-roiling waters. Their oars scrambled frantically in a desperate attempt to keep them from rolling as they fought the weight of their now-sopping clothes. The froth of mixing streams butted and crashed against them as they stabilized just in time to scrape against rock - whether wall, ground, or rubble Squirrel couldn't hope to tell.
Several harrowing moments later they were able to even out as the stream around them calmed, though what state they were in she didn't know - it was dark as pitch around her.
She hacked and shivered in the cold. "I-is -" she spluttered out weakly. "Is everyone alright?"
A high-pitched whine answered her, followed by a bout of coughing. "Yes," Twilight eventually said, her voice hoarse and barely audible over the hissing river. "I'm fine. Dash?"
There was the sound of spitting. "This sucks."
Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "Good, good," she mumbled as a light blossomed in the darkness, growing until they were once again warmly lit.
They looked an absolute mess. Both Twilight and Rainbow's manes were skewed and mussed about, while Rainbow's feathers were poking up at odd angles; their jackets hung heavily off their sopping frames. Squirrel doubted she looked much better. The canoe itself sat low, half-filled with water, their gear scattered about, but, at a glance, at least all there.
The ceiling here was close, but blessedly didn't seem to be angled any lower; likewise, the water was fairly calm, with no current to speak of bar a scattering of whitecaps. Behind them, they could just make out the churning of the junction.
No one spoke again for several minutes as they caught their breathes, sifting around their packs to see if anything was missing. Squirrel half-heartedly detached her pan and began bailing out the boat. Twilight soon joined her, pot in hoof. "W-we should get going f-fast," she chattered. "We n-need to dry off."
Rainbow grunted, poking them both back to their thwarts, her own oar already out, its blade hovering over the water. "We can get a fire going once we find somewhere dry," she said, shooting Twilight a worried glance. "Right? We can switch to the shards after that."
Twilight nodded. "I c-can do that; definitely too tired to l-light us afterwards, th-though."
They rowed on, meandering left and right as they found it difficult to coordinate their strokes through all the shivering. They could barely make out anything more than a few lengths ahead of them, and while the ceiling didn't seem to be getting any lower, it wasn't getting any higher, either.
At length, however, the cut of the stone started to change once again, moving away from the natural angles and back to straight and regular lines. "Hey, look!" Rainbow said, pointing a wing towards a smudgy shape on one of the walls, just a few feet under the water. "It's a lamp!"
Squirrel leaned over to squint at the blur and, sure enough, so it was - a stained glass bulb with an off-white lump at its bottom. "That must mean the water's getting more shallow, right?" she asked, hope colouring her voice. "They wouldn't keep it too high off the ground, after all."
"Totally!" Rainbow agreed, still staring down at the long-defunct shard.
It wasn't long before Squirrel could just barely make out the silt-covered ground, now only a couple of metres below them. Her tail started swishing again, eager as she was to finally be somewhere shallow enough that her hooves could touch the bottom. She barely even noticed when they cruised right into another t-junction.
"Hold up!" Twilight called over her shoulder as they dug in their oars, bringing them to the closest thing to a halt they could muster. The waters here were calm, and still fairly shallow.
"Now where are we?" Rainbow groaned, frustrated as she stared out into the darkness. The tunnel ran crosswise to the previous, and was far wider to boot, with the current being just strong enough that they had to fight to keep the canoe from drifting downstream. There wasn't much to see in the gloom, but what did catch their eyes was the small mound of scree that looked to have run off from the far wall.
They hurriedly paddled their canoe over, its keel scraping on the rubble as they dug into the minute beach. Twilight scrambled out, hooves sinking and sliding over the loose pebbles, her horn glowing all the brighter as she cast whatever spell she had in mind. While Squirrel and Rainbow set about dragging the boat further on land - it would be absolutely miserable to have it drift away now - a warm, ruddy ball of heat and light formed with a faint, ringing sound. After several seconds the noise faded away as the orb gave one final pulse before seeming to settle in on itself.
All the other lights winked out, leaving them with only the ball to guide them. They quickly rejoined Twilight and huddled down next to her in the warmth. To Squirrel it felt like she was basking in the sun - the urge to doze felt almost overwhelming as she lay down limply next to it, tailing flicking contentedly. "Muuuch better," she sighed.
Rainbow grunted her agreement, doffing her sopping jacket and scarf to plop down next to Twilight. Getting the impression they were in for a decent break, Squirrel copied her, setting her clothes aside to dry while Twilight followed suit.
After that, it was back to cozying up to the heat.
Rainbow fluffed out a wing and draped it over Twilight's back, hoping to keep her warm. Given the amount of heat radiating off the orb it was probably unnecessary, but she didn't feel like taking any chances. She rolled her neck, trying to think of something cheerful to say. "Sooo," she said, her voice sounding unnaturally loud in the oppressive dark. "This is kinda, umm... fun."
Twilight snorted.
"Well, you know! It's like camping," she insisted. "On a cloudy night - that's why there's no stars or moon, you see."
"Pretty fancy campfire here, then," Squirrel said from where she lay, tail still flicking about happily. "It's all magical."
Rainbow stuck out a hoof, giving the orb a swift poke. It was hot - like a mug of tea - and felt like honey, but without all the stickiness. "It is kinda fancy, isn't it? What is it, anyways, Twi?"
Twilight gave an exasperated sigh. "Okay, firstly, you're not supposed to touch static arrays you're not familiar with, Dash - I'm more than a little certain I've told you that before. Secondly, it doesn't really have a name - or maybe it has a lot depending on where you are? It's too basic and widespread, really." She gave a half-hearted shrug. "It's warm - that's the important bit."
Rainbow scoffed. "Well that's no fun - it's not very dramatic, is it?"
"It's not a very dramatic spell, either," Twilight said, giving another shrug.
"I guess," Rainbow hedged - it certainly seemed pretty cool to her, although their current situation may've had something to do with that; still though - a fancy name would be best. "How about the sun? It sure looks like a mini one."
"I... think that name's already taken."
"Warmth?"
"Nah - too vague."
"Sparkle's sparkling ball of campfire?"
Twilight elbowed her in the ribs. "I think nameless might be best, here."
"Suit yourself." Rainbow yawned wide enough to crack her jaw. Suddenly feeling far too tired to carry on the banter, she settled down, muzzle on her hooves, to doze.
Rainbow wasn't certain how much time had passed since she'd first closed her eyes, but it seemed like no time at all before she felt herself getting shaken awake. "Up you get, Dash," Twilight said, prodding her side. "We've spent more than enough time here, and there's a ways to go yet."
Rainbow grumbled, but sat up with a quick stretch. With how much everything did end up reminding her of camping she'd been able to relax enough for a nap, but now she remembered exactly where she was.
She shook her head and gave her wings a roll as she scrambled around for her panniers. The other two were busy quietly planning their next move, but as in so far as Rainbow was concerned there was only one way to go - downstream - she didn't bother joining in. Finding her canteens, she wandered the few paces over to top them off after drinking her fill.
There was a rasping of gravel as Twilight stepped up next to her, already wearing her jacket and gear. "They're dry now," she said, refilling her own flasks; a few loose pebbles rolled down into the murky depths below her glugging canteen. "I'd guess it's been at least an hour - it's hard to tell down here."
Rainbow stared up into the endless black above. "No kidding. Can't you tell from how tired you are? You held that ball-thing the whole time."
Twilight hummed, nudging Rainbow back towards her gear. "It takes too little energy to maintain. Let's get going though - I don't want to risk us still being in here when it gets dark outside." Not least because they wouldn't see the exit even if they were to paddle right past it.
Rainbow stepped back towards the light, taking one last moment to relish its warmth before donning her jacket and scarf, and tossing her flank-satchels in the canoe.
Squirrel was fiddling with something in her hooves; a light flared up before rapidly dimming down enough for her make out a brightly glowing stone nestled snuggled in the crook of her pastern.
"Oh! Right," Rainbow said, reaching up to rummage through the satchel she'd kept on her neck for one of her own faery shards - she'd completely forgotten they'd need to light the way with them from now on. Finding it, she concentrated, imagining the same lightning-jolt feeling she got whenever she beat her wings for takeoff or wrought clouds for weather. With a flash her own lit up to glow a perfect white - just like Squirrel's.
Unfortunately, a problem just occurred to her. "Sooo how are we doing this?" she began, the shard still cradled in her hooves. "'Cause I can't exactly row like this."
"... oh." Twilight blushed, looking flustered. "We could, umm..."
"Nah, I got it," Squirrel interrupted her. "You two got scarves, right? So we just tie one down to the bow, and the other to stern - should still be bright enough to see by, even through the gauze."
Rainbow shrugged, but unraveled her scarf and got to work. There wasn't exactly anything to tie it down to, per se, but she figured she'd give it a solid effort anyways.
It didn't take long for the problem to become apparent. "It just won't stay on!" Twilight complained behind her, tossing aside her scarf in disgust. "We're not even moving and it just slips out!"
Rainbow looked down at her own failed efforts with a huff. "Well, why not just do this then," she said, dragging Squirrel's sleeping bag over to the stern and plopping her shard roughly atop it. "There. Done."
And it more-or-less was. Twilight fully abandoned her own attempts to attach the shard like some sort of ship's lantern, and instead just propped her gear near the bow and set the stone in a little dent on top. It didn't illuminate things particularly well like this - Rainbow doubted they'd be able to see more than a couple metres ahead of them with any clarity - but they were both more than a little annoyed with the effort by now.
The slopes of the scree were too steep to wade the canoe out, even just a few steps, so instead they set the stern right on the edge, bow out over the water. From here, Twilight and Rainbow clambered carefully aboard, the orb extinguishing behind them as they did. Once they were as securely seated as they could be, Squirrel gave it one final push and hopped in, the little island fading behind them rapidly in the ghostly light. The canoe rocked worryingly side-to-side as they all hunkered down low to try and tame it. Sure enough, they quickly evened out.
Oars back in hoof, they found they'd drifted back near the tunnel they'd come in through, the slow current running out buffeting them just as slowly away again. With that to help orient themselves, they angled back downstream and carefully began rowing.
"So if I remember rightly from earlier," Twilight began, her oar held out in front of them as a probing ward against anything they might bump into. "This tunnel looked to run at least a hundred metres straight before turning sharply."
"I think I saw some light at the end of it," Rainbow added, squinting out to where she thought the tunnel ended in the hopes of seeing it again. "On the left; can't see it now, though."
"I saw it too," Twilight nodded, her oar bumping up against a heavily rusted cart, its top just barely rising above the surface; she gave it a gentle push to guide them around it. "We'll have to keep an eye out for it. Once we get to about where I think it was, if we still can't see it, we can find a place to stop and cover up these shards - they're messing up out nightvision far more than my lights were."
"Can't be helped," Squirrel said, nudging the one at her elbow. "Wish we had some mirrors to point them forward, though."
Twilight looked like she about to say something before shaking her head. "Pity my pot's blackened."
"Ah, well."
They took care to keep the leftmost wall in sight, little more than a metre off to the side; they'd drifted early on into the centre - where the current was strongest - but found themselves almost immediately disoriented with not a single landmark in sight.
They'd fallen to silence during the long creep down the river, ears and eyes strained for any sudden obstacle that might appear, or sound of minute streams running through cracks and fissures in the wall that might signal their way out. It felt like ages had passed - so unwilling were they to go any faster than a crawl - when a welcoming glint of light flickered in the distance.
"Got something," Squirrel muttered, sitting up and craning her neck for a better look. "Definitely light."
"Should we just keep going straight? Left side or right?" Twilight asked, trying her best to make it out - with how much shorter she and Rainbow were than Squirrel, she was little surprised the diminutive unicorn couldn't see it herself.
"Looks more on the left." The slivers of light were constant now, spilling in from somewhere out of sight. It wasn't long before the others could make them out too. They crept closer to the bend, thin sunrays now visible in the omnipresent dust that had been hovering in the air, leaving a chalky taste on the tongue for some time now.
"There!" Twilight called out excitedly as the bow rounded the bend. A moment later Squirrel saw it herself - the ceiling here was riven, a great, jagged crack running lengthways down the tunnel; whereas the part they were in now was harshly and barely lit, further down was wreathed in a dim, yellowy glow. At the far end the river turned again - rightwards - but where it bent scaffolding rose out of the water, building up to some sort of loading platform.
"Finally." Squirrel breathed out a sigh of relief - land was in sight.
"Yep," Twilight agreed, her head on a swivel as she took in their surroundings. "Pretty, too." The walls here were decorated with creeping vines, themselves bedecked in little purple flowers; ferns grew from countless ledges broken into the rock. Somewhat unsettlingly, clusters of the odd egg-shaped things grew all about the platform ahead.
"Mushrooms are back," Rainbow muttered. "They look... I don't know, fresher?"
Squirrel couldn't make them out in anywhere near enough detail to tell that from here, but she hoped that wasn't as worrisome as it sounded. "Well... mushroom-people would be vegetarians, right? So we'd be safe, right?"
"Most mushroomians would, yes," Rainbow conceded, turning around to waggle a hoof at Squirrel. "But these ones are carnivores! Pony-eaters! You can totally tell by the colouration of their eggsacks. Plus! -" A splash of water cut her off.
"Right," Twilight said, oar still dripping as she faced a spluttering Rainbow. "Now's perhaps not the best time for silliness, Dash."
"That was cooold, Twiii," Rainbow whined, rubbing her muzzle into the crook of her elbow. "Now I'll be too cold to fight off the mooonsters."
"I'm sure Squirrel and I can manage just fine on our own," Twilight said primly. "What we should be focusing on is not grounding the canoe - it's practically shallow enough to get out and walk!"
Squirrel leaned over the side, a smile gracing her features as she saw a small school of tiny fish skittering about in the barrel-high water. "Oh! Good."
They drifted onwards, enjoying the ambience too much to hurry on. "Those're periwinkle," Squirrel said, feeling chatty as she pointing out the flowering vines. "Pretty sure, at least. Ferns are all swords, of course. Not terribly good with fish, but I think these are minnows?" She spied another school of them and nodded. "When in doubt, just call them 'minnows.'"
"'Minnows' it is, then," Rainbow agreed, head cocked as she stared down at them herself. "Think they taste any good?"
"Eeeeww, Dash!" Twilight giggled, leaning back to give her a playful shove. "Don't be gross!"
"I meant cooked! Cooked!"
Squirrel leaned back as the other two splashed each other, trying to ignore the odd spray that missed and caught her. The occasional shaft of sunlight they passed under felt warm on her fur as they neared the next bend. Judging by the wood-and-metal crane and lines of shelving, this had indeed been a loading platform of sorts, likely raised up to better get things in and out of the larger vehicles, but now fortuitously keeping it out of the water.
The odd plant clusters were definitely there, and as Rainbow had said looked far more lively. They still rose like giant flower buds - nearly as tall as she was on her hinds, she suspected - but their leaves were a pale green, and fringed in pink. They had an oily glisten, as well as a ruddy, mottled dusting about their peaks. The scent of cinnamon hung all the more strongly in the breeze.
"Anyone see a ladder or something?" Squirrel asked - she didn't particularly like the idea of climbing up all those rotted beams.
The other two gave up on their splashing and turned back to the platform. "No..." Twilight said. "But does it even matter? We should be following the river, after all."
"'Does it even matter'!?" Rainbow exclaimed, aghast. "Of course it does! We can't not investigate the egg thingies!"
"She's right," Squirrel agreed. "That's just not how things are done." As much as she hated the idea of climbing up there and delaying their exit all the longer, poking the unicorn was just too much fun. "We can tie up the canoe easily enough."
Twilight sighed, but didn't argue. "Fine, fine - but let's make this quick."
As they drifted up to the scaffold's base they got their first chance to see down the next bend. Like the current section, it was covered in plants and bathed in light pouring in from the ceiling. Still more light came in through a great gash in the wall, set at the top of a mound of scree nearly big enough to block the tunnel. The river burbled as it rushed through the narrow space between rubble and wall. "Well," Twilight said as she visibly relaxed. "I suppose there's an exit there; it's still daylight too."
"That's the spirit!" Rainbow agreed, perking up noticeably as she tied them off to a mossy piling. She reared up, canoe rocking dangerously beneath her, and stared up at the platform a couple metres above. "Sooo," she said, hooves braced against the wood. "How're we doing this?"
Squirrel wasn't entirely certain of that herself. "Could use the crossbeams?" she suggested, bobbing her head towards the supporting 'x'. "Might work. Pity we don't have paws." Demigryphs really had it easy, climbing things like that. "Or talons, for that matter."
"Claws would be cheating," Rainbow waved her off as she tugged the canoe athwart the cross, shucking her jacket and scarf as the others did much the same. "We got this."
She leapt up and scrambled onto the diagonal beam, a leg shooting out to brace against the stone wall. Not pausing for breath, she began scrabbling up and around the upper beam, hooves sliding slightly on the moss. After a few decidedly awkward-looking moments, she managed to haul herself up onto the crux. "Easy!" she puffed, looking quite proud of herself.
Twilight stared up at her skeptically. "Uh huh."
"Super -" she huffed - "super easy!"
"Uuuh huh," Twilight drawled. "Okay, I can see Squirrel managing this, but I doubt I can."
Squirrel couldn't help but agree. While Rainbow continued trying to work her way to the top, she looked around at what they had to work with. "Got it!" she said, spying what should hopefully work. "We can use the crane!" Despite its age and the conditions it was in, it did seem sturdy by Squirrel's reckoning, so there shouldn't really be a problem.
"... no."
"Aw, come on! It'll lift you up, easy!"
"Yeah, Twi!" Rainbow called down as she heaved herself onto the top. She whisked out of sight before her head came back into view, looking down at them. "Squirrel and me'll get you up, no problem! That thing could probably lift you ten times over."
Twilight glanced hesitantly at the crane. "I don't know... the last thing I went up in in Avalon came crashing down again."
"Pffft!" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "You still going on about that? That was ages ago!"
"... it was last week."
"Same difference," she shrugged. "Airships aside, all the other stuff here seems built well enough. Besiiides, if it fails, you'll just end up in the water! It's super safe."
"Definitely," Squirrel agreed. "The safest."
Twilight sighed slowly, but relented. "Alright, fine. But! You -" she jabbed a hoof at Squirrel - "need to get up there first."
"Fair enough." Squirrel walked the length of the canoe, bracing herself against the same piling Rainbow had. It looked simple enough - she'd seen the route done once already, after all. With a little hop she heaved herself onto the first beam, sliding only a little before her chipped hooves dug into the wood. Swinging limberly around, she climbed onto the first crux; from there, it was simple enough to pull herself onto the crossbeam above, onto the next crux, and finally, the top.
"Nice," Squirrel muttered, pleased with herself for managing that without falling off. She stepped away from the edge - even shorter drops gave her vertigo - and took a good look at the platform.
There wasn't really much to say about it - it was maybe twenty feet deep and twice that wide, with ruined, empty shelving lining the walls, and junk littering the floor. Plantlife grew scattered about in the sunlight, while a triplet of those odd clusters grew hither and thither out of the rotted wood. There were a pair of dark tunnels leading further in, too, but there'd be time enough for that later.
The crane sat at the far end. She and Rainbow clopped over to it, while below Twilight could be heard untying the canoe and pulling herself alongside. It looked an awful lot like the simple dockside ones Squirrel'd seen countless times before, and probably functioned like one too. "It's just a big, straight lever," she said, talking loudly enough for Twilight to easily hear her. "The butt's attached to that thing around those gears, see? So we just turn the cranks to rotate everything, wind the rope, and so forth; as long as nothing's jammed we should be good."
"Give it a turn, first!" Twilight called up to them. "I'm not trusting myself to that if it's just going to fall right over the instant you touch it!"
Squirrel looked over it as best she could. "Rope looks good, if a bit green, and the iron's not too rusty." She beckoned Rainbow over as together they reared up to try giving one of the cranks a turn. It held fast for a moment before giving way with a grinding crunch; beside them, the crane rotated slowly widdershins. "Well, it's not rust-welded! So there's that."
"Oh, goody," Twilight sighed up at them. "Well, fine then - let's get this over with."
They rotated the crane back and gave the other two cranks a try to make sure everything was a go before spooling out the rope. "You two are lucky my pannier-harness is so well made," she grumbled as she tied the loose end around the straps about her withers.
"Equus' finest, eh?" Squirrel said with a grunt, as she and Rainbow began pulling the annoyed unicorn up.
"Better than anything I've seen around here," Twilight wheezed out as she came into view.
As much as Squirrel wanted to snip at her for that, she was finding it hard enough not to just break out laughing instead - the way Twilight was limply dangling from the rope made her look for all the world like a wet cat held up to the light. "Lookatchyu!" she snorted. "Whosa pretty kitty!"
Twilight wiggled ineffectually at her. "Swat her for me, Dash."
Unfortunately, Rainbow seemed to be far too giggly herself to bother. "Aww, cheer up Twi! You're nearly there!" It was the work of a minute to rotate the crane a touch and lower her down to the platform.
"Not doing that again," she muttered, untying herself and throwing the rope away in disgust. She rolled her shoulders and shook herself before stamping up to Squirrel and giving her a poke in the chest. "And I'm not a kitty!"
"Uh huh," Squirrel smiled, gently swatting away her hoof. "Certainly not."
Twilight grumbled some more, but turned her attention away and back to the platform. "So!" she began before heading over to the nearest of the clusters. She paused next to one nearly the height of her withers and gave it a tentative sniff; she recoiled, grimacing. "Definitely the source of that scent."
Squirrel joined her and gave them a more discerning look. The things varied in size, with some but a few inches tall; likewise, while some glistened with life, others were dry and shriveled, or broken up entirely. Far more worrisome though was that couldn't feel a single one of them - not even the clearly living ones. "Maaaybe don't stick your muzzle quite so close, Twilight," she said, backing away slowly. "I can't sense a thing from these things."
Twilight's ears shot up. "Ah," she said, cautiously doing much the same. "Sooo maybe we turn around and leave then?"
"Yup."
"Hold on - wait," Rainbow said, eyes darting between them and the clusters. "What's wrong?"
"Earth pony," Squirrel said quietly, not taking her eyes off the things. "If there's a plant within a dozen paces, I'll know it - always."
"And?"
"And I ain't feeling a thing from these."
A look of confusion hung on Rainbow's face for a moment before her eyes widened. "Ah." She started backing away alongside them. "So we're leaving now, right? Before the monster eggs hatch, right?"
"Right," Twilight agreed, as they reached the platform's edge. She turned to look down at the water below, glanced back at the almost-certainly-eggs, and back to the water again. "See you at the bottom!" she shouted as she leapt straight off.
"Uhh," Squirrel said, nonplussed - she really hadn't expected that of her. There was a rustle as, beside her, Rainbow flared her wings to glide much more elegantly down. Not at all liking the idea of being up here all by herself, Squirrel spied a spot that looked reasonably deep, and leapt.
The water was cold as she splashed down, her hooves grazing the silty bottom. Flailing for a moment from the shock of it, she quickly regained control and started paddling towards the canoe just in time to see Rainbow lightly touch against a pile, all four hooves bracing midair against its side before kicking off to land gently in the boat.
Ignoring how impressive that was, Squirrel swam over to the piling Twilight was clinging onto; with a bit of help, Twilight was able to climb up the scaffolding just far enough to step onto the canoe while Squirrel waited in the chilly water, happy that here at least it was shallow enough she could just barely stand up on the bottom. "Let's hurry over to the exit," she said, jerking her head downriver to the great, sunny hole in the wall. "I'll swim."
"You sure?" Rainbow asked, despite already unmooring the canoe.
Squirrel waved her off as best she could. "Yeah - it's faster and the water's refreshing; plus, I'm really worried we might've somehow woken something up." She leaned back, slipping under the water; righting herself, she started swimming towards the light without waiting for a response.
It wasn't long before she could hear the heavy splashing of oars behind her. The canoe quickly appeared alongside her as the other two kept pace, careful not to go too fast and leave her behind; luckily, Squirrel was a decent swimmer, so it wasn't really necessary, but she appreciated the thought nonetheless.
"We probably could've waited," Twilight said, her sopping mane plastered to her head. "If you need a break, just grab the boat."
"I'm good," Squirrel spluttered out - it was hard to speak while swimming. "It's practically too shallow to swim here, anyways." Which was true - her hooves kept clipping the gravelly ground this close to the mound.
Even with the current it was still some minutes before they got to the base of the scree; to the left, through a thin channel between rubble and wall, ran the river, the sound of the rushing water loud in their ears. She waded onto shore, water sloughing off her, as the canoe beached up next to her. Briskly shaking herself, she turned to pull the boat fully ashore.
Rainbow practically flew out to help her. "Why didn't you say they were monsters!?" she grunted as they tugged. "We passed, like, dozens of them on the way in!"
"Well, they were dead, weren't they?" Squirrel shot her an annoyed look. "It's harder when they're dead; plus, there were plenty of plants all over the place there! And I wasn't even looking for anything strange, anyways." She stopped to catch her breath - the swim had gotten tiring towards the end.
The sound of shifting gravel stole their attention - Twilight had stepped out of the canoe, looking warily back at the platform. "Dash - do you think you could fly up to the opening? Scrambling up this slope'll be a huge waste of time if it doesn't actually go anywhere."
Rainbow frowned sharply at Squirrel before nodding and backing off to find a good place to take flight.
"I think we've travelled far enough that this should be the far side of the range," Twilight said, watching as Rainbow flew past, gained a little bit of height, and darted right for the opening. "I'm just worried that this hole stares out of a cliffside or something."
"Makes sense." Squirrel shuffled awkwardly as they waited, shooting odd glances at Twilight. "You know, I really didn't think there was anything off about the buds - with so much moss and stuff all over the place, everything feels painted in plantlife." She didn't really know why she was trying to apologize - it was just that, what with being the earth pony here, she felt like it was somehow her job to notice things like this.
Twilight gave her a soft shoulder-bump. "Hey, it's fine; I can't claim to know what that particular kind of magic's like - at least, not in practice - but it's not as though anybody could blame you for somehow missing it." She shifted to squint up at their maybe-exit. "Rainbow's just upset."
Squirrel nodded along glumly. "These tunnels are rather gloomy, aren't they? Doesn't help that wherever we end up tonight'll probably covered in mosquitos."
"Ugh - I'd forgotten about that."
"On the plus side, they can't really get through our fur..."
Twilight snorted. "Sure, but eyes and ears? You were as covered up as us back at the entrance."
"I was just commiserating," Squirrel insisted. "Didn't want you two to feel awkward."
"Uh huh."
Before Squirrel could say anything more, a shout rang down from above. "Hey!" Rainbow called down to them. "It's no good here, but I can see the exit right ahead!" She disappeared from view only to reappear a moment later, wings wide as she glided down to them. She landed noisily upon the scree, pebbles spraying as her hooves dug in, before practically skipping over to join them. "Almost there!" she repeated, smiling widely.
"Wonderful!" Twilight smiled back, tail swishing. "Let's get the canoe across, then!"
"Any idea what time it is, Rainbow?" Squirrel asked.
"Sun's still up, but not by much," Rainbow shrugged, gesturing her to the bow. "We'll make it out before dark. Now - let's carry this thing across."
They heaved the canoe overhead, intent on carting it to the calmer waters on the far side of the collapse. Taking their time to avoid turning an ankle on the loose ground, they soon arrived to see the tunnel barely continued on at all before hooking again sharply to the left; this time, however, the dim glow of daylight was unmistakable.
Squirrel's heart lightened momentarily before she remembered just what was next. "Two down, one to go," she muttered, wilting. "Just one day left after this. Hopefully."
"S'long as there're no monsters, it'll be fiiine," Rainbow assured her they waded out a touch to set the canoe splashing down beside them. "First tunnel had no monster eggs, after all - it probably just affects the even-numbered bits."
"There is way too much confidence in your voice considering what you just said," Twilight said, rolling her eyes fondly.
"Checks out to me, though," Squirrel shrugged, returning to the stern as the other two clambered in. "We'll just have to avoid exploring any other mines afterwards, is all."
Squirrel hopped in afterwards, her momentum carrying the canoe away from shore. The current was just strong enough that they didn't particularly need to oar, so Squirrel took the moment to simply slump in her seat and relax. Whatever those apparently-abandoned eggs came from was hopefully not going to be any problem to them. She didn't exactly have anything tangible to back that hope up, of course, but she quietly hoped it nonetheless.
"So," she began, feeling cheerful as they neared the bend. "What's the plan once you two get back to Hurricanum, then?"
"Shower," Twilight answered without any hesitation.
"Nap," Rainbow countered before second-guessing herself. "Wait - no. Shower first - then nap."
"Umm... very practical," Squirrel conceded. "But not quite what I meant."
"Two naps?"
"I meant reporting in or going home or something."
"Well, obviously we're doing that," Twilight said, waving a hoof dismissively. "Probably going back to Equus pretty soon, too? Maybe?" She paused, tapping her hoof against the gunwale in thought. "Remember we're mostly here just for the experience - we're not handling anything official or the like; the group we came with does, mind you, but we're really just tagalongs by another name."
"Because your friend made you."
"Still need to throw her off a bridge for all this, yes."
"Right..." Squirrel drawled. "Well, if you do end up hanging around for a while, I could show you two around the place? I'll need to hop on a convoy to get back home again, after all, and it'll definitely end up passing through some of the major cities along the way." She didn't really know why she was making such an offer, considering how rough things had been since Cherry Point; maybe she just wanted the company? It was going to be kind of a boring trip back, otherwise.
"Uhh, don't take this the wrong way or anything," Rainbow said hesitantly, fidgeting in her seat. "But as guides go you've kinda sucked."
"Hey!" Squirrel said, indignant. "I've been a perfect guide! Remember the swamp?"
"I remember getting lost in it."
Now Squirrel started fidgeting. "How about Nestle, then? Got you there safe and sound, and," she tapped the hull emphatically. "And I'm pretty sure I helped out in Beech. Probably. And I definitely said we shouldn't take these monster-filled mines, so there's that, too."
"True," Twilight said, choosing that moment to chime in. "But we'd've gotten to Nestle if we just followed the river south, which we would've done anyways. We didn't exactly do anything in Beech; plus, I'm not certain you can count 'I told you so' as meaningfully guiding us."
"Ouch," Squirrel winced - sure, it was true all right, but did she need to just come out and say it? "Alright, fine; but can I at least get bonus points for not charging you?"
"Oh! Definitely."
Squirrel sighed. "Better than nothing, I suppose."
"Don't feel bad!" Rainbow said, leaning back to give her a friendly bump. "I'm sure you'll find someone to get horribly lost with on your way back."
"Gee, thanks," Squirrel muttered, feeling oddly dejected by all this.
She was saved from any more teasing when they rounded the bend, a wave of sunlight greeting them from the massive exit ahead. Squirrel whistled appreciatively - it must've been a dozen metres wide, and probably even taller still if it wasn't for all the water. "I guess we've only been seeing the little side-entrances before now."
"Looks likely," Twilight agreed. They were still too far away to make out anything through the brightness, so they were cautious as they paddled their way forwards - it wouldn't do to go through all this just to row straight off a waterfall. Wincing as they quickly transitioned into the light, Squirrel blinked rapidly as she took in their surroundings.
It was another bog.
"Dangit," Rainbow grumbled over the humming of insects. "Not another one!"
Squirrel looked at her, nonplussed. "You were flying around out here literally twenty minutes ago."
"I'd hoped it'd changed since then..."
"Unwarranted optimism aside, Dash, did you happen to see somewhere decent to set up camp? Sun's almost behind the mountains," Twilight said, waving out vaguely into the tall reeds all about them. "Somewhere less buggy?"
"Nah," Rainbow said, grimly wrapping her scarf around her head. "We're doomed."
Squirrel didn't really like the idea of trying to sleep whilst getting slowly nibbled to the bone all night. "I don't suppose we could backtrack a ways? That mound we were on was clear."
As one, all three of them looked back over their withers at the tunnel mouth and the visible current pouring out of it. "We could try," Twilight said, "but I'm worried about how much time that'll add to tomorrow - we don't know how long the final bit'll take."
"Also: monsters."
"Yes, I suppose there's that, too; same problem with the next section, come to think of it."
The canoe slowly spun in circles as they held their position, thinking out their next step. "I hate to say this," Twilight said, "but my vote's for going on - the sooner we go in tomorrow, the sooner we're out."
"It's not that far..." Rainbow tried, wings flashing out as she was already swatting at errant bugs. Not for the first time Squirrel was quietly pleased with her thicker fur.
Twilight shook her head doubtfully. "It looks like it's at least an hour's row to the next bit; I really think we should get as close as we can, today." She shot Squirrel a look, hoping for some help, but Squirrel just shrugged ambivalently.
"I'd offer my advice, but apparently I'm an awful guide." It annoyed her to no end when Twilight just gave her an understanding nod in reply.
Rainbow let out a whiny groan. "Fiiine," she pouted. "Let's just - ugh - let's just do this, then."
"Thanks, Dash!" Twilight smiled, completely ignoring Rainbow's grumbling as she plunged her oar back in the water. "We'll be there before you know it!"
Once they got back on course they hurriedly pulled up their oars to busy themselves covering up as best they could. Soon, scarves covered muzzles, jackets were buttoned up to the collar, and in Squirrel's case, her well-worn touque was pulled down as low as it could go. "So what're things like up ahead," she asked.
"No real side-rivers or anything," Rainbow answered, her voice muffled by her scarf. "It'll branch a little ways ahead - s'long as we keep to the right, we're good."
"And the other branch? That's the one that goes back to the Wither, isn't it?"
"Yeah; pity we couldn't take it getting here."
"Spending an entire day rowing upriver would've been a nightmare. I suppose it is our last chance to bail and just walk the Coriander instead, though." If they hung the coming left they'd soon find themselves at the northern tip of the range ahead; from there, they could neatly swoop around to greet the Coriander on the far side. Of course, the fact that it was unmanageable for such a small craft meant they couldn't canoe it, but a part of Squirrel still favoured the safe - though lengthy - hike alongside. "Would get to Hurricanum in, oh I don't know, maybe three days? If we pushed? No eggs or anything."
"You tried this back in Nestle, Squirrel," Twilight chided her. "Actually, hold on - didn't you say you would've taken us through the mines if you were with us anyways? Because I'm pretty sure I remember you saying that."
"Yeees, but I kind of thought they'd be... grander? Brighter? Friendlier?" That sounded more than a touch naive, even to her. "Sorry - I think Drizzle's mines spoiled me."
The branch was near enough for them to spot it through thin patches in the reeds. "The ones in Canterlot are nicer than these, too," Twilight said absently, her attention focused on the fork. "So we're sticking to the right?"
"Seems that way."
"Yep."
They passed by the fork, the path they were on narrowing noticeably once they did. With the speed they were now getting, Squirrel could feel the faintest of breezes on her face; it didn't quite counter how sweaty and itchy she was, but it was better than nothing.
The sun had dipped behind the mountains, leaving them in shade. Despite the coming night, Rainbow had been right - there wasn't anywhere around worth camping on. "I suppose we could sleep on the canoe," Twilight mused as the mine came ever nearer. "Although it might be rather cramped."
"That or flatten down the reeds?" Rainbow half-suggested as she frowned at the muddy banks. "Nowhere looks good to take off or land on, so I doubt I can look around for anything before dark."
"Let's just see what the entrance is like - if it's big enough and clear, we might be able to find somewhere cool and bug-free just inside," Twilight insisted.
They paddled harder, abandoning their languid pace, as they hoped to get to the entrance before it became too dark to see. Before long they were able to round the final bend and make out the mine for the first time up close.
The entrance was wide and low - just like the last exit. The current slowed dramatically as the water pooled in front and well of to the sides of it, as a jagged line of rubble blocked much of the entrance, clearly shorn off from the equally-jagged roof. From where they sat, it resembled nothing more or less than a great, cavernous maw.
"How inviting," Squirrel muttered to herself.
"At least there aren't any egg-clusters about," Twilight noted, her head on a swivel as she looked around. "Let's get closer - I'll cast some light in there and we'll see what we've got."
They aimed the canoe for one of the 'teeth,' butting up against the cobble-sized scree at its base. As much as Squirrel didn't care for the idea of sleeping inside this thing - even just a little ways - the cooler air pouring out of it felt wonderful.
Twilight's horn lit up as a ball of light flew forth into the cavern. The interior was vast and flooded; a small, equipment-filled alcove lay to the right, while the room itself trailed off into the darkness. "Another main tunnel, from the looks of it."
"Should be safe to follow, then," Squirrel agreed, squinting around for any signs of eggs; bar a general coating of moss and minute ferns, she didn't see any.
The ball darted left and right, thoroughly scouring the entrance. "Probably a small tunnel is what we'll be looking for on the far side - I'd expect this main one to zigzag up and down the mountain."
"We could always follow it up, then?" Rainbow suggested. "If we need to? Wouldn't need the canoe anymore, right?"
Twilight gave her a funny look. "There's still a major river left, Dash, and we can hardly swim it."
"I thought you said there was a walking path? We'll be practically at the city once we get through the mountain, right? So it's a short walk."
"Oh," Squirrel said, realizing the problem. "The path's on the other side of the river. There's probably a bridge or ford or something somewhere along the line, but I don't know where it would be."
"Ah, shoot," Rainbow wilted. "Carrying the boat down the mountain'll suck."
"Hence the small tunnel," Twilight said. "So what do you girls think? It looks like there're some flat areas in there we could camp on."
Squirrel took another look around. There were a few flat spots - more loading platforms? - along the wall nearest the alcove. She also couldn't make out much in the way of bugs, being presumably too put-off by the cold. "I don't know," she dithered nevertheless.
"Oh, come on!" Rainbow snapped impatiently. "The exit's right here and there isn't anywhere else to go! If a bunch of monsters show up, we'll just run back out into the open. Where would we even put the boat, anyways?" She waved an arm expansively. "It's all just mud and reeds!"
She wasn't wrong about that - aside from where they were right now, there wasn't anywhere they could hope to pull the canoe up high enough to keep it from drifting away with them in it; for that matter, it would probably just drift right back to where they were now. "I guess you're right... the time to sleep somewhere elsehas kind of passed us by."
"Then let's gooo!" They dislodged themselves just enough to get caught back up in the current and pulled inside. Following the glowing light, they paddled across the wide chamber, wedging themselves in a nook between two of the platforms. Carefully clambering out, they moored the canoe as best they could, tying it down with ropes looped around little boulders littering the place.
"Well," Squirrel said, looking uneasily around them as the day slowly dimmed outside. "I suppose we should be safe here."
"No bugs, either," Rainbow added, unraveling her scarf with a happy sigh. She reached into one of her satchels and pulled out a faery shard, lighting it as she did.
Twilight dropped her own, brighter light once she had. "Thanks. Let's get set up for bed - I'm beat."
They quickly pulled out their sleeping bags - extra proof against whatever stray bugs that happened to buzz on over, to say nothing of a ward against the surprisingly chill air - but figured there was no point to the tents in here. It wasn't long then before Squirrel had crawled into her own bag, twisted such that she could get back out in a hurry; behind her, she could hear Rainbow fidgeting around, doing the same.
Despite her worries about what may be lurking further in, it wasn't long before she fell into an uneasy sleep. |
The Rivers of Avalon | Chapter 11 | Twilight awoke, shivering gently in the dawn chill, to the gentle susurrus of running water. She'd curled up into a tight ball in her sleep, leaving her feeling more than a little stiff as she stretched out. Judging by the soft light outside, it was just before sunrise.
She briefly entertained the idea of lying in for a while, but banished it just as quickly. Crawling out of her sleeping bag, she stepped over to the rocky platform's edge, to a point where it was tilted low enough to dip below the surface, and splashed the frigid water over her face.
There was grumbling behind her - it seemed she wasn't the only one awake. She crossed back to give Rainbow a poke. "Up you get," she said, her voice echoing throughout the cavern.
"Nnnno."
Twilight poked her again. "One day left, Dash." Unless we get lost, she added silently to herself. "Up."
Rainbow made a great show of squirming and whining before finally giving up with a huff. "Fiiine," she groaned, pulling herself out and plodding drowsily to the water's edge. Squirrel was yawning widely as she watched them. "You too," Twilight added for good measure.
"Mmm," Squirrel blinked languidly at her as she went to join Rainbow.
It wasn't long after that they'd packed everything back up and into the canoe, jackets and scarves once again donned against the cold. In the interest of keeping her strength up as long as possible, they decided to continue using a pair of their scant shards to light the way, saving her light-spell for emergencies or vast areas.
The canoe barely swayed as they boarded. "Alright," Twilight began once she'd settled into her usual spot at the bow. "Are we all good to go? Not forgetting anything?"
"Nah," Squirrel said, exchanging a glance with Rainbow. "We're good; let's get this done.'
"Right. Slow and steady, and if anyone sees anything even vaguely egg-like: holler." With a push of her oar she propelled them out and away from the landing, the canoe bobbing on the surface before getting caught back up in the current. From here, the shards were too dim to make anything out around them; if it wasn't for the lit entrance right behind them, they could've been floating in an endless sea.
"Hopefully things narrow up ahead," Twilight mumbled to herself before speaking up. "Let's get closer to one of the walls - we'll never know if we're even moving otherwise."
It was simple enough to get within a few lengths of the rough, chalky stone, and get a sense of movement as it slowly drifted past. The passage carried on unerringly, even as the daylight behind became little more than a small, brilliant blob in the distance.
"No moss," Squirrel whispered, her voice sounding loud in the dead air. "Or anything, really."
Twilight grunted softly. "Unsurprising - I'm getting the feeling this section was a little more professionally done."
"Still got flooded, though."
"River might've changed course?" Twilight mused.
"Maybe."
Twilight tried to think of something else to say - the quiet was starting to bother her - when her attention was suddenly caught by the sight of thick bundles of cables running at the far edge of the gloom above. "Wonder what they needed that much power for," she said, gesturing up at them. "You don't often see them at that gauge."
"Big around as my arm, I think," Squirrel agreed, craning her neck to look up at them herself. "Maybe they charged stuff off waterfalls?"
Twilight shrugged. "Haven't seen any falls yet; not inconceivable though." It didn't sound quite right to her, however. It hardly mattered though - a good part of her attention was still being quietly focused on keeping an eye on Rainbow. The mare was doing just fine this close to the entrance, but Twilight was nonetheless worried. Experience made it abundantly clear, however, that saying anything would be the wrong thing to do.
The tunnel continued on straight and unerring. It was still much too wide for them to make out the far wall - something that made them all a little uneasy. The minutes passed slowly.
"I think it's narrowing or something," Rainbow said after a tense, dreary period, as she leaned over the side and squinted across the passage. "Seeing bits and pieces of lighter spots, at least."
Twilight looked, but couldn't make out anything herself; still, she'd rely on Rainbow's eyes over her's any day. "About time, then," she muttered. "If it wasn't for the wall here, I'd swear we were stuck in place." The entrance lingered as a dot, far in the distance.
It wasn't much longer before all three of them could make out shapes in the dark. Curious as to what was there, Twilight picked up one of the shards in her magic and levitated it out over the water. What had looked at first like mottling - a patchwork of lighter spots and dark - across the stone, soon resolved itself into something considerably more worrying.
They were holes.
Neat, tidy circles - large enough to crawl through - were bored into the far wall, their recesses dark as ink. Chalky gouges outlined more than a few of them.
"Well that's... umm..." Twilight found herself at a loss. "Shoot."
"Not good?"
"Yes - that sounds about right, Dash."
"Sooo we're turning around, then, right?" Squirrel asked, hope evident in her voice. "Because there aren't any monsters on the long way around, right?"
"We're doing this, Squirrel," Twilight insisted sternly - at this point, she just wanted this whole thing to be done with, spookiness or not. "A few ancient-looking holes shouldn't send us packing."
Squirrel pointed to some more dried-out egg-husks, just coming into sight ahead. "Well, what about those?"
"... they also look ancient. We'll be fine."
Squirrel fell off muttering to herself, but didn't complain anymore. A part of Twilight wished she would - she'd've given in and tried to turn around if the mare had insisted stoutly enough, but she could hardly admit her misgivings now. She pulled the shard back, settling it into place as the holes slowly faded back into darkness, taking their husk-ridden ledges and crannies with them.
They continued on uneasily, jumping at every perceived crack or thump around them. With their ears so sharpened to any slight noise, they heard, long before they saw, the churning of water ahead.
"I think it's another blockage," Rainbow said, head cocked to the side. "Sounds like it, anyways."
That was worrying - with the complete lack of cave-scrawl, the presence of a cave-in could mean this passage was completely unpassable. "I hope we don't actually have to turn around..."
"The current was never really going to let us," Squirrel said. "By the time we noticed the holes we'd been going for, what, half-an-hour? More?" Time passed strangely down here.
Twilight hunched down grimly. "Well, then - through it is."
The waters rippled around them as they held position, little whitecaps dancing across the surface. The river flowed through rapids made of great chunks of fallen rock, their tips just poking out of the water, stretching as far down the tunnel as Twilight's light could go. No side-passages lay anywhere in sight.
She canceled her spell, sighing glumly as she did. "Any ideas?"
Rainbow grunted as she and Squirrel tried to keep them braced on one of the few boulders safely away from the sucking current. "Go back?"
"The current hasn't gotten any easier." It had, in fact, gotten significantly worse, here where the water was so much shallower; it didn't help either that none of the three were particularly well-built for paddling so hard for so long, to say nothing of how tiring the past few days had been on them.
"Then I guess we're hoofin' it," Rainbow said, finally managing to wedge her oar in just so to keep them steady. She slumped in relief, huffing as she stared over the rapids. "We're not taking the canoe with us over that, mind you."
"I could always levitate it a ways; we'll want to scout it on hoof first, though." Most of the rocks sat high enough above the water to give them purchase; luckily, lichen didn't seem wont to grow this far from light, so they wouldn't be nearly as treacherous as they would be above ground.
"Could go ahead?" Rainbow offered. "Tie one of the shards to my head or something?"
"We should stay together," Squirrel argued. "Safer that way."
That was something Twilight could agree with. "In case you slip; plus, we'll have all the lights together that way."
Rainbow nodded easily, looking relieved that they'd be coming with. "Let's get the boat out, then." She plucked out her jammed oar, letting them drift towards the rapids.
They aimed themselves for a fairly dense-looking clump of boulders that they'd hopefully be able to walk across. Bumping up roughly against them, Squirrel jammed her own oar into place well enough to get them stuck, letting Rainbow and Twilight make their slow, precarious way onto the rocks. Standing with legs splayed across multiple stones, they grabbed ahold of the canoe as Squirrel made her own way out, before together they tugged it into a thin channel, too narrow for the coursing water to pull all the way through. After some thought, they decided to leave their gear behind as well - the weight would only make the next bit harder.
Creeping across the stones themselves was... disconcerting, Twilight decided. Their spacing was utterly irregular, as were their heights - some stood as far up as she was tall, whereas others could just barely be made out beneath the surface, covered in coppery slime.
"Deadend here!" Squirrel called out from across the passage - there was no real path over the rapids, forcing them to just pick a direction and go until they couldn't anymore. After the first few deadends, they decided to split up - though still keeping close - to try and save some time. "Give me a sec - I'm coming back."
While Squirrel backtracked, Twilight tried to figure out if there was any point continuing her own line - the next little section was definitely going to involve crossing some slick-looking underwater stones. "Same," she eventually replied, deciding it wasn't worth the risk. "Dash?"
"Still good!" Rainbow called back over the hissing streams, several lengths ahead. Twilight turned around and made her own circuitous route to join up with her, taking care not to jostle Squirrel beside her.
Catching up, they followed Rainbow closely, their dual lights - tied carefully about Rainbow and Squirrel's necks - lighting their way just enough to make out a few metres around. Shadows danced in every direction as they slowly made progress, the canoe long since lost to sight behind them.
"I'm surprised the whole thing didn't just cave in," Twilight wondered, glancing up at the jagged, crumbled ceiling. "With how long this collapsed section is, we're quite lucky this is passable at all."
"Don't jinx it!" Rainbow scowled, ears splaying back.
"If it's held this long, it'll hold another day," Squirrel assured her, bobbing her head forwards as she did. "Besides - what's that?"
Ahead, spots of light sliced through the gloom, flickering off the water. Resisting the urge to hurry their pace, it was still some minutes before they could see where it was coming from - on their right was a large side-passage, a pair of great, crooked doors barring entrance. A shaft of light shone through a crack between them.
"Daylight!" Rainbow exclaimed gleefully, practically trotting as she made her way to the door.
"Oh, for - be careful Dash!" Twilight half-shouted in exasperation. "A way out'll do us little good if you turn an ankle!"
"I'm fiiine," Rainbow waved off her concerns. Reaching the door, she reared up and gave it a shove. "Stuck," she said, slapping a hoof against it. "Squirrel!"
Squirrel was shaking her head before she even got there. "No good - look at the bottom."
Twilight was so taken at the thought of getting out so soon she hadn't even noticed it herself - the base of the door was covered in rubble, bent inwards with the pressure. It was going nowhere.
"I don't think we're going to get that open," Squirrel continued. "Can we fit through the top?" The ceiling had cracked above the door as well, leaving what looked like a gap big enough to fit through, if barely.
Rainbow hopped in place, trying to reach it. "Too high - let me stand on you."
Squirrel snorted. "On this terrain? Not a chance."
"Girls," Twilight cut in, hoping to head anything off. "It wouldn't matter anyways - even if Squirrel boosted us both over, she couldn't get over herself."
"Could magic me up?"
Twilight shook her head. "No good - remember?"
"Oh - yeah," Squirrel wilted.
"Oof," Rainbow agreed.
They stood around quietly, occasionally staring through the crack or off into the distance as they tried to think of some way through. As near as Twilight could tell, there really was only one option available - carry on down the tunnel - but she was loathe to leave their little spot of daylight. Stepping back up to the hoof-sized crack, she peered through it again at the waystation on the far side. It looked like a secondary entrance, with a small checkpoint and lockable door. While their eyes were far too dark-adjusted to make out anything through the glare, the way everything was set made it clear it was exactly what they were looking for - a real exit.
She tried not to focus too hard on the eggs oozing gently in one of the corners - they could always run past them, after all.
"Wait!" Rainbow exclaimed, her wings flaring out. "Wait, wait, wait! I got it!" She pranced excitedly in place.
"Well, go on!" Twilight gave her a soft little headbutt. "Tell us!"
"Right, right, right - so we go back for the canoe, right?" She began. "Drag it over here and prop it up. Squirrel can climb up it then, right?"
"Probably," Squirrel agreed. "Could pile up rubble too, assuming we can even all fit through the gap in the first place."
"Oh, don't be such a downer," Rainbow frowned, before perking back up. "But the canoe gets us over, right? But we still need the dumb thing for the river, so we find some, like, old timber or something and force the door open!"
"I didn't see any timber..." Twilight trailed off, putting her eye against the crack again. "Anything wooden in there has rotted to just about nothing in all the water; plus, those eggs are far too lively-looking for there not to be a parent somewhere." The only reason she wasn't bothered about them right now was that anything that could birth something that big couldn't possibly fit through the crack to get to them.
"Ah, but here's the kicker," Rainbow continued, looking especially pleased with herself. "If one of those monsters comes along while we're prying away, we just run outside!"
Twilight stared at her as the seconds ticked by. "And?" she finally asked.
"Well, it's not like they can follow!" Rainbow said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The sunlight'll burn them!"
"... I feel like I'm missing something here."
"Think about it!" Rainbow insisted. "We've only ever seen them underground, right? In dimly lit areas? So clearly they can't do the sun! The ones near the second part's entrance were all burnt up, too!"
"Dried up, I think," Twilight muttered, as she tried to decide if Rainbow was brilliant or insane. "I suppose they could be sensitive to sunlight..."
"Ha! I'm right! Knew it," Rainbow preened.
It wasn't anything like a perfect plan - might not even have been a good one - but it would give them something to do that wasn't just moping around the jammed door, and Twilight still absolutely hated the idea of abandoning this exit and carrying on. "Alright - I vote we try it."
"Two-to-one!" Rainbow cut in before Squirrel could say anything. "Majority wins!"
Squirrel huffed, rolling her eyes. "I'm game for it too, you know."
"Alriiight!"
The walk back seemed to take no time at all. "Right," Twilight said, assessing the canoe. "I'll levitate it in stages; let's get everything out of it first."
They took their time getting their gear back on and secured, straps well-tightened to avoid anything shifting on the way back. Once they were ready, Twilight gripped the canoe in her magic, grunting faintly as she moved it forwards over the rocks and settled it carefully down at the edge of the shard-light. Not for the first time did she curse the weight of the thing - the sturdiness might be terrific considering how rough they'd been with it, but it sure did make carrying it a pain.
The journey back to the door felt like ages, with Twilight only able to comfortably shuffle the canoe several metres at a time, being both far too unwilling to set it down somewhere she couldn't clearly make out, and equally unwilling to try and navigate the slippery stones while she carried it.
She was, however, quietly pleased that neither of them complained about her pace.
Eventually the doorway and its beckoning slivers of light appeared once again before them. Taking the final few steps with the same care she'd taken with the first, she nestled the canoe down between a pair of rounded boulders right next to the doors. Still breathing deeply, she splashed some cold water on her face from one of the wider rivulets before giving herself a brisk shake. "Finally," she muttered in relief.
"And we're almost out!" Rainbow said to the sound of dull clunking. Turning away from the water, she saw the other two clumsily trying to wrest the canoe into place.
Well, it's stout enough, Twilight figured, deciding to just let them go at it. She couldn't help but wince every time it fell over, though.
After a few more minutes fiddling they managed to partially prop it up against the door - with a little deftness Squirrel should be able to scramble up it far enough to get a grip on the lintel and through the gap above it. "Aaand done!" Rainbow said, giving it a slap for good measure. "Now just give me a moment to get on the brace and I'll pull you up!"
With the lintel as low as it was, this took little more than a standing leap and a great deal of fluttering, her wings thumping hard enough to blow strands of Twilight's sopping mane all other the place, to say nothing of everyone's tails. Coughing in the thin cloud of dust she'd kicked up, Twilight stepped over to where Rainbow was now blinking owlishly down at her.
"Sorry about that," Rainbow apologized sheepishly. "Didn't think there'd be so much."
"It's fine," Twilight said, rearing up beside the canoe and giving Squirrel an expectant look.
"You're lucky my pack's so thick," Squirrel grumbled as she tried to find someplace to brace her hooves. Although the other two had reluctantly left their gear on this side of the door - they'd just be too thick and heavy otherwise - Squirrel'd kept hers on, just for this.
"It's kinda tight up here," Rainbow continued as she watched Twilight struggle to stand on Squirrel's back. "But there's a bunch of junk piled against the door on this side - I'm standing on some of it now. Should be easy enough to pull you up."
By now Twilight was standing flat-bellied against the door, her hinds on a clearly-irritated Squirrel's back and panniers. "Pull her up already!" Squirrel grunted out.
Twilight blindly thrust a hoof upwards, too busy trying to stay upright to lean back and look. Rainbow's hoof clapped into her own, pasterns linking well enough to heave her up. Scrambling, she threw her other arm up, getting a grip over the lintel; her hooves dropped out beneath her for just a few moments before she found herself getting shoved bodily upwards. With a wheeze, she managed to pull herself up, straddling the wood before hastily turning to tuck herself in beside Rainbow, her hinds finding the stack of junk.
"How are you so bad at that!?" Squirrel gasped out from below. "You only needed to hop the last few inches!"
"You were an unstable base! I could've fallen at any moment!"
"You were fine," Squirrel said with a roll of her eyes. "Now scoot! I'll show you how it's done."
Rainbow ducked down, noisily climbing down the stack. Twilight sidled over to her spot to give Squirrel some room, but still wanted to see how she'd manage it.
Once she'd doffed her gear, Squirrel reared up alongside the canoe before kicking off of it with enough force to jerk it to the side. She gained more than enough height to clasp onto the lintel and pull herself up; turning neatly on the wooden beam, she plunked down next to Twilight, looking smug.
"Yes, well, I'm smaller than you, aren't I?" Twilight pouted, not meeting her eyes as she ducked down to join Rainbow.
The room they were in now looked pretty much the same as it did through the crack - a flooded floor, close walls, and a little alcove cut in to the side complete with rotted desk. The only thing they hadn't noticed was a low doorway next to what could've once been some shelving.
Squirrel splashed down beside her as she made her way over, only keeping half an eye on Rainbow as the pegasus wandered towards the far exit and past the clumps of plants and eggs.
There wasn't anything even close to salvageable in the mess - certainly nothing stout enough to pry the doors open with. "On that note," Twilight mumbled to herself, glancing back at the doorway. With the ceiling this side mostly untouched by the collapse, the only thing blocking the doors was the stack of crates and barrels. "It shouldn't be much trouble to move all that."
"Probably built up by someone looking to come in this way," Squirrel said, following her gaze. "Can't see what else they'd've be doing."
"So they won't be holding the doors closed... which way do those hinges go?"
"Towards us?" Squirrel half-asked, stepping up to them for a closer look. "Broken and bent to heck, though - doors'll probably pop right off with enough force."
"We'll want to keep clear of them, then," Twilight hummed to herself. "Means we'll need a longer pole than I'd hoped."
"Nothing out here!" Rainbow called back to them from outside. "Nice view though!"
Twilight and Squirrel hurried out to meet her, taking care not to jostle the eggs in passing. They'd gone barely a dozen lengths before they were out, blinking in the harsh light. Once their eyes had adjusted, they found themselves on the slopes of a steep river-valley, an unending mountain range running either side. "The Coriander," Twilight muttered, heart lifting at the sight. The river was wider than she'd've thought, and was filled with countless spots and sections of white, foaming rapids.
The small entrance they were at was nearly hidden amongst the bushes and trees. "I hope the river is calmer further downstream," she worried; the mountain face they were on wasn't sheer - cliffs blocked her view south, downriver.
"I could check it out?" Rainbow asked, giving her a questioning look.
The sky was nearly cloudless, and with the sun where it was it couldn't be much past noon - plenty of daylight to ward off the creatures yet, if Rainbow's reasoning was correct. "We'll wait here," Twilight nodded, smiling as she looked for somewhere warm to bask in the sun.
She flopped down on a nice, flat stone as Rainbow took off, Squirrel settling down near her. "Finally!" Squirrel sighed. "No more blasted mines."
"Mmm," Twilight hummed, not bothering to correct her - they did, after all, still need the canoe.
They lounged quietly for awhile before the sounds of wind-rustled grass was broken by a steady wumphing of wings. Scree shuffled underhoof as Rainbow landed, waking the two mares from their doze.
"It's all clear ahead!" Rainbow practically pranced up to them. "Should just be a short walk to somewhere smooth enough for the boat! Or tumble, maybe - it's kinda steep."
Twilight sat up, shaking herself awake before responding. "Did you see where the river flows out of here? That was supposed to be where we'd end up, originally."
In response, Rainbow pointed a hoof far upriver. "Somewhere over there - you can't see it from here."
Twilight nodded, satisfied - if they were downriver of that, they should be good. "We just need to find a pry, then."
"Could knock down one of these trees?" Squirrel asked, glancing around at the hooffull of scrawny pines growing around them. "I've still got my hatchet in my pack."
"Too thick to fit in the gap - we'll need a metal bar, I think."
Squirrel simply nodded as the trio ducked back inside the mine, pausing at the threshold while their eyes adjusted before plodding back into the checkpoint. "There was a little side door over here," Twilight said as she tried to suppress the feelings of ill-ease that had cropped back up since reentering.
"Bit of a squeeze," Rainbow noted. "Gonna be dark in there, too."
"Let's just be careful," Twilight said, stepping up to the door. She took a deep breath and slowly tried the handle.
It was stuck.
She leaned her weight on it and pushed, but couldn't get it to budge. Grumbling, she felt a nudge at her shoulder as Squirrel stepped up to her side.
"Let me try." Twilight scooched back - there really was very little space back here - to let her give it a go.
Squirrel grunted, wrenching at it as hard as could before, with a crack, the handle snapped clean off. She huffed, throwing it aside to splash heavily in the water still lapping at their cannons. "Rusted to junk. We could kick it down?"
Twilight shot a concerned look at the eggs. "There's no way that wouldn't be noisy."
"We've daylight right there," Rainbow pointed out. "I saw lots of spots we could camp in for the night, too - really far away from the exit and everything."
"Don't know where we'd get a pry, otherwise," Squirrel added. "Heck, for all we know this is just an empty closet and we're walking the tunnels anyways."
"I suppose I'm just jumping at shadows, aren't I?" Twilight said, taking another few steps back to clear some room.
"We'll be fine," Rainbow assured her.
Turning around, Squirrel braced herself on her fores, hinds raised for a moment before lashing out against the ancient wood; there was a resounding bang as the door juddered and the frame cracked. She reared again and gave it another blow, the frame crumpling completely as the door slammed back, smashing against the wall with another almighty crash, the noise of it echoing well off into the distance.
The room inside was dark as pitch; even as Squirrel stepped forwards, the shard still around her neck glowing bright, they couldn't make out the far wall. "Looks like some shelving," she began, an odd warble to her voice as she backed out of the threshold. "And, uhh, webs? Lots of webs, yeah."
Twilight didn't know what she expected, but it certainly wasn't that.
"Webs!?" Rainbow shouted, sounding equal parts spooked and excited. "These are spider-monsters!?"
"Uh huh," Squirrel mumbled, still staring off into the dark. "We, uhh... we can walk to Hurricanum from here, right? 'Cause I can grab our bags from the canoe and we can just walk it, right?"
"Are you kidding!?" Rainbow looked at her, aghast. "We're practically out! Plus, like, we haven't even found any treasure! Or at least a souvenir or something."
It took a few moments for Twilight's thoughts to reengage. "Hold on - webs?"
Squirrel didn't seem too interested in poking her head back in. "I think so?"
"It's just... spiders are normally pretty liberal about putting down their webs," Twilight said, taking a few tentative steps towards the doorway. "We should've seen at least somescattered around by now." Her horn glowed as she cast her lights, sending them throughout the next room.
Squirrel wasn't entirely wrong - they certainly looked like spider webs. The room ran deep, a pair of doorways at its distant far end; crates and decrepit bunks lay about the place, but of greatest note were the long, ropey strands of... something, running from cracked ceiling to waterlogged floor in wide sprays and clusters.
"I don't think those are webs..." Twilight trailed off, taking half a step into the room before remembering herself and backing off. "They look a little like vines, or roots, maybe."
Squirrel squeezed in beside her, poking her own head in. "Looks close enough to me."
Torn between caution and curiousity, Twilight once again took a half-step into the room. Concentrating her lights around the nearest bundle, she stepped closer. "They definitely seem plant-like," she noted, thinking aloud. "Or maybe not? They're quite fibrous." The cords seemed to run through fissures in the ground before passing into circular holes in the ceiling - the same sort of hole from back in the main tunnel.
"Are they making these somehow?" she wondered, peering up into the hole. "Or...?" Without thinking, she plucked one of the cords, its twang sounding deep into the darkness above.
A spray of cold water splashed across her back, making her jump. "What are you doing!?" Squirrel hissed at her. "They'll hear you!"
Blinking, Twilight hurried back out of the room. "I wasn't thinking! Oh nooo - what if I've just called the horde down on us!?" She made to shove past the other two towards the exit. "We should leave!"
Rainbow's wings flew out to gently batter her back. "Oh no you don't! A few spider-thingies aren't enough to stop us!"
"I don't know, Rainbow," Squirrel said, still keeping an eye and ear on the doorway. "I'm still all for walking the rest of the way."
"Oh, don't be such chickens," Rainbow scoffed. "Stomping spiders'll be gross and stuff, sure, but they can't really hurt us."
"But what if they're venomous?" Twilight fretted, still eying the daylight behind.
Rainbow thought about it for a moment. "... I guess we're walking, then?" She sighed, slumping. "Fiiine, we'll walk."
They hurried back outside to the comforting sunlight, the air still just as fresh and open as before. Sitting back down on the warm slab, Twilight tried to gather her thoughts; between the fresh air and the cool breeze, she was finding it much easier to think. "Right," she began, feeling much calmer now. "Right. I think... I don't think those came from any animals." She tapped her hoof contemplatively against the dusty rock. "Too big; probably some sort of, well, vine."
"A noisy vine, yeah," Rainbow snorted. "Did you have to play it like a fiddle?"
"Shush," Twilight said, fighting a blush. "I got carried away." She was going to continue, but found her train of thought thoroughly derailed.
"So what's the plan?" Squirrel finally asked.
"You know, you're surprisingly deferential for a guide, Squirrel," Twilight said as she tried to buy some time. She wasn't displeased by this - just surprised given how sharp the mare had been when first they'd met.
Squirrel simply shrugged. "Well, it's all your show now, isn't it? Since Beech? Doesn't really feel like my place to take charge here."
"Fair enough."
They lapsed back into silence for a minute before Squirrel spoke up again. "That said... what is the plan? Are we grabbing our packs and walking? Or are we, uh, going back into the dark in search of a pry?"
Unfortunately for Twilight, she hadn't yet come to a conclusion on that. Oh well - when in doubt: democracy. "We could put it to a vote?"
"I vote walking."
"Exploring! I wanna buck some spiders!"
Aaand democracy fails me. "Well that didn't help much," she muttered, checking the position of the sun again. "We've still got plenty of daylight; let's just check out that first room - we'll be near enough the exit to bolt if we need to."
Squirrel sighed glumly, but didn't protest as they headed back inside, Rainbow leading the way. "You know," Squirrel said as they reached the darkened room. "No one mentioned anything about spider monsters in these mountains."
"It does sound like something worth mentioning," Twilight agreed. "Maybe your information's really out of date?"
Rainbow snorted. "What do you mean, 'maybe'?"
"What I mean is, no one mentioned anything about those creatures in the woods after Nestle either, did they?" Squirrel's tail flicked antsily. "It's just odd, is all."
They paused at the threshold, Twilight's lights illuminating the room and vines within. "It is rather odd, now that you mention it."
"Knew it," Rainbow said, a smug grin on her face. "The crazy locals really are trying to assassinate us!"
"Says the mare grinning at the prospect."
"What? It wouldn't be a real diplomatic mission without at least one murderous plot hatched against us!"
"... you're crazy."
Twilight splashed some water at them both. "Rainbow's questionable sanity aside, I can't exactly see how some third-party could manage to plant groups of dangerous animals along the way to heckle us, and yet also fail to do something far more effective - like stabbing us in our sleep."
"Well that got dark fast," Squirrel frowned. "Maybe your assassins thought sabotaging your airship would be enough?"
"Simple design-incompetence brought it down," Twilight waved her off. "This is all probably a coincidence."
"'Probably' isn't a certainty though!" Rainbow insisted, looking giddy at the prospect. "They could even be assassining us as we speak!"
"That's not - " Twilight gave a guttural sigh as the pieces slid into place. "You're teasing us, aren't you."
Rainbow giggled, flicking her with her tail. "Took ya long enough! Now let's get exploring!" She led the way into the room, head on a swivel as she peered into every shadowed corner.
Twilight hummed as she joined her. "Teasing or not, there's still the matter of these creatures being where we weren't warned."
"Probably just came out of the mountains, or something," Rainbow said, leaning in to examine one of the vines; she reached out a hoof to touch it before apparently thinking better of it. "Or, I don't know, it's one of those things that are so obvious to everybody that nobody bothers saying it? Like, nobody told us it would dark in here or anything."
Twilight was going to point out how ridiculous not warning people about dangerous animals would be before she noticed Squirrel shifting around guiltily. "Squirrel..." she drawled, narrowing her eyes. "What exactly were you told back in Nestle? About the Whither?"
"Nothing! I mean..." Squirrel squirmed under Twilight's glare. "The deer I was talking to did say it could be dangerous for just a canoe, but I thought they meant because it was bad ground for camping on! Not that it was full of monsters."
"And these mines?"
"Well... I didn't actually ask anyone," Squirrel admitted. "I figured nothing would've changed! Plus, you two got some info back in Nestle, didn't you? When we separated? I know you mentioned that."
Twilight slumped, dropping her gaze. "From some mare. She was wrong, it seems."
"There you have it then," Squirrel said. "No plot at all."
The room itself was ultimately unremarkable, with whatever metal there was on the shelving either too thin or too rusted to be of any use to them; likewise, no matter how hard they strained their ears, they couldn't make out any scuttling or scurrying that would presumably herald any curious creatures come to investigate them.
Weaving through the stalks, Twilight joined the other two at the far end, where a pair of doorways continued on.
"Already checked that one," Rainbow said, bobbing her head towards one of them. "Dead-empty." The other led down a long, foreboding-looking corridor, littered with more of the fibrous, viney plants.
"Alriiight," Twilight frowned into the gloom. "I think... alright, I'm going to drop my light-spell - that way I'll be ready if I need to cast something else in a hurry." While the others fiddled with their shards, Twilight busied herself examining the floor ahead for pits in the water - just in case they needed to flee in a hurry.
Once the shards were lit Twilight dropped her spell, leaving her wreathed in darkness bar for the twin glows at her sides and the glints in the other mares' eyes. "They're wearing down," she frowned, speaking in a hush. "We'll have to be quick about this."
"Let's get going then," Rainbow whispered back, taking the lead down the corridor, but far more cautiously in the dimmer light than before.
It felt like ages since they'd entered. The sloshing waters sounded eerily loud as they trudged on, accompanied only by their laboured breaths. Suddenly, a single, sharp clack echoed up at them. They halted, still as statues, ears sharp as they strained to hear anything more. Minutes passed with only the dull, distant plinking of waterdrops in the distance. Exhaling slowly, they carried onwards, all the more cautiously.
At the front, Rainbow stopped for a moment before awkwardly stepping over a glistening bulge on the path; coming up to it, Twilight had to keep herself from gagging - it looked like little more than a gigantic, shattered crab's shell, but thinner-looking and blocky. A white-grey mush peeked out from underneath.
Unwilling to risk touching it, she hopped over it instead, landing back down with a splash. She tensed at the noise, wondering just what in the world they were doing here. Right as she was about to suggest that perhaps they really should just walk the rest of the way, there was a clattering far ahead.
"Are we stupid?" Squirrel whispered, coming up to her flank. "'Cause all this feels like a really stupid idea."
Rainbow crept back to them, a little yellowy light floating in the void. "We're almost there guys," she whispered. "Let's just see what's in the next room - if it looks too sus, we'll turn around and go back outside."
"It's probably just water dripping up ahead..." Twilight added over the irregular clacking. As much as she didn't want to press on, a part of her felt like she owed it to Rainbow to try - she'd spent too much of this trip haranguing her friend over this thing or that not to. "It's a straight sprint back, too."
Rainbow looked pleasantly surprised by her support. "Yeah! And if there are any spider-things, we just step on them, right? I mean, it'll be gross and all, but we can do it."
"Blind them, too," Twilight muttered, nodding her head onwards. "I can overpower my lights in a pinch."
Rainbow made a pleased sound as they continued on, the noise growing before them. It wasn't long before the passage opened up into another room, its contents too far away to make out. Here, the clattering and clacking had resolved itself into a near-continuous chittering.
They hovered at the threshold, even Rainbow seemingly unwilling to press on. "Lights, maybe?" Squirrel whispered.
Twilight shook her head. "It might just attract attention."
No one moved. "Well," Rainbow said, grimacing as she took a half-step forwards. "We came all this way, didn't we?"
The dim shard still hanging from her neck illuminated countless bits of rubble and clumps of floating junk in the water as she ducked under a thick bundle of sagging vines. Unwilling to let her carry on alone, Twilight hunched her shoulders and joined her, Squirrel following quickly in her wake.
She flinched at every tickle and sudden noise, as bits of plant like hanging moss brushed against her head. It wasn't until she'd caught up to Rainbow that she realized, with how much they'd had to step and turn to get around things, she wasn't entirely certain where the entrance was anymore.
She took a deep, calming breath before butting her head against Rainbow's shoulder. "Stop," she whispered urgently. "Stop! I don't know where we came in anymore."
Rainbow froze. "Then what - why are you over here!??" she hissed, worry evident in her voice. "I thought you were back there! With the light!" she added, turning sharply to face Squirrel.
"I didn't want to be left alone," Squirrel snapped back at her. "I don't even want to be in this stupid tunnel! We could be walking right now, but nooo we've got to explooore."
Twilight poked the mare in the ribs. "Not helping, Squirrel. Let's just head back - I can still light things up properly if we really need to." She was still hesitant to do so - more than once she thought she'd seen something large flitting about at the edge of the light.
Rainbow snarled, getting right into the other mare's face. Before she could say anything, however, something heavy landed on Twilight's back.
She squealed, instinctively kicking out her hinds and bucking whatever it was off. Her horn flared as she cast her lights as brightly as she could; the sudden glare - as bright as the sun - did little more than blind her in turn, her eyes snapping shut as she lost her concentration, plunging them back into a darkness that seemed all the deeper for it. Her eyes still watering too much to see, she stepped to where she thought Rainbow was, bumping up against her side. A fluffy wing clamped down on her as the chittering and splashing grew in intensity. "This way!" Rainbow seemed to shout into her ear as she felt herself pulled forwards.
She stumbled almost immediately, only to find herself braced again on her other side as they bumped and ploughed through whatever strange growths filled the chamber. Shaking her head, she tried to regain her sight before a glimmer at her side made her realize she never even lost it - they were just moving so quickly that there was little difference between being blind, and not.
A deeper darkness yawned before them as they bolted towards it, and into whatever passageway it was. They kept going, tripping and stumbling, as they fled the sounds behind them; soon, though, the noises started to fade, leaving them with little more than their own puffing and the splashing of their hooves to keep them company. "Stop," Twilight coughed out, still being half-dragged along by the other two. "I can't - stop."
They drew to a halt, breathing heavily as they tried to get their bearings. "Well," Rainbow huffed, taking a long, deep breath. "Fuck."
"Sounds about right," Squirrel muttered, pivoting in place as she took in their surroundings. Whatever part of the mine they were now, they were in a small room. Networks of vines hung like haphazardous webs all about the place. A pair of small creatures - too far away to see anything more than that they were barely a hoof high - fled from them along one of the walls, leaping from stone to stone and out of sight.
Twilight wondered for a moment why she could make them out so clearly before realizing that, hanging from the ceiling in long, fuzzy swathes, were blankets of softly-glowing mosses or lichens. She felt suddenly calmer as she focused on the otherworldly-beauty of it. "Bioluminescence!" she whispered, momentarily forgetting everything else. "I've always wanted to study it." A shoulder-bump jerked her out of her reverie.
"Maybe later, Twi," Rainbow said, fidgeting slightly. "We should probably try to get out of here, first."
"Right," Twilight said, giving her head a shake. Looking around, she saw the room they were in looked like it was once some sort of equipment hub. Judging by the metallic boxes, cylinders, and pipes running along the walls, it was probably a zephyr hub.
Her eyes followed a particularly thick bundling of pipes. "We could follow the pipes," she suggested, her breath coming back to her. "Those ones there probably go to the main causeway."
"No canoe," Squirrel noted. "Don't think we could swim all the way back to it."
"Might be more rubble to hop across," Rainbow countered.
"And it's better than no plan at all," Twilight added. She took a few steps towards the corridor the pipes ran down before deviating off to the side. A bundle of newly-burst eggs lay in a clutch near the broken base of some of the gear; hanging around them were a trio of small, soft-bodied bug-like things, looking a bit like four-legged crabs with another, shorter pair near their mouths. "Oh," was all Twilight could say.
The other two stalked up next to her, their shards better illuminating the creatures. "Those are... those are the same things from the woods, aren't they?" Squirrel said, head cocked to the side.
"Baby ones, yeah," Rainbow agreed, leaning in for a closer look. The creatures skittered back, but didn't otherwise seem at all threatened. "They don't look hard, though."
"Might be too immature," Twilight mused. "Or they could've just undergone a molt? I don't really know what these things are," she added, frowning, as she tried her best not to get too distracted by the odd creatures. They looked around the dimly-lit room again, noting several more of the little things skittering about. Despite that the tunnel onwards was similarly lit, the muggy atmosphere in the current made it feel almost cozy - certainly, at least, she was content with waiting a few more minutes before leaving. Stepping up to some of the wirey vines, she scrutinized them as best she could, hoping to learn something useful. "There's no light down here," she muttered to herself. "At least, nothing strong enough to feed plants as big as this." There was simply no way that the glowing mosses could hope to do so. "What are they feeding on, I wonder?"
Unfortunately, scrutiny alone couldn't answer that. "Maybe they really are roots?" Squirrel suggested, poking at a few herself. "They're definitely plants - I can feel that - but there's something almost dim about them."
Twilight nodded slowly. "That could work; either bored through the stone or wove their way down fissures." Unlike before, there weren't any circular holes for them to come through - perhaps it was just a coincidence before? "I suppose it doesn't really matter, though." She shook her head, quietly disappointed that she couldn't afford to look into them further. "What I'm really worried about are these creatures - if this place is full of them, and they're the same things from the forest, then what are we going to do? I think my light stunned them long enough for us to flee to... wherever we are now, but we can't exactly count on that to keep working, can we?"
Squirrel snorted. "Seeing as it blinded us as well as them, I'm edging towards a 'no'; it was just luck that got us out."
"Mmm," Twilight dithered, as she tried to figure their way out of this. "Before we go on - we know which door we came in through, right?"
As though reading her mind, Rainbow splashed over to one of the passageways, shoving and piling up some rubble in front of it. "Yup - it's marked now."
Twilight smiled in thanks. "And since we know we came in through a very long tunnel, we should be able to backtrack that way."
"We'll need your light for that, won't we?" Squirrel half-asked. "Plus, all those creatures are still in there."
"Not our first option, no, but it'll do as a backup. We'll need to keep track of where we're going from here on - build some cairns or the like."
"'Cairns' are those stacks of rocks, right? That look like rearing ponies?" Rainbow asked.
"Yep." Twilight took another long, deep breath. "Well, time's wasting - shall we continue?" With a couple of nods, they started down the pipe-hung passage, taking care to be light in their steps. |
The Rivers of Avalon | Chapter 12 | The tunnel was far shorter than the last, bending harshly to the left after only a few dozen paces. While the hanging carpet of glowing lichens were a blessing for their sight - and their comfort - it was ultimately dual-edged, as the very same growths obscured everything more than a couple lengths in front of them.
As they rounded the bend, the blocky stone walls changed abruptly into smooth, rounded ones, braced by stout support beams driven deep into the earth; here, the ground raised up just enough to bring them out of the frigid water and back onto dry land. Racks peeked through the lichen, loaded heavily with the thick, cophite-banded piping of zephyr lines, with more still running out of micro-tunnels bored in the walls. Twilight paused to rear up and press an ear against one of them.
"Dead," she said, falling back to all fours. "Not surprising, mind you."
"Any stored mana would've long since been shuffled out of here," Squirrel said, nudging her forwards. "Or just faded out altogether."
"Yeah..." Twilight trailed off. She ducked her head low again, keeping it near enough the ground to see under the shroud of lichen, so it was that when Rainbow suddenly stopped, flicked her tail back at them and fell into a crouch, she could see what it was that alarmed her so.
Scant lengths ahead of them was a large, shelled creature lying against the wall, its long, crab-like limbs curled partially beneath it. At this distance it was unquestionably of the same species as the ones in the woods so many days ago.
Strangely, despite that it was both alive and hale - and certainly must've seen or heard them by now - it was seemingly ignoring them.
Rainbow scooched back to join them, crouched shoulder to shoulder in the narrow space. "What's the plan?" she whispered, her eyes glued to the creature.
"Turn back?" Squirrel suggested. "Those legs look sharp."
"Those legs are sharp," Rainbow grimaced. "Any pipes around here? Or rocks?"
While the other two looked around for something to defend themselves with, Twilight was busy trying to place her hoof on just what it was that was bothering her about all this. It knows we're here, she reasoned, ears folded back as she squinted towards it. I'm certain I saw it shuffle. It's not running, or signaling, or...
"Hold up," Twilight interrupted the other two. "The ones in the woods didn't do anything to us until we got near that entrance, remember? Under the fallen tree?" They nodded while she continued muttering to herself, trying to marshal her thoughts. "It knows we're here, but doesn't seem to care. Maybe..." She trailed off again before taking a steadying breath and standing a bit straighter. "Hey!" she shouted. "Hello!"
Rainbow hissed in agitation, prodding her in the side; the creature, meanwhile, merely shuffled a little more in place to better stare at them - in as much as she could tell where its black-on-black eyes were looking at all - but otherwise doing nothing. "I don't think it's hostile," Twilight said, quietly elated her hunch seemed to be correct. "Maybe they're only aggressive near their nests?"
Another sharp jab at her side. "We're in their nest!" Squirrel hissed back at her.
Of course we are. "So that's not it, then... what's going on?"
Rainbow took that moment to butt in front of Twilight, wings flared out protectively as she took a couple of tentative steps towards the creature. When she was barely a metre away the creature finally reacted, scooting back far faster than something that large should be able to move. Rainbow jumped in surprise, but held her position as she continued trying to stare down the thing.
Twilight poked her head around Rainbow's wing to see that the creature had gone back to just lying there, watching. "Odd..."
Rainbow slowly relaxed, her wings coming back down. "Totally scared it," she said primly. "But seriously, though - this is weird."
"Do we... do we just walk past it, then?" Squirrel wondered aloud. "Because I can't find anything to fight it with, and it's not like it's going to be any clearer backtracking."
Twilight nodded slowly. "Probably our best bet, yes." She waited a moment to see if Rainbow would object before continuing. "Slow and steady, then."
As one, they crept forwards, keeping as far away as possible from the creature, their flanks brushing against the wall as they moved. The creature paid them little heed as they passed it by, not even turning to watch them go. Once it was a few paces behind, Twilight let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"Hopefully the others are as calm as that one," Squirrel muttered as they carried on down the tunnel, swiftly losing sight of the creature as they turned yet another corner.
Having stayed at the lead, Rainbow gave another flick of her tail and stopped dead. "Well, shoot."
They'd arrived at a crossroads. The path ahead was dark and free of lichen. Left and right glowed still, but the rightmost path - the one the bulk of the pipes led into - opened almost immediately into a cavernous room. Countless rails zigzagged across the floor, while rows of minecarts and larger railbound equipment lay all about the place. Several more bulky brackets fed into the room from other directions, their pipes leading to myriad sets of canisters or boxy metal containers, all while winding through a maze of roots and detritus.
All the farthest end, shrouded in darkness, came the faint but unmistakable sounds of running water.
"I think this might be some sort of switching station," Twilight said, staring out into the erratically-lit space. "Although this is a lot of equipment."
"Must've been one heckuva mining operation," Squirrel agreed. "Think our way back's over there?"
"Maybe? I lost track of our direction back at the first room."
"Nah, Squirrel's right," Rainbow said. "That should take us back, more-or-less."
"Never doubt the pegasus, eh?"
Rainbow shrugged, fluffing out her wings. "Couldn't tell you which way north is down here, but I'm not about to get lost that easily."
They continued staring out into the abyssal room, none of them particularly eager to step forward. "Don't know about sneaking past all of those, mind." Littering the room were countless more of the crab-like creatures. Every time Twilight thought she'd plotted a path through, her eyes would refocus and she'd find yet another one camouflaged in with all the junk and lichen and still more vine-like roots.
"Getting across is going to be a problem."
Rainbow grunted. "We're going to need to grab a pry along the way, too."
Twilight nodded, sighing grimly; despite the sheer amount of stuff scattered about the place, there looked to be surprisingly little in the way of long metal bars. "Could try to tear off some of the zephyr lines, if we need to? Should be safe with how long they've been dry."
"Have to get to one first."
"Yep."
They'd been idling at the threshold for some time now, quietly planning as they observed the creatures. While some of them had seemed content to merely lounge - bar the occasional twitch - in whatever corner or nook they'd found, most of them were moving with near-constant purpose. Their sizes, too, varied considerably, with some small enough to fit in their hooves, whereas others were nearly up to their shoulders.
Of mixed worry and relief was that most were crawling along the ceiling, or scuttling along hanging bridges born of tangled roots; it was going to be intimidating walking beneath them, certainly, but at least their path forwards would technically be clear.
"Let's just do this already," Rainbow said, breaking the thoughtful silence. She rolled her shoulders, fidgeting with the lit shard around her neck. "Or go back or something - I hate waiting like this."
The other two shared a glance before Twilight nodded. "Alright - I think we've planned this out as best we can, anyways."
Rainbow's wings itched. "Yeah, yeah - go slow, head to the wall, and be prepared to run. Fast."
"That is the gist of it, yes." They continued to hesitate at the threshold as the seconds ticked by.
"Sooo who goes first?" Squirrel asked, looking for all the world like she hoped it wasn't her.
Rainbow snorted, gave her wings another tense flex and furl, and stepped forwards. She hunched her shoulders as she entered the first dark spot, devoid as it was of any lichen, lit only by the bobbing of her shard. The hurried clopping of hooves close behind made it clear the others had followed. "Keep close," she whispered, kicking aside a pale chunk of shell.
"Then don't kick things!" Squirrel hissed back to her.
"Oh, they can barely even hear us." She was just guessing with that, but considering how noisy the creatures were being she suspected she was right; plus, it wasn't as though that one in the tunnel had down anything, and they were right next to it!
"We don't know that," Squirrel insisted stubbornly. "And what about those ones in the forest?"
Something scarpered above their heads, its form lost in the gloom. "Shut it, girls," Twilight said, sounding unusually serious.
Rainbow couldn't remember the last time she'd sounded so severe. She gave her head a little shake before focusing once again on the path ahead, taking care to mind her hoofsteps.
She reached the first of the many tracks, carefully crossing it to lead the group between two rows of empty carts, aiming roughly for the closest of the walls. The plan had it that they'd try to find something as a pry along the way - loose rails or the like - but otherwise make for a cluster of sagging pipes running between a bank of ring-canisters; from there, they'd tear down one of the sections for use.
Rainbow was fairly certain you weren't supposed to bang open zephyr lines all willy-nilly, but she trusted Twilight knew what she was talking about.
Her hoof touched down lightly in a puddle. The ground here was pitted and gouged, with numerous little cracks and channels running between patches of dirty water. The warm humidity of the area did little to lessen the unpleasantness of the muck splashing back at her.
Someone exhaled sharply behind her. "Blasted spiders," Squirrel groaned, waving a leg around frantically. "I swear I just stepped in a whole nest of them."
"Seriously?" Rainbow scowled.
"I can feel their webs on me!" A shiver ran through her. "I hate it."
She was still flicking her hooves about when they passed back into the light, coming to a halt as they did. The line of carts had ended, leaving them facing a wide and far more open space. Shattered plates covered what looked like a pit running lengthways in front of them. "Maybe for maintenance?" Twilight muttered, looking up at the rails and hooks that ran above it. "To get beneath the self-powered equipment?"
Near as Rainbow could tell rails did run in and out of the trench, though its purpose hardly seemed relevant right now. "There's probably a nest in there - we should find another way around."
"No - it'll be flooded," Squirrel countered. "Everything else that's even a couple inches deep is."
"Yeah, but they might get aggro if it's a nest," Rainbow insisted, waving a hoof at the many creatures skittering about the space.
"Which it won't be, because it's flooded."
Rainbow huffed, biting back her retort - there could be a nest under the plates, couldn't there? "Boss?" she said instead, glancing back.
Twilight rolled her eyes, poking her in the side. "So far the creatures have been docile - whatever riled them up in the woods doesn't seem to be the case, here. That said, I think we're just about beyond the point of no return," she added nervously.
Rainbow glanced back the way they'd come, but she needn't, really - if things went pear-shaped, they were royally bucked. She flicked her tail at Squirrel. "Too late for grumbling," she said, hoping to head off any.
Squirrel swatted away her tail. "No kidding."
Beside her, Twilight sat down in a relatively dry spot, eyes closed as she breathed deep. Figuring they might be here a while, Rainbow took to trying to keep calm herself - she knew she was starting to twitch, but the urge to get out from under this blasted rock was weighing on her.
She found a broken slab a couple paces away, sat down, and started preening. It was utterly pointless down here, and her feathers had an unpleasant, oily taste to them to boot, but it always helped her think.
Admittedly, all it did was make her think about how annoyed she was that they were acting like they were about to get mauled to death - even Squirrel looked to be stretching for a fight.
It was barely a minute later, then, when Rainbow shot back up. "We doing this, then?" She sounded gruffer than she'd've liked, but there was nothing for it now.
"Yep," Twilight exhaled, standing back up with a tired groan. "I've an idea for a few spells that could help if we wind up in trouble - keep near me if we do."
"Sounds good. I'll lead?" She had no problem in the least at being the first one in, but she didn't want to muck up any of Twilight's spells - whatever they were.
"Best if I'm in centre. You alright taking rear, Squirrel?"
The mare nodded, apparently not trusting herself to speak.
With one last roll of her neck, Rainbow led the way into the open space. The chattering of the creatures - and there must've been dozens moving about the place, through cracks, open ground, and all along the ceiling - didn't change as Rainbow picked a circuitous route around the edges, looking to keep as far away from the pit as possible. The lichen-light here was sparse, doing little to illuminate things, and casting most everything as nothing more than dark shapes upon darker backgrounds; likewise her shard was so worn down by this point that it she wouldn't've been surprised if it was lighting things no better than a candle.
There was a flutter of air about her hooves as something darted away into the distance. She paused, rolling her shoulders as she tried to not think about what she almost stepped on. It wasn't until they'd gone over what must've been their fifth set of rails when something finally broke the tension.
A harsh, cracking sound came from the base of one of the root-towers near the pit. At the edge of the light she could see one of the creatures - a large one - banging its vicious-looking forelimbs on the stone.
"Back off," Twilight's voice whispered from behind her. "Slowly."
Rainbow did just that, backtracking one step at a time, her side pressed against one of the many carts as she tried to keep as far away from it as she could. The thumping stopped as the creature faded away again.
"Okaaay," Rainbow said. "Not that way?"
She felt a poke on her flank. Turning, she saw Squirrel very carefully rearing up to get a look over the wall of minecarts. "Might be able to go around through here," Squirrel said, indicating a cart-lined path just behind them. "Can't tell if it's actually clear from here, but I can't see anything big, at least."
While not exactly a ringing endorsement, Rainbow didn't much like the idea of trying to force their way through here. "Well, let's go then," she said, scootching past the other two to retake the lead. Ducking her head down the alley, she certainly agreed it looked clear.
She took a step between the carts, and then another. "Looks good," she said over her withers. As they followed the rails she saw several more of the hoof-sized creatures, but compared to the larger ones they looked utterly harmless; nonetheless, she took care as she stepped over and around them.
It wasn't until they'd passed into another lit section that they decided to stop again, this time looking to clamber over the carts to the next clear bit of rail and double back from there. It would mean getting closer to the ceiling - and exposing themselves to everything down here too - but there was no telling how long simply wandering between the lanes would take.
Rainbow reared up to try and peek over one of the carts. "Okay - I think Squirrel should go first this time."
"What! Why? You're the leader," Squirrel said, looking mildly alarmed.
"Because you're expendable - obviously."
Twilight snorted. "Play nice, girls. I for one think she should go last - she's more than tall enough to hop onto the cart by herself, so she can help me over first."
As much as she wanted to bicker a bit before giving in, she was just feeling too tense to bother. "Alright," she relented. "I'll lead."
She leapt up, balancing for a moment on the cart's lip before stepping onto the damp, mucky ore within; her hooves barely sank in at all. "Cargo's steady," she said, carefully leaning over the far side to see what was in the shadows below.
Another clutch of hatched egg husks grew between the rails, with several of the baby creatures littering the ground. "We'll need to jump down a little over this way," she said, jerking her head closer towards the pit. After getting a couple nods in return, she jumped down, the creatures scattering as she landed. The path from here looked safe all the way back to the clearing, although it was hard to tell for sure.
As she waited for the other two to join her, she leaned in close to some of the lichen, glowing now so much brighter than it'd seemed earlier. "My pupils must be sooo big right now," she muttered to herself; she couldn't look directly at Squirrel's shard without wincing, and she knew that thing must be beyond dim by this point.
There were a pair of heavy thumps behind her. "Let's get going," Twilight whispered, giving her a little nudge. Together, they continued into the darkness, being mindful of their steps as they did.
The ground and roots here were teeming with life - and not just of the creatures themselves, but beetles and spiders and more besides. Rainbow shivered as she felt them on her fur. "This is gross," she groaned through gritted teeth, afraid some would get into her mouth as she pushed aside thin skeins of roots.
"It's strange there're so many of them, yes," Twilight muttered from where she'd squished herself alongside Rainbow's flank - effectively using her like a plow.
The path cleared up again as they neared the pit, although from the far side this time. They stopped at the threshold. "Which way are we going?" Squirrel asked, staring out into the maze of little paths feeding into the area.
"Well, the far wall's right there." With the way the rails were running, there was only a single long line of loaded carts between them and the rows of equipment boxes, ducting, and pipes. "We're probably going to have to climb over to get to it."
Rainbow looked around hopefully for some sort of pry. "Almost out, then."
"Just need to follow the walls and rails down to the water afterwards."
"And hope it takes us back out - yep."
They were stalling again. "Welp," Rainbow breathed out. "Let's go."
They crept along the perimeter, eyes peeled; they could make out several of the larger ones in the gloom, but were starting to feel a little more comfortable around them - provided the things weren't acting skittish - and so found themselves weaving around them, just as though they were little more than root-towers.
They soon made it to the line of carts. Peeking over it, they saw the wall just a few metres away. "Right - we'll want to get at that piping," Twilight said as they worked their way over. "We need a section loose enough to tear off, but not so rusted it won't be sturdy enough for the job."
Jumping down on the other side, they found themselves in a narrow, equipment-strewn alley. While the pipes were far too high off the floor to reach, there were plenty of boxes and the like to climb onto.
The lichen here was sparse, forcing them to walk up the path to try and find what they were looking for; luckily for them, it only took a few minutes.
"Okay," Twilight began, staring up at a loosely-hanging section some three metres long. "Squirrel's the strongest of us - if you climb up, you should be able to wrench it off at the base. Rainbow - if you're up there with her, you can keep her from tumbling off if the pipe gives way suddenly. I'll stay down here, ready to dampen your fall with a touch of magic if you do." Squirrel opened her mouth to say something, but Twilight cut her off. "And no, Squirrel, I can't just rip it off telekinetically - I don't want to risk there still being any residual mana-charge in there."
As plans went, it sounded pretty good to Rainbow. She and Squirrel quickly clambered up onto the equipment - taking a moment to swat away all the webbing - before trying to get into a good position. Ultimately, Rainbow ended up bracing her back against the wall, one arm around Squirrel's waist as the mare stood in front of her on the narrow, dented ledge. Above them hung the pipe.
There was a noisy creaking and grating as Squirrel tugged on the thick conduit, splashes of water pouring out of the end of it. Rainbow spluttered as some got on her tongue, the acrid tingle of concentrated mana making her shudder.
"Still got some charge to it," she muttered, spitting out the zephyr.
"No kidding," Squirrel groaned, getting the worst of it. With a final crunch the pipe bent and snapped at its base, falling to the ground with a crash. "You good, Sparks?" Squirrel asked, peering over her shoulder into the dark.
"I'm fine," Twilight said. "Pipe looks solid, too - let's get somewhere better lit and check it over."
"Sounds good." Squirrel and Rainbow quickly got back down and hung the awkward piece between them.
Rainbow led the way to a lighter part further down the path. "The things don't seem to care," she noted as they stepped under the lichen, she and Squirrel unceremoniously tossing the pipe down in the pool of light.
"Yes," Twilight murmured, already lost in running a critical eye and hoof along the metal. "I suspect that whatever it is they eat, it isn't ponies; the ones in the woods may've just been aggressive for other reasons - maybe they had predators that'd riled them up recently, or it was mating season or something."
"Ugh," Rainbow gagged, trying not to think just what exactly 'mating season' would constitute for the bizarre-looking creatures.
"Quite." She gave the pipe a satisfied tap. "Should hold."
Squirrel took that moment to heft up one end and try to bend it against the ground to no avail. "Yep! So, then - off to the sounds of water?"
"Mmhmm." Left unspoken was the fact that they didn't actually know that the sound came from the same tunnel they were canoeing in before. Just have to deal with that if it comes, Rainbow figured as she and Squirrel lifted the pipe back up. After some finagling they managed to set it across their withers such that Rainbow could still lead in front, the end of the pipe poking up past her shoulder.
"This would be so much more comfortable if I still had my packs," she groused, the pipe sliding slightly with every step.
"Still have our jackets, at least."
"Better than nothing," Rainbow agreed.
The path curved slightly as they moved from light to shadow to light again. With the stone wall to their left, and a solid line of carts to their right, they felt pretty safe and secure as they followed the rails into the utterly dark, cavernous far end.
They slowed their pace as the lichen was lost behind them, leaving them with nothing to light their way but their dying shards.
Their hoofsteps echoed around them as the sound of running water grew. "There don't seem to be many creatures around here," Twilight noted, peering at the ground and into the dark. "I can barely hear any movement."
"Maybe they like the plants?" Squirrel suggested. "Or the light? It looks pretty bare around here too. Not that I can see much, mind."
Twilight nodded thoughtfully.
They continued on, what sounds there were of the chittering and chattering of the creatures soon fading entirely behind them. Rails seemed to veer off in odd directions, their metal glinting as they disappeared down side passages. Near as Rainbow could tell they were moving subtly downhill, and sure enough it wasn't long until her hoof splashed down in icy water.
"This the main tunnel, you think?" she wondered, having to speak up over the growing sound of running water. "Would hate for it to just be a flooded side passage or something."
"I think we'll just have to hope it is," Twilight said. "Does it at least run in the right direction?" They'd come up to a far more open area, the wall to their left turning sharply away from them. Flickers of light shone off into the distance. "Actually, hold on." Her horn lit up, a swarm of little lights flooding the area.
"Well, it's definitely a main tunnel," Squirrel noted, peering left and right down the wide passage. Water burbled merrily over rails and rubble - it was shallow here. "Which way we going, Rainbow?"
"Left," Rainbow answered without hesitation - she wasn't that turned-around. "I think it'll have to curve a bit to meet up with the canoe, though."
"Might be why we can't make out any shafts of sunlight."
Rainbow nodded, grunting. "My legs are cold already - let's get going."
They started into the water, splashing their way upstream. Twilight kept her spell up, for which Rainbow found herself grateful - without the lichen here, they would've been looking at a long, dark walk otherwise.
The pipe slid off of Rainbow's withers, leaving Squirrel cursing behind her. "Stumbled," Squirrel muttered.
"We can spread out a bit more here." They rebalanced the pipe and carried it abreast, Rainbow's wings flaring out occasionally to nudge it back whenever it threatened to roll off.
The tunnel did indeed curve, slowly and steadily. Equipment littered the place, but barring that the way was clear. "This isn't so bad," Squirrel said.
Rainbow snorted. "It's cold."
"Well, yeah - but, besides that."
"Sure, then - it's not too bad, I guess; still looking forward to getting out of here."
"Oh, definitely."
The current noticeably picked up its pace as little whitecaps appeared out of the gloom. "Think that's the rubble from earlier?" Rainbow wondered. "We've gone about the right distance."
"Sounds likely, then," Twilight agreed, relief evident in her voice. "Watch you don't turn an ankle on any of this."
Progress had been slow, to say the least. Minding their ankles had been one thing, but keeping the pipe on Rainbow and Squirrel's withers was quite another. More than once Twilight had been tempted to just risk it and levitate the dang thing.
There was a hollow clang as the pipe fell down again with a clatter. Rainbow, having long since cursed herself out, merely grumbled as she fished the rod out back out of the gurgling waters and nimbly manoeuvred it onto her back.
With her lights still up, Twilight had taken the lead, scouting a course through the rubble - for even here the ceiling had partially collapsed. Her work was as often frustrating as fruitful, for not only did she need a route for one pony, she needed to find an accompanying path for a second - with how uneven the ground was, setting the pipe lengthwise along the other two's withers was best saved as a last resort.
The only good thing about the rubble was that it really did mean they were almost back to the canoe.
There was a glimmer of light in the distance - there for a moment, then gone. "I think I saw some sunlight," Twilight said, subconsciously dimming her lights to see it better. "Not far ahead."
"Good," Squirrel grunted. "But turn the lights back up, will you? If it's there we'll know soon enough, but for right now I can't see where I'm putting my hooves."
"Oh! Right," Twilight blushed sheepishly. Her lights returned to their previous brilliance.
Soon, even with the glare all three of them could make out what were undeniably shafts of sunlight, slicing across the passage. "Sun's still up, then" Squirrel noted, relieved. "Thank goodness."
"Now we just need to pry the doors open, get to the river, and find somewhere to camp for the night," Twilight said.
It felt like no time at all before the slumped silhouette of the canoe came into view, and little more again before they were standing in front of the very same doors from scant hours ago. "Right," Twilight began after giving the doors a brief examine. "Let's slide the pole through the gap. We can then scramble back over and pry it from the far side."
"Not from here?" Squirrel asked.
"Don't think we can get the leverage we need with all this junk around," Twilight said, gesturing to their surroundings. "We'll probably need to pull it a good ways to the side." She stared up at the gap above the lintel, not looking forward to clambering up that again.
Rainbow noticed her look. "Same as before, then? I'll get up there first and Squirrel'll brace you second."
"You mean 'Squirrel'll have her head smashed in,' don't you?" Squirrel groused. She wore a smile, though.
"Yeeeah, I'll try not to?"
"Uh huh," Squirrel said doubtfully.
In a flurry of movement, Rainbow chose that moment to hop and flutter her way up and over. "Push the pry through!" she called to them, landing with a splash on the far side.
Squirrel and Twilight hurried to do just that, feeding the pipe snuggly through the gap.
"Okay," Squirrel said, taking a deep breath. "Let me get my packs back on before you crush my spine, alright?"
"I'm not that heavy!" Twilight squeaked indignantly as the other mare grabbed her panniers from the boulder they'd left them on earlier.
Squirrel snorted. "I'm lucky you're as light as you are. Still dang rough when you dig your hooves in." Grumbling done, she readied herself again next to the canoe; above, Rainbow's head poked back out as she got ready herself.
They decided to try a different route this time, with Twilight scarpering up the braced canoe first, and Squirrel shoving at her hooves and flank after that, but all that meant was that Squirrel ended up having her face stepped on whenever Twilight's hooves slipped. Eventually though, after much cursing, she managed to pull herself up.
"If this pry doesn't work," Squirrel groaned, rubbing at her muzzle, "we're walking, okay? 'Cause I'm not doing that again."
"That makes two of us," Twilight muttered as she shuffled aside to make room for the other mare; beside her, Rainbow ducked back down to ground level.
Once Squirrel was over, they both hurriedly clambered down the stack of junk. "Let's get this clear," Twilight said, indicating the pile. "Try not to break any of it, though - we'll need it to get our packs from the far side if the pipe breaks."
"Nah - I can fly over and pull them through if needed," Rainbow countered as she hopped up onto one of the crates and started unceremoniously flinging stuff aside. "I just want this whole thing done with."
Twilight couldn't argue with that.
It wasn't long before they'd manage to clear the doorway. "Well," Squirrel said, setting aside her shard and jacket. "Let's take a look at this." They could see now that the doors had buckled at the base, the bottom half-foot or so bowing out towards them. "I reckon that once these things pop open, they'll go flying."
"We'll want to keep our distance, yes," Twilight nodded, hefting the far end of the pipe in her hooves. "No time like the present?"
"Definitely."
With the pole wedged in, they all gathered at the far end. "Slow and steady, now," Twilight cautioned as they leaned into the pipe. The wooden door - rotten on the outside - crushed easily at first before resisting them. There was an ominous creaking as they pushed harder, the doors bending only slightly. The pipe flexed beneath their hooves.
"Hold up," Squirrel cautioned. "I think the pipe might be breaking."
She and Twilight paused in their efforts. "No," Rainbow said, not relaxing as she still leaned into the pipe. "I mean, maybe, but if it breaks, so what? It's not like we can somehow strengthen it right now before pushing harder, right? So let's just keep at it; if it breaks, it breaks."
"I guess..." Nevertheless, they all three resumed pushing, the metal noticeably bending in their grip as they slowly walked it towards the wall. The door started to splinter and groan before, with a mighty snap, it slammed open in a spray of water and gravel. The pipe rebounded, flying out of their hooves as they fell into a tumult on the floor. Twilight quickly scrambled away from the door, but only a few small rocks tumbled in after them. The doors themselves lay broken, wedged again into the uneven ground.
Beside her, Squirrel stood back up with a groan. "Well," she said, briskly shaking the water off of her. "That worked, I suppose."
"Yep." There was now more than enough room to get the canoe through. She crossed through, the others in tow, as she sought out her panniers. Beside her, Rainbow tossed her dead shard into her satchel.
"You still got a spare somewhere, Squirrel?"
"Yeah," Squirrel said, rooting around in her own. "Should've brought it along with us, eh? Or that paint I picked up just to mark passages."
Rainbow shrugged. "Meh - worked out anyways; plus, we built, like, what - one cairn?"
"It was a good idea," Twilight said as she settled her gear back comfortably into place. "We just didn't expect to get un-lost so quickly."
"No complaining here."
Once they all had their gear strapped on, they heaved up the canoe and carefully brought it through the door; the ceiling was too low to carry it over their heads, so they were instead forced to slowly walk it forwards between them.
The sunlight bleeding down the corridor and into the room was bright and warm. As they stepped out of the mine and into the afternoon light, a fresh breeze played across their faces, setting manes and tails afly. "Finally," Twilight sighed - from here, it should be nothing but smooth sailing to Hurricanum.
"This way," Rainbow said with a smile, pointing a wing some ways down the scree. "There's a decent path to the river from there."
"Just a few more hours until camp, eh?" Squirrel asked as they hefted the canoe overhead.
"Yeah - a little downriver."
Twilight grinned. "And back to town by tomorrow!" |
The Rivers of Avalon | Chapter 13 | The river was fast, but smooth. They'd awoken early that morning, quickly packing up their little site on the bank of the Coriander. Hurricanum was still well out of sight at that point - too many mountains in the way - but they couldn't have been than a few hours' travel away.
Twilight dug her oar in, relishing in the thought that she wouldn't have to do any more of it soon. A small school of fish darted about beneath her, the morning sunlight flickering off their scales in rainbow hues. Well, she thought, I might miss it a bit.
The breeze kept up as they neared the break in the eastern mountain range. Well ahead of them they could make out the vast expanse of Chestnut lake, its far shores little more than a dull, blue haze.
"We came in through there," Twilight said, her spirits light enough to make conversation as she pointed at the distant horizon. "Stopped at Thistle for half a day before coming over here."
"The main route, these days," Squirrel nodded. "Never taken it - none of the trade convoys are crossing the Calise, yet. Would love to, though - love the sounds of the sea."
"It was... very calming," Twilight decided, thinking back on the week-long journey. "Peaceful, without all the distractions back home."
"I thought it was kinda boring."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "A fact you made sure to drive home several times a day."
"There was nothing to do!" Rainbow suddenly groaned and wilted. "There is going to be nothing to do."
Squirrel snorted. "After all the fun of the last week, I'd've thought you wouldn't mind some quiet time on the way back."
"I guess," Rainbow shrugged.
"You guys heading back right away, then?"
"I don't know," Twilight said. "We'll have to check in right away; explain what happened and return the documents and drams, too," she added, giving one of her panniers a reassuring pat. "Then... I don't know? We're not injured, so there's no need to rush us back to Equus; likewise it's not as though we need to hang around for some diplomatic work, tagalongs that we are." Ships were moving back and forth between Equus' various embassies across Avalon and the homeland nearly every week, so there'd always be some ship or another for them to take. "One step at a time, I think."
"Sounds good."
"What about you, though?" Twilight asked. She knew the other mare had intended to head back home, but wondered if anything had changed.
"Rest here for a couple days, probably." The canoe bumped gently against the shallows before they manoeuvred it back out to deeper waters. A hooffull of scattered pastures and homesteads dotted the hills and riverplains around them. "Then back to Wanderbelle. Think I'll take the long way around - have some fun with it."
"Sounds like a nice capstone to everything."
"Yep."
They drifted on quietly, until, like the lifting of a veil, the eastern range ended and Hurricanum, perched like a great, brooding eagle on the rocky, shoreside hills, appeared before them.
"Thanks, Squirrel - for all your help."
"And not asking to get paid."
"Dash!" Twilight scolded her, but Squirrel merely snorted.
"No problem," Squirrel said. "It was kind of fun."
"Yeah," Twilight agreed as the warm sun and the cool breeze sent a pleasant shiver through her. "It kind of was." |
A Sword In Equestria | pre | "Yeah! You dogs are clearly out of your league if you think you could just keep us in here!" Gallus shouted.
"You two be quiet, like that pink one there!" one of the Diamond Dogs slammed the cage they were locked in with a baton, "If you won't be in your best behaviour, we'll make sure to find other means of shutting you up, no matter what the Big Boss says!" With that, he left to continue his patrol while others stood guard with their sharp spears and swords.
Gallus and Sandbar turned to Silverstream who was now quivering in the corner of the cage. "No, not again. It's the Storm King's army all over again!" she whimpered as she curled into a ball, tears falling from her eyes.
"Silver! Silver, look at me!" Gallus rushed over to her and held her cheeks with his talons as he stared into her eyes trying to comfort her. It broke his heart seeing her look like this, so scared and helpless, and if he was being honest he felt like having a panic attack right now. But that wouldn't be of much use to him or his friends here. They needed to remain calm. "I know you're scared. Believe me, I am too. Being cramped in this cave is not exactly helping me here, but you need to calm down. We need to be strong here, alright? Can you do that?"
Silverstream nodded with a sniffle, "Hmmhmm. Okay."
"Okay, good," the griffon let out a sigh of relief as he wiped the tears off her eyes. "Can you stand up?"
"Y-yeah, yeah I can."
As Gallus helped Silverstream up, Sandbar tried bucking the bars of the cage, attempting to break it open to no avail and winced when the barbs nearly broke his skin. If not for his tough earth pony magic it might have hurt worse.
"It's no use, kid," one of the captured guards held in the cage across them called out. She shook her head, "These bars are too strong for you to break out. Hay, I can't even use magic to break them, let alone teleport. These Diamond Dogs aren't dumb."
Sandbar stopped bucking the bars with a snarl, "We can't just do nothing! We need to get out of here! Why are they holding us here?"
"If I had to guess," replied the guard who looked carefully at the cage bars before noticing how many levels were in this room and how many cages there were in number, "I would say these cages are being used to hold a lot of creatures. Creatures who happen to be disappearing over the past few weeks or so. Probably even more."
Silverstream gawked, "Y-you mean, the missing creatures over the past few weeks... They've been abducted?!"
"Well, we are, so I guess we are just another addition to the list of victims," the guard snorted as she gave a kick at the cage's bars.
"B-but why would they abduct anypony in the first place?" said Gallus as he leaned closer to the bars closest to the imprisoned guard. "Didn't Professor Rarity already deal with these bozos?"
The guard shook her head, "No idea." Then her ears flicked towards the sound of a rusty door slamming open with a screech. "But I think we're about to find out," she said with a frown as a large group slowly approached them.
Gallus, Sandbar and Silverstream watched with wide-eyed horror at the sight: Ponies of all races and ages, chained together were herded into the empty cages by Diamond Dogs who were barking orders and brandishing batons to intimidate their prisoners. There were other creatures imprisoned as well; a few griffons, donkeys, changelings, even fellow diamond dogs who were slouched lower than their towering counterparts.
"In the cages, maggots!" barked the head guard as he slammed a baton on an empty cage's iron bars, "Get in before we have to bring Big Boss to deal with you animals!"
"Please, mercy!" pleaded one of the incarcerated diamond dogs, "Rover is one of you! Why do this to poor Rover?"
"Shut up, mutt!" The head guard bashed his baton on Rover's back, causing him to collapse while pulling other prisoners to the ground with him. The diamond dog let out whimpers of pain as he struggled to stand up. "You!" the guard pointed at the ponies who fell with Rover, "Pick up the runt and get in the cell, unless you too want a beating!"
Without another word, two ponies shouldered the crippled diamond dog and dragged him into one of the cages. The door slammed shut behind them, causing them to wince.
Looks like that answers that question, Gallus thought bitterly. These weren't the same type of Diamond Dogs that Professor Rarity had dealt with all those years ago. Those had been morons. These guys are serious.
All the other prisoners soon followed suit with their fellow comrades in chains. Their faces swollen with exhaustion and despair as they slowly crawled inside their designated cells. More than one had cried, especially the younger ones. The newcomers watched with absolute horror at what was before them.
"You sorry, pieces of dirt better be working on the mines faster next time! Or else you'll get double the shift and no water or food or bathroom breaks! In fact, half rations for you all on your next shift!" One of the Diamond Dog guards growled which made the workers wince.
"Slaves?!" Sandbar snarled at the diamond dog guards, "How dare you! Princess Twilight will have your flanks in Tartarus for this!"
A baton slammed into Sandbar's hooves that were holding the bars of the cage, causing him to yelp and wince in pain.
"The Princess ain't here, little pony," sneered the perpetrator, "Here you will slave away til you drop dead."
"Curious, you have a clean bill of health. No fractures, no scarring, not even a bruise. You are definitely not a pony that's for sure."
Staring curiously at the protruding wires and gizmos connected to a monitor, Keldeo sat on his haunches awkwardly, discomfort clear on his face. Everycreature (with the exception of Nurse Redheart) grinned in amusement, holding off their giggles to the Pokemon's predicament.
"Does your kind usually recover from injuries quickly?" asked Redheart as she was studying an X-ray scan.
"Every Pokemon can, provided certain conditions, medicine, food, drink, items or moves," answered Keldeo as he winced from another instrument attached to his chest area.
"Keldeo, if it isn't too much trouble, could you tell us what exactly is a Pokemon?" Starlight Glimmer asked, curiosity evident on her face and a levitated quill and parchment nearby.
Keldeo's face screwed in thought of an answer, "Pokemon? Hmm, I guess that's a hard question to ask. We're not exactly a race since there is a wide variety of species of us, all in different types, shapes and forms. Many of us look animalistic or plantlike, others look like inanimate objects or earthly material such as rocks and gems. I wouldn't even call us animals since we are capable of thoughts and feelings. I honestly never thought about it. We're just... Pokemon. Always have been and always will be."
"Well that's a bummer," Smolder muttered, "A whole bunch of species labelled under the same title with differing appearances made of different material." She paused to do a double take as a thought came up, "Hold up, did you say there are Pokemon that look like gems?"
"Um, yes."
"And before you leapt out the window, you said that there are dragons in your world, right?"
"Yeah, Dragon types. Why?"
"Do Pokemon eat each other?"
"I guess? Some do, some don't. Depends on the Pokemon I guess, but not all. I mean, I don't. Why?" Keldeo asked, tilting his head.
The others turned a bit pale as Ocellus shook her head. "B-B-But why do they do that?"
"Because it's how we are?" Keldeo said with a shrug. "Granted not all of us eat meat, and all of us can eat berries, but hunting is normal. Of course, humans eat us too and unlucky humans get eaten by Pokemon, but pretty much most captured ones aren't eaten and become part of their society. Sometimes they act more human than Pokemon."
"But don't you find that morally wrong? It's like your world is survival of the fittest!" said Nurse Redheart, clearly appalled at what she was hearing.
"Um, how is that a bad thing?" Keldeo asked and suddenly everycreature's eyes went wide. "Every Pokemon trains to be the strongest and we want to be strong. We fight each other, we fight humans, and we fight things outside of our dimension sometimes if you count the Ultra-Beasts. We fight because we want to grow strong and if you aren't strong then your life sadly becomes forfeit. At least in the wild and more dangerous areas. Sure the Pokemon captured by humans don't fight to the death, but they still fight to the point that some are able to win wars if need be."
Their world is constantly fighting? That is insane! Could it be? "K-Keldeo, is your world... Is it constantly at war?" Starlight asked hesitantly.
Keldeo thought for a moment. "I don't think so. I don't recall. I don't think I've fought in a war, but I might have been in a lot of battles," Keldeo said with a shrug before smiling, "I mean, it's not like we kill each other on a regular basis, we just constantly fight to grow stronger. Killing is usually between predator and prey, and though uncommon it sometimes happens in a battle. Rarely does death happen due to... insidious reasons." There was pause from that last line as it unnerved him. What was that? Why did that last bit make my skin crawl?
He shook away his thoughts before he continued, "Besides, even if a Pokemon is killed in a fight, they are eventually reincarnated to try again. That way you can try in your next life to become stronger and live longer."
In that moment, it became clear to everycreature just how alien Keldeo was; both literally and figuratively. Where he came from violence was the norm, even if it wasn't for a life or death situation. Death was accepted so easily and survival was integrated into everyone who lived there. Put it simply, his world follows a warrior culture.
Compared to Equus let alone Equestria, which had known peace for so long and fought only in self-defence, the world where Keldeo came from was, for the lack of a better word, frightening.
"... Perhaps it would be prudent if we changed the subject?" Noticing the mood within the room, Keldeo gave the unsubtle suggestion with a sheepish smile.
Internal sighs of relief mixed with silly grins and chuckles spread within the room. Throughout everycreature's minds, they were thankful that, of all beings described within his world to end up in Ponyville, it was Keldeo. However, their thoughts were soon snuffed out by the Pokemon's predicament. With no personal memories and possibly no visible way to return (unless the portal was still open), Keldeo was essentially stuck here.
Not wishing to return to that spiral of anxiety like what had happened earlier, Ocellus complied to the Pokemon's request of a new subject for discussion, "Actually Keldeo, we've been curious; how does your magic work?"
"I beg your pardon? Magic?" asked Keldeo, clearly confused.
"Um yes," Redheart interjected, "We've done some scans on your Thaumaturgical signature and mana pool and noticed it has a different resonance to our magic yet somehow manages to be compatible with it."
"Pokemon don't use magic," Keldeo flatly replied, "I mean, some of us can do move sets that are considered magical; but magic, that's something out of fairytales and street performers."
He noticed Redheart's eye twitch in disbelief. "How do you exist?!"
"Nurse Redheart, please calm down," said Starlight, attempting to calm the earth pony nurse.
"Calm down?" Redheart went hysterical, "CALM DOWN?! How could I possibly calm down?! No creature could possibly exist without magic! It's impossible! He clearly has something in him; and if it isn't magic, what in bloody Tartarus is it?"
That was when the proverbial lightbulb clicked on Keldeo, "Oh, do you mean you can see my Aura?"
"Aura?" All turned to look at Keldeo, tilting their heads in an angle.
"Yes, Aura," Keldeo continued, "It is the essence of every creature; Human, plant matter and Pokemon. It is what gives us our powers, our skills, our abilities. It is the source of life that makes creation itself. It is also how some Pokemon can attune to other creatures naturally; be it between partners or lovers."
"Wait, is it anything like... The Fooooorce?" asked Pinkie as she waved a forehoof dramatically.
Keldeo turned to the rest of them with a confused look, "What does she mean by that?"
"Don't take Professor Pinkie Pie too seriously," replied Smolder, "She tends to say the most random of things."
"... I see."
"Anyway," Ocellus interjected, "how exactly do you use this Aura? Do you channel it to use your powers like a Unicorn? Are you proficient at using it?"
"I don't know," Keldeo replied, "I mean, it's not that I don't know how to use Aura or anything, it's just, you don't really think about it. It's like breathing; you don't think about how to channel or do it, you just do. It just... happens. As for being proficient; I'm not sure if I am. I mean, I know other Pokemon species like the Lucario are very proficient at it due to being fully attuned to Aura."
"Um, odd question," Yona raised a hoof, "Keldeo speaks about Pokemon having several species; what species is Keldeo?"
"Well actually, I'm kind of classified as a mythical Pokemon."
"Oh? Really?!" Pinkie bounced in, "So does that mean you're some kind of super powerful Legendary being in your world?"
"Not exactly. I'm classified as mythical due to being either extremely rare or one of a kind..." His voice trailed off, "Wait... I'm... no... Hold on... I think there were more of us... Was there? I'm not really sure... I can't remember..."
"Friend Keldeo, you're crying," said Yona.
Keldeo reached the sides of his cheek with his hoof and felt the warm streams of tears. "I... Why am I crying?" He sniffed and wiped the tears with his hoof, trying to brush it off, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I just did that. I'm pretty sure I'm not a crying Pokemon so I'm sorry if I've been doing this a lot lately."
Starlight reached out a hoof and brushed his mane assuringly, "Keldeo, there is nothing to apologise. I'm pretty certain that a small part of your subconscious still remembers something and you were just subconsciously feeling sadness from whatever it is hidden within your memories."
She continued to brush his mane til she was sure he calmed down from what is now a regular episode of the Pokemon's grief. "Listen Keldeo," Starlight finally said, "I know some ponies who might be able to help you recover your memories. Mainly, Princess Twilight Sparkle who is the ruler of Equestria. She has experience with other worlds and unusual cases such as yourself, so I thought that it might be a good idea to contact her and arrange a meeting between the two of you to see how she could help you out."
Keldeo smiled as he wiped the last of his tears, "Yeah, thank you. That would be great."
"Um, Miss Guardspony, how's your friend doing?"
The captured guard looked up to Sandbar from across her caged cell as she held her colleague's head on her torso as a makeshift pillow. "He's not looking so great. That huge diamond to the head really did a number on him." She then gave Sandbar a reassuring smile, "By the way, name's Coppelion."
"Copy... have I told you how beautiful you look?" her fellow guardspony muttered deliriously.
"Oh great, and he's totally lost it," Coppelion deadpanned at her colleague.
"Um, excuse me?" a young pegasus colt slowly crawled to the side of the cage closest to Sandbar, "You're part of the Royal Guards, right? Were you sent here to rescue us?"
"No, sorry little bud," Coppelion sadly shook her head, "My friend and I were just assigned to escort these three to study a site of a portal." She leaned closer while being careful not to disrupt her unconscious partner, "Could you perhaps tell us what they're digging down here?"
"I don't really know, sorry," the young colt replied dejectedly.
She turned her gaze to another pony who was listening in. When her eyes met him, he shook his head, "Sorry. All I know is they aren't diamonds. Just some worthless looking crystals I've never seen before."
"Hey, does anyone know what they're digging down here?" Gallus called out among the nearby cells.
A collection of "No," frowns, and shaking of heads followed.
"R-Rover knows what we've been digging."
All turned to the injured diamond dog who was flat on his belly and his head rested on one of the ponies. "Though Rover knows not why they're digging for them," he continued, his voice weak from the labour and back injury from earlier.
Silverstream leaned on the cage's bars closest to the injured dog, "Rover was it? Would you mind telling us what you're digging down here?"
"Sure, we've been digging for Arcanite," he flatly replied.
This caught Coppelion and Gallus' attention. "Did you just say Arcanite?" the captured guard asked, worry evident in her voice.
"Yup yup," answered Rover, "which doesn't make sense to Rover. Diamond Dogs dig for diamonds, not worthless Arcanite."
"Dude, Arcanite is far from worthless," Gallus deadpanned to Rover's response to the mineral in question, "That stuff is legendary grade material. It's what they used to make more than half of the ancient magical artefacts in the world."
"How do you know that?" asked Sandbar.
"Princess Twilight's classes on magical artefacts and Professor Rarity's on gem variety," Gallus replied flatly, "I got interested in case we might find rich stuff to sell from Griffonstone."
"Wait, you're students from Princess Twilight's School of Friendship?" asked a unicorn filly.
"Yeah, we are," replied Sandbar, "We kind of got captured while we were investigating a portal site."
"Oh boy, this is waaaaay above my paygrade," Coppelion sighed.
"W-what do you mean?" Silverstream asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, wrong does not even begin to describe the situation," the guard let out a humourless chuckle, "We've got a full scale invasion on our hooves."
"Invasion?" Gallus raised an eyebrow, "They're just mining Arcanite; through illegal slave labour, sure, but that's hardly an invasion."
"Kid, Arcanite is illegal to mine, buy or sell regardless," replied Coppelion, "And it has been illegal to mine, buy or sell for the past thousand years due to its tendency to create cursed artefacts and items." She paused to let that information sink in before continuing, "And wait, there's more; Arcanite wasn't mainly used to create magical artefacts. They were mainly used to create and develop magical weapons. Particularly, weapons of mass destruction. Celestia in fact signed a treaty with the Zebras to ensure the ban of Arcanite to prevent that kind of situation."
"Wait, you mean this isn't just a get rich quick scheme?" Sandbar quivered at the thought of an alternative scenario.
"This is hardly about getting rich quick, considering they've been mining here for who knows how long," replied Coppelion, "And all that time, they've been building up one heck of a stockpile. Chances are, this little mining operation is just the tip of the iceberg. No doubt they've been shipping this stuff somewhere to be forged and that there are more mining sites across the continent."
"And all the while, their mysterious benefactor is making weapons," Gallus stroked his lower beak in thought as he came to the same conclusion of the guard, "Which means somepony or somecreature is building an army!"
Worry and fear spread across the prisoners who've been following the conversation. When they heard a distant clapping that echoed across the cavern that held the prisoners, their fears morphed into absolute terror.
A diamond dog, standing taller and straighter than any they've seen before, towered menacingly over the cages as he approached the students, clapping as he went. His face looked more wolf-like than dog, his amber eyes glowed bright under the shadows and his sharp teeth protruded from his closed mouth like a smiling crocodile. He wore a pitch black velvet coat, a feathered hat over his head and on his waist was a belt that carried a sheathed sword.
"Well done. Well done," he spoke as he ceased his mock clapping, his low voice sounded sickly sweet with a hiss vibrated by a growl, "It appears you managed to figure it out on your first day. Your princess would be proud." He sneered as he grinned, exposing his teeth for all to see.
"Wh-wh-who are you?' Gallus gulped, taking a step back from the creature before him.
"Me?" he held a paw on his chest in mock shock, "Surely you've heard about me from my boys by now? But I suppose this is your first day so allow me the introductions," he removed his hat and gave a polite bow, "They call me Big Boss. I am..." he paused in thought for a second before chuckling in his own self amusement, "the Big Boss; and I welcome you to my humble mining operation, Canterlot branch."
The other diamond dog guards sneered and chuckled with him.
"Canterlot?" Coppelion stared at him with utter shock, "But we were in Ponyville, how...?"
Big Boss stuck a finger on her muzzle, silencing her, "Tut-tut-tut, yes, you were in Ponyville. Keyword; were. But here you are now, under my humble employment." Taking a step back, he released her muzzle and turned to the students, "As for why we are here, I'm sure you are all curious as to why we are underneath Mount Canterhorn itself. Easy; underneath the capital of Equestria herself are the caverns that contain the country's neglected collection of Arcanite."
"Brilliant alliteration Boss," said one of the guards.
Big Boss smiled, embracing the praise, "Thank you, thank you. I love a good play with words. Speaking of which," he pointed at the cage that held Rover, "Bring him out."
The ponies within scurried away as the guards grabbed Rover by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out of the cage. The injured dog whimpered in pain and horror as he was held out in front of the towering villain.
"Rover, Rover, Rover. You've been a bad boy, haven't you?" Big Boss sneered as he looked down on the injured creature who was now on his knees whimpering.
"You told them the secret of what we were mining for, didn't you?" he circled around Rover as tears poured from the diamond dog's eyes.
"And you know what we do to bad dogs here, don't you Rover?" he spoke with a low growl behind Rover who now froze in silence as Big Boss whispered into his ear; "Bad dogs get put down."
Without another word and in a blink of an eye, he drew his sword and stabbed it into Rover's back. The diamond dog screamed and howled in pain and agony. The guards who held him released the scruff of his neck, dropping Rover to the ground face first. He gasped, the sword still embedded on his back as he twitched, almost paralized from the pain. His agony did not stop as Big Boss held the sword firmly and twisted it around his back, grinning menacingly with a sadistic satisfaction. A garbling noise came out of his voice as he coughed out blood trying to scream. The horrific sight continued until finally Rover stopped twitching and fell limp before the crowd.
Muffled screams from some of the young prisoners were heard while some of the grown prisoners covered the eyes and ears of their juniors. A sadistic chuckle was heard across the cavern as the abducted felt a thrill of dread and horror at the cruel sight.
"Well, that was fun," Big Boss said gleefully as he dislodged his sword from Rover's corpse and began cleaning it, "Boys, take the trash out for me."
"Will do, Boss," two of the guards saluted as they picked up poor Rover from the ground and made their exit, unfazed by the death of one of their own.
"Now then, you three," Big Boss pointed at the cage that contained Gallus, Sandbar and SIlverstream, who were hudling each other and unable to look away from the terrifying sight with eyes wide open, weeping with fright. "If I recall correctly, you're students of the Princess of Friendship's school of Friendship, am I correct?"
They nodded silently and without hesitation.
"And correct me if I'm wrong, but you wouldn't happen to be three of the six that dealt with that issue of some crazy pegasus' scheme to take away magic, would you?"
They nodded again.
"Which would mean," he gave a gasp of mock surprise, "you're the students that shared a connection to the Tree of Harmony, aren't you?"
Again they nodded with Silverstream giving off a quiet whimper.
He held a paw over his eyes and with a dramatic flare that rival's that of Rarity, spoke vehemently, "Oh, that won't do! That won't do!! We have brought into our midst the future figures of influence of Equestria and possibly all of Equus!! Oh, what are we to do?"
A brief pause, followed by one of the guards who raised a paw, "Um, take them upstairs and hold them for ransom, Boss?"
He turned to his minion, grabbed him by the face and playfully slapped one of his cheeks. "I knew I could always count on you boys," he spoke gratefully with his usual dramatic flare and leaned in to kiss him by the cheek with a, "Mwuah!!"
"Aww Boss! Boundaries!" the same guard complained, wiping the kiss off his cheek.
"Oh pish posh, you know you like it. Take them upstairs to the FOB. We'll see what they're worth once we complete a background check." And as though nothing had happened, he skipped his way out the chamber's entrance whistling merrily. |
A Sword In Equestria | Chapter Five: The Sword and the Hunter (Part 1) | Dear Twilight,
I think you will be interested to know that the Cutie-Map quest of our favourite students has borne fruit. Almost literally in fact. Turns out, the map led them to a portal connected to another world. And no, I don't think it's the same one that's connected to Sunset Shimmer's world. How do we know this? One of the residents from the other side popped out of the portal and landed on our students, quite literally I might add.
His name is Keldeo and the world he came from as he describes is vastly different from Sunset's. I'll spare you the details but he is what he calls a Pokemon, a creature that is common throughout his world that has various species and forms. Also, humans seem to exist in his world.
I could go on, but there is only so much information to write on these parchments and I thought it would be better if I introduced you to him. I think you would love to get to know him, especially since he possesses a source of power different from our magic. One that has sort of caused him trouble with the guard and nurse Redheart. (Speaking of which, I might have unofficially signed him up as a student for the School of Friendship in an attempt to appease the guards from apprehending him.)
I hope to hear from you, as soon as you organise a time to meet him to which I know you are looking through the closest available time in your schedule.
Your faithful first student,
Starlight Glimmer, Headmare of the School of Friendship
PS. Could you prepare a memory retrieval spell? Keldeo suffered amnesia upon arrival to our world. Nurse Redheart believes it may have been caused by trauma from a fight (he was covered with burns, bruises and scars when they found him. Don't worry, he is recovering rather quickly and his wounds healed at a surprisingly fast rate) but I think there might be more to it. I don't want to get ahead of myself and cast one of my own, you know how it is.
Starlight rolled up the parchment to a scroll and ignited it with her horn. The scroll disintegrates in green flame as its ashes float out the window. "I sent a message to Princess Twilight," she said, turning to Keldeo who was fascinated by the burnt scroll. "We should hear from her in no time."
"Excuse me, but what exactly did you do there?" asked Keldeo, still curious about the scroll.
Starlight paused before realising he meant what she did with the scroll. She gave him an amused smile. "Oh that? I just sent a message to the Princess via Dragonfire scrolls. They are still experimental so there aren't too many of them."
"Dragonfire?" Keldeo asked, clearly confused. "Wouldn't that just burn the parchment?"
"Not at all," Starlight continued to smile with amusement, "some dragons who've learned magic from a young age develop abilities such as sending messages to intended locations and creatures they are familiar with through Dragonfire. One such dragon, who happens to be the Princess' Royal Advisor, mastered this ability and offered to have it replicated with these experimental scrolls." She pointed at a number of them within her saddlebag.
Keldeo's eyes widened with fascination. "Okay, that is cool. I mean, it doesn't seem as effective as a phone but it sure looks cooler."
Yona tilted her head in confusion. "What's a fone?"
"Oh, it's a weird communication device that humans in my world used to, well... communicate to each other across long distances. I don't know how it works exactly, but the recent phones I saw use Rotoms and Porygons as "AI assistance"," explained Keldeo.
"I think I saw Sunset Shimmer use something like that," thought Starlight.
Normally in a conversation involving new curiosities, Ocellus would be the first to be in the thick of it. However, something else is occupying her mind as she stares out the window.
Something her good friend Smolder noticed. "Ocellus, you alright there?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm just worried about Gallus and the rest of them," replied Ocellus. Her eyes flicked back and forth between Smolder and the window. "What is taking them so long? The portal site shouldn't be too far away from Ponyville and it's been hours since we separated."
Smolder held a claw under her snout in thought. "Hmmm, maybe they're stopping by Sugarcube Corner?" she suggested.
Ocellus shook her head. "Unlikely. They would know better than to pass off the opportunity to see Keldeo awake so they would have made it to the hospital by now."
"Could they still be around the portal site?"
Ocellus turned to Smolder, fear and worry evident in her eyes. "Or worse," she gulped, "they could be taken by the portal."
Alarm bells rang within Smolder as she heard this.
"Oh. Crap."
The drake turned to the group as they continued discussing the various means of communications between worlds. She took a deep breath and audibly cleared her throat, catching everycreature's attention. "Excuse me for jumping in Headmare Starlight but we might have a problem."
Starlight Glimmer's ears twitched. "What's the problem, Smolder?"
"Gallus, Sandbar and Silverstream aren't back yet, and it's been hours," explained Smolder. "Ocellus was worried if something happened to them, like, I dunno, being sucked into the portal?"
Starlight froze, her eyes widened, and then twitched. "Oh buck," she clutched her head with her hooves and began to panic, "Oh sweet Celestia, what have I done?! Girls, alert the town guard; tell them to meet us at the square! We might need a search party. I'm going to the Castle of Friendship to grab some scrying spell scrolls. Pinkie Pie, could you inform the Mayor to call for an emergency curfew?"
"Yuppie Yuppers, Starlight," Pinkie saluted. "I'll inform the girls while I'm at it."
While Keldeo would have been impressed with the pink one's ability to just vanish in an instant, he was more so impressed with Starlight's leadership. She kind of reminds me of a Pokemon Trainer, or a Gym Leader. Wait, why would I know that if I can't... Gah!! Focus Keldeo, they look like they're in trouble and you can't just sit here doing nothing. "Excuse me Nurse... Redheart, but am I good to go?"
The earth pony raised an eyebrow. "Well, other than your unusual magical signature that you call Aura, you are right as rain."
"So, I'm good to go?"
Redheart narrowed her eyes. "I know what you're thinking and as a practitioner I cannot condone you to go off adventuring right after recovery." She then gave a sigh of surrender. "But you seem to know your body more than I do, so all I can suggest is don't strain yourself, are we clear?"
"Crystal," nodded Keldeo. He turned to Starlight and asked, "Excuse me, Ms Glimmer but could you take me with you?"
Starlight stopped for a moment, "Sure, I don't mind but why?"
"I'd like to be of help. You've done much to save me, twice mind you, so I'd like to repay the debt. Besides, I might be able to remember something. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll find a way home."
Starlight thought on that; On one hoof, I've already told Twilight about him so it would be rude if he couldn't at least see her first. On the other hoof, would I deny him his chance to go home? No, she would not be that cruel. She shook her head to clear such thoughts and smiled, "Very well, Keldeo, welcome aboard."
The Forward Operating Base (FOB for short) was a simple closed tent in the middle of a clearing in a large cavern chamber lit with electrically generated lights that illuminated the area. Gallus, Sandbar and Silverstream made no attempts to resist as they were dragged along by two guards. They were still shaken from what they just witnessed, Silverstream especially who was now on the verge of a panic attack. Sandbar would have been excited to see the very caverns that Princess Twilight and Princess Cadence escaped from during the Royal Canterlot wedding. However, the image of Big Boss' butchery was all that clouded his mind as well as the anxiety for him and his friends if they could get out alive. Gallus, despite everything, was the calmest of the trio. Well, as calm as one who was mentally scarred at least. He was no stranger to death; being a griffon and an orphan gives one a certain perspective in life. That said, he never actually saw anyone killed before. And right now, underneath the caverns of Canterlot, never had he thought anything could frighten him enough to even forget he had claustrophobia after what he saw today.
The three of them kept looking down, avoiding to stare at anything else other than the ground in fear of the guards. Even as they entered the tent, they kept their gazes low, avoiding to look at each other or anything else, especially the guards or the monster before them.
"Come, please. Don't be shy," came the soft and gentle growl of the source of their fears, "There is no need to fear, I won't bite. Yet." It chuckled in its own amusement.
Sandbar dared to look up to stare at him. Sitting by a desk before them was the Diamond Dog, Big Boss. His visage changed from before that somehow seemed a lot more welcoming. His black velvet coat was removed to reveal a white puffy shirt with an old necktie of the same colour. He was wearing spectacles that sat perfectly fit on his muzzle. On the desk were three file folders and a book, a journal perhaps, indicating he was just writing in while waiting for their arrival.
"Oh, only one little pony is brave enough to gaze upon me? Now that's what I call character," the Diamond dog sneered with a low chuckle.
Slowly, Gallus and Silverstream followed suit, their expressions morphed from fear to mildly confused at the sight before them. It was almost akin to being called into the Principal's office for punishment.
"Good. Good. Gaze upon my villainy and despair," he praised in a provoking tone as though to goad them. "You have no idea how long I have waited for a plot like this to develop."
"D-develop? P-plot?" Gallus muttered nervously.
"Why of course," he stood up from his desk, taking a brief glance at one of the opened files in front of him. "Gallus, was it?" he eyed the terrified griffon. "Orphaned and under custody of Griffon elder Grampa Gruff. Makes me wonder why the last surviving member of Guto's Court would want to keep you around." He grinned at Gallus intensely with a gleam in his eye, "You may not be worth a ransom, but you have the makings of a hero, boy."
"Wait, Gramps knew King Guto?" Gallus asked incredulously.
"You didn't know? Oh wow my boy, you are just ticking all the boxes!" Big Boss exclaimed with excited giddiness, "You definitely have this Hero's Journey thing going for you!"
"You on the other paw," he pointed at Silverstream who shrank from his gaze, "You have this whole "Damsel in distress" thing going with you at the moment, and I hate to see that considering your resume." He held up the folder and stared at her with disappointment, "Daughter of Duke Sky Beak, niece of Queen Novo, and an aspiring Wonderbolt Cadet. Yet here you are, cowering before me like a runt losing their mother. How does one expect to be a hero if they can't even get over their trivial trauma?"
He held a paw over his eyes as he dramatically lamented, "Oh tragic! TRAGIC! And here I thought I could finally have the noble trio of heroes to face against a worthy adversary such as I!" He quickly recovered as he shrugged off his previous reaction, "Well, no matter. At least now we have a hero and you'll do well for a wealthy ransom." He gasped in realisation, "Wait!" He pointed a finger at Silverstream who flinched at his sudden epiphany. "Forget selling you off for ransom, you could be our damsel in distress for this scenario! Oh, Big Boss, you are a genius! This is the perfect plot!"
"What are you on about?!" Gallus finally cried out. "What's all this about heroes, villains, damsels and ransoms? What does it have to do about the mines? What do you want from us?!"
The Diamond Dog wrapped his arms around himself and shuddered in ecstasy. "Oooh, you have no idea how long I wanted to hear those words. It's music to my ears. Finally, the moment to monologue about my villainous act has come!"
He pulled out a chair and leaned on it, grinning excitedly. "You see, my little griffon, about a year ago my boys and I were hired to this little mining operation. We started small at first; grabbed a few neighbouring diamond dogs to assist with the occasional pony or two we caught when they found out about us. Then one day, our client called us for more of the Arcanite. We agreed of course, but more deliveries needed more bodies. So we did the only reasonable thing and started abducting isolated ponies and other creatures who could work the mines for us. So here we are now. Any questions?"
"W-w-why?" Silverstream whimpered, struggling to hold back her tears. "Why do you have to do this? Why do you want the Arcanite? Why did you have to kill Rover? Wasn't he one of you? And you didn't answer Gallus' question; what do you want from us?"
"One at a time, little hippogriff," Big Boss chimed melodically. "To answer your question about the Arcanite; that is for me to know and you to struggle finding out. Or for the case of our expendable miners; for them to find and deliver to us." He chuckled at his own joke, echoed by his minions who were listening in.
Silverstream could only gasp in horror at his nonchalant description of the captured creatures as he continued, "As for your question in regards to the dead dog... Weeeeell, let's just say he was giving away the plot too early. Besides, his kind had it coming and it's not like we are practically the same species."
"W-what?" Sandbar exclaimed, "B-but you're clearly Diamond Dogs, what else could you be?"
"Don't associate us with those Groundhogs who wallow in the dirt all day!" Big Boss swiftly grabbed Sandbar by the collar of his throat, lifted him up and snarled to his face. "Yes, we may have once shared a similar heritage, but those animals you call "Diamond Dogs" were once the branch family cowards who abandoned their heritage." He sneered, watching Sandbar choke on his grip and then promptly dropped him to the ground.
Sandbar gasped for air, tears burning across the sides of his face and dared to look at his tormentor. Big Boss gave an impressed snort, "You've got guts boy. I like it. In respect to that, let me give you a little history lesson. Once upon a time during the age of Grogar, there was a race of canines who roamed across the continent. They were large, powerful, carnivorous." He snarled with ecstatic satisfaction while rolling the "s" in his last word. "They had no name but were masters of the hunt. Oh, how they hunted across the lands for centuries. They hunted all; ponies, griffons, bisons, yaks, kelpies, sirens, hippogriffs, abyssinians, even the occasional dragons. They called it the Great Game. The chance to be immortalised for their hunt against a worthy prey. Oh, it was glorious!"
He then gave a sad sigh. "Then all that changed when Gusty the Great happened and they were split apart when she sundered a large portion of the continent, leaving what you now know as Diamond Dogs in the mainland and the rest were drifting away in an island. The rest is history. The End."
Crying was heard at the entrance of the tent and the three of them turned to see a group of the dogs sobbing to their leader's tale. "That was beautiful, Boss!" one of them blubbered as he pulled out a handkerchief and blew.
"Thank you, thank you. You flatter me!" He bowed to his audience, absorbing their praise.
"Is this what this is all about, revenge?" Gallus gritted his beak and dared to glare at Big Boss, using what little courage he could muster before this monster. "Is this why you chose to torment these creatures? To get back at them for driving you out of Equestria? Don't get me wrong, but doesn't that seem pretty pathetic?"
Big Boss grinned at Gallus with delight, "First off; this isn't about revenge. That sob story was ancient history that has nothing to do with this plot. Well, not all of it. You see, the point of that bit of history is to make perfectly clear that we aren't anything compared to those mutts you called Diamond Dogs. Those inbred animals dig for practically worthless gems for some unknown reason. We on the other paw are more sophisticated. We hunt worthy prey for fame, glory and sport. That is why many pursue the life of a pirate or a mercenary."
"Which brings me to my final point," he stepped closer to Silverstream who cowered as he approached. "The reason why you are all here is because it was meant to happen," he said as he pointed at the three of them. "You're here because the story needs development. You see, I have been gathering all these enslaved creatures for months now; pushing them to the brink, waiting for the moment that they would rise and rebel against me and my boys. And oh, how I waited in vain. They should be up at arms by now, with a charismatic leader rising up against their oppressors. I've given them every opportunity to stand against me; from weapons lying around to leaving them unguarded with their cages wide open. I've even ordered the boys to increase their harsh treatment in order to make them angry enough to finally snap, and still nothing! Why?! Why won't they stand against me?!"
The three of them could only stare at him with horror. "Why?" Silverstream finally spoke with a whimper. "Why would you want them to attack you? What would be the point?"
"It's because I am an artist, my dear. A storyteller," he declared with pride. "I wish to create the greatest story of all time. A story of Good and Evil. Light and Darkness. War and Peace! I am a villain of such a tale and I seek to find the greatest hero the world will ever know! This is my Great Game! My Hunt! Whether the Hero comes out Victorious or I butcher them with my own paws and teeth does not matter! Our conflict shall be the tale for the ages! It shall be legendary! We shall both dance in a field of blood where only one of us comes out alive! We shall be immortalised like Gusty the Great vs Grogar the Grim! Sombra of the Shadows vs Celestia of the Sun! The Princess of Friendship vs the Prince of Fiends! And I shall be remembered as The Big Bad Boss: Behold my Butchery, ye mighty, and despair!"
He cackled into a fit of hysterical laughter as his goons cheered. "BIG BOSS! BIG BOSS! BIG BOSS!!" they chanted his name and the Canine in question soaked in their praises.
"Y-you're insane."
"Hmm? I beg your pardon?" Big Boss asked, removed from his revelry.
"YOU'RE INSANE!!" Sandbar cried out with a fury he didn't realise he had in him. "Other creature's lives are at stake... and you... YOU TREAT THEIR LIVES LIKE SOME SORT OF SICK TWISTED GAME?! And for what? Some sick twisted story for your own amusement? Even Discord isn't that crazy!!"
"You're right," Big Boss nodded in agreement. "I'm not Discord. I'm not Nightmare Moon. I'm not Sombra. I'm not Chrysalis. I'm not Tirek. I'm not Cozy Glow. I'm not Grogar. And I'm definitely not the Bloody Storm King. I'm a simple villain with a simple insidious scheme. Not some complicated would-be-tyrant who wants to rule the world. What would I want from World Domination, let alone the conquest of an entire Kingdom? No, I wish to be part of the greatest story ever told. Feared and whispered for generations."
He pointed at Sandbar with a sneer. "You call my vision insanity? Of course. A second rate mediocre character such as yourself cannot tell the difference between genius and madness."
"M-Mediocre?!"
"Well, of course. I read your file," he lifted a folder with Sandbar's picture on it, "Sandbar: Born in a mediocre family, with mediocre parents working mediocre jobs, grew up in a borderline mediocre town, studied in a mediocre school prior to transferring to Princess Twilight's School of Friendship, and other than the occasional Ponyville shenanigans and stopping two world ending threats, your life has been mediocre. Even your Cutie Mark of three turtles practically screams your character; slow, serene... Mediocre."
Sandbar was fuming at his insult to his life that he almost forgot the situation they were in and attempted to lunge at the dog, but not before Gallus and Silverstream held him down, stopping him.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I offend you?" Big Boss gave a mock apologetic bow and grinned. "Good. It means you know your role in the narrative."
"WHAT ROLE?!" Sandbar screamed with rage at the dog while being held down by his friends.
Big Boss' grin grew wider and all the more menacing, bringing the fear back into Sandbar as he replied, "Simple; you're going to die to become the catalyst for the Hero's motivation."
"So, this was where you found me?"
A gentle whistle of the wind was heard across the open field where the portal was last seen as Keldeo surveyed the area with slight bemusement. "Not to sound disappointed but I was expecting it to be a little less... plain."
"Wait, was that a pun?" asked Ocellus, tilting her head.
"Was it? I don't know, I never thought of it that way." Keldeo mused.
"Well, they're not here," said Smolder, "So where could they have gone?"
"Could friends be taken by portal?" gasped Yona.
"Ocellus, where did you see the portal?" Starlight asked urgently.
"This way." Ocellus led them to where they found the portal. "It was right here, just above us. About fifteen, twenty feet above us," she pointed a hoof upwards.
Starlight ignited her horn as she began to cast a scanning spell. Her eyes widened from what she found. "Incredible," she muttered under her breath.
"Headmare Starlight found something?" Yona asked expectantly.
"I've never felt this much power in my life," she explained with awe while she continued her spell. "The magical signature is beyond the likes of anything I've ever felt before. Nothing in Equestria or all of Equus has this amount of power, not even the Princesses or Discord combined. Whatever cast this spell used power drawn from the Universe itself. It's crazy! What could do that?"
"Um Headmare, focus?" Smolder poked Starlight's cheek, snapping the unicorn from her awed rant. "As much as it's amusing to see you go Twilighting on us, we have missing friends in a portal site with a missing portal. Where are they?"
"Oh, right." Starlight reignited her horn with the same spell. As continued, her awed expression dropped to an inquisitive frown. "The portal is gone. And by that I mean it's been gone for hours. Probably even before Gallus and the rest of them came back here to check on the site."
"Can you bring the portal back?" Keldeo stared at Starlight expectantly.
Starlight's heart sank as she returned his stare with a disheartening frown. "No Keldeo," she said as shook her head. "The magic or whatever power is used to create the portal has long been dispersed to the air. It's impossible to try and trace the magic back to the source of the portal and to keep it open requires a tremendous amount of energy just to cast it. I'm sorry. I'm very sorry."
All hope drained from the Pokemon's face as Keldeo fell on his haunches. A strong wind blew into the empty field, rustling the leaves from the tree standing alone on a hill. The longest minute ticked by as all were silent, waiting for Keldeo's next breakdown. Before anyone could speak a word of comfort, he stood up and wore the most stoic guise he could muster.
"Have you found any sign of your friends?"
"Keldeo, are you alright?" Ocellus asked worriedly.
"No," he shook his head, "but your friends are still missing and we need to know where they are. We can deal with my problems later, but for now your friends are a priority. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I were to go back anyway without helping you find them."
"Keldeo..." Starlight extended a hoof to him, only to retract it after acknowledging his resolve. She gave him a sad yet thankful smile. "Thank you for doing this."
Keldeo gave a snort as he smirked confidently. "No need to thank me. Besides, what kind of a friend would I be if I won't help my saviours? It's nothing short of dishonourable."
Huh, why did it feel natural for me to say that?
"Keldeo right," Yona stomped a foot, "Sooner we find friends, sooner we help Keldeo find home."
"Then let's not waste anymore time!" declared Smolder.
Ocellus nodded in agreement as she turned to Starlight, "You said that the portal has been closed for hours, right? Which means the three of them weren't caught by the portal. So it begs the question; what happened to them?"
"Hmm, there must be something I could do to help," Keldeo thought to himself out loud.
"Keldeo, I know you can't normally use this move and you may think it's useless, but trust me, you'll thank me later for teaching you this move."
Keldeo blink. For a second, a brief image of a girl with long brown hair tied behind her head, wearing a trainer's cap, a white shirt, black vest and a pair of short shorts flashed into his mind with a confident smile. What was that? A memory? Who was that girl? No, focus. What was it called... I think it was-
"Keldeo, are you alright there?"
The Pokemon was shaken from his thoughts by the changeling who was giving him a concerned look. "I'm sorry, you were saying something?"
"I was asking if you were alright," said Ocellus. "You were spacing out for a while there."
"Sorry, I was just... trying to remember something," he said hesitantly. Then it hit him. "Guys, I think I might know something that could help find some clues."
All eyes were now on him.
"Like what?" asked Yona.
Normal Type: Foresight. To everyone else watching, the Pokemon's eyes lit up in a hue of blue, casting a pair of beams of light similar to a torch. For Keldeo however, all of his senses were sharpened. He could hear the rustling of the leaves and branches crisply from the lone tree, smell the moisture from the cool air and notice each blade of grass to their intricate detail. That was when he noticed indents from the grass that were not of his or the rest of the current party. These look recent. Probably at least an hour ago.
All of them watched with curious fascination as Keldeo began tracing unsee tracks.
"Keldeo, why are your eyes glowing and what are you doing?" Starlight asked cautiously.
"Oh, I'm using a move called Foresight," he briefly stopped to explain, "Usually it's used to analyse an enemy, enabling one to use attacks that normally are immune to them. For this situation, it sharpens my senses which should allow me to spot clues, tracks and other things we may have missed with the naked eye."
"In other words, you can basically play detective," Smolder interjected. "Is there anything you can't do with your crazy "not-magic" powers?"
"Weeeeell, I can't cook," he joked.
"Is there anything you found?" asked Ocellus.
"Yeah," Keldeo answered while he focused on the scene, "There were three... Ponies, I think, stood here in this patch of grass."
"Wait, do you mean all three of them are ponies or there were three creatures, one being a pony?" asked Smolder.
"Well, judging from the way they stand, all three are definitely ponies. Although, there are two others I can't figure out; flying types of sorts with a bird-mammal hybrid going on." he pointed out the indents of talons, claws and hooves on the grass.
"Must be Gallus and Silverstream," Yona pointed out. "Sandbar must be one of three ponies, who's the other two?"
"The escorts," Starlight's tone noted realisation. "I asked them to bring an escort from the town guards."
"Sounds about right, two of the trails look a lot heavier and the horseshoes look like plated metal." Keldeo continued to trace their movement across the field. "They were making their way back to town. One of them fell over, probably fainted."
"Fainted?" The four of them looked questionably at the Pokemon.
"Knocked out," elaborated Keldeo. "One of the guards. I would hazard a guess it was caused by a gem of sorts." He stood over a large patch of flattened grass and moved over blades of the grass to reveal a Royal Guard's helmet with a diamond lodged on its side.
Their eyes widened at the broken piece of armour. "How did we not see that on our way here?" asked Smolder as she reached out for the helmet.
Leaving her to discuss that to the rest of the group, Keldeo continued his investigation. "There was a struggle here," he called out. "There are a few burns in the ground that I'm not sure of. Almost like a Protect shield of sorts." He pointed to a spherical shaped burn on the ground before noticing a large group of footprints around the circle. "They were surrounded. Mammalian on two legs, a Dog type of sorts."
"Diamond Dogs," Starlight gave a snarl.
"Diamond Dogs?"
"Bipedal dogs that live in underground tunnels whose lifestyle involves the mining of Diamonds and other precious gems," explained Ocellus.
"Are they large?"
"They stand taller than most ponies, but due to their hunched backs they usually see eye to eye."
"How heavy are they?"
"Not as heavy as your average earth pony, why?"
"Because these prints look pretty heavy. Probably from carried weapons, worn armour, larger body structure, or a combination of the three. Some are even wearing heavy boots." He traced a hoof over heavy indents on the ground.
"Bigger Diamond Dogs then?" suggested Yona.
Keldeo shrugged, "I have no idea what they look like so you tell me."
"Can we worry about what they look like and get back to what happened here?" Smolder scolded.
"Right." Keldeo continued his investigation as he circled around the burn marks and footprints. "I don't know how the guard managed to keep the Protect shield up for an impressive amount of time, but it looks like they held out for so long." He took a step into the burnt area. Several two legged prints closed into the lone quadrupede while three tracks suggested a breakout. "They overwhelmed the guard, but the three of them made a run for it. Can all of them fly? Your friends I mean, not the Diamond Dogs."
"Two of them can," said Ocellus.
"That answers that then." He traced a hoof to the air, visualising what happened. "Two of them lifted off in that direction while the third made a run for the town."
He made for the direction of the two flyers, followed by the Starlight and the rest of them. Stopping, he noticed a large patch of dirt, scattered blue feathers, uprooted grass... and small sprays of blood. The others gasped at the sight of the red liquid.
"Don't worry, it doesn't look lethal," said Keldeo, trying to reassure them, "Looks like from a minor cut or something." He traced the dirt with a hoof, processing the impression made on the ground. "One of them was taken down here, probably grabbed on to or..." He looked over to his left and noticed another patch of dirt and feathers (pink this time), although with much less struggling.
"The blue one tried to rescue the pink one. The pink one went down first and was pinned. The blue one put up a fight before he was overwhelmed and followed suit." He touched the blood with his hoof and found clumps of red and black fur. "The blue one doesn't have spotted fur, right?"
"No, he doesn't," Ocellus answered, "Gallus is a sky-blue griffon with a few golden tipped feathers on his head and a light yellow fur on his chest coat from his beak down to his waist. Why?"
Keldeo moved closer to the group, exposing the bloodied fur. "He has talons, right?" They nodded in reply. "Then the blood isn't his. He most likely used Scratch on them, cutting a bit of skin and shaved a clump of fur off."
Noticing the fur, Starlight narrowed her eyes. "Keldeo, can I see that fur a little closer?"
As he held the clump of fur out, Starlight levitated it with her magic, causing Keldeo to flinch. "This fur is too thick to be a Diamond Dog," she stated from her observation. "A Diamond Dog's fur is shorter and loose which is less likely to gather clumps of dirt and soil while they dig. This looks like fur from colder climates."
"Yona seconds that," added the yak. "Fur looks closer to skunk bear in Yakyakistan."
"Keldeo, are you alright?" asked Ocellus, noticing Keldeo's pained expression.
"I'm fine," he answered with a reassuring smile, "Just felt a sting from touching that magic thingy she did." Before anyone could comment on that he cleared his throat and continued, "Anyway, the two of them got pinned down which leaves the third..."
Retracing back to the burnt area, he followed the third trail leading to Ponyville. It took some distance til they reached a patch of dirt with a clear sign of struggle.
Keldeo gave a whistle in admiration. "Wow, this guy's a fighter," he said as he traced the indents on the soil. "This guy Double Kicked two of the attackers 15-20 feet that direction." He pointed towards trails of mud and indents on the soil seen from a distance. "He was finally pinned down but not before knocking one of the attackers' teeth out," he pointed out as he approached remnants of shattered teeth and small amounts of blood.
"That's Sandbar," Yona snorted proudly.
"Actually, I think it's more about his earth pony strength. He's as chill a dude as you can get, not exactly a fighter," added Smolder before she gave Yona a mirthful smirk, "Are you sure you weren't admiring something else about him, Yona?"
The yak blushed before she turned away from the dragon. "Sh-shut up, Smolder! Yona has no idea what you're talking about!"
I think the lady protests too much.
"Keldeo, can I see the teeth?"
This time Keldeo delivered the teeth fragments on Starlight's hoof to which she held it closer for inspection. Her eyes widened at what she found. "Th-these... These can't be Diamond Dog teeth. I mean, it's definitely canine in nature, but these are what you'd usually see in wolves rather than dogs."
"You mean these Diamond Dogs aren't predators?" asked Keldeo.
"They don't usually eat meat, and when they do it's usually scavenged," answered Starlight. "Diamond Dogs usually eat food made of sandstone flour. They don't hunt or ambush in an open field. Whoever owns these are definitely not rock eaters."
"And they clearly foalnapped our friends!" Yona gave a stomp, "Keldeo, do you know where they took friends?"
Keldeo traced back to a stone hill. "They dragged all five of them to this hill and..." he trailed off in confusion, "That can't be right."
"What's wrong?" Smolder asked.
"The trail ends here." he gave a stomp on the hill, "I don't get it. They couldn't have used Dig or any sort of Ground type move, otherwise I would have seen traces of it. It's like they either levitated, or teleported away. I can't trace them from here."
Still clinging to the teeth fragments, Starlight growled, "They could be anywhere. I could try to use a Locate and Scrying spell, but there is too much interference due to the magical residue from the portal. It could take hours if not days to get a fix on their location."
Keldeo's ears perked up on that. "Would it help if you gained a boost to your spell?"
Starlight raised an eyebrow. "I suppose, but I don't think Ocellus has enough magic to increase the spell's power."
"Oh don't worry, I can help with that."
"Wait, what do you mean by-"
Normal Type: Helping Hand. Putting a hoof on her shoulder, a blue aura glowed around Keldeo and enveloped around Starlight. Before she could process the overwhelming power she felt surrounding her, the Pokemon spoke.
"Will this be enough?"
Starlight grinned. "You are full of surprises, Keldeo. Now I can't wait to show you off to Twilight." She closed her eyes and cast the spell.
"D-d-die?"
Sandbar's blood ran cold as he noticed the large Canine reach for his sword.
"Yes, sorry but that's the way of the game, boy," Big Boss shrugged. "You have this whole "Best Friend" motif going for you, which in stories like these serves as the sacrifice to motivate our hero to avenge them. Or this case, you." He drew his sword out, much to the horror of the three students. "Nothing personal, boy, but the story needs progression," he shook his head in disappointment, "Which is a pity considering you actually have quite the promising character." With that, he raised his blade, preparing to thrust it down at the pony.
"PLEASE NOOOO!!!"
Gallus and Silverstream flew in front of Sandbar, serving as a shield between him and the sword. Sandbar for his part curled in defence, not before realising what his two friends did.
"Please don't kill him," tears trickled from Gallus' face as he begged desperately to the dog, "He's one of the only friends I have in this world! Please, I beg you, don't kill him! I'll do anything you ask. ANYTHING! I'll play your sick twisted game, just don't kill him!!"
The three of them huddled to embrace each other, sobbing profusely on the floor.
"Oh, this is too good! THIS IS TOO GOOD!!" Big Boss groaned with irritation and excitement, "On one paw, this just makes it all the more better to kill him for such a tragedy! But on the other paw, he... he..." He stopped to snap his fingers, thinking of a line to say.
"He gave you an offer you can't refuse?" suggested one of the Dogs whose name tag says, "Bob".
"I was just about to say that!" he snarled as he grabbed one of the files and tossed it at Bob.
"Sorry Boss," Bob flatly apologised.
"Bah, no matter!" He waved a paw in dismissal before turning to Gallus, "Very well, boy. You shall be my hero for this story! You and your pony friend here will be sent back to the cages where I shall expect you to start an uprising against me. I shall wait here with your lady friend as your reward if you succeed. I'll give you... six hours to reach my FOB. Until then, I'll expect a worthy fight and shall watch you from my crystal ball." He pointed to the object in question, sitting on the table. "Satisfy my story and I swear by the Great Game your friends will not be killed. I'll even release all of you if you thoroughly impressed me. The Hero must live to fight another day after all."
"And if we don't?" Gallus squeaked.
Big Boss grinned menacingly, "Then I'll slaughter your friend and your lovely maiden right in front of you, ransom be damned."
"It can't be..."
All eyes gazed in horror at the magical bubble. The scrying spell revealed the three students threatened by a large dog attempting to bargain for their lives.
"Those caves," Starlight finally managed to say, "That's underneath Canterlot; the capital." |
A Sword In Equestria | Chapter Six: The Sword and the Hunter (Part 2) | "I'm sorry, you're asking me to do what?"
"I need this train to leave for Canterlot, immediately!"
"With all due respect ma'am, I can't just make this train leave the station at a drop of a hat. There are other passengers and supplies-"
"There are hundreds of creatures' lives on the line and I don't mean that as an exaggeration! We need to get to Canterlot, post haste!"
Keldeo, Starlight Glimmer, Ocellus, Smolder and Yona stood before a train conductor, arguing impatiently for the train to move. It was roughly an hour ago since their investigation for the whereabouts of their missing friends. Since that time, they informed Mayor Mare, Pinkie Pie and the head of the Town Guard to redouble their security and make a headcount of the residents of Ponyville to ensure everyone else was accounted for. After which they raced for the station, bought five tickets to Canterlot, and boarded the train as it arrived. However, due to some tourists among some diplomats from some unknown continent from somewhere beyond Equestria, the train was stalled, much to the anxiety and irritation from our group of heroes.
The conductor sighed with annoyance from Starlight's demand to get the train moving. "Ma'am," he said calmly, "I can't just break the train's schedule without proper authorization for any kind of emergency. It will only encourage any impatient noble to use an excuse just to-"
"I AM A MEMBER OF PRINCESS TWILIGHT'S COUNCIL OF FRIENDSHIP!" Starlight interrupted, pulling out a badge with an emblem of the Royal seal, "If you don't get this train moving asap, hundreds of ponies and other creatures are going to die; which includes several close relatives of the leaders of Equestria's allies!! If you don't want to be the pony to tell them why they are dead, GET. THIS. TRAIN. MOVING!"
After a moment's hesitation the conductor made for the engine cart. As this was happening, Smolder looked to Starlight.
"Wouldn't it be quicker if we just teleported there?" she asked.
"Under normal circumstances I would. But with all of you, especially Keldeo with us, it might strain my magic a bit and I'd rather not risk tapping into Keldeo's mysterious powers in conjunction with my teleportation. It might not give us the intended effects," Starlight replied, giving a quick glance at Keldeo, "No offence Keldeo."
Keldeo nodded, reminded of what happened earlier this day. "I understand. I'd rather not repeat what I did outside the hospital without knowing the risks."
Just then, the conductor called out, "ALL ABOARD! We're off on an emergency express to Canterlot!"
Everyone quickly soon got in and the conductor wasted no time signalling the train to start running at full speed. Since it was going to be a long ride, despite the pressure to hurry it up, everycreature sat down as they began to move. In a short while, Ponyville was a distant sight as the locomotive made its way to Canterlot at top speed.
Sometime after they boarded and the train left Ponyville station, Keldeo gave an uncomfortable wince as he tried to relax on his seat. It didn't help that several eyes leered at him and his party.
"Are you alright there, Keldeo?"
The Pokemon turned to Ocellus who had a worried look on her. "Yeah, I'm just... I'm a little uncomfortable," he hesitantly replied.
"Don't mind other ponies looking at us," huffed Yona, "They just mad that train had to leave early."
"Actually, I don't mind them. In fact, I can sympathise considering we've just about ruined whatever plans they had for their travel," said Keldeo, folding his ears down apologetically before he continued, "No, I just seem to be nervous around trains."
"Oh? Why is that?" asked Ocellus.
"I'm... not sure," he replied, wincing from trying to remember, "I'm still unable to remember things, but it feels like staying put in a train doesn't feel right. It's like any second now, some Pokemon and their trainer is going to pop out and attack me."
"Seriously?" Smolder asked incredulously, "Even in public transport, the creatures from your world attack each other? What kind of world do you live in?"
"The kind that created a monster powerful enough to shoot water out of their hooves and blast a tree into splitters?" joked Keldeo, grinning sheepishly.
Starlight gave Keldeo a concerned expression. "You can't be seriously calling yourself a monster, are you?"
"What's wrong with that?" asked Keldeo, now noticing everyone else's reaction to what sounded to them was a self-deprecating joke. "It's kind of in the name; Pokemon. Pocket Monster."
"Wait, Professor Pinkie Pie was right about that whole monster thing about Keldeo?" Yona exclaimed, sharing a gawked expression from everyone else in earshot to the conversation.
Before Keldeo could reply, Starlight casted a sound barrier around them, making them unheard from the rest of the passengers. "Ahem, I think we should discuss more on that later. Right now, I believe we should lay out a plan for when we arrive in Canterlot."
"A strategy meeting? I'm all for it," Keldeo beamed with enthusiasm, "What's the plan, Trainer?"
Again, what's this trainer title he keeps saying?
"The plan should be that we meet up with the Princess as soon as possible," Starlight elaborated, "Once we arrive, we need to make for the Castle asap to rally the guards. I've already taken the liberty of sending a message to Twilight to prepare our arrival. I would have written more on the details but I ran out of ink."
"Why didn't you just text them?" Keldeo asked, tilting his head.
"What's texting?" Ocellus asked.
Before Keldeo could answer Starlight huffed. "It's a means of communication that humans use that we don't have access to."
"Oh, okay," Keldeo said, disappointed.
"Anyway, once we explain the situation, we should be able to lead a raid into the underground caverns," Starlight continued, "If what we saw in that scrying spell was accurate then we don't have much time until their head honcho decides to kill more civilians, which includes your friends. We'll need to move quickly if we are to save lives."
"But what if rallying the guard takes too long?" Yona pointed out, "It could take hours before reaching friends and other creatures and by then they'll be playing into that dog's game!"
"Yona's right," Smolder added in agreement, "Gallus, Sandbar and Silverstream might not have time. For all we know, they could already be launching a suicide attack to rescue Silverstream by now."
"Why can't we just charge in?" suggested Keldeo, much to the horror in everyone's eyes. "What?"
"Keldeo, that is a reckless idea," Starlight sternly reprimanded, "You would put those ponies and my students in danger. I won't allow it! Why would you even consider such an idea?"
"Simple, the guy is a battle-crazed ego maniac," Keldeo bluntly replied with a stern frown, "If what we saw from your magical bubble is legit, he doesn't care if his prisoners live or die, he's clearly not in it for the money, and he doesn't care about dying. He's in it for the thrill of the kill. If we give him what he wants, such as a creature powerful enough to catch his attention-"
"Absolutely not!!" Starlight protested with a stomp of her hoof, "I will not allow you to go in there alone! You would be outnumbered, even if we accompany you."
"But we can't afford to waste anymore time!" the Pokemon stomped a hoof on the floor with a loud crack.
All were silent as Starlight's magical barrier fluctuated from the force of his hoof, their eyes fixed as they stared in fright of Keldeo's enraged appearance. A blue hued light glowed from the tip of his horn as though it was on fire as he scowled, baring his teeth in barely contained fury.
"It will take too long for us to mobilise reinforcements for a rescue! By then, it will be too late to save them. It will be just like what happened before!" he snarled, unaware of the tears forming in his eyes, "I can't let them suffer because of me, I can't!"
"Keldeo, please stop! Calm yourself!"
The Pokemon blinked, finally taking notice of the mixed expressions of fear and concern from not only his company but from the onlookers within the train carriage. The barrier of the sound spell now dissipated due to Starlight's lack of concentration from his outcry. He felt a pair of hooves gripping his foreleg and turned to see Ocellus shivering from her hold on him.
What was that? Why did I say all of that? Where did all that come from? Oh Arceus, why did I just lose it there?
"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say all that, or snap like that to all of you." The aura from his horn dissipated as he lowered his head, unable to look them in the eye in shame as he used a hoof to wipe the tears from his face.
"D-do you remember something?" Starlight asked hesitantly, carefully holding out a hoof in comfort.
Keleo shook his head. "No, it's just a gut feeling that I can't explain."
"Try."
He raised his head up to look at Starlight apologetically. "I... I feel responsible. For your students I mean." Then he turned to the rest of them, "And your friends. They were there on the site of the portal that brought me here. If I never appeared with that portal, they wouldn't have been kidnapped."
He gave a low growl as he continued with a scowl, "And it didn't help when I heard that freak talk about how he played with other people's lives like they were some toy for him to mess with. It's not right! Everything in me screamed when he disregarded the value of life, it's not right!!"
Starlight raised Keldeo's chin with a hoof, allowing them to see eye to eye. "Keldeo," she started comfortingly but sternly, "that wasn't your fault. None of this was. You can't blame yourself for something out of your control. If anything, I'm to blame for sending them there in the first place to secure the site without proper safety protocols and procedures. I mean, could you imagine if the portal was still open and they were sucked in there?"
She gave a light chuckle before she continued with a motherly smile, "Besides, I believe you coming here to Equestria has done more good for us than harm. Other than you being trapped here, of course," she quickly added.
"What I'm trying to say is, if you never came here when you did, we'd never have found out about what happened to the missing ponies and other creatures. We'd never know what happened to their friends, and we certainly would not be here in this train to warn the Princess of what's happening."
Keldeo gave a small grateful smile, "Thank you. It's just... I don't want anyone to die like that; helpless, hopeless and enslaved. I just wish there was a way to-"
Their thoughts were interrupted as a brilliant flash of purple light briefly blinded them, revealing a purple winged and horned pony standing regally before them, sparkling brightly like crystals reflecting the light from the sun. Keldeo stared at her, surprised by her sudden visage. Wow, she's beautiful. He blushed, just before shaking himself off from his brief stupor and noticed the differing reactions from his company. Starlight's jaw hung open with utter shock while babbling incoherent jumbles as though she was trying to process her sudden appearance, whilst the students were gazing at her with utter shock and awe.
The sparkling mare turned to all of them with a motherly smile. "Perhaps I can help."
"He wants us to do what?!!"
After being escorted back to their cells, Gallus and Sandbar explained to the Coppelion and her now awakened colleague, who he introduced himself as Wake Watcher, as well as any other creature in earshot about what took place in the Big Boss' command centre.
"Yeah, he's giving us six hours to start a revolt otherwise he'll start killing hostages. Starting with Silverstream and Sandbar," Gallus spoke somberly, unable to look anyone in the eye.
"And all this for a story? Luna's blessed moon, that's delusional!" Wake Watcher exclaimed, "How the hay does he expect us to start an uprising with just two guards, two of the Princess' students and hundreds of worn out, enslaved ponies and others?! It's going to be a bloodbath! We're bucked!"
"No doubt in my mind that a bloodbath is what he wants." Coppelion leaned her head to the wall of her cell and drew out a long sigh. "Sweet Celestia, I signed up to fight would-be tyrants and monsters, not psychopaths with delusions of grandeur."
Sandbar stared hopelessly out of the cell and to the dogs guarding the exit. "So what do we do?"
"What can we do is the better question," Coppelion huffed out a grunt, "We stay put, we die. We lead an uprising and fight, we die. We try to escape, most of us will absolutely die. It's a no-win scenario here."
A heavy silence fell into the room. Several ponies and other Equestrian residents who overheard their predicament huddle together for what little comfort they could offer each other in the hopeless situation they found themselves in. Quiet sobbing and hushed whispers of singing spread across the prison chambers as word spread of their distressing state of affairs.
Gallus looked up from his stupor and saw the mood in the room. Weeping foals clung tightly to their parents, friends or cellmates who either joined in their sorrow or had blank faces of a hundred yard stare in surrender to their fate. Strangers sharing glances with each other, trying to connect upon realising that this might be their final moments. Folks who had been long time rivals and even enemies broke what little scraps of rations they had with them left to each other as a peace offering to make amends. The hopelessness was seen in their eyes, yet all offered what little kindness they had left in what many assumed would be their final moments.
It's like Griffonstone, but worse.
He gritted his beak and clenched a talon as he stood up. "We need to get out of here," he snarled.
A heavy silence fell as everyone within earshot looked at the young griffon in disbelief.
"How?"
All eyes turned to Sandbar.
"How?" the young earth pony asked again in a hollow yet pleading tone, "No offence Gallus, but how exactly do we get out of here?!"
"I... I don't know," Gallus hesitated before steeling himself, "But we can't just sit here and do nothing."
"What can we do, Gallus?" Sandbar raised his voice, much to the surprise of the griffon, "We're locked in here, there are guards waiting outside the chamber doors, and to top it all off, we're being watched by that maniac through a crystal ball. Even if you formulate the perfect plan of escape, he'll know it before we act on it. We're bucked!"
Gallus scowled. "So what, you want us to just sit here and wait for them to come here and kill you and Silver?! What about everyone else caged in here? There are foals, kits and pups in here, Sandbar! He will kill us all either way! The very least we could do is try to save as much as we can!"
"AT WHAT COST?!" Sandbar all but screamed, tears streaming from his fear-filled eyes, "We don't have a Bugbear's chance in Tartarus! He wants you alive, Gallus! YOU!! Not me, not bits, not the gems, not the slaves, not even your crush's worth of ransom! YOU. He wants you alive for his sadistic delusionary story of grandeur. He will kill me, he will kill Silverstream, he will kill them!" he points to the fellow prisoners, "But for some bucked up reason, he wants you alive long enough to entertain him.
"We go out there and he will kill all of us! We stay here, he will kill only most, if not some of us. I'd rather take one for the team if it means that we could still keep you or anypony else in the gang alive. And I'm pretty sure SIlverstream would agree with that if it means you get to live."
"AND I CAN'T ACCEPT THAT!" This time it was Gallus bursting into tears, screaming as he gripped Sandbar in a tight embrace, "You, Silver and the rest of the gang are the closest thing I've ever had to a family! You especially, are like the brother I never had. I've been all alone my whole life, living with a grumpy old fart who just offers the bare minimum in raising me, surrounded by idiots who can't be bothered making a change in their crappy lives! I won't be able to bear it without all of you! I can't live with myself if I even lose one of you! I know it's selfish for me to say it, but if they want to kill you and Silver I'd rather he have us all or none of us! I can't live without you guys, I just can't!"
The griffon's cries turned into audible sobbing as he tightened his embrace to his comrade. Sandbar for his part was taken aback by his usually sarcastic friend whom he too formed a similar bond with these past few years. Overwhelmed by the day's following events; the portal, the abduction, the threat of Big Boss to his own life and the life of his friends, the earth pony soon followed his friend's anguish, crying by his side.
"I'm sorry, Gallus," Sandbar's voice cracked as he sobbed, "I wasn't thinking straight. I don't wanna die, but I don't want to see you die either! Oh Faust, I don't want to see any of you die!"
Gallus' sobs quieted as Sandbar's lament continued, "When he said that I could never be a hero I wanted to break him. But deep inside, I knew he was right. I'm not strong enough to be that hero, I'm not smart enough to counter his argument. I'm just a simple, mediocre earth pony who-"
"Sandbar, stop!!"
Sandbar's sobbing was interrupted as Gallus pulled away from the embrace and held his friend by the shoulders.
"You are not mediocre, Sandbar," Gallus firmly stated, "After everything we've been through, how could you say you are mediocre? You freed us from Chancellor Neighsay and Cozy Glow when everypony else didn't think twice about us! You stood up for us when Cozy Glow convinced everypony in school to turn against us while we struggled to free Miss Glimmer! I could not think of a friend more loyal than you; even more than Ms Rainbow Dash. You are excellent, dude!"
Sandbar deadpanned, "You had me going there til that last bit."
"Yeah, sorry. I don't know what came over me," Gallus rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment before he continued, "Point is, you. Are. Awesome. Don't let anyone else say otherwise."
Sandbar wiped the tears from his eyes with a comforted smile, "Thanks bro." He held out a hoof to Gallus, to which the griffon promptly clasped in shake and shared another embrace.
"Aww, that's so sweet," a certain wall-eyed pegasus cooed from the cage across them.
The embrace swiftly breaks off as a sudden realisation hits Gallus. "Wait, how did you know I had a crush on Silver?"
"Dude, we all knew that since the first time we encountered the spirit of the Tree of Harmony," Sandbar deadpanned, "Well, everyone but Silverstream of course."
"Everyone knew?!" Gallus gawked wide-eyed at the realisation of his not-so-kept secret being common knowledge.
"Hey!" yelled Coppelion, catching their attention, "As nice as you've got yourselves sorted out is, we still have a problem."
"She's right," Wake agreed with a shrug, "Even if we formed the most brilliant plan in the world, their boss could still hear us through a crystal ball, can't he?"
Gallus was about to comment on that as he remembered that they were being monitored when a sudden flash of purple appeared behind them.
"No need to worry about his watchful eye," smiled the sparkling figure of an alicorn, much to the shocked expressions of awe within the room, "Your captured friend took care of it."
Silverstream sat silently across Big Boss' table huddled in a near foetal position on her seat, unable to look her captor in the eye. For the past few hours since they returned Gallus and Sandbar to their cells and left her behind with the monster in the room, Silverstream cried silently, trying to muffle her tears from any who would hear her. Oddly enough, the monster in question seemed too distracted staring intently at the crystal ball that held surveillance of her two captured friends.
"Why can't they just hurry already?" Big Boss grumbled, tapping his paws impatiently on the table, "They're going to die anyway, so they might as well go out in a blaze of glory."
The hippogriff's heart stung as she heard that. She closed her eyes, trying to hold her tears back in vain as her sobbing only grew louder. She held onto her charm silently pleading to the powers that be. Please, anypony. Anycreature. Anyone. Save us. Save my friends. I don't want to die. I don't want them hurt. I don't want them to cry.
"Worry not little one. They will not be harmed anymore."
Silverstream's heart stopped for a second as she slowly looked up to see whom she could only describe to be an answer to her prayers. Before her stood an ethereal sparkling purple alicorn whom she was too familiar with. It was the spirit of the Tree of Harmony using the visage of Princess Twilight Sparkle. A hopeful smile slowly grew on her beak and was about to attempt a hug before she was stopped by the spirit.
"Do not approach, little one," the spirit raised a hoof in front of Silverstream, stopping the hippogriff from her position, "Only you can see me within the room. If you touch me, I will be revealed and then there will be no hope of rescue. Do not speak with your voice or you shall catch his attention. Speak from your thoughts for I can hear yours."
Silverstream looked at the Spirit of the Tree and asked in her mind, Wait, how are you appearing before us?
"I am always with you. So long as your friendship remains strong I am able to communicate to you should the need be great. When I sensed the fears and despair in all of your hearts I realised I needed to act and help you."
Are you here to save us? Silverstream thought of her question.
The spirit shook her head but gave a comforting smile. "I have come to aid you. Your friends who are imprisoned are planning to escape while the rest of your friends are coming to rescue you, accompanied by one whom you saved this morning."
We're gonna be rescued? Silverstream's eyes widened with hope.
The spirit nodded, "You are, but if you are to be rescued you must first play your part on this as well."
What do you mean?
"If you, your friends, and the rest of the prisoners are to escape, we must first blind them from our plans." The spirit points a hoof to the orb in front of the impatient dog.
Silverstream's body shuddered. You want me to break his crystal ball? But... But he'll kill me! I don't even think I'd be fast enough to reach the ball before he stops me. I can't do it! I-
"You can do it, trust me," the spirit reassured her as she placed a hoof on the terrified hippogriff's shoulder, "Recall what you are most good at. Of all your friends, your optimism and enthusiasm in life brings out the joy and appreciation for each creature's passion."
The sparkling mare raised Silverstream's chin with a hoof, offering a smile of confidence.
"Use it to your advantage."
Before Silverstream could ask any further, the spirit disappeared in front of her.
Okay Silvy, get a grip. The Tree of Harmony asked you a favour. Well, not so much a favour, more like a "Do this so that you, your friends and every other creature captured can escape" kind of thing. If we do this right we could all get out of here for a Pinkie Pie patented party. If this goes badly, we could end up with something worse than the Storm King's invasion. Okay, a lot worse.
She kept an eye on the grumbling Diamond Dog boss to see if he was looking at her, but instead he was keeping his bored eyes on the walls.
No pressure. The crystal ball is there. I could just reach out and toss it to the floor. But most likely, he'll just skewer me with his sword if I even move a muscle towards him, let alone the orb. Think Silvy, what do I do? The tree said to use what I'm good at to my advantage. What am I good at that could be of use to this? It's not like I could just talk about what I'm interested in and compare it to his love for... violence.
A proverbial lightbulb clicked.
"Um, Mr Big Boss? Can I ask you a question?"
The villain raised an eyebrow. "It seems today is full of questions," he replied, almost keen to find a distraction from his growing boredom, "Ask away."
Silverstream gulped hard before nervously asking her intimidating captor, "You said you liked telling stories. I like stories. Especially the kind where there is no fighting involved, everygriff just gets together to solve a problem, and they all like happily ever after. What I'm curious to know is why you would want to tell a story about heroes and villains killing each other?"
Big Boss grinned excitedly. "Why, I'm so glad you asked, my little hippogriff. You're right, any story can be good if it's told well. But you see there lies a problem to such tales."
"What problem, sir?"
Big Boss quirked an eyebrow, "Would you like to know?"
Silverstream nodded.
"Come closer," he gestured to her with a finger to a seat closest to the orb.
Silverstream quickly but cautiously approached the seat and sat on it, resisting the urge to eye the crystal ball.
"You see lassie, the world is saturated with countless stories talking about the mundane and the mediocre," the villainous dog continued with an excited grin, "Every creature from their mothers having been telling the same old tale of triumph over evil; that if enough heads come together and believe in something, it becomes true. And while I admit that there is a very good reason why everyone likes to tell that tale, ask yourself one question: How many of those kinds of stories can you remember?"
"Oh, there was that story about a hungry little sea slug, then there was the Prince and the Coral, and that weird story about a swan, or was it a goose?"
Big Boss held out a paw, "Stop. Let me correct myself; how many of them could be remembered for a thousand years?"
Silverstream held a claw to her lower beak in thought. "A few? I mean, sure, not all stories could be remembered for a thousand years, but I'm pretty sure there are some stories that could last that long. Like the story about Nightmare Moon for instance."
"Exactly," Big Boss sneered, poking her beak with a finger, causing the hippogriff to wince. "When you think about it, every story ever told has a form of conflict that needs to be resolved. However throughout history, the greater the conflict, the better the story is. And the more tragic the tale, the more memorable it is. The Tale of Nightmare Moon is the greatest and most remembered story because of its tragedy and conflict. I merely wish to become one such legend. Is that so wrong?"
Silverstream twiddled her claws nervously, gulping hard once more as she forced out her next question, "Would you mind telling me what sort of story you had in mind? That is if it isn't too much troubl-"
"WOULD I?!" he leaned excitedly as though he received an early Hearth's Warming present, "I would gladly share my ideas!! Oh, you have no idea how much I'm dying to share my ideas for my magnum opus!"
He returned to his chair and stood on it with one leg and another over the table as he orated his plans like a bard in a tavern.
"Behold the Tale of the Big Bad Boss of Baskerville! A vicious vile villain with a voracious desire for violence! He and his merry band of mass-murdering boys sailed from the southern coasts of the continent, leaving a trail of raided, pillaged and burned settlements. But it wasn't enough, oh no, it wasn't. There was no true hunt to be had. All we have to oppose us were soft, sickly country folk who offer no real resistance against our tide of terror. Then one day, we were offered a chance of a lifetime.
"A Lord from a distant land who sought vengeance against a great nation approached us. In return for our loyalty we are promised the greatest game imaginable; Equestria. The nation where the fate of the world hangs into balance. The birthplace for most of the world's mightiest heroes! Unable to resist the chance to challenge the land of legendary heroes, this villain accomplished his tasks with gusto while he waited for his nemesis to challenge him. All the while he continues to prepare for the great clima- What are you doing?"
Silverstream stood on her seat, holding the crystal ball close to her. She looked mildly distracted at what she saw within it and even blushed a little bit before realising Big Boss' monologuing ended abruptly. Almost reflexively, she held the orb defensively at the dog.
A look of mild amusement crept on Big Boss' expression, followed by disappointment. "Oh that is clever lassie," he sighed, shaking his head, "Distracting me with my own monologue. I would have given you points for being clever, but you blew it when you didn't strike while the iron was hot. I mean, seriously. You could have made your escape or took one of my swords from the rack behind you. Anything but a feeble attempt to hit me with my own crystal ball would have made for a more interesting twist-"
The sound of shattering glass deafened the room as the hippogriff tossed the orb into the floor, smashing it into tiny pieces on the rocky ground.
"There," Silverstream's voice quivered as she winced a terrified grin with a hint of satisfaction as she shrank back to her seat with tears forming in the corner of her eyes, "N-now we can m-make things more i-interesting if we make it m-more challenging, r-r-right?"
"She has done it! Make for the halls to the left outside this chamber. You will find three more prison chambers with more slaves within them. Once you release them, follow the path upwards. It will lead you to the surface where the Royal Guards are assembling."
"But what about these cell doors? Aren't they locked?" Gallus pointed out.
The spirit of the tree smiled confidently, pointing a hoof to their cell door. "See for yourselves."
Sandbar held a hoof to the door and reluctantly pushed. The cell door opened slowly with a rusted screech that echoed the room. Noticing this, other prisoners did the same to their doors with similar results, much to the bemusement of all the prisoners.
"They weren't LOCKED?!!" a plum coloured earth pony mare with strawberries and grapes for a Cutie Mark shouted irritably.
"Huh, no wonder my screwdriver didn't work. Fancy that," a brown earth pony stallion with an hourglass Cutie Mark remarked with a slight bit of amusement.
"Do not delay," the spirit ordered, "You must leave, now!" And without another word, she vanished with a brilliant light.
There was a brief pause in the prison chamber as everyone stopped to see the "Princess" just vanished before them.
"Well, don't just stand there!" barked Gallus, snapping everyone out of their confusion of what they just saw, "You heard the Harmony Spirit that looked like the Princess; let's move it!"
As though a switch was flipped, the entire atmosphere suddenly came to life as ponies, donkeys, griffons and a few diamond dogs picked themselves up and hastily made for the exit. Fear, anxiety and hope were seen in their eyes as colours seemed to return in their glum faces. The weeks and for some, even months of enslavement began to chip away for the chance of freedom to see the sun and moon once more.
"Woah everypony, slow down!" Sandbar called out to the rushing figures, stopping most of them in their tracks, "I know all of you want to be at home right about now, but if we don't follow the plan and leave in an orderly fashion none of us are going to be able to escape. We also still need to rescue the remaining prisoners which I know some of you have friends and family among them."
"The colt's right," Coppelion added in support, "How many of you can open locked doors?"
A few hooves and claws raised up.
"Alright, you lot, follow me and my partner to the other cells. The rest of you, follow those two to the surface. Wait for at least five minutes before you make a breakout."
Gallus blinked. "Wait, what? You want us to just leave you here while you free the other prisoners?"
"No, I want you to save as many lives as you can," answered the guard, "The sooner we can get word of these dogs to the Princess and the rest of the Royal Guards, the sooner we can rescue more prisoners and catch these bozos. You know the layout more due to being dragged to their command centre, you are our best shot at saving them.
"Besides, their boss is after you and he has your lady friend with him. If you aren't among us breaking out the rest of the prisoners you can at least serve as a distraction for the head honcho to chase after. And who knows," she added with a wink, "you might rescue the pretty pink one while you're at it."
Gallus gawked with a blush before shaking his thoughts off. "Gah, fine! Just try not to get captured."
"Will do. Good luck kid," she smirked to Gallus before turning to her assigned group. "Alright lockpickers, we're moving out first! If any of the guards see us, let's make some noise while the rest of us break for the surface."
After a few affirmations from the volunteers, they left the prison chamber (which happened to be unlocked as well).
Following the instructions to wait for a few minutes, Gallus finally called out, "Alright folks, let's move! Those who are strong enough, carry the ones too weak or injured. We have to move quickly!"
As Gallus began to herd the prisoners out of the chamber and into the cavern's hallway, Sandbar stayed at the back of the group to ensure no one was left behind. Just as the last of the prisoners were leaving, Sandbar felt a paw on his shoulder.
"Now where do you think you're going?"
Sandbar's blood runs cold as he turns to see one of Big Boss' goons grabbing him by the shoulder.
What?! How? How did he get behind us?!
Reading his expression, the dog simply smirked. "I was told by the boss to wait for you lot to make your escape. Told me it'll make for a twist. Been hiding in that back room there this whole time." He pointed to an inconspicuous door at the other side of the room.
Sandbar turned his view towards the door to see Gallus' shared expression of horror as he felt himself flung back deeper into the chamber.
"SANDBAR!" Gallus screeched as he charged towards the dog.
The dog in turn simply sidestepped from his reckless charge and backhanded Gallus, causing him to slam into one of the cages.
"Y'know, as much as the boss would like to have you around as his playthings, he still has a job to do," said the dog as he grabbed Sandbar by his mane, much to the earth pony's pain.
Gallus stood back on his, preparing to make another charge when he froze with dread as the dog brandished a blade.
"No hard feelings, kid," the dog calmly remarked as he pointed the blade at Sandbar's throat, "Boss says that your buddy needs to die regardless. It's all for the Great Game."
Gallus leapt out of the cage, reaching out a claw to his friend who gave him a look of absolute terror.
"SANDBAR! NOOOO!!!"
SLASH
Sandbar dropped to the floor, blood trickling from his throat. He reached a hoof to his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding, only to find that he felt no cut on his skin. The blood was not his. He looked up to see Gallus stare behind him in shock and he turned around to see what had just happened.
A headless figure of the dog who held him up earlier stood behind him standing there motionless. As for the head itself, it had been laid out nearby with an expression of both shock and pain as if the sudden cut to its neck was both quick and brutal. The body fumbled for a bit before it crumpled to the floor like a puppet without strings. Sandbar just sat there in both shock, relief, and horror before he looked up and saw the one who had rescued him from a similar fate. It was the unicorn from earlier, the one with the strange horn, only now it was glowing with a bright sharp aura of blue and his eyes were that of killing intent.
Yet, the moment the unicorn stared at him that intensity left and was replaced with gentle kindness and worry. As if it flipped a switch to a different person. The creature held out its hoof and smiled warmly at him. "Are you okay?"
Silverstream ruminated on what her life has been so far. Considering everything she's experienced up to this point; survived the Storm King, attended a school from abroad, made a lot of non-hippogriff/seapony friends, indoor plumbing; yes, her life so far she considers herself content. Her only regret now would have to be what she just heard from the crystal ball before she decided to smash it could not be unheard. Now she has to live with what little time she believes she has left with the revelation that one of her friends has the sweets for her.
She would have processed this new information in due time were it not for the predicament she now faces before her. Big Boss stood absolutely dumbfounded at what she had done. Of all the things this hippogriff chose to do with an opportunity to retaliate or escape, she smashes his surveillance crystal ball. Not even at him, just at the ground. Like an angry wife destroying her mate's trophy out of spite. From shock came anger. Not at the destroyed orb (although he was still pretty angry at the loss of an expensive artefact) but at the sheer stupidity of this hippogriff in front of him.
How could she waste such an opportunity? And here I thought she would be a character that breaks the mould of the cutesy useless archetype that is in need of rescuing 24/7! What's the point in breaking my things? Did she do it just to spite me? I mean, points for guts there, BUT WHAT"S THE POINT OF THAT?! Worthless. Absolutely worth-
"There. N-now we can m-make things more i-interesting if we make it more ch-ch-challenging, r-r-right?"
Her sheepishly terrified grin and her equally terrified stuttering statement caught him off guard.
Wait a minute. She planned to smash the orb? Why would she-?
A moment of clarity came, followed by a grin of amusement.
"... Hehe... Hehehe... Hahaha... BWAHAHAHAHA!!"
Big Boss' low chuckle raised into a booming fit of cackling laughter. It echoed across the caverns as he continued even louder, holding his guts with his arms as he became increasingly winded from his mirth.
Silverstream caught off guard from his reaction, chuckling nervously from his contagious laughter.
SMACK!!
Before Silverstream could process what had just happened, she found herself face-first on the floor with a throbbing pain on her left cheek. Small rocks, dust and bits of debris lodged into her coat and skin as she impacted the ground, bruising her in some areas and cutting open a small wound on the right side of her face. Prone on the ground, she tried to raise herself up, clutching her open wound with a talon while avoiding to touch the throbbing pain that was her left cheek. Tears formed from the corner of her eyes as she felt overwhelmed by the pain across her body, particularly on her face.
"Hehehe. You're a clever little lassie, aren't you?" he chuckled as he stood menacingly above her.
Despite her resistance she choked out a sob, all while refusing to look back at her tormentor. Suddenly Silverstream screamed in pain as she was lifted by the mane at eye level with the dog.
"I have to say, I applaud you," Big Boss sneered as Silverstream struggled while he held her up, "Taking advantage of my monologuing while you attempted sabotage on our operation. Very amusing."
"A-amusing enough to free me?" Silverstream grunted from her predicament.
Big Boss shook his head sadly as he drew out a sword with one paw. "Nay lassie. Unfortunately for you, this is the part where you become a liability and must therefore be eliminated from the picture."
Silverstream gasped in wide-eyed horror, "W-What?! B-but you promised!"
Big Boss sighed with disappointment, "First off lassie, you didn't impress me enough to warrant your release. Secondly, it was your coltfriend who was supposed to impress me. And lastly, your death along with your mediocre friend will provide the perfect twist to elevate the griffon into the hero he should be."
He readied his blade as the hippogriff struggled helplessly.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way, but unless a twist I didn't see coming is around the corner I doubt I could find any more use for you."
Silverstream closed her eyes as she cried, waiting for the end when they were interrupted.
"Boss, we've got a problem!"
Big Boss snarled, "Agh! Look, can I just have a moment where I'm not interrupted?!!"
"Sorry Boss," the minion saluted, "but it's pretty important!"
Rolling his eyes, he dropped Silverstream to the ground and sheaths his sword. "Well?" he groaned impatiently, "Spit it out, what's so important that you're interrupting a crucial scene?"
"Multiple partols went silent Boss," replied the dog, "One of them reported on a group of intruders knocking our boys left, right and centre. Also, a few of our prisoners are making a break for it!"
Big Boss' ears perked up.
"What?!" He slammed a fist on the table and began ranting. "No! No! NO!! This wasn't part of the story! Where did these has-been intruders come from? It's all wrong! It was supposed to be an uprising among the prisoners; not a rescue story!"
He paused at words in realisation and gasped. "Unless..." He looked towards Silverstream who was prone on the ground. "Lassie!" he pointed at her, causing the hippogriff to flinch, "You and your friends, there were supposed to be six of you, right?"
"Y-yes," she replied with a choked sob.
A wide grin grew on his muzzle. "Of course. OF COURSE! You were a team of six!! No wonder the three of you felt incomplete! We were missing key players on the board!"
He turned back to the minion who was waiting at the tent's entrance. "You! Gather the boys!! We're heading back to fetch the rest of them. We'll take the back route. Let's hope Bob doesn't lose his head by killing them off yet."
About an hour earlier
As much as he could remember, Keldeo had never really been fond of cities. With a few exceptions such as a city within a forest that he vaguely recalled, he wasn't fond of the crowded streets and buildings made of stone, bricks and metal. It all felt too dull and colourless. It didn't help that he felt surrounded by electricity. Which was why when the train entered the gates of the city, Keldeo was awestruck by its design, structure and location at the top of a mountain. Its pillaring towers that spiralled with colours and its marble white walls and pavements filled him with childlike wonder as he marvelled at its majesty.
Such is a shame that he couldn't stay long enough to continue sightseeing. As soon as the train arrived at the station, the party immediately bolted out of the carriage, threw their tickets to the booth and poured out into the streets of Canterlot proper.
"I don't like to do this," called out Starlight to the students and the Pokemon as they ran across the streets, "and I don't like the plan that the Tree of Harmony put together, but I know better than to contradict the literal guiding force of the Element Bearers and somepony still needs to give the Princess and the guards the rundown, so how much can I trust you all to follow the plan?"
"You can count on us, Headmare!" Ocellus replied while she panted, "We'll make for the caverns below the castle once we reach the gates."
"Is Starlight sure guards will let friends pass into castle gates?" asked Yona.
"They ought to," Starlight levitated the badge she used earlier for the train, "this is our ticket in."
Keldeo hadn't said a word since what the others called the spirit of the Tree of Harmony appeared before them with a proposed plan to rescue their friends. While the being clearly beared no-will to them, something about her (or it) rubbed him the wrong way; as though it knew of him.
"As for you, my little Pokemon, your role in this plan is to protect them at all cost. They are my chosen inheritors of my gifts. Prove yourself worthy and I may yet offer you your just reward."
What did she mean by that? And how did she know of me?
His thoughts went on like this for some time. For some reason, he realised that his memories were a mix of remembrance and forgetfulness at the same time. He knew things such as what he was, where he was from, and what he could do as easily as breathing. But critical details and the inner workings of knowledge were a bit beyond him. Not to mention forgetting anyone he personally knew from his world. Yet this "Spirit of Harmony" seemed to know more about him which only begged the question of how did it know? Even as they entered through the castle gates did Keldeo wonder about this, not realising how much time had passed untilbefore Smolder finally shook him from his pondering.
"Yo, Keldeo! Quit your daydreaming and hurry it up! Some of the guards are pointing us to the cave."
Wow, I really can let time pass when I'm thinking, Keldeo thought sheepishly. Gah! No time for this! I've got to focus on the problem at hand!
Shaking himself from his thoughts, he joined with the rest of them into the caverns.
Before the group entered, Starlight assigned a yellow pegasus guard to guide them into the caverns. He looked at the group with peculiar interest and asked, "So what exactly do you four want with the Crystal Caverns of Canterlot? I mean, I understand it's an emergency as Ms Glimmer put it, but what exactly is the nature of this emergency?"
"A bunch of ponies and other creatures who were abducted are being held against their will and are slaving away by wolf-looking Diamond Dogs underneath the crystal caverns." Smolder promptly replied as though she were just discussing the weather.
"Ah," the guard nodded in understanding, "the usual Ponyville weekly menace or National level threat?"
"The latter," came the reply from the three students.
"Oh, right," the guard acknowledged as he hastened his pace, "Let's pick it up, double time! Not a moment to lose, right?"
Keldeo gave them a look of surprise. "Wait, do these kinds of things often happen?" he asked, clearly puzzled, "I was under the impression that this world was peaceful."
The pegasus turned to him with a smirk, "Judging from your reaction I take it you're from out of town?"
"Something like that," replied Keldeo.
The guard gave a chuckle, "Say no more then. Yes, Equestria is peaceful but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its problems popping up from time to time. Hay, I took part in taking down several major threats in the past; a few of them quite recently."
Smolder rolled her eyes, "We know all about your achievements Mr "I-beat-Dragon-Lord-Torch-and-his buddies-before." Old Rockhoof told us that story like a hundred times."
"Oh, right," the pegasus winced before nodding his head apologetically, "I keep forgetting how much things have changed since the old days."
Smolder shrugged, "Nah, don't sweat it. I know what dragons did in the past. No need to walk on eggs about it."
The guard smiled at that before returning to Keldeo, "So new guy? You're pretty tall for a pony, let alone a unicorn. Where are you from, the newly discovered Forest Kingdom of the Fey Ponies?"
Keldeo shook his head, "Ah no. I'm not from this world. I'm not even a pony."
The pegasus' eyes widened with surprise. "Huh, a planeswalker? I haven't met one since teaming up with Starswirl. Oh, by the way," he gave Keldeo a salute, "Flash Magnus, Captain of the Royal Guard."
"Keldeo," he returned Flash's gesture with a nod.
"Hey guys," Ocellus called out in a loud whisper, "I hear a noise up ahead."
Stopping on their tracks, the party listened. Voices. Ahead of the curve in the tunnel. Quietly they crept towards the source of the noise, leading them to a lit open chamber. In there stood eight of the dogs, standing post or lounging by a chessboard.
"Hah, mate. I win again."
"Oh come on! Best out of seven!"
"Will you gits just shut up? We're supposed to be waiting for the break out and here you are, slacking off on that stupid game!"
"Oh lighten up, Wiley. There's no way those ponies can get past their cell blocks. They'd have to go through a literal gauntlet past the cells into the upper corridors next to the main chamber, then go past three more checkpoints to reach us here. The Boss will make chew toys out of them before we can have our fun."
"Well," Ocellus deadpanned, "that was convenient."
"Yeah," Yona nodded in agreement, "dogs just laid out where friends are."
Flash took a moment to observe the layout of the chamber before returning to the group with a smirk. "Eight of them, five of us. I could take about three or maybe even five of them. How about you guys; how much fighting experience do you have?"
"Not much," replied Ocellus, shaking her head.
"I've been through a few scraps with other dragons before," Smolder pointed a thumb to her chest, "but not with armed creatures."
"Yona smashed things before, but not living things," Yona added.
Keldeo hesitated, "I... I can't really remember much, but I know how to fight. My body is sturdy enough to take a hit from their weapons." He gave the captain a sheepish grin, "And not to brag, but I think I might be strong enough to beat all eight of them without problems."
Flash Magnus raised an eyebrow, "Interesting." He nodded his head in thought before coming to a decision. "Alright kid, let's hope you're as good as you claim. I'll bust in first and take the three near the chess table, you take down the two closest to our entrance. We'll then tag-team on the rest of them one by one. The rest of you will finish off the ones we didn't put out of commission; knock them down and tie them up. We'll leave them for the Royal Guard backup to deal with. Are we clear?"
The students and the Pokemon nodded in approval.
The pegasus held a wing out with three feathers sticking out to count down their assault.
3... 2... 1
Living up to his name, Flash Magnus charged into the room, unveiling a golden kite shield into the fray. Before any of the guards could react he tossed his shield like a discus towards the three dogs by the table, bouncing between their faces and briefly stunning them from the shock. Before they could recover from the attack, Flash punched the dog who was standing above the table on the muzzle with his forehoof, while he bucked the other two who were sitting with his hindlegs sending them across the room and onto the wall. All three of them were knocked out unconscious.
Water Type: Bubblebeam. At the same time, Keldeo jumped into the chamber, landed with his hindlegs and pointed both forelegs towards dogs standing guard by the entrance. Still reeling from the pegasus' sudden assault, they were suddenly peppered with bubbles of water blasted from the Pokemon's forehooves, followed by being knocked prone to the ground by a tackle from Yona and a headbutt from Smolder.
With five of them taken out of commission, two of the remaining dogs drew their swords at the party. The third was about to howl to raise the alarm when she found herself enveloped by Ocellus' silencing spell.
Flying Type: Bounce. Seeing the other guards taken care of, Keldeo leapt towards the remaining guards across the room, landing on one of them and knocking him prone. The other dog with the sword charged forward and swung it down on Keldeo's torso. The blade met its mark but did not sink into the skin. The Pokemon grunted from the pain and glared at his attacker. The dog winced from the glare and noticed Keldeo's right forehoof glowing bright orange.
Fighting Type: Revenge. Keldeo retaliated with an uppercut from his hoof, launching the dog to the ceiling. And with a "CRACK!", the dog was lodged into the crystal ceiling and hung limply above the shocked onlookers.
Wasting no time, Flash dropped the last dog to the floor and pointed the pointy end of his shield to her neck. "How many of you are guarding the other checkpoints?" he snarled intimidatingly.
Ocellus dropped the silencing spell as the dog stared defiantly at the pegasus. "You won't get answers from me, pony," she spat with a sultry smirk, "You're not my type and I ain't a squealer."
Flash stared at her with a bemused look before he turned his head to the students. "Hey, Yona was it?" he called out, "How good are you at crushing things?"
"Waoh, hey now! Let's not be hasty here," the dog protested.
"Well, you better spill quickly," added Smolder as she pointed a thumb at the eager yak, "You've captured some friends of ours and our friend here can't wait to try you out as a new piece of furniture to smash on."
A small blush formed on the dog. "I... don't know how to feel about that proposal." she looked to Yona with fluttering eyes, "Will you be gentle?"
This flustered Yona. "Smolder not mean that smashing type!" she pawed the ground as though she were ready to charge, "And if dog won't answer, Yona show you what kind of smash Smolder means!"
The dog raised her paws in surrender, "Okay, okay! I was just messing with you! Geez! There are always eight of us guarding each checkpoint and two watching over each crossroad! That's all I know, I swear!"
Smolder took a moment to glare at her with narrowed eyes as though she were looking for something before turning back to the rest of them, "She's telling the truth."
"How do you know?" asked Keldeo.
Smolder smirked, "I could smell her wetting herself."
"H-hey! I did not!"
Flash shrugged, "Fair enough. Tie her up and gag her. We'll leave her for the rest of the backup to deal with."
"Well, you're quite the fighter kid. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
A short while after repeatedly going through the two other checkpoints and crossway with similar results, the party finally reached the lower chambers where the prisoners were held. As they continued downwards, Flash Magnus gave Keldeo an appraising glance, still impressed by his numerous abilities.
"To be honest, I don't really know," replied Keldeo sheepishly, "I kind of suffered some sort of amnesia when I came here and a lot of what I do is kind of out of instinct."
"Seriously?" Flash whistles, all the more impressed, "Wow, if that's the case, if you ever think about settling in this world and joining the Royal Guard. Just come and find me and I'll put in a good word for you. The Guard could use experienced and capable ponies like you."
Keldeo smiles appreciatively but shakes his head, "Thanks for the offer, but again I'm not a pony. And besides, I'm already part of a group."
"Oh, you mean these guys?" Flash points to the students, "That's understandable then, I can see the appeal."
"Ah, no actually. I'm part of the... part of the..." Keldeo's pace grinds to a halt as images flashed in his mind.
Three tall figures stood before him and challenged him into battle constantly; each one becoming more difficult to hold out against. The first fought him among ruins and grinned at him mischievously. The second fought him in a forest and smiled at him fondly. The third fought him by a mountain and looked at him proudly. The three then stood together before him. And as they lowered their heads before him, blades of light glowed from each of their heads; all pointing towards him.
"Remember Keldeo," the third and tallest one spoke in such authority, "No matter where you are, no matter how far apart we are from each other, a Sword is never alone. All for one. One for all."
"Keldeo? Keldeo!"
Snapping out from his stupor, Keldeo found himself carried on top of Yona with Ocellus who was trying to shake him awake. "Huh, what happened? What's going on?"
"We should be asking you that," Smolder flew next to him and jabbed a claw into his ribs, "You suddenly stopped in the middle of your tracks and went all pale there for a while."
"A while? How long was I out?"
"About fifteen minutes," replied Ocellus, "Captain Magnus moved on ahead and met up with some guards who apparently escaped from their cells and were breaking out the other cells. They told us where Gallus and Sandbar are held. We're on our way to their cells "
"Look, ahead!" Yona called out to something in front of them.
Ponies. A large group of haggard ponies and other creatures advanced quickly towards them before stopping just a few feet ahead.
"A-are you the other prisoners?" one of them called out.
"No," Yona replied, "Friends here to rescue you!"
"Y-you are?" another called out.
"Yeah, the Royal Guard will be coming here shortly," Smolder added, "In fact, Captain Flash Magnus is just by the other cells trying to free them too."
A cacophony of quiet cheers erupted among the prisoners as they led past them into the next corridor.
Yona stopped a filly to ask, "Excuse Yona, but has little pony seen taller sea-green pony with turtle Cutie Marks?"
The filly nodded, "Yes, he was just behind-"
A commotion was heard at the end of the crowd followed by a scream.
"I'll go on ahead, you guys keep them moving." Keldeo leapt from Yona's back and past the crowd into the chamber where he heard the scream.
"No hard feelings, kid. Boss says that your buddy needs to die regardless. It's all for the Great Game."
Keldeo heard this as he entered. Before him stood one of these diamond dogs he heard so much about, holding a sea-green pony in a headlock while he brandished a dagger by his throat, and a blue cat-bird hybrid he had never seen before inside one of the cages.
The hybrid had the look of horror on him as leapt out of the cage, reaching out a claw to his friend who could only watch him with shared terror.
"SANDBAR NOOOO!!!"
Time froze for the Pokemon as he watched the dog attempt to slit the throat of the pony. The image before him once again shifted to what became increasingly familiar flashbacks into his forgotten memory.
A human girl; the trainer from a previous one he saw, surrounded by Pokemon and other trainers with matching black and white uniforms. The uniformed trainers gave an unheard order but it became clear what it was: Their Pokemon charged towards the trainer, overwhelming her and her Pokemon; cutting, scratching, blasting, and more until she and her team fell to the ground. She struggled to stand until she turned to meet his eyes and gave him a pained smile before passing out.
"HILDA! NOOOOO!!" A voice screamed in his memory that sounded just like his own, before vanishing almost immediately.
Keldeo's vision suddenly went red. Fear, anger, hatred. All suddenly surged into his thoughts and mind. A burning sensation was felt at the base of his horn as an aura surged from it and suddenly extended past the tip in a brilliant blue. Charging into the foe before him, he gave a mighty swing towards their neck. Fighting Type: Sacred Sword.
Keldeo felt his sword hitting its mark and watched the headless form fall limply, revealing mortified expressions from the pony and the hybrid. Realising that they were saved, Keldeo relaxed his expression and extended a hoof.
"Are you okay?"
The pony took his hoof and stood up. "Y-yeah. Th-thanks I guess," he stammered, clearly shaken from what had just happened.
"Gallus! Sandbar!"
Keldeo turned to the room's entrance and saw Ocellus, Yona and Smolder pouring into the chamber, enveloping the two others in the room with hugs.
"Yona, Ocellus, Smolder," the blue hybrid sobbed into their coats, scales and chitin.
"I thought I'd never see you guys again," added the green pony as he joined in the tears of relief.
Ocellus was about to add to that comment when she noticed the headless dog behind the pony. "Sandbar," she gasped, "what happened here? Why is he missing a head?"
Seeing that this Sandbar was still reeling from the shock, Keldeo answered instead, "I did that."
"WHAT?!"
The remaining three looked with horror, disbelief and anger at the Pokemon.
"Y-y-you beheaded him?!" Ocellus all but screamed.
"Yeah dude," added Smolder, who suddenly took a defensive stand, "I mean, I'm all for fighting to save our friends but did you have to decapitate them?"
Puzzled as to why they reacted like that from his action he calmly replied, "He was going to kill the pony. I had no choice."
A pregnant silence hung above them as the students processed his words. Taking a life, no matter how terrible they were, was wrong but he took a life in order to save one of them. From the three who knew the Pokemon and where he's coming from it was hard to come to terms with his logic, especially considering that violence was the norm in his reality. Yet somehow there was logic of what had just taken place; kill or be killed.
Their trails of thought were stamped however as Gallus broke the silence, "Look, I know it hasn't exactly been the best of days today, but we can either sit around and argue over what that unicorn did to save Sandbar while their Boss comes to get us, or we could make our escape now and talk about this later."
Ocellus sighed, "You're right. We should go. But once we're getting out of here, we're going to have a serious discussion over this."
Without further arguments, the students exited the room with Keldeo reluctantly following behind them.
Did... Did I do something wrong?
"Look at all this mess! By the moon, this is a work of art!"
Contrary to most of his minions' reactions of disgust, Big Boss who is barely containing his mirth went giddy with excitement, grinning ear to ear as he surveyed the empty prison chamber with the exception of a body in the middle of the chamber.
"Our miners are escaping, our boys are beaten left right and centre; and what's this?" He pulled up the headless corpse by the shoulder, "Is this dog without a head once our good friend Bob?"
Most of the dogs winced at the sight.
"You know what this means boys: We're not dealing with school kids anymore, we're dealing with a professional." He gasped at the realisation as he grabbed both shoulders of the headless body. "Bob, quick tell us; who did this to you?!"
Big Boss promptly released the corpse as it fell limply to the floor with a splat.
"Oh Bob, you poor poor headless bastard," he lamented as he held up a paw to his forehead, dramatically posing as though to hold back tears. A sneer formed on his muzzle as he growled a low chuckle that increasingly morphed into a maddening cackle.
"I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET THE GENIUS WHO DID THIS TO YOU!" He screeched ecstatically as he practically started skipping over the body, "To match up against a foe who has no qualms about cutting off a head; OUR FIGHT SHALL BE LEGENDARY! A DUEL FOR THE AGES! Tales shall be told of the battle between two butchers; one who fights for evil with standards and another for good at all costs! This will be one of the darkest chapters ever told in the pages of Equestria's history!"
He turned to his minions, his amber eyes wide and glowing brightly and his teeth baring in a smile stretching wide across his muzzle in such a nightmarish grin. And with a ghastly bellow, he cried with a howl that echoed across the caverns.
"The Game is afoot boys! THE HUNT IS OOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!!" |
A Sword In Equestria | Chapter Seven: A Sword's Resolve (Part 1) | Smolder would like to think she had a strong stomach. She had seen plenty of gross things before, but seeing a head come off of a body was something not only new but beyond her willpower to handle. What was really shocking was how Keldeo, who had been so sweet and kind like a combination of Twilight and Fluttershy, was looking at the dead Diamond Dog body with such cold eyes when he did it. Her father had told her how you could tell how dangerous a creature was by looking at their eyes and while Keldeo had power in his eyes, Smolder didn't see him as dangerous due to his friendly demeanour. Even if he was strong enough to smash rocks apart.
Now? She was quite certain he was currently the most dangerous being within the entire cavern system based on what she just saw. Whatever that energy blade thing was, it cut through the Diamond Dog like a hot knife through butter. And Keldeo did it without hesitation. She knew his world was a lot more violent but the fact that he could end a life without any sort of hesitation?
Where do you come from, Keldeo? Smolder thought with a grim worry. What kind of a world has a guy who can smile like you can yet kill with that hunter's look in your eyes?
Once they had a moment to take a break from running, everyone took a moment to collect themselves. Yona and Ocellus were checking up on Gallus and Sandbar, who looked like they were about to have a panic attack. Their mortified expressions made Smolder now wish that she had her claws around the throat of whoever was behind this and...
Cut his head off?
Smolder winced and closed her eyes. She knew things were different in Equestria, and she wouldn't lie and say that she had some of those beliefs over time. However, feeling this anger inside of her made her understand a bit more why Keldeo did what he did.
"Okay, now that we have a moment. What the hay was that?!" Ocellus shouted in both horror and disgust at Keldeo who looked at her with confusion. "You...you... you killed him! Just like that!"
"Well, yes?" Keldeo asked, "He was going to kill your friend. I had to stop him."
"By cutting off his head?!" Ocellus screamed, probably louder than any other creature had heard, "You could have knocked him out?! Or pushed him away?! Or done something, I don't know! But you didn't need to kill him!"
Keldeo was about to say something but paused. One could see the thoughts running through his head, troubled by everyone's reaction to his decision to take a life. Finally he breathed out a sigh, inhaled a deep breath and spoke, "Look, I know you're upset of what I did but I had to choose either him or your friend, and I will not let a villain murder an innocent."
"Did you kill others in your world?" Smolder asked hesitantly, which made Gallus and Sandbar raise their eyes up.
"Wait, he's from another world?" Sandbar asked curiously.
"Yeah, he is. You know that portal we found that he came out of? Yeah, it connected to his world. He's called a... Pokemon was it?" Smolder asked to which Keldeo nodded, "And from what he told us and from the looks of things, fighting is the norm in his world."
"Look, I'm sorry that you saw that, I really am," Keldeo whispered, sighing as he looked almost ashamed, "But like I said before, it was either your friend or him. I could have knocked him out for sure, but considering the situation your friend was in, he would have been dead if I didn't put him out quickly."
"...How many times did friend Keldeo kill?" Yona asked.
"I don't know. I don't remember," Keldeo pondered, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to recall. Shaking his head upon failing to remember his past, he continued, "Look, I don't enjoy fighting... Wait, no. Let me rephrase that. I don't like killing, I take no pleasure in it. I'm not a predator so I don't kill for a meal, neither am I a sadist who kills for sport. At least I think I don't."
"You think you don't?" Gallus asked with a sour expression, "Are you or are you not? I don't like half answers especially for a topic such as this. Either you enjoy it or-"
"I DON'T ENJOY IT!"
The students flinched as the Pokemon raised his voice for the first time.
"I take no pleasure in it, okay? I just... I can't remember what I was before I woke up. Just pieces of what I am and what I am capable of doing. I may not remember but I feel every fibre in my body abhorring the act of murder."
"Then why?"
The students and the Pokemon stopped on their tracks as their eyes turned to Ocellus who's head hung low, hiding her expression.
"Why? No. How?" Ocellus' muttering raised into a snarl of indignation, "How can you say that when you killed him so easily?"
"Whoa, Ocellus, calm down," Smolder raised her claws up, attempting to calm the changeling.
"No, I will not calm down!!" Ocellus cried hysterically, "I cannot calm down! No one sane enough can calm down from what just happened!" She glared at Keldeo, tears trickling from her eyes, "And you! How could you say that while being so calm about taking a life? How could some creature like you cry, love and smile like you have when we first met, and then suddenly burn with such vindictive anger and sudden relief after taking a life?!!"
"Ocellus... What are you-?"
"I felt your emotions!" the changeling stomped a hoof, silencing Keldeo, "After you charged right into the room, I felt rage like I never felt before. Not even from the likes of Queen Chrysalis! And when we found you standing over the headless body, I felt relief. Not fear, not shock, not even the overwhelming anger from before, just relief. Like it was just a job well done!! How can you just talk like life is sacred to you yet kill another sapient being without a second thought?!"
Smolder turned to Keldeo, watching his dumbfounded expression as he struggled to answer Ocellus. To Smolder, it looked as though he had an answer but thought twice before saying it as he lowered his head, unable to look at any of them in the eye.
"He... He killed someone?"
All eyes turned to the gathered escapees in an open chamber, their eyes glued to the Pokemon with suspicion, fear and disgust.
"Did they say he killed somepony?"
"Not a pony. One of those dogs that foalnapped us here."
"Good riddance I'd say! The less of them, the better."
"How can you possibly say that?"
"They tormented, tortured and murdered several of us! They deserve nothing less than to be put down like the dogs they are!"
"That just makes us no different from those villains!"
"Yeah! All life is valued. The fact that this pony took a life without a second thought means he doesn't care!"
"Oh crap," Smolder breathed out. She turned to the rest of her friends and the Pokemon who were now looking unease by the sudden tension in the air.
"H-hey now, let's not get distracted," Gallus stammered, attempting to calm the crowd, "We still need to get out of here."
"I'm not going anywhere with a killer among us," called out one of the prisoners.
"That's right! Villain or not, taking a life should not be tolerated!" yelled out another.
"It makes him no different from the monsters who put us here!" added another.
Keldeo's ears flattened. Did I do wrong?
"Killer!"
Keldeo took a step back. Did I misjudge the situation?
"Monster!"
Keldeo took another step back, his body trembling from the onslaught of insults. Am I a-
"VILLAIN!"
A sharp sting throbbed into Keldeo's chest, causing him to wince. He gritted his teeth, making every attempt to hold back the tears forming within him. He didn't notice Gallus or Sandbar standing between him and the crowd as they attempted to calm them. He didn't notice Yona and Smolder tried to reassure him of what's happening. He didn't notice Ocellus staring at him with a mixture of shock, pain and guilt from what she unloaded onto him.
He felt his heart in his throat as it became harder to swallow or breath. In a desperate attempt not to cry, he shut his eyes close tight. He choked out a sob.
"What is going on here?!"
Flash Magnus accompanied by the freed guards whom Gallus and Sandbar recognised, marched in the middle of the room, silencing the mob. The students took a sigh of relief as he approached them.
"I did not get an answer, ponies," he barked with his drill instructor tone, "What is going on in here?!"
"Captain Magnus," one of the escapees called out and pointed at Keldeo, "that unicorn killed one of the goons who foalnapped us, sir."
The pegasus captain raised an eyebrow. He turned his attention to Keldeo who refused to look up to him. "Is this true?" he asked sternly as he approached the students while maintaining his eyes on the Pokemon.
"Well... Um, that is..." Sandbar stammered as he tried to come up with an explanation.
"That goon tried to kill Sandbar so Keldeo axed him instead," Smolder interjected.
Flash narrowed his eyes at them, studying their expressions; to which Keldeo withered further from his gaze. He closed his eyes and nodded knowingly, "I see."
"Should we arrest him sir?" The guard Coppellion approached their captain.
"Arrest him?!" The pegasus sounded appalled by the question, "For what, saving one of us?!"
"With all due respect, Captain," interjected the other guard, Wake Watcher, "he killed a sapient creature. That is in violation of Equestria's Law of Life: No creature on Equestrian soil is to kill another. It is a crime punishable by Banishment into Tartarus or the Sun or Moon."
Everyone flinched at the mention of Banishment.
Flash Magnus however stood firm. "Last I checked, the Law said murder, not kill. Do you mean to tell me that you would allow a murderer to live as he takes another one's life rather than kill him to save a life?"
The guards' ears flattened. "B-but we are under orders not to kill sir," Coppellion defended.
"Yeah," called out a random pony, "Princess Celestia never killed a single villain, not even Nightmare Moon when she tried to bring the world into eternal night!"
"And just how many of those villains have managed to kill anypony since Nightmare Moon's return?" asked Flash sternly.
No answer came.
"A better question; how many of you managed to hold on your own against said villains?"
Again, no answer.
Flash shook his head, disappointed by what he saw. "Sometimes I think Celestia's centuries of peace weakened our society," he berated, "Back in my day, we struggled, bled and died to preserve our nation from the monsters we no longer see today. Every Warlord and Tyrant from the Draconian Wars to the Unicornian Rebellion. We took lives to protect our fledgling nation of Equestria which was barely a century old. Was it such a long time ago that our sacrifices are forgotten? Since when did the value of all life overrule our duty to protect the innocent?!"
The room fell silent as the pegasus' words echoed the chamber. Several ears flattened and heads lowered, ashamed expressions written on them. Flash turned to Keldeo who was sitting on his haunches, looking up to him. His eyes were damp from holding back tears, yet the pegasus saw a gleam of vindication in those eyes.
Flash Magnus gave him a reassuring smirk before returning to the rest of the gathered group. "Let me make one thing clear to all of you," he continued his berating, "yes, all life is sacred, but sometimes the measures we take are worth the cost if it means protecting the innocent.
"Yes, we must endeavour to pursue the most peaceful option. But sometimes peace is not enough. And when that happens-"
"We must be quick to discern the situation and act on it, Keldeo. Any hesitation can mean the lives of you and your friends."
Keldeo blinked. For a brief moment, Flash Magnus' voice was replaced with a feminine one, along with another image from his forgotten memory. This time it was of a tall quadrupedal Pokemon with a triangular shaped headtop and a green leaf-like coat. She looked at him warmly and ignited a blade from her head.
"Remember this Keldeo; Justice must be swift but balanced. To delay or misjudge can and will cost an innocent life. That is the way of the Sword. That is the way of Justice." The voice echoed into his mind before the vision vanished and Keldeo found himself returned to Captain Magnus as he continued his speech.
"-and The Pillars and I threw down the Necromancer and smote his ruin upon the cliffside."
An awkward silence followed a few sniffles and gawked expressions of awe spread across the room.
"That was awesome," a voice muttered, breaking the silence.
"Ahem, anyway," the pegasus cleared his throat, breaking the tension, "the point is sometimes we can't save everyone, even from themselves. Especially if they know what is coming for them. And when that time comes, any hesitation can mean the lives of you and your friends." He paused for a moment, "Or you can choose it to be their lives."
He turns around to the Pokemon, extending a hoof out. "Keldeo," he said sternly, "on your hooves."
Keldeo complied, grabbing the captain's offered hoof with his own and stood up on all fours. His eyes turned towards the crowd; a mix of guilt and uncertainty were seen clear in their faces. There was something else he saw in their eyes.
Disappointment perhaps? No, disillusionment. Kind of like finding out your hero wasn't who they think they are.
The students and Flash noticed this, but before anyone could say another word an explosion rocked the cavern, causing a portion to cave in right above Ocellus.
Without thinking, Keldeo lept into action as he charged into the changeling, tackling her into the other side of the cave in, cutting them off from the others.
"Ocellus! Keldeo!" cried out the students as the two disappeared from sight.
"Ocellus, are you okay?!"
Smolder began digging through the rubble, desperately praying that she didn't just lose one of her closest friends.
"Speak to me Ocellus!!" she screeched hysterically as she dug madly, tears forming in her eyes.
From the other side, they heard a cough.
"I'm okay. We're okay," came a muffled response, "We managed to dodge the cave in and we aren't injured as far as we know. What about your side?"
The students sighed in relief.
"We're fine here," replied Sandbar, "Luckily, nopony got caught in the cave in, but by the looks of it I think we just lost our direct exit."
All eyes turned to the exit tunnel that also collapsed from the explosion.
"Which means we are also cut off from our reinforcements," Flash Magnus huffed disappointedly.
"What about this way?" Yona pointed to another passage.
"That leads directly to the main cavern," Sandbar shuddered, "We might be able to find an exit there, but-"
"But it will lead us directly to Big Boss and his goons," Gallus finished, letting out a sigh.
A chilled atmosphere permeated across the crowd. Many shuddered in horror at the implication.
One of the ponies screams hysterically as she attempts to dig towards the blocked exit, "Noooo!! I won't do it! I'd rather die than take my chances with that monster!"
"Ma'am, stop it! You'll risk another cave in!" a fellow prisoner who happened to be a Diamond Dog tried to grab her from the blocked entrance.
"Let go of me! I can't go anywhere near that freak again!!"
A few from the crowd along with the freed Royal Guards managed to restrain the mare. After coaxing the mare to calm down, Flash turned to the Diamond Dog.
"Do you think you and your boys can dig your way through?" he asked.
The Diamond Dog shook his head, "No can do. This is a mountain cavern, not an underground cavern. It takes a lot to cause a cave in which means someone rigged it to blow. Without the proper equipment and support beams we might risk a solid chunk of the mountain's foundation to fall on us. And even if we do, there's no telling if there aren't any more of the explosives that brought it down."
"Tartarus," spat out Flash, "Looks like we're going to have to brute force our way out through the main cavern." He made his way towards the cave in separating their group from Ocellus and Keldeo. "Kid, do you think you can teleport to our side?"
"I can't do magic," came Keldeo's muffled reply, "I'm not a pony remember."
Mutterings rang out among the crowd on hearing this.
"Wait, did he say he's not a pony?"
"But he's clearly a unicorn. Didn't he have a horn?"
"No wonder he doesn't think like a pony."
"If he's not a pony, what is he?"
"Doctor, does that mean he's an alien? Which planet do you think he came from?"
"Derpy, not now."
Ignoring the crowd, Flash asked another question, "Ocellus, what about you? Can you teleport?"
"I haven't learned any teleportation spells," came the muffled reply, "but I could try to-"
"Ocellus, wait!" Gallus interrupted, "Don't cast any spells here! This whole place is surrounded with Arcanite; any spell casting will set off a chain reaction."
"Wait, did you say Arcanite?!" Flash Magnus gawked.
"Yeah, it's the reason those thugs are here to begin with."
"Excuse me, but what's Arcanite?" asked Keldeo.
"It's a very powerful and dangerous magical crystal, kid," Flash Magnus answered for Gallus, "But that's not important right now. We can't use magic to teleport you out due to nopony here who's experienced enough to cast that spell, and there's the Arcanite around us. Do you think you can find another way out through your side of the tunnels?"
There was a pause.
"I can smell an air flow here," came Keldeo's reply, "There should be a way out if I follow the scent."
"You do that kid," ordered Flash, "See if you can get the rest of the backup if you reach the surface."
"Yes sir! Good luck."
As Keldeo and Ocellus left, Flash and the students turned to the freed prisoners. "Alright, listen up everpony," he started as he attempts to rally the crowd, "I know many of you won't like this, but I need volunteers to join me in storming the main chamber."
While the crowd showed clear signs of hesitation, one talon raised up behind him.
"I will," declared Gallus, "They have a friend of mine that is being held hostage. If I don't show up, their boss will kill her and probably everyone else afterwards."
"Wait, they kept Silver with them?" asked Smolder.
Sandbar answered for Gallus, "Yeah, they did. Kept her as a ransom for Gallus to participate in their Boss' sick game. Apparently, has the hots for him."
"Sandbar, don't make it sound weirder than it is!" Gallus flustered.
"If bad guy has Silverstream with them then Yona volunteers!" declared the Yak, slamming a hoof over her chest.
Smolder snorted out fire. "Count me in."
Sandbar shuddered for a moment, recalling the traumatic meeting with Big Boss. The brief thrill of horror that overwhelmed him suddenly felt washed away as the others rallied together. In its place he felt an urge to follow them.
"Sandbar, are you alright?" asked Gallus.
Taking a deep breath, the earth pony nodded, "Yeah. Let's go save her. We're not leaving a friend behind."
Inspired by the young students' determination and despite most of their fears, several from the crowd joined them.
"Keldeo, can we talk?"
Keldeo stopped on his tracks. The two of them have been traversing across the labyrinth of tunnels for a while now, following the scent of fresh air.
He turned towards Ocellus. "Can't it wait til we're out of these tunnels?" he asked cautiously, "I'm not even sure if we have enough time to-"
The Pokemon stopped when he noticed the changeling's uncertain expression and drew a long sigh in resignation. Normal type move: Foresight. For the second time today his senses sharpened, allowing him a larger range of detail of his surroundings. The scent of outside air smelled sweeter in his nostrils, his eyes could make clear better details of the tunnels despite the dim light and his ears could pick the echoes within the halls.
"I don't sense anything near us or coming towards us," replied Keldeo, "We can talk, but we'll need to keep moving quickly as we do."
Ocellus nodded with an uneasy expression. Her eyes tell of uncertainty, self-doubt, and above all else, guilt. She followed limply behind, albeit in a fast enough pace to keep up with the Pokemon. She tries to start a conversation but ends up with false starts, mostly from clear hesitation.
Noticing this, Keldeo spoke, "You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to Ocellus. You can just wait after-"
"No, this can't wait!" Ocellus interrupted, "I have to do this. I need to do this!" Taking a deep breath to calm herself she finally started, "I'm sorry. About what I said to you earlier, I'm sorry."
The two stopped completely as Keldeo was taken aback from the sudden outburst.
Before he could react however, Ocellus continued, "You were lost, have no memories, and then suddenly thrown into all of this on your first day here. You did what you thought was the most logical thing to do in the given situation. And then I just... I just unloaded on you like that..." Tears welled in her eyes. "I was just so confused how when we first met you, I thought you were this large lost puppy we found and it turned out you weren't a puppy and is more than capable of not only defending himself but also able to really hurt somepony."
"And then when you killed that Dog," Ocellus paused, sniffling a sob, "I thought you were a monster. I know you said you are a monster, but I mean an actual monster. I thought you arbitrarily killed him in cold blood!" She broke into crying, "It kept reminding me of her! It kept reminding me back in those days when we were still stealing love from the ponies! I don't want to see those days in my dreams anymore!"
As she continued to cry, Keldeo just stood there dumbfounded.
What am I supposed to do in this situation? What do I say to that? Do I just hug her or would that be invasive? I mean, she did just say that I pretty much brought out some trauma and... Gah!! Arceus dammit, what do I do here?
"Never let a girl cry Keldeo. For guys like us, it is important to protect everyone's smiles. Especially those fair maidens."
Keldeo blinked. Another memory? His vision flashed to an empty quarry with a large Bovine Pokemon standing before him. It had a black, rounded forehead adorned with two brown, axe-like horns that curve forward. It had a large build and wore an equally large grin that screamed overconfidence but without a shred of arrogance. Judging from the voice he heard, Keldeo assumed it was a male and was made more apparent as it continued with a boisterous bellow.
"Our job as a Sword ain't just about beating up the bad guys kiddo. It's about protecting everyone's hopes and dreams. What lady would not dream of being swept away from her feet by a Knight in Shining Armour? Justice is meaningless if it doesn't protect innocent hope."
Just like before, the image disappeared just as suddenly as it appeared. This again. How and why do they keep appearing in the most convenient timing? It's almost ridiculous. Keldeo shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Focus Keldeo.
He turned to Ocellus who was quietly sobbing now and slowly approached her.
"Ocellus?" he whispered gently to which she briefly looked up before hanging her head low again. Before he realised, he reached a forehoof to her cheek attempting to wipe the tears off her eyes which prompted her to look up in surprise.
"Look, I'm sorry that you had to see what happened. No one should have to have their innocent outlook of the world torn apart like that." He stared directly into her eyes with determination as he continued, "However I am not sorry for what I did. More lives would have been lost if I didn't act quickly. Your friends would have been lost if I hadn't moved quickly. But I promise you... No, I swear to you. By my sword, I will do nothing that is unjust. I will protect the lives and hopes of the innocent with my life; starting with you and your friends."
Ocellus' face flushed a bright crimson. Oh my gosh, did he just swear an oath to me? Get a grip Ocellus, he's an alien; he doesn't know Changeling Courting Rituals. His kind probably swears an oath for everything.
She shook her head from her thoughts before she returned her gaze to the Pokemon, still blushing from earlier, "Can you Pinkie Promise on that? You didn't have to make an oath."
"Oh, you have those here?" Keldeo straightened up and held a hoof over his chest, "Cross my heart, hope to die. Stick a pin missile in my eye." He smiled sheepishly when he saw her reaction, "I take it that you do it differently here?"
Before Ocellus could answer a noise likened to a sharp explosion echoed across the tunnel. "W-What was that?" she stammered.
Keldeo's ears flicked towards the source of the noise. "I don't know," he answered, "but it sounds like trouble. Quick, let's leg it."
Please be alright. Please be alright. Oh sweet Harmony, please be alright.
Silverstream sobbed quietly in a corner of the command tent, partly from the pain but mostly due to recent events. With Big Boss leading a hunt for the remainder of her friends and an explosion triggered not too long ago which collapsed the main tunnel entrance, her hopes of rescue slowly dwindled. She held on to her pendant, continuing her despite prayer.
The bulk of the dogs joined the hunt, leaving half a dozen of them to guard the Central Chamber. Two of which are watching over the FOB tent to which she is trapped in. A few captured ponies were still seen carting mined gems to another tunnel as the remaining guards oversaw their delivery.
"This stinks," she heard one of the goons remark, clearly agitated, "Why am I always left on guard duty while everyone else gets to go on a hunt?"
"It's 'cause you can't stop whinging like a drongo, ya git," replied another.
"I think I have every right to complain, especially since I've done a fine job guarding this lot! No pony ever shirked their job while I'm around, so yeah, I think I'm entitled to join the hunt."
"Hey, have you considered that the reason why you're always on guard duty is 'cause you're good at it?" another added into the conversation.
The first one paused. "Huh, maybe I am." He turned to the enslaved who were pushing the carts and sneered, "You hear that you runts? I guess I'm just good at my job!"
One of them turned to Silverstream and sneered. "Y'know, I don't really get why Big Boss wants her dead, but if she's gonna get chopped up anyway he wouldn't mind if I have my fun with her first." He brandished a shortsword as he lumbered towards her, "I hadn't had a nice trophy to collect since we took this job. One of her wings will do nicely."
Silverstream's blood ran cold as she stared at him with wide-eyed horror. She attempted to escape from her corner but was caught by her mane and was dragged out the tent. She flailed desperately to free herself from his grip but was promptly held down on top of a stone table.
"Now hold still there, Pretty Pink. We wouldn't want me to accidentally cut open an artery, now would we?" she heard him growl behind her ears along with the jeers of his compatriots.
Harmony Spirit, please! You promised me! PLEASE! Silverstream clenched her eyes shut as she screamed, "SAVE ME!"
The guard chuckled, "Nothing short of a miracle can save you now, lassi-"
His line was interrupted as a blue blur impacted his back and shoved him face first into the ground.
The blur stood up, grabbed the guard's shortsword and stood in front of Silverstream. "Then you can call me Divine Intervention."
"GALLUS!"
The griffon looked back to Silverstream's cry of relief and was horrified at what he saw. Her coat was matted with dust, dirt and debris, her cheek had a red smear of blood that looked dry, and there was visible bruising on her claw wrists and arms. He returned his glare at the dogs and snarled, pointing the shortsword towards them, "Don't move! I swear, the next one who even looks at her will get the shaft!"
The dogs burst into a fit of laughter.
"And how are you going to do that, little birdy?," one of them guffawed, "There are only two of you and six of us if you include the drongo you bowled over."
"Just six of you? We'll take those odds."
All turned towards the voice's direction and were silenced. Standing behind Big Boss' goons was a familiar iron and red clad pegasus, a young orange dragon, a sea-green earth pony, a yak, and a large group of ponies and other creatures standing behind them all carrying shovels, pickaxes, and other assortments of tools, all of which are encircling the group. Those without either flared their wings, ignited their horns or pawed the ground in a readied tackle.
"F-F-Flash Magnus?" one of the dogs gawked.
"And company," the pegasus replied, gesturing with his head to the group, "Now if you know what's good for you, you will throw down your weapons peacefully. Unless of course, you want this crowd to pound you into powder, especially considering all the misery you caused them."
The goons promptly obeyed as the ground clattered with their weapons.
A wave of relief flooded Silverstream as she all but tackled Gallus to the ground and sobbed into his shoulders. Never before, in her entire life, had she ever cried as hard as she did in her life. Gallus sighed in relief and held her close as the rest of her friends all came and helped her up before hugging them. "C-C-Can we go home? Please?"
"Y-Yeah, let's go home," Sandbar said as he nuzzled her to giver some comfort.
"Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?" Flash Magnus asked, stepping forward.
"T-T-T-They were going to kill me...just because he told them..." Silverstream wept as Gallus hugged her again. Many hearts were broken seeing the often happy and excited hippogriff reduce to such a sobbing state.
"Well," Magnus said as he sighed. "Let's get you all out of here, find the others, and get medic-"
BANG!
"GAH!" Flash shouted as a burst of crimson erupted from his shoulder and he went down much to everyone's horror. They scream his name as they try to stop the bleeding, blood coming out of his wound and getting on their fur or feathers. The others all froze as the person leading them all but went down in a single blow that none of them saw.
Big Boss twirled his flintlock pistol and blew on the barrel before smirking.
"Leaving so soon? The fun has just begun. The show's just about to reach its climax." |
A Sword In Equestria | Chapter Eight: A Sword's Resolve (Part 2) | "Huhuhuhu, I had high expectations for you boy and not only did you not disappoint those expectations, you've exceeded them."
A chill ran through the spines of all within the main chamber as Big Boss entered with his goons, reloading his flintlock pistol as he did. His eyes gleamed at the crowd of freed slaves and their improvised weapons and grinned.
"Look at you all; so full of hope, so full of determination, so full of that will to live," he spoke with high praise before shaking his head in disappointment, "Yet still so innocent. You all chose to arm yourselves with picks and shovels, all while ignoring the many weapons I scattered around the tunnels. I must say, I'm both disappointed and impressed."
The crowd withered at that, some were shaking uncontrollably from sheer terror.
"As for you boy," he pointed to Gallus, "you've done well leading this ragtag resistance to my command centre with no casualties on your side. You've also not only managed to call the rest of your team with you and coordinate your attempted escape with my hostage, of which I'm still trying to figure out how you did that by the way, but you also managed to draw first blood by killing one of my boys." His grin grew maniacally wider as he continued, "As I suspected; you're a natural born leader. ...Just like your grandfather."
Gallus narrowed his eyes as he pointed his acquired shortsword at Big Boss, "What the hay are you on about? You don't know anything about me, otherwise you wouldn't miss the little detail of me being an orphan! I didn't lead anyone." He pointed a claw to his friends, "We worked together, and together we will stand against you. And on another note, you broke your word that you wouldn't harm them!"
Big Boss facepalms, "Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot about that; news travels slow here. In fact, I was actually on my way to tell him to spare your friend when I found out you were a team of six." He offered a shrug, "But to be fair, you did chop his head off before I had the chance to, sooooo we're even."
"That wasn't any of us, you maniac!" Sandbar snarled.
Big Boss arched an eyebrow, "It wasn't? Well, that's disappointing." He gave a shrug before continuing, "Considering there's only the five of you here means that by process of elimination it was the Changeling who did the deed?" He let out a sigh, "Of course it would be one of those insects who wouldn't hesitate to get their hooves dirty. I just think it's anticlimactic. Which is a bigger shame she isn't among you."
"Wait, Ocellus killed someone?" gasped Silverstream.
Before any of them could correct that presumption, Flash Magnus (despite his injury) coughed out a defiant retort, "K-keep talking, mutt. (Gasp)... Doesn't m-matter if you beat us here... we only need to- (Pant) buy time for the rest of the guard to capture your sorry f-flanks."
Big Boss' head slowly craned towards the pegasus captain, his subdued grin barely containing his elated excitement. "Of course, where are my manners?" he sneered in delight, "Captain Flash Magnus, Hero of Ancient Equestria! Pillar of Courage, Dragons' Bane, Shield of the Righteous, and many more titles! I would have thought to be facing the likes of the Rainbow of Terror, but you? I am not but humbled to be privileged to slay a Legend such as yourself." He offered the injured captain a mock bow.
"You sick son of a-"
"Ah Ah Ah, Captain," Big Boss stopped him with a mocking wag of his fingers, likened to a parent scolding a child, "there are children present. What would they think if their hero of legend suddenly cussed before them? A hero ought to be a symbol for the masses." He gave a chuckle as he continued, "Besides, that line of cussing is hardly an insult to me and my boys, considering who and what we are."
His Dogs joined in his mirth, laughing and chuckling menacingly at the joke. Several of the freed slaves shrank further as the mob of murderers slowly encircled them, several of them cursing themselves for not taking proper weapons to defend themselves. While they outnumbered the mercenaries four-to-one, most of them stood no taller than their torsos, had no experience fighting to save their own lives and held improvised weapons with forehooves whilst their foe stood tall on two legs and were clearly experienced at killing, for sport no less.
Flash Magnus and the students quickly noticed their lightly armed militia rapidly losing morale as they slowly crept back towards the entrance, forming a large gap between them. Some brave few grouped closer to the students and the injured captain, mustering what bravery they could but no less faltering from the escalating disaster. The larger group suddenly halted their withdrawal as one of them screamed when they noticed their only exit was blocked by more of Big Boss' goons. They were now completely surrounded.
"Now then," Big Boss declared, holstering his pistol into his inner coat pocket and drawing his sword, "before the slaughter begins, who will I have the honour of challenging me to a duel?"
"A duel?!" the guard Coppellion who was treating the downed captain's injury shrieked with fury, "Why in bloody Tartarus would you want a duel?! Isn't it enough that you bully us into submission? Why not just kill us now and be done with it?!"
The dog shook his head, "Tut tut tut, you're missing the big picture, my little guardspony. The Hero must face the Villain before the opposing sides clash. It is the way the story must progress. My Story. I have invested far too much to let my endeavour fall before my moment of glory. I have planned for every contingency that not even the Princess herself can out plan my pet project. Any attempt to disrupt my tale will ensure Equestria bleeds for it."
"W-What do you mean?" Silverstream asked.
His grin grew wider, almost resembling a crocodile, "Just picture it; the shock, panic and outrage of Canterlot when they realise my little illegal mining operation, implemented with slave labour. The entirety of the Royal Guard will come rushing in to the rescue and would dispense justice against me and my boys for our villainy. It would be a shame if say the caverns cave-in on itself, burying Equestria's finest along with all those poor innocent souls who slaved away, never to see the light of day again."
A chorus of gasps echoed across the main chamber as the crowd gawked in disbelief at this dog's insane plan.
"Y-you wouldn't dare!" Sandbar sputtered, "That's crazy! Even for you that's crazy! You'd be killing yourself and your dogs with you!"
"On the contrary, my mediocre friend," Big Boss sneered, "If one must make an exit, make it as spectacular as possible. If I can't have the epic tale I've spent months planning for, I will just go for the next best thing; going down with the ship and taking as many innocents with us." He circled the group as he continued, "As for my boys, I think you will find how many of us would gladly die for the Great Game. In fact, I had a harder time trying to find a volunteer to live to tell the tale."
Smolder took a sniff of the air before her eyes widened in horror, "Oh crap, he's serious."
"Of course I am," he pointed his blade at the students, "You have only two choices; you can all struggle here to buy time for the Royal Guard, which will result in burying all of us here, or you can play along with my game."
He raised his arms almost welcomingly, "Take the chance, be a hero! If you strike me down, my boys will surrender. Peacefully, quietly. No tricks. But if I win the duel, I will let the hero live with their chosen few while my boys slaughter the rest of you. A better alternative, don't you agree? The Hero will live to fight another day and I will finally accomplish my story. Win-win."
A heavy silence hung above them. To Gallus however, it was deafening. The adrenaline coursing through his blood pumped so loudly in his ears he could hardly hear himself think.
This guy pulled our legs before, but there's no way he's sane enough to bluff burying us with him. What do we do?
Sweat beads from his crown as he weighed their options. If they attempt to escape, they will die. If they delay for rescue, they will die. If they fight... He looks to his right at the downed Captain Flash Magnus and the two guards continuing to treat him. Behind them were the volunteers putting on a brave face for the rest of the freed captives. He turned to his left at his friends who were present. Fear and anger with hints of resentment were clear on their faces. But Gallus paused in thought to notice everyone's look in their eyes, and never did he think he would see it for the second time this day; finality. A certainty that none of them will come out of this unscathed. Only this time he saw shattered hope into the mix and he saw it among his friends who were present.
It killed him inside. By Galahad, it killed him inside. And the worst part about it all is that he knew they only have one choice for the best chance of survival. They have to fight. They have to win. The question is who will do it? None of the ponies have a chance against him if his method of fighting with two free limbs not touching the ground is anything to go by.
Flash Magnus is down for the count and those two guards won't leave him helpless. Ocellus would've been our best bet but she's not here. Silver is terrified of him so she's out. I've already seen what he could do to Sandbar. Yona might be able to overpower him with brute strength but that might not be a given if he could outmanoeuvre her. As for Smolder, knowing how temperamental she is she could easily lose her cool in the middle of a fight... but she is the better fighter out of all of us.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a cocked flintlock pistol.
"Tick Tock lad," Big Boss gave a low growl, "I haven't got all day so what will it be; all for one or one for all?"
Sneers and chuckles echoed from his boys at the implication of the phrase.
Gallus' heart stopped at the realisation. "He still wants me. That freak still wants me. The sick puke still wants me!" His eyes widened at further realisation. "It doesn't matter who duels him, he'll kill them unless it's any of the five of us, preferably me. Even if Smolder's got the best chance to beat him out of any of us he won't go easy on her. But if it's me..."
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Gallus slowly stepped forward, gripping the acquired shortsword tightly with his talons. "I accept your duel."
His friends and several others gasped.
"Gallus, are you crazy?!" Smolder spoke out for the rest of them, "You don't have a snowball's chance in the Dragon Lands against him!"
Ignoring Smolder's comment he pointed his blade towards the dog. Gritting his teeth and beak he spoke with what mustered bravery he could manage, "We all know what you are after, so let's get this over with. I'd ask that you keep your word but we all know that's just a load of horseapples."
Grinning excitedly, Big Boss uncocked his pistol, holstered it and readied his blade before Gallus, "How very noble of you, not like any griffon I've ever met. But fear not boy, after everything revealed to me today it has become clear that the story demands that you, and by extension your friends must survive. If my earlier suspicion about you is correct then you and your friends are worthy of a greater story in development, more than I could have possibly imagined. It's not everyday one gets to be involved with a leader in the making, or perhaps even... a king."
"W-what are you on about?!" Gallus demanded, clearly confused by Big Boss' antics.
"Oh, right. Spoilers," the dog chimed. He suddenly lunged at Gallus who tried to block his blade with his own. Sparks ignited between their swords as the two sparred.
Gallus barely held his own as he desperately blocked Big Boss' strikes with the shortsword. He was by no means an expert, in fact he never held a weapon in his life before, but for a kid who never fought with a blade before he was doing surprisingly well parrying every blow this villain was throwing at him. Or at least that's what it seems. Gallus may not be a fighter but he's seen enough scraps and brawls in Griffonstone to know when an opponent is holding back on a fight, or for this case...
He's toying with me! He deduced. Every time he found himself open to an attack Big Boss seems to intentionally miss or dismiss it flippantly.
"What's the matter boy? Surely you can put up more of a fight than this," Big Boss goaded, his voice hinting an impatient disappointment, "Show me aggression! Show me ferocity! Show me your inner predator! Strike at me!!"
Gallus winced from each strike he blocked, the vibrations from the struck blades rattled him to the bones. Suddenly, in a moment of either dumb luck or pure instinct as he anticipated another strike, Gallus swung his shortsword upwards which missed his intended target that was his opponent's sword and instead slashed his right arm.
Big Boss flinched backwards, more surprised than in pain. He looked at his injury likened to checking the time from a watch. The cut sliced a small portion of his sleeve and narrowly grazed his arm, leaving a papercut sized line of sliced skin, barely dripping with blood.
"Well, well, well," he mused, tracing the cut with one of his paw fingers drawing up the blood, studying it, "So it seems our hero draws first blood. Better write that down for the history books."
Gallus looked appalled, almost sick as he studied the tip of his blade where he cut him. "I-I... I didn't mean to," he stammered.
"Tut-tut-tut, how disappointing," Big Boss tutted, shaking his head, "You're going to have to mean it boy, otherwise you are going to lose your head." He brandished his sword once more, pointing it towards Gallus, "You revealed that the cat has claws, you might as well use it to its fullest extent! I can only last so long holding back against you."
Gallus felt a twinge of anger from his unintended insult that, without thinking he returned his quip with a scoff. "Oh please. If anyone is acting like a cat here, it's you. I never thought a Diamond Dog would toy with their prey."
The room went silent other than a few gasps heard from his goons. Big Boss stood there silently, his ears and eyes twitched visibly. A chill ran through the young griffon's bones as his last sentence finally caught up to him. Oh crap.
The large dog drew a long breath from his nostrils and breathed out. "That was such a cheap shot of an insult," he muttered boredly before baring his fangs and lunging at Gallus, "BUT DAMN, DOES IT WORK!"
"GALLUS!" his friends cried out.
Gallus flinched as he curled defensively, shutting his eyes close as he braced for his end.
Fighting Type: Sacred Sword
The sound of clashing metal and the lack of an incoming injury prompted Gallus to open his eyes and look up. Before him stood that large unicorn looking creature from earlier, his horn ignited to a large sword that glowed a brilliant blue, blocking the blow meant for him.
Feeling his legs give out, Gallus fell on his haunches as he gawked awestruck at the sight. He saw the beheading of the guard in the holding cells, but to see such power this close left him wordless. A sentiment every creature within the cavern shared if the silence was anything to go by.
"Hey," the creature said with a smirk, breaking the silence, "sorry for the delay. I hope we weren't too late."
For a Pokemon with amnesia Keldeo had to admit that he's been getting a lot of Deja Vu lately. Flashing memories are one thing, but noticing a similar sight when he rescued that earth pony from certain death to this griffon with the same predicament makes him wonder if this will become a pattern, along with many things he's been experiencing since he awoke from the hospital.
His pondering was interrupted when Ocellus entered the scene. "Guys, are you alright?! We came as soon as we heard an explosio-"
As soon as the teal changeling appeared behind Keldeo, Ocellus was tackled into a hug from Smolder, then Gallus, and promptly the rest of her friends.
Not a word was spoken between them. Ocellus was too overwhelmed by an influx of fear and relief from her friends that she was barely holding back her own emotions. Silverstream was sobbing profusely, Gallus was trembling violently from hyperventilating, Smolder clutched to Ocellus tightly, trying to hold back her own tears, and Sandbar and Yona encircled the group in a combined hug.
"Oi, oi, oi. Where from Tartarus did you crawl out of?"
All eyes left the happy reunion to the villain of the scene.
Big Boss snarled menacingly at Keldeo, his mouth drooling from fury and his eyes flared in hatred. "Answer me, you last minute insert! Who do you think you are, ruining my story?!"
The Pokemon narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Me? I guess you can call me your editor," he quipped before his face shifted to a scowl, "and I'm here to tell you that your story's been cancelled."
Big Boss went livid. "No. No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOO!!!" he bellowed like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum, swinging his sword wildly at nothing as he kicked rocks, crates and unlucky bystanders who were in his way. "THIS ISN'T HOW THE STORY SHOULD BE! It was supposed to be the rising of Helpless Heroes! Not some Nobody appearing out of Nowhere! That's the kind that losers would pull out from their rear ends for their half-baked, amateur fanfiction!"
"Pot, meet kettle," muttered Smolder.
"You're ruining everything I was building up to!" he all but screamed at Keldeo, who for the most part remained unfazed from his rant, "It was supposed to be an epic battle between Good and Evil, the Flea and the Titan, the Prodigy and the Experienced! Who do you think you are, you wannabe guard of a unicorn?! My masterpiece is ruined! RUINED! I will have you skewed for this crime against art!"
"Not my problem you uninspired third-rate hack," retorted Keldeo, "Seriously, after getting to know your synopsis I can't think of anything more cringe than your Edgeboy fantasy. I've seen more originality from an amateur Smeargle's counterfeit art for Arceus' sake." Not that I could remember any.
"Cr-cringe?! H-how... HOW DARE YOU!" Big Boss roared, his limbs trembling in wrathful fury, "What would an oversized unicorn foal such as yourself know about the art of mythical masterpieces?!"
Keldeo scoffed with a one note laugh, "First off, I am no unicorn. Second, I am probably older than your mother. (At least I think I am.) And thirdly, I am what you call a Legendary creature where I'm from, so don't insult me by insinuating that I can't tell the difference between a good story and a crappy one. And believe me, yours is full of crap. So much so that I don't think even a Muk would touch it."
The cavern went silent other than the collective gasps from the murderous mercenaries. While it lasted a few seconds, it felt longer and heavier than it should have. A low growling chuckle followed, contorting into a hideous laughter, and ended with a maniacal cackle.
"I can't decide which slanderous insult I should be more offended by," he sighed from his malicious mirth. "Wait, I stand corrected," he perks up as he points his blade towards Keldeo, "Scorn my person if you wish but no creature blasphemes my Great Game!"
Keldeo readies his horn with a smirk, "Then why don't you have at me and defend your stupid story from my slander?"
Big Boss was astonished to silence, surprising himself and even the crowd. He could not recall the last time anyone spoke out against him without hiding behind fortresses and ragtag militia, much less matching his literary tongue. He could not remember the last time anyone stood firm before him in defiance, confidence without arrogance, fatalism or false courage. He could not remember the last time he felt a chill in his bones as he stared into the pseudo-unicorn's eyes. Eyes that scream bloodlust. Tempered bloodlust perhaps, but bloodlust nonetheless.
Big Boss' face split with his murderous, ecstatic grin. "Oh my, what great eyes you have there," he spoke softly, barely containing his elation, "They scream a killer's instinct. All the better to see your enemies crushed before you, aren't they?" Then a thought occurred to him, "Tell me stranger, you wouldn't happen to be the artist who beheaded one of my boys, would you?"
Keldeo flinched for a moment before steeling himself. "Yeah, that was me. And your fine fellow tried to kill one of the ponies, so I cut him short before he could finish the job."
Big Boss' impossibly wide grin grew even wider as he bellowed another maddened laughter. "This tale is going to be better than I planned for! Warrior! Poet! Legend! I could ask for nothing less from a kindred killer! May I be so curious as to ask who you are?"
Keldeo scowled, but before he could say anything another flashback came to him. A figure. The figure. The tallest among the three he had glimpsed before in his visions. This time he saw it more clearly. He (Keldeo assumed it was male due to the voice he heard before) had a stag-like form, an aqua blue coat and jagged yellow horns similar in shape to thunderbolts. He stood steadfast before Keldeo, his gaze cold like steel. No. His presence was steel. Immovable, tempered, resolute.
"Keldeo," the Pokemon spoke with a cold but firm tone, no different from his imposing presence, "To master your sword, you must be resolute. You have learned to be decisive. You have given hope to the innocent. Now you must learn to be unwavering in your convictions. Justice is Truth. Truth is Absolute. And so when Absolute you must become incorruptible, less you become a force of destruction. That is the way of our Order. That is what it means to be A Sword of Justice."
As a vision faded Keldeo almost fell from the new sensation he felt within him. A roaring fire, one that felt exhilarating and very familiar. The sensation ached from his horn to his very core, and he felt untouchable. He felt resolute.
He steadied himself and hardened his gaze towards the villain before him. "I'm going to have to disappoint you there because we are nothing alike. You kill for pleasure, I fight to defend. You speak with malice, I talk for understanding. You desire to become a symbol of terror?"
A burst of blue light emanated from Keldeo as his form shifted. His dark blue protrusions from the sides of his mane shortened as most of it shifted to his horn, encasing and lengthening it. Above his mane appeared three feathers coloured blue, green and orange. As the light surrounding his body faded, his horn glowed ever brighter, resembling a burning blade.
Fighting Type: Secret Sword
"I am the Legendary Pokemon, Keldeo! My actions are swift and decisive! My strength is a shield of hope for the innocent! My form is resolute as is my conviction! FOR I AM A SWORD OF JUSTICE!"
While the rest of the crowds were awed by the sight and presence of this self-proclaimed legend, Big Boss smiled gleefully like a foal at Hearthswarming.
Brandishing his blade once more, he answered his challenge, "Very well, Sword of Justice. Let us test that resolve!" |
A Sword In Equestria | Chapter Nine: Fairness of the Blade (Part 1) | Sandbar was amazed by the incredible sight in front of him. Despite the day's trauma, which would undoubtedly leave a lasting mark, everything was forgotten as he gazed upon a scene reminiscent of Princess Twilight Sparkle's ascension and her battle with Tirek, albeit on a smaller scale but just as thrilling.
Keldeo. This unicorn... No, this self-proclaimed legend faced the monstrous figure that haunted him, and suddenly, he was engulfed in a dazzling light, transforming into what could only be described as an embodiment of vengeance. For Sandbar, it was like witnessing one of the Power Ponies come to life.
After his inspiring transformation, what followed lifted his spirits to new heights, as well as those of every enslaved creature who witnessed it.
"... I AM A SWORD OF JUSTICE!" he heard Keldeo declare. So struck with awe was he that he didn't hear Big Boss' retort.
The battle began.
The two lunged at each other aggressively, their blades clashing and sparking on impact. They both jumped back five feet, surprised at the force of their initial clash. Circling each other, they carefully studied their opponent's weapons, while the onlookers backed away to give them space for their duel.
"You seem surprised, boy," Big Boss said as he kept circling. "You look like you were expecting more from our first bout."
Keldeo snorted, "Yeah. I'll admit, you caught me off guard there. I thought I could cut that sword of yours in half. I'm going to take a hard guess that that isn't steel, is it?"
"Big Boss chuckled, "Hah! Good guess. An artist like me wouldn't settle for cheap iron." He waved his sword, revealing the shimmering gleam of the blade. "No, what I have here is mithril; pure silver. Light as a feather but hard as dragon scale. Not even the alicorn of the sun can break it without considerable effort. It will take more than your magical blade from your horn to even make a dent in it!"
Keldeo leaped forward with a swift thrust of his sword, but his opponent skillfully parried the attack. In a swift response, Big Boss countered with a riposte, narrowly missing Keldeo's neck. As Keldeo evaded the strike, he spun his hind legs, aiming for a powerful kick that the villain narrowly avoided by swiftly stepping backwards.
"I must admit," chuckled Big Boss as he regained his composure after narrowly avoiding an attack, "you seem well acquainted with fighting against opponents who walk on two legs."
"Well, what can I say?" Keldeo stood tall and adjusted his posture as he spoke, "Where I come from, many of my opponents fight on two legs. In fact, there are some with four arms, eight legs, six wings, three heads, or no arms, legs, or wings at all." As he stepped forward, Keldeo exchanged three strikes with Big Boss, each one skillfully parried.
The dog looked at him in confusion and said, "I'm sorry, what? What kind of creature doesn't have an arm, leg, or wings?" He attacked twice, but Keldeo managed to avoid and block the strikes.
"Oh, the kind that slithers, the kind that levitates, the kind that swims, and the kind that just rolls with it," the Pokemon replied nonchalantly. Keldeo suddenly stopped in thought, "Although, I still don't know how the Digletts and Dugtrios do it. Whoa-!" Keldeo was shaken from his thoughts as he blocked another swing.
"Rather bold of you to ponder on trivial matters while you're fighting for your life!" Big Boss taunted as he thrust his blade to Keldeo's centre, a tone of irritation leaking out.
Keldeo skipped to his right, deftly dodging the thrust. "Yeah, sorry," he offered a faux apology, his calm tone contrasting the situation, "I kinda lost most of my memories so I'm still sorting myself out."
Big Boss raised an eyebrow as he deftly blocked a slash from Keldeo. "You appear surprisingly composed given the circumstances," he observed, slashing a feint that was promptly countered. "I would have thought you'd be a drivelling mess with your situation."
"Oh, it's simple really," said Keldeo, "I'm just following my gut instincts."
Big Boss strode back, dodging a downward cut from Keldeo. "Is it also in your instinct to play with your prey?" he sneered with a grin.
Keldeo stopped, his placid smile forming into a cautious scowl.
"Judging from that reaction I'd say I struck a nerve," Big Boss' grin grew wider, "I know you are holding back your true strength, boy. This little dance we're having speaks otherwise, which means you are either holding back or you had a lucky shot when you chopped off poor Bob's head; and I know for a fact he wouldn't be killed off so easily without some skill or strength."
He advanced, pointing his sword directly at Keldeo. "We are warriors, masters of the art of combat! There's no need to hold back ourselves in this battle."
"Oh, I'm not holding back," a smirk returning on Keldeo's face, "I'm just giving an appropriate response. After all, why play an Ace when a Two will do?"
Big Boss' expression shifted from surprise to amusement as he burst into laughter. "Do you really think you can underestimate me? Big Bad Boss the Butcher? You're either incredibly arrogant or completely clueless if you think you can hold back against me!"
"Not really, I'm just giving you the treatment you deserve," shrugged Keldeo. "Why should I take you seriously when you treat the act of killing like it's an Arceus damned sport? Not to mention treating the lives of others far beneath you as your playthings. Kind of lame, don't you think? A warrior should strive to challenge opponents far stronger than themselves, otherwise, they'll always be third-rate gutless wonders who scream like spoiled brats when the tables turn on them.
"Bottom line is, why should I take you seriously when you yourself aren't taking this seriously?"
Big Boss stood silent for a moment. "Such a pity," he scowled, slowly shaking his head in disappointment, "You are an arrogant and naive fool. I slew monsters the likes of which you've probably never seen before. I've killed an Ursa Major and its pups with my bare fangs. I have trophies of Manticore heads mounted on a wall. I eat Hydras and Krakens for breakfast, literally. I've made omelettes from Dragon eggs after selling their mother's corpse to Scale Hunters! I am as monstrous as I am cruel; a peerless predator who hunts his prey with his own teeth, paws, and sword. I've faced challenges the likes of you soft, weak-willed ponies could never even begin to dream of in your worst nightmares. Underestimate me at your own peril."
The room fell into an eerie silence. Sandbar turned to see Smolder grinding her teeth in baleful outrage, while the rest of his friends shared the same look of dismay, horror, and anger.
The atmosphere was thick with tension, and no one expected what would happen next. A chilling sound cut through the silence - Keldeo's laughter. It sounded forced, humourless, and unnervingly melodic, like a bellowing howl devoid of volume or mirth.
"I'm sorry, pardon me," he sighed dryly, his laughter ending abruptly, "but that has got to be the biggest load of Grimmer Sludge I've ever heard. At least, as far as I could remember. I just couldn't help myself but laugh 'cause it felt like the only appropriate thing to do after hearing that shtick."
"Excuse me?" Big Boss snarled in disbelief.
"No, I don't think I will," retorted Keldeo, his tone suddenly darkened, "You talk too much and boast even more. And I know for a fact two reasons why anyone would brag about something so sick: Either they're bluffing to make themselves look more threatening than they are, or they are just trying to compensate for their insecurities. You don't sound like the former, so I'm guessing you're the latter. Kinda like a tool bragging to his tool friends about their highly exaggerated body count."
Laughter and snickers echoed through the cavern. Even Sandbar couldn't stifle his amusement and let out a single chuckle.
"You are by no stretch of imagination a warrior, let alone an artist. You're just a punk," Keldeo continued as he began to circle him once more, "And just to bring home the point, allow me to let you in on two things: First, a warrior doesn't brag of his skills and achievements to his enemy. He simply shows what he's capable of by beating the snot out of them.
"Second, I really wasn't underestimating you. I was probing how you fight; your techniques, your stances, your habits. And I have to say, I'm not impressed. Heck, I bet something small like a Pichu could even beat you easily. So yeah, it's hard for me to take somebody like you seriously."
He paused to observe Big Boss, who was almost snarling with rage.
Normal Type: Leer. Big Boss' fury dissipated in an instant as he locked eyes with Keldeo, feeling the intensity of its gaze. His demeanour stance softened into a more guarded posture almost involuntarily.
"That said, now that I know just how much of a blood-hungry freak you are... I suppose I could humour you."
The air suddenly turned cold as everyone felt a shiver from that statement. The non-pony creature's tone was like ice as he took one step forward, droplets of water suddenly forming around him from the moisture of the cold cave, levitating around him. Water Type: Chilling Water
Sandbar's jaws dropped. As did his friends. As did the prisoners. As did Big Boss' boys. As did Big Boss himself.
"You have three minutes to last against my attacks. Try not to disappoint me," he said as he drizzled his foe with the freezing droplets of water, and charged.
The day has certainly been full of surprises for Big Boss. The monotony of abducting slaves, tormenting said slaves, and shipping the goods for months has been torturously boring for a storyteller such as himself. For months he has been goading those pathetic ponies and other creatures unlucky enough to be caught in their raids to take up arms and offer a challenge. This day, however, for better or for worse has somehow both ruined and fulfilled his desire for his tale of woe.
Before, he was betting on an uprising led by a champion of the masses. He thought he found a promising hero from the young griffon, but alas he was but a member of six. To add to that matter, his planned tale of the uprising ended up being scrapped after hearing about a rescue team and causing such a ruckus. Then he found Bob headless and presumed it was one of the six who did him in and was all for a showdown. Alas, too excited he was that he had forgotten the change of plot and demanded a duel instead of a spectacular exit. This nearsightedness nearly cost him his Great Game as he was this close to ending his hero to his villainy.
And to top that all off, once again his story has to make drastic changes as this so-called "Legend" disrupts his Epic Tale. Admittedly, however, he saw in him the perfect protagonist for his story. He had all the skills, all the wit, all the makings of a Hero right down to his infuriating attitude.
In truth, he didn't mind the slander coming out of this unicorn's mouth. If anything, he was grateful for an opponent to match his wit. One he was willing to play along. It is all for dramatic flair, he thought. He didn't mind being toyed with. After all, it is natural for the strong to put down the weak, and he could tell that this so-called Pokemon, Keldeo was strong, possibly even stronger than himself. It is all for suspense, he thought. And he most certainly didn't mind dying for the sake of his story. After all, an artist is only ever known after they pass away, dying for what they do best. It is all for the Great Game, he thought.
At least that's what he thought before his pride was called into question. He was a warrior; a brute. A cold-blooded killer! And this creature dared reduce him to a schoolyard bully?! Oh, he would rue the day he belittled the name of Big Boss, he thought. And he would have if it weren't for the sheer power and brute strength this unicorn was dishing out.
Fighting Type: Secret Sword
Big Boss sprang from his position, narrowly evading Keldeo's charge. The fiery blade of the Pokemon's horn barely grazed the dog's feathered hat as he ducked and rolled with agility. Seizing the opportunity, he tried to counterattack Keldeo's exposed back but had to swiftly dodge a kick from its hind legs.
Fighting Type: Double Kick
Keldeo's buck smashed into a thick crystalline stalactite, shattering it to pieces with a loud crash. "Did he just break that crystal like it was nothing?" he thought, "I know a pony's buck isn't something to sneeze at, but even a muscle-headed earth pony would be hard-pressed to break those things without at least-"
Normal Type: Cut
His mind was abruptly pulled away from his surroundings as he swiftly dodged another attack from Keldeo's razor-sharp horn. This time, however, the force of the blow sheared off the delicate feathers adorning his hat, scattering them like snowflakes in the wind.
Water Type: Bubblebeam
Big Boss barely had time to catch his breath before he was bombarded with heavy bubbles of water, bursting out of the unicorn's forehoof like a liquid shotgun. The situation was getting more absurd by the second.
"Oi, oi, oi! How in bloody Tartarus could you cast that kind of spell here?" panted the belligerent villain as he staggered up, drenched and in pain from the last attack, "Hydromancy through one's hooves is bizarre enough, but within this mountain's caverns are walls and veins of Arcanite. You ought to be driven mad from magical overload or at the very least suffer manaburns from magical feedback!"
"Lesson One: Don't let the enemy know your strengths if you can help it," said Keldeo almost mockingly as he straightened his stance, "But to humour you, let's just say that... 'I don't use magic.'"
"You lie!" Big Boss lunged at Keldeo, swinging his sword vertically downwards to the Pokemon's centre. He screamed as his opponent parried his blow effortlessly, "No power other than magic could such a feat be done!"
"Yet how else can I do this?" Normal Type: Double Team. Clones, or more accurately, copies of Keldeo suddenly appeared surrounding the two of them.
Big Boss was left speechless as his jaw dropped in awed shock. Before he could even process the sight before him, an army of duplicates propelled towards him at an alarming speed, propelled by jets of water from their hind legs.
Water Type: Aqua Jet
Big Boss found himself mentally preparing for several potential blows, but before he could react, he was caught off guard by quick and precise tackles from unexpected angles, further disorienting him.
He's making a fool out of me! He isn't just a brute, he's fast as a Pegasus too?! Panic began to settle in as he processed how to counter this unicorn. Then he noticed that the copies attacked and moved as one, and an idea came to mind.
Water Type: Aqua Jet
Keldeo and his shadow copies charged once more to tackle Big Boss, only to be suddenly grappled by his mane at the moment of impact.
"Got you," he sneered and to everyone's horror, Big Boss drew out his pistol and pressed the barrel onto Keldeo's neck. "Choke on this, Legend!"
Gasps and cries of anguish were heard from the helpless onlookers as the pistol fired point-blank at the Pokemon's neck. Immediately afterward, his copies vanished. Big Boss cackled in delight as he released his grip on Keldeo, who stumbled from the shot.
His laughter stopped as he felt something drop from his pistol's barrel and clattered on the stone ground, revealing the dented bullet.
Silence deafened the chamber save for the bullet bouncing carelessly on the floor as all eyes gawked awe-struck at the object. They raised their gaze towards Keldeo who seemed unharmed and unfazed from the shot he took.
"H-h-how? HOW!?" Big Boss screamed hysterically, almost stumbling from disbelief at what he just witnessed, "That shot was strong enough to pierce through dragon scale and hot enough to burn the innards of a hydra! How in Tartarus could you just shrug it off like it was nothing?!"
"Lesson two," declared Keldeo as he brushed off the gunpowder from his coat, "never let the enemy know your weaknesses. But for the sake of everyone's sanity let's just say that I have resistance to anything metal and fire-like attacks, which I think includes your gun and your sword."
"Th-that's... That's impossible!"
"Let's agree to disagree."
No longer maintaining any of his usual bravado or combat experience, Big Boss threw all caution to the wind and charged wildly like an enraged animal, screaming toward his foe. His swings from his sword were just as wild; almost rabid and senseless as he overshot and tumbled in most of his attempts to cut down this infuriating unicorn. Every parry and block fuelled his hatred. Every dodge which resulted in him falling and losing his balance further infuriated him.
He struggled to stay on his feet after narrowly dodging a powerful blow, when suddenly, two words pierced the air, sending a shiver down Big Boss's spine.
"My turn."
Fighting Type: Close Combat
Big Boss suddenly found himself pounded with a barrage of blows as Keldeo stood upright on his hind legs like a biped and proceeded to punch him with his forehooves. Each blow was agony, like a hundred bucks to the face and torso from an earth pony. When the barrage ended he was barely standing as he was covered with bruises on his face, arms, and any visible parts on his torso from his torn-up black coat. His mouth was bleeding from shattered teeth. All the while one thought kept repeating in his mind; This isn't a battle. This is a one-sided slaughter.
"Your move."
He cringed when he heard those words. As much pain as he was in he would not dare to look weak in front of this... abomination. His job was on the line. His pride was on the line. His story... His Great Game, they were all on the line.
With one last act to salvage whatever plans, schemes, and dignity he had left, Big Boss lunged forward, thrusting his blade into Keldeo's chest. He didn't even bother to look up to see if he hit his mark. He felt his sword hit, but it felt shallow, barely even piercing the skin of his coat.
"Lesson three: Know when to quit while you're still ahead."
Fighting Type: Secret Sword
Big Boss felt a sharp sting from his sword-wielding arm and then nothing. He looked up to see his right arm sliced off from the elbow.
He screamed, fell on his knees, and clutched the stump of his lost arm with his remaining paw. He slowly looked up to the Pokemon who loomed ominously like an avatar of vengeance before him.
"Yield." |
Pinkie Pie Sucks A Hundred Dicks | pre | "This is takin' forever!" she said, and drew herself back into the line with a huff.
"Well, it is the middle of summer. Go figure that everypony in town would line up for ice cream."
Applejack tapped her hoof again and glared at Dash, then at nothing in particular as she stared off into the distance.
"D y'all think Pinkie's doin' okay while we're gone?"
Dash nodded.
"I'm sure she's fine. You know Pinkie; she'll probably wanna keep going when she's done."
Applejack sighed.
"I guess you're right. I hope that butterball we left in charge is at least keepin' track of the numbers. Pinkie'll be put out if we don't keep 'em in proper order to show off when she's done."
"Like I said, I'm sure it'll be fine. This line'll start moving faster soon, and we'll probably get back right as she's finishing up the last one."
Truffles had long ago abandoned any pretense of keeping the numbers in order. Stallions had started throwing them over the counter shortly after Pinkie had thrown up, and now many of them were bare-necked as they waited their turn, or simply stepped forward and began slapping their cocks against Pinkie's face as she was being fucked from either end. Several stallions, on their way to exiting before, had caught wind of the commotion and let themselves back inside, and were now alternating turns having their way with Pinkie's cunt as she whimpered and tried to hold back another tide of vomit.
After the first pony had blown his load in Pinkie's pussy, the floodgates had opened. Now every stallion wanted a chance at her tighter hole, and were even more eager to cum inside her, rather than to pull out and aim for her mouth, which was occupied by at least one, sometimes two cocks at once. Pinkie's pussy already felt full--she could feel several ponies worth of jizz sloshing around on the walls of her marehood, and more being added every other minute meant even the amount leaking out wasn't enough to let her expunge her fullness.
Stallions were still lining up for her mouth as well. She could barely keep her head up, but the stallions did that for her. Each one was another entry in a never-ending procession--Pinkie acclimated herself to the gluk noises drawn from her mouth as each waiting cock jammed itself inside her throat and slammed in and out until it was ready to burst. The loads didn't make their way into Pinkie's mouth all of the time anymore--the stallions seemed to have fun cumming wherever there was room; onto her face, her back, adding streaks of white to the pink fur from the back of her neck down to her ass. Sometimes they did come in her mouth, but their sloppy aim and Pinkie's lack of physical facility meant they weren't always on target, and Pinkie got more than a few mouthfuls in her eyes or up her nose. She blinked in vain to clear the burning stickiness from her pupils, and snorted in an attempt to breathe through her nostrils again, but both attempts had no heart behind them--Pinkie's eyes glazed over as the stallions carried on.
She didn't throw up anymore, at least. Her body could barely feel anything, which meant no achy stomach.
One by one, as the stallions finished up, most of them made their way out. Some stayed around for second or third rounds and delivered smaller and smaller loads of jizz into whatever hole of Pinkie's they could find. One or two still had numbers around their necks. Pinkie had given up on counting.
One of the stallions in her mouth (her lips being stretched to fit two at once, as those waiting had become impatient) pulled out as his balls clenched, and aimed his cock at Pinkie's face. Pinkie tried to raise her head to meet him, but he grabbed her hair from behind and pulled her up. The head of his cock twitched right in front of her eye before he fired.
The burst was only centimeters away from Pinkie's pupil, and it stung worse than any of the misfires before as a result.
"Ah..."
Pinkie managed a pitiful murmur of protest as the burning jizz coated her eyeball. She blinked furiously, trying to see properly, but the second and third spurts were on target as well, extra hard, and extra thick, and there was no amount of blinking Pinkie could do to clear them away. Tears streamed from her eyes as a result. Finally, after his fourth shot, the stallion let go of Pinkie's hair, and her head fell back down to her chest as the stallion that had been in her mouth pulled out to ready his own delivery. Her limbs functioned only a result of being locked in place.
As she pulled her head back upwards with one eye open, she tried to smile at the stallion rubbing himself in front of her.
Yes, it hurt. Her body felt like it was falling apart. She'd been bathed in cum, filled with it, emptied, and then filled again wherever there was room. She had almost blacked out once or twice, only snapping back to consciousness from a cock slapped across her face or an extra hard shove as a pony pounding her from behind groaned into her ear and emptied his balls inside her pussy.
But, all that being the case--everypony was enjoying themselves, aside from her.
And that was what mattered, right?
Pinkie Pie coughed as she finished sucking down the last few strands of jizz that the stallion in front of her had offered. At the same time, she felt that telltale twitch, followed this time by a particularly rough slap to her rump, hoof on skin, and then a tiny spasm inside her. She couldn't feel the cum anymore--there was too much of it, and it drooled from her gaping pussy like a fountain.
Or a melting ice-cream cone.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash approached the door of Sugar Cube Corner just as the sun was beginning to set. It burned the clouds a brilliant gold and purple as it fell behind the mountains, and as such posed no threat to the cones both ponies held as they walked to the front step.
"Do you think she's done?" Applejack asked, giving her ice-cream a lick as Rainbow Dash held hers awkwardly with one hoof and she opened the door with the other.
"I dunno. I bet she's done more than a hundred by now, but you know Pinkie--she's got enough energy for more than a hundred colts. I wouldn't be surprised if she's still going at it."
"I guess we'll find out."
Dash pulled the door open with one eye on her cone, staring it down to ensure it stayed in place and made no attempts to tumble to the ground without her supervision.
The second the door swung open, Applejack scrunched her face up like she'd been hit with a wave of hot air at the dump.
"Hoo-ee! Smells like there's a bit of cleanup to do in here." Applejack made her way over the front-step to the reeking smell of sex. The light inside was off, and without the sun overhead to help illuminate the interior, Applejack took a second to adjust her eyes to the change in brightness. She noticed quick enough that the herd of stallions was gone--as well as the pudgy pony she and Dash had left behind the counter.
Applejack's mouth turned down at the side.
The numbers weren't up properly though.
"Pinkie? Are y'all doin' okay? Bet you're pretty plum-tuckered out after all that..."
Applejack trailed off. She scanned the inside of the store, and her mouth fell open. She held her cone at foreleg's reach to the side.
The floor was a mess. Puddles of jizz and other, indistinguishable liquids pooled every other hoofstep. The floor was scuffed, and numbers that had been around necks were scattered haphazardly wherever they had fallen. One of the curtains at the far side of the room had been pulled from the window and was now in a damp-looking heap.
There was one puddle in the center bigger than any of the others, that looked as though every stallion in the room had aimed their jizz-cannon at it more than once. What looked like two inches worth of cum and questionable fluids had collected into a small lake.
And Pinkie was at its center, lying face down.
"Pinkie! Are you okay?" Applejack darted forward with little regard for the cleanliness of her hooves. She stepped through smaller puddles of wetness she didn't dare to look at until she made her way to Pinkie's side. She stood at the edge of the impressively wide pool and debated in her head how best to negotiate the murkiness of its depths until Pinkie Pie pulled herself up, just off the ground. She waved a hoof at Applejack dismissively.
"I'm okay," she said. Her voice sounded far-away. Her hair wasn't as straight as it had been--there were patches of frizz here and there, and other crunchy spots matted with jizz and spit.
"Are you sure? What the hay happened here?"
The soft flutter of wings wafted through the room as Rainbow Dash flapped towards Pinkie's fallen form, making a short detour to rest her ice-cream cone on the counter.
"Ohmigosh, Pinkie, are you alright? What happened?"
"It's fine," Pinkie said, waving her hoof again before letting her foreleg fall back to her side. She didn't bother keeping herself held up, though her head stayed raised slightly, mostly to avoid inhaling any of the pool underneath her. "Everypony just got... a little excited. Nothing... to worry about." Pinkie offered her explanation through long breaths. Her chest rose and fell visibly with each one.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash shared a nervous glance. Obviously, neither of them wanted to be the pony to step into the mess that was underneath Pinkie's body.
But Rainbow Dash had set down her ice-cream already.
With a steel glint in her eyes, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and hovered over top of Pinkie. She extended her forelegs and put them underneath Pinkie's shoulders. She grimaced as the wetness touched her fur immediately, but stayed on target as she pulled Pinkie up. She carried her to the side of the puddle, closer to the counter, and made sure there were no hidden patches of moisture before she set her down, resting her back against the glass of the display cabinet.
Pinkie settled like a limp doll, lolling her head against her chest and sighing.
"Pinkie, you look pretty rough. Should we take you to the nurse or something?"
Pinkie's eyes flickered open, and she raised her head enough to rock it back and forth before letting her chin fall back to her chest.
"No," she said, her eyes looking up at Rainbow Dash. "Really, I'm okay... I just need to rest for a bit."
"Can ya' at least tell us what happened, Pinkie?" Applejack asked.
Pinkie lifted her head for a moment and smiled before letting her neck tilt, and her head flop to the side.
"What happened is... me breaking my record for most ponies happy in a day."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash shared another nervous stare. On the counter, Rainbow Dash's ice cream began to drip, and a small bit of the white now-liquid dribbled down the side of the cone and onto the glass, and trickled downward, right onto Pinkie's head.
Pinkie raised one hoof from the floor in a tiny cheer, then let it fall back. "Woo hoo," she said.
Then she closed her eyes, and fell sideways into the black of unconsciousness. |
Taming the Wild Horse | pre | Ranma hummed lightly to herself as she trotted down the streets. Her head was held high and her wings were partially spread, as if she was preparing to take off at a moment's notice. It was an extension of her martial arts training - or retraining, as it were - to be ready to vault into the air at a moment's notice. It also had the effect of making the pegasus look like she was posing for a painting. Combined with the dress, she was turning the head of nearly every pony in the streets, and few of the stallions tripped or ran into mail boxes while their eyes were locked on her.
As amusing as it was, however, the cursed equine wasn't here to get attention. Not yet, at any rate. Ranma turned sharply into an alley, slipping into the shadows between two multi-story apartments. Creeping close to the wall, yet being mindful of her dress, she moved to the opposite end of the alley and peeked over a dumpster.
The Mayor's house lay across the street immediately outside the alley, surrounded by a high wall. The wall itself was some ten feet high and easily scalable, with webs of ivy clinging to the side and the occasional tree adjacent. She could see large balloons and thin streams of smoke over the top of it, and violin music was barely audible coming from the other side.
Of course, given that a third of all ponies could fly, including Ranma's current body, the wall was entirely inadequate as a barrier on its own. A ring of armored pegasi flew lazy circuits around the backyard of the residence, constantly scanning the surrounding streets for any sign of suspicious activity. Ranma had already confirmed that morning that the unicorns and earth ponies were all standing guard around the house itself, in the front. This area had the fewest number of eyes watching, but there were still too many for her to get through easily without being spotted.
Ranma searched the ground next to the dumpster, and then spotted a glass bottle on the ground next to it. Biting onto the bottle's neck, and silently ruing the fact that she still hadn't mastered holding things with hooves, the martial artist took aim at a pair of pegasi soldiers flying high over the alley. She snapped her head to the side and let go of the makeshift projectile.
She was rewarded with a direct hit on one of the soldiers, striking him in the side of the head. The pegasus wobbled unsteadily from the blow, and his helmet was knocked off and plummeted to the ground.
"Ow! What the hay?!"
"Did somepony just throw garbage at you? Where did that come from?"
The pegasi turned in the air, and they managed to catch a glimpse of bright red vanishing into the shadows of an alley. Grimacing, they flew over the street and swooped in.
"Who the hay throws trash at ponies? Stupid vagrants..."
"Probably just some colt trying to stir up trouble," mumbled the other one, dropping down a little lower to look behind the dumpster. "Let's stick to our patrol. This isn't-"
His partner let out a yelp as a red blur dropped on top of him out of the air, striking him in his unprotected head. A mid-air kick sent the pegasus guard flailing into an apartment wall, and he bounced off and dropped into the dumpster.
Ranma flipped away from the kick, and then dove right on top of the other guard, landing on his back. The stallion started shouting and flapping his wings desperately, but nonetheless hit the ground before he could steady himself.
"Shhhhhh..." Ranma wrapped her forelegs around the other pony's neck, strategically applying pressure. The guard's panicked cries trailed off into wheezing as his air supply was cut off. "Nothing personal, pal. I just need you to take a nap for me."
After a few more seconds, the guard's wings stopped flapping frantically and his struggles ceased. Ranma let go of the other pegasus and stood up from his unconscious body. A toss of her hoof sent the second guard into the dumpster next to his partner, both of them out of sight.
"All clear," she mumbled, taking a moment to smooth out her dress and shake out her mane. Then she poked her head out and looked back and forth down the street.
Seeing that the only ponies around were scattered pedestrians who weren't paying attention, she bolted toward the wall. In a blur of crimson, Ranma leapt up over it and landed in a tree that hung over the barrier. Her landing barely disturbed the tree's branches, and she paused for a moment to listen for any shouts of surprise or calls for security.
Instead, the only sounds to reach her were the soft cacophony of numerous conversations from the yard below, along with the violin music playing from a stage in the corner.
"I'm in."
Ranma dropped down from her tree and quickly brushed herself off with her wings. "Heh. That was easy. I can't believe Trix seriously thought we couldn't get in. Heck, I'll bet she could bluff her way through the front gate without me." She shook her head, smirking.
She still wasn't sure why Trixie had been so shocked at the idea of infiltrating the ball. While Ranma generally considered herself a law-abiding person, she didn't see anything wrong with a crime so petty as slipping into a party uninvited. There must have been a hundred guests here; what was two more? A free dinner was the least she and Trixie deserved after helping save Equestria with just about zero recognition, as far as Ranma was concerned.
As the redhead made her way through the yard, her eyes inevitably strayed toward the buffet table. While she'd never completely get used to a vegetarian diet, the arrangements of fruits, pastries, and roasted vegetable platters on display almost had her salivating. It was quite a departure from the bulk grain and cheap roots that he and Trixie ate out on the road.
The scent of cooked herbs reached her nostrils, and her stomach growled loudly enough for a pair of stallions nearby to be startled out of their conversation. Initially ready to glare and admonish such a breach of decorum, the well-heeled ponies remained silent once they got an eyeful of the feathered beauty trotting past. One of them released a low whistle, and then paused to adjust his monocle.
Ranma's ear twitched, and she stopped in her tracks. With a tilt of her head, she gave the stallion who whistled a sidelong glance, and he broke out into a nervous sweat. Then she turned and walked toward him. The dapper pony was fully expecting to be subjected to a cutting insult or withering glare, but the redheaded beauty regarded him with a syrupy smile instead.
"Excuse me, but do you think you can help me out?" the pegasus asked with a flutter of eyelashes. "This party is for the Mayor, right? I'm new in town, and came in with a friend. Which pony is the Mayor?"
The stallion cleared his throat and took a moment to adjust his bow tie. "Ah, I see! Old Robber Baron is right over there, speaking to Prince Blueblood!" He pointed a hoof across the yard to a gazebo next to the musician's stage.
Ranma looked over the pair, recognizing the blond unicorn Prince immediately. The pony he was talking to was a tan earth pony with a thick, black mustache and top hat.
"I see him. 'Robber Baron,' huh?" She giggled briefly. "So what's his name?"
"That is his name," the stallion replied, looking slightly confused, "Mayor Robber Baron."
"He prefers to go by Mayor Baron," the other stallion clarified, "for obvious reasons."
Ranma fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Right, I'll keep that in mind... thanks!" She winked and stepped past the stallion, brushing her wing along his side and ruffling his suit jacket. He flushed and started stuttering, but Ranma sped up and rapidly moved out of earshot before he could say anything else.
"What the hay is Trixie even doing here?"
Trixie trudged down the street, her gait and pace more appropriate for a pony headed to a dungeon than a fancy party. She looked resplendent in her silvery ball gown, although she didn't stand out quite as much as she had expected. Numerous other ponies around her were also headed to the Mayor's house, all of them dressed in their finest, most decadent attire.
If asked, Trixie would happily compare herself favorably to any one of them, but seeing a crowd of such ponies trotting past just reminded the magician that she hadn't actually been invited to the event she was headed to. She didn't know any of the ponies that she would presumably be mingling with. She didn't possess their status. She wasn't one of them. Why, if she'd tried to enter the party honestly, she'd be tossed out as a vagrant or fraudster! Which weren't completely inaccurate labels, but still.
Bounty hunters were literally beating Trixie's door down half an hour ago and Ranma wants to sneak into the single largest concentration of guards in the entire city just so he can raid the buffet line, Trixie thought, her ears folding down against her head. Is he TRYING to get Trixie run out of literally every town we visit? Because his record speaks for itself.
Down the street lay the Mayor's house, surrounded by a ring of Royal Guards. The earth ponies formed a wall of equine muscle and glittering steel, while a small squad of unicorns cleared people through the blockade after checking their invitations.
The logical thing would be to turn back, obviously. Maybe even pick up her cart and leave town while Ranma stalked about. It was hardly the first time she'd made this mental calculation and reached that same conclusion. But in the end her choice was always the same.
Trixie stepped into line.
Barely two minutes passed while Trixie waited, her eyes darting from one polished steel spear to another. Each time the pony ahead of her stepped forward she felt her stomach flip, knowing she was one step closer to the front. Her normal showmare's wit, which she had used to push frankly ridiculous lies to perfectly competent guards in the past, was drawing a complete blank. Out of all the plans, strategies, and clever sleights Trixie came up with working with Ranma Saotome, she'd never faced a challenge as harrowing as blindly trusting that he knew what he was doing.
The pony ahead of her trotted forward. Trixie, with her head down, started to follow, but nearly ran into a halberd falling in front of her muzzle.
"Just a moment, please," said a gruff voice on her right. "May I see your invitation, Miss?"
Trixie swallowed, raising her gaze to the armored unicorn. A second passed, and then another. The guard's eyebrow slowly lifted, and his expression changed into an impatient frown.
"Trix! You made it!"
It was difficult to describe the heady mix of emotions that filled Trixie's thoughts as Ranma trotted happily up to the checkpoint. Relief, certainly, and a small amount of surprise that the martial artist really had managed to get into the party without creating any apparent ruckus, all with a mild undercurrent of resentment that she had been left in panicked suspense up until then. The unicorn guard was still frowning at the magician, but his expression swiftly blanked once he glanced over at the mare approaching from the front entrance.
Ranma grinned, waving a wing at her traveling companion. "Glad you could make it! The food looks AMAZING! C'mon in!"
The guard stared at Ranma appreciatively for a few seconds, and then glanced back at Trixie. "Uhm, is she... with you, Miss?"
"Yeah. You can let her through," the pegasus said, her grin shrinking to a satisfied smirk.
The other stallions seemed all too happy to comply, and they smiled broadly at the redheaded mare. The halberd that had blocked Trixie's path swung upward, and the unicorn levitating it offered her a bashful, goofy grin.
The unicorn guard accepting the invitations hesitated, his eyes wandering over Ranma's body longer than was strictly professional. "May I see your invitation? I, uh... I don't mean to be difficult, Miss... but I don't recall seeing you come in." He pursed his lips, clearly unhappy about this fact. "I feel like I would have remembered you."
Trixie fully expected Ranma's ruse to fall apart at this point, and was already preparing her smoke bomb spell when the martial artist chuckled.
"I'll bet you say that to all the mares," she taunted, turning and flicking her other wing at the stallion. "Here you go, big guy." An invitation - tucked firmly under her feathers before now - was released to the air, and the guard eagerly caught it in the grip of his magical aura.
His pleased expression turned to confusion, and he squinted at the paper. "Your name is... Frederick Goldwhinny?"
"Sure. Why not." Ranma turned away, winking to Trixie. "Coming, dear?"
And with that, Trixie was inside.
The unicorn didn't dare speak a word until they had passed through the front door and finally escaped the leering gazes of a dozen stallions fixated on Ranma's flank.
"Trixie isn't going to ask how you got in here and got somepony else's invitation," the magician whispered once she was sure they were out of sight of anypony with weapons, "but Trixie wants to know how many ponies got injured in the process."
"No one got 'injured' Trix," Ranma scoffed, rolling her eyes.
Trixie narrowed her eyes. Ranma tried to pretend she wasn't doing that. This standoff lasted a good four seconds before the pegasus backed down.
"Okay, fine, so one pony took a good blow to the head. Light concussion at WORST," she admitted. "Another guard I got in a sleeper hold. Barely a scratch on him, I swear."
"That's it?" Trixie pressed.
"That's it. I swiped the invitation without hurting anybody. Promise." She swept a wing to her chest and nodded solemnly.
Trixie turned away, her gait visibly relaxing. "Trixie has to admit, she's impressed. Everything is going perfectly and it's just so... subtle and non-destructive. At least, by your standards. Trixie doesn't think it's okay to hurt a Royal Guard just so we can sneak into a party, but still."
"Trust me, when you get a load of the spread you'll agree it was worth it!" Ranma assured her, licking her lips.
The pegasus was quite gratified that this actually got a laugh out of the entertainer. "Trixie's quite sure. What's a few torn feathers when there's cake on offer? Ha!"
"By my Aunt, this is DULL."
Coming from most ponies, the whinging disparagement would have been met with a scornful frown or a condescending roll of the eyes. The tiresome complaints of the noble class, bemoaning the banality of constant luxury and freedom from anything resembling hardship, were hard to take seriously even from their peers. Most considered it a matter of basic grace and dignity to at least suffer the trials of jaded boredom without complaint, if for no other reason than a sneaking suspicion that there were much worse problems for a pony to have.
Alas, Prince Blueblood was not most ponies. Mayor Robber Baron winced while the blond stallion drained a goblet of wine with reckless speed, and he considered his next words carefully.
"If you'd rather retire to your estate, Prince, you needn't stay long. I'd just like you to meet each of the ponies I recommend to succeed me as Mayor, and then you can be on your way."
"UGH," the Prince groaned, eliciting an annoyed twitch from the Mayor. "How many more of the sycophants are there?"
"Ah... you've met with two of seven, Prince."
"UGH," Blueblood repeated, magically launching his goblet over the railing of the gazebo and into the bushes. "Bring me some more wine, and then some more of the hoof-lickers. Preferably in that order."
Once again, Mayor Baron restrained a frustrated groan at Blueblood's behavior. Turning to a nearby mareservant, he whispered in her ear for a few seconds. She gave a calm nod and walked off into the loose crowd of guests.
"Honestly though, I'm not especially looking forward to visiting my estate, either," Blueblood confessed with an aggravated snort. "Nothing much to occupy my time there. I thought maybe some rural scenery would be a pleasant change from the gilded extravagance of Canterlot." He sneered. "I was quite mistaken."
Mayor Baron continued to bite his tongue. Nopony considered Fillydelphia "rural," even compared to a vast urban sprawl like Manehattan or the majestic, if cramped, castles of Canterlot. "Pardon my impertinence, Prince, but is something the matter? You've been..." he chose his next words carefully, "unusually agitated since you arrived."
"Oh? Does it show?" The Prince's voice was rich with sarcasm, causing the Mayor to wince again. The mareservant returned swiftly with a pair of wine goblets balancing on a platter on her back, and as soon as they came within range Blueblood took them - both of them - into the grip of his telekinesis.
"I suppose I should apologize for my unseemly humor," Blueblood groused even as he levitated the wine onto the railing next to him. "Canterlot has been positively intolerable as of late."
"I... see, Prince..." Robber Baron wet his lips briefly. "Is there a particular reason why-"
"TREASON, Mayor. Treason, rebellion, anarchy, and all manner of chaos are wreaking Equestria asunder!" Blueblood declared. Then he paused to take a sip of wine, smacking his lips. "Or at least, that's the impression one would get from spending last week in the castle. All of pony society is in an absolute tizzy over this nonsense revolution."
"Nonsense revolution, Prince?"
"Indeed, for it's both!" Blueblood confirmed. "A revolution orchestrated so incompetently that it turned a grand total of three - at MOST four - ponies against the royal order and was apparently quashed during Princess Sparkle's escape attempt. The rebellion was so magnificently inept that it was undone by its one and only victory." He took another sip of wine. "Yet you'd think they've seized half the countryside to speak to any of the ninnies in the Senate! Everywhere I go, every conversation I dare partake, it's Havoc this, sorcerers that, everypony flee, for our guardians have failed and the sky is falling!"
He tilted the goblet into his gullet, gulping down far more of his drink than was advisable. "Pwah! The rumors are the worst of it. Half the imbeciles in Canterlot think General Firebrand is dead and his fate being covered up. The other half seem to think this is some sort of secret coup by Princess Luna, mostly based on the confusion over which of the rebels assaulted her and when. It's all quite ridiculous, and I'm perfectly tired of it all!"
The Prince finished off the first goblet, and then started scanning the other party guests, still fuming silently. The Mayor considered himself quite grateful for his sudden silence, and quietly beckoned an older earth pony mare over to the gazebo.
"Ah, Sundew Chimes! Over here!" he called, deliberately speaking in the Prince's direction more than the mare's. "I want you to meet someone! I believe you may have heard of him!"
The mare was yet another candidate to succeed him as Mayor, and Robber Baron at least was intent on getting on with the political aspect of the ball. While the Mayor chuckled at his own feeble joke, Sundew trotted up to the gazebo and tilted her head respectfully. Prince Blueblood didn't turn to look at her, his gaze fixed on something in the crowd of guests.
"It's an honor to meet you, Prince Bl-"
"I have one question for you, milady, and if you cannot answer me then I would thank you for wasting no more of my time," Blueblood interrupted. His wine goblet hovered next to him in the grip of his magic, rolling about such that the beverage within swirled within the cup.
Sundew Chimes blinked in surprise, but quickly steeled herself. "Of course, my Prince. What is it you wish to know?" She assumed that the Prince would ask a single important or deceptive political question, or perhaps ask about some esoteric nuance of bureaucracy.
"Tell me: who is that luscious, fiery-maned pegasus?" Prince Blueblood demanded, utterly crushing her expectations.
Both of the other politicians gaped briefly before trying to pick out the pony the Prince had spotted. It wasn't hard. Even among the crowd of dazzling colors and elaborate dresses, the blazing crimson of the mare's hair and outfit stood out with ease. Robber Baron could immediately appreciate the Prince's interest, despite the fact that there were more important affairs to see to. Sundew was more interested in the way that the pegasus was ravenously destroying the buffet line.
"What is she DOING? She's not even using a plate!" the mare gasped, scandalized. "Who gobbles up their food right there at the serving table?!"
"Yes, that's my question," Blueblood said evenly. "WHO?"
"I have no idea who that is," Sundew sniffed. "I wouldn't-"
"You may go now," Prince Blueblood interrupted, no longer interested in hearing her speak. "Mayor, do you know that mare?"
Robber Baron gave Sundew a chastened grimace as she quivered in anger. Then the mare departed, turning sharply away and trotting back toward the house. The Mayor felt for her but could do nothing; he couldn't force Blueblood to care about the mayorship any more than he could force his candidates to care about the Prince's irritations back home.
"No, Prince, I don't," Mayor Baron sighed. "I'm sure I'd recall her if I'd seen her before. Even if she hadn't been wearing such an... enticing outfit at the time." His moustache wiggled from side to side. "Now then-"
"If you don't know her, why is she here?" Blueblood interrupted again.
"I don't know every pony that could get into the ball," Robber Baron admitted. "Some of the guests I barely know and only invited out of courtesy. And everypony invited was allowed to bring a guest or two themselves. At a glance, I'd say I couldn't name some tenth of the ponies in the yard right now."
"I see." Blueblood took another gulp a wine, and then sighed happily before setting it on the gazebo railing. "Well then, since you've failed to give such an exquisite citizen sufficient attention, it seems it falls to me." A flash came from his horn, briefly sweeping his magical aura through his mane.
Robber Baron recoiled. "But Prince Blueblood, we still need to-"
"Say no more, Mayor," Blueblood warned as left the gazebo. "I think I'll take you up on your offer to retire early for today. I think I just found something to do at my estate..."
"Thish wash shuch a gooh ideh!" Ranma said around a mouthful of stuffed bell peppers, nearly drooling bits of food onto the edge of the buffet table. With a hefty gulp she swallowed the mass of garlic-roasted veggies, and then bit into a loaf of bread that was sticking out of a basket in the middle of the table.
"Ranma, would you slow the hay down?" Trixie hissed. "Ponies are STARING."
She herself was picking out items with her telekinesis and moving them onto her plate like any decent, civilized pony would. But Ranma wasn't really any of those things, and she seemed to be eager to prove it. The pegasus shifted from one dish to the next, shoving items directly into her mouth. Sometimes she'd slap a hoof against the end of a plate or a serving spoon, sending food arcing up into the air and snapping it up in her jaws on the way down. It was an impressive display, Trixie had to admit, both as a measure of sheer agility and gastronomic capacity. But Ranma had been attracting enough questionable attention even before she'd started devastating the buffet line.
The redheaded pegasus tilted her head up toward the sky with the loaf of bread still in her jaws, and then it rapidly sunk down into her gullet in a series of scarfing noises. A few gasps came from behind the martial artist, but if she noticed she certainly didn't seem to care. Trixie sighed and kept serving herself.
Ranma scanned the tables for her next target even while she licked crumbs from her lips. There was sushi on the far end of the table, and lasagna on the other. While both dishes were presumably vegetarian, and thus a far cry from the meaty human delicacies they mimicked, she'd been quite impressed by the pony cooking on display here.
As she hesitated in indecision, a stray thought wormed its way into her head. Why would aliens have Earth food, anyway? It was a continual oddity that so many things in Equestria perfectly paralleled human civilization, even when it didn't make sense, while other things were different enough to justify his theory that he was on a completely alien world.
They have pasta. They have sushi. Even the food made out of hay is cooked so that it's like other, better food! How did hayburgers even happen if ponies don't eat beef? She turned her gaze to the dessert table. It's the same over here. They have cake. They have pastries. They have chocolate-dipped strawberries.
And then, just like that, her train of thought instantly jumped tracks.
"THEY HAVE CHOCOLATE-DIPPED STRAWBERRIES." Ranma moved liked a pouncing tiger, dashing around and over numerous ponies that were obliviously standing between her and the dessert table. Those ponies recoiled or stumbled in confusion, having little idea what just happened aside from feeling a sudden wind and seeing a crimson blur.
Ranma screeched to a halt before the dessert table, her eyes sparkling in joy and wonder. A large, multi-tiered tower cake stood in the center, with a variety of lesser desserts clustered around it in groups. The martial artist loomed over a plate of chocolate-covered fruits, holding back only enough to keep herself from drooling on the table.
Her head darted forward, snapping up a strawberry in an instant. The ponies watching couldn't help but note the likeness to a bird pecking at seeds.
"Mmmm! They're so good!" Ranma sighed blissfully, her wings spreading of their own volition. "I take back everything bad I ever said about Equestria. Any country that comes up with chocolate on its own can't be all bad." She snapped up another strawberry, and then another.
Then, suddenly, one of the strawberries dodged.
That a chocolate-covered berry would evade her attempts to eat it was strange enough on its own that Ranma stood stunned for several seconds, her eyes pinned on the insolent dessert. Only when it started levitating off the plate, wrapped in a shimmer of light blue, did she figure out just what was happening.
"I see Mayor Baron outdid himself this time." The strawberry floated over Ranma's head as a rich, haughty voice came from behind her. "Both in terms of the desserts and the company."
Ranma turned her head around, her face stony and inscrutable. Prince Blueblood stood behind her, smiling broadly while his eyes roamed her backside. The strawberry floated just above his nose, quivering in the air.
"My name is Prince Blueblood, my dear. But I'm sure you knew that," the stallion said, tilting his head slightly. Then he took a small bite out of the strawberry. "Mmm! Perfect! And yet, I'll bet that you're even sweeter."
He levitated the half-eaten strawberry toward Ranma, who wrinkled her snout at the fruit hovering in front of her.
"Care for a trade? My treat for your name?" Blueblood grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Pass." Ranma turned her head around. There were still other strawberries left, and she promptly snatched up one of them in her jaws.
Blueblood's smile vanished. For several seconds he watched the pegasus eat in silence, and then glanced at the partially-eaten strawberry. Then he shrugged and finished eating it before stepping up alongside the redhead.
"Perhaps I came on a little strong. Would you tell me your name, milady?" Blueblood said, managing to smile this time without leering.
Ranma hovered over a plate of cupcakes uncertainly, her eyes darting between them and a basket of cookies. "The name is Saotome Ranma," she mumbled.
"Saotome... Ranma?" Blueblood arched an eyebrow. "That's quite exotic. Where are you from?"
"I'm from Japan, on Earth." Ranma stepped to the side, putting more distance between her and the unicorn while she observed her choice of confections.
Blueblood followed her without hesitation. "How odd! I've never heard of such a place!"
"I get that a lot," the pegasus mumbled before flipping an apple tart up into the air with her hoof. She tilted her head back to snap up the treat on the way back down.
Much to her mounting frustration, the tart halted in mid-air just inches from her tongue. Blueblood's levitation magic carried the dessert back to the table, and the stallion tsked lightly.
"As impressive as they are, such crude displays are not fit for the public, Miss Saotome," Blueblood chided. "If you'd like, we could continue this conversation in a more... private setting."
"What conversation?" Ranma asked, her voice thick with irritation. "I'm eating."
"But I simply must know more about this strange place called 'Earth,' and it would be so much easier to speak in a proper sitting room. My estate is merely a quick trot up the hill," Blueblood explained, pointing a hoof off to the side. "I have caterers at my beck and call. I can have an identical selection of desserts delivered to us within the hour if you so desire." Then he paused, looking over the cursed mare's flank again. "Although I can only imagine that a pony with your figure is normally more cautious with your sweets."
Ranma finally turned toward the Prince again, her eyes narrowed to slits. "I can only imagine that a pony with your teeth is normally more cautious with annoying people who are just trying to eat."
Blueblood blinked, turning that comment over in his mind. "I'm... not sure that I follow, Miss Saotome."
Ranma moved closer, placing a hoof on Blueblood's chest while their noses were barely an inch apart. This was more or less the arrangement he had been pursuing with his flirting, but for some reason the Prince felt his heart seize up rather than beat faster like it normally did.
"Leave. Me. Alone," Ranma said slowly, her tone perfectly frigid. Blueblood could swear that even the mare's hoof felt cold against his fur, which made no sense at all without some bizarre magical effect.
The stallion was quite offended by such a flat rejection, but managed to keep his composure. Gritting his teeth, Blueblood forced a smile onto his face as he met the redhead's eyes. "You didn't say the magic word," the Prince taunted.
"Leave me alone, or else," Ranma amended. The pressure against Blueblood's chest increased just enough that it started to hurt.
The royal unicorn was stunned, and his jaw fell open at the mare's words. "Are you... Are you THREATENING me?" Blueblood demanded, his suave calm rapidly crumbling before his anger.
"Are you still bugging me?" the martial artist countered. "I'm giving you fair warning, chump. I will absolutely-"
"All right, that's enough! Break it up, you two!"
Blueblood didn't recognize the voice suddenly shouting, and as such he ignored it. Ranma's reaction could not have been more different. To his surprise, the bizarrely aggressive pegasus immediately flinched away, and her ears flipped down in embarrassment. Her resemblance to a chastened filly was so quick and contrasted so harshly with her earlier stubbornness that Blueblood almost started laughing on the spot.
"Seriously, Trixie cannot leave you alone for ONE MINUTE!" growled a blue unicorn in a lovely silver dress while she stomped up to them. "And out of all the ponies here, you pick a fight with the Prince? What the hay is wrong with you?!"
"But Trix-" Ranma began.
"Don't 'but Trix' Trixie!" the magician snapped, raising a hoof and pointing it to the side. "You don't start fights with royalty! Why is this so hard for you to understand? You're lucky we don't have guards dogpiling us agai-erm, already! Go on! Get!"
Ranma dropped her head low and scurried away, biting her lower lip. Prince Blueblood watched the pegasus leave in stunned disbelief. How had the feisty redhead who had so easily brushed him off been humiliated by a brief scolding?
He finally peeled his eyes from Ranma's rear and began scrutinizing the mare who had stepped in. The unicorn was staring after Ranma with an expression of condescending irritation, which was instantly a point in her favor as far as Blueblood was concerned. She was certainly beautiful in her own right, with a rich blue coat and long curled mane that was a mix of silvery cyan hues. She was not as alluring or her body quite as sensual as the redhead, but the Prince found himself instantly intrigued.
"Trixie is very sorry about that," the mare said, heaving a sigh. "Trixie's bodyguard is a little too comfortable with confrontation." She shook her head. "She's not a bad pony at all, but Trixie would advise trying not to get between her and her food. Trixie hopes you'll excuse this offense."
"Uhm..." was about all Blueblood could manage as she bowed her head.
"You must be very busy. Please excuse Trixie, your highness." The blue unicorn turned away.
Prince Blueblood meant to speak up and stop her, but the words just wouldn't come. He found himself strangely cowed while the mare left, suddenly second-guessing himself and wondering what he should say. It was a strange, bizarre feeling, and before he could come to grips with it the mare in the silver dress had disappeared into the crowd.
"... So... wait, was Trixie the redhead? But, I thought her name was... Or was she..." Blueblood mumbled, feeling slightly lightheaded.
"You are UNBELIEVABLE," Trixie hissed, pushing Ranma along to a fairly secluded part of the yard so she could chastise the pegasus in private. "How do you always manage to pick a fight with the most powerful and important pony around in every situation? It's uncanny!"
"It wasn't my fault! He was coming on to me!" Ranma protested.
"So reject him! But don't THREATEN him!" Trixie snapped back. "And no, they are not the same thing!"
"I was rejecting him! And I wasn't really going to hit the guy, either!" the martial artist groaned. "He's just some lazy royal brat, not a soldier! I don't pick on weaklings, Trix."
"You don't need to hit him to have every guard on the property running us down!" Trixie huffed. Then she took a deep breath, calming herself. "The important thing is that Trixie intervened before you added another royal assault and public brawl to your list of charges. This is fine. Everything has actually been going surprisingly smoothly today."
"Why are you so surprised? I told you could trust me!" Ranma said, smirking.
Trixie shot him a look. "Trixie is still skeptical you can last the entire ball without getting in trouble, but honestly you've already exceeded Trixie's expectations. Just... TRY to keep from bothering anypony important, would you?"
"Okay, okay!" Ranma held up a hoof. "I swear I'll be good, Trix. I won't let us get chased out of the city again."
"Good," Trixie said with a cautious smile.
"So I think I should probably give this back to the Prince, then." Ranma lifted her wing, and a small emblem tumbled out onto the grass.
Trixie glanced down, and her eyes went wide. The emblem was a small golden seal with Blueblood's cutie mark printed on it. "Is that the royal seal?" she mumbled to herself, her breath catching.
"Yeah, I guess." Ranma shrugged.
"YOU STOLE THE-" Trixie coughed suddenly in mid-yell, and then lowered her voice considerably. "You stole the Prince's seal? Why? Why would you do that?"
"I didn't steal it! He dropped it!" Ranma said, her eyes suddenly refusing to meet Trixie's. "I was going to give it back to him! Maybe by shoving it in his mouth to stop him from talking. Or something. I hadn't decided."
"You... He... This... rrrrrrgh!" Trixie trembled in fury for a few seconds, and then she deflated. Her ears flipped down, and her horn started to glow. "Never mind. Trixie doesn't care." She levitated the seal up next to her, and then scanned the crowd for Blueblood. "Just stay here, eat all you want, and for Celestia's sake, do NOT HIT OR ROB ANYPONY ELSE. Is Trixie clear?"
"Crystal," Ranma confirmed, bobbing her head.
The magician's gaze lingered on Ranma suspiciously for a few seconds, but she eventually turned away and trotted off. Ranma watched her go, a smirk slowly spreading across her face.
"All according to plan," she whispered, sitting back and tapping the tips of her front hooves together. "Now it's just up to the royal jackass. If he can't seal the deal with an opening this perfect, then he was never good enough for Trix anyway."
After several seconds waiting in silence, Ranma suddenly frowned. "I don't really know what I'm supposed to do now, though. I guess I could spy on them and maybe try to help out, like Trix did for me and Swan, but that seems like a big hassle and I don't really want to see them getting cuddly or anything. I feel like I should just stay out of it from here."
Searching for something to do in the meantime, Ranma looked over the crowd of noble equines. Her gaze, however, eventually fell back on the buffet table, and in particular the section of it dedicated to desserts.
"...... I wonder if I can eat that whole cake."
"Ah, Prince. Back already? I take it you won't be departing early, then."
Mayor Robber Baron tried to keep his voice even, but it was hard not to let his irritation show. For Blueblood this entire event was a tiresome diversion from slightly more tiresome diversions back home. For Baron, the future of his town and his political legacy was at stake in Blueblood making in an informed decision.
The Prince clenched his jaw while he approached the gazebo, his ears pinned to the side of his head. Ordinarily he would have lashed out angrily at Baron for the unnecessary jab, but his heart just wasn't in it right now.
"... No, Mayor Baron. I suppose I won't," Blueblood said tightly, stepping up onto the platform.
"My deepest apologies, Prince," the Mayor drawled. "If you have no other pressing affairs to see to, would you care to meet the rest of the ponies I recommend to be appointed Mayor after my retirement?"
Once again, Blueblood felt his irritation start to simmer, and again it simply fizzled out to nothing. "Fine. Go ahead," he grumbled.
Baron seemed surprised by the Prince's grouchy submission, but he was all too eager to take advantage of the opening. He nodded swiftly and then trotted away.
Blueblood stared up at the gazebo ceiling with a tired sigh. He couldn't really place his sudden sense of melancholy, but it almost certainly had to do with the blue mare that may or may not have saved him from an imminent fight. Her face - lovingly preserved mid-sneer in his mind - kept returning to him, but he pushed the image out of his thoughts. He refused to spend more of his evening dwelling on the matter.
It was hardly beneath Prince Blueblood to sport an interest in a local mare encountered at a party or some royal function. On the contrary, such experiences were so common to him that he treated them as an ordinary luxury of traveling to royal functions, little different from wine or fine food. By the same token, Blueblood didn't get any more attached to a given pony than he did a particular wine bottle. This one hadn't worked out, so he moved on to the next option. Some ponies considered that scandal, but to him it was simple pragmatism.
"... I need a drink," the unicorn stallion mumbled to himself. He was thinking too much, and luckily there was ample remedy for that.
Blueblood turned around to find a mareservant.
He suddenly found himself facing the blue unicorn from before.
Trixie was caught slightly off-guard when Prince Blueblood whirled on her, looking as if he was about to shout something. She recoiled, and Blueblood stuttered incoherently for a few seconds before falling silent in confusion.
She quickly composed herself, ducking her head into a bow. "Prince Blueblood, Trixie is terribly sorry to bother you again. Clearly you've had enough drama for one day, but this matter really couldn't wait. Trixie believes you'll want this back."
At this point Blueblood noticed that Trixie's horn was glowing. His eyes bulged in surprise when his royal seal floated up into the air in front of her.
"My royal seal! What? How? When did-?" He started patting his suit jacket with a hoof, feeling for the familiar press of metal. He kept the seal in an inner pocket precisely so that it would be almost impossible to lose or pickpocket, even with magic. "How did you get that?"
"You... seem to have dropped it," Trixie said, using all of her willpower to keep from rolling her eyes at her own fib.
Blueblood thought that was quite unlikely, but it wasn't much more likely that the unicorn had managed to steal his seal and was now offering it back. After all, the only motive for that was...
"I suppose you'll be wanting a reward for returning this to me," Blueblood said, his eyes narrowing at the mare.
Trixie blinked, looking up at the other unicorn. "What? No, that's not necessary. All Trixie did was pick it up and carry it to you. Here."
To the Prince's astonishment, she levitated the seal onto the gazebo railing next to him and dropped it there. Then she bowed her head again.
"Pardon Trixie's interruption, Prince. Goodbye." She turned around.
Blueblood felt his heart start to race. The exact opposite of its reaction to the pegasus, incidentally. "Wait!"
The mare paused, glancing back at him. Her face expressed no excitement or cunning smirk at a plan come to fruition. She was confused.
"Uh... t-tell me," the Prince began, feeling suddenly lightheaded. "You... You're... Trixie?"
Trixie arched an eyebrow. "Yes."
Prince Blueblood decided that this was progress. At least her sentences made sense to him now. "You speak in the third pony?" he asked. "In casual conversation?" He idly levitated his seal off the railing and slipped it into his suit jacket, once again feeling the slight, familiar pressure against his chest fur.
Trixie frowned, turning around and placing a hoof to her chest. "Of course. The Great and Powerful Trixie finds it essential to impress her status upon ponies."
This time Blueblood arched a brow. "The... 'Great and Powerful' Trixie?"
"That is Trixie's full title, yes. Trixie is a master of the arcane arts beyond any that Equestria has ever seen! A hero of Equestria and entertainer without equal across the kingdom!" she declared brightly, physically restraining herself from rearing up and posing. Then she coughed. "... With one or two exceptions, perhaps."
Prince Blueblood stared. He had never met a pony so blatantly egomaniacal as the mare in front of him. He had an expansive web of associates and contacts, which included some of the most powerful, selfish, and self-important equines in all the world. Yet none of them measured up to the amount of self-centered egotism that Trixie had impressed upon him in one minute of introductory conversation.
He wasn't sure what to think of it. Should he be impressed? Amused? Scornful? It wasn't as if she was even making an effort to impress him in particular; she had come to return his seal, not brag about herself. Trixie explained how great she was with the same casual certainty that he would explain an obscure law or court protocol.
"Prince? Was there something else?" Trixie asked respectfully.
"Yes... Yes, I believe there is," Blueblood mumbled. He found Trixie absolutely fascinating, that much he was certain of. Even more so than her gorgeous pegasus friend. "If I could trouble you for a chat, Miss Trixie?"
At this, the mare seemed uncertain. Her eyes darted to the side, searching the crowd of guests for something. "Uh... Okay. About what, exactly?"
"Prince Blueblood!" Interrupted a stallion's voice from the side. Mayor Robber Baron was approaching quickly, with a bright yellow stallion behind him. "This is my good friend, Kahn Census! I'd like-"
"Excuse me, Mayor," Blueblood interrupted back, glaring at him, "I am quite occupied at the moment."
Robber Baron's mustache bristled. "But... before you said... Prince Blueblood, this is most unseemly! My associates are not show ponies to be shuffled in front of you when the mood strikes! This is important!"
"You forget your station, Mayor," Blueblood hissed, "I will not be talked down to while I am entertaining a guest!"
Trixie chuckled nervously, and started backing away. "Oh, no, that's all right. Trixie was just leaving-"
"Indeed. Excellent idea," Blueblood agreed. "What say we retire to my estate, Miss Trixie? It's just up the hill, and I think you'll find the atmosphere far less hostile." He shot a dirty look toward the Mayor with that last word, causing the earth pony to sputter indignantly.
"That sounds... uhm... nice, but..." Trixie gulped, not quite liking where this was going. She had only just gotten used to the idea of enjoying the party despite her illicit entry. Being alone with Blueblood dramatically increased the chances of her being arrested, especially given that Ranma had already confronted the royal unicorn.
"But... Trixie's friend is still here!" Trixie said suddenly. "You remember Ranma, right? Trixie doesn't really think she'd want to come with us, and Trixie wouldn't dream of simply leaving her!"
Prince Blueblood soured instantly. "Oh. Right. The redheaded wench. What does it really matter? Can she not find her way home on her own?"
"Prince Blueblood, for shame!" Growled Mayor Baron.
"Well... technically, no, she can't get home without Trixie. It's a little complicated, actually..." A bead of sweat rolled down Trixie's head.
"Well, then maybe I can give her another chance," Prince Blueblood suggested, ignoring the Mayor. "She was rude before, obviously, but if she sees that you're coming with me, I'm sure she'll be more cooperative."
"Trixie really, REALLY doubts that," the magician deadpanned.
"Excuse me, but... you mentioned a redheaded mare? That's the friend you're referring to?" asked the pony that had followed Robber Baron. He had remained entirely silent during the arguments, and even now was staring at something off in the distance.
"Yes. A pegasus, I believe," Mayor Baron confirmed. "Why?"
Kahn Census pointed a hoof off to the side. "I do believe she's absconding with the cake."
Numerous pony guests stared in stunned bewilderment as the four-foot tower cake that had previously been the centerpiece of the dessert table slowly made its way through the crowd. The cake rested on a small serving table, which itself sat on the back of a seductively dressed pegasus pony. The cake teetered left and right from the mare's gait, but the table was well-balanced on the back of her wings.
Ranma strode through the crowd without care, her face a mask of cold determination. She paid no heed to the stares or whispers of the party-goers, nor did she spare a glance toward Trixie's fateful encounter with the Royal Prince. She was a mare on a mission, and she was determined to deliver the opponent riding her to its fateful demise.
That duel, she decided, would be too graphic for a public place, though. While she wasn't truly a lady, Ranma did have SOME shame. A generously-sized shed on the edge of the yard provided the perfectly combination of accessibility and privacy, and served as her current destination.
"Excuse me... Miss... uh..." Out of the many perplexed equines giving her a wide berth, one guard stepped in her path. The stallion was clearly nervous; he honestly couldn't tell if what he was doing was a petty affair beneath his pay grade or a colossal mistake that had him way over his head.
Ranma didn't acknowledge the guard, walking straight toward him with her eyes fixed forward.
"Miss, I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure you're not with the catering staff," the guard explained. The closer the pegasus got, the greater the sinking feeling that he was a pebble standing in the path of a steamroller. "I'm going to have to ask you to turn around and put the cake back, please."
Ranma did not stop, but her eyes shifted slightly make contact with the guard. His spine suddenly felt like ice.
"M-Miss? Are you listening? I... I d-don't want t-to-"
The soldier's stuttering protest was silenced as the pegasus finally stepped within leg's reach. Ranma calmly placed a hoof up against his jaw and pushed it closed. Her expression didn't change.
"Shhhhhhh," the martial artist whispered while the cake wobbled on her back. "Don't... It's not worth it."
The cake started tilting dangerously due to her standing on three legs, and then Ranma swiftly shifted to the side to re-balance it. She passed by the guard without another word.
The armored stallion stared straight ahead for a few seconds, looking at nothing.
Then he slowly laid down on the ground, curled up into a ball, and started weeping softly.
"......"
"......"
"......"
Trixie sighed while the other ponies stared at her traveling companion. Then she turned to Blueblood and tapped him on the shoulder. The stallion jumped slightly, as if shocked by the sudden contact.
"Trixie has changed her mind. Ranma will be fine. We can leave whenever you wish."
"Ah! Well... yes. Let's... Let's be off, then," Blueblood mumbled, following Trixie out of the gazebo. He paused only briefly, glancing back at the Mayor. "Good night, Mayor Baron. And... good luck."
He quickly turned around and trotted away, all too happy to flee the party. He much preferred his socializing in more intimate settings, anyhow.
And if the Prince had his way, he and Trixie would be getting very intimate. |
Taming the Wild Horse | Dealing With Rejection (For Fun & Profit) | Taming the Wild Horse
a My Little Pony/Ranma 0.5 crossover fanfiction
by SFaccountant
Chapter 2
Dealing With Rejection (For Fun and Profit)
Prince Blueblood's estate was everything that Trixie had imagined it could be, and more.
Built into the side of a mountain overlooking Fillydelphia, the mansion resembled a miniature Canterlot, in a way. A large platform jutted from the mountainside, supported by heavy wooden struts. A multi-story mansion was embedded directly into the face of the mountain, while the rest of the platform was given over to meticulously tended gardens and a balcony littered with statues and fountains. It made the Mayor's house look positively humble and cozy in comparison.
Trixie was not an easy mare to impress, but even she felt slightly humbled when Blueblood's carriage slowed to a stop in front of the silvery gates that fenced off the massive property. The mansion was partially visible from the rest of the town, but contrary to Blueblood's previous assurances the trip was relatively long. A steep, winding path led up the side of the mountain, passing by several lesser villas belonging to the city's richest ponies. Every one of them absolutely paled in comparison to the royal mansion.
"And here we are." Blueblood said, dropping down out of the carriage. He passed by the two Royal Guards that had towed his wagon without a backward glance, stepping up to the gate. "I am most fortunate you returned my seal to me, Miss Trixie. Otherwise, I would be locked out entirely."
The Prince's horn flashed, and his personal seal slipped out of his jacket and floated into the air. He levitated the seal toward a metal box next to the gate, and then pressed it into an indentation on the side. A mechanism within clicked. Seconds later, the gates themselves started to open up.
"The Royal Family has several estates in cities across the countryside. There are less than a dozen ponies in all Equestria who can open these gates, and none but they and their guests can enter this property," Prince Blueblood said with a smirk.
"Unless they have wings," Trixie remarked as she exited the carriage.
Blueblood's smirk vanished. "Well... yes, I suppose that's true."
"Or if they climb the fence. Or put something else, like the carriage, next to the fence and then jumped over it," Trixie continued.
"Yes, fine. I concede the point," Blueblood huffed. "If somepony wished to break into the estate, there would be little to stop them after defeating the fence."
"Plus, there's a side road a hundred feet back that leads to the servants' entrance, so the gardeners and maids can get in when nopony's here," one of the carriage guards added. "No seal required. I'm not even sure they lock it."
Blueblood glared at the soldiers while Trixie walked past him onto the property. "Indeed. THANK YOU, soldier."
Then the Prince cast a quick glance at Trixie, ensuring that she wasn't paying attention. He stepped closer to the guard and whispered into his ear. "You may take the rest of the night off. I don't expect the lady will be needing a ride back into town tonight."
The guards withheld any comments, offering only small nods and knowing smiles before turning the wagon around and heading back down the mountain.
Trixie stood just inside the mansion gate, scanning the landscaping. Numerous magic torches hung from brass poles, each of them trapped in fragile, detachable lanterns. Large marble statues of non-descript alicorns stood over exquisitely trimmed bushes, like dread sentinels. They had large foundations and would make good hiding spots. One such statue loomed over the fence that surrounded the property, and would make an effective ramp to get on the other side in an emergency.
Not that Trixie was expecting an emergency; it had simply become her habit to tactically review new areas. Possible hazards were catalogued, escape routes noted, and, when necessary, she tried to keep track of unicorns that might somehow end up using magic on Ranma. It was routine by now, even on an occasion that was supposed to be romantic.
Trixie flushed slightly, patting down her dress. This was a romantic rendezvous, wasn't it? She had mostly ignored that implication up until now, but she wasn't naive enough not to read the Prince's intentions. Blueblood hadn't separated her from her companion and spirited her away to an extravagant private residence for mere conversation.
She wasn't completely sure how she felt about that. She wasn't repulsed at the thought, but she wasn't remotely excited at the prospect either. It all seemed like a dream. Not in the sense that it was a desperate fantasy of hers to marry a rich royal stallion, but simply in the sense that it was ridiculous and unlikely. It was completely unreal, like something out her puppet shows.
Then again, as Ranma pointed out, reality has been outpacing Trixie's stories in the fantastic drama department, she thought wryly.
"I'm thrilled you were able to join me, Miss Trixie," Blueblood sighed while he strolled down the main walk toward the house. "That sham of a party was wearing on my nerves. Mayor Baron is a dreadfully dull pony."
"Wasn't he introducing you to those others for a reason, though?" Trixie asked. "Trixie read in the papers that you can appoint the next Mayor of Fillydelphia. Are you not going to? Or have you already decided on a candidate?"
Prince Blueblood looked back at the magician, blinking. Then he smiled. "My, my, Miss Trixie! So well-informed and politically astute! What was your profession, again? You spoke very highly of your magical power, but didn't explain your primary trade."
"Trixie is Equestria's greatest and most powerful illusionist." She fluttered her eyelashes and pressed a hoof against her chest. "Trixie travels the kingdom using her mighty magic to awe the equine masses and undertake dangerous adventures!"
Blueblood mulled that over for a few seconds. "I'm quite surprised I hadn't heard of you, then. Surely you must be a pony of great renown."
Trixie snorted. "Trixie's exploits are not always as... well-appreciated as they should be. Trixie also possesses numerous jealous rivals and other assorted malcontents that antagonize her for one reason or another."
"I can only imagine, if you must keep a bodyguard," Prince Blueblood mused. His horn lit up as he reached the main building, and the gilded double-doors swung open on a trail of blue light. "After you, my dear."
Trixie hesitated, and then nodded her head graciously. She entered the mansion, and Prince Blueblood followed her inside.
It came as no surprise that the interior was as luxurious and impressive as the exterior. The entrance led past a row of marble equine statues before opening up into a large sitting room full of plush velvet seats and satin pillows. On one side of the room was an artificial pond fed by a fountain routed through the mouth of a seapony statue, all sitting between two converging staircases. The other side featured large glass doors and windows that offered an expansive view of the approaching sunset against the mountains.
Trixie was rendered briefly speechless while she walked through the entry hall; no small feat, as anypony familiar with her could attest. She'd never witnessed such a display of sheer wealth up close before, and she wasn't QUITE haughty enough not to be impressed. Only when she recognized one of the statues did the magician find her voice again.
"Twilight Sparkle? They're already making statues of Twilight Sparkle? Psh," Trixie shook her head at the last pony in the row, which was made in the shape of a relatively small alicorn bearing a tiara rather than an armored soldier.
"Ugh, don't get me started," Prince Blueblood huffed while he walked by said statue. "While I don't wish to devalue the contributions Princess Sparkle has made to Equestria or her personal heroism, I think it's slightly impertinent to start building tributes already."
He reached a large circular couch, and his horn flashed. The buttons of his jacket came undone in a series of magic pulses, and the stallion sat up briefly. His clothes peeled off of him and into the air, and then flew haphazardly to the side.
"Besides, I imagine our young Princess isn't feeling especially heroic at the moment," Blueblood said before he hopped onto a cushion and laid down. "Being defeated by two half-wits with delusions of glorious revolution must have been quite humbling."
Trixie hesitated only briefly before stripping off her dress in the sitting room. Disrobing in front of a stallion wasn't considered especially titillating given that ponies were often nude, but at the least it suggested that she was going to stay for an extended period of time.
"Trixie has heard about that," she said before climbing into a large velvet-lined chair. "The press has been breathless about her capture. But didn't she escape? Blood Rite's plot has already been foiled."
Blueblood gave his guest a blissful smile. "Professionally independent, politically adept, and quite well-read in current events, too! Miss Trixie, I'm starting to be impressed!"
"What kind of pony wouldn't be?" Trixie asked airily, lounging on her chair.
Blueblood's horn flashed again, and a liquor cabinet nearby opened up. A pair of short glasses levitated into the air, followed by a bottle of amber liquid.
"May I pour you a drink?"
Trixie responded with a tilt of her head and a flash of light from her horn. The blue aura around the glass suddenly turned pink, and Blueblood recoiled slightly at the sensation of having the objects torn from his magical grasp while they hovered over his head. The glasses and bottle started looping through the air in rapid, intertwined orbits, and the bottle's glass stopper dropped out while the container tumbled from side to side, barely staying upright. The stopper landed in Trixie's upraised hoof, and she smirked.
The orbits continued, and the bottle started tilting over further and further, spilling small washes of liquor over its lip. Each splash was intercepted by one of the glasses below, without spilling so much as a drop on the Prince. This continued for a mere five seconds before the orbits broke. The half-filled liquor glasses swooped down to the lounging unicorns, while the bottle dropped down in front of Trixie.
"Apple brandy?" the magician asked after taking a whiff from the bottle. "Not bad, but a surprising choice for the royal family." She plugged the bottle and settled it onto the carpet.
"It's a... personal favorite of Princess Luna," Blueblood said hesitantly. He felt slightly off-balance at the way Trixie casually seized control of the conversation. "She has developed quite a fondness for apple liquors and other apple products, somehow. Aunt Celestia has no apparent preference, so the servants stock the apple goods."
"Interesting," Trixie remarked before sipping from her glass.
"I agree. There are countless finer beverages available, but Princess Luna has grown quite attached to that particular fruit. Bizarre."
"Not that," she retorted. "You refer to Luna as 'Princess' but Celestia as 'Aunt.' They're sisters, aren't they? Wouldn't you be nephew to both of them?"
This left the Prince stunned for a few seconds. "That... is not... QUITE accurate," he hedged, suddenly sounding uncomfortable. "My family's lineage in relation to the royal family is actually very complex." He chuckled a bit nervously. "Aunt Celestia is, after all, over one thousand years old! I am not her nephew in the literal sense."
"Surprising," Trixie mumbled between sips of her drink. She did not sound surprised. "Trixie wouldn't mind hearing about these complex associations, especially since they apparently neglect Princess Luna's blood relations."
"Oh... no, no. It's really quite a tedious matter. A waste of time, really," Blueblood scoffed, pausing to gulp down some brandy.
Probably an embarrassing story behind it, then. Trixie can't imagine that the Prince managed to fool Princess Celestia with fraud. A meaningless, distant connection desperately inflated to seize influence, or a scandalous link the family would rather not publicize even while they benefit? She turned and levitated her brandy to her lips again. But whatever. That's none of Trixie's business.
Blueblood coughed several times after putting his glass down to clear his throat. "I'd actually like to revisit a previous topic, Miss Trixie. You said that Princess Twilight escaped from the sorcerers. That is indeed what was reported, and the royal family has not bothered to correct the narrative. But that is not precisely what happened." He grinned at the other unicorn. "If you wish, I might divulge a few surprising details about that little incident that the castle would rather keep a secret."
"Trixie would be VERY surprised indeed if there were details of Sparkle's escape that Trixie didn't know about," the magician drawled.
Blueblood chuckled. "Not so much 'details' as the entire premise. Princess Twilight Sparkle did not escape. She was rescued."
Trixie arched an eyebrow. Blueblood took this as a sign to continue.
"When our troops found Princess Sparkle, she did not emerge from the portal outside Coltson on her own, as the papers seem to suggest," the Prince said with a smirk. "They paint such an inspiring image, do they not? You can almost see the poor mare staggering from the magic gate, her fur burned and her wings shattered. The battered victor of some desperate, bloody combat! Heh."
He shook his head. "It's not true. She was carried out of the portal by two other ponies while she herself was completely unconscious. They were immediately surrounded by the Equestrian Royal Guard, but somehow escaped regardless. They left Princess Sparkle behind. Presumably they were the ponies who rescued her."
"I take it you don't know who the ponies are?" Trixie asked between sips of her drink.
"I do not. I could find out if I really wanted to, but my interest does not extend that far. This matter has taken on a somewhat bizarre and clandestine turn. There's a reason that Canterlot hasn't corrected the record on the matter of Sparkle's 'escape' and recovery."
"Why would that be?" Trixie asked.
At this question, Blueblood hesitated. He met Trixie's eyes, his expression guarded and calculating. It was a good look for him, she decided.
Then the Prince shrugged. "I don't really know. The ponies who saved her have... something."
"Something?"
"Something important," Blueblood amended. "Something that Aunt Celestia wants, and they seem reluctant to give her. Or maybe they just know where it is, or at least have some relevant information. I'm not completely sure, and neither is the Royal Guard. It's become a bit of a problem."
"You make her sound like a greedy tyrant," Trixie said with a giggle.
"Of course not," Blueblood scoffed," Aunt Celestia wishes no harm upon these ponies, and I'm sure she wants... whatever it is for the sake of the kingdom, not herself. Can you imagine her using Equestria's military to hunt down shiny baubles for some useless artifact collection? The very idea!" He took a gulp from his glass and wet his lips. "To be fair, though, I can't figure out WHAT exactly the palace is doing about this. Why not use the press to more actively publicize their identities?"
"To have them captured so that Canterlot can seize their property, or so that they can lauded as heroes for saving an Equestrian Princess?"
"The former, of course," Blueblood said without hesitation. Trixie looked annoyed at this, so he continued. "Although they're not mutually exclusive. Why, I'd rather enjoy seeing some cold water poured on Princess Sparkle's latest noble victory over the evil that threatens our beloved kingdom! There are even ponies who claim, against all evidence, that she captured or destroyed the rebel sorcerers as well! Ridiculous, even putting aside that the filthy vagrants defeated her once already."
Trixie's ears perked up. "You sound like you don't like Princess Sparkle very much."
Again, Prince Blueblood seemed to stop for a moment, staring at her cautiously while selecting his next words. Trixie enjoyed his moments of reticence. Not only was it a welcome change from his yammering in itself, but it felt good to pry open the Prince's political posturing little by little.
"Princess Sparkle is a hero of Equestria and Aunt Celestia's chosen champion, and she has my utmost respect and gratitude," Blueblood said stiffly. "I simply find some amusing irony in the case that a pony who has defeated Discord and Nightmare Moon and become more powerful than ever was bested by a pair of drop-outs from Aunt Celestia's school."
"Her school? Those two went to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?" Trixie asked.
"Briefly," Blueblood sniffed, pausing to sip his drink again. "I can't imagine they fit in amongst Equestria's elite, even if they showed some particular proficiency in lighting things ablaze. Why, when I was attending, it was considered a failure in most classes just to..."
Trixie stared into her glass, feeling the steadily rising warmth of the apple brandy. Prince Blueblood continued talking about himself. He seemed to enjoy the topic immensely, but Trixie was getting bored already.
She tilted the glass back, letting a thin stream of the spicy, sweet brandy spill down her throat. So this was the life of a noble pony, was it? Lazing about on cushions, drinking semi-expensive liquor, and listening to a stallion of extraordinary power drone on and relay gossip in a clumsy, transparent attempt to seduce her?
It was supposed to be everything a mare could want. Why, she had been lauding Blueblood's status, behavior, and wealth just yesterday. What lady pony didn't dream of being plucked out of a crowd to play guest to a smitten Prince? She, of anypony, deserved such a fate after what she had endured while saving the kingdom from Blood Rite! After spending most of her life dragging herself from village to village to entertain strangers, it would be an almost poetic conclusion to her travels.
Trixie shook her head and lowered her emptied glass. Now that she was living the experience, Trixie found it... not just underwhelming, but aggravating. She wasn't precisely sure why. Probably because it involved listening to self-absorbed ponies prattling on about silly things much more than she expected. She much preferred to do the prattling herself. She was supposed to be dazzled and entranced, but instead the magician was simply bored.
"... which is why Aunt Celestia uses a proper dean nowadays. Hardly anything else to do, after all that." Blueblood chuckled to himself and used his magic to pour himself another drink.
Trixie noticed the pause in the conversation and decided a change of subject was in order. "Trixie should have invited Ranma along after all. Trixie is getting worried about her."
Prince Blueblood's expression visibly soured. "That thug of a mare? I suppose I could have allowed her to tag along, assuming a proper apology for her impertinence and a promise to be on her best behavior."
Trixie laughed, and Blueblood scowled. "I'm being serious. A crude pony like that could be a threat to royal property. Who knows if she might break something or start a fight on the premises?"
"Trixie knows you're being serious," she said between giggles, "and you're not exactly wrong, either!"
Blueblood seemed even more perplexed at this.
"Ranma is a bit of scoundrel, honestly. He-erm! She is always involved in some kind of trouble." Trixie smiled warmly. "In her defense, it's usually not her fault. And Ranma always has good intentions, at least. But as you saw she's very brash and a bit dim, so Trixie worries what she'll get up to when left alone for the evening."
"Oh, come now. I'm sure she's doing just fine," Blueblood scoffed.
"ATTENTION, MISCREANT!! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!! EXIT THE SHED AND SURRENDER THE CAKE IMMEDIATELY, OR WE WILL ENTER WITH FORCE!!"
All around the garden shed stood a ring of armored pony soldiers with their spears leveled at the small structure. Pegasi hovered overhead, flying in staggered formations to intercept any retreat through the air. A unicorn Sergeant stood atop a buffet table while he yelled into his bullhorn to deliver his ultimatum.
After a few seconds, a tremendous belch came from shed. The walls rattled from the sound, and a few of the ponies on the front line winced.
"I say, isn't this a bit much, Sir?" Mayor Robber Baron stood behind the Sergeant, looking over his garden shed with a sense of exasperation. "Really, the cake is no great loss. This is hardly worth-"
"I appreciate your input on the matter, Mayor, but I am in no position to offer leniency," the Sergeant snarled, cutting off the earth pony. "This sort of conduct may get a pass under your local police, but the Royal Guard doesn't let our guests cause this kind of disturbance!"
The Mayor grimaced. "And you resolve this by creating an even bigger disturbance?"
"Zealotry in the pursuit of justice is no sin, Mayor," the Sergeant sniffed.
Another soldier snorted. "You're just mad because she ate all the chocolate-dipped strawberries."
"THEY'RE MY FAVORITE!!" the Sergeant shouted into the bullhorn, knocking the insolent guard over with its sheer volume. "DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE THOSE THINGS ARE IN CANTERLOT?! AND HALF THE TIME THEY'RE STILL SOLD OUT BEFORE MY SHIFT IS OVER!!"
The hapless soldier curled up on the ground and pinned his ears down, completely subdued. The Sergeant turned back toward the shed.
"THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!! EXIT THE SHED AND SURRENDER THE CAKE AT ONCE!! YOUR DESECRATION OF THE DESSERT TABLE WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN!!" A single tear crawled down his cheek, and the soldier fought to restrain a sniffle.
Inside the shed, Ranma sighed in contentment while she lay on her back. Her belly was badly distended, and bits of white frosting and sticky crumbs clung to her dress and exposed spots of fur.
"Damn, that was good," the pegasus moaned. "Horses may be missing out with the vegetarian thing, but man oh man, can they bake!"
The sound of rattling armor came from outside.
"I suppose I should get out of here. They seem really mad, and it's not like I need to stick around since Trix already left with Prince Something-or-Other." Ranma rolled onto her swollen belly, and then stood up. "Lessee... I promised I wouldn't hit anyone, so that means a clean retreat. Lot of bird-horses covering escape routes in the air, and they're probably better flyers than I am. Let's keep it grounded."
Heavy hoofsteps approached the shed door and stopped right outside.
"It's for the best," the redhead murmured, stretching out her legs one by one, "I need to work off all this cake anyway."
"ALL RIGHT, YOU FEATHERED SUGAR BANDIT!! WE'RE COMING IN AFTER YOU!!" boomed the Sergeant's bullhorn.
A grunt and a whinny came from outside, and a moment later two pairs of armored hooves smashed the front door to splinters.
The two massive earth ponies that had bucked the door down didn't even have time to turn around before a streak of crimson and gray flew over them and landed on the opposite side.
"Thanks for the sweets, guys!" Ranma chirped while she skidded across the ground. Several Royal Guards jumped back nervously or started wheeling around, trying to keep track of her. "Yo, Mayor! Nice party! You're way cooler than the Mayor in Hoofington!" She flipped a wing up, waving to Robber Baron as the soldiers started closing in on her.
Mayor Baron only managed to blink in surprise before Ranma bolted. The pegasus dashed straight toward a soldier, kicking the spear out of his hoof before he could react. The spear stabbed into the side of a tree while the armored pony recoiled, and Ranma jumped onto his back before vaulting away.
"GET HER!!" screamed the Sergeant, levitating his spear into position while the redhead galloped away.
"Why?" asked the Mayor as a dozen armored stallions galloped past. "No, seriously! Why are we causing such a scene over a blasted cake? Just shoo her off the grounds if you must!"
Ranma dropped to the ground in mid-dash, narrowing her profile and sliding between the legs of a particularly large earth pony who had been standing in her path. She bounced back to her hooves once on the other side, leapt over a startled unicorn, and crossed the threshold into the Mayor's house.
"GO! GO! GO!" the Sergeant roared.
"Be careful, you louts!" Mayor Baron shouted. "You could break something!"
Ranma bolted past a startled couple standing in the dining hall, and then galloped into the den. She skidded to a stop, glancing down one hall and then another. Several guests and servants stared in bewilderment, vaguely aware of the soldiers shouting outside.
"Hey, you. Does the bathroom have a lock on it?" Ranma asked, pointing a wing at the nearest equine butler. "I want to freshen up a little bit before I go, but I need the door to hold these goons back for a minute or two."
The butler started stuttering a response, only for the redhead to interrupt him immediately.
"No, wait, never mind. New question." She stared across the den toward the roaring fireplace, her eyes fixing on a large bowl sitting nearby on a coffee table. "Are those candied pecans?"
"Y-Yes," the butler replied.
He was nearly bowled over by the wind of Ranma's passage as the martial artist pounced, leaping over an intervening couch and immediately shoving her head into the bowl. A furious series of crunching and scarfing noises ensued, and she wrapped her forelegs around the bowl as if she were afraid somepony might try to separate her from the snacks.
Which may have been a legitimate concern, given that a pair of armored ponies charged in after her wielding spears.
"There you are! Surrender immediately!" barked an earth pony, skidding to a stop at the edge of the den.
The unicorn Sergeant behind him opted for a less subtle approach, sliding past his colleague and levitating his spear into the air.
"FOR JUSTIIIIIIICE!!" he howled, launching his weapon forward with a pulse of kinetic force.
Ranma suddenly reared up, knocking the bowl over and letting the spear pass by her. It flew into the fireplace and struck one of the burning logs, embedding itself deep. Ranma kicked herself around and fled down the hall, her mouth still full of sugar-coated nuts.
"Blast! Missed!" hissed the Sergeant.
"WHOA! What the hay?!" the other soldier shouted, recoiling. "What are you doing, you maniac?! You almost skewered her!"
"Oh, please. She didn't lose so much as a hair," the Sergeant growled, starting to turn away. "Come on, let's-"
"No. Sarge, we gotta talk," the other stallion said firmly, placing a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder guard. "You went totally ballistic on this mare, and I'm pretty sure it's not just because of some strawberries. As far as we know, she hasn't even committed an actual crime. What's up?"
The unicorn scrunched up his snout and looked away. Several other Royal Guards galloped through the halls behind them, but the pair of soldiers paid them no mind.
"I... I've... been feeling a little bored lately, I guess. Bored and frustrated," the Sergeant admitted. "We've been guarding the Prince for MONTHS, Cutlass. Months! And accomplished zilch. Blueblood treats us like any other servants, and we don't arrest or fight anypony EVER. I barely feel like a soldier anymore!"
He shook his head. "I didn't join the Guard to fetch things for a royal pony, you know? And especially now, with all this talk of bandits and evil unicorns attacking Equestria... I really feel like I should be DOING something! Taking on bad guys and fighting injustice! Protecting the common pony! This is the closest thing to action I've seen since the Griffon skirmishes last year!"
Then he sighed and looked back at Cutlass. "But you're right, buddy. It isn't right to take it out on an unruly party guest. The Royal Guard is better than that."
Cutlass nodded somberly, spreading his forelegs. "C'mon, Sarge. Hug it out."
The stallions embraced, and the Sergeant took a deep, calming breath. Cutlass patted him on the back, rubbing his hoof over his superior's withers.
A butler cleared his throat. "Gentlecolts, I don't wish to interrupt this touching moment, but-"
"Sssssssh," Cutlass hushed. "We need a minute."
"Sirs, I really think this-"
"It's fine," Sarge interrupted. "Let the mare go. She doesn't deserve this."
"... The manor is on fire," the butler eventually blurted nervously.
The soldiers finally broke their calming embrace to look over toward the fireplace. The wooden shaft of the Sergeant's spear had been consumed by flame and apparently broken from the steel spearhead. That length of burning wood had fallen beneath a chair, and the blaze around the furniture and carpet was rapidly building.
"......" Cutlass stepped away from his superior, glaring at the other stallion.
The Sergeant stared at the spreading flames, and then tilted his head to the side.
"When you think about it, this is really that mare's fault for resisting arrest, right?"
"You're unbelievable, Sarge."
"Trixie has no doubt Ranma will be just fine. That may not be the case for everypony who happens to be in her path," Trixie mumbled. "As Trixie is sure you're aware..."
Blueblood snorted hotly. "I must ask why such a refined and astute mare such as yourself associates with such a crude and hostile pony. You said she was a bodyguard, correct? What's the point of a guard that causes more trouble than she prevents?"
"Well, that's not quite... Uh... That is, she..." Trixie stumbled over her words, and her brow knit in concentration. "... Just a minute."
She turned away, quietly mumbling to herself while she divided up the various incidents Ranma had rescued her from. "Attacked by bandits, sort of his fault, but not really. Attacked by sorcerers, his fault. Attacked by musicians, not his fault at all. Attacked by Lunar Guard, kind of his fault, but Trixie was never in danger, so whatever. Jumped by sorcerers during his duel with Princess Luna, completely his fault. Stormed by Equestrian troops during Trixie's plan, his fault but only because the ambush was. Infiltrating the sorcerer tower was entirely Trixie's idea, so not his fault. Dragon emerging from nowhere, not his fault..."
Blueblood arched an eyebrow as his guest continued mumbling under her breath, apparently laying out the case he had asserted in her head and doing an item-by-item account. He felt gratified that she was taking his casual condescension seriously, although he felt the mere fact that she had to stop and weigh the matter vindicated him.
Trixie squeezed one eye shut and tilted her head to the side. "And then there was the party... which was Ranma's idea, but was actually kind of nice and didn't turn out to be a complete disaster, if only because of Trixie's quick thinking."
Nodding decisively, the magician turned back to her host. "On balance, Trixie would say that Ranma DOES prevent more harm than she causes. Although Trixie has been exposed to a frankly bizarre amount of unprovoked potential harm lately. It's not quite fair to blame her for random chance being inexplicably hostile recently, but Trixie never used to see more than one major explosion a week."
When she finished, Trixie found that Blueblood was staring at her silently. His expression was slightly glassy, although he quickly brought himself to attention.
"My apologies, my dear. I'm... I'm not used to hearing somepony speak who's more interesting than I am."
Trixie's laughter came on so suddenly and strongly that she was left kicking at the air in her seat. Blueblood recoiled in surprise, but didn't seem offended even as the giggling mare started wiping tears from her eyes.
"Oh, Prince, you have NO idea," Trixie said between chuckles. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has hardly told you anything at all! Trixie's minor debacles getting Ranma out of trouble pale in comparison to Trixie's more impressive feats and daring adventures!"
"I would love to hear more," Blueblood said, pouring himself more brandy.
"Not all of Trixie's stories are suited for royal company," the mare replied with a haughty chuckle. "But... Trixie supposes she could tell you about the time Trixie bested Twilight Sparkle in a magic duel."
Blueblood's glass quivered in the air, his telekinesis briefly weakening from his shock. He quickly put down the bottle and regarded his guest with an arched eyebrow. "You defeated Princess Sparkle? The Element of Magic? At a magic duel?" While Blueblood hadn't spared Trixie any flattery so far, he couldn't contain his skepticism at such a claim.
Trixie smirked, savoring the stallion's reaction. To Blueblood, this evening was probably intended as romantic social ritual: pick out a desirable mare, wine and dine her, and then butter her up for a night of shameless passion, never to see her again. To Trixie, she was simply putting on a show, just with a much smaller and more influential audience than usual.
"It's true. But if you find such a thing too preposterous, we can always talk about something else..."
Blueblood shook his head quickly. "No, no! Please, do go on! How did you come to meet Princess Twilight Sparkle and challenge her to a duel?"
"She wasn't a Princess then. And Trixie had crossed paths with the Element of Magic before that." She paused to take a sip of her drink, quickly considering the best way to minimize that particular incident. "... It hardly bears mentioning, really. Nothing interesting happened. At all." She coughed lightly, putting down her drink. "It all REALLY started when Trixie tracked down an ancient artifact in a shady old backwater shop... the Alicorn Amulet!"
Blueblood recoiled in surprise. Trixie smirked even wider.
"Impossible! The Amulet has been lost for generations!" the Prince gasped.
"So it was. Abandoned after the last war with the Griffon Kingdom, it had long been rumored to be somewhere in the border territories of Equestria. No unicorn that knew of its existence dared to track it down for fear of the curse of its power! Until Trixie, of course."
Blueblood leaned forward on his cushion, paying rapt attention. "I've only heard vague references to the Alicorn Amulet. Supposedly it drives ponies insane even while giving them unrivaled magic strength! Is this true?"
A droplet of sweat trickled down Trixie's head. With a quick swipe of her hoof, she wiped it away.
"Oh, it's true. The curse challenged even Trixie's iron will. But Trixie bravely risked everything in order to teach Twilight Sparkle a much-needed lesson in humility!"
Blueblood blinked. Then he tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "Really? Why? She wasn't even a Princess at this point, right?"
"Not important. What IS important is that Trixie's greatness and power rose to incredible heights, shattering all previous limits!" The magician jumped up on her seat, posing elegantly while her drink hovered in a magical orbit. "Trixie won't bore you with the details, but with this new power Trixie humiliated Twilight Sparkle right out of town!"
"I think I could stand to hear the details, if you don't mind."
Trixie's grin split her face nearly ear to ear. "Well... if you insist..."
In the heart of Canterlot, on the edge of a balcony jutting out from a towering castle spire, an ancient ritual took place.
The magic spell was one of fantastic power; a weave capable of shackling the very sun to the will of the bearer. Its parameters were tested by the ages, for any great variance could send the planet's star hurtling too close for the surface to endure its heat. Or, if the error happened to favor a different direction, the life-giving sun could be flung into the endless void, condemning the world's inhabitants to the slightly slower fate of freezing. The eventual result if the spell was not cast at all was a hypothesis that had long been discussed but never put to test, for such an experiment could easily be apocalyptic in its consequences.
At the same time, a similar enchantment wrenched the moon into place. The ancient satellite rose above the horizon as the sun sank out of sight. One ritual fed into the other, entwined in a torrent of magic power that could crush an entire continent to dust were it put to less benign purposes.
Yet, to the many citizens of Canterlot, this act of fantastic magical strength was simple routine. The sun went down and the moon went up, every day, over and over, predictably enough to be timed and mapped by clock and calendar. Arcane mastery of mythical scale was reduced to a tedious act of maintenance. Any citizen of Equestria's capital could bear witness to the sight of Princess Celestia and Luna standing on their tower balcony and guiding their respective astral bodies into place, but few of them took notice. Once you'd seen one casting guiding a system star into place, you'd seen them all.
During this particular dusk, however, the sister alicorns were being observed. Beyond the towers of Canterlot Castle, at the peak of the mountain which hosted the ancient city, a pair of gleaming golden eyes watched in fascination...
Princess Celestia released a tired sigh as the golden glow of her horn dimmed. Her shoulders sagged, and even the perpetual flutter of her mane and tail seemed to weaken. The White Princess twisted her head around, offering her sister a tired smile.
"Thank you, Luna. I'll be heading to bed, then," Celestia nodded her head and started to turn around.
"So soon? Sister, you've been going to bed earlier and earlier as of late." Princess Luna's horn also dimmed as her own spell reached completion. "While it is paramount that you get sufficient rest, it doesn't appear to be helping. What is troubling you?"
Celestia heaved a much heavier sigh, and her gaze briefly darted away. Luna recognized the direction in an instant; although the village wasn't quite visible from here without the aid of a telescope, her glance had been in the direction of Ponyville.
"Twilight Sparkle? I thought the doctors concluded she would recover fully," Luna mumbled, arching an eyebrow. "Surely you're not worried about complications at this point."
"No, Luna. That's not it," Celestia mumbled, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. "Twilight is going to be fine. Physically, at least."
Luna's other eyebrow arched. "... Go on."
The White Princess pursed her lips tightly. She clearly didn't want to have this conversation, but at the same time she had bottled up the emotions for long enough that she knew she would only suffer further if she didn't tell somepony. There was no good reason to hide her feelings from Luna, especially after everything she had been through.
"Have you seen the update on the search for Blood Rite?" Celestia asked dryly.
"Aye, Sister. Nothing. Same as yesterday, and the day before that, stretching all the way back to when we established a larger garrison at Coltson. The trail seems cold. What of it?"
Celestia slumped into a sitting position. "What of it, Luna? A madpony is on the loose and we are helpless! Completely blind! Blood Rite could strike at any time, at any place, and what could we do?"
Luna furrowed her brow. "Helpless? The rogue sorcerer was foiled, was he not? And with Sparkle and General Firebrand nearly recovered, our own power has hardly been diminished."
Celestia barked a dry, bitter laugh. "What good is our military might if we cannot find and stop a single unicorn who means to harm us and our subjects? Blood Rite attacks us as he wishes! He ambushed you in the forest, and Twilight outside a major city! He tried to capture you to be used as mere batteries for his insane schemes! And with a force of hundreds of soldiers and our mightiest battle wizard outside of the Elements of Harmony, we could do nothing but rush Twilight to a healer after others had stopped him. Maybe stopped him."
"Had Blood Rite not been stopped, surely we would have been the target of some sort of attack by now. I'm certain his initial plans, at least, have been thwarted," Luna insisted.
"So we hope. Yet we still don't know where the MacGuffin Stone is. Or where Havoc or Saotome Ranma or whoever are. Or even what HAPPENED!" Celestia said, her soft, motherly voicing coming dangerously close to a growl. "All Twilight herself remembered was being told she was being let go, and then Blood Rite left! And then what? 'The floor exploded.' Really? This is crazy, Luna! Blood Rite is still out there, he's still plotting against us, and we can't stop him! And it's all my fault!"
The last line was delivered in a pitch that sounded suspiciously like she was trying to choke down a sobbing wail, and Luna blinked in surprise. Then the Princess of the Night frowned, tapping a hoof to her chin.
"... There are many ponies who might share blame for allowing Blood Rite's efforts to advance as far as they did, including myself. But as far as I'm aware, you are not one of them, Sister."
"As far as you're aware," Celestia repeated glumly.
"If you wish to enlighten me, Sister, I'm willing to listen."
Celestia fell silent, staring at the floor. "... I... I don't know. It's so painful, and it wouldn't change anything."
"If it wouldn't change anything, then you need not tell me," Luna shrugged. "I know better than most the value of leaving the sins and errors of the past in the dust of history. If you feel it would relieve you, then tell me what you know. If you would merely dwell on your failure all the more, then let us concentrate on the present and future. Sometimes we cannot fix our mistakes, but we must at least try to see past them."
Princess Celestia swallowed, her eyes nervously rising to meet those of her little sister. This conversation seemed absurd; that the impetuous alicorn who once led a destructive rebellion against Equestria would stand confidently in front of her and preach about guilt and penance. But surely if Luna could make peace with her past, a mistake that nearly plunged the world into shadow, Celestia could forgive setting one student on the wrong path?
Well, maybe two students. I still don't know what ever happened to Sunset Shimmer, she thought ruefully.
She took a deep breath. "Luna... the truth is, Blood Rite used to be-"
A scream cut through the cool night air.
Celestia jumped in surprise, while Luna snapped her head around with her horn already sparking.
Soon numerous other screams and shouts followed the first one. Oddly enough, most of them were coming from above the tower, rather than below. The only ponies that would be flying over the castle were pegasus guards, and sure enough, a glance upward confirmed that the flying soldiers were scattering through the air in a panic. It didn't take long to figure out why, either.
"By the moon! A dragon attack?!" Luna gasped.
Celestia's reaction was similar at first, but then started to twist into confusion. "Is... Is that...?"
A massive, serpentine form hung in the air over Canterlot, its wings blasting gusts of wind that rattled windows. Covered in thick, armored scales of bright red striped with black, Kamikazan scanned the towers of Canterlot Castle with golden eyes that glowed bright in the gloom. Soldiers screamed and shouted at the sight of the beast, but the Prince of Dragons ignored them as a pony might ignore a scrambling nest of ants.
Kamikazan eyes were fixed on the balcony which hosted the alicorn sisters. His lips curled into a fierce grin.
The dragon hovered forward, only for a magical force field to shimmer into place in front of him. Kamikazan remained unperturbed, tapping a claw against the barrier and feeling the gentle buzz of its repulsing energies.
Then, with a rumbling chuckle, the red dragon turned away. His wings beat faster, carrying him higher into the air and taking him up the mountain above Canterlot.
Luna furrowed her brow as the dragon retreated, her horn still pulsing with power. "What gall! The dragons should know better than to encroach on Equestrian soil, but to assault the capital so brazenly..."
She turned to Celestia as she complained, and her sentence trailed off awkwardly. Celestia had the most bizarre expression on her face while she stared up at the sky; a twisted sneer of simultaneous contempt, disgust, and exasperation. Luna had never seen anything quite like it. And certainly she'd never seen anything from Celestia, who usually took extreme care to maintain her dignified, motherly demeanor whenever she could.
In a moment, Celestia's expression returned to something more neutral. "Kamikazan... how did he get free, I wonder?" Luna could swear she saw her sister's eyebrow twitch, but couldn't be sure.
"Sister, who was that? An enemy?" Luna asked. "Should we launch pursuit?"
Princess Celestia looked away, her mind racing while she fixed her gaze somewhere else. Luna could tell that her sibling was seriously considering the option.
"... No. In fact, you should contact the Guard at once to prevent any panic. Kamikazan is likely no threat to us."
"Likely? So we cannot be sure?" Luna pressed.
"Kamikazan is not a sophisticated creature, Luna. Had he intended us harm he would have ruthlessly battered himself against the barrier until it broke or we repelled him with force. He simply wanted us... wanted ME, really... to know that he was free again."
Celestia started walking back toward the tower entrance. Unlike before, now her expression was carefully schooled in neutrality. So carefully schooled, in fact, that Luna immediately knew her elder sibling was up to something.
"But who is he? Why was he not free before? Why is he here now? And what does he want?"
"The answers to those questions are... complicated," Celestia mumbled on her way out. "See to the guards, Luna. I will have answers for you in due time."
With a pulse of yellow light, Celestia popped into existence high above the mountains that held Canterlot. Her wings spread and caught the air in moments, quickly arresting the imminent fall, and the white alicorn began soaring just below the clouds over her home city. She curved through the air, her eyes scanning the empty night sky. Spotting nothing out of the ordinary, she focused on the peak of the mountain Canterlot was built on. Near the very tip of the mountain was a small cave entrance. It was normally impossible to spot at night, but there was a small bit of light coming from the cave interior, making the entrance stand out in the gloom.
Princess Celestia stopped her approach and hovered in place. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this," she groaned, hanging her head. "Why? Why did he have to show up again? And why NOW, of all times?"
She glanced back down at the castle, thinking about the hot cup of herbal tea and her warm, soft bed waiting for her in her chambers. The temptation of turning away from the cavern, ignoring the dragon, and simply going to sleep felt like an iron ball chained to her leg, physically trying to drag her down toward her precious castle. She had so little to gain by being here, and so many awful things could happen as a result.
"No. No, Celestia. You have to at least talk to him and find out what's going on. IF he's still around," she said through clenched teeth. "Maybe he's not, though. Maybe he left after showing himself, and the light in the cave is from a pair of adventurous lovers meeting in an exotic location! Yes, I think that would be far preferable."
Still mumbling to herself, the Princess of the Sun landed at the entrance to the cave and peeked inside.
Immediately, her hopes that some other pony had created the light were dashed. The source of the light was a small blaze floating out in the open, burning from a sphere of pulsing fire magic. It was not a particularly powerful spell, but it was the sort of thing no unicorn would have used in place of a light cantrip.
"My dear Princesssss..."
A voice from the shadows deeper in the cave emerged, the "s" being drawn out like a serpent's hiss. Celestia felt a chill down her spine, but maintained her composure. Her horn lit up with golden light, and she annihilated the fire sphere with a spark of magic.
"Hello, Kamikazan. Welcome to Equestria," she said flatly before her horn flashed, fully illuminating the cavern. "Next time you drop by, please use the front entrance. Or better yet, don't drop by anymore."
At the far end of the cave was Kamikazan. The Prince of Dragons had taken on a smaller form for this meeting; a roughly hybrid body crafted from pure magic. His scales had turned to bright red fur, and his wings now sported feathers like hers did. He sported a mane and equine tail of jet black, while the massive horns of his dragon body were shortened to a pair of ash-gray spikes jutting out of the back of his head like an antelope. Celestia might have found the form halfway attractive if it weren't for Kamikazan's feet, which retained their lizard-like fingers and claws, and his jaws, which still proudly displayed rows of sharp, vicious teeth along with his fangs.
"Celess, my dear," the dragon cooed, approaching the Princess, "please, don't be so formal. There's nopony around but ussss..." his pointed tongue snaked out between his teeth on the last syllabled, and Celestia felt another chill.
"Have it your way. How did you get free, Kozy?" the alicorn asked blandly.
Much to her growing irritation, the dragon quivered in delight, and a goofy grin stretched across his face. "Oh, Celess! It's been SO long since somepony called me that! Centuries of torment, trapped in that cavern in restless slumber, unable to hear your voice, and you heal me with a word!"
"Then it seems like you're not upset about being imprisoned for some four hundred years," Celestia drawled. "That's... good. I suppose."
"Oh, I was quite angry," Kamikazan said, a growl suddenly rising in his throat. A few tiny embers leaked from his mouth, dripping to the floor like glowing drops of saliva. "You can't possibly know the depths of my rage, Celess. To have my throne denied me, to be spurned by my mate of choice, and then to have that same creature - you - attack me out of nowhere and seal me under-"
"YOU attacked ME, Kozy," Celestia snapped, her lip pulling up into a snarl. "That I managed to escape to an unpopulated region and finish the battle there is hardly 'attacking you out of nowhere.' You were a threat to me and my people, and I dealt with you appropriately. I've shown you far more deference and respect than you've ever offered any of your victims!"
Kamikazan's demeanor changed in an instant, his expression softening and his ears pinning back. "Oh, Celess, please, let's not fight. Such a horrid expression doesn't suit you."
Celestia rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh, but the Dragon Prince instantly brightened at seeing her expression change from mad to merely annoyed.
"It's true, I was mad. My long rest was not a peaceful one. My awakening was not painless." His eyes narrowed. "And I had to deal with the most BRUTISH pony I'd ever met once I tore free of my prison! He hit me in the eye! The EYE! Who even does that?"
"Medium-sized gray stallion? Black mane? Pigtail? Spiked wheel for a cutie mark?" Celestia asked.
"Yes! How did you know?"
"Just a guess," the royal mare sighed. "Never mind. Go on."
"Right. Yes." Kamikazan coughed. "I was not in the best of moods as I explored this world for the first time in centuries. The dragons' power has waned even further in my absence, and those who survive live like beasts rather than kings. My fury burned hotter as I scouted your kingdom, like a stirring volcano; every town, every city, every cottage that lay within what used to be MY LAND was like another coal on the stove of my rage! Even free, my sleep was restless, for every night I dreamt of the vengeance I would wreak upon your feeble capital!"
His eyes darkened, and Celestia fought the urge to step back. A moment later, however, the serpent lifted his head. His eyes were clear and his smile broad.
"And then I saw you, Celess. Shining with the power of this world's most ancient magic, looking every bit as flawless and beautiful as you did four hundred years ago." Kamikazan started walking around Celestia, his golden eyes tracing every curve of her body. "That brilliant, pearly coat. Those magnificent, swan-like wings. The ethereal and weirdly colorful mane! Such grace! Such poise! Undiminished in the slightest by age or the burdens of your station! My anger melted away in moments, the centuries of torment faded to a vague memory, and my loins-"
"Okay! I get it!" Celestia interrupted harshly. Despite herself, her cheeks started to take on a pink tinge. "So you don't want to burn down my kingdom and enslave my little ponies after all. Good. Fantastic, even. I'm glad that love has replaced hatred in your heart and so on and so forth." She coughed lightly and then turned around to face Kamikazan, who now stood between her and the cave entrance. "If that is all, Kozy, I must really get back to my castle."
"Oh, that is very much NOT all, Celess," the dragon grinned. "I want you."
"I noticed," the White Princess said flatly. "But if you think you can trap me in here, then I'm afraid your memory may not have endured the ravages of time quite as well as my body."
Kamikazan snorted, and tiny puffs of flame erupted from his pony-like snout. "You make me sound like such a thug, Celess! I didn't meet with you to force myself upon you! I intend to seduce you!"
"And I intended to leave you buried for long enough that I'd forget you'd ever existed. But we don't always get what we want, Kozy," Celestia said dryly.
"Celess, please," the dragon groaned. "At least give me a chance! Are you really not tired of being alone and unloved after so many centuries?"
Celestia recoiled, looking offended. "Excuse me? Why do you just assume I haven't taken any lovers in 400 years?"
Kamikazan raised an eyebrow. "Have you?"
"Well, I... Maybe I did! Why couldn't I, what with how you go on about how pretty I am? I could... That is... It's none of your business!" the alicorn snapped, rustling her feathers and flushing even deeper.
Kamikazan kept his brow quirked. "I thought so. I doubt I'm the only suitor you've sent packing. I'm probably the only one you had to magically imprison, though."
"Third," Celestia mumbled.
"What? Really? Who else-"
"I've had enough of this!" Celestia suddenly growled, her horn sparking with power. "This rendezvous is over. If you have any sense of decency, you'll get out of my way and spare me the effort of having to teleport past you."
Kamikazan grimaced. "Celess, I just want-"
Celestia vanished in a burst of golden light, and then snapped back into reality behind the transformed dragon.
"That's Princess Celestia to you, Prince Kamikazan," Celestia sniffed, glaring back at him.
"King! I'm a king!" he corrected as he whirled around. "Although if you wanted to take a more formal approach to this, I can work with that too! A royal union? Diplomatic marriage? A treaty negotiation over a romantic dinner, maybe?"
"Good night, Prince," Celestia turned her head away and walked toward the cavern entrance.
Kamikazan snarled, his lips peeling back over his curved, razor-edged teeth. "Don't you turn your back on me, equine! We may be fellow immortals and royals, but we are not equals!"
"That was quite clear after our last altercation," Celestia said blithely.
"I am the King of Dragons! The mightiest creature in all the lands!" Kamikazan shouted, his eyes flashing angrily. "No enemy is beyond my power! No treasure is beyond my grasp! No other creature could offer you, custodian of the sun, such worthy companionship! And yet again and again you spurn me?! WHY?!"
"Ah, yes. Murder, greed, and ego. What mare could resist such charm?" Celestia rolled her eyes as she reached the exit. She spread her wings, and then tensed her legs to jump. "Really, what use would I, of all ponies, have for more treas-"
Kamikazan blinked repeatedly. Celestia had frozen in her takeoff pose, having cut herself off mid-mumble. It was so sudden and strange that the Dragon Prince shifted his vision to check for some sort of magical sabotage. Alas, the White Princess was not stricken by any spell that he could see.
"... Celess? Erm, I mean, Princess Celestia?" he asked, daring to step closer.
The alicorn stood up straight again and folded her wings against her back. Then she cleared her throat while still facing away from her suitor.
"You say you can acquire treasure? Any treasure?" Celestia asked evenly.
Kamikazan felt his heart jump. "Yes! Yes, absolutely! As much as you want!"
"It is not the quantity that I'm interested in." Celestia slowly turned around, her movements stiff and overly deliberate. "I'm asking if you can locate, secure, and give me a specific treasure that I cannot find on my own."
"Oh. Well... that's harder, I suppose, but yes! I can do that!" the dragon nodded enthusiastically, a huge smile stretched across his face. "I'll need SOME sort of lead or description, of course... as well as a promise of a reward..."
"The lead aspect is easy, actually. That 'brute' of a pony you mentioned earlier."
"Saotome Ranma?" Kamikazan asked in surprise. "He has this treasure?"
"Maybe. Or maybe he knows where it is. At the very least, he should know something of the pony who last possessed it: a unicorn by the name of Blood Rite," Celestia explained. "The treasure itself is the legendary MacGuffin Stone."
Kamikazan sat on his haunches and stared up at the ceiling, tapping a claw against his chin. "The MacGuffin Stone... How odd. I've never heard of such an artifact."
"It's power and legend pre-dates even you, mighty Prince," Celestia said with a slight smirk. "But those are my terms. Bring me the MacGuffin Stone, and I will date you. You will have your 'chance' to make me yours as you desire." She strained to keep her smirk despite her stomach churning at the thought, but couldn't help a slight twitch of her cheek.
Kamikazan didn't notice. He jumped upright and spread his wings, baring his teeth in a wide, rapturous grin. "Then it shall be yours, Celess! The Stone shall bless our eternal union, and the pitiful serfs that thought to keep it from you shall be ash upon the wind!"
"What? No! No, I don't want that last part!" Celestia protested. "I don't want you to kill anypony!"
"Oh." Kamikazan's posture slumped slightly, and he folded his wings again. "... What if I want to do that, though?"
"Then you'll find our romantic evenings much less romantic," Celestia drawled. "If I could acquire the Stone without harming anypony at all or seeking any outside help, I would. Unfortunately, that simply may not be possible. But you must NOT kill anypony! Especially Blood Rite! Just take the artifact and return it to me!"
"Ugh, FINE. Whatever. I can settle for a good maiming."
"Kozy..." Celestia warned, her eyes narrowing.
"What? It's the least these thieves deserve for daring to seize your property!" the dragon sauntered toward her, and then lifted a finger to Celestia's chin. "I will spare their lives as you ask, but surely you don't think they should escape penance for their crimes?"
Celestia shuddered ever so slightly at the dragon's touch. "Well, the thing is... they're not actually 'thieves' as far as I know. At no point did the MacGuffin Stone belong to me."
"Oh, Celess... so naïve, even after so long." Kamikazan chuckled and moved past her, eagerly rubbing his flank against hers as he passed. "We are the immortal royals! The rulers of this world! ALL its treasures belong to us, and the peasants scrounging in the soil for shiny objects possess them only so long as we will it."
Celestia sighed in exasperation once the Prince of Dragons wasn't touching her anymore. "I don't believe that, as convenient as the arrangement would be. The MacGuffin Stone is a threat to me and my kingdom. That's why it must be secured, and if possible, destroyed."
"As you wish, my love! I will return soon with the artifact, and then we shall be united!" shouted Kamikazan, vaulting into the cool night air. An aura of swirling flame engulfed him as he soared, burning away at his half-pony hybrid body. A cyclone of smoke obscured him, and then the body of a mighty red dragon erupted from the cloud. The mighty serpent twisted its head back to face the cave, grinned, and then flew away.
Celestia watched him go, feeling a sense of deep unease growing in the pit of her stomach. Kamikazan was powerful and was quite intelligent when it came to certain subjects, particularly magic. But the Prince was also reckless, dull-witted, and short-tempered. If he found Blood Rite, it was hard to imagine any eventuality besides all-out combat and a brutal demise for the loser. Objectively, that was convenient for Celestia; Blood Rite was a devoted enemy and Kamikazan was a dangerous, violently obsessed maniac. Either of them would only cause harm if allowed to roam free. But the thought of either of them dying because she had set them against each other made her feel ill.
"... How have things fallen so far from my control?" the alicorn mumbled sadly. "So much damage has already been done. So many lives have already been ruined. And now..." She shook her head. "I need to get to bed. I doubt I'll be sleeping well tonight as it is."
"... of course, Trixie knew what Sparkle's ploy was, but finally decided that things had gone far enough. Every moment Trixie could feel the Alicorn Amulet's power clawing against her mind, struggling to overcome Trixie's incredible willpower. While Twilight Sparkle showed off her parlor tricks in a hopeless effort to humiliate Trixie, an entire other battle - far greater and desperate than Sparkle could even imagine - took place over Trixie's very SOUL!"
Trixie was standing atop a pegasus statue overlooking the interior pond, her horn sparking and her hooves gesturing wildly with every sentence. A heavy flush darkened her cheeks, undoubtedly related to the half-empty glass of brandy that quivered unsteadily in the air next to her. Sitting on the cushion below, Prince Blueblood watched with rapt attention.
"At last, Trixie had enough and cast off the Alicorn Amulet. REFUSING to sacrifice her sanity for the sake of victory, Trixie conceded defeat to that dumb purp-that is... Twilight Sparkle. Even though Trixie totally, definitely could have defeated her, Trixie would not let her lesson about humility turn around and doom her instead! That would have been ironic." The glass wobbled through the air, and Trixie tilted her head back to gulp it down.
"Incredible! I'd never heard of such a thing! No wonder Princess Sparkle finds herself outwitted by common hoodlums. The sheer hubris of some ponies..." Blueblood said, sounding rather breathless. His cheeks were flushed as well, and his empty glass lay on its side on the floor. The Prince had drunk himself past the point of being able to properly levitate anything, largely thanks to all the alcohol he had imbibed at the Mayor's house.
The stallion's eyes darted to the wall. A towering grandfather clock was set into a stone carving of a unicorn soldier, and the hour hand was ticking toward ten. Sunset had passed, and he and his guest had put a respectable dent in the estate's liquor supply. It was time to close the deal.
"Miss Trixie," Blueblood said, straightening and clearing his throat, "it seems it's getting late, and the drink is beginning to take its toll. It would be my honor and privilege if you would accompany me to my bed chambers."
Trixie didn't respond right away. She stared at her empty liquor glass, spinning it around with her magic and watching the sparks of pink float away. Her disinterest was obvious, but she didn't refuse the request outright.
"... It's too stuffy in here," she said suddenly, placing the glass down on the floor. She hopped down from the statue, managing to only stumble slightly on her landing. "Trixie needs some air."
She trotted past Blueblood - ignoring his slightly dazed expression - and opened the doors that led out to the main balcony. Immediately a rush of cool air rushed past her, and the magician sighed pleasantly. Then she walked outside.
Blueblood didn't wait long before following her out. "I have been all over the kingdom, from the largest cities to the most wretched frontiers, and I've never met a pony like you, Trixie."
Trixie reached the banister and sat down on her haunches. "Surely you say that to all the mares you lure to your manor, Prince."
"Of course," the stallion chuckled. "But I so rarely mean it."
He stepped up next to her and nuzzled her neck. Trixie felt a tingle run up her spine. The contact felt good, and she felt the first stirrings of physical, carnal excitement.
But again, she hesitated.
"Trixie is flattered, Prince Blueblood. But Trixie will have to decline. Trixie just isn't interested in a short, meaningless fling right now," she said firmly.
Blueblood recoiled slightly, but he didn't seem upset. He stepped away and placed a hoof to his chest. "And what if it wasn't a short, meaningless fling?"
One of Trixie's eyebrows slowly climbed into an arch. "... Unless you're proposing to Trixie, Trixie isn't sure where you're going with this."
The royal unicorn laughed. "Ha! No, no! Not yet, surely!" He calmed down and sidled up to Trixie again. "Although I confess I'm somewhat intrigued at the prospect, we needn't move quite THAT fast. I simply want you to stay with me a while. Not just for tonight. Weeks. Months, perhaps. Longer, if we want. And if this spark persists then, maybe, one day..." he let his words trail off, flashing a drunken smile.
"Spark, huh? Trixie is... skeptical," she drawled. "You won't be here for long, will you? What is Trixie supposed to do, follow you back to Canterlot? To live in the city at your beck and call like a mere concubine? Pfeh! Trixie isn't interested."
Blueblood sat down next to the mare, leaning against her and relishing the feel of their fur brushing together. "You need a home of your own? A career? I can supply all of it. Don't like Canterlot? You don't even have to live there. You can live here instead."
Trixie blinked. "Here? What, like in this manor?"
"Yes! Or... Or, if you don't want to..." he stumbled over his words slightly, his snowy white face flushing a deeper shade of pink. "MAYOR! I'll make you Mayor!"
Trixie's eyes widened.
"Yes, that's it! I'll make you the Mayor of Fillydelphia!" Blueblood looked extremely pleased at this decision, puffing himself up and beckoning to the city below. "As the highest royal official present at the time that the mayoralty is vacated, I can appoint Robber Baron's replacement! You can live here, in the Mayor's estate, and run the town as you wish! All I ask of you is a liaison, my dear Trixie. I assure you, you will NOT regret it!"
"You're drunk," Trixie retorted flatly.
"Obviously," Blueblood chuckled, drawing a hoof over her shoulder. "And why should that matter? I assure you, I won't regret a thing either! For a mare like you, a township appointment is nothing!"
Trixie's cheeks were flushed again, and she looked away from the Prince. The compliment seemed heartfelt, and she obviously agreed with it; frankly, she felt stallions SHOULD be constantly flinging themselves at her and desperately begging and bribing for her affection. And yet... she felt unsatisfied. Unimpressed. A little annoyed, even.
"Trixie isn't sure the town would agree it's nothing. This seems like a poor way to make such a decision. Trixie has seen what happens to towns with bad Mayors."
"I am entirely confident that a mare of your class and intellect would make an excellent administrator," Blueblood said solemnly. Then he turned around to face Trixie. "But please, let's dispense with such dishonest tripe. I don't care about the mayorship. I want you, Miss Trixie, and if I can use my power as a scion of the royal family to sway you, I will not hesitate."
He cupped a hoof under Trixie's chin. "Is that not how it should be? The mighty royal lavishing his mate with gifts and privilege? Honor me with your affections, Miss Trixie, and I shall honor you as only the highest of nobility can."
Still Trixie hesitated, looking away and chewing her lip. Blueblood waited several seconds in silence, and then backed away to the railing of the balcony. He pivoted and reared up onto the railing to point a single foreleg down to the web of glittering lights below, twisting his neck such that his eyes never left Trixie's.
"All of this will be your fiefdom, Miss Trixie! And that, that shall be your palace! Whether it be leisure, power, wealth, or the simple freedom to live as you see fit and leave when you wish, you will want for nothing! I can deliver it all to you, for a single night of passion!"
Trixie hesitantly stepped over to the railing, staring down at the place where Blueblood was pointing to. He was gesturing without looking, knowing the exact placement of the property, but it was quite easy for her to spot too despite the nighttime gloom. Mostly due to the many tiny, flickering fires and the column of smoke rising from the property.
"... Trixie's palace seems to be a burnt-out husk," she said flatly.
Blueblood snapped his head around, and his eyes bulged at she stared down at the property in question. "What?! But we were just... Earlier, it was... The Royal Guard! Where was the Royal Guard?! How did this happen?!" he stuttered, his anger slowly overcoming his shock and inebriation.
He leaned further over the railing to get a better look. The small, numerous lights were not from scattered conflagrations, but were in fact being held by the various guards, firefighters, and party guests that were observing the accident. The main blaze had already been defeated, mercifully, although it was clear even from this distance that the Mayor's house had been completely gutted in the meantime.
Once the Prince stopped sputtering in shock, he heard the sound of muffled giggling coming from behind him. He turned around, and then saw Trixie struggling to restrain laughter with a hoof against her mouth.
"Trixie really should have expected this. As if he can be left alone for more than an hour on his own."
She smiled warmly despite her words, and generally seemed far more relaxed than he had a minute ago. Blueblood was more confused than ever, not least because she didn't seem at all put off by the destruction of the property he was offering her. The mood was completely shattered, and yet his guest seemed... if not pleased, then amused? It made no sense.
"I don't understand. Who's 'he'? Did you have a date to ball? Do you know what happened?" Blueblood asked, swaying slightly.
"Trixie has a theory. But never mind that. It's getting late, after all, and Trixie must really be going. You have Trixie's gratitude for the drink and conversation, Prince Blueblood, but Trixie shall decline your earlier proposition."
"I... that... but..." Blueblood shook his head. "Wait! Hold on! My mayorship offer still stands! The house is nothing; we can have it rebuilt in a few weeks! I'll expense the royal treasury! It's a trifle!"
"Trixie doesn't doubt it," the magician replied, walking toward him, "but Trixie simply has better things to do. Have a lovely night, Prince."
Once she was close enough, she leaned forward and gave the stallion a peck on the nose. Blueblood's ears perked up instantly, and the royal unicorn spent a few seconds in stunned surprise before it occurred to him to lunge forward for a properly passionate kiss. By that time Trixie had already turned around, and he barely stopped himself from blundering right into her backside.
"You... You don't know what you're missing!" Blueblood shouted drunkenly. "To even have a chance at having a royal partner is the opportunity of a lifetime!"
"Meh." Trixie trotted back toward the villa.
"Money and esteem! Power and love! So much could be yours, and so easily!"
"And it surely will someday, because Trixie is great and powerful and deserves those things," Trixie retorted just as she stepped through the sliding glass door, "but thanks anyway, Prince Blueblood. Goodbye." Her horn flashed, and the door slid shut behind her.
Several minutes later Trixie exited the main gate around the royal estate. Her dress was neatly folded and sat on her back. Wearing it would have made for an unpleasant hike down the mountain, and it wasn't as if the sheer, silvery fabric would have made much difference against the late night chill.
Trixie hardly made it a dozen steps down the road before she heard a scraping noise above her and to the side. Her ear twitched, and she stopped walking.
"You know Ranma, you may have embarrassed Trixie, sent Trixie away with a complete sleazeball of a stallion, and even set another building on fire, but Trixie still must admit: tonight went far better than Trixie could have possibly expected. Thank you for making it possible."
"Welcome!" The dark shape perched atop a rock outcropping above the road vanished in a blur, and then Ranma seemed to materialize next to the showmare. Apparently the martial artist had changed back to his stallion form and abandoned his dress in the process. Probably for the best, if the Mayor's party had ended as Trixie imagined it did.
Ranma took a deep breath, as if he was preparing himself for a serious exertion. "So... are you and Princey a thing now? If you are, can I have your wagon? Because I realized after you left that I have no food or money or anything else but the dumb artifact I can't use and everyone wants to kill me for. And the police around here are going to find out that I'm not Frederick Goldwhinny eventually. Kind of in a tough spot, now that I think about it."
Trixie started walking again, and the martial artist followed her. "No, we're not a thing. Trixie finds that a life of easy luxury doesn't agree with her as well as she had anticipated. It feels... too shallow, somehow. All flash and no substance."
Ranma smirked and opened his mouth.
"Shut up, Ranma," Trixie said pre-emptively.
The stallion frowned and closed his mouth.
"Trixie doesn't know where her destiny will lead her, but Trixie is definitely fated for something more meaningful than being a royal mistress. It would be a terrible letdown for Trixie's fans around the world if Trixie were tied down to a Prince's whims, no matter the perks." She paused. "It also doesn't help that you burned down one of those perks before Trixie could hope to benefit."
"Not my fault," Ranma said immediately. "Guard did it."
"Trixie believes you. And yet, this is, what, the sixth burnt-out building you've left behind you? Seventh? More?"
"It depends on whether you count the ones nobody actually lived in. I don't. Property damage doesn't count if no one owns the property! That's a rule. Oh, and Rite's tower also doesn't count because he's a bad guy. I think that keeps me down to six."
"Sure. Let's go with that."
They walked in silence for a few minutes. Ranma started chewing his lip anxiously, and then eventually cleared his throat.
"So, uh... Trix? This might seem weird to say after basically setting you up with the Prince back there, but... I'm kind of... glad you two didn't work out."
Trixie tilted her head over so that Ranma could more easily see her arched eyebrow. "Oh? Go on..."
Ranma seemed uncomfortable with this topic, but he forced himself to answer. "Well, I mean... mostly because of the having no food or anywhere to go thing, but also... I really do think you can do better than a guy like that. I could tell he was a creep when he started putting the moves on me at the buffet line. He's a jerk, and he'd probably ditch you as soon as he got bored."
"Undoubtedly. But it seems Trixie got bored with him, first." She smirked. "Perhaps it reflects poorly on Trixie's choice of companions, but boredom is never a problem around you."
"Also, I'm not trying to sleep with you," Ranma pointed out helpfully.
"You'll come around," she replied.
They continued walking down the road in silence. As the minutes passed, Ranma's expression slowly shifted from neutral to thoughtful. Then from thoughtful to confused. Once he completed the transformation to worried, he turned his head toward Trixie again.
"What... What did you mean by... Are you... We're not a... I mean, I don't... uh..."
"Let it go, Ranma. It's late, Trixie is fairly drunk, and we probably need to flee the city before they properly identify 'Frederick Goldwhinny.' The break was nice, but by morning we're back on the lam." She suddenly laughed, picking up the pace down the road. "Trixie must truly be crazy to give up a future of pampered luxury to help you run from the authorities for the rest of your unfortunate life! Hah!"
"Heh. Yeah, thanks..." Ranma chuckled weakly as the unicorn passed him by. He paused only briefly, glancing back over his shoulder at the extravagant royal estate. His ears fell flat against his head, and a frown briefly crossed his face.
Then he shook his head and turned forward again, and quickly joined Trixie on the path back to town. |
Taming the Wild Horse | Trotter's Gulch | Taming the Wild Horse
a My Little Pony/Ranma 0.5 crossover fanfiction
by SFaccountant
Chapter 3
Trotter's Gulch
Twilight emerged from her bed with a groan and a weary sigh.
Her body ached, but the pain was dull and faded. Despite the extensive application of healing magic, she had spent some time with her wings and a leg in casts, and the joints were still weak. Once she was standing in the middle of her bedroom she began to stretch; legs first, one by one, then each wing. Bones popped with nauseating frequency, and fresh pain bloomed within each appendage. When she was done, however, much of it subsided.
She gave her wings a few experimental flaps, nearly lifting herself off the floor. The pain was almost gone, but Twilight still felt it would be better to stick to the ground for now. She opened her bedroom door with a flicker of magic and then descended to the first floor.
"Spike! Good morning!" Twilight chirped. "Thank you for cooking, as always!"
Spike was carrying a plate of toast to their dining table, and paused briefly to give the alicorn a thumbs-up. The table already boasted several plates of waffles, hot tea, and next to Twilight's setting was a thick book for her to read as she ate.
Twilight sat down and then looked over the title. "Beyond Friendship and Chaos, by Friedrich Neightzsche. Excellent choice, although I've read it already."
"It's pretty hard to find a book in here you haven't read," Spike said with a chuckle while taking his seat.
"I suppose so. Being immobile all day certainly boosted my reading progress!" Twilight agreed.
"Barely. I mean, you got through five a day rather than your usual four?"
"That's the mean average, and you know it!" she retorted sharply. "The mode average is far more representative of how I manage my reading time during my everyday life and other responsibilities! Use that when you make subtle criticisms of my social life!"
Spike ignored her and started eating his waffles. Twilight frowned at him, but quickly let the indignity go. She opened her book and levitated some syrup over her plate, settling back into the routine that had been so brutally interrupted by her brief encounter with Ranma Saotome.
It all seemed so bizarre and dreamlike, even though the actual pain from her capture still hadn't completely faded. The brief chase, the sudden ambush, her short talk with Blood Rite, and the explosion that had nearly put her in a coma... it had all happened so fast, and between her magical imprisonment and waking up in Canterlot's hospital she felt like her memory was spotty.
What exactly happened after her capture? She had recounted the events for Celestia during a formalized debriefing in her hospital room, and for numerous other ponies after that, but her recollection was underwhelming. She remembered conversing with Blood Rite, but the words were fuzzy. This was no doubt related to the massive explosion that had swallowed her prison and knocked her out.
She knew Blood Rite had not been captured by Equestria, but had been told little else besides that. Curiosity gnawed at her, but the young Princess had been reluctant to press for details. She was still embarrassed to have encountered Rite at all, considering that Celestia had specifically warned her to avoid him. Celestia hadn't leveled any accusations or chided her over what had happened, but the elder alicorn certainly knew she didn't have to; Twilight felt guilty enough, and the various fractures and concussions were their own punishment besides.
But Blood Rite was only one piece of the puzzle. He was an enigma that had been deliberately and forcefully obscured by Princess Celestia, and while Twilight was almost desperate to know more about him, her trust in her mentor kept that desire in check. The other big piece, however, she knew more about, and yet he seemed all the more mysterious for it.
Just what had happened to Saotome Ranma?
She dwelled on this for some time, her eyes scanning the pages of her book without really digesting the content. Her breakfast gradually disappeared down her throat, piece by piece. Soon the plate was empty, and Spike took it away. Twilight remained in her seat, levitating one page back after another, her mind occupied elsewhere.
A knock came at the door.
"Rainbow Dash! Applejack! Hello!" Twilight was quite pleased to see two of her friends waiting outside. Applejack was wearing a pair of saddlebags with some papers stuffed in it, while Rainbow Dash was hovering overhead with a solemn expression.
"Hiya, Twi! How ya feelin' this mornin'?" Applejack asked.
"Your wings okay? Are you exercising them every day?" Rainbow Dash added, dipping in through the front entrance to get a closer look.
"My wings are recovering just fine," Twilight said wryly. "But I'm going easy on them for now."
"That's no good, Twi! You've gotta work them out!" Rainbow gave a few hard flaps for emphasis, bounding up higher before dropping back down to a low hover. "Trust me on this one! I've had plenty of wing injuries! You have to put a little strain on them if you want to get back in the air again!"
"The difference being that I'm not in a hurry to get back in the air again," Twilight reminded the racer. "I lived most of my life on the ground, and I'm perfectly happy here for now. But thanks, Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow made an exasperated face while Applejack chuckled. "Well, it's good t'hear yer comin' along. But we ain't just here fer a social visit."
"Oh? What's going on?"
Applejack and Rainbow shared a glance, the farmer looking up over Twilight's head. Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Okay, so, you remember a few weeks ago when you blew up that drifter pony?" Rainbow asked.
"ON ACCIDENT," Twilight said immediately. Then she cleared her throat and backed up a few steps to let Applejack inside. "Anyway, yes, I remember. What about Saotome Ranma?"
"Looks like Mister Sow-toh-may got himself into a spot o' trouble," Applejack said, her tone grim. "Ah don' know if ya had an inklin' of what kinda varmint ya were dealin' with when ya blasted 'im, but seems that this guy's a real bad apple."
"What? What are you talking about?" Twilight asked, frowning.
"Ah was makin' a delivery outta town and happened t'see this thing while droppin' off mah wares. Take a look." She nosed around in her saddlebag for a moment, and then Applejack turned back toward Twilight with a sheet of parchment clenched in her teeth.
Twilight's eyes went wide. "That's... That's him! On a bounty notice?! Dead or alive?! 20,000 bit reward?!" She was about to move to the section of the poster that detailed his crimes, but she couldn't help but notice that the name was different from what she had expected. "Wait, Havoc? Who's 'Havoc?' His name is Saotome!"
"Maybe that's too hard to spell?" Rainbow ventured.
"Or some kinda code name?" Applejack guessed. "I dunno, but I kinda like the name Havoc. Feels appropriate after what the varmint did to mah orchard."
"The dragonspawn wrecked your orchard, not Ranma!" Twilight protested.
"Havoc. His name is Havoc now," Rainbow Dash said, wagging a hoof at the Princess.
Spike poked his head out of the kitchen.
"No, his name is Saotome Ranma," Twilight said firmly. "This has to be some kind of mistake. It says here that he attacked a Princess! He SAVED Princess Luna's life, he didn't attack her! This must have been what he was talking about when he complained about being framed!"
"Wait, really? He was framed? Or is it that there's a real criminal who just looks like him?" Rainbow asked.
"Yes, maybe that's it." Twilight nodded. "It would explain why they have the wrong name, too. This 'Havoc' must be a completely different pony. Probably with some association with Blood Rite, judging by all the treason and rebellion charges. Ranma has nothing to do with that."
"Nah. It's him."
The three mares did a double-take, and then they whirled around. Spike was standing next to the kitchen entrance while drying a plate with a towel.
"What? What do you mean?" Twilight asked, looking halfway between offended and afraid.
"Ranma and Havoc are the same pony," Spike said bluntly. "Trixie came up with a different name for him because she thought his real name was dumb."
"Trixie? What's that annoyin' grifter got t'do with this?" Applejack asked, her brow furrowing.
"He's traveling with Trixie now. They're like an adventuring team or something. I dunno." Spike shrugged.
"Huh. Well, she has a point. His real name IS dumb," Rainbow agreed solemnly.
"It's a foreign name, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight chided. "It's not 'dumb,' it's just different! Don't be insensitive!"
"Yeah, well, Trixie calls him Havoc and the pegasus version Calamity. And then when something goes wrong, they pin the crimes on Havoc and Calamity and pretend that Ranma is a different pony. That's why the authorities don't have his real name, and are confused about who did what." Spike finished drying the plate and briefly re-entered the kitchen to fetch another one.
"Pegasus 'version?' Whaddya mean by 'version?'" Applejack asked, scratching her head.
"He's talking about Saotome's other body," Twilight said, sounding distracted.
"Other... body? What?"
"He has a magic condition."
"The allergy?"
"Okay, so he has MULTIPLE magic conditions. Anyway, he changes from an earth pony stallion to a pegasus mare with exposure to water of varying temperatures." Twilight tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes in thought.
"He changes bodies?" Applejack looked suspicious. "We sure this varmint ain't a changeling?"
"He isn't a changeling." Spike returned from the kitchen while drying a water glass. "He can only change into a pegasus, nothing else. And it isn't like a deliberate thing." Spike held up the glass to check it for spots. "He sometimes uses it like a changeling to disguise himself, though. He spends a lot of time trying to avoid arrest."
Twilight slumped onto her rear and started rubbing her head.
"Okay, hold on, I'm confused." Rainbow Dash pointed to Spike. "Level with me, here: is Saotome a good guy or a bad guy?"
"Oh, he's definitely a good guy!" Spike said, satisfied that the glass was clean. "Anything that says he was working for Blood Rite is wrong. Mostly."
"Mostly?!" Applejack asked incredulously.
Spike rolled his eyes. "Well, it's complicated. But Dash asked me to level with you, so there you go: he's a good guy who wants to stop Rite from doing whatever mysterious evil thing it is Rite wants to do." He pointed a claw at Twilight. "He was REALLY upset when he found out you were captured. In fact, I'm like ninety percent sure he was the one who rescued you from Blood Rite and brought you back to Coltson where the Princesses found you. That was why he was hanging out with Swan Song back there; it was part of a big plan to trick her into leading us to you." He stopped and scratched the back of his head. "I'm not COMPLETELY sure how that turned out, though, because I kind of screwed up my part of the plan and got swept up by the Royal Guard. Still, I'm positive that the Princesses didn't rescue you, and I seriously doubt it was Trixie."
Twilight's jaw fell open, and her eye started to twitch.
"Holy hailstones! Then this guy is a hero and he's being hunted like a criminal!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah. I mean... mostly." Spike grimaced. "I'm also pretty sure he did do some of the stuff he's accused of. So, you know... Like I said. Complicated."
Spike turned around to return the glass to the kitchen, only to be suddenly surrounded by a purple aura of magic. The glass slipped from his hand and floated onto the table, while the young dragon was spun around to face Twilight.
"Spike, how do you know all this?!" Twilight demanded.
"I know all this because I was there," Spike deadpanned. "Ranma and Trixie looked after me after you were captured and Princess Luna bolted. Mostly Ranma, since Trixie kept trying to ditch me."
Twilight was stunned speechless for a few seconds. "... And WHY haven't you told me any of this before now?!"
"Because when you were finally discharged from the hospital and came home, you told me you didn't want to talk about Coltson or your getting captured," Spike answered calmly.
Twilight's cheeks darkened, and she winced. The magical aura around Spike broke, and the dragon picked up the clean glass again to return it to the kitchen.
Twilight remained silent for a few seconds, her ears pinned and her face burning while Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared.
"I... did actually say that," Twilight admitted with a slight squeak. "In my defense, I spent all of my last week in the hospital being questioning and interviewed about the whole ordeal even though I hardly remembered anything."
"Ah see," Applejack mumbled. She looked down at the bounty poster and chewed her lip. "Well, Ah guess we know better now. That's an awful shame." She started rolling up the poster to put it back in her saddlebag.
"Wait! We have to do something about this!" Twilight insisted, jumping around. "Saotome is being hunted down and-"
Spike suddenly poked his head back out. "Also, just so you know: Ranma is his given name. He introduces himself backwards, for some reason. Maybe it's a human thing." He went back to the dishes.
"... Yes. Right. Ranma is being hunted down and persecuted for several crimes he didn't commit." Twilight shook her head. "Even if some of these accusations have some truth to them, others are an outright fabrication, and yet others may be misunderstandings taken out of context! We have to contact the authorities and explain!"
"Tried that! They didn't believe me!" Spike shouted.
Twilight deflated instantly. "Oh, for pony's sake..."
"Well, we could try again anyway. Maybe they'd believe it coming from a Princess?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"A Princess with little to no information besides the source they already dismissed," Twilight grumbled. Then she magically levitated the bounty poster into the air again and opened it. "But then again... There's no way some of these charges should be valid. Attacking Princess Luna, at the very least, is ridiculous. She was VERY clear that Ranma saved her from the rebels."
She rolled up the poster in the air, and a determined expression crossed her face. "I have to at least try to help fix this."
"Good luck!" Spike shouted from the kitchen. "I'm tired of having soldiers making fun of me, so I'll stay here this time."
"Yes, fine," Twilight grumbled. "Rainbow, Applejack, can you come with me?"
"Sure thing, sugarcube," Applejack said with a grin. "With mah delivery outta the way, Ah've got most of the day free anyhow."
"Count me in!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "I don't know much about this Ranma guy except that he took on the dragon thing and you blew him up that one time, but if Spike vouches for him that's good enough for me!"
"Thanks, girls! Let's catch the late morning train to Canterlot and check with the dispatch office!" Twilight opened the front door again. "Oh, and... Rainbow, could you... not bring up that explosion thing anymore? Please?"
"Ha! No."
Trixie frowned while she pored over several papers laid out under her forelegs. Her quill hovered in the air nearby, and a small pot of ink sat atop a pillow in order to muffle the vibrations underneath it. A sack of bits sat on the other side of the papers, and were given no such protection; the coins inside quivered and freely clinked together as the wagon's wheels rattled them.
Once again, the magician was looking over her accounts. And once again, she was finding herself deeply concerned about her cash flow.
Which wasn't to say that she didn't have enough money. Far from it; Trixie was firmly in the black and still had a decent emergency reserve of funds, even after she and Ranma had splashed out for new dresses in Fillydelphia. Ranma had completely covered for her regular show earnings with his appropriations from enemies that kept attacking them. He apparently even managed to "rescue" (his word) several dishes from the buffet after the mayor's party had turned into a conflagration, which kept him away from her food stocks for a grand total of two whole meals.
And that was more or less the problem Trixie was considering at the moment. All of her recent funds and her savings from "free supplies" had basically come from Ranma. His penchant for attracting unsympathetic scoundrels with money, combined with his talent for beating them to a pulp, had kept the two of them afloat even while it had prevented Trixie from putting on any shows and making any money herself.
This was a problem. Not just because it was a legally dubious source of income, but because it was an unreliable, inconstant source of income that directly interfered with her primary trade. The more trouble Ranma fought off, the more likely it was that they would be driven out of every given town before she could so much as put up a puppet stage. Hopefully Ranma's new disguise would help with that, but Trixie wasn't expecting miracles; not a single pony in Fillydelphia had successfully identified "Havoc" and they still ended up departing in the middle of the night to evade capture.
Besides that, Trixie was concerned that she was starting to get used to making a living primarily through what she had wryly termed "reverse banditry." She caught herself frowning in disappointment sometimes when bounty hunters didn't have much money on them, and she often thought back to Blood Rite's tower and wondered how much treasure and supplies had been wastefully destroyed because of Swan Song's sudden tantrum. It only really occurred to her when she was budgeting her finances how bizarre it was to think of the detonation of somepony else's home as "lost earnings."
Trixie had a solution, though: if she had her old, larger wagon back, which had a built-in stage and living space, then she could easily and instantly set up a show anywhere at any time. Her stage wagon had been excellent at drawing curious crowds and allowed her to forgo arranging presentations and lodging inside the towns she visited. Not to mention the obvious advantages of storage and interior living space.
The problem was, of course, that such a wagon would be very expensive. As extensively talented as she was, Trixie didn't do carpentry or construction. And while Ranma's fighting was surprisingly lucrative, his eating habits and disruption to her shows made it hard to save. Trixie would need a plan to come up with a lot of money quickly.
"Of course, if it were that easy, Trixie wouldn't be worried about money in the first place," the magician grumbled.
The wagon suddenly stopped. "... Trix?"
"Never mind, Ranma. Trixie was just talking to herself," the unicorn answered.
"Not that! Duck!"
Ranma leapt forward, twisting free of the harness that secured him to the wagon. Trixie heeded the stallion's warning, falling flat and covering her head.
A moment later the heavy THUNK of crossbow bolts striking wood shook the wagon. One bolt missed the side and sailed over Trixie, knocking off her star-patterned hat. Shouting came from the side of the road, and Trixie heard the sound of hooves pounding against the ground.
"Give up, Havoc! Your bounty is ours!"
Trixie peeked up over the side of her wagon. There were several armed ponies charging from the trees, plus a minotaur wielding a battleaxe. She touched a hoof to the gemstone clasp securing her cape, and a pulse of heat washed over her chest. Within the fake casing, the Alchemist's Heart started feeding magical energy through Trixie's natural aura, and her horn's glow shifted from bright pink to fiery crimson.
"Well, what do you know?" the magician sniffed. "More income."
Speedy Snaps heard the bell ring on the front door, and her ears perked up.
"Just a minute, please!" she sang, still facing away from the front counter. She was sorting papers with her wings, clutching one memo after another between her primary feathers before slipping them into place among the greater stack. Once all the papers were in place, she pushed the stack under a large stapler and slammed a hoof down onto the top.
"There!" The bounty office's administrator pushed aside the papers, and then rapidly whirled around. "How can I hellllllp... you?"
Her voice trailed off awkwardly as she immediately recognized the three ponies standing just inside her office. Not that she had ever met them before, but there were few ponies in Canterlot who couldn't recognize the Elements of Harmony. Three of the six mares were currently standing in front of her desk, each of them wearing very serious and generally displeased expressions.
"P-Princess Twilight Sparkle! H-Hi!" Speedy said, suddenly overcome with nervousness. She couldn't imagine why the Element of Magic wanted to see her, but she had a feeling the youngest of the alicorn Princesses wasn't here to collect a bounty. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Maybe. I have a problem, and I believe the problem originated here," Twilight said evenly. Ranma's bounty poster was rolled up and levitating over her head in a shroud of purple magic, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack flanked her as if they were trying to keep the administrator from escaping the room.
Speedy glanced up to the paper in the grip of Twilight's telekinesis. "Is that a bounty poster?" She guessed.
"Yes, it is. And I believe it's wrong."
Speedy nodded solemnly. "I see. It's not unheard of for ponies to create fake bounty posters in order to get hunters to target innocent ponies. Let me see it."
"Here." Twilight moved the poster to the desk, and then unrolled it with her magic. "I don't have any reason to believe this isn't official, but it IS incorrect."
Speedy Snaps recognized the poster immediately, and she clicked her tongue. "Ah! I see the problem. This poster is old. Thanks for bringing it in; the guard posts don't always update them regularly when we get new information and issue replacements."
"Ah ha! I knew it!" Twilight sounded triumphant for a moment, and then looked concerned. "But he still has a bounty on his head?"
"Well, of course." Speedy turned the poster around to face her, and then took up her quill between her teeth.
"Spike did say he wasn't completely innocent," Applejack reminded Twilight.
"Let's see what he's still accused of and then work from there," Rainbow Dash suggested.
Speedy dipped her quill in the ink pot at the edge of her desk.
Then she drew an extra zero onto the reward total.
Then she crossed out the "or alive" portion of "dead or alive."
Then she turned it back around and pushed the poster back to Twilight. "There you go. You can put it back up now, or keep it for your own use."
Twilight's jaw fell slack. Rainbow Dash sucked in a breath through her teeth. Applejack whistled.
"200,000 bits! That's some kinda payday, all right!" the farmer mused aloud.
"The-Thi-Tha-" Twilight shook her head to clear it, and then stepped closer to the desk. "No! This is still wrong! This is all a terrible mistake!"
Speedy Snaps arched an eyebrow. "Well, technically I should have added all the other crimes he did at the bottom; that poster only has about a third of the current standing charges against him. But that would take too long, and the bounty hunters don't really care about that part anyway."
"I didn't know bounties that didn't accept live prisoners was a thing," Rainbow mumbled, looking fairly perturbed.
"Neither did I, actually!" Speedy chuckled. "The last few weeks have been full of surprises!"
"Well, hay, now I kinda wanna know what the other crimes were," Applejack said. "What kinda bedlam do ya gotta cause to get a price like that on yer head?"
"You have to attack an Equestrian Princess, assist in the abduction of a DIFFERENT Equestrian Princess, and somewhere along the way beat up and rob an Equestrian General," Speedy chuckled. "As an aside, I'm glad you escaped from the rebels, Princess. Close one!"
"But that's not true!" Twilight blurted. "He didn't do any of those things!"
Speedy Snaps recoiled in surprise. "He didn't beat up General Firebrand?"
"No! He..." Twilight's jaw open and closed wordlessly for a moment, and then she released a frustrated sigh. "Well, I don't actually know about that one. Maybe! But he never attacked Princess Luna and he definitely didn't assist in my capture!"
"Huh... Really?" Speedy rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"I mean, if you want to get ABSOLUTELY TECHNICAL, he did attack Princess Luna," Twilight continued. "But it was a duel, so it absolutely shouldn't count as a case of assault!"
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Ain't duels illegal too?"
"Yes. But she declared it, so..." Twilight trailed off. "... So that might... affect the judgment? I'm not actually familiar with this area of law."
"I am, and it's actually NOT okay to hit a Princess even if she invites you to do it somehow," Speedy interjected with a shrug. "But really, the details would be for the magistrate and barrister to hash out. You know, assuming the hunters delivered the suspect and not the suspect's corpse." She stopped and scrawled down some notes on a piece of paper. "Now, you say that he didn't assist in your capture?"
"He didn't. That I am absolutely sure of. One-hundred percent," the purple mare said firmly.
"Okay. I'll probably need a sta-"
"I mean, he didn't do it DELIBERATELY," Twilight continued. "Arguably you could say that his duel with Princess Luna DID draw all of us apart at a critical-"
Rainbow Dash suddenly slapped her hoof around Twilight's mouth, sealing it closed. "Don't mind her, she babbles sometimes. We'd like to stick with 'One-hundred percent,' please."
Speedy Snaps took a few more notes, and then dropped the quill from her mouth with a sigh. "Look, Princess, I'm not sure what exactly you're trying to accomplish here, but from the sound of things this stallion has a lot to answer for. I can make a case that we should allow for his live capture again, but I'm not seeing much scope for reducing his charges on your say-so."
Twilight's ears drooped in disappointment. Applejack shook her head sadly.
Rainbow Dash scowled. "Ponyfeathers! I figured a Princess could just march in here, tell you to drop the charges, and you'd have to do it."
"Rainbow! That is NOT how being a Princess works!" Twilight grumbled.
"Actually, yes, that's exactly how it works," Speedy corrected. The other three mares stumbled in surprise. "Or, rather, that's how it WOULD work... but this bounty initially came from Princess Luna. Princess seniority is a thing, I'm afraid."
"It IS?" Applejack asked, perplexed.
"I'm learning so much today," Rainbow Dash mumbled.
Twilight shook her head. "That means Princess Luna didn't lift the bounty even after she found out about it! He told her back before their fight! I can't believe everypony was just so panicked by my capture that they completely ignored this!" She felt like bashing her head against a wall. "How did this even happen? The only time he ever hurt her was when SHE started a fight with HIM!"
"Well, that's kind of a funny story, actually," Speedy chuckled. "Initially, he had a minimal bounty seeking live capture just for questioning. That's the bounty that came directly from Princess Luna. Then the Lunar Guard pinned the Princess Assault charges to him; oddly enough, without any sort of statement from the Princesses themselves. After a few days in distribution, suddenly all sorts of crimes started coming in to be added to his suspect profile. We've had to start attaching secondary posters to the main posters just so we can list everything! Like I said, I think it really doesn't matter since the hunters don't care, but that's standard procedure..."
"This is hopeless," Twilight groaned. "This pony doesn't deserve this! He's lost and confused, and he's been attacked constantly since he set foot in Equestria!"
"None of that necessarily makes the criminal charges against him untrue or invalid," Speedy pointed out gingerly.
Rainbow Dash tilted her head to the side, and then suddenly brightened. "Well, nothing for it, then! C'mon, let's go." She suddenly pushed Twilight toward the exit, waving her wing toward the administrator. "Thanks for your help! See you later!"
"Wait! Rainbow! We still might-" Twilight started to protest as she stumbled out the door, but Rainbow shushed her before successfully shoving her outside.
Applejack looked suspicious, but gave a brief nod to Speedy Snaps before she too exited the building. The farmer caught the door with her back leg and closed it firmly on her way out.
"Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?" Twilight asked. "We still might be able to help! If we can get a magistrate to accept that there may be extenuating circumstances-"
"Twi, you're thinking about this the wrong way," Rainbow snickered. "The law thinks Ranma is bad. But we KNOW Ranma is good! All these silly posters and lawyers are just muddling the issue!"
"What good does knowin' that do if we can't get the lawpone off his case?" Applejack drawled.
"Yes! Exactly!" Twilight agreed.
"Because a Princess's word is worth more than a lawpone's!" Rainbow said.
"But it's Twi's word against Luna's," Applejack pointed out. "Fer some reason..."
"Okay, wait... I think I see Dash's point." Twilight nodded thoughtfully. "If we speak to Luna, we can get her involved and she can dismiss the charges personally! The ones related to harming me and her, at least!"
"Yeah, we could, but that would take all day. She's not even up right now," Rainbow Dash scoffed. "You need to think bigger. 'Princess seniority' is a thing, remember?"
"You mean... ask Princess Celestia to dispute the charges?"
"Forget 'dispute.' Tell Princess Celestia this guy saved your flank and he's been wrongfully accused, so he should get a full pardon. Just wipe the slate clean!" the pegasus grinned, floating over the other mares and swiping her leg sharply to the side.
"What about all the shady stuff he mighta actually done?" Applejack asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Who cares? He saved Twilight's life!" Rainbow countered.
"Probably," the farmer corrected.
"VERY probably! Ninety percent probably!"
"Ya know Ah ain't callin' Spike a liar, but Ah dunno about this, RD," Applejack said sourly, sitting down. "The only time Ah met Havoc was after he knocked over a dozen apple trees, and just a'fore he led a dragonspawn into my orchard to tear it up. He don't seem like no knight in shining barding t'me."
"But that's exactly the point!" Twilight interjected, setting her jaw. "From your perspective, it seemed like he just tore through your property like a whirlwind! Especially the part where he literally tore through your property with a whirlwind. But he wasn't really to blame for any of that! My spell is what ultimately sent him into your orchard, which is why the dragonspawn was drawn there. And because I screwed up getting him to safety, he had no choice but to fight it using any means necessary!"
The alicorn shook her head. "Rainbow Dash is right. Until we have reliable information to the contrary, we should presume innocence and plead his case on that basis! Let's go see the Princess."
"YES! Loyalty beats Honesty once again!" Rainbow Dash cheered, pumping a foreleg into the air. Applejack scowled up at her, and Twilight winced. "Let's go get that pardon!"
"... Forty-three, forty-four, and that makes forty-five!"
One coin after another dropped into a small sack of golden bits, arcing over the side of the wagon on trails of pink magic. Trixie counted each one, and then a floating quill briefly noted the total amount on the accounting notes she had been perusing before she had been attacked.
The unicorn pouted. "Is that all? This is barely ration money! And none of you even look like you have any gear worth pawning! This is just embarrassing!"
Trixie turned toward a line of six ponies lying on the ground behind her. Every one of them was injured to one degree or another, sporting an array of black eyes, scorched fur, chipped teeth, and swollen lumps on the head. Two of them were simply unconscious, and had been laid down next to the others out of mere convenience. Those that weren't comatose quivered in pain and terror, staring up at the unicorn mare like one would regard a bloodthirsty chimera or enraged dragon.
"What were you idiots thinking? Did you seriously think scrubs like yourselves could take Trixie down so easily? Do you have any idea who we are?!" Trixie shouted, glaring down at the brutalized bounty hunters.
One of the mares sniffled fearfully, and then pointed a trembling hoof off to the side. "We... We, uh... We know who HE is..."
Some distance away from the other ponies, Ranma was inspecting the unconscious minotaur that apparently acted as the bounty hunting squad's shock trooper. The beast's face had been mashed against a tree, and one of his horns was driven deeply enough into the trunk that it held the rest of his body up while Ranma patted down his pockets.
Trixie scowled. "Of course, you're here for the big payout. Trixie supposes that's to be expected, and since Trixie has no bounty - being a loyal and law-abiding citizen of Equestria - you wouldn't recognize just how far in over your heads you were."
One of the stallions tilted his head to the side. "What's a loyal and law-abiding citizen doing traveling with the biggest single criminal bounty in Equestria?"
Trixie remained silent as her horn flashed. The nearby pile of weapons that had been taken from the hunters trembled, and a short sword floated into the air.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I take it back! Forget I said anything!" the stallion wailed, clamping his hooves over his eyes and breaking down into sobs. "Please, don't kill me! I have nothing left after this! Just leave me with my life, I'm begging you!"
"Oh, stop your whining," Trixie snapped. The stallion silenced himself with a squeak. "Trixie isn't going to kill any of you."
The blade hovered in front of her at nose level, and Trixie narrowed her eyes. The sword was cheap iron, poorly tempered, and had chips and rust on its edge. It was a weapon more appropriate for a rogue than a bounty hunter, probably scavenged from a junk pile or a battlefield. The crossbows were in slightly better condition, but had clearly seen heavy use; and judging by the poor aim and reloading proficiency of the ponies in front of Trixie, the heavy use hadn't come from them.
Their cutie marks confirmed Trixie's suspicions. There were flowers, bread, and one even had an iron ingot on their rear, but not a one featured a weapon, shackles, or anything that brought to mind the violent trade of subduing criminals for cash rewards.
"You idiots aren't even bounty hunters, are you?" Trixie asked.
The mare pursed her lips. "Well... we came here with the express purpose of capturing a pony for the goal of redeeming a bounty, so technic-"
The flat of the blade Trixie was levitating smacked against her head, and she yelped in pain before she started crying again.
"Okay! No! We're not really bounty hunters! I'm sorry! Please don't hit me anymore!" the mare wailed, trying to cover her head with her forelegs.
"Trixie thought so. What's a bunch of tradesponies doing trying to ambush bounties? Was the payout just so big that you couldn't resist?" The blade slowly spun in the air as she interrogated the defeated equines, wavering over their heads on a bed of glittering pink.
"N-No, it's not that..."
"Well, it's KIND of like that, in that this bounty was one of the only two that was big enough and had a target that was nearby," another pony admitted. "We're trying to raise money to move away, and this is the only thing we hadn't tried. We had no choice!"
"No choice," Trixie drawled. The sword stopped spinning. "Really."
The ponies before her started whimpering in terror.
"It's the bandits! There's this bandit gang that's been plaguing all the towns in this region! That's why we're doing this!" one of them howled.
"The bandit boss Morning Star practically runs the towns around here by now! They trot through whenever they want and take nearly everything, barely leaving enough for us to survive!"
"They leave our towns destitute, so we have nothing to spare for taxes or protection! Any time anypony tries to hire a fighter or guard or mount any other kind of resistance, the bandits find out and they all swarm the village and... well... make an example of them."
"We can't take it anymore! We want to abandon the town, but we needed some money for the trip and starting over somewhere else! This bounty thing seemed like the only way for us to get lots of money all at once without facing the bandits!"
Ranma approached the group with a small coin sack sitting on his back. "This bandit boss wouldn't happen to be your mayor, would he?" The ponies looked up at him, perplexed.
"No, of course not. Although... for all intents and purposes Morning Star may as well be."
"Our ACTUAL mayor pretty much works for Morning Star. He makes excuses to Canterlot for why the town can't pay taxes and downplays the bandit problem, and Morning Star makes sure the thieves leave his house alone. It's probably the same with all the royal officials around here. Anypony who steps out of line disappears. And not quietly."
"Incidentally, the other bounty we were talking about is for Morning Star," sighed another of the amateur hunters. "But obviously, if we could take on the bandits, we would do so whether or not there was a bounty reward. That minotaur over there - an actual bounty hunter, apparently - got word that a pony fitting Havoc's description was headed this way, and we figured that we could overwhelm you with sheer numbers."
"Seven isn't a very impressive number," Ranma said blithely.
"It seemed a lot more impressive before you lodged the minotaur's head into the tree."
Trixie suddenly stabbed the floating blade into the ground, causing the injured equines to flinch back. "This is terrible!" the magician shouted, her expression enraged.
Ranma nodded solemnly. "Yeah, they look like they've had it pretty bad."
"They've had it SO bad that they barely have enough money to survive on! Which means nobody is going to shell out for a magic show!" Trixie growled. "And you're telling Trixie that this entire REGION is like that? Half a dozen villages with barely a bit to spare between them!? And we came all this way!"
A drop of sweat crawled down Ranma's head. "Uh... yeah. I guess that's a problem too."
"It's more than just a problem! Trixie was heading to this area specifically because of their isolation and poor guard presence! If we turn around we'll be heading straight into the soldiers that are looking for us and all the REAL bounty hunters sniffing around for their big score!" Trixie raged. "But if we press on it could take more than a week before we're out of the valley! And the towns and their citizens are completely destitute?! We'll be lucky enough to be able to be able to scrape together enough supplies for the trip, never mind earn any money!"
"Um... speaking of destitute villagers on their last legs," one of the amateur hunters said cautiously, "the money and weapons you took are literally all we have left aside from bandit-ravaged real estate. Any chance you could... you know... not take it from us?"
Ranma heard a snapping noise, and he sucked in some air through his teeth.
"You... dirty, incompetent, USELESS dregs!" Trixie snarled, her eyes flashing and her horn blazing with power.
Pink magic swarmed over the pile of weapons, and several of the crossbows suddenly jumped into the air and swiveled around to face the prostate ponies. The ones that were conscious yelped and squeezed together in a desperate, terrified embrace.
"A few minutes ago you would have happily taken Trixie's life without a thought, and now, after you've lost, you ask Trixie to spare your POCKETBOOKS?!" the magician snarled. "You should be thanking Trixie for letting you off with a few measely bruises after daring to pick a fight with us! Do you idiots have any idea how easily we could bury you?!"
"Whoa! Hey! Easy, Trix!" Ranma jumped in front of the enraged unicorn, pushing her back and away from the injured ponies. "It's fine! Everything's fine now!"
"It's NOT fine, you dunderhead! Weren't you listening?!" she raged.
Once Ranma was satisfied that Trixie's anger had been diverted to himself, he quickly turned to the would-be bounty hunters. "Take your friends and get out of here! Now!"
The equine villagers scrambled to their hooves, and quickly went about lifting their unconscious comrades onto their backs to carry them. Within seconds they were galloping away, having left their bounty target - and their minotaur "leader" - behind in the dust.
Trixie glared at Ranma, silently fuming. The martial artist stared back at her, braced to receive whatever vented abuse the unicorn had in store for him.
Instead, Trixie released her levitation magic. The weapons dropped back into their pile, and she sighed irritably. Then she turned around and trudged back to the wagon.
Ranma was reasonably surprised to be spared any more complaints or insults. Naturally, his first instinct was to immediately press his luck. "So, what's the plan from here on out?"
Trixie groaned while she climbed up into the wagon bed. "Give Trixie a few minutes, will you? Trixie still hasn't fully absorbed the failure of Trixie's previous plan." She slumped onto the bed of blankets, pillows, and grain sacks in the middle of her other supplies. "Ugh... Trixie will have to consult the maps. There... There might be a shortcut through the area, or... or something."
Ranma started heading to the front of the wagon again, but he hesitated. "... Trix? Are you okay? You're taking this kind of hard. Why does it matter so much if we lose a week or so?"
"Trixie was HOPING to get a head start on saving some money," the magician growled, her ears pinning back against her head. "That would have been hard enough between your eating habits and Trixie being driven out of every town before so much as setting up a puppet show. But now Trixie knows there's hardly a spare bit between here and Creepy Crags! Hay, even if we get attacked by more desperate villagers, the dopes barely have any pocket change for you to take."
Ranma thought it was somewhat unfair for Trixie to speak as if he alone had looted their defeated enemies; he may have come up with the idea between the two of them, but Trixie had taken to the enterprise with fervor and poorly-disguised glee. More to the point, all such loot went directly to Trixie's cash stores via some unspoken and questionable agreement. For all intents and purposes Ranma didn't own a single bit.
He put that objection aside, however, when he saw how despondent Trixie looked. She had been in surprisingly high spirits since Fillydelphia, despite them being attacked and having to leave the city in a hurry as usual. And while she was normally way more concerned about money than Ranma thought was reasonable, she didn't usually let sudden losses bring her down like this.
"Why do you need money all of a sudden? Are we running out?"
Trixie's eyes narrowed at him. There was just a hint of guilt in the stallion's voice.
"... No, although that could change easily enough. What Trixie wanted to do was buy a new wagon."
"Why? Is something wrong with this wagon? Do we need to fix it?"
Trixie shook her head and pushed herself up into a seated position. "It's not that. Trixie used to have a much larger traveling stage wagon. It could be unfolded into a platform from which Trixie could put on a show whenever and wherever she wanted, and had proper living space so Trixie didn't have to sleep on the rocks every night." She sighed wearily. "Such a thing isn't cheap, however, and Trixie doesn't do payment plans. We probably need a good four or five thousand bits to spare for anything of passable quality, and there obviously isn't any money like THAT anywhere in this stupid valley!"
Ranma sat down and rubbed a hoof against his chin. "Well, there's ONE place, obviously. But aside from that, yeah, I guess we'd be lucky just to keep up our food stocks."
Trixie quirked an eyebrow. "One place? What one place?"
"The bandit gang. That's where all the villages' money is headed, isn't it?"
Trixie recoiled. "OHHH NO. We're absolutely NOT getting involved in this bandit problem!"
"I didn't say we should!" Ranma protested.
"But you're thinking about it!" the unicorn accused.
"Well... sure I am!" Ranma admitted. "I mean, you heard the villagers! This Morning Star jerk is keeping the entire region under his thumb!"
"Under his what?"
"That... It's... Never mind!" Ranma rolled his eyes. "Look at it this way, Trix: we need money. The bandits have money. The villagers want the bandits gone. We want the villagers to not try to kill me for cash. It's win-win!"
"Unless Trixie ends up with a stray arrow or dagger in her throat, in which case Trixie definitely LOSES," the magician snapped. "This isn't like fleeing the Equestrian guards, Ranma. Guards have no reason to bother Trixie. You DO remember what happened the last time we encountered a mob of criminals, right?"
Ranma winced. "Well... you got captured and held at knifepoint. Yeah, that was bad. But I'll do better this time! I promise! I won't let them hurt you! Heck, you don't even have to come along! I'll sneak into their base and knock 'em silly on my own!"
"Ah, of course. Trixie will just stay behind in some bandit-infested, desperately impoverished town with her cart full of supplies and bits and no bodyguard. There's no way THAT could end poorly," the magician drawled.
Ranma's ears flipped down. "Oh. Right. So... I guess you should come with me, huh?"
"OR... we can rush through the valley as quickly as possible while minding our own business," Trixie said firmly. "If any bandits mess with us, you feel free to knock them silly, but Trixie would like to limit her death-defying adventures to those that involve the potential destruction of the Equestrian state."
Ranma chewed his lip anxiously. "Maybe there's some other place you can hide out? Some place safe? Or you could-"
"Ranma, what is this about? Why do you WANT to fight these brigands?" Trixie asked, exasperated. "Trixie hasn't seen you chomping at the bit for a fight like this since we lost track of Blood Rite. Trixie knows it isn't because you haven't had enough practice banging skulls around lately, so what is it?"
"Well, it's just... seeing those villager ponies all beaten down like that, whimpering in fear and begging us for their money back..." Ranma hung his head miserably, his ears flipping down. "I just... I just feel sorry for them, you know?"
Trixie stared. "...... You DO remember you're the one who beat them, right?"
"Well, yeah. But it was in self defense! Plus defense of you!"
"Exactly!" Trixie snapped. "These ponies tried to kill us! They would have stabbed you and kicked you over to the authorities without a second thought! They MIGHT have hesitated before slaying Trixie, since Trixie doesn't have a price on her head, but Trixie seriously doubts that first crossbow volley was entirely aimed at you! They probably figured Trixie was a criminal for being around you, so they'd simply kill Trixie as well and take the wagon! If they even bothered to think that far ahead! They're hardly any better than the bandits!"
"And I knocked them silly for that," Ranma said firmly. "But come on! They barely put up a fight! They were already half-starved and exhausted, and now they're penniless and unarmed, too!"
"They. Tried. To. MURDER. Us," Trixie said slowly through clenched teeth.
"If I held a grudge against everyone who ever tried to kill me, I'd hate almost everybody," Ranma scoffed. "So what? It wasn't personal, and they know better now. Let it go."
"Trixie DID let it go! But now you want to HELP them, too?!"
"Yes! But NOT for free!"
"Yes, for free! If Trixie went along with this, then Trixie would lay claim to any treasure we find, and you know it! So you are absolutely helping the ponies who attacked us for free!"
"Huh... Well, okay. You have a point there. I don't really have a problem with that, though."
Trixie slapped a hoof against her face. "WHY?! Why are you like this?! What is it about pathetic and undeserving wretches that suddenly draws your moral compass? One second you're bashing agitated musicians into the pavement or kicking around Equestrian bucking Princesses without a problem, and the next you're coddling dragon children and racing off to rescue third-rate hitponies!"
Ranma puffed himself up, holding his head high again. "It's a martial artist's duty to protect the weak."
"It's a BODYGUARD'S duty to protect the employer," Trixie countered.
"Yeah, I know. I'm trying to square this thing, but you could really meet me halfway on this, Trix."
"RRRRRRRRRRGH!" Trixie made a frustrated noise and reared up in her wagon, kicking the air as if it had offended her. Ranma recoiled slightly, surprised by the bitterness of her resistance, but waited patiently for a more eloquent objection.
Eventually Trixie fell back down, and the unicorn seethed quietly for several seconds while suppressing a string of curses. Then her head snapped toward Ranma, and her eyes narrowed to slits.
"Okay, Ranma. Before Trixie makes a decision on this, Trixie has a question for you," she growled.
"Yes, I do want to eat lunch before I attack the bandits," Ranma replied solemnly.
"THAT IS NOT THE QUESTION!" Trixie snapped. She took a deep breath, and then continued. "Do you SERIOUSLY think this is going to be as simple as you say it will be?"
Ranma frowned.
"I know this isn't your strong point, but actually stop and THINK about what you want to do. Now try to imagine your actions leading to some other result - ANY other result! - than the one you intend." Trixie leaned over the side of her wagon, glaring down at the martial artist. "Consider unexpected interference. Consider abnormally strong resistance. Consider random chance, for Starswirl's sake!" She jabbed a hoof toward the cursed stallion. "Consider that EVERY SINGLE TIME you've intervened or started a fight on this world, no matter what your intentions, it's come right around to bite you in the flank! Consider that maybe, JUST MAYBE, scattering some bandits won't be enough to turn Equestria's most wanted 'rebel' into a hero lauded by these hapless villagers! Consider that Trixie's every instinct and decision since we've met has been thoroughly vindicated, and that your most successful plan ever was sneaking us into a dinner party and waiting for Trixie to leave before setting it all on fire!"
She sat up straight again, her furious gaze still locked onto the stallion's. "Think on that for a few seconds, Ranma. Then tell Trixie whether you still want to charge headlong into a bandit bastion for that dirty mob of pony thugs."
Ranma hung his head again, staring at the ground. His brow furrowed, and his eyes fixed on a single point; a sure sign he was thinking hard, although Trixie had seen the expression few times since they'd met.
Seconds stretched into minutes.
The pigtailed pony finally looked back up at Trixie. "I want to go beat up the bandits. I want to help the townsponies and help you get enough money for the wagon. And I want you to come with me."
Trixie made an exasperated expression. Before she could say anything, however, Ranma continued.
"But I don't want you to come along because I think you'll be safer attacking the bandits than staying on your own for a few hours," the martial artist said, his expression unusually serious. "Trix, you can handle being alone. You survived just fine on your own before I came along, and as long as they couldn't get the jump on you somehow, I know you could handle a few thieves. You'd be fine without me. But..." He trailed off and gnawed on his lip for a few seconds. "I'm... not totally sure I could take on the bandits by myself."
Trixie blinked. Repeatedly.
"Say what? YOU think this Morning Star goon might be a match for you?" Trixie couldn't help but giggle at the idea.
Ranma's ears flipped down, and he sighed. "It's not that... not really. I'm sure I could take on any critter in this weirdo fantasy world in a straight fight. Easy! But... well..." He shook his head. "You asked me to think about all the things that could go wrong, and then I remembered that magic is more common than clothing on this stupid planet, and that literally any spell has a chance of blowing me up or doing some other crazy thing that could cripple me in the middle of a fight. And then there are all sorts of other things about this world that seem insane to me but perfectly normal to you, like solid clouds, cats being combined with other, less terrifying animals, and horses towing the sun or whatever that's about."
He straightened and cleared his throat, looking away from the magician. "So... yeah. I'd feel a lot better if you were with me while attacking the bandits. Not because I think you'll die the moment I'm not around, but because I know I can trust you to back me up. You're smarter than me, you know way more about this world and its weird animal-people, and you're really good in a pinch. I don't know if I can do it without you."
Trixie remained silent, trying and failing to maintain an annoyed, stoic expression. She was experiencing that weird feeling again; the one where she was overcome with intense bliss and radiating warmth from her chest that threatened to smother her stubborn indignation. She really, really liked this feeling, and it was starting to concern her how Ranma kept managing to provoke it whenever he needed her to agree with him.
She couldn't quite keep her goofy grin off her face, but she turned her head away so that at least it was less obvious as she replied. "As if Trixie could just let you run off on your own anyway. Trixie would bet bits to bon bons you'd get turned around somehow and end up razing one of these poor, tortured villages to the ground." She coughed into her hoof, and then laid down. "Very well, then. If you insist on bashing your head against the Heroism Wall yet again, Trixie may as well accompany you. Besides, if Trixie can say anything good about your misadventures, they DO tend to be surprisingly lucrative. Maybe this can be Trixie's big break after all!"
"Yeah! I don't know what this Morning Star guy's bounty is, but it's gotta be pretty close to mine if we were the only payouts big enough to help those villagers, right?" Ranma cheerfully jumped to the front of the wagon and started hooking himself up to the harness again.
"You're... planning on redeeming the bounty?" Trixie asked hesitantly.
"Yeah! It's gotta be enough for your wagon, right?"
"Do you know how one redeems a bounty?" Trixie drawled. "Or what the likely response is when the 'bounty hunter' is a bounty target themselves?"
Ranma halted. "Oh. Oh, right. So... I guess you'd have to do it?"
"Trixie would rather not volunteer to try explain to Canterlot soldiers how she defeated a renowned bandit king. As lovely a tale as it would be, it wouldn't take much investigation to figure out you were involved." She pressed a hoof to her chin. "Instead... we should hand this dope over to the villagers, and let THEM deal with redeeming the bounty reward. We'll take our own reward from the bandit's loot."
Ranma frowned. "Doesn't that stuff belong to the villagers, though?"
"Let's consider it Trixie's service fee for being dragged into this insanity after the miserable mules attacked us," the magician sniffed. "Now, then; we need the location of their base. Head toward the nearest town, Havoc! It seems we're in the vigilante business now!"
"...... So, hold on... I have questions. Many questions..."
Princess Celestia sat in the corner of her study, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched upon her muzzle. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack sat in the middle of the room while they made their case to the Princess of the Sun, although Twilight was already visibly nervous.
"We may be right short of answers, Princess," Applejack said with a sigh. "We're mostly piecin' this together from what Spike told us, but he was only with this feller fer a single night."
"Yeah, but he was SUPER sure that Ranma is actually cool!" Rainbow Dash added. "So that makes this whole bounty thing really UNcool. Can you nix it?"
Celestia frowned, looking over the poster that had been laid across her desk. "... You said Ranma. This bounty is for a stallion named Havoc. I was under the impression - as was Luna - that those are two very different ponies, despite their appearance."
Twilight laughed nervously. Very nervously, in fact. "Yes, well! That's... a bit complicated. Uh..."
"It ain't complicated at all," Applejack interjected. "There ain't no Havoc. That's just a name he goes by 'cuz his real name is all fancy."
Twilight's eye twitched.
"And he might have used that name to push some crimes onto a fake identity," Rainbow Dash added, rolling her eyes. "But we're pretty sure the original charges were a bunch of hay anyhow, so whatever."
"I'm afraid Havoc's record is more... serious than that, Rainbow Dash," Celestia murmured grimly. "He was seen aiding the rebel Swan Song directly, and fighting Equestrian soldiers."
"Okay, yeah, but that was a misunderstanding," the pegasus said breezily.
"He beat General Firebrand insensate, and then stole his prized magical artifact."
"Misunderstanding," Rainbow repeated nonchalantly.
Celestia grimaced. "That's a lot to misunderstand, Rainbow Dash."
"Okay, so we can't deny that he's fought against Equestrian guards and soldiers," Twilight admitted, "but he's done so largely because he's been wrongfully hounded by the law ever since he met Princess Luna! And he only appeared to help Blood Rite in order to trick them and save me!" She paused. "Or... at least, that's what Spike says. But I believe him! Don't you?"
Celestia didn't reply. She stared silently at the bounty poster, as if it were a puzzle to be deciphered.
"Hey, on that note, I gotta question mahself," Applejack added. "Spike thinks Ranma saved Twi. We dunno what happened, 'cept that Twi ended up outside Coltson lookin' like an apple what been run through a cider press. How'd she get there? Do ya know?"
Celestia's eyes narrowed, although she was still staring at the poster rather than the mares petitioning her. "We do. More or less. Spike is correct."
The other ponies recoiled in surprise.
"He is? About which part?" Twilight asked frantically.
"As far as I can tell, about everything," the white Princess replied. "I have no reason to doubt a thing he's said, and what you've told me fills many holes in my knowledge of Havoc... of Ranma's exploits. In the forest outside Coltson, he emerged from Rite's portal with you, Twilight, on his back. He immediately surrendered you to us, but then fled before he could be properly debriefed. As he was still maintaining the fiction that he and Havoc were different ponies, he no doubt feared he would be found out and forced to answer for the charges made against him." She furrowed her brow. "There was also... somepony else there with him, if I recall correctly. She was... blue, I think."
Rainbow Dash quickly chortled into her hooves, trying to stifle laughter.
"In any case, there is little doubt in my mind that Ranma Saotome saved you from Blood Rite, and almost certainly foiled Rite's immediate plans against Equestria."
"Th-Then you'll pardon him? You'll nullify the bounty?" Twilight asked, her eyes growing wide.
"I'll have the charges properly revised," Celestia said, levitating the poster up in front of her. "And I'll certainly fix THIS nonsense." She drew a wingtip under the "Dead or alive" part of the poster that had the second and third words crossed out. "The very idea that we would not accept live bounties is despicable, and I thank you for bringing it to my attention. We want Ranma Saotome very much alive."
Silence dominated the study for several seconds.
"... That... uh... doesn't sound like a pardon," Rainbow Dash mumbled uneasily.
"It is not," Celestia sighed. "I must deny that request."
"What? But you just said that he saved Twi's life!" the pegasus protested. "That has to be worth more than some soldier's magic thingy!"
"It's worth far more. More than I could ever repay, in fact," Princess Celestia said grimly. "Were he to come before me and explain himself, I would be quite inclined to grant a full pardon. But I'm afraid your vouching for him is not sufficient."
She levitated a quill from her desk and started crossing things out and making notes on the poster. "While I personally consider Twilight's life and safety of inestimable value, I cannot treat the damage and grief Mister Saotome may have caused to other ponies so callously. Ranma has allegedly committed crimes that have nothing to do with his... particular contempt for my government or his personal spat with the rebel sorcerers. I am willing to forgive these crimes, but first I must insist the stallion answer for them himself and display remorse for any wrongdoing. It is unacceptable to simply wipe away his record based on your plea while he wanders about the countryside doing... well, whatever it is he does when he's not busy assaulting my soldiers or my enemies."
Then she pursed her lips. "There is also another... complication. We haven't heard a thing about Blood Rite or Swan Song since the incident at Coltson. And, as I said, we weren't able to question Ranma Saotome at the scene of Twilight's rescue. We don't know if the sorcerers are dead, or wounded, or still conducting their evil plan much like before. More importantly, we also don't know what happened to the artifact they were using to threaten our kingdom."
Celestia's expression soured considerably. "On the occasion of your rescue, Twilight, I implored Mister Saotome to aid me in recovering this artifact. For the safety of the kingdom, it must be located and secured, and the fate of all of Equestria might hang in the balance." Her muzzle scrunched up. "He said 'no' and then vanished in a burst of smoke."
"So... hold on. What does this hafta do with clearin' the bounty?" Applejack asked. "Yer not saying you won't do it 'cuz he refused to help, are ya?"
"Not precisely, Applejack," Celestia said, shaking her head. "Although I'm... not pleased at his response, I do not wish to punish him for impertinence or anything of the sort. However, the knowledge he likely has of the artifact is too important to simply let go because he doesn't wish to explain the..." she paused to look over the bounty poster, and her eyes widened. "FIVE arson charges?! How does a non-unicorn without so much as a flame cutie mark amass five separate arson charges?!"
"Well, one of 'em is probably Twilight's house," Applejack pointed out.
Celestia recoiled in shock. "He's the one who burnt down your house?!"
"No! No, that is NOT accurate! He was involved, technically, but it definitely wasn't his fault!" Twilight protested, completely mortified. "And I certainly didn't report it as an arson, so none of those are mine!"
"Oh. So he burnt down five other buildin's? And we're s'pposed to assume these're 'misunderstandings' too?"
"C'mon, AJ," Rainbow scoffed, "this guy explodes whenever anypony uses magic on him. How hard would it be for him to burn down five buildings by accident?"
"Huh. Okay, yeah, Ah guess ya got me there."
Celestia stared. Twilight sighed.
"That is... mostly accurate. He does tend to explode when exposed to magic that isn't supposed to make him explode. It's uncanny, actually," grumbled the younger alicorn.
"The more I hear about this stallion, the more convinced I am that he really should be brought to justice and locked up. For his own safety, if nothing else," Celestia said bluntly.
"But what about all the good stuff he's done?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We don't know what would have happened to this Rite guy or Twilight if Ranma hadn't come along!"
"Yes, and that's precisely the problem," the white Princess chided. "We don't know what he did to Rite or how he came upon Twilight, nor what his exact intentions are. I want him to answer these questions. The bounty is a means of securing him so that he might be interrogated. A crude, unpleasant means, certainly, but not the only one I'm exploring."
Twilight hung her head as Celestia rolled up the amended bounty poster. "Yes, Princess. I understand."
"Make no mistake, Twilight; I don't refuse your request lightly," Celestia assured her. "I trust you. I know you would not have asked me for this pardon unless you thought it was the right thing to do. And the information you've given me will be extremely valuable in ensuring that he is SAFELY delivered to Canterlot to answer for his crimes."
She paused, and then glanced back at the poster. "I'll definitely have to have a warning included not to use magic on him under any circumstances. Hmmm... perhaps also fireproof bonds?"
The Princess of the Sun shook her head. "But anyway, there is too much at stake to leave Mister Saotome be. I'm sorry, Twilight."
"Aw, phooey," Rainbow groused, kicking at the ground.
"Rough luck, Ah guess," Applejack said solemnly.
"I'm, uh, a little concerned about something else," Twilight said, fidgeting nervously again. "If you keep the bounty up, more and more ponies are going to go after him to try to violently subdue him. Bounty hunters, soldiers, and probably even random adventurers and mercenaries as well. That... That's a really bad idea."
Celestia arched an eyebrow.
"This pony is POWERFUL. Conventionally powerful, I mean! In terms of physical strength, speed, and resilience! But to an incredible degree that I've never encountered before! Between his personal power and his magic allergy, I'm not sure it's even possible to subdue him with ordinary means! Which means that we're sending dozens, maybe hundreds of ponies into a fight that they can't win! We're just getting decent ponies injured and making Ranma mad!"
Princess Celestia mulled that protest for a few seconds. "... I'm sure they will endure and emerge triumphant. I have faith in the guards and soldiers of Equestria who have been entrusted with our nation's defense," she replied evenly.
"Really? Have you SEEN those guys?" Rainbow quipped.
Celestia ignored her. "That said, I do value your analysis, Twilight. If Mister Saotome cannot be captured via ordinary means, then I do have more... extraordinary means at my disposal. I don't think it will take quite as long as you imagine. But thank you."
"I... I see. Thank you for your time, Princess." Twilight's head drooped in a way that could possibly be mistaken for a nod, and she heaved a miserable sigh before she turned around and headed for the exit. Rainbow Dash and Applejack glanced at each other, frowned, and then followed after their friend a moment later.
"Welp... On the one hoof, we managed to get the Princess to clean up the bounty notice and insist on taking Ranma alive. On the other hoof, we also blew his cover on that whole 'Havoc' identity, and now she seems more intent than ever on bringin' him in," Applejack said with a shrug. "Ah guess that's just about a wash."
Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were sitting in a plaza outside Canterlot Castle, reflecting upon their recent failure. Applejack seemed to take it in stride, but Twilight was clearly depressed, and Rainbow Dash had a squinty-eyed expression that suggested she was trying to think.
"I understand Princess Celestia's reasoning, but I didn't expect her to be so indifferent to the damage that could be caused while Ranma remains at large and hunted by the authorities!" Twilight complained, her eyes fixed on the ground. "How many ponies will be hospitalized hurling themselves at a stallion who can defeat dragonkin and Equestrian Generals?"
Applejack tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "That's a good point, Ah guess... but it don't exactly make a good case fer leavin' him alone."
Rainbow Dash suddenly snapped her head up. "I've got it!"
Twilight and Applejack groaned.
"Oh, shut up! This plan is perfect!" the racer protested, jumping into the air and hovering above her friends. "First, we just need to wait until nightfall!"
"Yer not gonna suggest that we ask Princess Luna fer the pardon since Princess Celestia turned us down, are ya?" Applejack asked.
Rainbow Dash remained hovering for several seconds, saying nothing. Then she dropped back to the ground and glared at Applejack. "Okay, smartflank, so what's wrong with that idea?"
"Ah knew it. Ya seem like the type to run to Papa if yer Mama ever told ya 'no,'" the farmer chuckled.
"Still not hearing a reason why it isn't the best plan ever!" Rainbow said.
"Rainbow, even if I don't agree with Princess Celestia's reasoning, I'm not going to undermine her by trying to get Princess Luna to do what I want," Twilight grumbled.
"So... the problem with the plan is that we need to leave you behind." Rainbow Dash scratched at her chin. "Yeah, that's gonna be an issue."
"I just feel so helpless!" Twilight moped. "After everything almost fell apart and Ranma rescued me out of nowhere, is this all I can do for him in return? Get the bounty hunters to stick to non-lethal weapons?"
"Hey, that ain't nothin'," Applejack assured her. "And the Princess said that if he ever DOES get caught, all he's gotta do is apologize an' he's a free pony!"
Rainbow Dash winced. "Yeeaaaah... I was only around Ranma for, like, a minute, but... I definitely got the impression he's not big on apologizing."
"I'd love it if that were the biggest impediment right now. We don't even know where he is," Twilight said miserably. Then she squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead under her horn. "I wonder if all this concern about the MacGuffin Stone is mostly based on WHOA WHAT IS THAT."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked alarmed as Twilight snapped her head up and then started searching back and forth.
"What? What's going on?"
"You okay, sugarcube?"
"I... I don't know," Twilight mumbled. "I saw... Back when my eyes were closed, I suddenly saw some kind of... light, I guess? It's not quite right, but..."
"Well, if you're okay, what were you talking about? What's the 'MacGuffin Stone?'" Rainbow asked.
Twilight felt something in the back of her mind. A few errant flickers at the edge of her perception. As she considered Rainbow's question, the flickers became a beacon. A small light among her thoughts pointing the way.
"I... I can see it," the purple alicorn mumbled.
"What? Ya can see what?"
Twilight closed her eyes and slowly turned her head. "The MacGuffin Stone... if I think about it... I can tell where it is! I can sense it! When did this happen?"
"Okay, and that's... good? That's good, right?" Rainbow asked. "I mean, what IS the MacGuffin Stone, anyhow?"
"It's the artifact Princess Celestia is looking for," Twilight explained.
"Yer bein' serious, now? That's what it's called?" Applejack asked incredulously.
"Yes, I know. The name is silly. That's really not important, though!" Twilight kept her eyes squeezed shut, concentrating on the light shining in her thoughts. "It seems to be a directional sense... like a compass! The MacGuffin Stone is this way!" She jabbed a foreleg ahead of her, aimed straight toward the beacon.
"It's in Donut Joe's shop?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight opened her eyes, and she was slightly embarrassed to find herself pointing directly toward the store in question. "Uh... well, it's not... maybe..."
She broke into a gallop, rushing to the other side of the plaza. Then she closed her eyes again.
"No! The direction is the same! South-by-southwest!" Twilight raised her foreleg again to point, this time gesturing past the donut shop. "If I can move and the change in direction is negligible, that suggests it's far away! Which is as expected! There's no way the MacGuffin Stone would be here in Canterlot."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash trotted over to join their friend.
"So, what's the deal? You can sense important treasure now? Is this a new spell or something?" Rainbow asked.
"I don't think that's it. I seem to have formed some kind of... connection, I suppose, with the MacGuffin Stone since I was trapped inside it. Does Ranma have this power too? Maybe even the sorcerers do! It would explain how Ranma and Rite have been able to stay on each other's tails constantly even though nopony else could find them!" Twilight looked stunned, and she stared off into the sky.
"Well, this's neat n'all, but... what're ya gonna to do with it?" Applejack asked, scratching her head under her hat.
Rainbow Dash smacked her front hooves together while grinning. "DUH! We use the MacGuffin Sense to track down the Big Bad and teach him a lesson! We'll stop him once and for all, Princess Celestia can have her dorky artifact, and maybe Ranma can finally get a break once the future of Equestria doesn't hang in the balance."
"Why? Twi can just tell Princess Celestia where it is and the army can handle it," Applejack pointed out.
"What? And leave us behind? No way!" Rainbow protested. "AJ, we have a bad guy threatening all of Equestria with a magical something-or-other, all the authorities have been completely useless, and we have a special power on our side that will let us help. This is TOTALLY our thing!"
"And what happens if Blood Rite doesn't have the MacGuffin Stone?" Twilight said suddenly, her expression grim. "What if Princess Celestia leads an army to find the artifact and finds Ranma along with it?"
Applejack and Rainbow Dash shared a perplexed look.
"Um... Ah dunno. What happens then?" the farmer asked.
"Then Princess Celestia is going to do whatever it takes to get the Stone. And as for Ranma? He doesn't care about alicorns, much less respect us. He brushed off Princess Luna and happily fought her to a standstill, and she wasn't even trying to capture him! If the Equestrian army corners him, never mind Princess Celestia herself, there could be a massacre!"
A heavy silence hung in the air.
"Ya really think... he could take on Princess Celestia?" Applejack asked uneasily.
"The idea is completely ridiculous," Twilight said darkly, "but so is everything else I know about Ranma Saotome. We CAN'T let that confrontation happen." She turned back toward the glimmering light in the back of her thoughts. "If we can find Ranma first, we can talk him down and get him to turn himself in so that he can be pardoned and the Stone can be secured! He'll listen to me! He's really not an unreasonable pony at all!"
"He DID seem surprisingly cool with you blowing him up," Rainbow pointed out.
"... Yes. Exactly," the young Princess agreed through gritted teeth. "THANK YOU, Rainbow Dash."
"Okay, Ah see yer point," Applejack allowed. "But what if it's Blood Rite that has the MacGuffin after all? Last Ah recall, you didn't come out of yer last meetin' with him in very good shape."
"You're right. I didn't. I was being somewhat careless back then, but even in a fair fight I can't guarantee that I could handle him on my own." Twilight turned toward her friends and broke a smile. "So will you come with me?"
"Ha! Are you serious?! Of course I'm coming along!" Rainbow said brightly, suddenly doing an aerial somersault for no reason. "I still can't believe you left me behind the FIRST time! If I'd have been there, Blood Rite wouldn't have laid so much as a hoof on you!"
"Aw, shucks. Looks like Big Mac'll be takin' on extra chores again," Applejack sighed. "But nothin' fer it. Between the crazy cursed pony and crazy Rainbow Dash, somepony's gotta look after y'all."
"Thanks, girls," Twilight beamed. "I'd invite the others too, but we'll need to leave quickly and move fast. We can take the train south until the heading for the MacGuffin Stone starts to shift, and then we'll be hoofing it from there."
"Sounds like a plan! I'll be ready to go in a flash!" Rainbow said, doing a quick somersault in the air.
"Ah might need an hour to get Mac up to speed and pack some things, but Ah'll make the train," Applejack agreed.
The three ponies turned and headed toward the train station. Twilight and Applejack raced through the streets at a gallop, while Rainbow Dash kept pace in the air above them.
Then the pegasus started snickering. "Who else was trying not to laugh when the Princess mentioned 'somepony blue' showing up next to Ranma?"
"Took everythin' Ah had to keep from rollin' around on the floor imaginin' the look on Trixie's face."
"I seriously wonder if she's relieved to be completely overlooked while ponies hunt Ranma down or if it drives her crazy that she doesn't have her own bounty."
"HAH!"
Trixie's ear twitched, and she turned her head around, looking off to the side of the road. There was nothing there, save numerous dry, withered trees jutting out of the cracked and wasted ground. The foliage was so thin that it would have been nearly impossible to hide in ambush, and after a few tense seconds, the magician relaxed.
"Something wrong, Trix?" Ranma asked.
"... No. Trixie must have been imagining things," Trixie replied. "Don't slow down. We're almost to the next town."
Ranma continued down the road, his hooves beating against the increasing hard-packed dirt. The terrain had been getting noticeably worse the deeper into the valley they traveled, and now that they were approaching the first town the earth had very nearly been reduced to wasteland. When they had been ambushed their road had been flanked by scraggly brush and lush trees. Now they were surrounded by cracked rock formations and skeletal deadwood. On the side of the path, the occasional animal skull and unlabeled grave - mounds of dirt with rocks piled conspicuously on top - completed the image of desolation and poverty.
Trixie wasn't an earth pony and didn't have any particular feel for the land, but she could easily tell that this was a troubled region. She had been expecting as much, of course, but seeing the terrain in the state it was suggested that the rot was more than just a criminal element grown out of control. The very air tasted bad. Partially in that it was far too dry and dusty for a non-desert region, but it also carried an ill feeling beyond that.
If Trixie were the melodramatic type, she'd say that ponies' hopes had died here, and were rotting away in the wind.
As they rolled up on the town itself, more evidence of decay and neglect became evident. Large wooden fencing around the settlement was broken in several points. Some of the buildings near the perimeter had been torched, their burnt ruins left alone where they had collapsed. Many of the areas behind buildings were dedicated to growing crops, and interestingly enough these fields looked completely untouched. Despite the obviously poor weather conditions and soil, talented earth ponies could get food to grow almost anywhere, and clearly those skills had been pushed to their limit here.
"I see these bandits are the economic type. The farmland looks completely untouched," Trixie mumbled aloud as they approached the gate.
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.
"Stupid bandits will ransack the fields directly, damaging the crops. That means that there's less food for them to take later, especially if the farmers starve to death or flee their land. Smarter bandits take the harvested produce only, and leave enough for the farmers to survive on. That way there's a steady supply of goods. This gang must be pretty well-organized."
"Huh... okay, that makes sense. Do you know a lot about thieves?" Ranma asked.
"You're not the only one Trixie has ever worked with."
Ranma jerked to a halt. "Hey! I'm no thief!" he snapped back at the unicorn.
"You're easily the most capable pickpocket and burglar Trixie has ever heard of," she drawled. "There are many ponies Trixie's met whose special talents and careers revolve around swiping objects and Trixie would wager you'd put every one of them to shame."
"Well that's... I mean, sure I would! But I don't do those things!"
"Trixie only knows that you can do those things because she witnessed you doing those things."
"I meant besides those times!"
Trixie rolled her eyes. "You know what? Fine. Have it your way. You're a very good martial artist whose skills happen to ALSO make you incredibly effective at thieving. Is that better?"
"Much better. Thank you," Ranma said with a huff before he again accelerated toward the town.
"ANYWAY, as Trixie was saying, these bandits have clearly been at this for a while. If they've pulled in the local governors as well, then this has crossed the line from simple raiding to criminal business enterprise. Less thugs and roughnecks ransacking villages and more a regular flow of goods and duties, as if they were collecting taxes."
"Is that better or worse?" Ranma asked.
"In Trixie's opinion? Worse. Less violence, obviously, but it's so dull! Corruption and evil, if it has to exist, should at least be exciting and dramatic."
"Well, I'll see what I can do about that..."
There was nopony to greet, warn, or even see them at the town's gate, but as soon as they crossed the threshold Ranma could sense they were being watched. He didn't change his expression or movement, heading steadily down the main road, but without so much as turning his head he pinpointed three individuals watching them from hiding.
Trixie's awareness wasn't quite so developed, but she definitely got a sense of foreboding once they walked among the silent and battered buildings of the settlement. She could see signs of life within the village: buckets of water sitting next to doors, clothes lines drying in the sun, and a few cats fighting on a fence. But not a single pony was out and about on the streets.
Before long, she spotted a tavern. It was worn down and battered, with much of the railing of the front porch chopped and broken. Gouges and divots decorated the wooden exterior, and all of the windows had been shattered and boarded up, giving the distinct impression that it had been exposed to much worse than the usual barroom brawls. Trixie considered, however, that at least this building's owner had bothered to remove the arrows and weapons that had hit it. Several of the other structures showed no such care.
"Okay, this will do," Trixie said, gesturing to the tavern.
Ranma adjusted his course, bringing the wagon into a small empty space next to the porch. Trixie hopped down immediately, and then walked over to her bodyguard while he was removing his harness.
She whispered something in his ear at length. Ranma paused to listen, and then nodded sharply before he finished removing his harness.
Trixie pushed aside the door to the tavern. The hinges creaked painfully, and the door itself shuddered as if it were trying to hold itself together from the contact.
The tavern interior was much like the exterior, with the significant exception of actual equine life. Precisely three ponies occupied the building aside from Trixie: a pegasus mare behind the bar, and a pair of old earth pony stallions sitting at opposite ends of the establishment and huddling over mugs of drink as if they were afraid somepony was going to trot up and swipe them. Which, for all Trixie knew, was a legitimate concern around here.
All three ponies glanced Trixie's way as she entered. The stallions looked surprised, and then nervous, returning to their drinks and looking away anxiously. The pegasus grimaced, and then reared up to put her front hooves on the counter.
"Welcome to Trotter's Gulch, stranger. If you're thirsty take a seat, but I'd advise you to move along as soon as possible."
Trixie approached the bar. "Trotter's Gulch? Huh. Trixie didn't see any signs naming the town."
"Roughnecks took 'em or smashed 'em, and nopony can afford to put up new ones," the bartender grumbled. "And we don't really take a lot of pride in our little corner of Equestria nowadays. Ya seen one dirt pit, ya seen 'em all."
Trixie hopped up onto one of the stools at the counter. "What do you have in the way of ciders?"
"Nothing," the mare grunted. "We have dandelion ale and water. Either one is three bits a mug."
Trixie recoiled, grimacing. "Dandelion ale? Trixie didn't even know that was a thing."
"It's the only thing I bother to stock anymore," the bartender replied, sweeping a wing toward her shelves. The bottles were various shapes and colors, but every one of them had a piece of masking tape slapped over the side with a dandelion drawn on it. "It's dirt cheap to make, and it tastes so vile that nopony even wants to steal it. You want any, or no?"
"Trixie will take water," the magician mumbled, floating a trio of bits onto the counter.
The bartender snatched the money away with her wing, moving so swiftly that Trixie almost jumped in surprise. Then the pegasus looked back and forth, her eyes narrowed, and quickly stashed the money somewhere under the counter rather than in the dusty register on top. Once the money was out of sight she seemed to calm down considerably, and she filled a mug with water from a tap behind the bar.
"So what's your story, Miss?" the pegasus asked before turning around, a filled tankard on her wing. With a deft movement, she swiped the wing over the counter, and the mug of water dropped in front of Trixie along with a stray feather. "Ponies don't stop in this town for no reason. Not anymore."
"Trixie is looking into the local bandit problem to see if she can solve the local bounty hunter problem," Trixie replied before lifting the mug to her lips.
The bartender furrowed her brow. "I'm not familiar with any 'bounty hunter problem,' unless you're referring to 'em all being dead or gone. Sticking up for the law around here is a good way to end up in an unmarked grave before your time, Miss."
Trixie didn't answer right away, drinking her water and looking around. He ears were perked, and she spared a glance toward the entrance expectantly.
"Hmmm... This is taking longer than Trixie expected. The outlaws around here really ARE smarter than usual."
"Pardon?" The bartender asked. "What's taking longer? What did you-"
A loud thump and a cry of pain came from outside, and the pegasus jumped in fright. The two other ponies flinched away, hugging their ale tankards and looking like they were on the verge of sobbing.
"Wh-What? What was that?" the bartender asked. Her voice was on edge and her fur bristled.
"That was Trixie's lead," the magician said, taking another sip of water.
"Lead? What are you talking about? Lead to what?" the pegasus demanded.
The door swung open before Trixie responded, and three ponies were hurled into the building one at a time. Each one landed in a heap and groaned in pain, largely unmoving and clearly injured. They all wore shoulder cloaks to conceal small weapons and their cutie marks - important for one trying to ply an illegal trade - and had belts and pouches strapped to their legs for holding filched goods.
Ranma stood in the doorway, and he looked over to Trixie. "Will this do it?"
"Yes, that's fine. Go guard the wagon. But openly, this time. Trixie doesn't think we'll need to catch more trouble-makers."
The pigtailed stallion bobbed his head and turned around, pulling the door closed behind him. Trixie took a long gulp from her tankard while the bartender gaped. The other tavern patrons looked terrified, but they clearly weren't sure what, exactly, they should be afraid of yet.
"What is this? What are you doing?" the bartender asked, nervousness creeping into her voice.
"Trixie just needs a little information," the magician said, dropping down from her stool. Her mug of water floated along behind her head, carried on a trail of pink magic. "Trixie could just ask you, of course, but you seem like you're not the type to trust strangers."
She stopped in front of the confused and miserable thieves, and one by one they twisted their heads to look up at her.
"Hi! You're all probably wondering what just happened to you. Trixie imagines you saw an apparently unattended wagon piled high with supplies and cash, and naturally sought to help yourselves to a bag or two. And then, the moment you touched the wagon, you suddenly found yourself hurtling through the air or staring at a rapidly approaching hoof. And now here you are!"
She paused to take a sip from her mug. "You should know that you three have tried to steal from the Great and Powerful Trixie, and as such have volunteered to be beaten, humiliated, and then forced to betray your evil crime overlord at incredible risk to yourselves! Any questions so far?"
One of the thieves squinted at Trixie, and his expression turned angry. "Just who the hay do you think you are?!"
"It sounds like you want to go first!" Trixie chirped.
Her mug lowered itself to the floor, and then her magic took hold of the stallion's cloak and threw it to the side. This revealed his cutie mark - a cloth sack with a cut string - and a dagger set in a sheathe on his back leg. Trixie's magic seized on the knife immediately, and the thief's eyes widened as the blade drew itself and then swung around to poke into the back of his neck.
"Let's cut right to the chase. No pun intended. Where does Morning Star live?" Trixie asked.
"Wait, what?" asked another of the thieves. She was a unicorn mare, and her eyes went wide at Trixie's question. "You're after Morning Star?!"
"Trixie is a little busy threatening this other thug right now; if you want to be interrogated at knifepoint yourself, you'll have to wait your turn," the magician explained.
The first thief shook his head. "You're crazy if you want to cross Morning Star. You've clearly got some nerve and some muscle on your side, and if you don't push your luck that'll be enough to get out of Venom Valley in one piece and keep most of your bits. But fighting Morning Star is insane for anypony without an army at their back."
"Trixie is a perfectly sane mare in a desperately insane world," she sighed wearily. "Sadly, that sometimes means Trixie must accommodate the less-sane elements in her life. So here Trixie is, holding dangerous criminals at knife-point in order to track down a bandit king to kick his flank. Go figure."
"Wait, you don't think WE work for Morning Star, do you?" the third pony asked.
"If you have any especially convincing evidence to the contrary, now is the time to present it," Trixie said.
"We don't! And we don't know where Star's hideout is, either!" claimed the unicorn. "We're just local thieves! Morning Star hasn't taken us in, yet!"
Trixie quirked an eyebrow. "Yet?"
The other two ponies glared at the mare sharply, but she kept talking in a panic. "That's right! We pass along information and some of our takings to the Star gang when they show up! They told us that if we do well enough, they'll take us in and make us part of the gang!"
"So this Morning Star even has a recruitment program. Lovely," Trixie murmured.
"It's true," confirmed the bartender. "Once the Star gang showed up, they became the most successful game in town. Not only did a bunch of the younger ponies join up out of fear, greed, or lust, but it also attracted independent thugs and thieves to our villages from all around to try to join up." She sneered at the criminals lying on the floor. "For every decent, hard-working pony that manages to leave, five of these mules show up and start causing trouble trying to impress the big boss."
"That certainly sounds..." Trixie trailed off, her brow furrowing. "Wait, lust? What does lust-"
"Look, we don't know where the Morning Star hideout is, okay? Nopony does unless they're in the gang!" one of the thieves squeaked. "Please let us go! We're sorry for trying to rob you!"
Trixie pushed aside her previous question to address the criminals again. "And Trixie supposes none of you low-lifes know how to get in touch with the gang if you need to?"
"We get to talk to them when they show up! We can't just call them up whenever we want!"
"And you're lucky for that! If we could call down a bandit army on your flanks, we would!"
Trixie didn't respond, thinking quietly while taking another sip of water.
Suddenly, one of the tavern patrons pushed his mug away and dropped down from his chair. He trotted quickly to the exit and left, refusing to make eye contact with any other pony and shaking like a leaf the entire time.
Trixie briefly glanced at the stallion while he left, and then stared down at the injured criminals.
"Well, it seems you're of no use to Trixie after all. A pity."
The levitating dagger started moving higher, and the outlaws quivered in fear and squeezed their eyes shut. The barkeep gulped and took a step back, staring at the scene warily.
The confiscated dagger suddenly stabbed downward. The jingle of coins came a moment later, after one of the thieves' purses dropped onto the floor. The dagger floated upward again, its edge conspicuously free of blood.
"Wh-What? What are you doing?" the thief asked.
"Trixie is relieving you of your ill-gotten spoils, obviously. Perhaps this will teach you that crime doesn't pay," the magician sniffed. The dagger stabbed down toward the next pony, cutting her leg pouch free as well.
"So you're stealing from us? After you beat us up for stealing? Are you going to return those bits to their rightful owners or something?" asked the final thief.
Again the dagger fell, and this time the outlaw yelped in pain as the blade nicked his flank.
"Oops. Sorry about that," Trixie drawled before floating the dagger onto the table next to her. A moment later all three purses hovered up into the air and floated beside her. "Trixie is done with you. Go away."
The thieves didn't hesitate any longer. Stumbling painfully to their hooves, they limped out of the tavern with their heads held low. They paused only briefly once they were outside, staring at the stallion seated next to Trixie's cart and yawning. He didn't look especially intimidating in such a passive moment, especially when wearing a purple star-spangled cloak to match Trixie's outfit. But every one of the would-be bandits remembered how easily the stallion had dropped down from the tavern roof and dispatched them before they'd even figured out what was happening. Despite the bruises still growing over various portions of their bodies, each one of the miscreants felt they had probably gotten off easy in this encounter.
With a fearful shudder, the pony thieves raced off into the alleyways from whence they came.
Back in the tavern, Trixie briefly considered the three floating purses in front of her before magically tossing one in front of the bartender.
"Sorry about the trouble. Trixie didn't want to grill those fools outside and draw more attention," the magician mumbled, "or crossbow bolts."
The pegasus snatched the pouch up with her wing, casting a quick glare at the other patron in the establishment. In an eye blink, the purse had vanished under the fold of her feathers. "I'm glad you show your gratitude with bits rather than just words... But I think you're going to get plenty of attention AND projectiles soon anyway."
"Trixie imagines so," the unicorn replied, slipping the rest of the money under her hat.
The bartender stepped closer to whisper in her ear. "I'm pretty sure that bloke that ran out of here, Sour Grapes, is an informant. Morning Star is going to know all about you before the night is out, I'll bet." She shook her head. "Honestly, I agree with the thugs about you being crazy to take on the Star gang. It cheered my heart to see somepony rough 'em up a little, but you'll want to head on back where you came from before things get ugly."
"Trixie appreciates your concern," the magician said, a smug smile crossing her face. She levitated her mug to her lips, and slurped up the last of her water. "... But things are proceeding perfectly, so it wouldn't make sense for Trixie to give up just yet."
The bartender looked confused, but Trixie regarded her with a smug smile while she walked toward the entrance. "Thanks for the water. If circumstances allow, Trixie will stop by again later. Trixie expects to have a lot more money by then, so see if you can scrounge together something more appetizing than dandelion ale. Goodbye."
Hours later, in a cavern not too far from Trotter's Gulch, a pegasus crept down a torch-lit tunnel.
The pegasus was obviously a bandit. Mangy, scarred, and hardened by a tough life of raiding and internecine skirmishes. He bore a scimitar in mid-chop for a cutie mark, superimposed over a pair of wings, and an actual scimitar was sheathed along his flank.
The tunnel he plodded through had clearly been dug for mining originally, and the old and crumbling infrastructure still served its new owners to an extent. Rusted tracks ran through the tunnels, allowing for stolen goods to be pushed through via cart. The lights above had long since been shattered and lost power, but the electrical rigging had been reused in places. The many shelves and racks among the scaffolding were now piled with treasures, bottles, sacks, and numerous trinkets of dubious value.
Tunnels branched off into small rooms. Food stashes, bedrooms, baths, and various other living amenities were built over depleted ore seams and mining pits. Other bandits crossed the stallion's path or watched him pass, offering grunts of greeting or silent glares.
The pegasus ignored them all, walking up an earthen stairwell to a large, iron set of double-doors near the end of the mine. A pair of unicorn skulls were nailed to the front, with torches set in them such that flames seemed to leak from the eye sockets. They were a melodramatic decoration taken from random skeletons found in the mines, not defeated ponies; Morning Star wasn't one to celebrate combat victories with grisly trophies. Mostly because there was rarely much trophy material left from the losers.
He banged a hoof on the door, and then waited.
It took several minutes before a loud clunking sound came from the other side. The doors slowly opened inward, their hinges squealing. The pegasus quickly slipped inside, and the doors promptly slammed shut behind him.
The bandit boss's room was just about as opulent and over-decorated as a poorly maintained mining cave could be. Plush rugs covered the uneven ground, dirty and torn in places from lack of care and the rough environs. Several bottles of various fancy liquors sat in a barrel filled with magic ice; a frosty collection of small, glassy orbs that constantly radiated cold mist. The empty bottles were scattered around the room, along with a few stacks of dirty plates and less impressive treasures that had been pushed somewhere out of the way. Bits and jewels were everywhere, occasionally piled around the antique urns and chests that were supposed to hold them, and occasionally splashed across the ground as if somepony had just dropped them there and forgotten.
The centerpiece of the room was a gigantic bed covered in expensive silk sheets and pillows. It had clearly seen vigorous and recent use, as evidenced by a lithe, charcoal-black earth pony mare lounging on her side near the headboard. At the edge of the bed was an unusually burly unicorn with muddy-colored fur and scars criss-crossing his flanks.
"Where's the fire, Air Raid?" the unicorn asked with an arched eyebrow. "You look a little tense."
"Yeah, well, we might have a problem. There's trouble in Trotter's Gulch," Raid growled, sitting down in front of the bed. "Earlier today I intercepted a bunch of beat-up villagers limping back home. I figured there wouldn't be much to take from them, since it looked like one of the other guys already roughed them up and shook them down. I was wrong. Apparently these dopes got it in their heads to try to score a bounty reward to drum up some bits. It didn't go over so well."
"Pffft!" the other stallion struggled to contain his laughter. "You serious? They were going to come after us? And they got walloped before we even noticed?"
"No. They didn't come after us. They went after HIM." Raid grimly pointed a wing over to a wall.
The wall was decorated with various purloined art pieces, all arranged haphazardly with many of them hanging crooked. Among them were a few scattered photos and bounty posters, including one that had a place of prominence near the top for boasting the highest reward total.
"These mules actually managed to track down Havoc and went for the kill. Judging by the results, they didn't come close to getting it. He and his partner thrashed them, took everything they had, and let them limp home with their lives."
The mare on the bed stirred, looking up at the poster with a lazy smile. "Oh really? The dreamy one is here? Interesting!" She giggled into her hoof, and the unicorn cast an annoyed glance her way.
"Yeah. Interesting. After that I got flagged down by Sour Grapes in Trotter's Gulch, and he told me something else 'interesting.'" Raid clenched his teeth. "Apparently two ponies arrived in town and started a dust-up with a few thugs. Grapes ID'd one of them as the 'Great and Powerful Trixie,' whoever that's supposed to be, and said the other one was a cloaked stallion who beat up the greenhorns like they were nothing. I'm no detective, but it sounds like Havoc's marching on our turf."
The mare smiled more broadly, her eyes fixed on the poster on the wall. Her tail started flicking, brushing against the stallion next to her.
"And it gets worse," Raid said solemnly. "According to Grapes, this 'Trixie' brat and the big bounty are here for us."
This startled the other ponies out of their contemplation. The unicorn jumped off the bed and narrowed his eyes at the other stallion.
"What? A bounty target is trying to score a bounty reward? How the hay does THAT work!?"
"I don't know if they're after the bounty. The mare said something about clearing up a 'bandit problem' and then tried to pry the location of our hideout from the kids. I guess that's when Grapes bolted to set up the signal."
"So this mule's looking for a fight, eh? We can oblige," the unicorn growled, cracking his neck from side to side. "Hay, maybe WE should turn in HIS bounty! We can have Grapes or some other useful idiot cash him in for us! Turnabout is fair play, right?"
Raid's wings shifted and re-settled, squirming while the pegasus scowled. "I don't like it. This stallion is supposed to be an honest-to-Celestia rebel warrior. Like, he's fought off multiple assaults from the Royal Guard. This isn't a pony to be taken lightly."
"The Royal Guard? Big deal! We've chased them off too!"
"Yeah. With some key bribes and a small ARMY. We're talking two ponies strolling from one hostile territory to the next like it's nothing, leaving demolished buildings and piles of injured guards in their wake."
"You're not getting cold hooves, are you Raid?"
"Are you even listening to me?! You don't know half the crazy rumors surrounding this stallion!"
"If the rumors are crazy, they're probably wrong. Don't believe every half-drunk tirade you hear in town."
"These were in the papers, not the taverns! You're such a-"
"Boys," the mare suddenly interrupted, "stop fighting."
The stallions winced, and their ears pinned back. "Yes, Boss," they mumbled in stereo.
The dark-furred pony slinked out of bed, pausing briefly to run a hoof through her long, bright blond mane. As the sheets of the bed slipped away from her flank, they revealed the cutie mark on her hip: an ornate broadsword pointed down, with a flail wrapped around it.
"I'm surprised that Havoc ended up traveling through here... Surprised, and very happy." She walked up to the wall where the bounty posters were hung, and gazed lovingly at the drawing of a pigtailed stallion rearing up. "Mysterious ponies are so sexy, don't you think? I wonder what he wants. I wonder where he came from. I wonder how his bounty managed to go from three digits to six in a month!" She giggled into a hoof.
The stallions didn't seem nearly so amused, and they glared sourly the poster.
"Chances are he's looking for a fight, Morning Star," Raid growled, "and despite Hammer's 'brilliant' idea for criminals to try to get bounty payouts, I recommend we leave this one alone. We lay low, he doesn't find anything to do in the valley, he moves on. Simple, safe, and easy."
Hammer Time snorted, blasting steam from his nostrils. "Nopony will take us seriously if we back down as soon as anypony with a rep strolls through our territory. This punk has a problem with us, and he has cash he collected from OUR villagers. I say we make an example of him and give his marefriend a good story to tell about what happens to those who cross Morning Star."
Morning Star reared up and snatched the poster off the wall. She held it up and stared at it, grinning.
"No. We're not doing either of those things. I want this stallion." She flicked her hoof to the side, and the poster glided across the room toward her henchponies.
Hammer's horn flashed, freezing the poster in mid-air within an aura of blue magic. "Wait... you want him to join up with the gang?" he asked incredulously.
Morning Star smirked over her shoulder. "If possible. If not, then I'd settle for a brief meeting... alone." She ran her tongue over her lips, and Raid shifted uncomfortably.
"Boss, this isn't just some pretty colt we're talking about," the pegasus warned. "Havoc has a longer rap sheet than you! Even if he doesn't want to fight us, this guy could bring an entire army of guards onto our heads if he's tracked here! He's dangerous!"
"I know," Star said simply. "That's what makes him so interesting." She started sauntering toward Air Raid, her tail swinging provocatively with her hips. "Think about it, Raid: A stallion rumored to have stood up to the Princesses themselves! Not out of petty greed or some personal grudge, but just to be FREE! To challenge the stranglehold of those fussy alicorns living in their gleaming towers half a world away! Wouldn't you like to meet a pony like that?" Her grin stretched even wider. "I would."
"Do we... uh... know that's the reason why he did it?" Hammer asked, narrowing his eyes at the bounty poster.
"No," Star admitted, "but I'd dearly like to find out."
She placed a hoof tenderly against Raid's chest and leaned against him, and the pegasus swallowed deeply. A rich, intoxicating scent crossed his nostrils, and he felt his legs quiver underneath him.
"Take a few others and head to Trotter's Gulch. Make this stallion an offer he can't refuse," Star whispered, her voice unnecessarily husky.
"What..." Raid paused to gulp again. "What should I do if he refuses anyway?"
"You're a clever boy. I'm sure you'll think of something." Morning Star smiled, and then leaned forward to give Raid a peck on the lips. The stallion's legs visibly trembled this time, and his wings started spreading of their own volition.
She turned away. "Hammer Time, you go with him. And stay on your best behavior, do you understand?" Star arched an eyebrow at the unicorn, who was already sulking. "If anything unfortunate happens to Havoc on your watch, you won't be returning to my bed chambers any time soon. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Boss," Hammer grunted miserably. A pulse of his magic rolled up the bounty poster, and he took the identifying document in his teeth.
"I'm a little less worried about one of us taking him down on the sly than I am about him breaking us all in half one by one," Air Raid groused, shaking off his earlier spell of arousal. "This pony is hunting us, and we're not even supposed to defend ourselves?"
"Raid, you would be so much more attractive if you weren't such a pessimist," Morning Star sighed. "This can't be that hard. He's a criminal, like us, not some kind of hero. His crimes are... different, sure. But anypony can be bought. Try to keep an open mind, 'kay?"
Raid's eye twitched. "... Sure. What do you want us to do with the mare, then?"
At this, Star's expression fell flat. "Good question. It would be most convenient if she just quietly tagged along and didn't get in the way..."
"VERY unlikely, from Grapes' description," Raid interjected.
"... Well, she's probably a friend or lover and I don't want to upset the stud too much. Invite her to join us too, I suppose. Who knows; maybe she'll be more susceptible to the promise of some easy bits. But don't kill her unless you know you can get away with it," Morning Star commanded with a shrug.
"Got it, Boss," the stallions said in unison before heading for the exit.
"Good luck, boys," Morning Star blew a kiss toward the bandits while they walked out, and then slipped back into her bed, rolling over onto a satin pillow. "I'll be waiting for you, Havoc. I can't WAIT to see what you're capable of!" |
Taming the Wild Horse | Metalleus | Taming the Wild Horse
a My Little Pony/Ranma 0.5 crossover fanfiction
by SFaccountant
Chapter 4
Metalleus
"Is this where they're holed up?"
"Yeah, that's what Grapes said. They just looked for a building with a big enough hole in the side for them to carry the wagon right in and then set up camp inside."
"Weird that they're not keeping a lower profile. Nearly every thief in the Gulch rushed to tell us these ponies were here and that they were causing trouble. You'd think somepony with such a big bounty would be more careful."
"Like I've been TELLING you guys, causing trouble is Havoc's entire MO. The only reason he hasn't been locked up in a Canterlot dungeon is because he thrashes every guard and bounty hunter that finds him, not because he's hard to track down!"
"So how are we supposed to handle him? We're supposed to take him alive, right?"
"Not just alive. We're supposed to bring him in willingly..."
"So we talk him in. And if that doesn't work... Bribes? You brought money."
"I guess, but... I dunno. I have a REALLY bad feeling about this."
Outside a ruined windmill, a dozen armed bandits sat in front of a boarded-up house under the cover of darkness. The area was almost completely unlit, with no torches or lanterns coming from the town in general. The most obvious source of light was coming from within the windmill itself; a fire had apparently been lit within the ruins, and the glow cast a shadow of a fully-loaded traveling cart across the ground outside the gutted structure.
Under normal circumstances, the shadow itself would have been an inviting curiosity to investigate. The setup was practically perfect for a smash-and-grab: surround the building, find some entry points, and then beat down the owners and make off with the wagon. But these were far from normal circumstances, and it was setting the thieves on edge.
"It's like they're inviting us in," Air Raid growled, his eyes narrowed at the gaping hole in the windmill's base. "There's no way that these two are this sloppy. Not after they tangled with local punks as soon as they got into town. This is a trap."
Hammer Time grunted. "What does it matter? We're not here to fight." Despite that questionable assertion, a large iron maul was strapped onto his back, and he had a set of armored greaves on.
"But THEY are," Raid retorted. He aimed a foreleg - and the miniature crossbow strapped to it - toward the light. "How long do you figure they're going to give us to explain ourselves before tearing through us?"
"Luna's tail, you're such a foal!" another stallion snarled, walking past the other bandits. "Unless you're volunteering to explain to Morning Star why we gave up before these saps so much as threw a dirty look at us, stop whinnying and get a move on!"
Air Raid tried to shush the other ponies, but they had apparently tired of waiting. They walked toward the windmill, creeping across the ground with practiced stealth. Hammer Time led the procession, his head held low and his hoofsteps nearly silent.
Something in front of him caught his eye, and he suddenly froze. Every other bandit paused in an instant, their muscles tensing like coiled springs.
"Well, well, well. Look what I found," the unicorn whispered, staring at the ground. His horn started to glow, and a slight glimmer of reflected light ran up a length of twine stretched across his path. He slowly followed the line up to a broken fence, and then up to a pair of empty tin cans pinned to a post. "Classic alarm trap. Aren't they clever?"
One of the other thieves plucked a pouch from their belt, and then blew a bit of chalk dust into the air in front of them. Another length of twine was soon visible after the dust settled, stuck into the ground on one end with a nail and pulled taught to a different noisemaker.
"If they were relying on these things to catch us, then we might just catch these fools unaware," Hammer chuckled as he stepped over the tripwire.
"And that helps us... how?" Air Raid asked.
"Ponies tend to be a lot more... agreeable when they're scared," Hammer explained while he advanced again. He was moving even more slowly now, and testing the ground gingerly with every hoofstep. "What'll they think when they expected to hear us coming, only to wake up with us standing right over them?"
"They'll probably think 'Gee, it was nice of the rotten criminals to announce themselves after evading our alarms rather than killing us in our sleep. We can destroy them now,'" Raid replied bitterly.
"Raid. Seriously. Stop your moaning, will you?" Hammer Time growled as he approached the breach in the wall. He let his horn dim to nothing, satisfied that there were no more obstacles between them and their targets.
Sliding up next to the opening, Hammer carefully leaned in to take a look inside.
Much of the interior was obscured from his angle by the wagon, but he had a decent view of the camp site. A blue unicorn mare wearing a purple hat sat in front of a small, crackling fire. She was looking over several scrolls, and her horn hummed with pink energy while she read. Laying on the ground next to her was their target; he was curled up under some blankets, but was instantly recognizable thanks to his pigtail.
Hammer narrowed his eyes, and then pulled back from the breach.
"Snipes, you seeing this? Looks like the Great and Powerful Nobody is waiting up for us. Havoc is fast asleep," the burly unicorn whispered.
An earth pony with a large crossbow leaned over to get a look, and then nodded silently.
"So the dangerous one isn't awake? Good," Air Raid sighed. "Maybe we can make a deal with her."
"Deal? The hay with that," Hammer Time scoffed. "Snipes, take her out."
Only Raid's professional commitment to stealth kept him from crying out in fear. "What? What are you doing? Don't do that!" he hissed.
The pony designated as "Snipes" glanced from one bandit to another, confused. Then he unslung his crossbow and clamped it onto an aiming brace on his foreleg.
"Morning Star said to take the mare out if we could get away with it. We have the drop on 'em and Havoc is asleep. Looks like an opportunity to me," Hammer explained.
"You're going to kill her right next to her partner? Are you insane? At that proximity he could be woken up by the blood splatter alone! How do you figure we're going to talk our way out of that?"
"Good point. If we're going to do this, we have to do it right," Hammer admitted. "Snipes, make sure she doesn't land on top of our target, okay? Stocks, sneak around the wagon and get ready to move the body the second it hits the ground."
"No. No, don't any of you do any of that!" Raid snapped, barely managing to keep his voice down. "We can't play things this fast and loose! Especially not when we're trying to get on this stallion's good side!"
"Raid, would you stop being such a wimp about this? You just need to come up with something to tell him when he wakes up and sees us instead of his mare."
"Do you think that's easy? What the hay is wrong with you?!"
"What's 'wrong' with me is that I'm actually trying to follow Star's orders, while you're just looking for a way to weasel out of them."
"Getting our skulls kicked in by an enraged super-criminal isn't going to get this stallion into her bedroom, Hammer!"
As Air Raid and Hammer Time whispered to each other, Snipes kept his gaze fixed on his target and his crossbow at the ready. He had a perfect angle on the blue magician already, so he'd be able to execute her at his leisure. The shot was too perfect, almost. It was a bit strange. After they had been ambushed already, announced themselves to the entire town, made themselves easy to find, and even set up traps for the inevitable encounter, had they really arranged themselves so that a single quick arrow or throwing knife could take down their sentry as soon as they dropped their guard? It was common enough to overlook vulnerable firing angles, surely, but the situation just felt off.
The unicorn mare shook her head and then glanced up, spotting the bandit watching her. She froze, staring straight at Snipes, and then blinked.
At that moment, Snipes made his decision and surrendered himself to his special talent. The crossbow snapped up and a hoof gently tapped the release lever. The bolt was launched into the air, and the mare's eyes widened in shock as it darted toward her forehead.
Then the bolt passed straight through the magic mirror, breaking it into a thousand motes of pink light before vanishing entirely. The projectile cracked noisily against the stone wall of the windmill, and then bounced harmlessly onto the ground. The stallion sleeping on the floor, apparently not illusory, suddenly snorted, and his ear twitched.
Raid and Hammer froze, and their heads snapped around toward Snipes. Snipes slowly pulled himself back behind the cover of the wall while droplets of sweat started rolling down his head.
"Snipes? Snipes, what happened? Did you get her?" Hammer Time asked.
"Did you miss? I heard the bolt hit stone all the way from here! You're going to wake up Havoc!" Air Raid complained.
Snipes flipped a fresh bolt into his crossbow from a leg holster, but the motion was automatic; his eyes seemed unfocused and he had a slightly unnerved smile on his face.
"We... might have screwed up, guys," the bandit sniper said with a rueful chuckle.
"How? You DID miss? You never miss!"
"I didn't miss," Snipes whimpered, his ears flipping down. "That... That isn't really the problem..."
The sound of flames igniting came from above, and the bandits started in surprise. Several torches bolted to the side of the windmill ruins suddenly lit up in bursts of pink magic, and light spilled over the criminals covering in the yard. Every one of the bandits recoiled at being suddenly exposed, and then they heard an airy chuckle coming from above.
Their heads turned up toward the fan of the windmill. The silhouette of a laughing unicorn was stretched over one of the blades, but the scattered light sources made it confusing as to where the shadow was cast from. By design, no doubt.
"And you mules must be the 'real' bandits. Morning Star Gang, was it? Trixie is gratified that you were so quick in falling into her trap! Trixie didn't want to lose too much sleep while shutting down your entire criminal operation here!"
"What?!" Hammer Time stepped back, scowling up at the shadow. "You think you're going to shut us down? The Morning Star Gang? Is your horn on straight, filly?"
"I told you! I TOLD you guys!" Air Raid groaned, hanging his head.
"To be honest, even Trixie was doubtful at first about our chances. But after seeing how easily you clods were lured into an obvious setup, Trixie feels she was badly overestimating you before. Would you like to surrender now, or lose some teeth first?"
Snipes' expression went from fearful to furious in an eye blink, and the stallion hopped back before raising his crossbow to aim at the fan. "Big talk from somepony hiding in the shadows! Why don't you step on out and-"
A hefty stone block suddenly flew out of the hole in the windmill and slammed into Snipes. The shooter was thrown into the air by the impact, and he cried out in pain before he skidded into the ground hard and ended up with a mouthful of dirt.
Ranma slowly walked out of the windmill foundation, his gait sluggish and his eyelids half-open. The bandits leapt into action, scrambling away from their cover until they surrounded the martial artist on all sides.
The martial artist paused to sit down once he was out in the open, and his jaw stretched into a gaping yawn.
"... So... This feels like a good time to mention that we're not actually here to hurt you or rob you!" Air Raid said nervously.
Ranma finished yawning and then tilted his head toward the pegasus, looking annoyed.
"Ah, yes. That makes total sense. You snuck past our alarms, surrounded our camp site, and then tried to put a spike through Trixie's face so that we could have a calm, peaceful chat." The torches around the windmill sparked with magic and suddenly burned brighter, causing several of the criminals to flinch. "Do you think Trixie is stupid or something?"
"Mistakes were made! We definitely miss-stepped with that last part!" Raid shouted desperately. "But we're actually here to-"
The sound of weapons being drawn interrupted Air Raid before he managed to finish pleading his case. He turned an incredulous gaze toward Hammer Time, who was now levitating his maul in a combat stance. The other bandits had likewise readied their weapons, and were slowly positioning themselves to pounce on their pigtailed target.
"What... What are you DOING?" Raid asked incredulously. "Did you forget why we're here?"
"We're here for the pigtailed dope," Hammer said grimly. "But they're not going to listen to us. Not when they set up this whole thing to take us out in the first place! Given the circumstances, I think Morning Star wouldn't mind if we carried him in with a broken leg or two. And gave the mare a shallow grave outside town."
"Honesty is refreshing, isn't it?" Trixie chirped. "Now remember, Havoc: we need one of them awake and non-concussed enough to answer questions after this!"
Ranma stood up and nodded sleepily, looking for all the world like he was trying to stay awake in the middle of a ring of blades.
"Cheeky little brats... Get 'em, boys!" Hammer Time shouted.
The first of the bandits launched their attack. One of them fired a leg-mounted crossbow, while another leapt for his flank with dagger bared.
Ranma flipped backward, neatly avoiding both attacks. Once the dagger-wielding pony completed his missed swing the martial artist was already leaping forward again, one hoof chambered to retaliate. He slammed into the bandit's shoulder, sending the rogue skidding across the ground.
Ranma paused only a second to take in the movements of the other ruffians, and his ear twitched. Hammer's maul swung down on an arc of bright blue power, smashing into the ground while its target bounded away. The ground erupted all around the impact, kicking up a hefty spray of cracked dirt and rock in Ranma's wake, but he barely spared the attack a lingering glance.
He closed with another bandit - this one armed with blades strapped to his hooves - then sharply rolled out of the way. The raider reacted with impressive speed, shifting his weight and aiming to slash to the side, but Ranma pumped a kick into the side of his head first, sending him spinning away. Another hop avoided another crossbow bolt, narrowly missing his ankle.
Another bandit was already sprinting to attack from behind, and Hammer's maul was spinning toward him in some sort of strange, magic-powered boomerang-style attack. Ranma darted forward, narrowly evading a short sword swinging for his rear, and then ducked into a slide under the hammer.
"EEYAAAUGH!" the rogue screamed as the flying hammer smashed into him, breaking his short sword and several of his ribs into pieces. The bandit hit the ground in a twitching heap, and Ranma glanced up at the windmill.
"Come ON, you useless mules!" Hammer Time growled. His maul came swinging back to him, and then stopped dead with a pulse of blue magic. "Just pin him down for two seconds and I'll finish... huh?"
A loud whistling came from above, along with strobing colored light that illuminated the battlefield much better than the handful of torches attached to the ruins. The bandits spared a glance upward, and their eyes bulged as several multicolored, flaming rockets arced down toward the lot.
The magic fireworks exploded just above the ground, splashing fans of hot neon sparks over the dirt. The bandits flinched away, either lightly scorched by the explosion itself or at least briefly blinded and deafened by the detonation. Hammer Time reared up and whinnied, kicking his forelegs into the air.
An impact crashed into his chest, striking him off his hooves and knocking the wind out of him. Ranma bounced away while Hammer rolled into the dust, and the floating maul quivered in the air before it too fell into the dirt.
The martial artist landed in a sprint, already darting toward the next criminal while they tried to put out the fires on their tails. The relentless sound of hooves striking flesh and the bandits' howls of pain filled the cool night sky soon afterward. If they had stood any chance before, with their target surrounded, outnumbered, and mildly drowsy, that advantage had been burned away by the firework barrage. Half the raiders still had spots in their eyes and ringing in their ears when they were knocked out by a sudden blow to the jaw.
Trixie snickered to herself while she watched the combat by way of a strategically-placed magic mirror. She didn't think Ranma would have struggled to defeat the bandits in a straight fight after they'd lost the element of surprise, but with a bit of magical support the cursed stallion was unstoppable.
She tilted the mirror slightly and spotted the big unicorn pushing himself to his hooves. That one seemed to be some sort of leader, or at least had a much more impressive attack than the others. Hoisting an iron maul and swinging it capably was far beyond the telekinesis skills of the average unicorn, and even Ranma wouldn't be able to shrug off an impact that could shatter stone. Trixie's magic touched the Alchemist's Heart once again, drawing its elemental energy into a spark at the tip of her horn.
"So that's how you're hiding from us!" shouted a voice from behind, startling the unicorn. A moment later a throwing knife pierced the magic mirror, instantly breaking it apart.
Air Raid landed on the platform behind the mill's fan, one foreleg aiming his mini-crossbow at Trixie. He didn't fold his wings after landing, and Trixie could see the glint of steel among the feathers.
The magician scowled, annoyed that she had lost track of one of the combatants. "If you want to wake up with teeth tomorrow you should probably put that weapon down, featherbrain."
Raid kept the crossbow centered on the unicorn's head. "No. Call off Havoc. Then we can come to an agreement where EVERYPONY gets to go home in one piece. How does that sound?"
"GYAAAAAH!!" a pained scream from below caused the pegasus raider to flinch. It was followed by the sound of cracking stone, and then agonized sobbing.
"Trixie would guess it's a little late for that. Wouldn't you rather surrender instead?" She smirked, raising a hoof. "If you give up and tell us where your hideout is, then we don't even have to beat you! You can wander off and we'll go track down your boss."
Raid's feathers ruffled angrily, to the point that one of the hidden knives slipped loose and fell down. "That's EXACTLY what I've been trying to do, you moron! We're here to bring you to Morning Star!"
Trixie's smirk instantly turned into a scowl. "Good! Then put drop your weapon and lay down!"
"No, YOU call off Havoc and put down that magic jewel!" Raid retorted. "And hurry, before that psycho stallion kills somepony! I'm serious!" He sat back on his hind legs and placed a steadying leg on his hoof crossbow.
Trixie hesitated a moment, and then turned to the side. "Fine, have it your way. HAVOC!! STOP BEATING UP THOSE LOSERS AND GET UP HERE!!"
Air Raid glanced down at the field below. Ranma, who was in the middle of stamping on a bandit's face, paused and then looked up. Their eyes met, and the pegasus felt a chill crawl down his back.
Raid heard a popping noise, and his attention snapped back to Trixie. An expanding cloud of smoke was exploding around the magician, obscuring her from the bandit's view.
The pegasus raider felt a surge of panic, and he fired his crossbow into the shroud.
Ranma raced toward the windmill, scanning the outer wall for cracks and protrusions that could be used to climb up in a hurry.
A feminine shriek came from above, and his heart leapt into his throat. No time for climbing, then.
His speed tripled in an instant, and a haze of fiery blue surrounded the stallion. He vaulted into the air, striking the wall at an angle, and then dashed straight up the side. He passed by the platform in an eye blink, and then pushed off the wall at the same time that Air Raid drew his sword.
The pegasus knew as soon as he heard Trixie's scream that his plan to halt the fight had failed. When he spotted his target dashing up a vertical surface in front of a streak of mysterious cerulean energy, he knew that the fight was surely lost as well. If anything, the rumors he had heard concerning Havoc had been badly understated the danger of fighting him rather than being flighty exaggerations. While they often credited the mysterious stallion with abilities that shouldn't be possible for an earth pony, none of them bothered to mention that he also traveled with a reasonably astute and capable illusionist.
Ranma's hoof struck the floor just after Raid leapt away, smashing straight through the hefty planks and shaking the entire platform. He kicked his leg in Raid's direction, tearing his hoof free of the hole and sending much of the splintered flooring around it scything toward the bandit. Air Raid clenched his teeth hard around the grip of his scimitar, feeling the shrapnel strike his leg armor and stab into his chest and side. A substantial chunk of the flying splinters also tore into his wings, ripping dozens of feathers free and causing his flight to waver.
Ranma leapt. Raid swung his blade to meet him. Ranma's leg lashed out like a scorpion's tail. A ringing impact and a flash of blue briefly stunned the pegasus, and before he knew it his sword was sent spinning away through the air. Ranma landed behind the bandit, facing away, and bunched up his rear legs.
"GYAAAAGH!!" the bone-shattering kick sent Air Raid flying into the ruins of the windmill. He barreled over the stairwell, smashed through the rickety railing, and crashed into the wall opposite the fan. The pegasus whimpered painfully, and then slowly slid down the cracked stone onto the floor.
Ranma hardly spared another glance at the bandit, racing over to Trixie. The magician was lying on her side near the wall, with her eyes squeezed shut and her teeth clenched. The cause was obvious: a small crossbow bolt had pierced her hip, barely missing her cutie mark.
"Oh no, oh god, oh geez!" Ranma stood over the magician protectively, panic starting to overtake him. "Trix! Trix, are you okay?! Speak to me!"
Trixie winced, and then opened her eyes to glare at the martial artist. "Trixie took a sharp object to the leg, Ranma, not an explosion. Trixie isn't deaf. Stop yelling."
"Oh! Oh. Okay," Ranma snapped his head back and forth anxiously. "You need a bandage. I'll get a bandage! We have those in the cart, right? Or should I-"
"RANMA," Trixie interrupted. "Get it together, would you? This thing is practically a splinter. Trixie will be fine. Are all the bandits down?"
The martial artist recoiled. "Uh... I'm not sure. Maybe?" He glanced out toward the mill's fan, frowning.
"Well, Trixie hopes not, because Trixie's plan still requires one of them with enough sense and bits of jaw left to talk." She started to push herself up, gritting her teeth against the pain in her thigh.
"Whoa! Hey! Hold on! You don't need to move! I'll take care of it!" Ranma shouted, dashing around Trixie in a panic and waving his hoof.
"Oh, hush. This wound is barely more than a bee sting," she retorted, standing up fully and lifting her injured leg gingerly. "Look, it's hardly even bleeding! Now get your plot down there and captu-"
A tremendous crash came from below, and the wooden floorboards shook under their hooves. Trixie immediately stumbled from trying to balance on three legs, and Ranma pressed his hoof gently against her side to steady her.
"Wh-What was that? An earthquake? That didn't feel like an earthquake!" Trixie complained, looking around the room. She and Ranma were currently on the second floor of the windmill, which consisted of a ring of rickety wooden planks built around a large central shaft and a stairwell in the back. The floor had several holes already due to wear, lack of maintenance, and whatever incident had ripped open the wall of the structure down at ground level. After the recent tremor - whatever its cause - the floorboards were starting to come apart and collapse entirely.
Another loud impact came from below, followed by the floor shaking again. Ranma, having a great deal of experience in the various sounds of violent demolition, recognized it as a wooden support beam being smashed through.
Sections of the flooring started falling down, and Trixie staggered backward while trying to avoid putting weight on her leg. Ranma felt the boards under his hooves start to tilt, and he made a decision.
"Hold still and stand up straight!" the martial artist ordered. As soon as Trixie stopped trying to back away from the damaged flooring, Ranma ducked underneath her barrel, between her front and back legs. Trixie yelped as he stood up again, now carrying the magician on his back.
Another crack came from below, and the floor fell away underneath them.
Trixie gasped at the sudden feeling of weightlessness, and she clung tightly around Ranma's body as best she could from her position. Ranma kept his eyes down, tracking the debris collapsing around him and locking on to the safest landing spot.
His back leg lashed out, striking a floorboard and pushing him out of the way of several wooden planks splintering against the ground. Turning slightly to keep his passenger balanced, Ranma's hooves touched the ground, landing with a gentle tap. Trixie bounced slightly at the impact and squeaked, pinning her head down under her hooves while pieces of debris still crashed to the floor around them.
"Looks like that mare is pretty important to you..." snarled a nearby voice. "Why don't you give up before something BAD happens to her?"
Hammer Time stood next to the hole in the wall of the windmill, scowling at the two travelers. A thick wooden support beam, formerly lodged at an angle between the wall and the floor above, lay in front of him in two pieces. His maul hovered above the wreckage, floating in a cloud of azure power.
His horn pulsed, and the maul trembled as the magic around it swelled. "Seems like it would be hard to dodge with a pony on your back, huh? Why don't you put her down?" The maul rose higher. "When you do, I'll drop the hammer. If you move, your marefriend is paste. If you don't, you get knocked out, I leave the mare alone, and I'll carry what's left of you to Morning Star."
Trixie felt Ranma's muscles shift under her belly. He was planning to engage the bandit anyway, probably while still carrying her. "Ranma, don't you move a muscle!" she barked.
He stopped immediately, and his muscles relaxed.
"Ranma? What? What's a 'Ranma?'" Hammer asked, arching a brow.
"Me. I'm Ranma. Ranma Saotome," Ranma explained with a sigh.
"You are? I thought your name was Havoc."
"No, Trix just calls me that and everyone else picked up on it. My real name is Ranma Saotome."
"That's a weird name. You should stick with Havoc." Hammer Time nodded solemnly.
"SEE? Trixie told you!" Trixie shouted triumphantly.
"I don't care! My name is Ranma!"
"Everypony but you likes Havoc better! You should just change it."
"I'M NOT CHANGING MY NAME!" Ranma shouted. "Why are we even talking about this? Weren't you about to bash us or something?"
"Right! Yeah!" Hammer Time grinned, and his horn glowed brighter. "If you're not going to drop the mare, then you'll both... wait... HEY!"
A glance up at his maul immediately revealed the problem. Where before the weapon was surrounded by a bright azure aura, now half of the swirling magical energy was a rosy pink. The maul quivered back and forth while the magical energies dueled for control, and droplets of sweat started rolling down Hammer's brow.
"Let go of my hammer, you stupid brat!" Hammer Time commanded, taking a step forward. His horn's magic pulsed, and the blue energy crackled and surged.
"If Trixie is being honest, you're actually quite skilled at this," Trixie admitted through clenched teeth. "But Trixie isn't just skilled! Trixie is the BEST!" Her horn flared as well, and the pink magic surged back against the blue.
Ranma watched the magical struggle silently for several seconds, saying nothing while the unicorns grunted and murmured curses under their breaths. Then he turned his head to look at Trixie.
"Yo, Trix, can I move a muscle now? I don't think he can take a swing at us like that."
"What? Oh, right. Yes, that's fine. Just give Trixie a moment to get down..."
Hammer Time did a double take, and his expression started to turn from frustration and anger to panic and fear as he watched the magician lower herself onto the floor. "H-Hey, wait, this... this isn't fair! You c-can't just-"
As soon as Trixie was standing on her own hooves again, Ranma bolted for the last of the bandit intruders. Hammer threw a hasty kick forward in defense, but the martial artist didn't even bother to dodge. Hooking his leg under Hammer's, Ranma flung the larger stallion across the room, slamming him into a pile of debris.
The magic resisting Trixie's levitation broke, and her pink aura engulfed the raider's maul. Trixie sighed in relief, and then cut off her spell. The massive weapon dropped straight to the floor, making a hefty web of cracks in the stone.
"Now, then..." Trixie turned, her gait slightly awkward on three legs. "Time for Phase 3 of Trixie's plan."
Hammer Time groaned and shifted among the pile of wood and stone underneath him, and then he started to stand.
A hoof touched his back, and then none-too-gently shoved him back down into the debris. The bandit hissed against the pain and looked up nervously. Ranma stood over him, a single foreleg holding him down and his eyes narrowed to slits.
"All right, bandit goon! Spill!" Trixie shouted. "Where is Morning Star's hideout?"
"The old mine off of Metalleus Station!" Hammer Time answered immediately. "About a mile north there are some old, wrecked train tracks. Follow them heading east and you'll find the station! From there just head to the mountain range that makes up the valley wall; there's a series of caverns carved into it where they used to mine silver! Metalleus! That's our hideout!"
Ranma blinked. "Wow. I didn't really expect you to put up much resistance, but still..."
"We only came here to bring you back to the hideout with us, idiot! Why would I try to keep it from you?!" Hammer snapped. "You're the ones who insisted on fighting even after Raid tried to explain!"
"That would be the pegasus lying at the base of the stairs, right?" Trixie asked.
A tortured groan came from that direction, confirming her guess.
"He did say something like that before he shot Trixie, so Trixie is inclined to believe you about where your hideout is." The magician nodded sharply. "So, we have a destination. Ranma, you can knock him out now."
Hammer's eyes widened. "WAIT BUT I TOLD YOU WHAT YOU-" He was cut off with a sharp crack when his head was slammed against a floorboard, and a moment later he slumped into unconsciousness.
Trixie turned around toward her wagon, clicking her tongue when she noticed it was covered in chunks of debris from the floor above. "Blast. These punks really made a mess of this place. Trixie is almost impressed. It's no wonder the local guards couldn't handle them." Her horn glowed, and one by one the various floorboards and hunks of masonry flew away from the cart on streaks of pink light.
"Trix? Do you, uh, want me to help you with your leg now?" Ranma asked.
Trixie paused in her task, looking back at her bodyguard. Ranma's head was lowered, his ears were pinned back, and there was a definite note of anxious fear in his voice. Trixie couldn't help but find his mortification amusing.
"Trixie can take care of it," she assured the stallion, giving a disinterested glance at the crossbow bolt.
"Well, um, yeah, but... I just thought..." Ranma trailed off nervously, and Trixie quickly filled the gap in their conversation.
"Trixie knows exactly what you're thinking," Trixie said smugly. "You're feeling guilty because Trixie got hurt under your protection, and ashamed because Trixie predicted this sort of thing would happen when you decided to take on the bandits to begin with."
She limped over to the wagon, which didn't especially help Ranma's mood. A few blankets and boxes were levitated out of the way, and then she floated a particular pouch into the air.
"But you needn't bother. Trixie was right; so what? You may have noticed that Trixie is ALWAYS right." The pouch dropped in front of the unicorn, and her magic tugged the drawstring loose.
Ranma raised a hoof as if he was about to protest that point, but Trixie kept going. "When Trixie agreed to this goal and concocted this plan, Trixie also predicted and accepted the risk of sharp objects to the flank. That's part of the territory when a pony takes on armed criminals, and Trixie won't be scared off by a little pinprick like this."
A flash of pink surrounded the bolt's fletching, and then the projectile was pulled free. Despite her earlier bravado, Trixie squeaked in pain as the bolt fell to the floor, and her voice shook slightly when she continued.
"R-Really, something like th-this is b-barely even worth a bandage," the magician insisted, blinking away tears while she levitated a gauze patch against the bleeding puncture wound.
"Hey, make sure you disinfect that!" Ranma interrupted. "You're lucky enough it wasn't poisoned, but who knows where these jerks' weapons have been."
"Yes, yes, FINE," Trixie groused, taking a bottle of sanitizer balm and towel from her first aid bag. "While Trixie is doing this, you go around and carry the bandits outside. Drop them in a big heap in the middle of the road."
"Why? What're we doing with them?"
"Let's call it a down payment on the big bounty. Plus, these dolts supposedly like making 'examples' of their victims... Trixie thinks some turnabout is fair play." A wicked smirk crossed the magician's muzzle, and her eyes narrowed at Hammer Time's insensate body.
Then the levitating towel touched her wound, and she squeaked in pain again. "Ow! Ow! Ow! It stingssssss!"
Hammer Time had lived most of his life as a brawler and criminal. He had been in his fair share of fights, and had suffered plenty of brutal injuries, mishaps, and the occasional painful defeat.
None of these experiences prepared him for the bone-wracking misery that assaulted him when he cracked his eye open this particular morning. Light flooded his pupil, surges of pain flooded his brain from every sector of his body, and a wave of nausea rolled over him like a cattle stampede. The only incident that had even come close was a particularly nasty training accident when he'd been practicing a boomerang swing with his maul and failed to stop it in time.
And all that was before he realized he was tied up and surrounded.
The ropes had been strung around the entire gang of bandits, with some strands running between their bodies and some others just pulled taut around all twelve of them. It wasn't an exceptional binding, and any single one of the rogues could have escaped easily, even being disarmed, had they been in any condition to flee. Alas, several of the stallions were still blissfully unconscious, and those who were awake could do little more than groan and whimper.
And then, of course, there were the townsponies.
Possibly the entire population of Trotter's Gulch had formed a ring around the equine raiders. They glared, whispered to each other, and a few of them seemed to be carrying farm implements and improvised weapons. Of course, the remaining population of the town was something like forty ponies, and they were far from intimidating on their own, but being savagely beaten and restrained had a way of changing the balance of power.
"Wh... Wha happened?" Hammer gasped, his voice coming out dry and weak.
Several townsponies stopped speaking to each other and stared down at him, their expressions like stone.
"I warned you," Air Raid moaned, streams of tears slowly dribbling down his cheeks. "I told you we shouldn't have crossed him. Why? Why doesn't anypony listen to me?"
"I really didn't believe it. But maybe I was wrong about those two after all," said a new voice.
The crowd on one side parted, allowing a single pegasus mare to trot down the street. Every citizen and bandit knew her well; she was the only barkeep in Trotter's Gulch who had managed to remain open despite the constant bandit activity.
"You know what happened?" asked a townspony.
"Who did this? Are they coming for us, next?" asked another.
The barkeep had a bottle of dandelion ale wrapped in the feathers of one wing, and she stopped to take a long gulp before meeting Hammer Time's gaze. Her eyes narrowed.
"Naw, they ain't coming for us. They're here to take out the trash, s'all." A smile crossed her lips. "The general bounty on members of the Star gang will fetch a pretty penny. Mighty kind of our Great and Powerful hero to leave you to us."
Hammer Time snorted, and he finally managed to find his voice. "You'd best think again, wench. Even if those idiots managed to get the drop on us, you can't seriously think they'll take down the entire gang, much less Morning Star! Your 'Great and Powerful hero' will be buried in a ditch soon enough!"
The pegasus took another swig from her bottle while the unicorn fumed, and then smacked her lips. "Yeah, probably."
Hammer blinked. "Then you know you can't get away with turning us in, right? You lay a hoof on us, and you'll pay for it tenfold. You'll all pay!"
The other bandits - those that were awake and lucid, at any rate - glared up at the surrounding ponies. Some of the citizens flinched back, feeling unsure, while others silently seethed or kicked angrily at the dirt.
The barkeep tilted her head to the side. "Yeah, that's probably true too." She lifted her bottle to her lips again, guzzling the rest of the ale.
"Cripes mare, it's like an hour after sunrise," Air Raid mumbled.
Hammer Time sighed calmly, trying not to show how relieved he was. "Smart. Now you all just clear off. We'll get out-"
He was suddenly silenced when an ale bottle smashed against his cheek, shattering in the process. The unicorn screamed as the pain of his headache surged, to say nothing of several brand-new lacerations from sharp glass.
After sucking in air through his teeth, he cracked his eyes open to see the town bartender leaning in and glaring, almost nose-to-nose with him.
"No. Not this time, bandit scum," she snarled, pressing a hoof against his aching chest. "You've pushed the ponies around here too hard, and too often. You think we're going to bow down now, with you and your boys beaten and bound in a heap in the streets? You think we're that weak? That broken?"
"Y-You can't do this. You c-can't!" Hammer protested, his voice catching due to the pain flaring in his chest and head. "M-Morning Star is going to t-tear all of you apart! You m-may as well h-hang yourselves!"
"We'll see what kind of shape the big, bad Boss Star is in after those two troublemakers have a go," the bartender sneered, backing away. "Who knows? Maybe this is the kick in the flank we needed to get rid of you varmints once and for all. But you lot are gonna hear about it from behind bars!"
"You... That... It can't-"
The pegasus mare whistled. "Everypony, feel free to take a few swings at these losers. We don't want none running off, so we'll need to soften them up for the ride outta town. I'm gonna go get a cart team together."
"You're crazy!" Hammer Time gasped. His horn started flickering as he fed magic into it through the agony of his headache. "You're going to get everypony kill-"
A hoof slugged him in the side of the head, and his vision went fuzzy.
"W-Wait, I-" another hoof struck him, and he started to black out. All around him, the townsfolk leapt onto the captured and terrified bandits, venting the anger at their oppressors that had so long been held in check.
"Stop it, you-OOF!"
"Please! Please, no, I-GAH!"
"I told you guys! I TOLD you this would happen!" Air Raid wailed. "Why doesn't anypony-GRK!"
"...... Hey, Twilight? Are you asleep?"
Twilight Sparkle jerked slightly, and her eyelids snapped open. "What? No. What's wrong?"
She started looking around in concern. She was in a train car with Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. Spike had a half-eaten gem in his claws while he looked up at her, while the other two mares seemed to be playing cards. She couldn't find anything wrong; the train was still moving at a good clip through the countryside, and the car was otherwise empty.
"Nothing's wrong," Spike admitted, "but you've had your eyes closed for like ten minutes straight. Aren't you going to read?"
Twilight smiled slightly and shook her head. "No, Spike. Not this time. I need to keep checking the direction to the MacGuffin Stone. If the direction starts to shift, it will give a clue as to its distance. If its starts shifting quickly, we'll know we're almost on top of it! With no information to go on except a heading, I can't get distracted for too long."
"Where's it now?" Applejack asked. She was holding her cards out in a fan in front of her, and Rainbow Dash had a wingtip poised over them, peering closely at the farmer's reaction.
Twilight closed her eyes, and then pointed her foreleg. "There." She was aiming toward the front of the train, and just off to the left.
"So... the same direction as when we left the station?" Spike asked.
"Yes. Almost. I'd say there's been a shift of a few degrees since we set out, but very minor." Twilight opened her eyes again. "Which is good! The further we can get while traveling by train, the better! Once the heading is no longer in a similar direction to our path of travel, we'll probably have to head out on hoof."
"Ha! You lose again!" Rainbow Dash's laugh interrupted Twilight's explanation. The pegasus was grinning at Applejack, who was pouting at the sight of her one remaining card: the deck's Joker, which featured a picture of Discord on the face pointing and laughing at the viewer in much the same way Rainbow was.
"That's three rounds in a row! You're the worst at Old Mare!" Rainbow taunted.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Dash," Applejack groused. "Twi, you given any thought as to what yer gonna say when we actually track Ranma down? What if he ain't happy t'see us?"
"What? Why wouldn't he be?" Twilight asked, blinking.
"Well, far as Ah can tell, this cowpone's been hounded as an outlaw since he left Ponyville. Ya think he's just gonna sit down with an Equestrian Princess and Celestia's student and then come back with ya 'cuz ya asked nicely? If Ah were him Ah'd probably be a little upset with y'all."
Twilight frowned, furrowing her brow. Spike shook his head decisively.
"Nah. Ranma doesn't think like that. He doesn't care that Twilight's a Princess. He actually likes her a lot!" the young dragon explained.
"He d-does?" Twilight looked as surprised as the other mares, and her cheeks darkened slightly.
"Really? Didn't she nearly kill him?" Rainbow asked, causing the alicorn to flush even worse.
"Well, yeah, but he doesn't seem to care. Twi was really nice, and I guess that stuck out to him. He was really surprised that we tracked him down because we were worried about what happened to him!" Spike paused, scratching his head. "I... I don't think he had any real friends where he was from. I mean, he complains about Equestria all the time, but when he talked about his own world he didn't seem to really miss much about it. I feel like if he wasn't turned into a pony as soon as he arrived, he'd be pretty happy here."
"Ah reckon it don't help that he has an angry mob after his head here in Equestria, either," Applejack mumbled.
"Well, no, but apparently that was a problem in the other world, too." Spike chuckled awkwardly while the mares stared at him. "He, uh... he gets in a LOT of fights." Then he cleared his throat. "But anyway, I'm just saying, I don't think we have to worry about Ranma being mad at Twi or not trusting us. If we have any problem convincing him to go back with us, it'll probably be trying to separate him from Trixie."
Rainbow and Applejack shared a glance with arched eyebrows. Twilight frowned.
"Well, it's not as if Trixie can't come along as well, but I doubt she'd want to. Why would it even be a problem? He's just her bodyguard, right?" Twilight asked.
"That's what they say, sure. But I'm not buying it," Spike said, his eyes narrowing. "Those two are... well..."
The mares all leaned in slightly while staring at the dragon, hanging on his every word.
"... Well, it reminds me of some of the couples we've met in Canterlot," he said eventually. "Like, the ones that would complain and snipe at each other constantly in public, and you can't figure out why they're even friends with each other if they annoy each other so much, and then somepony tells you they're actually married."
Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked as confused as before, but Applejack chuckled knowingly. "Oh, Ah get it. Yeah, Ah know the type, all right. They say those're the happiest couples behind closed doors, if ya catch mah meaning."
"I don't," Rainbow Dash said, tilting her head to the side. "Are you saying that Ranma and Trixie are special someponies?"
"It sure didn't seem that way when I met with the two of them," Twilight said uncertainly. "Trixie insisted she was Ranma's employer..."
"Yeah, they say they aren't a couple," Spike admitted, crossing his arms over his chest. "But I dunno. There was this... energy between them when I was there. Like I was intruding on something just by being around. And when Trixie got mad and it looked like she was going to leave him, Ranma begged her to let us keep following her! They've gotta be closer than they let on."
Twilight frowned. "So you think he wouldn't come with us? Even to clear his name?"
"I don't know. But if Trixie doesn't want him to leave, you'll probably have to talk her into it rather than him," Spike shrugged. "Anyway, whatever happens when we track him down, I seriously doubt Ranma's going to be mad at you. You haven't done anything wrong."
"Except blow him up," Rainbow added quickly.
"Don't make me regret asking you along, Dash," Twilight grumbled. "I have to admit, an objection from Trixie would be something I hadn't anticipated. But until we find out whether the MacGuffin Stone is with Ranma again and what he hopes to accomplish with it, I can't guess as to why he or Trixie might object to coming back with us."
She closed her eyes and turned her thoughts to the ancient artifact that she sought.
"I'm getting more movement. The direction is shifting a little more quickly now. We'll probably have to disembark in a few stations."
"The faster, the better," Rainbow Dash grinned. Then she slapped her deck of cards. "New game?"
"Yer on!"
Atop a rickety wooden bell tower, a ragged-looking earth pony peered into a telescope and scanned the distant roads for any signs of approach.
Long ago, during a more prosperous time, the tower had been used by the battered train station next to it, announcing imminent arrivals and departures. Now both structures were on their last legs. The station had been looted, gutted, and half of it had been burnt down. The bell tower had been reinforced well enough to keep standing while its timbers slowly rotted away, but its bell had long since been stolen and melted down for scrap.
The station now served as a bandit checkpoint and scouting post, allowing the Morning Star gang to keep watch on some of the traffic between the towns. This particular morning the sentry was keeping watch for his fellow raiders, however. The team that had left the hideout the previous night had been expected back long ago, with or without their objective.
That they hadn't returned yet didn't necessarily mean they'd failed. After all, their prey might have fled Trotter's Gulch or hidden themselves too well to be discovered in a single night of searching. But as the hours passed without any sort of sighting on the main road, the sense that something had gone wrong began to grow.
A knock came from the wall of the tower.
"Boss Star wants an update. What've we got so far?" A pegasus stallion hovered near the back of the tower, his eyes peeking over a bandanna pulled taut over his muzzle.
The earth pony glanced back with a frown. "We've got nothing."
"Nothing? It's almost noon!"
"I noticed. No word from the Gulch. No messages, no signals, no unusual activity."
The pegasus groaned. "Boss Star isn't going to like that. She's been real excited since last night, and you know how much she hates being out of the loop."
"Well, if you want to go check out the town yourself nopony's stopping you. But I've got nothing." The earth pony dropped his telescope and slumped to the floor of the tower with a sigh.
After a short pause, the pegasus stepped into the tower loft and folded his wings. "Hey, do you know what this is even about? Why does Star care so much about some random stallion passing through the area? This isn't like her!"
The other stallion snorted. "It's EXACTLY like her. You think this is the first time she's done this? You're pretty new here and you're not much to look at, so I guess it's not a surprise you don't know Morning Star better." The pegasus glowered, but the earth pony continued regardless. "From time to time she catches a glimpse of some good-looking stallion she's never actually met and then becomes obsessed for a week or so. It happens often enough that some of the guys used to think it was part of her heat or something."
The bandit waved a hoof in the general direction of Trotter's Gulch. "Most of the time it's just some local that caught her eye for one dumb reason or another. She'll have him foalnapped, have her fun with him, and then eventually she'll get bored. After that they're just another one of the gang. Unless they refuse to work as a bandit, in which case..." He drew a hoof across his neck.
"... Most of the time?"
"Yeah. Sometimes it's not so simple, and things get... complicated. We don't operate very well outside of the valley." He grimaced. "One time she insisted she wanted some random stallion nopony had heard of that she'd seen in a Photo Finish gallery. Didn't even know his name! The guys spent almost a month trying to track him down before she let them give up, and she was surly for weeks afterward. This other time she decided she wanted Prince Blueblood. PRINCE BUCKING BLUEBLOOD! In that case he was easy to track down, but we didn't even get to talk to him before somepony got in a scuffle with the Royal Guard. We were lucky everypony managed to get away! Boss Star was furious. She seriously wanted to attack his countryside villa and just take the Royal Guard head-on! Then someone slipped a stolen copy of Cosmare in her bedroom and we never heard about it again."
The pegasus slumped against the wall of the tower, looking annoyed. "Why do you think Star does it? She's got plenty of stallions!"
"For the same reason she keeps stealing even though she's already rich: she enjoys taking things - and stallions - more than she enjoys owning them." The earth pony stood up again and raised his telescope. "I'm just glad that her psycho-crush is actually in the region this time. If you thought she's antsy now, you don't want to see her after pining after a photograph for a few days."
The other bandit mulled that over silently while the sentry went back to his duties.
"Whoa! Hello, there," the sentry said suddenly, fixing his telescope on a certain point in the distance. "Looks like somepony wandered in when I wasn't paying attention."
The pegasus perked up immediately. "Is it one of the guys?"
"No. Looks like... a blue pony in some sort of dumb wizard hat. It's heading for the train station."
"... That sounds kind of like the mare Grapes was talking about. Is it a mare?"
"Uh... maybe. Size looks about right, but I can't get a good look with all the tree cover. I barely caught it thanks to the color."
"Okay, well, is there anypony with her? Havoc is supposed to be with her!"
"Hmm... No. I don't see anypony else. I wonder if-"
He stopped talking when the timbers creaked under his hooves. Then a steady, wooden thumping came from below; the telltale sound of somepony ascending the ladder rapidly.
"Hey! Who goes there?!" the sentry shouted, whirling around. His fellow bandit leapt upright as well, and promptly went to draw his short sword.
He didn't get the chance. Ranma jumped up into the tower, slamming his forehead against the pegasus bandit's nose. He recoiled, surrendering his only possible opportunity to land a blow while the martial artist jumped onto the platform. Ranma sped past the winged raider and struck him in passing, kicking the pony's head into the side of the platform wall. The entire bell tower trembled at the impact, and several ominous creaking noises came from below.
The sentry already had his own blade drawn, but Ranma didn't look terribly worried as he approached. "Hey, I just wanted to check and make sure we were on the right path. The bandit hideout is over there, toward the mountains, right?"
The sentry growled an unintelligible battle cry and leapt forward, swinging his sword for Ranma's neck. Ranma shifted to the side with uncanny speed, and then slammed a hoof into the rogue's cheek and pinned his head against the wall. The sword tumbled onto the floor, bouncing away until it eventually slipped off the platform entirely and plummeted to the ground.
"Look, if you won't tell me, then we'll just have to wait until Trix gets here. If you think she'll go easier on you than I will, you're in for an ugly surprise," Ranma explained.
"Okay! Okay, just... just calm down!" the sentry said, his voice quaking and sweat beading on his forehead. "What are you doing here? Did the others find you?"
Ranma frowned. "I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be the one asking questions."
"Look, it would help me out a lot if I knew I don't need to lie about anything, okay? Cut me some slack!" the bandit begged. "Morning Star wants you brought in anyway! You don't have to hurt anypony!"
"I don't know what this guy wants with me, and I don't care," Ranma said with a snort. "I'm gonna take all of you down! The villagers can figure out what to do with Morning Star after I'm through knocking him around a little and leave him in the middle of town with the rest of you jerks!"
The bandit blinked repeatedly. "Uh... Morning St-URK!" He yelped in pain when the pressure against his skull increased considerably.
"Bandit hideout! Mountains! Yes or no?" Ranma snapped.
"Yes! Fine! It's definitely in the mountains! No more! Please!" the raider gasped.
Trixie walked alongside the battered train tracks leading to the station, moving with a slightly awkward limp to put minimal pressure on her injured leg. She was obviously vulnerable at the moment - slowed, highly visible, and surrounded by rough terrain that could easily hide a dozen armed ponies from sight - but for now she was unconcerned. The bandits weren't expecting trouble to come crashing through their front door today, for whatever reason. Personally she was far more worried about thieves stumbling on the spot where they had hidden her wagon.
It's very strange that this Morning Star pony wanted to speak to Ranma without necessarily hurting him first. Does he want to recruit him? But that would be a dangerous proposition to make to an alleged rebel. Not all criminals are alike, after all. And Ranma's bounty is higher than Star's!
Trixie didn't really believe the bandits' claim that they had come in peace, but she found the more obvious explanation for their behavior equally questionable. Certainly the fight had resembled a botched diplomatic meeting more than a botched assassination attempt or a botched robbery, and the raiders had been far too eager to give up information.
A wail of terror came from above, and Trixie tilted her head to the side. A second later an unfamiliar earth pony hit the ground in front of her, bouncing off the hard-packed dirt and rolling to a stop just inches from her hooves.
"B... B... Bones..." croaked the stallion, his legs twitching and tears streaming down his face.
"So they did have sentries. These bandits really are disciplined," she mumbled, stepping over the quivering pony. She turned her head up and shouted toward the tower. "RANMA! Make sure there are no ambushes waiting! These thugs have half-decent defenses, and Trixie doesn't want any more bolts in her flank while you're sneaking around ahead!"
Ranma's head poked out of the bell tower. "I didn't find anything other than these two, but I'll check again. That guy next to you said we're on the right track to the hideout, though!"
"H-Help..." the bandit moaned, reaching out one leg toward Trixie.
Trixie didn't slow her pace, walking out of reach of the raider and closer to the train station. Ranma slid down the side of the bell tower and then hopped off near the bottom, immediately dashing off again.
The path up to the mountain range that bordered the valley was properly desolate and lacking any obvious signs of bandit activity. Some gangs might have spruced up the area around their hideout with scary signs, defensive barricades, or morbid examples of unfortunate victims, which generally defeated the entire point of a "hideout" in the first place. This gang, again, played it smart; aside from the sentry, who probably would have hidden if Ranma hadn't gotten to him first, there were no other signs that she was approaching anything other than a dusty, abandoned mine.
Trixie eventually spotted what they were looking for: a rickety-looking set of boards framing a tunnel that had been carved into the mountain. There were tracks outside the mine, but they were rusted and mostly dismantled. A sign was mounted above the frame, but its letters had completely worn off due to weather and damage. Cut into the wooden beam below it was a single word: Metalleus.
She stopped and frowned. "Ranma?"
The stallion suddenly skidded to a stop behind her, seemingly from nowhere. "Yeah? What's wrong? I couldn't find anyone else. It looks like we're clear!" He spotted the entrance in the side of the mountain. "Is that it? We found the base?"
"That's it, yes. Assuming the bandits weren't lying to us both times we cornered them." Trixie raised a hoof to her chin and narrowed her eyes.
"All right, I'll go in first and take out any bad guys," Ranma said, scuffing the ground with his hooves. "You can-"
"Ranma, let Trixie do the strategizing," she interrupted blithely.
"Why? What's wrong with my plan?" Ranma looked halfway between distressed and annoyed.
"'Rush in and beat up the bad guys' is not a plan. Besides, Trixie came along to help you clobber these lowlifes, not just carry away the loot after you're done with them," the unicorn sniffed. "On top of that, look at this arrangement! With an almost undefended entrance, these creeps definitely have something prepared inside for when somepony blunders into their home by accident. We can expect traps, or AT LEAST an alarm. Do you really want to fight off thirty angry ponies on your own, possibly while on fire?"
Ranma grimaced, and his ears flipped down. "Okay, okay, fine. What do you want to do instead?"
"Wellll..." Trixie's eyebrow arched, and then a wicked smile crossed her muzzle.
A loud whistle suddenly echoed through the cavern, piercing the damp, stuffy silence which usually dominated the mining tunnels.
Several bandits jumped in surprise, whipping around with weapons drawn, or woke up in an alarmed stupor at the noise. All were confused. The sound was completely unrecognizable to them; loud, long, and high-pitched. Then a moment later it was followed by a tremendous bang.
This sound was more familiar, as it reminded many of the criminals of explosives. Yet even in this respect the noise was... off. The detonation was loud, but there wasn't any tremor or rumble of settling earth, both of which they had come to expect from explosions within mining tunnels.
"Get up! Get up! Something's going down!" a brutish earth pony shouted, galloping into the main tunnel. "Somepony go get Morning Star! The rest of you, come with me!"
Swords, crossbows, and other instruments of battle were brandished, and the rogues flooded into the passage behind the earth pony. None had any idea what to expect as they followed the mining tracks toward the entrance, but they knew that the sound that had alerted them wasn't the camp's usual alarm. If an intruder, or even an army, had found their way into Metalleus then they would almost certainly get bogged down in the first few tunnels due to the magical and mechanical traps. But if triggering the traps hadn't been the cause of the noise in the first place, what had caused it?
This was the question at the forefront of the raiders' minds when they galloped around a corner and into a long, narrow entrance tunnel. The stallion in the lead skidded to a halt, and his heart leapt into his throat. After a few seconds, his surprise turned to confusion.
At the end of the hallway, past the numerous pressure plates and magic runes, was, well... himself. A big, muscular teal stallion with an axe in his jaws, standing off in the distance and looking confused. It wasn't easy to tell due to the dim light cast by the torches on the wall, but his copy was standing at the end of a very long stretch of rail car tracks considerably longer than the tunnel itself. Obviously an illusion.
As more ponies joined him and stumbled to a halt, they too appeared in the reflection at the end of the tunnel, staring back with confusion. Immediately the lead bandit understood what was happening.
"A mirror? What's a mirror doing here?"
More and more ponies crowded into the tunnel, staring curiously at the reflective panel. None of them could tell, at their current distance, where the boundaries of the mirror ended and the tunnel surface began, or even if it was a physical object. None of them really knew what to do about this, either. They had been expecting to catch an unfortunate wanderer or maybe a group of bounty hunters, not... whatever this was.
One unicorn in a cowl walked over to the wall and placed a hoof against it. His horn pulsed, and a series of large runic symbols cut into the wall flashed and then went dim. The alarms and the magic traps - which didn't easily discriminate between friend and foe - were deactivated.
"All right, everypony spread out a little. But watch your step and stay on the tracks!" barked the lead bandit. "Whatever we're dealing with, nopony gets past this point, okay?"
He began heading down the tunnel, his hooves falling either on the mining tracks or wooden ties that ran along the center of the path. The non-magical traps were installed to either side of the tracks in order to give the bandits a clear line in and out that could be easily navigated in the dark and allow them to use the mining carts to move goods. This necessarily meant that the raiders had to advance two at a time, in a slow-moving line, but half the mob remained in rearguard near the back, forming a veritable wall of furry muscle and weathered steel as a backup force.
While the advance group headed down the tunnel their reflections marched in unison, giving the entire affair a distinctly farcical feel while the disgruntled rogues stared themselves down. Some of the ponies searched for any signs of burns or craters, remembering that the sound that had drawn them sounded very much like a detonation. There was no obvious damage in the tunnel, however, and it was almost impossible to discern more subtle signs of damage with so little light.
The lead stallion stopped, and the entire column halted in an instant. His ear twitched, trying to pick up any sounds beyond the darkness. He tilted his head to the side, watching with increasing irritation as his reflection mimicked his movements at the end of the passage. He heard nothing. He saw nothing. No explosions, no intruders, no apparent damage to the tunnel. Nothing but his own reflection staring back at him in anxious confusion.
"All right, I've had enough of this," he growled. "Somepony take out that mirror! We'll do a sweep outside and then reset the traps. This looks like a waste of time."
A pegasus wordlessly raised his crossbow, and then fired a single bolt into his reflection at the end of the tunnel. The projectile sliced through the illusory mirror pane, instantly breaking it into a shower of glittering pink sparks. Then it embedded itself in the front of a mining cart.
The bandits started in confusion once again. Not that it was odd for mining carts to be in Metalleus; they were pretty much the only means of transportation and cargo carrying within the hideout. It WAS odd to find one hiding behind a magic mirror, though. Also, this one seemed to have some sort of red, rocket-shaped objects secured on the sides.
"Show time," said a voice from around the corner, at the end of the tunnel. A flash of pink briefly illuminated the cart more fully, and then a hissing noise came from the firework rockets attached to it.
"Wha-Hey! Wh-Who goes there?!" barked the lead bandit. He started backing up as his current circumstances dawned on him, only to bump into the other rogues crowded behind him along the tracks.
Teammates behind him, deadly traps on either side of him, and a big metal box in front of him with improvised explosive propulsion.
The fuses on the fireworks burned down to nothing, and the crackling hiss petered out before being replaced by a blazing roar.
The mining cart rocketed down the tunnel, its wheels squealing against the rusted axles and poorly maintained tracks. It smashed into the panicking bandits like a bowling ball, either throwing them aside by force or convincing those with better reflexes to abandon the track by choice.
Those that landed next to the tracks only found further punishment as their own traps were unleashed on them. Darts flew from the walls and ceiling, cutting down the rogues with a flurry of debilitating needles. Bear traps closed on stumbling hooves with jaws of steel. Razor-edged wire slashed through the air, ripping through meager leather armor and soft pony flesh. Cries of pain, shrieking metal, and bone-cracking impacts all mixed with the roar of the firework rockets as the advance guard was decimated. Even the few pegasi who managed to avoid the cart and hover over the ground were not spared, as the defenses had been installed to cripple entire platoons of invaders at once.
The bandits at the end of the tunnel scattered, diving away from the tracks before they were bowled over as well. The tracks curved gradually into a turn that followed the tunnels deeper into the mine, but the rocket-propelled cart was in no state to handle a minor course correction. The wheels wrenched free of the tracks, and the cart was sent spinning into a wall.
Then the fireworks exploded, splashing the tunnel with vibrant colored light and booming thunder.
Some of the rogues broke and ran, completely overwhelmed by the sudden noise and violence. The rest simply stayed put on the ground, hooves over their heads and tails curled around their flanks as they waited for the chaos to end.
And then, after nearly a minute of banging and bursts of neon-colored fire... it did.
"...... Is that... Is that it?" one stallion asked cautiously, his voice a near whimper. He swept his head back and forth, not daring to raise his head out of the dirt.
Groans and desperate sobbing came from further down the tunnel, but those ponies that were still unharmed disregarded it for now. After such a shocking bombardment, the rogues naturally expected some kind of general assault by whomever had done this. Surely no one would set up such a trap and smash through half their fighters only to back off and let them recover.
That was the sensible conclusion, and yet they heard nothing. No hooves stampeding down the tunnel, no roaring fireballs, and - mercifully - no more fireworks. One of the bandits jumped upright, suddenly incensed.
"That's it?! That's all you've got?!" he shouted into the darkness. "Come on! Get up, you tunnel rats! Get moving! Take them down!"
"Question..." mumbled another pony, timidly lifting a hoof. "What if that's not, in fact, all they've got? Who are we even fighting here?"
"Whoever it is, they don't even have the guts to fight us face-to-face!" the first bandit snarled, his teeth sinking into his sword's grip. "So pull yourself together and go-"
A mining cart slammed into the bandit, cutting him off with a pained yelp. It was the same mining cart that rammed through the initial vanguard, which mainly concerned the ponies because last they had seen it had crashed into a wall and collapsed upside-down.
"DAMN that was loud. Did it even work? I couldn't tell what happened what with all the explosions and screaming." Ranma grimaced and rubbed the side of his head.
The bandits stared at him in varying states of confusion and horror. A few of them scrambled to adopt a combat stance, while a few others actually dropped their weapons and fled.
"Oh. I guess we took out all those guys in the tunnel already? Yeah, okay. That worked pretty well, then," Ranma admitted.
A short sword swung toward his flank, and Ranma curved out of the way before lashing out with a hoof. He struck the bandit in the side of the head, knocking his weapon loose and stunning him, before a following back kick sent him flying back through the tunnel.
"Yeah, these guys are no threat anymore. TRIX!! I think we're clear until they come back with reinforcements!" Ranma hopped to the side when a crossbow bolt flew at him, and then dashed forward toward the shooter. A body slam threw the rogue into a rock wall with crushing force, and he slid to the ground with a shriek and a whimper.
He whirled around on another stallion that had been sneaking up on his flank with a pair of curved talons attached to his hoof. The bandit seized up upon being spotted, and then quickly lowered himself onto the ground.
"I'd like to negotiate my surrender, please," the bandit said, his voice a terrified squeak.
"I'm not really the guy to talk to for that," Ranma admitted, "hold on a sec."
He turned around to face the entry tunnel and spotted Trixie gingerly approaching over the mining tracks. She was being careful to only step on the rail ties, while also avoiding the various thugs scattered across the tunnel in varying states of agony.
"Hey, Trix! What should I do with prisoners?!" Ranma shouted.
"Prisoners? Why are you taking prisoners rather than just beating their heads in?" Trixie asked back.
"It wasn't me, this guy just surrendered before I-" A pair of steel hoof-talons arced toward his flank, and Ranma dove to the side, rolling across the dirt.
In an instant the martial artist had bounced upright and was darting toward the shocked and stuttering bandit. A hoof struck the rogue's claws hard enough to tear the weapon off, and then another one hit the stallion's jaw, knocking him to the side. A back kick finished the criminal pony, sending him skidding along the floor of the tunnel and into blissful unconsciousness.
Ranma frowned at the insensate raider, and then turned back to the entry tunnel. "Never mind about the prisoner!"
"TRY to be a little less credulous, would you?" Trixie sighed while stepping over a groaning stallion. "These ponies are cutthroats defending their livelihood, not a bunch of desperate peasants. They're not going to give up so easily."
A dark-furred shape suddenly rose in front of her and the magician recoiled, almost tripping over the tracks. It was the same stallion that had been leading the charge toward the entrance, although he had blood running down his muzzle and one of his legs was trembling badly. Trixie almost called for Ranma's help, but quickly gathered herself after taking stock of the stallion's injuries and deciding they were far worse than her own.
"And what do YOU want? You already helped clear the traps in Trixie's path; Trixie is done with you," she sneered.
"You punks... might think you're... clever..." the bandit's breath was heaving, and his eyes were clearly having trouble focusing on the mare in front of him. "Your tricks... won't work... on... Morning Star..." he spat.
The unicorn shrugged. "Trixie figured as much, actually. We were mostly planning to go the brute force route with the Head Thug. He IS in right now, isn't he?"
"Yeah," the rogue huffed. "He's... what?" His forehead creased, and his pained expression looked slightly dazed. "Morning... Morning Star is-"
"Yes, fine, whatever," Trixie sighed, gently pushing a hoof against the bandit.
He immediately toppled over onto his side, squeaking painfully when he hit the ground. Trixie walked past him without a second thought, speeding her pace slightly to get to Ranma.
"All right, Trixie doubts we'll be able to lay any more ambushes within the bandit's lair at this point. From here on out you're the star of the show, Havoc," Trixie said as she reached her traveling companion.
"Okay, Trix. Just stay close to me. These guys think they're sneaky," Ranma replied, leading them both down the corridor.
"Try not to fall for any more ruses, like ponies 'surrendering,'" the unicorn quipped, prodding her bodyguard with a hoof. "We're in their home, beating up their friends, and basically robbing them. None of these ponies are going to be laying down without a fight. They have too much to lose!"
"What if we corner Morning Star and take him down? Would they give up then? That's how it usually works, in my experience."
"Maybe. Just as often the thieves just wait for a chance to pounce and take over as head honcho," Trixie grumbled. "Let's work under the assumption that you're going to have to break every pony in this mine."
"Can do!" Ranma chirped, trotting faster down the tunnel.
Their path ahead was straightforward, following the cart tracks into the main cavern. In days long past, they constituted the primary staging area for miners working the tunnels and gathering ore to be transported to the surface. Nowadays it served as the bandits' central living space, where the thieves drank, ate, and socialized with each other when not out on missions or sleeping. These tunnels, unlike the entrance, had all the telltale signs of being lived in. Garbage was common, and many of the walls had shelving or were decorated with weapons and shields.
There were several rooms attached to the main tunnel, and Ranma stopped to check each one. Some had no door, others had wooden doors of varying strength, and a few doors were made of hammered iron and locked tight. Their uses tended to be self-evident at a glance; food stores, distilleries, latrines, bedding, or training halls. The locked doors presumably protected loot storage, although Ranma didn't take the time to rip them open; Trixie suspected they might be trapped, and reasoned there was no point in trying to loot the place while many of the occupants were working out a counter-attack. So they continued along the tracks.
What both Ranma and Trixie found odd, and increasingly ominous, is that there were no bandits in any of the rooms where the bandits would normally be sleeping, eating, or otherwise using. To be sure, most if not all of the ponies that lived in the mines would have been alerted to their presence by now, but with each new empty room they became more certain of an ambush awaiting them.
It didn't help that the light got worse deeper into the tunnel as well. The tunnels were mostly lit by mundane torches and oil lamps, along with the occasional magic jewel set in a ceiling cavity or wall fixture to provide illumination without the concern of running out of fuel. The further they advanced, however, the more torches had been put out and lamps stashed away. On purpose, certainly.
Trixie's horn flashed briefly, and then tossed a spark onto one of the extinguished torches on the wall. The resulting illumination didn't cover much of the tunnel ahead, but it stretched far enough to reach a pair of big wooden double doors blocking off the end.
"It looks like that's where the major cavern is. If there's going to be an ambush or a second line of traps, it will be there," Trixie grumbled.
Ranma moved up to the doors, leaning his side against one of them. Then he gently pushed the other open so that he could peek in on what was inside. He was slightly surprised the door wasn't locked, and not surprised at all to find that the space beyond the doorway was almost pitch dark.
"... They're here. Waiting for us in the dark," Ranma said, keeping his voice low. "I can sense them. Not quite as many as we took out near the entrance, but still a lot. You have a plan, or should I just jump in there?"
Trixie frowned, putting a hoof to her chin. "Let Trixie think... obviously it would be poor form to just stumble into an obvious ambush if we can lure them out instead or ruin their ambush. If we broke into their treasure stores, perhaps they-"
Ranma moved just a split second before the door he was leaning on was smashed into splinters. Trixie was tackled mid-sentence, and she screamed while they rolled along the ground just ahead of a spray of wooden shrapnel.
While the magician was too startled and panicked to make any sense of what was happening, Ranma's ears picked up the distinctive sound of rattling chains followed by the sound of steel striking steel. He wasn't entirely sure was to make of the noise absent any other context; a siege engine, maybe? It seemed strange to have such a device deep underground, but such a weapon would be a serious threat to him, at least.
"What the HAY was that?!" Trixie sputtered angrily, whipping her head back and forth.
"Not sure what broke the door," Ranma admitted, standing up. "I'm pretty sure we're not getting the jump on these guys, though."
Trixie was pondering whether she should even risk standing up when a mare's voice shouted out from the darkness.
"Oh, Haaaaavooooooc! Come on in, my dear! We've been waiting for you!" the voice chirped pleasantly.
Ranma was slightly surprised to hear a female among the bandit gang; every pony raider they'd encountered so far had been a stallion. Nonetheless, he set his jaw and marched into the darkness of the cavern. Trixie was left to her own devices, for now; whatever surprises lay in store he could probably weather better than her, and she seemed too stunned to offer any useful advice or orders for the moment.
He passed through the darkness at an easy trot, feeling the uneven rail ties beneath his hooves give way to proper wooden flooring. The ponies surrounding him remained still and silent. He could feel their tension easily; their anger and fear mixed together into an aura as visible as any torch to his martial artist's senses. But they didn't attack. And at the head of the band was... something else.
"Can we get a little light in here, boys? I want to see my sweetie's face!"
At that bizarre command, a pair of unicorn horns flashed.
Multiple torches all around the cavern flickered to life, as well as a few lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a pair of large braziers. Ranma was momentarily blinded, and he leapt backward on reflex, hitting the ground in a roll and then flipping upright in an instant. He landed in a crouch, his legs tense as wound springs.
"Oh, my! You're a jumpy one, aren't you?" giggled the mare.
After a few seconds, Ranma's vision adjusted to the new light. The cavern had been floored with wood and was well-furnished, with numerous benches and tables laid out in the expansive space. As expected, the remaining bandits were waiting behind barricades in a ring surrounding the room; some were purpose-built, with metal shielding and spikes, while others were simply more tables turned onto their sides. Less expected was that the ponies weren't firing at him; all were armed with crossbows or throwing weapons of some sort, but every one of them was waiting nervously rather than trying to capitalize on his brief vulnerability.
At the other end of the cavern was a tall staircase leading up from a raised wooden platform. Upon the platform sat the pair of brass braziers, and standing between them was a mare.
She had charcoal-black fur with a long, shining blond mane that seemed distinctly out of place in a dingy, abandoned cave full of criminals. A cutie mark of a sword, pointed down and wrapped in chain, was displayed prominently on her hip. Her body was quite lithe and feminine, but at the same time she was surprisingly large and muscular compared to most of the other mares he had met. Surely she had to be, considering the set of four huge greaves she had on.
Ranma stared at the armored leggings. They were massive compared to her actual legs, composed of a segmented metal sleeve and knee hinge that were wrapped up in chains. Big, ridged horseshoes almost two inches thick were mounted on the bottom, boosting the mare's height above the various stallions in the room. They had clearly seen actual combat, too; the horseshoes' edges had small dents and divots that he could easily make out from a distance.
His eyes narrowed. Ranma had seen his fair share of weapons and armor, but he couldn't guess what the purpose of the chains on her greaves could possibly be for. He did notice, however, that there was no siege device or heavy weapon in this cavern as he had initially guessed. Curious.
"Like what you see, Havoc?" the mare asked, grinning sweetly. She turned to one side, showing off her flank and cutie mark and flicking her tail. "You'll get more than an eyeful soon enough. But first, I guess we have to sort out all this... other unpleasantness."
She sighed, and her ears drooped. "Considering I haven't heard a thing from the boys I sent to get you and the way you welcomed yourself in like this, I'm guessing you rejected the offer they were supposed to make. I hope you didn't kill the poor saps. Hammer Time was one of my favorites." She pouted, fluttering her long eyelashes at the martial artist.
"They'll live long enough to enjoy a nice, long stay in jail," Ranma said dismissively. He twisted his head to one side, cracking his neck while his eyes scanned his opponents. "So, where are we at, here? Do you wanna go get Morning Star now and let me take him down right away, or is he going to make me beat up all his henchmen first?"
The armored mare blinked, and then furrowed her brow. "'Henchmen'?"
"Fine, I guess you're a henchwoman. Er... or a hench... mare?" Ranma shook his head. "Look, I'm here to beat up your boss, okay? Don't make this complicated. Where's Morning Star?"
"Morning Star is standing in front of you," Morning Star deadpanned.
Ranma was silent for several seconds, staring up at her.
Then he tilted to one side, looking to see if there was another pony behind her.
There was not.
"Oh. So you're Morning Star," Ranma said, his ears flipping down. "Great."
The bandit leader didn't seem especially bothered by his obvious disappointment. "Welcome to Metalleus, Havoc. I promise you: that's the LEAST of the surprises we have in store..." |
Taming the Wild Horse | Heartbreaker, Skullcracker | Taming the Wild Horse
a My Little Pony/Ranma 0.5 crossover fanfiction
by SFaccountant
Chapter 5
Heartbreaker, Skullcracker
Trixie's brow furrowed beneath her horn. She stared across the mining cavern at the other mare, studying her features. Her eyes lingered on the ridiculously oversized greaves that the bandit queen wore. She looked back and forth at the numerous other rogues who patiently waited behind barriers of wood and iron.
"What the HAY is going on, here?!" she shouted.
Morning Star looked up at the magician, and her expression cooled considerably. She had regarded Ranma with flirty joy and false petulance, but it all seemed to drain away when she was forced to address another mare.
"Ah. You must be the unicorn we were told about. Trillby, or something?" she asked impatiently.
"TRIXIE!" Trixie corrected. "You're standing before the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
"Yes, fine. Whatever." Morning Star sat back onto her haunches, and the sound of rattling steel bounced through the cavern. "Why are you here? What do you want?"
Trixie gaped, briefly finding herself unable to answer. She and Ranma had assaulted Star's minions, forced their way into her home, and made little secret of their opinion of thieves and raiders. What did Star THINK they wanted?
"We're here to put a stop-" Trixie began, only for Star to click her tongue and interrupt.
"No," the bandit leader said pointing an armored foreleg at the unicorn, "not 'we.' I asked why YOU'RE here and what YOU want. Not Havoc."
"What?" Ranma tilted his head to the side, confused. This wasn't going at all as he had expected it would.
"Do you want money? Are you here for something that was stolen?" Morning Star asked, her voice sounding increasingly irritated. "If I can throw a sack of bits or something at you to send you out the front door, I will. I'm not interested in you. Take what you want and go away."
Trixie, naturally, was furious at the dismissal. "Trixie isn't going anywhere! You're a brutal, ruthless outlaw and your days of stealing from innocent ponies is over!" she barked. "You can either give up now, or you can find out firsthoof why Havoc's bounty outpaces yours by a good fifty thousand bits!"
Morning Star laughed. This didn't help to lessen Trixie's anger, obviously.
"Oh, my! You really came here to defeat me? Like the Equestrian heroines of old! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Her laughter was like a crystal bell; crisp and high-pitched and almost obnoxiously feminine.
"What's funny about that?" Ranma asked, arching an eyebrow. "You think we can't?"
Star's laughter melted away, and she gazed at Ranma with a smirk. "Maybe you can. More likely you can't. But it's such a pointless question. Why should we fight?"
"Because... you prey on the weak and kill innocents and we hate that?" Ranma said. "Also, we kind of need some money for a thing. So after we wipe you guys out we'll take some of your booty, too."
"If Miss Trixie wants money, I can give her money. I don't care. I just want her gone," Morning Star said with a shrug. Then she fixed a smoldering grin on the martial artist. "But my booty is all yours, Havoc."
"............" Ranma stared in befuddled silence for several seconds, trying and failing to come up with a response to that. Then he turned back to face Trixie, gesturing to the bandit queen helplessly.
Trixie rubbed a hoof against her forehead, sighing in exasperation. "Mother of Celestia, not again..." the magician grumbled to herself. Then she addressed Morning Star directly. "Okay, Trixie thinks she understands what's happening here. Except it's not happening at all. Havoc isn't going to be your stud, much less join your gang of cutthroats. We're here to put a stop to your pillaging, and we won't be bought off!"
"Yeah! Exactly! What she said!" Ranma was reasonably discouraged to realize that Morning Star had been flirting with him, but at least he didn't have to feign interest back this time.
"Why not?" Star asked, pouting. "Why would you want to hurt us and risk harm to yourselves when we could all walk away with something we want, instead?"
"And what about what the townspeople want?" Ranma demanded.
Morning Star blinked. "Who cares? They're a bunch of dim, hapless wretches. If they weren't being fleeced by me they'd just fall under the sword of some other rogue. Or even - Tartarus forbid - end up paying taxes to those royal layabouts in Canterlot." She made a disgusted face. "Ignorant sheep like that aren't worth the effort, Havoc."
"That's not true!" Trixie shouted.
Then she paused.
"To clarify, Trixie actually agrees with all of that, but still finds your behavior indefensible." She tapped a hoof onto the ground. "Havoc, she's just wasting our time. Kick her around a little, would you?"
Ranma bolted into action, galloping head-on toward the bandit queen. He was expecting the other rogues to attack immediately, and was reasonably surprised - and slightly suspicious - when they didn't bother.
"You really want to do this, then?" Morning Star asked with a sigh.
Then she kicked out a foreleg.
Ranma had already been prepared to make an emergency dodge, and he immediately rolled hard to the side. A heavy metal weight smashed into the spot he had evacuated, tearing through the floorboards and kicking up a spray of dust and wooden shrapnel.
The weight was a horseshoe. Specifically, one of the massive, battered horseshoes from the bottom of Star's greaves. It was attached to a length of chain on the middle of the arch, and that chain led across the room and up to Morning Star's front-left leg.
"Nice moves," she cooed, lifting her hoof sharply. The horseshoe flew back to her, its chain rapidly snaking around the metal sleeve around her leg. Then it struck the front edge of the piece of armor, snapping back into position with a hefty, metallic clang.
"So that's what those are for," Ranma mumbled, his eyes narrowing. Trixie was still shocked to see the disguised flail, but the martial artist was quite used to bizarre weapons and his mind was already picking them apart. Weight, range, speed, impact power, and likely weaknesses were all considered in seconds, and then expanded into the most likely counters available in his repertoire of techniques.
"Do you like them?" Morning Star chirped, turning around and posing. "The Heartbreaker Greaves are my signature magic weapon! A set of legendary monster-hunting gear passed down from my father!"
"Magic weapon? UGH." In an instant, Ranma discarded every estimate he'd made as probably useless, and his expression soured.
"Of course they're magic! Even I wouldn't be strong enough to wear them otherwise!" Star laughed, turning her head around to smile at the martial artist. "And I definitely wouldn't be able to do something like THIS!"
She almost casually kicked a rear leg back, and the attached horseshoe flew toward Ranma like a cannon shot. He jumped away, and the iron weight crashed into the floor beneath him and tore a meter-long trench in the floor.
"And another!" Star hopped up onto her forelegs and then kicked out again, sending her other rear horseshoe sailing toward the pigtailed stallion. Ranma dodged again, rolling away before the missile smashed a dining table into little shards of wood.
Morning Star pulled her hind legs back, and both chains flew back to her and snapped the horseshoes into place under her hooves. She fell back onto all fours, and then turned back around with a coy flourish.
"So you see you don't have a chance now, right? You should really just give up. What I'm offering you is a LOT more fun than having your skull smashed open with iron weights!" Morning Star smiled eagerly and then sat down again, fluttering her eyelashes at the pigtailed stallion.
Ranma stood up straight and arched an eyebrow. "Don't have a chance? What are you, kidding me? You think I'm going to back down over some fancy footwear?" He snorted and brushed a hoof against his chest fur. "Lady, this isn't even CLOSE to the most dangerous magic thingy I've had flung at me. I'm not giving up!"
"But whyyyyyy?" Morning Star whined, pouting. "I don't wanna fight! Let's go make out, instead!"
"No! No making out!" Ranma snapped, a vein popping up on his head. "I'm here to bring you to justice!"
"Justice? You? You're a criminal, too!" Star pointed out, frowning. "Hay, your alleged crimes are MUCH worse than mine! Why would you put yourself in harm's way for the weaklings in Venom Valley? Any one of them would put you behind bars if they got the chance!"
"The bounty thing is besides the point," Ranma said, waving a hoof dismissively. "You've been abusing the ponies around here, and they don't deserve that. Taking you out is the right thing to do!"
Morning Star frowned more deeply, tilting her head to the side. "...... I see. 'The right thing to do,' eh?" She stood up again. "Let me tell you a little story about somepony who spent way too much of his life doing 'the right thing.'"
"Will this story be conveyed in a musical number?" Trixie interrupted, much to Ranma's confusion.
"No, I don't really have a head for lyrics. And these guys are TERRIBLE at choreography," Morning Star scoffed, gesturing to her fellow bandits. They all looked embarrassed, their heads sinking and their ears pinning back. Which just made Ranma more confused.
"Anyway, like I said, these greaves came from my father. He was a skilled monster hunter living on the edge of the badlands. Powerful. Capable. Humble. Kind. Just. Everything a hero should be." She sighed, slumping and staring up at the cavern ceiling. "He worked at the behest of the border settlements, driving off threats and occasionally hunting down and destroying nests when necessary. He wasn't famous. There are no statues of him or pretty windows in Canterlot celebrating his victories. He wasn't rich, either. He lived in a small shack in the middle of nowhere, charging the ponies whose lives he saved just enough to buy what he needed but couldn't grow or make himself."
"He sounds like a swell guy," Ranma murmured. "So what went wrong with you?"
Morning Star shot him an annoyed look. "Eventually Father did manage to find a mate and sire me. Mother was... nice, I suppose, but not quite as selfless and spartan as Father. She disliked the life she had taken up. Poor. Dangerous. Isolated. Unappreciated. She wanted Father to use his skills and power to do something more lucrative and slightly less deadly, like bounty hunting or soldiering. But Father had moral objections to those jobs, apparently. Mother was unhappy, but she stayed with him. She still loved Father, despite her difficult life, and it was 'the right thing to do,' after all."
She lowered her head, glowering at Ranma. "Guess what happened to Mother."
"She died, right?" Ranma asked without missing a beat. "I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but you were obviously leading up to that."
"Definitely," Trixie agreed. "It would be a terrible anti-climax if she didn't, frankly. You already eliminated all the less serious tragic outcomes from the narrative. It's just a matter of how and why, at this point."
"Yes. She died," Morning Star said, her ears flipping down and her eyes shifting away. "She was killed while out of the house one day, by some monster Father had annoyed. I don't know much more than that; I was still very young, and all I remember was that Father came home from looking for her in a horrible, sorrowful rage. He ranted and cried, prepared his weapons, and then ordered me to stay home. Then he left."
"Twenty bits says he died too," Trixie interrupted, glancing down at Ranma.
"No way I'm taking that bet," Ranma snorted. "Also, you have all my money, remember?"
"AHEM!" Morning Star cleared her throat loudly, glaring at the two intruders. They fell silent, waiting patiently for her to conclude her tale. "You are correct. Father died too. I eventually went out to search for him only to find him in the middle of a devastated battlefield, completely torn to shreds. There was barely enough of him left to bury, and most of that was stuffed inside of his greaves." She banged one of her forelegs against the other. "Father died a painful death. Heartbroken. Alone. Poor. Miserable. And forgotten. Aside from me, nopony else even knew he died until they eventually came to our home looking for help, only to find a pair of graves out in front. They didn't grieve for him or try to find out what happened or help me, a newly orphaned filly. They left to find someone else to help. Because all my parents' years of doing 'the right thing' was worth nothing to anypony else in the end," she scowled.
"So... that's it? That's why you do this?" Ranma asked, furrowing his brow. "Look, Star, I'm really sorry about your parents, and I get that you had a bad childhood, but-"
"Make no mistake, Havoc," Morning Star interrupted, "I'm not telling you this to explain why I live the way I do, much less to get you to feel sorry for me. Father was stubborn, dim-witted, and unlucky; I know it doesn't always go like that. Some heroes DO get the fame, and the riches, and the stained-glass windows in some fancy royal hall. Good for them."
She snorted, and then hopped down off the platform she was standing on. She landed heavily, and the floorboards shook slightly from the impact of her greaves.
"I don't worry about right and wrong. I'm not like my father," Morning Star continued. "But you? You ARE."
One of the bandits leaned over to whisper to another. "He reminds her of her dad? Yeesh! No wonder she wants him so badly."
A horseshoe promptly crashed through the raider's barricade, and he screamed before he was slammed into a wall. The bandit next to him yelped and jumped back as the chain reversed momentum, pulling the projectile back into place.
The horseshoe clamped back onto Star's armor, and she coughed self-consciously before she spoke again. "As I was saying..." She pointed a hoof at Ranma, who almost jumped into a dodge by sheer reflex. "Here you are, fighting for what's right. Doing good where nopony asked you to. Vanquishing evil with hardly a thought for your own safety!" She started circling the martial artist while staring at him with a pitying expression. "And for what? What has it gotten you? Money? Power? Friends? Mares? Fame?"
She paused. "Well it's gotten you fame, certainly. But I doubt you wanted the kind of fame that comes with a two hundred thousand bit payout for your murderer."
"I was framed! That bounty is all fake!" Ranma groused.
"PARTIALLY fake," Trixie interjected.
"Not helping, Trix!" he snapped back.
"I believe you, Havoc," Star said, nodding at Ranma.
The martial artist blinked repeatedly, confused. "You... You do?"
"Of course I do. Why would you lie to me, a shameless thief and raider, about whether or not you're a criminal? There's no reason for me to care if you're innocent." Morning Star stopped walking around Ranma, and her gaze hardened. "But you know who SHOULD care? The ponies in the town. The bounty hunters. The guards. The royal alicorns trusted by their millions of servants to uphold justice and order in the kingdom that pays them tithe and deference. And how have THEY treated you, Havoc?"
"Not great," Ranma admitted. "I mean, there've been some bright spots, but in general? One star. Would not get flung across time and space to travel this kingdom again."
Morning Star started approaching him. "Exactly. You work. You fight. You bleed. You suffer. And your reward is to be the single most hated pony in all of Equestria. Even Father was luckier, brutal demise notwithstanding; he was completely ignored by those who could reward and help him, but never persecuted. Hay, I exploit and hurt ponies for a living, and they haven't even sent a full platoon after me yet!"
She raised an armored hoof and gently placed it against Ranma's shoulder. He flinched at the contact, feeling the hairs on his back standing up; a sure sign, as if any more were needed, that the greaves were absolutely seething with magic.
"If that's the case, then why bother? Why fight for what's good and right if 'good' and 'right' turns around and plants a spear in your flank at the first opportunity? Join me! Fight for fun and profit! The fat layabouts in Canterlot can't do anything about it that they're not doing to you already!" Her expression again shifted to a smoldering grin. "And I promise, working for me has some VERY pleasurable benefits..."
Ranma swatted her armored hoof away. "No."
Morning Star recoiled, looking offended. "Why not?"
"Same answer as before. Because cleaning up you jerks and closing down this operation is the right thing to do." Ranma's eyes narrowed. "And yeah, it probably won't make me popular or rich or even get Princess Loony to call off the bounty on my head, which sucks, but I'm going to do it anyway. Because it's the right thing to do."
Morning Star backed away, glaring petulantly at the martial artist. "That's ridiculous! What's the point of doing good if you're constantly punished for it? Why be a hero when everypony hates you anyway?!"
"Because I am a hero. I protect the weak and take down the bad guys that hurt them," Ranma said, as if it should have been obvious. "That's just how it is, and everyone else's opinion doesn't really matter much."
The bandit's expression turned exasperated. "Are you being serious?"
"Don't get me wrong; it'd be great if more people actually appreciated what I did, and I hate having my reputation ruined by misunderstandings and random explosions," Ranma admitted with a shrug, "but at the end of the day the only person who has to feel good about what I've done is me. And I have no regrets."
"Not even about all the buildings you accidentally destroyed?" Trixie asked.
"And I only have a few regrets," Ranma corrected, "but my answer is the same. We're not joining your gang. We're not leaving you alone. We're going to stop you, here and now! Right, Trix?"
"Trixie is still thinking it over."
Ranma crashed onto his face, causing Morning Star to wince.
"What?! What do you mean you're thinking it over?!" the martial artist demanded, bouncing upright again.
"Morning Star made a very persuasive case," Trixie admitted, rubbing a hoof against her chin, "Trixie actually does care if she risks life and limb constantly without benefitting. Trixie cares a lot. All this good karma hasn't been very good to Trixie's quality of life recently."
"Trixie!" Ranma shouted, using her real name for the first time in weeks. "We're not joining the gang! Besides, you're getting money out of this fight, remember?"
"Oh, fine," the magician grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Halfway into an explosive assault on a thieves den is probably a poor time to start questioning Trixie's moral grounding anyway." She briefly pushed her hat back far enough to expose her horn. "Morning Star, we refuse your offer and instead propose the following: take off those fancy combat socks and order your stallions to give up! If you do, Havoc won't have to mess up your face before you get to prison!"
Morning Star leapt backward, gaining some distance between her and Ranma. The impact of her greaves shook the floor when she landed, rattling the floorboards and kicking up a shallow wave of dust.
"You're making a grave mistake," the bandit queen warned Ranma, standing up straight. "Don't think for a second that just because I'd rather be rutting than fighting that I'll go easy on you. If you start this, then I'll end it."
"You're not the first overpowered villainess to threaten him for nookie," Trixie scoffed. "No holding back this time, Havoc! Take her out!"
The opening salvo came before Trixie even finished speaking. A horseshoe cut through the air at double the speed as before, spinning on the end of the chain. Tables in its path were ripped apart like so much paper, and even after Ranma dodged aside he felt buffeted by the air pressure alone.
Morning Star pulled her leg to the side, and the chain swept across the room in a wide arc. Ranma rolled underneath it, then jumped upright into a gallop.
"Neat boots!" he taunted, hopping into a flying kick.
Star met his hoof with her own, blocking the attack against the thick, enchanted metal of her greaves. Ranma bounced off, landing behind her, and then had to dodge away before the bandit queen bucked him.
His evasions were successful, but Ranma was honestly shocked that he hadn't landed a hit; he could move faster than most ponies could even track. This mare was actually quick enough to follow and react effectively to his techniques, AND while wearing something like twice her own weight in metal.
Morning Star bucked at him again, and Ranma had to duck before a horseshoe rammed into his face. While chains rattled loudly over his head, he bolted forward while his opponent had her leg extended. Ranma kicked the bandit in her side, and then hopped away just before her projectile returned and snapped into place.
"Is this all the infamous Havoc has to offer?" Morning Star taunted, launching another horseshoe at the martial artist. She hadn't even staggered slightly from the kick to her ribs. "Surely you didn't amass a 200,000 bit bounty just for being hard to hit!"
A vein popped up on Trixie's head while Ranma flipped out of the way of the horseshoe-flails. "Hey! What did Trixie say about holding back?! Stop playing around, Havoc!"
"I'm not!" the stallion shouted back while twisting around the deadly chains. "I mean... well, a little, maybe, but that's not the problem! She shouldn't have been able to shrug off the hit THAT easily!"
Morning Star pulled her horseshoes back, and each of them clamped into place with a metallic crash. "These greaves are more than just unconventional flails. Their enchantments improve my speed and strength, too! They even make my lustrous, flawless coat as tough as stone!"
"Meh. A bit dull, actually. Probably from the bad air down here. Six out of ten," Trixie retorted.
Star flashed a glare at the unicorn, her eyes narrowing into slits. "Boys? I don't think we need a guest audience for this showdown. Show the lady the door, would you? And then show her a six foot hole somewhere out front." She kicked out a leg again, throwing another horseshoe flail Ranma's way.
The stallions whirled about, raising their crossbows to aim at the other intruder. Trixie blinked in surprise, holding an expression of shock while a half-dozen bolts were launched toward her.
The bolts slashed straight through her, sailing into the main tunnel leading up to the mining cavern. The magic mirror vanished, exploding into glowing sparks that rapidly faded to nothing.
The bandits recoiled in surprise, and then quickly started scanning the cavern around them.
"It was a decoy?"
"Where'd she go? She was really there when we turned on the light, wasn't she? When did she move?"
"I dunno, I was watching Havoc!"
"Find her!"
The cavern was, unfortunately, quite large and cluttered. Stalactites, furniture, and stacks of containers provided ample hiding places and spots to cover from projectiles. There were also several tunnels that branched off from the cavern, and even spaces under the floorboard deck easily large enough to hide a mare.
It really didn't help that there was a furious melee going on in the middle of the room, either; Morning Star's horseshoes ripped long furrows in the flooring, kicking up clouds of dust and making a distracting amount of noise. The attacks seemed to be ineffective, too; Ranma stayed at long range, giving him ample time to dodge each attack and relocate.
One of the bandits stumbled when the martial artist leapt on top of him, balancing gingerly atop the raider's back.
"Hey! What do you think you-" Ranma jumped off before he could complete his complaint, and the bandit was promptly struck in the side by a horseshoe-flail. He was knocked clean across the room, screaming, and eventually crashed into a pile of grain sacks in a corner.
"Tch! Stay out of the way, you useless goons!" Morning Star snapped while her chain retracted. She kicked out another horseshoe, sweeping in an arc toward her opponent.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" the bandits froze when laughter came from another corner of the cavern. "You idiots fall for the magic mirror trick every single time!"
The rogues zeroed in on Trixie's voice, pinpointing the source among a pile of barrels partially covered in canvas. Giving the combatants in the middle of the room a wide berth, they galloped over to the supply cache and encircled it with blades drawn.
"Hey. H-Hey, quit it!" Trixie's voice emanated from beneath the tarp while the bandits advanced. "If you think the mirror is the full extent of Trixie's power, you've got another thing coming!"
A unicorn peeled the tarp away with his magic, tossing it aside. Nothing was underneath, except more barrels. The unicorn frowned, but the rest of the stallions started scrambling over the containers, searching for their target.
"Go away! Trixie isn't here!" the mare's voice barked angrily.
"From the barrel! She's in the barrel!" one bandit shouted, rearing back with his sword.
"Um... I don't think..." the unicorn wasn't so sure, but his companions weren't listening. They started hacking into one of the barrels, digging their blades into the hardened, sealed wood. Dark fluid started spilling out of the breaches and onto the floor around them, but a cursory inspection revealed it definitely wasn't blood.
"What? What is this?" asked one rogue, stepping backward and almost slipping on the wet floor.
"It's lamp oil. All those barrels are full of fuel for the lanterns and stuff," the unicorn said, his brow furrowing. "She couldn't be in one of those unless she dumped the contents out and climbed inside."
A bandit stabbed his sword into the top of another barrel, and then pried the lid off. "More oil! Open the other ones! She has to be in one of them!"
"I... I'm not sure that... guys?" the unicorn frowned while his compatriots started unsealing the rest of the containers. They were spilling oil and loose bits of wood all around them, careless of the mess they were making among the supply stores.
One of the fuel barrels was knocked over, dumping its contents into a large puddle over the floorboards. That was bad enough on its own, but what attracted the unicorn raider's attention was a small carved coin sliding through the oil spill and bumping up against his hooves.
He probably would have dismissed it as a loose bit, but a second later Trixie's voice came from it. "Quit it, you idiots! Leave Trixie alone!"
Then a torch attached to the cavern wall lifted itself from its mounting, wrapped in a shroud of pink magic. The raider's eyes shrunk to pinpricks.
"Rrrrgh! Stop jumping around like a flea, you coward!"
Morning Star snarled in a rage while her flail retracted itself, the chains whipping and rattling around in the air. The cavern - which she often considered the "den" of her subterranean home - was now rife with splintered wood, shattered stone, and dented hunks of metal. Her opponent remained untouched; the closest she had gotten to hitting the stallion was when she had blocked his attack directly.
Then again, he also hadn't attacked her again, and it was starting to make her mad. She was sour enough at being spurned and having her home invaded, turning what was supposed to be a happy occasion full of sexy debauchery into a desperate battle to determine her immediate future. But even worse, her opponent wasn't even taking it seriously!
The horseshoe snapped back into place, and Star spun around on one hoof. Both of her hind legs lashed out, and those flails crossed half the length of the cavern in an eye blink.
"WHOA!" Ranma twisted into another dodge, and the enchanted iron passed closely enough to brush by his fur. The air pressure struck him in mid-air - albeit with much less force than the metal would have - and the martial artist stumbled awkwardly on his landing.
The horseshoes snapped back, and Morning Star spun around again. "Are you really the same pony feared by Canterlot's finest soldiers? How did you overcome so many of them? By running away until they got tired of chasing you?!"
"That... isn't completely wrong, actually," Ranma admitted, scuffing the floor with his hoof. "I figure you can't keep this up forever. You're definitely not used to long fights. Then it'll be easy to hand you over to the townsfolk."
"Are you stupid? You DO remember that your little marefriend is being cut apart right now, right?" Morning Star huffed.
"Yeah, well... the thing about that is..."
The explosion from the far corner of the cavern briefly blinded both combatants, and Morning Star stumbled from the sudden noise. Ranma, who wasn't nearly as surprised by the sudden inferno blooming nearby, immediately closed the distance and tried to sweep Star's leg.
His hoof struck metal without budging her leg, and the martial artist had to leap back when Morning Star swiped at his jaw. Whether a from a magical effect or sheer brawn, the bandit queen was almost as tough as her armor. Ranma clicked his tongue and hopped out of range again.
"What the hay was that?!" Morning Star howled, whipping around toward the explosion. She was horrified to see a tower of fire on the edge of the room where the fuel barrels had been stashed. Multiple bandits were galloping around in a panic with their tails or manes on fire, while some lay on the floor nearby, coughing and nursing burns.
"Yeah, that's what happens when you mess with Trix," Ranma chuckled. "So much for your boys cutting her apart. Now-"
"What are you chuckling about, you maniac?! There's a fire! That crazy unicorn is going to kill us all!" Star shouted. "Even if it doesn't spread and burn up everything, the smoke alone will choke everypony to death in here!"
"Oh. Uh... I guess that's true, actually," Ranma admitted, furrowing his brow. "Well, if you give up, then me and Trix will help drag your bandit buddies to safety before that happens. How about that?"
"Shut up, you psychotic cretin!" Morning Star clenched her teeth, and then looked up at the cavern ceiling. "I'm not giving up Metalleus that easily!"
She kicked high, and a horseshoe flew up into the rock ceiling above the blaze. The enchanted iron weight struck rock, crushing the outer layer to gravel and sending a rain of stone down into the flames.
Ranma wasn't sure what that was supposed to accomplish, but as as soon as the chain retracted, Morning Star did it again. And then again. And again. The enchanted flails crashed into the ceiling with an accelerating rhythm, and with each blow more and more stone cracked and tumbled free onto the burning oil, smothering it.
"Yowch!" one fist-sized piece of stone dropped onto one of the wounded bandits, and he yelped in pain from the impact. A much bigger boulder landed right next to him, burying a stretch of fire but coming quite close to crushing him flat.
"Hey! Watch it! You're going to bury your own guys!" Ranma complained.
"Oh, what do you care?" Star growled, kicking out another leg and smashing loose another pile of rock.
"Uhm, well, we care, though," offered a scorched rogue scrambling away from the massive downpour.
"Then get out of the way, idiots! I'm not giving up my home and treasure for you losers!" the bandit queen snarled. She whipped around and bucked up toward the ceiling, launching both rear flails into the air. They punched through the cracked rock and ore, drilling deep into the stone, and then ripped free back toward their user.
Ranma's eyes widened when he saw pony-sized boulders break free of the cavern ceiling, and in an instant he was sprinting across the floor and leaping into the air. He struck the side of one rock, cracking it in half, and then bounced off to slam into another and shove it off into the wall. The martial artist became a gray blur, zig-zagging between the pieces of deadly rubble quicker than the eye could see.
Not that the bandits wasted time watching. The ones who were already on their hooves scrambled for the exit tunnel, wailing in terror. Those who remained and weren't totally unconscious scrambled away from the raining shrapnel as best they could, with some of them simply curling up into a ball and covering their heads to protect them.
Ranma kicked off the last stone to tumble from the breach in the ceiling, breaking it apart and knocking it away into the center of the room. He flipped backward, and then landed lightly atop the pile of stone rubble that had buried the oil spill.
Morning Star had done a good job, putting aside the utter lack of concern for her underlings. The fire had been completely covered, with nothing but a few thin smoke trails leaking from the smoldering rocks. A fair bit of smoke had collected in the top of the cavern, but the room was large and surprisingly well-ventilated; Ranma didn't even feel the urge to cough as he checked around the debris pile for casualties.
"Is everyone okay? Well, not okay, I guess, since most of you were on fire a minute ago, but like, alive?" the martial artist asked.
Several groans came from the floor around him, which he considered a good thing.
An earth pony limped out from behind a shattered barricade, his eyes wide and disbelieving. His fur was badly burned on one flank, and sharp bits of stone had cut into his legs. He wobbled slightly when he stopped below Ranma, but carefully shifted his stance so that he wouldn't fall over.
"You... saved us? Why would you...?" he trailed off, his lip trembling.
"It was the right thing to do, obviously. A martial artist's duty is to protect the weak after all," the pigtailed stallion said with a smirk. He spent a moment buffing a hoof against his chest. "Besides, you're supposed to turn in bounties alive, right? Gotta do this by the book if we want to help the towns you ruined!"
He was still smiling down at the bandit when the horseshoe smashed into him.
Ranma's vision exploded into stars as he sailed through the air, and then spun wildly when he slammed into a stone wall. His teeth rattled in his head from the impact, and he felt the wall crack behind him before he slumped onto the floor with a pained gasp.
However bad he was expecting a direct hit from Star's greaves to be, the reality was far worse. Ranma staggered upright and almost fell over from the sheer pain in one of his legs. Was it fractured? He couldn't tell.
Another horseshoe shot toward him, and Ranma darted out of the way, pushing through the waves of agony. The previous hit had been brutal, but not especially worse than being flung a mile into the air in a tornado or explosion and slammed into the ground. He'd certainly had enough experience fighting wounded, at least.
This time the iron bludgeon bounced and spun, and Morning Star wrenched her leg to the side. Rather than swiping the horseshoe at him, the chain snaked around his foreleg, wrapping tight when the iron arch pulled into place around his knee.
Morning Star twitched her leg again, and Ranma was yanked into the air. She flung him at a support beam, and the martial artist managed to strike it with a kick before impact, deflecting away. He couldn't reorient himself in time avoid a bad landing, however, and he slammed into the floor on his side.
When Ranma scrambled upright and started kicking his leg to get the chain off, Star quirked an eyebrow. "Still moving? My, my, you ARE a tough one."
She snapped her leg back, and the chain started retracting itself rapidly. Ranma was again yanked off of his hooves and into the air, flying straight toward the bandit queen. "If you won't taste my lips, then taste my greaves instead! IRON CRASH!!"
Morning Star spun on one leg, rotating while her opponent was reeled in to leg's reach. She bucked with both legs, driving the armored hooves straight toward his head.
A tremendous clash rang through the cavern. Every one of the other bandits winced, their ears pinning against their heads from the sound. Ranma flew through the air again, this time in a high arc away from the armored mare.
The stallion backflipped, and then landed on his hooves several meters away from his foe. Trickles of blood ran down the side of his head and leg, but if anything he looked smug while he stared at the head bandit.
Morning Star fell back onto all fours as well. She looked back at Ranma and frowned. "That wasn't a clean hit. What did you...?" She glanced at her loose flail; the one that had been wrapped around the stallion's leg. It was lying on the floor around her, and the horseshoe now had a deep dent in the front.
"I blocked your kick with the horseshoe you were using to snare me! Sorry, it's going to take a lot more than that to take me down!" Ranma laughed. Then his legs quivered in pain. One of them buckled, spilling the laughing martial artist onto his side.
"Incredible. Your endurance is nothing short of super-equine," Morning Star admitted. She snapped the loose horseshoe back into place. "But this is over. Even if you didn't take full damage from that last hit, you can barely move. I could finish you in an instant." A grin crossed her face. "Do you want to convince me not to?"
Ranma grimaced. The other bandits started limping out of their hiding spots.
"Whoa, hold on, Boss! The guy did save some of us!"
"Yeah! He's had enough! Let's just tie him up and hand him over to the Royal Guard or something!"
Morning Star raised an eyebrow at the martial artist. "I could go for tying you up. And then maybe we can put that endurance of yours to... better use."
"Pass," Ranma said immediately, his muzzle scrunching up.
Star's expression promptly soured again. "You may want to be more agreeable, Havoc. I don't know why you're so frigid, but a pony in your position can't be choosy."
"It's not happening, lady. Give it up already. Yeesh." Ranma rolled his eyes, which looked slightly ridiculous while he was on the ground and bleeding.
"Well, then... it would seem I'm out of reasons to keep you alive," Star said darkly, walking toward the pigtailed pony.
She raised her armored leg to crush the stallion, and her lackeys suddenly lurched forward. "Wait! Whoa! What about saving us?" shouted one of them.
"Oh, get over it!" Morning Star snarled. "These idiots were the reason you were almost killed to begin with! Are you really going to throw a fit because one of them was too squeamish to go through with it?!"
"He didn't just 'not go through with it,' he stopped the rocks from crushing us!" one of the rogues protested.
"Yeah! It wasn't even his fault! You were the one who broke apart the ceiling!"
Morning Star growled and stamped her hoof on the ground, narrowly missing Ranma's face. "I did that to save ALL of us, morons! And the mine! I already explained this! Besides, that was all the fault of that... that..." she trailed off, her brow furrowing. "Wait... what happened to the unicorn?"
"Trixie has a name, you know! Does Trixie not bring it up often enough? Because Trixie can do it more!"
Several of the bandits looked up from the confrontation in front of them, and their fur visibly paled. Considering that they had already suffered a violent invasion, an oil fire, and a minor cave-in, Morning Star felt her nerves rattle slightly to imagine just what the obnoxious blue magician was doing now.
She turned her head, and her heart leapt into her throat. "You crazy blue lunatic! You're going to kill us all!!" she shrieked.
Trixie was standing on the platform at the end of the cavern with the large brass braziers, where Morning Star had initially made her entrance. On her back, at her feet, and floating in the air in front of the magician were explosives. Not rocket fireworks or mere fuel, either; dynamite sticks, round ball bombs, and black powder blasting charges packed into small barrels were scattered all around her. One such charge floated above the unicorn's head within a haze of pink. The charge's fuse hovered close to the flames of the nearby brazier, close enough that it slowly but visibly darkened from the heat.
"Trixie couldn't help but notice all the hazardous materials you have stockpiled around here! Flammable oils, mining explosives, loose weapons... Somepony could cause some serious damage if they started rooting through your stuff!" The unicorn grinned, and her horn pulsed dangerously.
"Don't you DARE!" Morning Star seethed. Then she turned back around to glare at her terrified underlings. "What are you worthless colts gawking at?! You found her! There's no way that's an illusion! GET HER!!"
The rogues - still beaten, scorched, and bruised - paused to look at each other. None of them had their weapons handy, and they were hardly in any shape to rush the platform. A few of the stallions that were healthy enough to run broke for the exit tunnel instead, fleeing the scene while wailing in terror.
"You... impotent... pitiful... cowardly... RRRRRGH!" Star's fur bristled, and she whirled back around. "Fine! Eat steel, brat!"
The moment Morning Star kicked her leg out, Ranma rammed into her side, taking the bandit queen by surprise. Star hit the ground with the martial artist on top of her, and her flail brushed by Trixie's head closely enough to knock off her hat.
Trixie yelped and recoiled, and the levitation magic around the blasting charge wavered. The explosive dropped onto the edge of the brazier, dipped its fuse into the fire, and then bounced off onto the platform. The barrel-shaped bomb hit the ground and then rolled along its side, and the burning tip of the fuse touched those of several dynamite sticks scattered at Trixie's hooves.
"YEEP! No! Wait! Trixie wasn't serious!" the magician screamed, backing away from the hissing explosives.
"Then why did you show up with a bunch of bombs?!" Star shrieked, swinging a foreleg at Ranma. He jumped off of her, evading the blow and landing a few feet away.
"Trixie was bluffing! What do you think Trixie is, some kind of madmare?!" the magician screamed back, kicking away the blasting charge.
"You tried to burn my gang to death in an oil fire, you psycho! How would I reach any other conclusion?!" Morning Star rolled upright, and then turned to face Ranma. "And YOU! You weren't even able to move a second ago! What does it take to stop you?!"
"Dunno. Nobody's managed it yet," Ranma replied with a weary smirk.
The blasting charge detonated in the middle of the cavern, nearly deafening Ranma and Morning Star from the noise. Trixie mostly ignored the confrontation, flinging away the other explosives with desperate kicks or bursts of magic. Most of the bombs weren't lit, but in her panic she didn't spend the time to check each fuse before tossing it away to a safe distance.
"You idiots are going to blow yourselves up and bury the entire mine! And for what? Those worthless dirt farmers and their decrepit, half-abandoned slum?" Morning Star snarled at Ranma.
"WHAT?" the stallion shouted back. "SORRY, MY EARS ARE STILL RINGING! WHAT ARE YOU-" He flinched when two more explosions rattled the cavern, blasting wood and stone shrapnel into the air. "LOOK, IF YOU'RE STILL TRYING TO SEDUCE ME, I'M NOT INTERESTED!"
"RAAAAAAUGH I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!"
With an enraged howl, Morning Star charged the martial artist directly. She reared back a foreleg to bludgeon him, and Ranma spun on one hoof and kicked out his back legs, imitating her own earlier technique. Morning Star caught both hooves in her face and staggered, barely catching herself from falling down.
Another explosion buffeted the two ponies, but Ranma didn't slow down. A spin-kick smacked Star's head to the side, and a sweep knocked her leg aside, forcing her onto the floor. She surged upright again, only for a two-legged buck to strike her chest with enough force to launch her into the air.
"Gah! Quit it!" she shouted, landing heavily on all fours. The floorboards shattered under her greaves, splintering and folding upwards around the enchanted horseshoes. "That one really hurt! What the hay got into you?! You weren't fighting like this before!"
"STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Ranma announced with a grimace. "ARE YOU GIVING UP? RAISE YOUR LEGS IN THE AIR FOR YES, SHOOT A HORSESHOE AT ME FOR NO!"
He darted to the side, barely avoiding the iron flail before it whipped past. "OKAY, THAT'S A NO, THEN! I THOUGHT SO!"
Ranma leapt to the attack, reaching the bandit queen just as her flail did, and with similar force. Hooves struck Star's jaw, neck, and then her side in a flurry of blows that sent the armored mare spinning across the ground. She slammed a hoof against a crate to steady herself, and then launched another horseshoe at her opponent.
Atop Star's platform, Trixie wiped a leg across her forehead and sighed in relief. The explosions had stopped, and in the end she had been unharmed. The same couldn't be said of the bandit den. Scorched holes littered the flooring of the cavern, revealing jagged rock and piles of waste gravel below, while great sheets of smoke gathered in the jagged ceiling. Numerous crates and barrels, thankfully full of supplies other than fuel, lay in ruined heaps next to shattered card tables and wrecked barricades. Many unlit bombs and dynamite sticks were scattered around the room now as well, as Trixie hadn't been very careful throwing them about.
Feeling her immediate situation was stable, the unicorn regarded the fight. Morning Star was in an absolute frenzy, screaming bloody murder while firing the Heartbreaker Greaves again and again. Either her anger or the last few blows to the head seemed to be affecting her aim, though, and the flails kept shooting off-target and carving splintered trenches into the floor.
That was lucky for Ranma, who was barely dodging at half the speed of before. The stallion seemed as casually nimble as ever at a glance, but Trixie could tell that his reflexes were hesitant and he was trying not to put pressure on one of his forelegs.
Could Ranma lose? The question seemed preposterous. Sure, Morning Star had a powerful magic weapon and seemed quite capable in a fight. But Ranma Saotome was a force of nature. An unstoppable warrior from beyond their world, forced into the form of a mere pony by the foolish hubris of malevolent sorcerers. He couldn't lose.
Then again, he asked Trixie along for a reason, and it wasn't to watch him do all the work, she mused to herself, levitating her hat back onto her head.
"Stand still, you blasted mule!" Morning Star snarled, lashing out with her armored hooves at close range.
Ranma galloped in a circle around the bandit queen, and enchanted iron crushed crates and barrels around him into splinters. Chains rattled through the air, tugging the flails back in preparation for the next barrage. In two quick breaths the Heartbreaker Greaves attacked again, blowing past Ranma's head like a cannonball.
A barrel was ripped in two, and a cloud of flour burst into the air all around the martial artist. The horseshoe flail flew back to Morning Star, slamming into place over her hoof, but she hesitated to attack again. The flour was still spreading like a smoke bomb, obscuring that section of the room in a dusty white cloud.
She probably should have attacked anyway, considering her luck so far when aiming properly, but in that moment the opportunity passed. Something burst from the cloud and flew toward her at high speed, and her reflexes took control.
Her armored hooves smashed into the small treasure chest, shattering the reinforced wooden container into little pieces. She was instantly pelted by a spray of golden bits from within the chest, and she flinched away as coins pelted her face. The bits did no harm, of course, but that split second was all the time Ranma needed to close the distance between them.
A flurry of hooves struck once again Star's cheek, neck, chest, and side in rapid sequence, and the bandit queen was sent stumbling across the floor. Ranma jumped after her to finish the combo, but then found himself staring at the bottom of a rapidly approaching horseshoe. His kick met Star's, and the stallion was sent arcing back to where he came from.
"Geez! Magic or not, you sure can take a beating!" Ranma complained as he landed.
"I get that a lot. Mostly at night," Morning Star quipped, turning to face her opponent. "You can buy time with your stupid little tricks and evasions but you won't change the outcome, Havoc. I can tell you're struggling by now. You're going to lose. I'm going to beat you to a bloody pulp, and then I'm going to feed your special somepony to the valley's buzzards."
Ranma tensed. "You're going to feed who to the buzzards? You mean Trix? We're not a couple!"
This seemed to surprise the bandit queen. "You're not? Then why won't you join me? Or at least stay the night for a little-"
"Because I don't like you!" Ranma snapped. "You're a bad pony! Why is this so hard for evil mares to understand?"
"I'm not really seeing a problem here."
"What the hell is wrong with you?! We're still fighting!"
"I'm trying to meet you half-way on this," Morning Star huffed. "This would be so much easier if you would just... what's that noise?"
A crackling hiss reached Star's ears and her sense for danger - carefully honed from years of violence, back-stabbing, and the occasional stallion that got too pushy - went on high alert. Her head snapped around, and her pupils shrank when she spotted a single stick of dynamite rolling toward her with its fuse lit.
Without further hesitation she leapt toward the explosive, planting a leg on the stick and then biting onto the fuse. She ripped it out of the dynamite and quickly spit it out, and then continued spitting and coughing from burning her tongue on the flame.
"Huh... Well, that's one way to disable a bomb, Trixie supposes." Trixie was still standing on the raised platform next to the brazier, another (much smaller) collection of explosives at her hooves.
Morning Star whirled on the magician. "WHAT THE HAY?! YOU SAID YOU WERE BLUFFING ABOUT THE BOMBS, YOU MADMARE!!"
"Yes, well... Trixie was, but that didn't work on you. Trixie can't think of any better ideas off-hoof, so here we are." A round, black bomb the size of a baseball floated next to Trixie on a misty bed of pink. It hovered over to the brazier, dipped its fuse into the flames, and then levitated higher. "Here! Catch!"
Morning Star launched a horseshoe instead, and Trixie flinched badly as a loud impact and bright blue flash came from in front of her. Her eyes squeezed shut, and she only dared to peek again when she heard the magic flail snap back into place on the Heartbreaker Greaves.
Ranma stood in front of her on the platform, a thin aura of blue light seeming to cling to his coat. His expression was carefully neutral, posed with one foreleg - trembling slightly, probably from rather severe pain - raised to parry.
Morning Star gaped, slack-jawed. "You... What did... How..." Then she shook her head. "How are you still standing?! This is impossible!" She clenched her teeth and narrowed her eyes. "Every time I target that mare, you suddenly find your second wind! And you seriously expect me to believe she isn't your lover?"
"That WOULD be your most immediate concern, wouldn't it? Get your mind out of the gutter," Trixie sneered, quickly recovering from her earlier shock. "It may not make any sense to a pony like you, but-"
"Trix?" Ranma interrupted. "The bomb?"
Trixie's eyes widened, and then snapped up at the explosive still hovering overhead. "Oh! Right! Good call."
With a mere thought, Trixie lobbed the bomb in a lazy arc at Morning Star.
Morning Star had to make an instant decision whether to try to outrun the explosion or hit the bomb out of the air. Her instincts pushed her to the attack, and with a wordless shout she launched a horseshoe to intercept the bomb.
It was the wrong decision.
The bomb exploded, blasting the horseshoe back and destroying the chain attached to it. Star barely managed to squeak in surprise before her own flail slammed into her head and threw her across the floor. The magical runes carved into her greaves flashed, suddenly overloaded by the tremendous force, and her vision exploded into stars while she tumbled across the floor. Eventually she slammed into a stalagmite, yelping in pain once again.
The loose horseshoe skipped across the flooring after her, still smoldering, and eventually skidded to a halt nearby.
"Huh... Trixie misjudged the timing a bit, there. These charges must be old; the fuses aren't as reliable as with Trixie's fireworks."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY? DAMN IT, I WAS TOO CLOSE TO THE EXPLOSION AGAIN! MY EARS HURT!"
"Oh, hush," Trixie sighed, hopping down from the brazier platform.
Trixie walked up to Morning Star, silently noting the slight, twitchy shifts in the bandit queen's body. Star was still conscious, and obviously struggling against what had to be a serious concussion. That she had only suffered that much damage while protected by anything less than a proper magical force field was incredible; Star possessed inequine fortitude completely aside from the enchantments built into her family heirloom.
"Such a waste of good magic," the magician mumbled as her horn glowed pink. A similarly colored glow seeped around the Heartbreaker Greaves, slowly surrounding the armored leg sleeves and filling the thin, precisely inscribed runes.
Trixie concentrated for a few seconds, and a series of sharp clicks came from the greaves. Trixie's magic pulled the armor off piece by piece, grunting at the enormous amount of energy it took to lift each one.
"These things are ridiculous! There's no way Trixie can even sell them! What kind of monstrous pony could use weapons this heavy?" she said with a grimace. "Besides Havoc, I mean. Assuming they didn't just explode when he put them on. Trixie isn't keen on experimenting on him with magic items."
Morning Star slowly craned her head up to stare at the unicorn. Her vision was still fuzzy, and her muscles were mostly unresponsive, but she still forced her clouded mind to form a sentence.
"You self-righteous... clueless... meddlesome BRATS," she snarled through her teeth. "Even if you win here... you're living on borrowed time. Ponies that go looking for trouble... tend to find it. Rebel... hero... scapegoat... soon enough you all end up in an unmarked grave in the middle of nowhere."
"Trixie isn't inclined to take advice on healthy living from a wanted criminal living in a cave and barely clinging to consciousness," the unicorn retorted. "Now go to sleep, Miss Star. It's a fairly long trip back into town, and you'll want to be well-rested for your trial before you get dumped into a dungeon for the rest of your life."
With an enraged howl, Morning Star surged upright, her body quaking from the sudden effort. She staggered forward within arm's length of the other mare, and then swung her hoof.
She wasn't sure if Ranma seeming to materialize in front of her was because of her hazy perception, or if she was right about her theory that the pigtailed stallion was somehow energized every time his companion was endangered. Either way, her attack was swatted aside with contemptuous ease.
The last thing she saw that day was Ranma's hoof streaking toward her face.
"Next stop, downtown Buckton! This is the final stop until Fillydelphia! Make sure you have all your belongings before exiting the train, please!"
Twilight's eyes snapped open, and she nodded sharply. Then she stood up from her seat. "This is our stop, everypony. Let's get moving!"
"Shucks, we almost made it all the way to Filly! Havoc sure makes good time!" Applejack chuckled before she bit onto her saddlebags and threw them over her back.
Twilight's eye twitched while she levitated her own pack into place. "Yeah... I still think we should avoid calling him that, though. His name is Ranma Saotome."
"Sure, but Havoc is a way better name," Rainbow said, bolting out the train exit. She immediately took to the air, hovering just outside the door. "Even if he really used to be some kind of weird alien monkey from another planet, he's a pony now, right? He should have a pony name!"
"A pony name that makes him sound like a villain?" Spike mumbled, exiting the train behind Applejack.
"It ain't warm n' fuzzy, Ah s'pose, but y'all gotta admit it suits him," Applejack said with a snort. "He showed up in Ponyville fer somethin' like an hour, an' we were down two buildin's and some two hundred apple trees 'fore he left."
Twilight groaned while she stepped out onto the train platform behind the others. "Okay, yes. But can we try to look at this from his perspective? Maybe he is an alien transformed into a pony forever, and maybe he is leaving fear and devastation in his wake. But he obviously doesn't like either of those eventualities! We don't need to constantly remind him by using his obsolete cover identity!"
"Oh, fine," Rainbow said reluctantly. "But what if he says it's okay? Then I can call him that, right?"
"I really feel like it would be best not to even mention it, but sure. Whatever." Twilight closed her eyes. "Now give me a moment to get a heading and work out some sense of distance. It's possible he's somewhere in this town, but chances are we still have a long trek ahead of us."
The small group stepped off the platform and halted, and a steam whistle blasted from the train. Other ponies trotted past them, some disembarking from the vehicle while others loaded up.
"... Okay, his position seemed fixed to the West, same as when the train pulled in," Twilight mumbled. "Given how gradually the distance changed as we pulled up, I'm guessing we're still far away. If he's close, then-"
A terrified shriek suddenly cut her off, and the Princess squeaked in surprise and almost fell over.
"DRAGON!! IT'S A DRAGON!!"
"EVERYPONY FOR HERSELF!!"
"OH CELESTIA, WHY?!"
Before Twilight and her friends knew what was happening, they found themselves in the middle of a veritable stampede. Ponies raced past them in a terrified gallop, either fleeing deeper into town or simply bolting behind any cover they could find. Some leapt behind crates, some dove into barrels, and others shoved their way past the train conductors to shelter inside the train.
One mare happened to get bumped during her panicked retreat, and she spilled onto the ground right below Twilight with a yelp.
"Wait! Hold on! Don't panic!" Twilight reached out a hoof to the random pony, sweat starting to bead on her brow. "Everyone, just relax! He's not going to hurt anybody!"
The mare on the ground was obviously still terrified, but she hesitated and stared up at the purple Princess. "You... You know that dragon? Really?"
"Yes! Don't worry! Spike is harmless!" Twilight's wing spread to the side, wrapping around the back of an equally bewildered and embarrassed Spike. "See? He's a good friend of mine! Spike isn't going to hurt anyone!"
The mare looked over at Spike, and then her eyes shifted back to Twilight with a perfectly incredulous expression.
"Uh... Twi? I don't think they're freaking out about Spike," Rainbow Dash said, her voice sounding strained.
Twilight twisted her head around to ask further questions, but her words died in her throat when a shadow from high above loomed over her. Spike sucked in a breath through his teeth. The mare on the ground screamed again and bolted to her hooves before she galloped away crying.
"Oh. Okay. Yeah. That's concerning," Twilight mumbled.
Kamikazan was hardly the biggest dragon Twilight had ever seen. In fact, between her studies and personal adventures, the serpent probably rated just above average in mass. Unimpressive for a dragon, if not still extremely intimidating to a mere pony.
But there was much more to dragons than just their size.
An aura of flame trailed the dragon's wingtips and tail, adding considerable menace to his suspiciously low-altitude flight over the city. A gentle rain of flickering embers floated to the ground below him, occasionally settling on stone or wood and smoldering dangerously as if in warning. The dragon's eyes glowed a bright white, awash with magic power, and greedily searching the settlement below.
Kamikazan barely took more than a second to pass over the visitors from Ponyville, but a single beat of his wings buffeted the ponies with air so hot it was almost suffocating. Rainbow Dash was pushed onto the ground, and Applejack had to hold onto her hat to keep it from being blasted off.
"Well, Ah guess this is one dragon attacks Ah can't blame on Sow-toh-may," Applejack said, scuffing the ground with her hoof. "Twi, do we gotta wrangle this varmint?"
Twilight was still a bit stunned at the serpent's appearance, but she came to her senses quickly. "Okay, wait... it looks like it's... searching for something. It isn't attacking anything," she noted.
"Well shucks, maybe Ah spoke too soon, then," Applejack said wryly. "That sounds like what that dragonspawn critter was doin' pokin' around Ponyville."
"I don't think..." Twilight frowned and squeezed her eyes shut. "... It's not headed in the right direction. Not exactly. And like I said, I doubt Ranma is actually here in this city. We probably shouldn't automatically try to connect every random turn of bad fortune to him."
"True. He's had enough of that recently," Rainbow Dash added, moving into a hover again. "Uh... so, like... should we do something?"
The dragon had flown quite some distance past them by then, sweeping over the town center while constantly scanning the ground. Kamikazan seemed oblivious to the ponies who ran for cover screaming, his gaze darting from building to building. He passed over the square, and then curved around the taller structure that included city hall.
Suddenly, the dragon pulled upright in the air to shift into a hover, his tail swinging under him and scraping the roof of the building directly below him. He seemed not to notice, and the edges of his mouth curled up into a grin. Then he closed his eyes, swept his wings forward to wrap around his body, and concentrated.
In a flash of fiery crimson light, the massive Dragon Prince vanished from the sky over Buckton.
"... Huh. That could be a good sign. But probably not," Twilight admitted anxiously.
"The, uhm, screaming hasn't really stopped," Spike observed. The shouts of alarm and terror were much more distant now, but still as strong and panicked as ever.
"I'll see what's up!" Rainbow shouted, vaulting higher into the air and then launching herself after the trail of flickering embers.
"Rainbow, wait! It's dangerous!" Twilight shouted in alarm. The pegasus didn't stop, or even slow down. Possibly she didn't hear, but Twilight couldn't tell if that was the case. Nor could she say it would have mattered. "Ponyfeathers! Come on, let's go before she gets somepony hurt!"
"Right behind ya, sugarcube!"
Kamikazan chuckled to himself as screams continued bombarding his ears. He was in his quasi-pony form, not much bigger than any given stallion, and all he was doing was crossing the street. Even still, every equine that laid eyes upon him quaked in fear and fled immediately, such was his terrible majesty.
And their fear was well-deserved, too.
Reaching his target - a single small-ish clay building attached to the edge of a larger complex - he touched one long, curved claw to the front door. The dagger-like talon flashed red, and then the door started to burn away to cinders; first at the point of contact, and then spreading outward in a circle.
"Knock knock," the serpent chimed with a snicker.
As soon as the hole was large enough for him to slip into, he did, leaving the streets and entering the building interior.
Above the smoldering doorway, a small, battered sign was hung up. It said "Madam Kristall's Fortune Telling, Hoof Reading & Tarot."
"Madam, you have a customer!" Kamikazan announced. The entrance led into a tiny lobby, with a second doorway obscured by strings of sparkling beads. Bizarre art pieces and arcane metalworks adorned the walls, giving the office the distinct styling of a professional magic-user.
Some sounds came from the next room, followed by creaking, feminine voice. "A customer? Now? I heard there was some sort of ruckus outside. Is everypony okay?"
"The 'ruckus' has been resolved," Kamikazan declared. "As for everypony being okay or not, that depends largely on your talents, Madam Kristall."
The beads shifted, and an elderly unicorn mare wearing wire-rimmed glasses poked her head through. She had dusty black fur, and a short, wispy mane that was brushed straight back over her head. She didn't seem especially surprised to see Kamikazan, despite his unorthodox body, but her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"... What can I help you with, Sir?" Kristall asked, stepping out past the beads. "Also, do you know what happened to my door? It didn't have a giant hole in it this morning."
"An unfortunate consequence of the ruckus, I'm afraid," Kamikazan said sadly. "As for helping me, I believe you can. I have need of a scryer to locate a certain pony."
"Hmmm... a scry job, is it?" Kristall mused, rubbing a hoof along the underside of her muzzle. "That's one of my more difficult tricks. I'll need an item that belonged to the target. I'll also need to know who this pony is and why you want to find them. I don't lend my assistance to assassins or the like. And then, of course, we'll need to discuss my fee."
Kamikazan chuckled. "I assume your life is worth more to you than the petty fee you charge for your efforts, no? So you find this pony for me, I let you live, and then we can consider the difference in value a bonus for a job well done."
Kristall frowned up at the dragon. "Are you threatening me, Sir?"
"Ah! I see we're finally on the same page! Good!" The dragon prince laughed.
Then he raised a leg and slashed one talon across the adjacent wall. Flames blossomed behind his claw, licking at the wallpaper and threatening to spread. Kristall recoiled, her eyes wide, and Kamikazan finally saw the first slivers of true fear in the pony's eyes.
"I can burn you and your home down in an eyeblink. I won't, because I prefer those who defy me suffer before they perish, but I could! So I recommend you cooperate, scryer." His eyes flashed, and the magic fire suddenly vanished. Wisps of vile-smelling smoke wafted from the divot carved into the wall, and Kamikazan's lips stretched into a malevolent grin. "Serve me well, and I will leave you and your home without further harm. Do we have a bargain?"
"So this is what you're up to, huh? Fine," the mare groused, turning around and stepping back through the bead curtain. "Follow me and have a seat. Let's get this over with."
The next room wasn't much different from the lobby in its decoration, but possessed a small table with a stereotypical crystal ball sitting on it. There was also a bookcase full of old tomes in the corner, and Kristall started scanning the book spines, squinting through her glasses.
"Whether you're paying or not, this sort of spell isn't easy. Finding one pony out of millions requires a focus," Kristall warned. "I assume you have the necessary materials?"
"I know how your craft works, scryer," Kamikazan sneered. "I can assure you, my rage for this pony will be sufficient for your spell."
"If you say so," grumbled the mare. "But I don't want you burning anything because you couldn't provide sufficient focus for the spell. That isn't my fault." She levitated the book onto the table, next to the crystal ball.
"Be silent and get to work," Kamikazan snarled. "There is much that needs to be done, and my patience is short!"
With an exasperated huff, Kristall opened her book and started using her magic to flip through the pages. "All right... Let's begin."
Kamikazan's claw suddenly lashed forward to grab the crystal ball, startling the mare. He clutched the orb within his talons, and then his hand and eyes started the glow. The fur on his back prickled and stood up, and his lips curled into an angry sneer. "The stallion's name is Saotome Ranma. Find him. Now."
Kristall looked disturbed, but after a few moments of hesitation her horn began to glow. Glittering blue light wrapped around her, and the unicorn carefully touched a hoof against the crystal ball.
She flinched immediately, and her eyes flooded with magical light.
"This... This is..." images swirled around her. Old memories, surging emotion, and tiny flickers of fate rejected and forgotten rushed around her perception. This sort of reaction to the spell was unnaturally strong, but not too dissimilar from her previous experiences. With an ease born of long experience, Kristall worked her way through the confusing deluge of information and contextless imagery, ordering certain visions and discarding the rest.
"Well? What do you see, scryer?" Kamikazan demanded. "Can you see him in your visions? The insolent worm who holds the key to my conquest?"
Kristall arched an eyebrow over her still-glowing eyes. "...... I have literally never felt a grudge this intense in over sixty years of doing these spells. And you only knew this pony for what, five minutes? If that? Are these visions accurate?"
"HE HIT ME IN THE EYE!!" Kamikazan roared, nearly knocking the mare over. His grasp on the crystal ball tightened, and a slight cracking noise came from the orb. The dragon snorted and quickly loosened his grip, regaining his composure. "Whatever. You have the spiritual imprint you need. Now FIND HIM."
"Fine. This will do." Kristall's brow creased, and she tilted her head slightly to read off of her spellbook.
The seconds marched on and turned into minutes. Kristall would mumble something softly, and then fall into intense silence. Her face underwent subtle, small shifts in reaction to what she was seeing, but ultimately didn't change much from an expression of tired resignation. Shouts and other forms of ruckus came from outside the building, but both occupants ignored them; the dragon because he was in a hurry to get this next step completed, and the mare because she was in a magical trance.
Finally, almost five minutes later, Kristall's eyes dimmed and she sighed.
"The vision is... clear. Unusually so. I don't think I've ever done a scrying this easy, threats of murder and arson notwithstanding," she admitted.
"I told you. The force of my will is without equal," Kamikazan said with a smirk.
"Oh, it's not that. Your ridiculously potent grudge was surprisingly effective, but there's something else in play, here," Kristall mused, smirking back. "Something about this pony wants to be found. I've never seen anything quite like it. It's quite possible that I could have found him with nothing but a name, although I probably wouldn't have tried that normally." She shrugged. "The pony is in Venom Valley, near an abandoned mine. It's next to an old train track that runs across the valley interior."
"Excellent. I know where Venom Valley is, assuming the maps haven't changed overmuch in the past few centuries," Kamikazan chuckled. "You've done well, scryer. I will keep my part of the bargain, and leave you in peace." The dragon let go of the crystal ball and started to turn away.
"Are you going to fight him?" Kristall asked curiously.
Kamikazan halted. "... Perhaps if he is wise, he will surrender what I desire immediately," he mused aloud. "Under those circumstances, I suppose my elation at having the key to my mate's heart may inspire me to leave immediately, without rendering the fool to soot first."
"According to your memories, the last time he was not wise," Kristall continued. "So you're going to fight him. In that case, I would consider it seeristic malpractice not to give you a cryptic warning that you'll lose."
"What?!" the disguised serpent whirled around, his eyes narrowed into slits.
The elderly mare leaned back in her seat and shrugged. "I have no stake in this affair, of course, aside from some general displeasure at having my business damaged and being threatened. But the visions were so strong that they happened to show a few glimpses of the future. They did not augur well for you."
"Do you know who I am, mare?!" Kamikazan smarled, blasting hot embers from his nostrils.
"I don't, actually. You never introduced yourself. But it's perfectly irrelevant. I'm just warning you. It's... how to put this..." Kristall tapped a hoof against her chin thoughtfully. "... Destiny rushes around this pony like a whirlpool, trapping everypony and everything around him into it and leaving ruin in its wake. It's hard to describe it precisely, but the poor stallion is little more than a walking curse. Finding him in the aether was as simple as spotting a tornado in a placid field. Unwinding his destiny was harder, and rather grim work, at that." She chuckled to herself.
"How does any of that suggest I would lose in battle to a mere equine?" Kamikazan demanded, stamping a foot on the floor.
"I don't know much about you or this stallion you've set yourself to hunting," the unicorn replied with a small smile, "but both of you are far from 'mere equines.'"
Kamikazan looked like he was going to protest again, but suddenly another shout came from outside, this time much more clearly.
"Wait, over here! There's a hole in this door! Don't look right t'me!"
Kamikazan swung his head around, glaring toward the bead curtains. "... Whatever. I have what I came for. I've wasted enough time."
"Thank you for your business. Please don't come again," Kristall drawled while the dragon prince strode into her lobby.
"Aw, geez! How did I miss that?" Rainbow Dash griped, swooping down to hover over Applejack.
Twilight rushed over a moment later, with Spike riding on her back. "Well that's... That's a little small to be a dragon's entry breach, isn't it?"
"Ya think it was just a stray fireball or somethin'?" Applejack asked, glancing around. "Ah don't see no other burns 'round here."
Twilight approached the door to investigate, only to quickly recoil when something emerged from the hole. Kamikazan calmly strolled out in front of the building, surveying the surprised ponies with a silent sneer.
Until his eyes fell on Twilight.
"What is this?" the great serpent asked, his eyebrow arching. "A Princess? I've never seen this one before."
Twilight stared at the bizarre non-pony, taking in the hybrid creature's horns and the claws on its arms. "You... Are you the dragon? We saw one fly over this street earlier..."
"I am! Allow me to introduce myself! I am Kamikazan, King of Dragons!" He grinned, and small jets of flame blew from his nostrils. "What you see before you is a magical hybrid body I use for convenience when in the presence of vermin too easily intimidated by my true majesty!"
The ponies scowled, none too happy at being referred to as "vermin." Spike frowned.
"You're a king? Of dragons? We have a king?" he asked.
"Yes, little one. You stand before your liege," Kamikazan snorted. "Of course, it has been... some time since the reign of my family, and in the intervening centuries it seems my kingdom has been forgotten. Or something. I didn't really check; I've been pretty busy since I woke up." He coughed, blasting a small cloud of dusty soot from his mouth. "Also, there are SOME who would contest that I merely hold the title of crown prince, but those individuals are wrong, and also dumb." His eyes narrowed, once again focused on Twilight. "Now speak, alicorn. Tell me your name and lineage. Has Princess Celestia borne a foal after all?"
Twilight looked shocked at the suggestion. "Wh-What? Me, her daughter? No! I'm Twilight Sparkle! I'm just her student!"
"Ah. And nowadays her students are gifted with immortal bodies? How disappointing," Kamikazan said with a grimace. "The mighty alicorns dilute their majesty with the ascension of lesser creatures to their esteemed class. Celestia, as always, is far too kind to her servants."
"Hey! Watch it, weirdo!" Rainbow Dash said hotly, circling around him in the air. "We're not Celestia's 'servants,' and Twi's not 'lesser' than anypony!"
"Ya got quite a mouth on ya fer dragon royalty," Applejack drawled, tilting her hat slightly while she regarded Kamikazan with a glare. "What're ya buzzin' pony towns and burning down doors fer, Mr. Prince?"
"That is none of your concern, equine," Kamikazan replied with a sneer, turning away and heading down the street. "Now begone; I've more important matters to attend to."
The mares bristled, but as the dragon prince vaulted into the air none of them moved to hinder him. Kamikazan built his altitude above the roofs of the town, and then curled his body slightly before an aura of flame exploded around him. A few seconds later, the massive red wings of his true draconic body spread over the streets, prompting another wave of shouting and needless panic. Kamikazan curved around in the air, and then soared past the city's limits.
"What a jerk," Rainbow Dash said, staring angrily after the enormous serpent. "What did he even want? Did he just show up to give ponies a scare or something?"
"I'm a bit more interested in the existence of a putative draconic royal order, but for now we really should make sure he didn't kill anypony," Twilight admitted.
Applejack was already strolling toward the damaged door, but before she could step through the scorched hole, the door opened ahead of her. An elderly mare stepped out, grimaced at the black-rimmed hole, and then looked up at the sky.
"Excuse me! Hi! I'm Twilight Sparkle!" Twilight scurried in front of the unicorn and gave her an awkward wave. "Do you need any help? Did that shape-shifting dragon hurt anypony?"
"Him? No. He didn't damage anything that can't be replaced," Kristall batted the door closed with a disgusted grunt. "Thanks for checking on me though, dears. I'm sure the local guards locked themselves in the barracks as soon as somepony shouted 'dragon!' Hmph."
"What was that varmint here fer? Ah didn't see him holdin' nothin' when he left," Applejack said, frowning toward the sky.
"Oh, he didn't steal anything. Aside from my time and expertise, I suppose." Krystall glanced over at Twilight, hestitating. "You're Princess Celestia's student, aren't you? The new Princess? Are you here to hunt that animal down?"
"Yes, I'm Twilight Sparkle, but we're not here for anything like that," Twilight assured her. "We're searching for somepony. We just happened to arrive when he did. As long as nopony's hurt, then we should be heading out on our way."
The three younger mares turned away and started to trot off. Krystall's horn flickered suddenly, and she tilted her head to the side curiously.
"This pony you're looking for... would it happen to be a stallion named Ranma Saotome?"
The mares jerked to a stop, and Spike whirled around on one foot.
"What? You know him?!" Twilight asked, moderately afraid of where this conversation was going.
"Not exactly," Kristall chuckled, "but that's what the lizard wanted. It was just a hunch that you were after the same thing."
"Ah knew it," Applejack groaned, shaking her head. "Ah just knew this was all about Sow-toh-may somehow."
"By the way, we call him Havoc," Rainbow Dash pointed out. "Havoc is his pony name."
"We do not call him that!" Twilight protested. "His real name is Ranma!"
"In any case," Kristall said loudly, taking control of the conversation once more, "if you're looking for this lad, then I can help. Using the dragon's magic - and rather obsessive personality - I was able to pinpoint him."
"What? You can tell us where he is?" Twilight beamed, clapping her hooves together.
"Better than that," the seer said with a smirk. "I told the lizard that he's in Venom Valley, but the vision was so powerful I caught a glimpse of where he's going. If you leave now, you can probably head off the stallion while the dragon is still poking around the old mines."
"Yes! Thank you!" Twilight almost jumped for joy, happy that she had a better lead than her MacGuffin sense. "Where can we find him?"
Rather than answering the question, Kristall stared at her door. She reached a leg into the burnt hole in the middle of it, running a hoof along the scorched circumference.
"What a chore to have to clean up fire damage today," the elderly pony said with a tired sigh. "Bad enough that the dragon made me do the scrying for free, but with everypony so jittery from his appearance, I probably won't get any real customers today... Pity."
Twilight stared at the unicorn, uncomprehending. Applejack caught on immediately, however, and started rooting through her saddlebag.
"Yeah, yeah, we know the drill. Ain't nothin' fer free if yer NOT a ten-ton, fire-breathing varmint, Ah guess." She tossed a small bag through the air, and it was caught in a cloud of pink magic. The bag jingled while it hung in the air, presenting a strong clue as to what was inside.
"Why, thank you, dear!" Kristall chirped, grinning. "While I would be plenty happy just knowing that you got to the stallion before said varmint, spite doesn't put food on the table." She floated the money onto her back and then cleared her throat. "Right now, Ranma or Havoc or whatever is rooting around in Metalleus, an old abandoned silver mine in Venom Valley. But it looks like he's already getting ready to leave; I got the definite sense that he stirred up some trouble while he was there."
"Ah can only imagine," Applejack drawled.
"He's heading for a town just a short trip West of Fillydelphia. Lancanter, I believe. I don't believe the dragon will be able to find him before he gets there." Kristall paused. "Or at least, I don't believe the dragon will be able to stop him from reaching it."
"What do you mean by that?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What's the difference?"
"... I'll just give you the same warning I gave fangs a few minutes ago," the unicorn said. "This stallion is a veritable walking curse. Where he treads, devastation follows and destiny itself is rent apart."
"Destiny? What?" Twilight recoiled slightly and furrowed her brow around her horn. "What does that mean?"
"... Hmm, I suppose I can't properly describe it," Kristall sighed. "It's something that hardly made sense even to me as I witnessed it. And I do this for a living." She stepped forward and placed a hoof against Twilight's shoulder. "Just be careful, young one. I know you've seen your share of danger, but... this one is something else."
"I know," Twilight said firmly, patting the older mare's leg. "We've met this pony before. We'll be fine."
"Yeah, he's cool! And if Havoc gives us any trouble Twi can just blow him up like she-"
"THANK YOU RAINBOW DASH WE WILL BE FINE LIKE I SAID," Twilight interrupted through clenched teeth. "Ahem! What's the fastest way to get to Lancanter?"
"You'll be best served taking the overnight train to Fillydelphia. From there you can make the route on hoof, or join a caravan." Kristall backed away, and flashed the mares a crooked smile. "You should go now. You'll need to hurry if you want to save that lousy punk."
"I'm not so sure Ranma will need rescuing, actually, but you're right," Twilight agreed, turning around. "Thank you for your help!"
Kristall snickered and headed back into her shop. "You're welcome, dear... but I was talking about the dragon."
Her magic aura reached out to the broken door, and the fortune teller pulled it shut behind her.
"...... What?"
For the first time in months, laughter and music came from Trotter's Gulch.
It was late evening, and Celestia's sun had long since passed beneath the mountains that straddled Venom Valley. Light poured from the interior of the town's unnamed tavern, along with the rhythmic stamping of hooves and off-key piano music. Hooting and shouting fequently rose above the sound of music, creating a cacophany of joy that had been absent from the bandit-ravaged territories for a long time.
Inside the tavern, ponies danced and guzzled dandelion ale with reckless abandon. Many of them frequently tripped or had coughing fits, reckless in their blissful celebration and heedless of the vile quality of the booze. It didn't slow any of them down; the ponies here knew that their triumph may last only slightly longer than their drinks, and they eagerly took advantage.
In the middle of the room, on a large table, was a pile of golden bits. The payout for the bandits had been quite generous, especially as a few of the veteran thieves had unique criminal records and notoriety beyond being members of the Morning Star gang. Between the broken, impoverished remnants of Trotter's Gulch, the reward would be easy to split across the entire town.
The question remained, however, how the money would best be spent. Would they restore the town or flee it? Hire guards and more bounty hunters? Send a messenger to petition Canterlot for help? None of the ponies knew whether morning would bring aggrieved criminals or their cowardly mayor to their door, and at the moment they didn't care.
"Ha ha HA! And then-AND THEN! I told the guards that the bandits had been defeated by the Great and Powerful Trixie! You shoulda seen their faces! It was priceless!" laughed a stallion, his ale mug shaking as his hoof banged the counter.
"Turns out the mare has a reputation for something other than bandit hunting 'round there! They say she's some kinda shady showpony!" chuckled another. "'Magine that! A stage magician taking on a bandit gang!"
"They didn't even believe us! Started grillin' ol' Bootstrap on what really happened! Hee hee hee!"
"End of the day, though, they had their criminals and they paid out!" the pony crashed his mug against several others, splashing droplets of ale over himself and his friends. "Mighty generous of our conquering hero to leave the crooks to us rather than collecting themselves!"
"I still think we should have turned in Sour Grapes with 'em!" mumbled another stallion, frowning into his drink.
"Don't be daft, colt! He doesn't have a bounty, and we can't prove he did nothing!"
"If he ain't locked up though, what's to stop him from just ratting us out to the rest of the raiders?"
"Are we sure there are any?"
"Look, I'm as impressed as anypony that Miss Trixie and... uh... her friend managed to take down that last bunch, but we all know they're walking into a death trap if they're really trying to track down Morning Star by themselves. I hope those two backed off and got out of town before that prissy tyrant got her hooves on them..."
"Prissy tyrant! HAH! Sounds like their bravado is rubbing off on you! That or the ale!"
Another wave of laughter rolled through the tavern.
And then the door opened.
Only a few ponies glanced over at first, barely distracted from their drinks and chatting, and their eyes widened. A few gasps attracted more attention, and within a few seconds the music unceremoniously halted. Soon all the bar denizens were staring at the entrance, eyes narrowed.
A single earth pony stallion stood in the doorway. His coat was dirty and ragged, and he had bandage wrappings around his head and one knee. None of the civilians recognized the pony, but they had all long since learned to pick out the signs of bandits and thieves among those equines that didn't happily advertise their allegiance.
Putting aside the clear injuries, however, this one also appeared to be unarmed. The new pony's ears pinned back as he looked over the tavern interior silently, scanning the room from end to end. The townsponies said nothing, simply glaring at him silently. A few of them pushed away their mugs and stood up straight, readying themselves to rush the newcomer if necessary.
It was not necessary. Visibly cowed, the bandit wordlessly moved to the side while holding the door open. A moment later a second stallion - also bearing the signs of a criminal lifestyle and recent injury - entered the tavern nervously. At this, all the ponies in the room gasped in shock.
Slung over the stallion's back was an unconscious mare whose visage graced thousands of bounty posters. Morning Star was limp and unconscious, her front and rear legs were bound with rope, and a prominent lump poked through her golden blond mane. Her family's artifact and signature weapon was nowhere to be seen.
"Is... Is that...?"
"There's no way... by Celestia..."
"Okay, fine, it's Morning Star. Does anypony want to explain why a couple of bandits are carrying her in here?"
The confused muttering stopped when yet another pony entered. This mare was bright blue with a star-spangled hat and cape, and her expression of haughty satisfaction was the polar opposite of the smoldering humiliation that came from the bandits. The few townsponies that had seen her before brightened immediately.
"Good evening, mares and gentlecolts," Trixie said with a toothy smile. "Can Trixie leave this with you, by any chance? Trixie has quite a long trip ahead of her and doesn't really need another mouth to feed."
"It's Trixie!"
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is back! She did it!"
"She actually defeated Morning Star! Incredible!"
"Let's hear it for Trixie! Heroine of Venom Valley!"
"HIP, HIP, HOORAY!! HIP, HIP, HOORAY!!"
Trixie didn't say anything while the tavern's patrons cheered her on, simply smirking while brushing off a foreleg nonchalantly.
One of the bandits accompanying her frowned, and then leaned in closer to the unicorn. "Hey, uh... you gonna mention that it was Havoc who did most of the work down there?"
"Of course not," she scoffed, lowering her voice so that the cheering ponies wouldn't hear. "Trixie has enough trouble with bounty hunters as it is. If Trixie just announces who her bodyguard is, she'll have even more mercenaries and probably the Royal Guard hounding her within days."
"Hey! Miss Great and Powerful!" shouted somepony from the back.
Trixie spotted the bartender approaching her, and she quickly stepped away from the subdued criminal. "Yes? Did you need something? Trixie will have to leave town immediately, unfortunately, so we won't have time to stay for any festivities or extended compensation. Many of the Morning Star bandits escaped when Trixie attacked their base, and they may be looking for revenge."
"Sounds like a good call. We'll take Miss Star off your hooves, and thank you for the opportunity!" The pegasus stopped right in front of Trixie, briefly giving hostile glances to the injured stallions next to her. "Anyway, I never introduced myself earlier, and I apologize for that; I try not to get too attached to new faces." She chuckled and then swept her wingtips forward to touch her chest. "My name is Sweet Sauce, and I'd like you to have a little something. Why don't we take this outside?"
"Very well." Trixie reared up and then bowed to the crowd of patrons, who responded with another round of whooping and cheering. "Farewell, Trotter's Gulch! Though it pains Trixie to abstain from further fawning gratitude and helping you spend the reward money, the Great and Powerful Trixie must leave you now!"
"Goodbye, Trixie!"
"We love you, Trixie!"
"HIP, HIP, HOORAY!!"
"I want to thank you again for what you've done here. From the looks of things you're profiting plenty from your efforts, but getting rid of these mules is worth a lot more to us than just the knick-knacks that they steal."
Sweet Sauce stood outside her bar, looking up at the wagon that Trixie had trotted into town with. Although it was still packed with supplies as before, now there were several new sacks piled on top and strapped to the sides and back. The defeated bandits meekly walked up to the front of the wagon as she spoke, and then started strapping themselves into a pair of harnesses. Meanwhile, a certain pigtailed stallion laid in the wagon bed in an exhausted heap, snoring loudly.
Sweet Sauce clutched a tall, vaguely cylinder-shaped bag under one wing, and she turned around and carefully placed it down in front of Trixie. "Here. It ain't much, but it's something. After you left I dug through my special stashes that I have hidden under the floorboards. This is the best I could find."
Trixie looked over the bag curiously, then tugged the drawstring loose with a flicker of magic. Within was a tall glass bottle wrapped up in a page of parchment. The parchment was fairly new, and it seemed to be blank on the side currently exposed to view.
"That there is pear wine. Again, nothing special, but it's my favorite and I've been protecting it for a special occasion. Having a 150k bounty dropped off on my doorstep is quite an occasion, so here you go." She chuckled briefly, and then stepped closer. "I also found something else that I want you to have. The boys that left to redeem the bounty brought that parchment back, and I thought that it would be more useful in your hooves than tacked up on my wall."
Trixie hesitated, looking over the bottle, and then used her magic to pull the wrapped parchment loose. The other side, it turned out, was not blank, and the magician flinched when she realized that she was staring at a bounty poster. A new bounty poster, specifically, featuring Ranma's face, his real name, and a revised 250,000 bit reward.
On the plus side, it had "wanted alive" at the top. That was a substantial improvement.
Sweet Sauce smirked and glanced up at Ranma. "That's quite a valuable stallion you've managed to bag, Miss Great and Powerful. Congrats!"
Trixie gulped. "W-Well, it's not that he... uh, that is, the poster doesn't really-"
"Hey now, relax," the bartender chuckled. "I'm no bounty hunter or lawpony. Hay, by now I barely consider myself an Equestrian citizen. I didn't tell nopony, and I'm not gonna tell nopony. And if I hear anypony try to spread any salacious rumors about our Great and Powerful Hero traveling with a dangerous criminal, well, that's just crazy slander, and I'll have to set 'em straight." She winked.
Trixie blinked, and then quickly recovered her earlier haughty expression. "Your discretion is appreciated, Miss Sauce! This is, of course, all a terrible misunderstanding with the law, but Ranma has a way of turning terrible misunderstandings into giant, burnt-out piles of flame and rubble."
"He sounds like a catch, all right. No pun intended," the pegasus said with a grin. "You're gonna want to skip town right quick. With the gang crippled and with some fresh bits in town, we can expect plenty of new bounty hunters and peacekeepers to flood into the area soon."
"Naturally. Thank you for the gift and for your help. And for your silence." Trixie floated the wine bottle up into the wagon bed, and then jumped up next to Ranma. The movement jostled him considerably, but the stallion simply rolled over in his sleep and slumped against Trixie's legs.
She was about to shout at the bandits hooked to the wagon, but then she experienced a sudden and very unusual whim. Trixie frowned, her thoughts swimming, and then turned and called out to Sweet Sauce. "Hey! One more thing!"
The bartender had been turning around to return to her tavern, but quickly brought her attention back to Trixie. "Yeah? You need something else?"
"No, it's... Well..." Trixie pursed her lips, glancing over at the unconscious stallion lying next to her. "... Look, as long as you know about him anyway, and you're not telling anypony, Trixie just thinks you should know..." Her ears turned down, and she flushed slightly. "It was actually Ranma here who beat Morning Star and saved you. Much more than Trixie, at any rate."
"Heh. Yeah, I figured he might have done the heavy lifting. He whupped those local punks before, and he has an even bigger bounty than Star," Sweet Sauce chuckled.
"Yes, but... not just that. It was Ranma who wanted to fight the bandits and help you all, and he talked Trixie into it. Trixie wanted to just pass through the valley while avoiding trouble, and if Trixie had gotten her way... well, HE'D be in better shape, obviously, but other than that, Trixie supposes we'd all be worse off." She shifted uncomfortably and sighed. "So while Trixie deserves SUBSTANTIAL credit and adulation for our efforts in saving you all... Ranma deserves most of it. Or half, maybe. Some, at least. Trixie still did a lot!"
Sweet Sauce arched an eyebrow, and Trixie turned her eyes away, her face burning. For the life of her, Trixie really didn't understand why she'd felt the sudden urge to credit the martial artist. It wasn't as if anypony other than the bartender would ever know, and frankly if anypony did, it would only cause more trouble.
"Well, shucks... that's mighty kind of the infamous rebel Havoc," Sweet Sauce said, causing Trixie to flinch again. "I don't imagine I have much to offer him as a gift that he'd want. So I'll tell you what: next time you two get some private time together, give him a smooch for ol' Sweet Sauce, y'hear?" She winked and turned around again.
Trixie's blush darkened tenfold, and she started sputtering indignantly. "Wh-What? A smooch?! What do you think we are?! We're not a couple! He's my bodyguard!" she shouted after the bartender.
"None of my business, Miss Great and Powerful," Sweet Sauce replied on her way back into the tavern. "My request stands, though."
She pushed opened the door and trotted back inside.
Trixie's face kept burning as she turned to face the road, and she released an irritated snort. "The nerve of some ponies... and after she talked about 'crazy slander.' Bah!"
The only other ponies around who were awake to hear her complaints were, of course, the two bandits strapped to her wagon. When she looked down at the road, both of the stallions were staring up at her with skeptical expressions.
"Aren't you being a little too defensive? It's not THAT unreasonable a conclusion."
"Frankly, I'm not buying it. You two totally seem like a couple. And why else would he turn down Morning Star so easily?"
Trixie glared down at the bandits, and her horn flickered beneath her hat. "Trixie would like to remind you both that the only thing keeping Trixie from leaving you in a broken heap next to your ex-boss - arguably the morally right and just thing to do, by the way - is the inconvenience of having to pull the cart until Havoc recovers. You're becoming quite the inconvenience yourselves."
The stallions cringed, and then quickly turned away.
"Okay! Okay! Mouth of the valley, and then we get to go free, right?"
"I'm sorry! I don't care if you and the monster pony go for hay rides! Please don't turn us in!"
Trixie growled. "Then CAN IT and get moving, you losers! GO!"
The bandit ponies lurched forward, straining against their injuries to accelerate the cart. Soon they were moving at a good clip through the devastated town, and fast approaching the border of the settlement. The cart wheels rattled and the various new sacks and boxes of treasure jingled, which was all barely audible over Ranma's restless snoring.
For a while Trixie endured the ride in sullen silence, glaring at the backs of the defeated bandits and planning out how precisely she would beat them down if they decided to try to turn on her while Ranma was still asleep. Every once in a while, however, she glanced down at the martial artist nestled against her side. Ranma was curled up against her in his sleep, cat-like, apparently oblivious to the vibrations and the numerous hard, uneven objects he was sleeping on.
"Just a bodyguard," Trixie mumbled to herself, snagging a rolled-up blanket with her magic and unrolling it over her back. The other end she levitated over Ranma before letting it go to cover both of them. |
Taming the Wild Horse | Spark | Taming the Wild Horse
a My Little Pony/Ranma 0.5 crossover fanfiction
by SFaccountant
Chapter 6
Spark
It had taken mere days to locate the artifact lab. It had taken longer to restore it to some level of useful function.
So much had been lost in that crucial, agonizing moment. A flash of pique, a surge of magic, and the tower had been ripped apart. Much in the way of supplies and basic infrastructure, obviously, were annihilated by Swan Song's catastrophic magic attack or ruined in the aftermath. Decades of carefully accumulated knowledge and research, some of it entirely unique the world over, was gone or irretrievably buried. Miraculous feats of magic and critical observations became dust in an eye blink, never to aid ponykind.
The artifact lab, carefully separated into the very top of the tower and protected by special barriers, had fared slightly better. Launched from the rest of the collapsing tower like a rocket, it smashed itself to pieces miles away from the blast. Some of the all-important devices and artifacts within were shielded or hardened thanks to their magical properties. Most were not. Irreplaceable treasures had been reduced to mere debris, barely distinguishable from the bits of stone wall and shattered furniture. Most of the books from that room had survived, however, and were mostly legible after being dug out from the rubble.
It was a small fraction of Blood Rite's research. A great many of his plans and options were gone now, closed off to him thanks to the intervention of a mysterious vengeful warrior, a meddling stage magician, and the boneheaded lust of his very own partner in revolution. The way forward was narrow now, and the future it rewrote would be uglier.
But there was still a way forward.
There could still BE a future.
"... The calculations are correct. The spells are ready. This... This could work. But there is so much more to do."
Blood Rite stood over a small table littered with torn, dirty notes and various glittering jewels. The pony's fur was matted and filthy. He had dark bags under his eyes, and he had lost a considerable amount of weight as well. His cloak, magically reinforced as it was, bore several new burns, stains, and tears. He was visibly exhausted and weakened; a shadow of the stallion he had been on that fateful day that Swan Song had inadvertently crippled his rebellion. But he was not defeated.
Behind the table was a pile of large rocks. Some were boulders larger than a pony, while others were small stones carefully carved into strange shapes. All were sanded smooth and eggshell-colored, with runic inscriptions cut into rings and lines over much of the surface area.
"So much effort and study, and yet even now the greatest weapon I've ever built is still just an inert lump of rubble," Rite groused. "I'll need to deploy it at the right time and place, when Equestria's defenders have their guard down. But before that... I need a power source."
Blood Rite closed his eyes. The MacGuffin Stone was to the southeast. Waiting for him. Just like yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that.
The sorcerer felt anger swell in his chest, as it usually did when he stopped his work to detect the artifact. The inexplicable MacGuffin Sense was crucial to his success now more than ever, and yet he could honestly say he hated this ability. To be an eye blink away from seeing the means to his triumph at any time when it lay so far out of reach was a unique and altogether brutal psychological torment.
Even now, after weeks of planning and recovery and rebuilding, Blood Rite didn't know how he might recover the MacGuffin Stone. Havoc, or whatever his name was, was too strong. Too wily. Too unpredictable. He could tell it was the stallion who had the artifact, too; had Celestia recovered the stone, it would have been carried to Canterlot and locked in some arcane vault protected by magic Blood Rite had long ago mastered and guards whom he could overcome with minimal effort.
The martial artist was different. Even after so many battles Rite had witnessed, and having personally felt the crushing strength of his hooves several times, somehow Havoc still remained a wild card. Blood Rite suspected he only had the barest idea of what the stallion was capable of. In truth, the reverse was also true; Rite had hardly unleashed anything close to his full power against the transformed primate. But Blood Rite could only escalate their conflict so far. Although his sheer frustration and lack of better options could eventually lead to an all-out assault against the rogues meddling in his revolution, doing so could permanently cripple him and ruin his ultimate efforts at reforming the Equestrian royal order. And that was if he won.
Blood Rite swept several pages of notes to the side of his desk, and then paused to rub his eyes. He looked around his workspace in a miserable daze. Broken crystals, shimmering lenses, and dirty laboratory equipment was stacked on bookcases salvaged and hammered together with wooden debris. To the other side, huge wheels and misshapen chunks of enchanted metal lay against the wall. Behind him, cheap sacks of grain doubled as both food and bedding. All of it packed tight into an ebony cave smaller than the bedchambers of his last residence.
"To think, there was a time in which I considered my exile from Canterlot to be the nadir of my life and the highest possible humiliation," Rite groused. "I'll need to make my move soon. Everything hinges on the MacGuffin, now more than ever. And just as before, that accursed ape stands in my way... Havoc..."
Trixie hummed happily to herself while her wagon trundled down the road, her magic wrapped around the stem of a feather quill.
For the first time in weeks her mood was cheerful and her outlook impenetrably sunny. She had done it. The Great and Powerful Trixie had actually passed through a region without causing a tremendous mess and stirring up a new batch of bounty hunters and guards, and she had done so at a tremendous personal profit. The Morning Star gang was shattered, the citizens of Venom Valley had funds to rebuild, and the raiders' ill-gotten loot would be put to much better use as a personal investment for Trixie's convenience. Ranma had (as usual) recovered from being beaten half to death with a single night's rest and was towing the cart again. The bandits she had been using as temporary labor had slinked off without incident the moment they were no longer needed. Her plan had worked. A complete, unqualified success.
Trixie levitated a coin pouch into the air, and her eyes gleamed as a trail of shining gold bits spilled from one bag into another. The clinking of bits was musical, and the numbers she was writing down in her personal records made her feel giddy. So many problems had been crushed beneath the swift tactical application of muscle and explosives! And to think; the loot that she had scavenged from Morning Star's room was merely a chunk of the gang's total wealth, most of it abandoned due to the limited carrying capacity of her travel wagon! And even the gang's collective possessions were probably worth less than the combined bounties of all the thugs she had left in various states of injury and humiliation. She almost envied the bounty hunters' trade! Such generous rewards for defeating such cowardly and feeble-minded targets could easily be a pony's ticket to early retirement.
Then again, those same bounty hunters were also tasked with hunting down Ranma Saotome and bringing him to justice, a job she wouldn't envy even with an army behind her and every bit in the world for reward. The revisions made to the bounty on her bodyguard made the task less deadly, at least; insisting that Ranma be taken alive and including a warning that magic was ineffective would warn off the less experienced or less discriminating hunters. But the jump in the reward total made it clear that Canterlot wasn't even close to giving up on securing the martial artist even as they revised the list of crimes down to something more reasonable (and more difficult for him to deny).
Trixie sighed happily and rolled onto her back, levitating her papers to hover over her. In a way, it would be disappointing to finally purchase her new wagon and get back to putting on magic shows for random townsfolk. Her time as a for-profit adventurer had been lucrative, and her illusionist skills had proven quite useful in duping random villains. Combined with Ranma's brawn and his penchant for stumbling upon enemies, they'd made quite a team.
She shook her head, snickering at her own foolishness. As exciting and profitable as fighting evil could be, Trixie preferred mortal danger to be confined to the stories she lavished upon her adoring audience. As great as it felt to break the back of a criminal operation, she could also feel the faint echo of pain from taking a hoof crossbow bolt to the hip. It was the most minor of combat wounds, literally the least she should expect for taking a stand against a small army of bandits. It was also a reminder that when facing hardened criminals she was often a single muscle twitch away from losing a leg. Or an eye. Or, as almost happened against Morning Star, her entire head. Trixie didn't hesitate to play the part of the haughty, invincible wizard when the situation called for it, but constant mortal danger just wasn't what she was looking for in a career.
The cart stopped. "Trix?"
Trixie instantly steeled herself, and a dozen spells flitted through her mind that may or may not be useful depending on whatever hazard was in front of them. Was it bounty hunters? Guards? Brigands? Monsters? Traps? Rough terrain? Outwardly she didn't flinch or start searching her surroundings, but casually shifted her position atop the wagon to make herself a smaller target for any incoming projectiles. "Yes? Is something wrong?"
"Looks like the next town's up ahead. Is this where we're headed?"
Trixie deflated, shaking her head while she pushed herself up. She always felt slightly silly nowadays when she caught herself on edge over nothing. She wasn't worried about becoming paranoid, as half the time she really WAS attacked by villains or weathering random explosions, but overreacting was bad for her image of casual superiority.
Standing up, Trixie saw that they had reached a split in the road. A signpost was planted at the crux of the intersection, listing the nearby settlements and regions and pointing in their general direction.
"Let's see, that way is where we came from on the way to the valley, so that sign must say 'Fillydelphia,'" Ranma mumbled, squinting at the proper arrow. Then he tilted his head to see the other sign. "Uhm... Luh... La? Lam? Lamb-something? Is this a sheep city?"
"It says 'Lancanter,' Ranma," Trixie said with a sigh. "Really, we have to get you some school textbooks or something. To be unable to read at your age is just embarrassing."
"I CAN read! I'm not illiterate!" Ranma bristled angrily, rounding on the unicorn. "You can't blame me for not being able to read and write a foreign language! It was ridiculously convenient enough that you all speak English! I can't even tell if you guys are writing English too, or write it the way humans do, or... or whatever!"
"Okay, okay. Give it a rest," Trixie grumbled. "Anyway, we're going to Lancanter. It's a trade town, so they must have wagon carpenters."
Ranma turned onto the correct path and picked up speed again, still sulking. "Is there anything I should do while we're there?"
"Yes. Stay quiet and stay out of trouble," Trixie drawled. "Trixie may have to commission the wagon rather than simply picking one out of a lot. Meaning we may have to stay here for weeks, so Trixie can't afford to get driven out of town."
Ranma groaned, and his ears flipped down. "C'mon Trix, you know I'm not TRYING to get into trouble in town..."
"Trixie knows, and that's why Trixie trusts you to come along rather than setting up a camp here in the woods and making you wait until it's all done," the magician said in a tone usually reserved for mothers chiding troublesome colts. "With all this treasure in the wagon it will be a prime target for thieves, but try NOT to start any fights! Are we clear?"
"Yes. Clear," Ranma mumbled.
"Good." Trixie nodded sharply. "Things are actually looking up after taking on the Morning Star gang, so Trixie hopes our good fortune lasts at least through our next stop. With much of this money spent and a decent place to sleep that isn't patrolled by guards, we might actually avoid a lot of scrapes in the future, too."
Ranma didn't respond while he trotted down the road. Trixie went back to studying her earnings, but the martial artist's thoughts were equally preoccupied.
Am I losing track of what I'm doing here? I'm trying to get home, right? But how? What am I even supposed to be doing now? Hunting down Blood Rite, maybe? Would that even help?
It was a topic that often came to mind recently when he was between harrowing battles and random labors. Ranma was, ultimately, a human lost on an unfamiliar world. In theory, this was a temporary arrangement. He had the MacGuffin Stone, which is what sent him to Equestria in the first place, so now it was just a matter of finding out how it could be used to send him back. That's how these things worked.
In theory.
I don't know where Blood Rite is, but if I did manage to catch him, could he even help me get back? Does anyone else know anything about the MacGuffin Stone? I feel like I'm wandering totally blind, here. And Trixie is...
His expression darkened. Ranma couldn't tell when he had started taking it for granted that he would be traveling with Trixie indefinitely. Trixie, for her part, seemed to have reached the same unspoken conclusion; she now planned their travels around their food stores and the concentration of local guards and mercenaries, and considered every stop in terms of how long they could stay before they were forced to retreat from town.
The food stores that he ate through at thrice the pace that she did. The guards and mercenaries that he attracted with his outrageous bounty. The retreats that were necessary because he would get into fights, or be discovered by the law, or explode, or be subject to some other completely random act of fate that nonetheless would never had happened had Trixie been on her own.
Ranma felt guilty about it. It was an unusual reaction, for him. He was used to freeloading and occasionally flat-out stealing to get by. Trixie made him work for his keep, which meant this arrangement was far closer to a real job than he'd ever had in the past. Even causing constant grief and property damage for his host was a time-honored Saotome tradition that had never bothered him before. Yet somehow, it felt... different this time.
Maybe it was because Trixie had initially volunteered her aid out of reluctant empathy and benevolence. Maybe it was the way that helping him had rapidly escalated from giving him food to conspiring against her country's laws and soldiers. Maybe it was her increasingly common brushes with injury and death. Maybe it was how Trixie complained about all those things frequently to remind him of her burdens, even while she kept helping him.
Ranma had started ruminating on this topic regularly since fleeing Fillydelphia, ever since Trixie had walked away from a stallion who she'd once described as her ideal mate. Trixie had rejected Blueblood and, as far as Ranma could tell, had completely forgotten about the Prince who only days ago had offered her a life of luxury and royal companionship. This was enormously convenient for him, and Trixie herself had shrugged off the entire incident as a meaningless whim, but it kept gnawing at Ranma regardless. What did it mean that she had turned down Blueblood but seemed committed to making her living with him? Trixie no longer acted as if their partnership was a temporary arrangement of (in)convenience. Was it something more now? Was their relationship still a strictly professional arrangement? Did she expect anything more of him? Would she still let him pursue a way to go home if he got a lead somehow?
Did he even want to go home anymore?
The question made him distinctly uncomfortable. Ranma wasn't the introspective sort, as anyone who had spent more than a day in his presence could attest, but this issue gnawed at him. He felt like he could easily settle into his current circumstances: lost on another world, being supported by a snarky, egotistical magician, getting into fights, and being persecuted by a very annoying but frankly ineffective royal order. Pony form aside, it didn't even compare unfavorably to his life on Earth, honestly. He rather preferred to have explosive pain delivered upon him as unintentional happenstance from a magic allergy rather than the willful misunderstanding and vengeful anger of his fiancee.
But that wasn't right. He couldn't just give up on his home world and his home family because he'd made a friend here in Equestria. It wasn't fair to his parents. It wasn't fair to his fiancees. And it definitely wasn't fair to Trixie.
Then again, I don't know if everyone back home would even want me back like this. Ranma grimaced to himself, staring down at his hooves. I mean, they should, since a bunch of the idiots back home turn into animals anyway, but I'm pretty sure Pops would sell me to a racetrack or something. Maybe turning back to human should be priority one? Not that I have any more clue how to do that than get home.
"Ranma, is something wrong? You've been making that 'trying hard to think and failing' face for a while now. Trixie is worried you'll walk us into a ditch if you're not paying attention."
The martial artist flinched, surprised at the interruption to his thoughts. "N-No... I, uh... I'm just... hungry! Yeah. I could really go for a snack right now! I barely had anything for lunch!"
"That was an hour ago, and you ate every last scrap of food that we took from the bandit den," Trixie deadpanned. "Trixie realizes it must take a lot of calories to recover overnight from being beaten within an inch of your life, but surely you can wait until we reach town."
Ranma shrugged, jostling the harness over his withers. "Okay, sure. Is this Lancanter place a fort town, or another one of those little border villages full of criminals?"
"Neither," Trixie replied curtly. "This region isn't part of the far-flung frontier or adjacent to any dangerous forests, so it's pretty big and normal. Low crime, not too many guards, and lots of money. Just as Trixie likes it!"
Her horn glowed, and she levitated Ranma's cape out of her wagon. "It might be as full of bounty hunters as any other town, though, so keep a low profile. You're still as valuable as ever to any stray vigilantes looking for an early retirement."
Ranma stretched his neck up as the cape and hood settled over him. A thread of glowing pink light straightened the fabric over his back, and then fixed the clasp under his neck. The MacGuffin Stone, still mounted on the fabric clasp, gleamed in the early afternoon sun.
"Thanks, Trix."
"You're welcome, Havoc."
Ranma cringed. "Trix, you don't have to call me that anymore. Even the bounty posters are using my real name, now."
"Which is why we need it more than ever!" Trixie explained firmly. "How many other 'Ranma Saotomes' do you think there are in Equestria? Nopony's going to forget a name like that! There's no point in disguising you if we're just going to give away your extremely conspicuous name to anypony in earshot. They'd track you down in hours! As long as you're wanted, you still need a second identity!"
The stallion groaned. "Why do we have to use Havoc, though? I can come up with a new name! Like... uh... Swift Fist! Or Rocket Punch! Yeah, I like Rocket Punch!"
"Ew, no. We're sticking with Havoc," Trixie insisted. "It's short, unremarkable, punchy - no pun intended - and highly descriptive. Some of Trixie's best work!"
"I hate it, though!"
"Lots of ponies hate their names, Havoc. But our names are a part of us." Trixie's tone shifted as she lectured him, sounding like a tour operator showing off an exhibit. "Pony names aren't just idle, arbitrary identifiers, like they are among, say, the griffons. They're a piece of our destiny just like our cutie marks! You noted yourself that ponies have names that seem to be connected to our skills and careers. Wagon Thief, Blueblood, Morning Star, and even Twilight Sparkle herself are all very clear examples!"
"I don't get the Twilight Sparkle thing," Ranma admitted.
Trixie paused, frowning. Then she suddenly perked up and smirked. "Twilight is the period connecting day and night, and so our fair Princess united the Princess of the Sun, Celestia, with her long lost sister and Princess of the Night, Luna. As for Sparkle, it no doubt refers to her being Equestria's glimmer of hope during the onset of dark and troubled times. Or maybe she really likes glitter or something. One of those."
"Huh... I don't really know what you're talking about with the sisters, but I guess it sounds right..."
Trixie nodded happily. "No doubt you're also wondering about Trixie's name! Well-"
"No, I'm not. I get it. It's really obvious," Ranma interrupted, much to Trixie's annoyance. "But anyway, I don't see what any of that has to do with me! I wasn't born as Havoc or Calamity, it's something you started calling me because you thought my real name was weird!"
"And it fits," Trixie insisted. "That's the key. I mean, your actual name doesn't even mean anything."
"In my language it does!" Ranma retorted. "It means 'untamed horse'!"
Trixie blinked repeatedly in surprise. Ranma huffed irritably and picked up his pace as he spotted buildings down the road.
"......... Well, that's a little TOO on-the-nose," Trixie mumbled. "Besides, nopony but you even speaks your crazy human language. We'll stick with Havoc."
"English is a human language too," Ranma grumbled.
"Pipe down Havoc, the town's just ahead."
In comparison to the other towns Ranma had visited and explored, Lancanter seemed an idyllic, untroubled place. Small garden fences seemed to mark the town's border rather than heavy wooden walls. The roads were worn but well-maintained cobblestone and the buildings ranged from straw-thatched cottages to multi-story buildings as one got closer to the town center. Ponies were everywhere, either going about their daily business or socializing in the public spaces. The place was alive with the sounds of equine civilization, from the clatter of busy hooves and barking dogs to the bells attached to various carts and trolleys.
The atmosphere was palpably different from the other large pony towns Ranma had visited, to say nothing of the bandit-infested villages they'd been forced to cross through. The air seemed alive and energized, and Ranma's martial senses seemed to relax for the first time in what felt like weeks. Everything about the town exuded safety and a gentle peace.
"There. That's perfect!" Trixie announced suddenly. "Havoc, take a left."
Ranma did as instructed at the next intersection, and he soon saw what Trixie was referring to. A sheet metal warehouse occupied an entire block on its own, and scattered in front of it were numerous large wooden furniture pieces of various shapes. A fenced yard sat to the side, and Ranma could see the roofs of small structures within.
"Stop here and guard the wagon," Trixie ordered once Ranma rolled up next to the entrance. "Trixie has no reason to expect thieves in a place like this, but it would be just Trixie's luck to lose our funds right outside the store." She started climbing down the side of the wagon.
"Hey Trix, what's that?" Ranma asked, pointing a hoof down the street.
Trixie paused, checking his line of sight. Further down the road was a huge striped tent surrounded by small shacks, stalls, and crowds of ponies. Balloons swayed in the mid-afternoon wind, and she could hear the faint sound of peppy music.
"That's called a circus, Havoc. It's like Trixie's show, but much larger and tackier. Did they not have circuses in humanland?" Trixie explained.
"Yes, I know that's a circus," Ranma clarified. "I was asking about the cages."
A block up from the circus were several large iron cages built into wheeled carriages. Within the cages, as one might expect, were various dangerous animals. There was a timberwolf, an enormous Venus flytrap, a crocodile that appeared to be made out of rocks, and a saber-toothed tiger with fur of icy frost or something (Ranma was trying not to focus on that particular beast).
"That's the menagerie. You know, exotic and terrible creatures that are forced to do tricks for our amusement? Is there something odd about that?" Trixie asked impatiently.
"Animals made out of wood and rocks are pretty odd, yeah. Is that safe?" he wondered aloud.
"Those cages look sturdy enough to Trixie, but don't go banging on them," Trixie warned. "In fact, you probably shouldn't go near those things at all. Just sit here and keep watch, okay?"
"I wasn't going to go mess with them or anything," Ranma protested.
"Trixie is sure you weren't, but you're not always a willful participant in catastrophe," the magician retorted. Then she smirked and pressed a hoof against his nose. "Stay here and be good, Havoc. If you manage to last this whole evening without getting in a fight, Trixie will treat you to dinner!"
Ranma thought it was odd for Trixie to speak as if she didn't buy all of the food he ate anyway, but at the mention of dinner he perked up and his bubbling irritation evaporated. He nodded curtly, and Trixie winked at him before trotting up to the warehouse.
"... We really have gotten close, haven't we?" Ranma sat down next to the wagon and sighed after the door shut behind Trixie. "Would it really be so bad, even if I had a choice? To just... keep doing this, day in and day out? This place sucks, but it... isn't really any worse than Nerima. Hmmm..."
Down the street, next to the iron cages containing the various circus animals, a pony dressed up as a clown was pulling a cart stacked high with slabs of meat before a crowd of wide-eyed spectators. A metal ring bounced against his hip while he walked, the attached keys jingling just loudly enough to be heard over the rumbling growls of the trapped predators.
The ponies watching generally backed away to give the circus worker space, but one stallion wearing a long robe and obscuring hood did not. Once the clown set his cart, he stopped to look around and noticed the hooded figure standing apart from the rest of the ponies.
"Pardon me, Sir! Please back up a few paces! It's feeding time, and it could get a bit messy!" The clown chuckled, grinning widely and slapping a hoof against the bright red steaks stacked up next to him.
The hooded pony hesitated, and then slowly did as requested, backing away into the group of mostly younger equines. "Are those real steaks? From what source?"
"Nah, they aren't real." The clown pony squeezed his hoof against one of the meat slabs, demonstrating the lack of blood or fatty residue. "It's all soy-based meat substitute. Otherwise we'd rack up quite a body count trying to keep these guys fed! Ha!"
The hooded stallion tilted his head to the side. "Meat substitute? The animals don't mind that?"
"Well, I can't say they wouldn't prefer the real thing, but we try to avoid that for obvious reasons! I assure you they're all quite healthy, though!" The clown wagged a leg at the spectator. "The important thing is that they're nice and full by the time the shows start! Don't want them snacking on the ringmaster! Or the audience! Ha ha!"
"Ah, I see. That would be quite unfortunate, yes." The slightest glimmer of light seemed to come from beneath the stallion's hood. "Still, I'm surprised that such vicious beasts could be controlled. Especially if held on a vegetarian diet."
"Eh, these guys are all instinct. Learn their moods and they're honestly less trouble than most customers!" The clown leaned forward with a wink. "Lemme tell ya, I've met plenty of colts that would be well served by an hour or two in a cage."
He chuckled to himself for a few seconds, but then a nervous yelp interrupted him.
"M-Mister! The c-cage!" one of the other ponies was staring forward, slack-jawed, with a foreleg rigidly pointed toward the cragodile cage. Several others were either frozen in abject horror or slowly backing away.
The clown blinked in confusion, and then twisted his head around. Both his eyebrows jumped when he saw his key ring floating in the air next to the heavy iron lock of the cragodile's cage, surrounded by glittering white magic. His ears pinned back to his head when one of the keys plunged into the lock, settling into place with a sharp click.
"Um... th-this isn't how we f-feed the..."
The key twisted. The door opened. The screams started.
"... but the feature in particular that Trixie is looking for is a hinged siding. It needs to open to the wagon interior, and rest over the ground to form a raised platform. Ideally it folds twice, for a larger platform; Trixie could use the extra room."
Inside the warehouse, Trixie floated several drawings in front of an earth pony mare with a hacksaw for a cutie mark. All around her were stacks and conglomerations of carved wood and small pools of sawdust, and the air smelled persistently of varnish.
"So what are you looking for as far as dimensions? Is fifteen feet long enough?" the carpenter asked, speaking around a nail clenched in her jaw like a toothpick.
"Fifteen is probably enough, so long as it contains a decent bed. Trixie has a very capable wagon colt, but she doesn't want it to be too heavy to move without him in case he's knocked out or explodes or something," the magician mused, rubbing her chin with her hoof.
"Knocked out... or explodes? Pardon?" the carpenter mumbled, her brow furrowing.
"It's nothing. But on that note, if there's any kind of extra frame reinforcement or fire-proofing that Trixie can buy as an extra feature Trixie would love to hear about it," the unicorn said, rolling up her papers.
"Well, there is a special magic varnish we can use to fire-proof it, but it's mighty pricey."
"Magic varnish? Is it magic-reactive, or is the spellwork only involved in the product mixing?"
A droplet of sweat rolled down the carpenter's head. "Uhh... I, um..."
"Trixie's sorry to get so technical, but it's likely a matter of life and death," Trixie continued. "If you don't know, then we'd better not risk it. It would be quite a hazard to have a wagon he couldn't touch."
"He?" the carpenter asked. "Your wagon colt?"
"Yes."
"I don't get it, but okay. If there are two of you, are you going to need room for an extra bed?"
"No. One bed is enough."
The other mare's lips pulled into a smirk. "Aaah... so that's why you're looking for some extra frame reinforcement."
"Hah hah," Trixie drawled, rolling her eyes. "It's nothing like that, not that it's any of your business. Trixie just doesn't want to have to pay for redundant living space. Trixie already has to carry around ten times the amount of food stocks thanks to him."
The carpenter mare chuckled for a few more seconds, and then rolled the nail between her teeth to the other side of her jaw. "Well Miss Trixie, I think we have what you're looking for. A few of our craft wagons open up on the side for additional working space; we have a few in stock right now, although they might not be quite what you're looking for. If they don't meet your needs, then we can whip up a custom order."
A series of muffled shouts came from outside, followed by a crash.
The carpenter's ears perked up immediately. "What was that? Did you hear something?"
"Oh, for Celestia's sake," Trixie hissed under her breath. Then she quickly cleared her throat. "Why don't we look at those wagons now? Trixie would prefer not having to order a custom item."
"What? Oh, sure," the other mare was staring at the door, along with the other employees in the room. "You did hear that, though, right? I thought-" A pink glow suddenly pushed against her rear, and the carpenter squeaked as she was shoved toward the display yard.
"Trixie is a very busy pony and doesn't have time to deal with random adjacent catastrophes," the magician insisted firmly. "Hurry! Hurry!"
Trixie threw a pair of double doors open at the end of the warehouse, leading the carpenter out into the yard. There were several projects out on display, from carts to sheds to elaborate cigar store bison carvings. There was also a considerable amount of panicked yelling audible from the other side of the fence that separated the yard from the street.
"These are your travel wagons, right?" Trixie quickly turned toward the corner, spotting several large, enclosed wagons parked in a wide semi-circle. "How heavy is that big one? Is it too much for a single pony to pull?"
"What the blazes is going on out there?" Despite Trixie's efforts, the carpenter was quite distracted by the ruckus. "It sounds like somepony's in danger! I should call the police!"
"Before you do that, could you at least demonstrate the platform feature you mentioned before?" Trixie's tone shifted from anxious and demanding to almost pleading. "This is important!"
A hefty thump came from the street, followed by a feral snarl.
"Get offa me, you ugly rock pile!"
Trixie firmly suppressed a scream when she heard Ranma's angry shout, followed by another impact. The carpenter pony narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Do you know something about this, Miss Trixie?"
"Nothing but errant speculation, Trixie assures you!" Trixie shouted. Her protests sounded awkward and unconvincing even to her, in no small part because she had to shout over the noise. "But surely somepony else has contacted the authorities by now and they're already on their way to resolve whatever it is going on out there so there's no serious impediment to conducting business as usual and selling-"
"HI-YAAH!!"
The shout startled Trixie out of her breathless rant, and she winced when she heard a heavy impact from the street. Her ears pinned back when the fence on the yard perimeter shattered and an angry cragodile tumbled across the ground. Then she slapped a hoof into her face while the injured beast rolled over several display objects, ranging from sheds to outdoor furniture, crushing them to splinters. Her teeth clenched after the carpenter screamed and began scrambling away in terror.
The cragodile skidded to a stop on its back, and then thrashed about wildly for several seconds. Its tail whipped back and forth, demolishing several other woodworks, and then it finally managed to flip itself upright. It swiftly turned its body around to face the new hole in the fence, and Trixie barely ducked before its huge, stone-covered tail whipped over her head, swatting off her hat.
The reflex came easily enough that she wasn't especially panicked by a gigantic, rocky tendril nearly smearing her across the ground like an obnoxious insect. She was absolutely livid, however, when the tail clipped the side of the wagon she had been looking at and smashed in part of the paneling. The entire structure shook from the blow and rocked back and forth, and Trixie detected several ominous cracking noises from its wheels and axles.
"HEY!" Ranma appeared outside the hole in the fence, looking somewhat ragged and sporting a few gashes on one leg. "Get away from her!"
The cragodile snarled and lunged, crossing the yard with terrifying speed and snapping at the stallion with jaws larger than Ranma's entire body.
Ranma jumped, letting the circus animal's maw snap shut underneath him. He twisted into a kick, striking the cragodile's back hard enough to break through the rock layer, and the maybe-reptile growled in pain.
"HAVOC!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
Ranma couldn't help but wince at the scream, but he didn't let up his offensive. "Little busy, Trix! Yell at me later!" He started slamming his back legs into the back of the cragodile's head even as it angrily thrashed about.
"Trixie can't take you ANYWHERE!" the magician shouted, shaking her hoof at the scuffle. "Trixie told you not to go near the animals!"
"It broke out of its cage and started chasing people! What was I supposed to do?!" the martial artist retorted.
The cragodile, irritated and increasingly dizzy from the multiple serious blows to the head, suddenly rolled over onto its back. Ranma shifted with the motion immediately, running along the moving body of flesh and stone to stay on top of it, and soon he was standing on the beast's belly. A shed that had been so far unscathed in the battle was destroyed when the cragodile's tail crashed into it, but neither combatant seemed to notice.
"Its belly! Of course! That's gotta be a weak spot!" Ranma decided. Really, the smooth, dark plates of stone under his hooves didn't seem any softer or more vulnerable than the rest of it, but so far much of this world seemed to operate on video game logic and he didn't see any reason for it to stop now.
"Havoc, wait! First lead it out of-"
Trixie's shouted advice went unheard, and Ranma flipped into the air before slamming both hind legs down into the cragodile's stomach. A loud crack issued from the animal's abdominal plates, and its eyes bulged.
Then it went into an absolute frenzy, rolling and thrashing wildly from the pain. Ranma leapt off before he could get trampled, landing a safe distance away while the cragodile lashed out blindly.
"Ha! Bet you felt THAT!" Ranma taunted. "Want to head back to your cage now?!"
The cragodile, predictably, didn't answer, and instead plowed into a small clubhouse built on stilts. The wooden legs shattered, and the entire structure tumbled down into a splintered mess before the beast moved on to bash its head against a collection of rocking chairs.
"... Wow. He really did feel that," Ranma mumbled, a droplet of sweat rolling down his head.
"Don't just stand there!" Trixie barked. "Finish it off! If you don't knock it out it's going to tear this entire place apart!"
"Erm, okay. Just, uh, let me think for a sec," the martial artist grumbled, lightly kicking out his legs. "Hitting that thing hurts, you know? And even at full strength it just seems to make it mad."
The cragodile stumbled into a pile of logs, knocking it over and scattering them underfoot. Its tail flipped one up into the air, sending it spinning toward the nearby ponies. Trixie flinched, but Ranma brightened.
"Idea!" the martial artist jumped straight toward the log, and landed on the end while still in mid-air. Taking a moment to aim, he then kicked it back toward the escaped circus animal.
The log flew like an arrow, smashing into the beast's head in a spray of gravel and wooden shrapnel. The cragodile was bowled over, its eyes spinning in its head; it listed drunkenly to one side, and then slumped onto the ground in a daze. The damaged log bounced off and rolled over several sets of lawn furniture, reducing them to scraps. The fence beyond the furniture display finally stopped it, but not before the wayward timber smashed a hole in the barrier.
Ranma watched his handiwork with a smirk, and then perked up when several ponies wearing clown makeup and extravagant suits rushed into the yard. "Looks like the circus guys are here to pick up their animal! Better late than never, right? Hah!"
He turned around, and found himself nose-to-nose with Trixie's furious - if blessedly silent - glare. Behind the performer, the terrified carpenter pony slowly stumbled out of her hiding spot, still quivering.
"Okay, look, before anyone says anything, this is NOT my fault," Ranma said, pressing a hoof to his chest. "I swear, I was just minding my own business when the screaming started, and before I knew it that rock alligator-"
"Cragodile," Trixie corrected, her voice perfectly icy.
"Yeah, that. It was going to eat some guy, so all I did was kick a mail box at it! You know, to distract it long enough for the ponies to get away! And then it went berserk! I had to fight it!"
"M-My yard..." the carpenter pony whimpered, staring at the damage with a forlorn look. Her rear dropped to the ground with a thump. "It's all gone..."
"No! No, it isn't all gone! There's still plenty of stuff we didn't wreck!" Ranma replied, flailing a leg at the largely untouched area behind her. "We barely hit the wagons! Didn't you say we were here for a wagon, Trix? The wagons are still intact!"
Trixie's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"... Anyway, I think we're moving a little off-topic here," Ranma coughed. "The POINT is that none of this is my fault."
"Excuse me!" Much to Ranma's relief, one of the circus ponies rushed up to them and quickly bowed his head. The stallion was an earth pony with a large handlebar mustache and a bright red suit and top hat, and after bowing he removed said hat and held it against his chest.
"My name is Ringlin, Ma'am. May I assume you're the owner of this enterprise?" he zeroed in on the carpenter, casting a brief but wary glance at the other two ponies.
"I... I am. You can call me Nails," she replied, still obviously dazed.
"Huh. Okay, I get 'Nails,' but 'Ringlin?'" Ranma mumbled to himself, scratching his chin.
"I cannot apologize enough for what's happened! We're not sure how he got free! And I've never seen Rockjaws in such a foul mood! This is an absolute nightmare!" He sighed deeply, his ears drooping. "I will, of course, pay for all the damaged property! Nopony was hurt, were they?"
Ranma raised a foreleg.
The ringleader recoiled in alarm when he noticed the gashes on it. "By Celestia! He bit you?! You're lucky to be alive!"
"Huh? Oh, this? Nah, this is from when he hit me with his tail. Lucky shot, but some of those scales are really sharp." Ranma put his leg down. "I was just wondering if you had a last name."
"My... last name?" Ringlin blinked. "Barnem. Ringlin Barnem. Why?"
"Ohhhh, NOW I get it!" Ranma laughed, much to the other ponies' confusion.
"... Right. Good," the ringleader mumbled, slowly turning to Nails again. "Anyway, if you can produce a list of the damaged inventory, I'll have you compensated immediately!"
"Trixie doesn't suppose she can order her wagon, first?" Trixie interjected. "Trixie realizes this has been quite a harrowing and stressful day for everypony here, but Trixie REALLY needs to be back on the road as soon as possible!"
"Huh? Oh, uh..." the carpenter pony looked over at the wagon in question. The cragodile had swiped it with its tail early during the fight, tearing open the wooden siding. The greater part of the structure was undamaged, but the drop-down platform - the very feature Trixie had insisted upon - was useless in its current state. "It will take a day to do the repairs if you want that model. And if you want any modifications-"
"No modifications necessary! No repairs is fine too! Trixie will take it as is, please! Immediately!" the magician said anxiously. "Well fix it ourselves! In fact, we'll take a stack of lumber, too!" Her hat floated off, hovering in the air within an aura of pink magic.
"Now, just hold up," Nails said with a frown. "There's something fishy about all this. Besides, I can't just let you trot out of here with a damaged wagon! You could get hurt! That's a liability issue!"
Trixie's hat swelled, and then four big sacks of bits fell out. One after another, the heavy bags fell onto the ground with a muted jingle of metal, and a few coins spilled out the top.
Ringlin quirked an eyebrow. Nails recoiled slightly in surprise.
"I, uh... well, that... would certainly cover the wagon and lumber," the carpenter said, stumbling over her words slightly, "but-"
A fifth sack dropped out of the hat, striking the ground on its side and spilling its golden contents across the dirt.
"That much should cover the 'liability issue,' right?" Trixie asked, setting her hat back on her head.
"...... They DO say that the customer is always right!" Nails chirped, her mood visibly improved from a mere twenty seconds ago. "So do you need a receipt or-"
A clunking noise came from behind her, and she whirled around to see Ranma already pulling the damaged wagon toward the hole in the fence.
"Thank you for your business so sorry about all the violence Trixie will just be on her way now please keep your giant monsters better secured in the future thaaaaaanks!" Trixie followed Ranma at speed, levitating a stack of wooden boards above her.
The traveling ponies rushed through the cragodile-sized exit and turned onto the street, leaving behind a dozen confused ponies and one severely concussed reptile.
Trixie's magic swirled around a length of rope, curling and twisting it around a metal hook on the rear of her new wagon. On the other end was her old wagon, tied securely between the traces of its travel harness. Trixie finished the knot and bit onto the end of the rope, giving it a firm tug with her teeth. Once she was satisfied, she jumped into the back door and into the cabin.
"All right, it's ready! Go! Go! Go!" the magician barked, rushing to the front and pushing open the front window.
Ranma surged into action, and both wagons jumped forward from his sudden acceleration. Trixie was actually a bit startled at how easily the martial artist moved to galloping speed despite carrying along something like three times the weight he was used to, and she nearly lost her footing before she sat down properly.
A few seconds passed while Ranma raced down the street, and then the stallion spoke. "Hey, Trix?"
"What?"
"Why are we running, exactly?"
Trixie glared down at the back of his head. "Why do you THINK?"
"I guess it's because of that rock-lizard thing tearing up the place, right? But the circus pony said he'd pay for that! So we're in the clear! ... Right?"
Trixie's expression grew more irritated. "In the clear? Do you really think the only problem was who was going to cover the damage you caused?!"
"Hey! The cragodile caused the damage, not me!" Ranma protested.
"And who moved the fight into the carpenter's yard in the first place?!" Trixie snapped.
"Look, I had to get it away from the crowd, but it-"
"That's not the point, Havoc!" the unicorn seethed. "We can't afford the kind of attention you keep bringing, whether or not Trixie has to directly cover the costs of clean-up! You're supposed to be keeping a LOW PROFILE. Do you think there's a single pony in all of Lancanter that isn't going to know about the stallion that walloped an escaped circus monster by tomorrow evening?"
"Oh. Right," Ranma hung his head, and his pace slackened slightly. "Dammit, this time I was saving people, too. I hope all the good stuff I'm doing is canceling out at least some of the bad stuff I'm accused of doing."
"That's not how laws work, Havoc! Take the next right." Trixie braced herself as the wagon rumbled into a turn, worried that their speed would unbalance them. To her satisfaction it handled quite well, and once they were on a straight road heading out of town Trixie leaned out of the window to berate her companion further. "Trixie warned you about reckless heroics! Nopony with your luck should be tempting fate!"
"So what am I supposed to do? Just let the monsters eat everyone?" Ranma grumbled.
"Ugh... No, Trixie supposes you can't just sit and watch a massacre because it's troublesome to stop it," she relented. "But if you're going to intervene and cause a spectacle then you have to plan for a swift exit afterward! Also, you really could put a little more effort into keeping the collateral damage down. Trixie is probably going to spend all day fixing this wagon, and it's brand new!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry..." Ranma sighed, approaching the city limits.
"Apology accepted," Trixie said with a huff. "Now trot up a mile or so into the woods and find a clearing where we can park this thing. Trixie is going to see how bad the break is."
The magician ducked into her new abode, and Ranma trotted down the path in silence. He got the occasional impressed stare from random townsponies just due to the sight of him hauling two wagons behind him without obviously straining, but the trip out of Lancanter was uneventful.
After perhaps ten minutes of travel, Ranma spotted an area where enough trees had been cut down to form a clearing. It was small, but easily large enough for a few wagons, and a circle made of scorched rocks suggested that others had stopped here and used it as a camp site.
"Hey, Trix! This space looks pretty good! Are we far enough out from town?"
Trixie moved back to the window and poked her head out again, looking over the area. "Yes, that will do. Stop over there."
Ranma broke sharply to the side to head into the aforementioned space, but to Trixie's confusion he didn't slow down. After a moment she gasped, and her eyes widened.
"NO WAIT SLOW DOWN BEFORE-"
Ranma's hooves dug into the ground, and the travel wagon jumped slightly from suddenly braking. It landed lightly enough, which was testament to its construction and perhaps suggested that Ranma wasn't just being reckless with Trixie's new vehicle.
Either way, it didn't stop Trixie's old wagon being towed along behind it, which promptly crashed into the new wagon ahead of it. Ranma's ears twitched at the sound of splintering wood and falling objects, and his fur paled to a lighter shade before his ears flipped down against his head.
"...... Oops," he whispered, cringing.
Ranma didn't dare look behind him, but he clearly heard Trixie's none-too-gentle hoofsteps as she stomped through the travel wagon and opened the back door.
"Well. It seems Trixie won't be selling the old wagon. What a shame."
Her voice was flat and quite matter-of-fact, but each word was like an icy needle into Ranma's back. He heard her drop down to the ground and double back toward him, stopping at the base of the harness that secured him to the travel wagon.
Trixie stared at the martial artist, who had his head tucked to the side with his eyes squeezed shut. A single foreleg was propped up on his head as well, as if to shield it.
"... What are you doing?" the magician asked, one eyebrow arched.
"Um... bracing?" Ranma hesitated. "Are you... gonna hit me?"
Trixie tilted her head to one side. Then she looked away, scratching her chin with a hoof. Clearly she was considering the prospect now, if she hadn't been before.
"... No," she said after several seconds, dropping her hoof. "Trixie is hardly above meting out a good swat on the head to those who deserve it, but you already look plenty chastised. Seriously, the bandits back at Metalleus weren't so cowed." She snorted. "Besides, corporal punishment would be wasted on somepony who fights off wilderness monsters like it's an aggravating chore. If Trixie really wanted to punish you, Trixie would just withhold your dinner."
Ranma's fur, which had been slowly returning to its ordinary shade of gray, instantly whitened again. "You wouldn't dare!" he gasped, finally turning to stare at the unicorn with wide, terrified eyes.
"Shape up or you'll find out for sure," the magician said sharply, turning around again. She began heading down the road, back toward Lancanter. "Most of the supplies are fine, although you spilled one of the oat sacks. Whatever. Trixie was going to go back to town anyway to buy nails and glue for the repairs. May as well make a full shopping trip out of it." Her horn flashed, and her saddlebags floated from the wagon and dropped onto her back.
"Okay, sure!" Relieved that he wasn't going to suffer immediate retribution, Ranma started wiggling out of his towing harness. "But we should make sure to-"
"WE aren't doing anything, because WE are not going back to town," Trixie interrupted. "Trixie is heading back. You're staying here."
"What? Why?" Ranma asked, sounding surprised and somewhat hurt. "Trix, it's dangerous around here! We were barely in town for ten minutes before we were attacked by a giant monster!"
Trixie halted and twisted her head around, her eyes narrowed to slits.
Ranma paused, and then his ears pinned back again. "Okay, fine, so we weren't really attacked directly, but still-"
"But still NOTHING. Trixie told you to stay out of trouble and you couldn't do that, so now you're staying here where you can't break anything important," Trixie said firmly, stamping a hoof on the ground. "While Trixie's gone, you can make yourself useful by moving the supplies into the new wagon. After that, you may as well break the old one into firewood."
Ranma groped for something else to say in protest, but Trixie turned away again and trotted down the road. After a few seconds he sighed and hung his head. He thought she was overreacting, but he couldn't really claim she was wrong. He DID tend to find himself in some sort of conflict every time he was on his own, and often even when he wasn't. Ranma thought nothing of it and rose to every challenge; Trixie had done her best to avoid catastrophe and defuse potential chaos.
Her approach was probably better.
He trotted behind the new travel wagon and winced at the wreckage of the old one. One of the wheels had come apart, and the siding had cracked open and spilled Trixie's illusionist knick-knacks over the ground. It wouldn't take long to clean up and move, but Ranma considered himself lucky that the one thing he'd totally destroyed in the accident was something Trixie had already replaced.
Trix will be fine. Give her a few hours to blow off steam and think without crazy monsters causing a ruckus and she'll be in a better mood and we'll be on our way. She'll love her new wagon! I can even get lunch started for us while she's out!
Ranma started tossing objects from the old wagon into the new, starting with the large, less breakable things. Rugs, blankets, chests, books, and sacks flew into the travel wagon's back door, forming a neat pile within the more spacious vehicle. Once he was out of "chuckable" items, Ranma took up the more sensitive things: lamps, fuel and water casks, and a few things that weren't easily identifiable but looked too brittle to risk throwing.
He was in the process of transferring the firework rockets - not sensitive to damage, as far as he knew, but still worth handling carefully - when he noticed something in the distance, flying far above the treetops. He paused and squinted, peering through the sparse branch cover obscuring that angle of view.
"...... Huh. Guess they have dragons just flying around out in the open around here. Wild," he mumbled to himself before returning to work. "Crazy pony planet..."
Blood Rite lounged on a bench, sulking quietly to himself while slowly eating through a bag of roasted peanuts. Young ponies laughed and played around him and equine couples trotted past the gloomy hooded figure without notice. No magic hid the sorcerer from their attention; any pony that took the time to memorize major bounties could have picked him out if they glanced at him from a good angle. But none did.
It was almost galling. Almost.
Rite levitated a peanut from the sack next to him, crushed the shell within his magic aura, and then popped it into his mouth.
In retrospect Rite didn't know what he was expecting from his improvised plot to unleash a cragodile on the town. Things had gone perfectly according to plan, with Havoc or whatever the ape's name was being alerted immediately and intervening before any innocents were harmed. Blood Rite had been able to slip away to a safe observational distance without anyone suspecting him of causing the incident. The fighter had engaged the menagerie escapee with gusto, hamstrung by a responsibility to keep random bystanders safe from harm.
And then Havoc thrashed the beast and left, because OF COURSE HE DID.
Rite levitated a peanut from the sack next to him, crushed the shell within his magic aura, and then popped it into his mouth.
He didn't know what to do. He came up with little ploys and under-hoofed diversions, and the accursed stallion disposed of them with infuriating ease. The ponies hadn't even bothered to investigate the escape after the fact, just accepting that for some reason a vicious circus animal had gotten loose at the precise moment they were there to stop it. They'd fled the city, true; but that was neither Rite's intention, nor was it even because they feared for their lives.
What was he supposed to do? Lie back and wait for a stupidly convenient opportunity to seize his prize with minimal resistance? He really couldn't see any other option. All his previous plans had fallen apart on contact with Havoc and Trixie. The only other time he'd managed to steal the MacGuffin Stone was when circumstances had contrived to get the pigtailed nuisance to surrender it ahead of time. Would such a circumstance ever arise again? Could he afford to tag along and pester Havoc until it did?
Rite levitated a peanut from the sack next to him, crushed the shell within his magic aura, and then dropped it onto the ground in shock when he spotted a blue unicorn with a wizard's hat walking down the sidewalk across the street.
The mare looked annoyed, which could be the result of any number of circumstances, but more importantly she was alone. Trixie hadn't spotted him, and in fact didn't seem to be carefully observing her surroundings at all.
That last detail bothered Rite somewhat. He still felt like his targets should have their guard up after fighting off a cragodile. Whatever. He calmly stashed his peanuts and hopped off the bench, looking deliberately unhurried. Then he headed down the street at a casual pace, his eyes locked onto the magician from under his hood.
A plan began to form in Blood Rite's mind. He didn't really understand the relationship between Trixie and Havoc, but the nigh-unstoppable primate seemed to have a frankly bizarre level of respect and deference to the stage magician. He also seemed interested in the MacGuffin Stone mainly as a means to spite the ponies who had polymorphed and ditched him rather than the object of inestimable power it was. Would Havoc surrender the artifact to save Trixie's life? Probably. Of course, if that wasn't the case, then a hostage situation was perhaps the worst strategy he could devise. And even if it worked he'd have to have a perfect exit strategy to escape retribution. His current workshop wasn't shielded against the strange MacGuffin sense as his tower had been. Havoc would hunt him down within days, depending on just how angry he was.
Blood Rite could work with a window of a few days. But he wasn't ready to take the plunge just yet.
He continued following Trixie at a distance, letting his gaze wander frequently to check for any other suspicious ponies. He was mostly watching for Havoc, of course, in case the two travelers had merely been separated briefly and he was rushing to her side. Thanks to his abundance of caution, however, Rite spotted someone just as interesting zeroing in on his prey.
"... Princess?" Blood Rite mumbled under his breath, stumbling to a halt.
He blinked, almost unable to believe his eyes. Princess Twilight Sparkle, along with two more of the Elements of Harmony and her attendant dragon, were walking down the street at a brisk, determined pace. They were much further behind Trixie than he was, having no doubt spotted her distinctive hat at a distance, but there was no question as to their intention. The pegasus, Rainbow Dash, hovered over the others at speed and pointed a hoof at Trixie. She was asking a question, apparently, because Twilight shook her head and then gestured for the other mare to come down to street level. All three ponies were trotting quickly through the scattered pedestrians, positioned to overtake the unsuspecting magician.
Trixie, for her part, turned toward a general store and pushed through the front door, apparently oblivious to the ponies tailing her.
Blood Rite clicked his tongue irritably. He had overcome Twilight Sparkle before, but he didn't take it for granted that he could dispatch her again even if he had the element of surprise. He didn't consider any of the other ponies a serious threat, but with Twilight Sparkle nearby and Havoc... somewhere to the West, the risk was far beyond tolerable.
The sorcerer turned into an alley and settled in to watch. The appearance of more foes was unfortunate, but the last time this had happened it had also generated a crucial opportunity. Rite's enemies were many, and they were powerful, but they were not united.
"Let's see where this leads..."
Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all paused outside the general store. Steely-eyed glances were shared. Determined smiles cracked. Atop Twilight's back, Spike leaned forward and braced himself as if he was charging into a combat.
The ponies opened the front door and entered, with Twilight as their spearhead. The interior was fairly small, with shelving dividing the limited floor space into aisles and a checkout counter at the back of the building.
"Howdy, Miss!" chirped a stallion next to the register. "Can I help you find something today?"
"I'm not looking for a thing, no," Twilight quipped, stepping deeper into the shop. Applejack and Rainbow moved in tandem at her flanks. Their eyes scanned the aisles one by one, and their expressions wilted when they found each one decisively empty. "What? Where did she...?"
"Looking for somepony, then?" asked a voice from behind them.
Twilight's heart leapt into her throat, and Rainbow Dash jumped high enough that she almost took flight again. They whirled around to face the entrance, and then watched as Trixie Lulamoon gently pushed the door closed behind them. Apparently the unicorn had been hiding behind the door as it swung open, although it escaped Twilight's immediate understanding why she would do so if she was just going to announce her presence anyway.
"If you're going to be stalking ponies in the streets, you should try to be a little less conspicuous about it," Trixie continued as soon as it looked like Twilight was about to speak. "Trixie spotted you three blocks ago. Could have lost you, too, but Trixie is actually halfway interested in what you're here for. Well?"
Twilight gulped. This was... not how she had anticipated this encounter unfolding. Applejack and Rainbow Dash also seemed perturbed, but their reactions were less cautious.
"As if you could lose me! Who do you think you're talking to?" Rainbow Dash laughed, jumping up to hover just under the ceiling.
"And whaddya mean, stalkin'? We ain't stalkin' nopony! We just need to talk to ya," Applejack said, her voice cool and firm.
Trixie glanced at each of them briefly. "Sure," she drawled, dismissing them with a word. "So what did you want? Trixie is in the middle of shopping and has a lot of chores to do."
"Y-Yes! Right! Sorry," Twilight stuttered. "Um... we're looking for Ranma Saotome."
"Lots of ponies are," Trixie replied with a shrug, "and a fair share of less friendly creatures, too."
The store fell silent for a few seconds as the magician failed to elaborate. Twilight was getting more and more confused.
"Okay... can you... help us with that?" Twilight asked.
"Trixie would rather not. Surely you're aware that he's not on the best terms with Canterlot right now. It's probably best for Ranma - and DEFINITELY best for Equestria - if he doesn't cross paths with any more Princesses for a while."
Twilight gaped, but Spike quickly piped up. "You've got it all wrong! We want to find Ranma so that we can clear his name and keep Equestrian guards from fighting him! His bounty keeps going up and Princess Celestia is trying to hunt him down to figure out what happened to Blood Rite and the MacGuffin Stone! If we don't clear things up he's going to end up cornered and somepony is going to get seriously hurt!"
"See, where our points of view differ is that you think bringing Ranma in to explain himself will avoid that outcome, whereas Trixie believes it will make it a certainty," the unicorn drawled. "But feel free to convince Trixie otherwise."
"Aw, c'mon! He saved Twilight's life, didn't he? That's basically a ticket to a free pardon right there! Princess Celestia said so!" Rainbow protested. "All we need to do is actually bring him to Princess Celestia and apologize for all the arson and beating up our soldiers and stuff."
"Also if he's got the magic thingamajigger he'll hafta give that up," Applejack noted. "The Princess wants to make sure it ain't gonna be used fer evil."
"You could plausibly get an apology out of Ranma, MAYBE, so long as he has some scrap of respect for the pony demanding it. But the last Princess that tried to get the MacGuffin Stone from him ended up tearing up half a forest fighting him. And STILL didn't win," Trixie deadpanned.
Twilight's ears perked. "So then he DOES have the MacGuffin Stone?"
Trixie's attention again focused on Twilight, although she didn't answer. Her expression was bored and dispassionate, as if she didn't care in the least about any of this. But Twilight was beginning to suspect she cared a great deal. Still, this whole encounter felt strangely twisted about. What had started as a race to corner and question Trixie to get her to give up vital information now seemed like an ambush where they begged her for clues.
"Princess Celestia told me that you and Ranma were found outside of Coltson and surrendered me to Equestrian forces. You saved me from Blood Rite, didn't you?" the alicorn pressed.
Trixie smirked. "Well, apparently it's become some sort of state secret, so Trixie isn't totally sure it's okay to tell you... but yes! Trixie DID foil Blood Rite and save your life!" She brushed a hoof against her chest. "You're welcome, by the way."
"I thought so." Twilight took a deep breath and stepped forward, her head bowed. "Thank you. But that's why I need to do this, Trixie."
Trixie's smirk vanished, and she arched an eyebrow. "Pardon? Do what?"
"I need to clear the record between Ranma and Canterlot. Things can't stay as they are," she pressed, staring hard into the magician's eyes. "If we let this escalate further it can only end with some kind of showdown. Either Equestria will corner Ranma, or..." she gulped. "Ranma... will corner Equestria. So to speak."
Trixie furrowed her brow. "Trixie isn't sure what you mean..."
"I mean he's been the target of Lunar Guard assassins before, and he's not nearly as hard to find as a wanted fugitive from justice should be," the alicorn explained. "In addition, from his perspective... If he wants to stop Equestria from hounding him, there aren't many plausible means to do so other than stopping Princess Celestia. If he decides on his own to confront her..."
"Don't be ridiculous! Trixie wouldn't allow it!" snorted Trixie. Her reaction was dismissive, but with an undercurrent of genuine agitation. Her lofty facade was starting to crack.
"Why would it be up ta you?" Applejack asked.
Trixie sat back on her haunches and brushed her mane aside with a hoof. "Ranma works for Trixie, of course. He's a bumbling, violent alien who reacts explosively to magic exposure and can barely read. Ranma wouldn't get anywhere without Trixie, and he knows it!"
Twilight gently placed a hoof on Trixie's shoulder, much to the unicorn's discomfort. "I believe you, Trixie. You wouldn't let Ranma do something so foolish. But what if something happened to you?"
Trixie's eyes narrowed. "Something? Something like what?" she asked suspiciously.
"With all these dangerous creatures and sorcerers and entire armies hunting for him, you're in danger too, aren't you? What if you get hurt? Or what if you just get so sick of living on the run from the authorities that you abandon him? Do you plan on staying by Ranma's side forever?" Twilight asked.
Trixie recoiled at this question, her eyes widening slightly. Then she coughed and quickly returned to her earlier annoyed expression. "That's none of your business, Sparkle. Trixie will handle Ranma and keep him from going on any catastrophic regicide quests. Is that all? Trixie really does have other things to be doing right now."
Twilight restrained a frustrated groan. Trixie was closing herself off again, and Twilight wasn't sure how to get through to the unicorn. This was a vastly different engagement than the last time she and Trixie had conversed, where the wandering magician was nervous and seemed acutely aware of her limited authority. Now Trixie talked down to her like she was doing an Equestrian Princess a favor by hearing her out. It was like she was dealing with a completely different pony.
"Trixie, you can't possibly think it's safe or wise for Ranma to remain on the lam forever! What do you think is going to happen? Do you think Canterlot will just decide the cost of bringing him in is too great and give up? He's carrying an artifact that could very well decide the very survival of the entire royal order!" Twilight protested.
"Trixie doesn't think that. Trixie merely thinks it's preferable to bringing him to Canterlot, which can only end in explosions and tragedy," the unicorn drawled. "It doesn't help to avoid a disaster by precipitating an even greater one."
"I want to save Ranma!" Twilight shouted, her voice getting heated. "And Celestia does too!"
"Ranma Saotome doesn't need 'saving.' He just needs a level head to guide him and enough food to supply a medium-sized caravan," Trixie countered, rolling her eyes. "While Princess Celestia could surely provide the latter, Ranma doesn't trust the Princesses - present company excluded, for some reason - and at this point Trixie honestly can't blame him."
Twilight's frustration jumped several notches at the suggestion that Celestia wasn't trustworthy, and she started sputtering incoherently again.
Then someone cleared his throat nervously from behind the Ponyville residents. The mares turned to look and found the cashier pony standing in the aisle directly behind them.
"Hi! Uh... not to interrupt... I'm really not clear on the context of this conversation at all and it seems SUPER IMPORTANT and everything, but..." he chewed his lip for several seconds before finishing, "are you ladies going to be buying anything? Because you're blocking the entrance..."
The Ponyville mares had the grace to look embarrassed, while Trixie just smirked.
"Yes, Trixie will be buying. Terribly sorry about the disruption." She didn't seem very sorry as she brushed past Twilight and started peering at the goods on display.
Twilight Sparkle grit her teeth, fighting a desperate internal battle not to continue arguing with the magician. After a few seconds, her expression relaxed and she headed toward the exit. "Sorry. We'll be going now." She didn't look back at Trixie as she left, nor did Applejack or Rainbow Dash as they followed.
"Well, shucks. That didn't go well. Now what're we gonna do?" Applejack asked as soon as they were clear of the store entrance.
Rainbow Dash gave her a look. "What do you mean? We're going to go find Havoc and take him back to Ponyville, of course!"
Applejack seemed surprised at this, for some reason. "But Trixie just said-"
"Yeah, yeah, but who cares?" Rainbow waved a hoof and snorted. "Trixie's his boss, not his mom. Besides, it's not like we need her help to find him. Twi's got that covered! We even confirmed that Ranma still has the MacGuffin Stone and saved Twilight's life!"
"Yeah, but... I dunno," Spike interjected, wringing his hands. "If Trixie is against this, then convincing Ranma is going to be HARD. He takes her seriously. Way more seriously than he should."
"It doesn't matter," Twilight said firmly. Her voice and eyes were frosty, staring at a point of light in the distance only she could see. "I wish Trixie was more helpful. But she doesn't want to be and I'm not going to force her. That doesn't change what we have to do here." Her eyes narrowed. "Ranma Saotome has to have his name cleared. He has to let us secure the MacGuffin Stone. We can't let this disaster continue, no matter what. Too much is at stake."
"Okay, that's all true. But... y'all don't think Trixie might have a point?" Applejack said uneasily. When she had the others' attention, she continued. "This feller destroyed yer home, mah barn, and a good chunk o' mah orchard in the couple o' hours he was in Ponyville. Ever since he's been runnin' around the country leavin' scorched buildin's and beaten guards behind him. Trixie's had a front row seat to all o' this bedlam, so maybe she ain't just puttin' us on when she says we're bringin' a lit match to a powder keg."
"Pff! If just being around Havoc is that bad, then why does she bother? Trixie would have left him in the dust long ago!" Rainbow Dash countered.
"Well, judgin' by what Spike said, Ah'm guessin' she's sweet on 'im," the farmer replied, shrugging. "But that ain't really the point."
"You're right, Applejack. It's not the point. The point is that if we leave things be, they're guaranteed to get worse," Twilight said firmly. "Ranma needs my help, no matter what Trixie says. He deserves forgiveness, no matter what Celestia says. And I can't be afraid of simple proximity to him, no matter what... well... everypony says."
"Yeah! That's the attitude!" Rainbow Dash cheered, pumping a foreleg.
"Also, we still need to warn him about the dragon trying to hunt him down," Spike said, while staring up into the sky.
"Yes! Definitely! He..." Twilight trailed off when several nearby ponies gasped and shouted in surprise, and then slowly tilted her head up. "... Oh. Oh dear."
Kamikazan flew over the forest just outside of town, swooping over the forest in long, soaring dives while scanning the ground. The dragon prince was still far away from Lancanter, and wasn't heading in the direction of the town, but the very appearance of such a large dragon within spotting distance was unusual and frightening enough that the town's citizens started to scatter and rush to their homes.
"Ya see? This is what Ah'm talkin' about," Applejack groaned. "Soon as we start catchin' up to Sow-toh-may, BOOM, dragons. This won't end well."
"Oh, come on! You can't pretend like this just came out of nowhere! We knew this dragon was coming for Havoc, remember?" Rainbow protested.
Applejack squinted into the distance, watching the flying serpent dive again. "Ya sure that's the same one? Ah can't tell from here, and the fortune teller lady said the varmint was s'pposed to be headin' to the wrong place."
"I can't really tell either, but it's the right size and the right color. What are the odds that two red dragons are after the poor guy at the same time?" Rainbow asked. Then, after a few seconds, she turned to Twilight. "Seriously, what are the odds? This IS the same dragon, right?"
"Girls, I think we'd better hurry up and intervene," Twilight said grimly, speeding into a gallop. "That's definitely Kamikazan. And he's definitely headed right for the MacGuffin Stone!"
It didn't take very long at all to find his target.
Even Kamikazan was somewhat suspicious about how well his hunt had gone. He was hardly surprised to find that the mysterious gray chaos pony was no longer at Metalleus after Kamikazan had been directed there, but his prey left quite a trail behind him. Physical tracks interspersed with badly wounded, terrified bandits who were none too happy with the mystery stallion made for easy tracking. Oddly, they all referred to the stallion as "Havoc," but a basic physical description, plus a description of his fighting prowess, made his identity clear.
Soon enough Kamikazan was searching the roads outside Lancanter, checking every camp and wagon for his target. There were a fair number of them - Lancanter was a busy hub town, and the forest was full of loggers - and most of the time they screamed and fled in panic. Which was fine; Kamikazan preferred such a reaction. The lack of terrified compliance was one of the things that bothered him about Ranma Saotome in the first place.
"Hey, do I know you? You look sort of familiar."
Case in point: the pigtailed stallion staring up at him next to a big pile of broken wood.
Kamikazan didn't land right away, stopping in the air to stare hard at the pony. Ranma looked exactly as he remembered, although he was wearing some kind of ridiculous-looking cape now. He didn't see any other ponies around, either. The circumstances were perfect.
"You don't remember me, pest? Our encounter may have been fleeting, but you stand before one of the immortal rulers of his world!" Kamikazan snarled. He hovered in place over the camp site, his wings shaking the branches underneath with every beat. Glittering sparks floated from his jaws while he spoke, turning every word into a subtle promise of blazing annihilation.
Ranma suddenly looked exasperated. "Oh, right. Now I remember you. That guy from Rite's tower. Kamikazan, was it?" He had a broken wheel on his back, and he walked over to the firewood before tilting over to let it fall onto the pile. "How's your eye?"
Kamikazan suddenly lurched to the side, moving over the empty road before lowering himself onto the ground. This area was cramped for a creature of his size, but he refused to change to a smaller body; this stallion already had the gall to defy him in his natural visage. It wouldn't do to address such insolent rabble without at least towering over them.
"My eye is fine, vermin. No others have been so crass as to lay hoof or claw upon me since our previous meeting," Kamikazan growled.
Ranma started walking back toward the wrecked wagon, not bothering to keep eye contact with the dragon prince. "Neat. So what do you want now?"
"Straight to business, then." Kamikazan folded his wings up and stuck out his chest. "I've located you as a mere means to an end, Ranma Saotome."
"Mm hmm," Ranma said noncommittally, flipping some more broken planks onto his back.
"Yes, that's right. I know your name now, equine. You've made some powerful enemies, and though none of them equal myself in power or majesty, one of them happened to have... other assets that interest me." Kamikazan grinned, his tongue flicking out of his mouth like a snake tasting the air. "Count yourself lucky, scum. Your cooperation may yet spare you of my wrath!"
Ranma walked by the dragon and then tilted to the side, spilling the wood onto the pile. "Uh huh."
Kamikazan's grin soured. "The female I have chosen to be my mate has demanded a certain treasure before she would be mine..."
"Ah. Engagement problems, huh? Yeah, I've been there," Ranma interrupted, walking back to the wreck. "You want my advice, all these 'reach the goal and marry the princess' quests are never worth it. Even if you really like her, it never works out just because you managed to be the first one to get the treasure or whatever."
Kamikazan scowled. "I did NOT want your advice. Tell me where the MacGuffin Stone is, Ranma Saotome, or I shall reduce you to smoldering ruin here and now!"
Ranma flipped some more wood onto his back. "You see, this is just what I'm talking about." He started strolling back across the clearing again. "This chick sent you to get the MacGuffin? No way is she worth it. Is she going to send you on doomed chores after you're married, too?"
"Watch your tongue, equine!" Kamikazan snarled, slamming a giant claw down in Ranma's path. "You dare slander my beloved Princess Celestia?!"
Ranma blinked up at the dragon. "Princess Celestia? ... Wait... isn't she the one that's supposed to raise the sun or something? She's out to get me too? What's HER problem?"
Kamikazan grimaced, glancing to the side. Giving away Celestia as his source had been imprudent. Not that it really mattered, but he didn't owe the stallion any explanations and there was no reason to pin this affair on the Equestrian diarch.
"Also, isn't she supposed to be a horse? I don't think you're her type," Ranma continued.
Kamikazan's claw rose and fell, aiming to squash the pigtailed pony flat. Ranma hit the ground and rolled under it. The plank he was carrying fell off, crushed to splinters under the gigantic dragon hand, but Ranma cleared the danger zone and calmly hopped back upright.
"SILENCE, PEST!!" Kamikazan snarled.
"Don't kill the messenger, buddy! I'm just saying: your relationship is going to be hard enough if she sends you on these dumb fetch quests. What's the point if you can't even cuddle without flattening her?"
The dragon's claws bit into the dirt and then raked across the ground toward Ranma. He leapt away, vanishing into a gray blur before landing out of the serpent's immediate reach.
"WHERE. IS. THE. MACGUFFIN STONE?" Kamikazan hissed, flames puffing from between his teeth.
"Not telling," Ranma said simply. He idly touched the jewel attached to his cape's clasp.
Luckily, Kamikazan didn't seem aware of such subtle body language. "Then where is the Sorcerer Blood Rite?!" he demanded.
"Dunno," Ranma said with a shrug.
Kamikazan trembled, and the leaves on the nearest branches started to wilt from proximity to the rapidly rising heat.
"If you will not tell me, then your life is forfeit!" the dragon prince roared.
"Yeah, I kind of get the feeling you were going to do that anyway," the martial artist said. He walked away from the wagon, keeping his facing toward the dragon prince without taking up any sort of clear combat stance. "Come on, let's get this over with. I don't want Trix to come back and find that I've attracted ANOTHER scaly freak less than an hour after the last one."
Kamikazan reared his head back and spread his wings, taking up a classic draconic combat pose. Flame licked the edges of his jaws, and magic power sang within his veins with every heartbeat.
And yet, the dragon prince hesitated. Those parts of his brain not drowning in rage - particularly the aspects concerned with his potential future nuptials - couldn't help but consider that murdering the infuriating stallion would be murdering his only real lead to the MacGuffin Stone. In theory, of course, he could hunt the treasure himself by interrogating various creatures and demanding the service of more scryers, but that approach was scattershot and tedious. The pony before him clearly knew where his objective was. All he had to do was find the right key to force the information.
But what was that key? A loved one? He didn't know anything about Ranma Saotome aside from his slightly impressive combat skills and stubborn defiance of his betters. A bribe? Kamikazan couldn't imagine he had anything the stallion would want, even if he'd lower himself to such a thing. Threats were his favorite tactic, but one he had already tried repeatedly. What more could he do to convince the equine that his life was in danger?
Then, an epiphany: Ranma Saotome may well believe that he could weather the wrath of a serpent king, but others were far more vulnerable. Threatening his loved ones would have required learning who and where those equines were - Kamikazan vaguely remembered some blue pony being with the pest at the site of his awakening - but he could easily try less discriminating methods. Ponies were soft-hearted and weak-willed; how much devastation would Ranma allow just to protect a magic rock?
"This is your last chance, scum," the red dragon growled. "Tell me where the MacGuffin Stone is, or witness retribution beyond your darkest nightmares."
"Nah, I'm good." Ranma reached the road, almost opposite the direction of Trixie's new travel wagon. "Come at me when you're ready." He stopped and sat down on the bare ground.
It enraged Kamikazan for the stallion to speak so confidently, as if a combat between them was some kind of chore. But he clamped down on his fury and slowly turned his head away.
"Come at you? Why? What good does it do me to reduce you to cinders now?" His lips twitched up into a smile as he faced away from the stallion. "No, vermin. It won't be you that bears the toll of my fury. Not YET, at any rate."
Ranma blinked, surprised and increasingly concerned. "Wait, what do you-"
Kamikazan tilted his head down, toward the wagon parked by the side of the road. Then he vomited a searing red fireball at it. The projectile smashed the roof in before it exploded, completely consuming the vehicle within a swirling inferno. Chunks of burning wood were flung into the air, leaving streaks of dark smoke in their wake. A second later the fireworks within the wagon exploded, briefly overwhelming the initial blast with bright, vibrant bursts of colorful sparks. A few rockets even shot out of the devastated vehicle, whistling into the air before popping into flowers and glittering stars.
Ranma's fur paled several shades while he watched the display, and his jaw dropped open. "You..."
"I hope there was somepony in there," Kamikazan mused with a smile. "If not, that's okay. I spotted many other equines on my search for you just here in this forest. I think I'll start with them before I move on to the town."
Ranma's body trembled, his eyes still bugging out. "You..."
"I won't raze it entirely. Celess wouldn't like that. But surely a few ponies wouldn't be missed in the pursuit of a beloved treasure. Maybe a school? Oh! Or a hospital! If anything it would help the kingdom to be relieved of some of their sick weaklings." The dragon turned toward his target. "Or... you can tell me where the MacGuffin Stone is. Tell me, equine: how many lives are worth protecting this treasure?"
Ranma's aura exploded, blasting a shallow crater in the dirt around him. The ghostly, pale blue light quickly retracted to a more subdued level, but was still entirely visible as the martial artist clenched his teeth. He glared up at the dragon, and the aura pulsed. "YOU..."
Kamikazan blinked. Something about the stallion's gaze made him feel substantially less angry than before as new, uncomfortable feelings crept into his thoughts. "What? What's wrong? Wait, was there somepony in that wagon after all?"
At the mere mention of the wagon, a vein popped up on Ranma's head.
"Look, all you have to do to save all these ponies is tell me where the-"
Ranma's body became a cyan blur across the ground, and then Kamikazan knew pain.
The first impact struck Kamikazan in the arm, causing him to flinch back. Then a kick to his opposite elbow unsteadied his stance, dropping his chest and head lower to the ground. A brilliant arc of blue light and angry pony flipped up in a jump and impacted the side of his head a moment later, smashing the dragon's face into a tree.
"OW! BRIMSTONE!" Kamikazan cursed, spitting up a puff of fire.
Ranma dropped under the serpent's chest, facing away, and then started slamming his back hooves into Kamikazan's more vulnerable underside in rapid sequence. Every kick felt like a ballistae bolt into the dragon's ribs, and his current awkward footing forced him to lean into the attacks.
"Knock it OFF, pest!" Kamikazan roared, using his wings to recoil from the stallion. He swiped a claw across the road, but Ranma back flipped over it, and then leapt into the air again. Kamikazan went for a bite, only for a hoof to smash into his jaw, knocking his head aside and fracturing a tooth. Ranma landed on his neck and kicked off, striking with strength and precision enough to crack a scale in his departure.
"Flames alive, what's wrong with you?!" Kamikazan tried to back away, but found his wings striking against the surrounding branches. Ranma, on the other hand, bounced off and between the trees and branches with impossible ease and terrifying speed. The dragon prince was only able to track him thanks to the inexplicable blue glow that stuck to his form and trailed along behind him. "Why are you so mad?! What did I do?!"
Ranma actually relented in his assault, landing on the side of a tree trunk and sliding down the side toward the ground. "You torched Trixie's wagon, you stupid lizard!" he snapped, still trembling with anger.
Kamikazan waited for the stallion to get to the part that upset him. After a few seconds of silence, the serpent blinked. "I... torched the wagon? That's it? There was no one inside it? No irreplaceable treasures? You're beside yourself with fury because I burned down some crude, fragile transport?"
Ranma's aura pulsed again, and the dragon flinched back. "YES, I'm mad about the wagon, you idiot! Do you have any idea how hard we worked to get that thing?! Do you know what Trixie is going to do to me when she gets back and sees you destroyed it?!"
Kamikazan was flabbergasted to actually see a tear visibly crawl down the stallion's cheek during his angry shouting. "I... uh... no?"
"She's going to KILL ME!!" Ranma screamed, slamming a back hoof into the tree behind him. The entire tree shook from the impact, and a scattered shower of leaves was blasted aside by another pulse of the martial artist's aura.
Kamikazan frowned and scratched his lip. "I'm not sure I understand, but... What if I agreed to kill this 'Trixie' before she finds you? THEN would you tell me where the MacGuffin Stone is?"
Surprisingly, this extremely reasonable offer only seemed to make Ranma angrier.
Kamikazan lurched back after a bright blue comet slammed into his chest. "Agh! All right, I have had ENOUGH of th-OW!" He started to flap his wings to get airborne after taking another sharp hit to his elbow. "Let's see how you-GAH!" His head pitched to the side from another kick. "You won't be able to-OOF!" He wobbled in the air from a strike to his wing socket before Ranma bounced away again.
"STOP IT!! STOP HITTING ME!!" the dragon prince screeched. He launched himself further upward, and then blasted a jet of flame down across the road. Then he twisted around in the air and spat a fireball into the forest.
Ranma wasn't even in the path of the attacks; Kamikazan was simply so enraged and desperate that he was beginning to spit fire everywhere. Checking his approach path, Ranma leapt from one tree and landed hard on a thick branch underneath the dragon, using it to vault up onto his tail.
Kamikazan noticed immediately when something was crawling on him, and start whipping his tail to try and fling the pony away. "No! Get off me, insect!" he roared, twisting and thrashing every which way.
Ranma dashed up his tail regardless, keeping a steady pace until he could jump up onto the dragon's back. Kamikazan roared and flew higher, trying to spin around fast enough to dislodge the pony.
Ranma was all but undisturbed; the dragon prince's rough, iron-hard scales made for excellent footing, and the crested spines along his back gave the martial artist something to push and pull against to counter the motions. Once the serpent was upright again, he dashed up to his shoulders and then bit onto a wing, clamping his jaws firmly around the fleshy membrane that stretched between the bones.
Then he started kicking the joint that connected the wing to the shoulder, slamming a hoof into it again and again.
"OW! AH! ACK! URK!" Kamikazan's flight wobbled again as his right-hand wing became increasingly painful to move. "Stop it! Stop that at once! ARGH!"
Predictably, Ranma didn't stop, so after a few more seconds of agony the dragon prince began to concentrate. Magic flowed freely from the serpent's body, manifesting in a series of floating, glittering embers that washed up over him and then coalesced to form solid lines of hot, glowing light. The lines stretched and met other lines at sharp angles, circling, spinning, and bending in on themselves to form an arcane pattern in the air. A six-pointed star, ringed by torch-like flames and stamped over a single, indecipherable rune of power.
The magic circle flashed, and Kamikazan exploded. His scales evaporated, his flesh turned to fire, and the entire form blasted outward in all directions like a massive dynamite stick. Ranma went flying with a surprised yelp, thrown through the air on a scorching wave without the benefit of wings. The martial artist flailed about within the flames and landed gracelessly within the forest, slamming through several branches before he finally landed amongst the trees.
Up in the air, a swirling morass of bright crimson broke from the fiery blast, pulling back to its origin point. The energy seeped together into a sphere, and then inflated rapidly, expanding back to the form of the mighty red dragon. Within seconds Kamikazan flew once more above the forest of Lancanter, this time without his unwanted passenger.
"Now, then. Time to end this," snarled the serpent. More magic coalesced around him in motes of angry red, drifting in an invisible wind to be collected in front of his nose. The magic grew into a swirling orb. Barely the size of a basketball, the boiling sphere yet contained enough explosive force to pulverize a city block and enough raw heat to engulf the blocks adjacent in a merciless inferno. It was a laughably wasteful attack to use on a single pony-sized target, but the dragon prince was enraged beyond the point of restraint.
"MY CLOAK!! YOU SCALY BASTARD!! YOU BURNT MY CLOAK!!"
Kamikazan paused mid-spell, leaving the sphere of power hovering in the air above him, just so he could stare incredulously at the ground below. Ranma was glaring up at him, absolutely livid, with the scorched scraps of his purple cloak and hood still tied around his neck. The stallion's fur was burned as well, but he hardly seemed to notice. In his upraised hoof the stallion held the gemstone clasp that had held the cloak in place.
"Are you even listening to yourself?" the serpent asked, exasperated. "Yelping like a wounded animal over that hideous scrap of cloth..."
Ranma's aura pulsed again. He shifted the leg holding the clasp, putting it... somewhere. It wasn't clear where the accessory went, but Kamikazan didn't really care.
"But no matter. If you wish to spend your final breath wailing inanities to your betters, I can grant you that small favor." Kamikazan moved upward behind the quivering fire orb, and clutched it gently within his talons. "Be grateful, wretch!" He flung the magic bomb down into the forest, directly at the pigtailed stallion.
Ranma didn't move as the projectile plummeted toward him, silently working out its course and analyzing the various angles in his head.
Then, once it was merely ten feet away, he launched himself at it with a jumping somersault. One hoof lashed out, impacting the flaming bomb with a flash of crystalline blue light. Then the bomb rocketed back up toward its source, trailing brilliant red and blue sparks behind it.
"Wait, what," Kamikazan mumbled as the screaming crimson orb sailed up at him.
The serpent squeaked and lurched out the way, barely making room for the magic explosive to shoot past his neck and upward to a safe distance. The sphere quivered and started to glow white as the spell containing it slowly unraveled, and then exploded several seconds later. A hollow roar washed over the forest in all directions, shaking the treetops and sending flocks of birds scattering even before the shock wave of hot air buffeted them from above.
Kamikazan himself flapped harder to remain stable as the pressure wave struck, and he twisted around to watch as the blazing nova from his spell expanded and then rapidly collapsed into a small shower of embers. It was a fairly unique sight; he had never seen that attack detonate in the air, absent a solid combustible to consume. Given that he had just watched a pony kick it back at him like a hoofball, it occurred to him that he might want to pay closer attention to the unique mechanics of his magic attacks in the future.
With that observation troubling him, and still slightly stunned at what just happened, the dragon prince turned his attention back onto the ground.
"... Huh? Where did he go?" Kamikazan's eyes narrowed. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised at losing track of the stallion amongst the tree cover, but he was quite surprised that Ranma had run away. Certainly the insolent pony had ample reason to do so, but retreating at this point, after attacking in an enraged frenzy and driving him into the sky, was quite a reversal of tactics. Was the stallion trying to lure him back down?
The trees directly underneath Kamikazan shook, and the dragon heard the curious sound of hooves striking wood with great speed.
"YEEP!" Kamikazan yelped and jerked upward when Ranma shot up out of the forest as if he had been launched by a catapult. The serpent's wings beat furiously, trying to eke out a few more feet of altitude in a panicked frenzy, and he curled up his legs and tail as close as possible to keep them out of reach.
Ranma's ascent slowed, reaching the apex of his incredible leap mere feet from the terrified dragon. The martial artist swiped his forelegs above him repeatedly, kicking at the air and growling incoherently for one tense, terrifying moment. Then he fell back down.
Kamikazan rapidly ascended some more, putting an additional fifty feet or so between him and the ground. Heart thundering in his ears, he started nervously scanning the forest again for his target. This time it was less to find a bombardment point and more to keep track of the pest in case he tried something else. Kamikazan had never met a creature so tenacious as the pigtailed pony before; what kind of monster had Celestia sent him to hunt down?
After several seconds the dragon prince failed to find his target, but also started to feel reassured that he was out of the stallion's reach. The tree cover meant that finding a single pony that didn't want to be found was nearly impossible if he wasn't willing to venture within kicking distance, but it also created an offensive opportunity for someone with fire magic.
"Beams only though," Kamikazan muttered to himself, "no magic missiles."
He began gathering his magic, and swirls of crimson sparks gathered in front of him. Sparks became lines, lines became shapes, and shapes became runes. Ancient magic thrummed through the dragon's veins, giving life to his will and powering destruction far beyond that of a simple breath weapon. The magic circles multiplied, spreading and tilting outward to aim at different parts of the forest.
Scorched Earth it is, then. We'll see if a few decimated forests calms the pest down. A high-pitched whine filled the air, and motes of bright crimson energy gathered in the circles' centers.
Then a ray of purple light slashed across the magic circles. Three of them collapsed instantly, and the others destabilized when Kamikazan whirled around in a panic.
"That's enough!" Twilight slowed her flight through the air, making sure to stay well out of arm's reach when addressing the fire-breathing serpent. "I don't know what you're trying to do here, but you're going to hurt somepony at this rate!"
It took a few seconds for Kamikazan to swallow his relief that Ranma Saotome hadn't somehow grown wings and snuck up on him. Once he was properly composed, the dragon prince sneered. "That's precisely the point, lesser Princess. Don't interfere, or you'll become one of those 'someponies.'"
"Lesser Princess? The hay is that?" asked a voice behind him.
Kamikazan screeched, snapping to the side and quickly whipping his entire body around. Rainbow Dash, who had descended behind him, blinked repeatedly as the serpent took up a defensive aerial posture, only to suddenly recover and relax. Clearly the dragon was terrified, and she had no idea what to make of it.
"The ascended mare is a lesser Princess, given the gifts of the alicorn race out of favor or pity rather than birthright," Kamikazan explained calmly, as if he hadn't just shrieked like a decade-old wyrm from an animal one hundredth his size. "But you waste my time! Begone, mares! This does not concern you!"
"A dragon bombarding the forests outside an Equestrian town DOES concern me," Twilight said grimly. "Why are you here? What do you want?"
Kamikazan began to growl and consider the best spells for incinerating aerial opponents. Then he reconsidered. He still had no reliable means for getting the location of his objective out of Ranma Saotome. But maybe these mares did? He knew nothing of these ponies, but his current strategy of threats and violence had so far been largely ineffective on this particular quest.
"What I want is the MacGuffin Stone!" Kamikazan boomed, surging higher so that he could properly look down on the winged ponies. "I demanded that Ranma Saotome reveal its location or face judgment. He chose judgment." The dragon prince paused. "That judgment has been... delayed, somewhat. But if the gray pest will not accept a compromise, then his fate is sealed."
"REEEEEEALLY," Rainbow Dash drawled, looking unconvinced.
Twilight pursed her lips. "You're looking for the MacGuffin Stone? Why?"
Kamikazan snapped his jaws angrily, causing the alicorn to flinch back. "When a Dragon King demands treasure, mare, you do not ask 'why.' The artifact will be mine. It's up to you equines how many bodies are left in the funeral pyre by the time I find it."
"That's... not much of a compromise," Twilight admitted.
"It is testament to my restraint and comportment that any of you ponies may yet leave this place alive," Kamikazan snorted. "Now find the pigtailed fool and locate my treasure, lesser Princess!"
"Damn it! I can't believe I missed! TWICE!!"
Ranma paced back and forth along the ground beneath the treetops, seething angrily to himself. Every few seconds he passed under a break in the forest canopy, and he glanced up at the distant red blur in the sky.
On this particular pace, there was a little purple blur next to it, and a light blue blur as well. He stopped, his jaw hanging open.
"What is that? Is that... Sparks? What's she doing here?" From here he couldn't make out anything other than the color and size, and really he imagined there were plenty of other winged purple ponies in Equestria, but he figured it was a strong guess. Apparently Twilight had been searching for him for some reason, and the alicorn was considered a heroine of Equestria. What other pony was going to fly up to a dragon and start a conversation in the middle of a rampage?
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it..." Ranma's pacing increased in speed. "Can Sparks take on a dragon? What if she tries to talk him down but can't because I made him mad? DAMN IT I can't believe I MISSED!"
"There ya are! Hey, Sow-toh-may! Over here!"
"Sssssh! Can everypony just stop shouting, please? Dragons have pretty good hearing!"
Ranma whipped around on the spot, and he was reasonably surprised to see Applejack peeking around a tree with Spike on her back. The young dragon had a claw to his lips, and was nervously glancing upward.
"Spike? And, you're... Applejack, right? From that orchard? What's going on? Why are you here?" the martial artist asked, feeling some of the tension draining from him.
"It's kind of a long story, but fer now we're here to get you away from that scaly varmint up there," Applejack tilted her hat back and gestured to the side. "Dash and Twi're distractin' him right now. How 'bout we skedaddle?"
Ranma's eyes hardened, and in an instant the tension was back. "No way. I'm not running. Not this time," the stallion hissed. "I owe that lizard freak way more than I've dished out already! Besides, he said he'd start torching the place if he couldn't get me!"
"Aw crud, really?" Spike groaned, hanging his head. "Man, why do all the other dragons have to be jerks?"
"Well that is a problem, ain't it?" Applejack mumbled. "Maybe we can lure him away from here?"
"I don't want him to LEAVE, I want him to come CLOSER so I can hit him some more!" Ranma complained, stamping a hoof on the ground.
"All right, cowpony, just calm down," the farmer said sternly. "Ah know yer not shy about fightin' the bigg'uns, but ya ain't gettin' to him without wings. Cool yer apples and let Twi do her thing."
Ranma blinked repeatedly. Then his eyes locked onto Applejack's saddlebags. "Hey, do you have a canteen on you?"
"Huh? Yeah, Ah do. But we should-"
Before Applejack even finished the sentence, Ranma was next to her and digging through her bag. By the time she recoiled in surprise, he had the canteen clasped between his hooves and was unscrewing the cap with his teeth.
"Whoa! Wait! Ranma, you don't have to fight him!" Spike exclaimed, his eyes bulging. Applejack just looked confused, but Spike had figured out the martial artist's plan immediately. "Let Twi talk to him first! We might be able to work this out!"
"Sorry, Spike." Ranma tilted the canteen over, draining the water over his face. Brilliant red flooded over his mane, from the roots all the way to the tips of his braid, and a pair of gray wings sprouted from his back with a soft popping noise. "Sparks can't work this out. Not this time."
Applejack's jaw was hanging open in shock. It had been mentioned before that the martial artist could change bodies, but amongst everything else she had honestly forgotten all about it. Seeing that the mare was stunned, Ranma tossed the empty canteen to the young dragon on her back instead.
"Thanks for the water." Ranma vaulted up at an angle, kicking off the side of a tree. Then she spread her wings and took off into the sky.
"Okay, fine, we'll find Ranma Saotome," Twilight said, setting her jaw. "But what if he doesn't have the MacGuffin or know where it is? Are you going to start burning down the countryside anyway? For that matter, do you promise to leave without hurting anypony if you get what you want?"
"Don't test me, lesser Princess," Kamikazan hissed. "The pigtailed vermin had the opportunity to surrender and avoid my wrath. He chose to defy me instead."
"Is that why you're so beat up?" Rainbow Dash asked, peering closely at a patch of broken scales on his neck.
Kamikazan whirled on the pegasus, teeth bared angrily. "SILENCE!" he roared, knocking her back with a wave of hot (and frankly, vile-smelling) breath. "He dared to raise a hoof against me, and he will suffer for that!"
A deep growl came from the dragon, and then at once his anger seemed to recede. "However... it is in my immediate interest to spill as little equine blood as possible. Ranma Saotome is quite willing to let innocent ponies perish to protect the artifact, it seems." His lips curled into a toothy smile. "Are you?"
Twilight grimaced. Rainbow Dash smirked.
"You mean he kicked your tail rather than letting you hurt anypony for your dumb treasure! If you want the MacGuffin so bad, why aren't you on the ground fighting him for it?" Rainbow taunted.
A jet of flame swept through the air, and Rainbow casually dipped under it to dodge out of the danger area.
"I said BE SILENT!" Kamikazan snarled. "Would that I could FIND the wretch, I would teach him his place! But he fled into the woods after taking a cheap shot at me!" Another growl issued from the dragon prince, accompanied by a plume of dark smoke from the edges of his mouth. "... Not that I can question his wisdom in doing so. I assure you that his skill at retreat is the ONLY reason that equine worm doesn't lay below us in a pile of glowing cinders!"
"HEY!" shouted another mare's voice from behind the serpent. "I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!"
Kamikazan, having already twice met flying mares with embarrassing panic, merely groaned this time and slowly turned to see what new annoyance deigned to demand his attention.
He was reasonably surprised to be met with a screaming gray blur that slammed directly into his left eye.
"AAAAAH!! ARRRGH!! MY EYE!! BURNING BRIMSTONE, MY EYE!!" Kamikazan lurched back, clutching one side of his face with a claw.
Twilight's eyes bugged out in shock. Rainbow Dash snickered at the sight of the massive creature's wailing, and then glanced over at his attacker.
"Wait... gray coat... braided mane and tail... arrow-wheel-thing cutie mark..." Rainbow mumbled.
Kamikazan overheard her musing through his own agonized seething, and his good eye widened.
"Ah-ha! Twi said you could turn into a pegasus! Nice!" Rainbow laughed. She would have flown over and given the martial artist a high-hoof, but the way Ranma was staring at Kamikazan and seemed to be glowing an icy blue dissuaded her from any movement that could accidentally place her between the two.
"Turn into... a pegasus...?" Kamikazan said, his voice cracking slightly. The gray pony bore an unmistakable resemblance to the stallion that had been kicking him around before; at the very least he'd guess they were siblings. The livid death glare, however, from the pony he had never otherwise seen before seemed to be conclusive evidence. This was Ranma Saotome. With wings.
His eyes darted back to the other mares hovering around him, and then back to the furious shape-shifter. "Y-You..." his voice cracked again, and he paused to clear his throat. "You've appeared at last to face me, Saotome! Good! Now-"
Ranma launched forward suddenly, smashing her front hooves into the dragon's throat. A cloud of ash blasted from his maw, and he started coughing painfully.
Ranma bounced away to avoid a swipe from the dragon's claw, and then back flipped under Kamikazan's chin, slamming a hoof into his jaw. The dragon recoiled, but this simply gave his assailant extra room to accelerate before ramming into his stomach.
"STOP!! STOP IT!!" the dragon prince howled, flailing.
"YOU TORCHED TRIXIE'S WAGON, YOU SCALY FREAK!!" Ranma shouted back. She flipped away yet again, and then dove into another kick the moment her flight stabilized. "NO MERCY!!"
Twilight watched the battle in dumbfounded silence. Her first instinct was to call for an end to the fighting, but she couldn't really come up with a good argument for NOT attacking a malevolent dragon that was threatening pony lives if he didn't get what he wanted. She had originally hoped to intervene to save Ranma, but from here it looked like the cursed pony was holding her own just fine.
"Whoa, he is MAD," Rainbow Dash observed, floating up next to the alicorn. "Or she? He's a she now, right? Whatever. I remember how he was fighting the other dragon and it was nothing like this!"
A beam of light and fire blasted from Kamikazan, sweeping across the sky aimlessly. Twilight grimaced and flinched away, despite it coming nowhere near her.
"What was she saying about Trixie's wagon?" Twilight asked.
Rainbow Dash spun in the air and raised a hoof to her brow, scanning the ground below. "I'm guessing she's talking about that big pile of burnt wood down in the clearing? That looks like the remains of lumber, not trees." She rubbed her chin with a hoof. "It also doesn't look like Kami-whatsit set the general area on fire, so yeah, if that used to be a wagon it looks like he burnt it down specifically. What a jerk."
Twilight furrowed her brow. Ranma kept landing hits on Kamikazan by diving at vulnerable points at top speed, and then kicking off into flips or leaps to evade retribution. She made as little use of her wings as was possible in an aerial battle, letting gravity lend extra strength to her attacks and using pure leg power to evade attacks and accelerate into flight. Twilight would almost say Ranma fought like an earth pony, except she'd never seen a pony of any species or profession fight like Ranma Saotome.
Kamikazan, for his part, was at a complete loss trying to defend himself. His sheer size, normally quite an asset for a dragon wishing to annihilate upstart ponies, gave Ranma dozens of possible angles of attack and ensured he couldn't turn or accelerate easily. His wings worked hard just to keep him aloft, but were also very large, vulnerable points that acted as convenient platforms for the equine hopping around the serpent's back. And of course the dragon prince was still clutching at his left eye.
"I guess this is what that fortune-teller meant when she said that we would have to save Kamikazan rather than Ranma," Twilight mumbled.
"Yeah, except the hay with that: I wanna see her knock this guy out!" Rainbow Dash said with a grin. Then she flew up higher and cupped her hooves around her muzzle.
"C'MON HAVOC!! TEACH THAT UPPITY ROYAL JERK A LESSON!!"
Ranma deflected off of the back of Kamikazan's head with a two-legged buck, somersaulting through the air and then stopping suddenly in a hover.
Then she turned to the winged ponies watching the altercation, looking exasperated. "Aww, not you too! You KNOW my name is Ranma!" she complained.
"See? I told you!" Twilight admonished her rainbow-maned friend. "Nopony wants to be called 'Havoc!' It's just rude!"
"But Havoc is a great name! You're a pony outlaw fighting off evil dragons and hiding the world's most powerful magic thingy! It's perfect!" Rainbow Dash protested.
"But it's NOT MY NAME!" the martial artist retorted firmly. "You can't just YIKES!"
A blast of flame struck Ranma in the air, and the pigtailed pony started flailing and plummeting after his wings caught fire. Kamikazan grinned from the sudden reversal of fortune, and then started building altitude again.
"Ranma! Oh no!" Twilight's horn started to glow, but the alicorn hesitated to actually cast a spell. "I can't use magic on her! I could just make things worse!"
"I got her!" Rainbow Dash was already in motion, dipping down to intercept the cursed equine.
Ranma had actually done a fair job of putting out the fire herself, suppressing the flames with her aura and thrashing hard enough to blow out the remaining embers. She still was still falling though, and the martial artist still hadn't gotten enough flying practice in to recover from a tailspin.
"Careful! Stop panicking!"
Ranma suddenly stopped spinning when something grabbed onto her, and then she realized her descent was slowing. Rainbow Dash had her forelegs wrapped around one of her rear legs, and was falling along with her. The other pegasus didn't seem worried, though, and she grinned as soon as she had the martial artist's attention.
"Don't worry, we've got you!"
A burst of purple light flashed below them, and before Ranma knew what was happening Twilight had taken hold of one of her front legs. The other mares started flapping their wings hard, slowing her descent from dizzying to merely concerning.
"Erm, th-thanks," Ranma mumbled, her cheeks flushing. "I'm not really that great at flying yet."
"It's a little dangerous to be fighting dragons under any circumstances, but much more so if you can't recover from a dive," Twilight admonished.
"Uh... yeah, about that..." Rainbow Dash gulped. "We might want to make a break for it, girls."
Kamikazan was hovering above, runic circles blazing in front of him with the promise of incendiary annihilation. His maw opened, aimed down toward the ponies, and a brilliant glint of crimson started expanding from the circles.
Twilight gulped. "I'll try to make a shield!"
Rainbow shook her head. "Forget a shield! Fly away!"
Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Throw me at him."
"What?!" asked the other mares incredulously.
Ranma's aura started to build again, and the other ponies felt a cold chill where they held the cursed equine. "Colorful pony, just hurl me straight up. Sparks, blast me from behind to give me a boost."
"But-"
"How can-"
Kamikazan fired his spell, launching a beam of fiery destruction down at the mares.
"NOW! DO IT!"
Rainbow Dash didn't know what was happening or how likely she was to live through it, but the speedster reacted anyway. She flapped her wings hard, yanked Ranma out of Twilight's grip, and then spun around in a circle before flinging Ranma straight into the oncoming spell.
Twilight wanted to hesitate and think this through. She really did. But in the rush of panic she pushed aside her fears and simply did as requested. A ball of purple force shot up out of her horn and smashed into Ranma's flank, pushing her up further.
Ranma's aura expanded as the fire beam approached, generating icy blue contrails at the tips on her wings. With a sharp flap she barrel-rolled through the air, generating a cold spiral radiating out from the tip of her nose.
"HIRYUU SHOUTEN HAAAA!!" Ranma screamed, punching forward into the stream of flames.
Kamikazan had been expecting any number of counters to his assault. A flying dodge had been likely, and probably would have worked. Ranma also could have just fallen the rest of the way and avoided a direct hit; Kamikazan seriously doubted a fall of any height could kill the monstrous equine. The Princess might have even tried a magical counter, like an ice spell or teleport.
The absolute last thing he expected was for the interlopers to launch the insolent, shape-changing pest at him like a furry gray missile.
Or rather, not at him; he was too far away for such meager propulsion to get Ranma so far so quickly. More bizarrely, they had launched her directly into his concentrated beam of magical fire.
And now he was shouting something and glowing blue again.
"Wh... What's h-happening?" Kamikazan mumbled aloud, his voice carrying a slight tinge of fear.
Pegasus collided with fire beam, and to his growing concern the fire beam did not wash over her and scour the pony to the bone with cleansing flame. The head of the beam stopped and unraveled, and then the loose whips of bright red started spinning into a vortex.
Kamikazan wasn't at all sure what happened after that, but within seconds his fire beam was gone and there was a huge cyclone rushing up at him around a core of thundering blue energy.
"All I wanted was a date," the dragon prince protested miserably as the mouth of the vortex reached him. The initial impact felt like he was hit by a catapult boulder - an experience he was unlucky enough to have suffered before - and then the serpent was completely swallowed by the wind. He spun chaotically, completely at the mercy of the inexplicable cyclone, and after a few agonizing seconds it started to diffuse.
"Kachuu tenshin amaguriken!"
Kamikazan could hardly make out the foreign gibberish over the howling winds and his own dizziness, but the advance warning wouldn't have made a difference anyway. Ranma shot through the center of the vortex like a bullet, smashing into the dragon's side. That impact became a hundred, hooves striking in a furious, impossibly fast blur against the steel-hard scales.
Ranma's cyclone finished unraveling, releasing pony and dragon to calm skies, but it was no reprieve; blissful unconsciousness claimed Kamikazan as his pain finally passed the critical threshold. Released to the tender mercy of gravity, he plummeted to the forest below.
"... Right, right. Havoc can make tornadoes. Or... Or whatever that was, exactly." Rainbow Dash tilted her head to the side, frowning, while she watched the dragon plummet.
"Wait, where's Ranma? The cyclone's gone but I don't see her!" Twilight was flitting about in a panic, staring up at the sky for any signs of the gray pony.
"I think I saw him, I mean, her hit King Scaly Jerk over there before the twister broke," Rainbow said, still watching the serpent fall.
The dragon fell below the treetops, and then a sizeable cloud of dust and leaves jumped up into the air. Nearby trees shook from the impact, and at least two of them slowly teetered over and collapsed.
"What? A fall like that could be lethal!" Twilight fretted, staring with wide eyes at the distant crash site.
"To Havoc, or Kamikazan?" Rainbow wondered.
"Either! BOTH!! Go get Applejack and meet me there!"
Twilight vanished in a burst of purple light. Rainbow Dash shrugged, and then flipped backward in the air before diving down toward the scorched camp site below.
"Ranma? Ranma! Are you okay?!" Twilight called while she glided toward the crash site.
Long before she got a good look past the tree cover, her ears picked up the sound of a heavy, rhythmic thumping noise. It reminded Twilight immediately of the sound Applejack made when she harvested apples from trees. Yet this noise was sharper, and more regular. Drawing from her comparison of Applejack's harvest, it was probably the sound Applejack would make if she were trying to tear down the tree rather than shake the fruit loose.
Gulping, the young Princess swooped down into the forest.
In the middle of a fairly large impact crater lay Kamikazan, utterly comatose. The dragon prince was a complete mess, bearing numerous torn patches of scales, dirt everywhere, and what looked like a possibly broken wing. A humiliating and pitiful state for a dragon to be in, certainly, but it seemed like the serpent was obviously alive.
And then there was Ranma. She was standing next to the dragon's head, bucking it in the cranium. Repeatedly. As if the pigtailed pony was trying to crack it open.
"Don't think I'm done with you yet!" Buck. "You just fly up and start burning stuff down!" Buck. "Who do you think you are?!" Buck. "Dragon King my furry, tattooed ass!" Buck. "Damn it, wake up you bastard!" Buck. "One measly tornado and you pass out?!" Buck. "How am I supposed to explain that I lost the wagon to this?!" Double buck.
Twilight slowly landed at the edge of the crater, feeling extremely awkward but determined to intervene. "Uhm-"
Ranma almost jumped at the sound, quickly turning her head away and rubbing a leg against her face. Then she turned toward Twilight. "Oh, hey Sparks. Thanks for the help back there. I could have taken him on my own, but y'know. Saved me from a nasty fall, at least."
The martial artist's voice was casual, in an obviously forced way. Her eyes never quite met Twilight's, and her legs anxiously scuffed at the ground one by one. Ranma was very nervous, very upset, and possibly even... scared? That didn't seem right.
Twilight took a cautious step forward. "Are you okay?"
"I wasn't crying!" Ranma sputtered, unprompted. "All of the leaves and dust and stuff just got into my eyes, okay?! I'm fine!"
Twilight recoiled slightly, her eyes wide. "I... uh... I meant physically. You must have fallen at least four hundred feet."
"Oh. Oh, yeah," Ranma heaved a sigh, letting her ears droop. "Yeah, I'm good. This jerk took the impact." She lashed out with another back kick, and the dragon's entire body shuddered. "Never better. Hmph."
Applejack, Spike, and Rainbow Dash finally reached the area, each of them stopping short at the sight of the decimated serpent.
Applejack whistled. "Sam Apple's ghost! Yer a right terror, aincha Havoc? This varmint's even bigger'n the one ya dropped on mah barn!"
Ranma pouted, hanging her head at the nickname. "Yeah, well, the scaly freaks keep tracking me down and tearing up the place. What am I supposed to do?" Then she frowned. "Also, what are you all doing here, anyway? You headed somewhere?"
"Nah! We've been looking for you!" Rainbow said, swooping down in front of the martial artist. Then she extended a hoof. "By the way, I don't think we've been introduced! I'm Rainbow Dash!"
Ranma stared at the hoof, and then awkwardly raised her leg to "shake" it. "I'm Saotome Ranma," she said in reply.
"Havoc. Your name is Havoc," Rainbow Dash corrected.
"Oh, COME ON!" Ranma groaned, hanging her head. "You all know my real name! Even the dumb bounty posters are using my real name!"
"But Havoc is an awesome name!" the other pegasus countered, clearly unwilling to give up on the matter.
"It makes me sound like some kind of cartoon villain!"
"Sure, but an AWESOME cartoon villain!"
Ranma groaned again. "Ugh, fine. Call me whatever you want. I don't even care anymore."
"Ha ha! YES! Havoc it is!" Rainbow Dash thrust a hoof into the air victoriously, much to the exasperation of the other mares.
"ANYWAY... I'm sure you're wondering why we're here to see you," Twilight interjected.
"I'm guessing it's for the MacGuffin Stone, right?" Ranma asked, sitting down. "That's what you were looking for the last time you tracked me down." She shook her head. "And the answer is still no. I'm sorry Sparks, but I'm not giving up the MacGuffin Stone. Even to you."
Twilight set her jaw. "I understand, Ranma. But I'm not just here for the artifact. I'm here for you. I want you to come back to Ponyville with me."
The redhead arched an eyebrow, and then she cringed back slightly. "This... wouldn't happen to involve a promise from my pop, would it?"
"What? No. Didn't you say you were from another planet? How would that even work?"
"Just checking. Never mind. Go ahead." She sighed in relief.
Twilight was actually very tempted to explore the bizarre question, but pressed on regardless. "Ranma, I've seen the posters. I've spoken to the bounty office. I've negotiated with Princess Celestia. I can help you clear your name, and I think it's critical that you do so."
The cursed pegasus immediately looked skeptical, but Twilight held out a hoof.
"Please, just hear me out. Princess Celestia is very important to me, as a teacher and a friend, and I take the safety of Equestria very seriously. Which is why I want you on OUR side, rather than pushed away over a misunderstanding!" She raised a wing to gesture toward Spike. "I don't know you very well, but I do know that both Spike and Zecora, whom I would trust with my life, have defended you. And, just as importantly, I know that when I was in danger, you risked everything to help me."
Twilight chewed her lip for a moment. "That... well... it's hard to overstate how moving that was. You saved my life. Yet you didn't tell the newspapers that. Or tell the guards chasing you that. Or even tell ME that! You never asked for any reward or even an acknowledgement, even though it exposed you to danger and brought you into direct conflict with more soldiers. You didn't just challenge Blood Rite to bring me home safe, but every single Equestrian guard that might have stood in your way as well! If the Princesses themselves had tried to stop you, there's not a doubt in my mind that you would have fought them too."
Applejack's brow furrowed. "Wait, how's that a good thing?"
"It's really not, which is my point," Twilight explained with a sigh. "Ranma, I believe you'll always try to do the right thing, or at least what you THINK is the right thing, no matter who tries to get in your way. You already fought Princess Luna to try to keep the MacGuffin Stone out of her hooves, and the panic in Canterlot has only gotten worse since then. If we don't put a stop to this bounty hunt, clear your name, and find a way to secure the Stone in a way that everypony can agree on, then eventually it's going to escalate into a showdown, and a lot of good ponies are going to get hurt." She gently lifted a hoof and placed it on Ranma's shoulder, staring deeply into her sapphire-blue eyes. "I'll do anything to prevent that. Please. PLEASE come back with me. Plead your case before Princess Celestia. I know we can get you a formal pardon and reprieve. It's hardly equivalent to the way you rescued me, but at least let me try to help you this much."
Twilight finished speaking, and Ranma slowly gulped. That had been... surprisingly heartfelt and persuasive. Way more so than Princess Luna's lofty commands, or even Trixie's. She was drawing a complete blank in trying to come up with a reply, but the fact remained: she didn't want to. Ranma didn't want to go back to Ponyville. Ranma didn't want grovel in front of some uptight royal lunatic - who definitely didn't control the sun, no matter what the ponies said about her - for forgiveness. And most of all, Ranma didn't want to have to leave Trixie's side to go resolve the stupid criminal record which wasn't even his fault to begin with. Mostly.
"Aw, geez Sparks... I... I dunno..." Ranma mumbled, her ears pinning back. It was a pathetic refusal, and she knew it.
"Don't be like that, dude! It'll be fun!" Rainbow Dash said, flapping up higher into the air. "Hey, while you're in Ponyville I can give you flying lessons! We'll have you recovering from death dives in no time!" she chuckled into a hoof.
"Ah guess while yer in town mah family could give ya a room," Applejack mused. She didn't look thrilled at the idea, but felt compelled to help this matter along. "Long as yer willin' to do a few chores to pay yer way. And try not to get mah orchard wrecked by angry critters again."
"It's the least we can do after what you did for Twilight!" Spike added. "And, well... between us, I think you can use a little vacation from this bodyguard thing you're doing for Trixie."
Ranma perked up instantly. "Wait! That's right! My job! I can't just leave! I have a job to do!"
Twilight grimaced, wishing Spike hadn't tried to help. She didn't understand why Ranma and Trixie traveled together or why they wouldn't gladly split if the opportunity arose, but it seems her assistant had been right about the main leg of resistance to bringing Ranma to Ponyville. She'd already tried to talk Trixie into it and been dismissed. If she couldn't even get Ranma to agree, then she didn't know what she'd do.
"We're not asking you to move into Ponyville permanently. Resolving your record shouldn't take more than a week, at the most. If you want to leave after that, you're of course free to do so," the Princess explained patiently.
"A week? Trixie's supposed to be on her own for a week?!" Ranma asked, looking shocked.
"It's, uh, been a while since we last saw her, but didn't she travel on her own all the time?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah, she did. Back before she was getting into fights with bandits and bounty hunters and sorcerers and zombie ponies. It's just not safe to travel around here alone anymore," Ranma insisted. "So I'm real sorry that you came all this way to find me, but I just can't-"
"RAAAAAAAANMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Everypony jumped as a howl of rage and loss erupted from the forest.
"WHOA. Was that Trixie?" Rainbow Dash asked, whipping around in the air.
"She sounds madder'n a timberwolf on fire!" Applejack noted.
"What's she angry about NOW?" Spike griped.
Twilight Sparkle didn't offer her own commentary, because she was watching Ranma. The pigtailed pony had turned almost solid white, and the last scraps of her casual confidence were completely gone now. Her jaw hung open, her eyes bulged, and her legs quivered. It was a perfectly absurd expression while she was standing next to the unconscious dragon she had blown out of the sky, but somehow Twilight didn't feel like laughing. Ranma was terrified.
The martial artist seemed to fight some brief, internal battle, staring up at the sky as if she was imploring the gods themselves. Then she closed her eyes, bracing herself, and bolted off toward the burnt campground.
"... Well, shucks. Maybe Trixie ain't gonna be a problem after all," Applejack mumbled, slowly following after her.
"I don't get it," Rainbow said flatly. "What's she screaming about? What'd Ranma do?"
"Ranma was talking about that wagon before... Do you think...?" Twilight muttered, levitating Spike onto her back. "Let's go!"
The scene was exactly what Ranma expected.
Trixie was sitting on the ground before a mound of scorched debris. The debris that had been her brand-new (if slightly damaged) travel wagon. The magician had her head bowed, and she was breathing heavily through clenched teeth. A small cart, barely as big as she was, sat abandoned on the side of the road nearby, containing some groceries, nails, and Trixie's saddlebags.
Ranma stopped at the edge of the clearing, trying to work out what to say. She hadn't deliberately made any noise to alert Trixie to her, and had even been extra quiet on the approach.
So it was quite an unpleasant surprise when Trixie suddenly whirled to face her, nearly incandescent with rage.
"RANMA..." Trixie hissed.
Her horn, and then her entire body, was swallowed by what appeared to be pink flame. It was an interesting reflection of Ranma's own battle aura that she would have been quite excited to observe in very different circumstances. The martial artist froze stiff, and then started stuttering.
"N-Now Trixie, j-just... lemme explain! P-Please! I swear! Th-This isn't my f-fault!" Ranma begged.
Trixie started stomping forward, her eyes twin mirrors of angry crimson. "THE WAGON... IS GONE."
"Y-Yes. Yes it is," Ranma agreed, whimpering slightly. "And I am really, REALLY sorry about that! But it wasn't my fault! A dragon did it!"
"A DRAGON," Trixie sneered.
"Yes! A dragon! And not just any dragon! You remember when we went to Rite's tower, and then it blew up, and then a dragon just appeared out of nowhere and started bugging me and then you shouted at it and it left? It was THAT dragon!" She paused. "I, uh, don't know if that helps or not."
"IT DOESN'T," Trixie assured him.
The others arrived on the scene behind Ranma, rapidly slowing to a stop just beyond the trees. The mares seemed fairly alarmed at the sight of the furious unicorn staring down Ranma, although Spike just groaned wearily.
"Wait! Look! They can vouch for me! They saw the dragon! They helped me beat him!" Ranma said desperately, flailing a foreleg toward the Ponyville residents.
"Yes! That's true! We all saw Kamikazan!" Twilight agreed.
"Plus, y'know, he's still here. He's lying in a heap like half a mile behind us," Rainbow Dash added.
"Ah mean, we didn' see him burn down yer wagon, 'zactly, but it sure looks like a dragon attack t'me," Applejack said with a nod.
"See? See? There really was a dragon! He did it! You have to believe me!" Ranma said, standing up a little straighter than before.
"OF COURSE I BELIEVE YOU!" Trixie shouted. In an instant, Ranma's legs turned to rubber and she shrunk back onto the ground. "EVEN I SAW THE DRAGON! EVERYPONY IN THE WHOLE HAYBLOWN CITY SAW THE DRAGON! THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM, YOU FEATHERBRAIN!"
Somehow it stuck out to Ranma that Trixie was so angry she had reverted to using proper first-person pronouns. That had never happened before, and somehow it leant this encounter a degree of seriousness and gravity that deeply disturbed her.
"THE PROBLEM IS THAT THERE WAS A DRAGON IN THE FIRST PLACE! THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE DRAGON IS THE LATEST IN A LONG, LONG LINE OF MONSTERS, VILLAINS, AND ASSORTED THUGS THAT HAVE ATTACKED ME AND MY PROPERTY BECAUSE OF YOU! THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE ONE - AND ONLY ONE - THING I ASKED OF YOU WAS TO KEEP OUT OF TROUBLE FOR A DAY SO THAT WE COULD BUY A NEW WAGON TO MAKE OUR TRAVELS A LITTLE BIT EASIER! AND LOOK AT US NOW!!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Ranma pleaded, hugging the ground in front of the screaming unicorn.
"SORRY ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!" Trixie boomed, causing the others to flinch. "THIS ISN'T A LITTLE SCRATCH ON THE SIDING, OR A CROSSBOW BOLT IN MY FLANK, OR THE UNNECESSARY DESTRUCTION OF SOME RANDOM BUILDING! ALL OUR POSSESSIONS WERE IN THAT WAGON! EVERYTHING WE EARNED IN METALLEUS! OUR BOOKS! OUR FIREWORKS! OUR PROPS! OUR NOTES! OUR FOOD! OUR MONEY! OUR THINGS! WE WERE ON EASY STREET THIS MORNING AND NOW WE HAVE NOTHING!!"
Applejack frowned and took a step forward. "Hey now, ya still got yer groceries, at least. Let's jus' calm-" Her hat promptly lifted up off her head in a cloud of pink and then covered her face, muffling her.
Trixie hadn't even looked up, her wrathful gaze still burning into the cursed pegasus on the ground beneath her. "TELL ME, CALAMITY, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KEEP US FED WHEN EVERYTHING WE OWN VANISHES IN A PUFF OF DRAGON BREATH? HOW LONG DO YOU THINK WE CAN LAST BY LOOTING RANDOM BANDITS AND ANGRY ASSASSINS FOR A LIVING WHEN IT JUST ATTRACTS MORE OF THEM? WHY SHOULD I EVEN KEEP YOU AROUND AS A BODYGUARD IF YOU CAN'T PROTECT ANYTHING?! WHAT GOOD ARE ALL YOUR STUPID MARTIAL ARTS IF-"
"All right, that's enough!" Twilight shouted, interrupting the magician. Her horn flickered, and Trixie's attention finally broke away from the pigtailed equine on the ground.
Ranma was balled up on the ground, quivering, and pale as a sheet. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her forelegs curled up over her head, as if shielding herself from blows that never came. It was honestly hard to imagine that this was the same pony who had beaten a great red dragon halfway to death only minutes before, now shaking and choking back sobs before the anger of a mere stage magician.
"Ranma already fought Kamikazan to avenge your wagon, and screaming isn't going to bring it back," Twilight insisted, stepping up next to the cursed pegasus. "Although if you'd like to cut down on the number of bounty hunter attacks in the future, I can help with that..."
Trixie's glare bored into the Princess, but Twilight didn't flinch. Eventually her angry stare returned to Ranma, who yelped and covered herself again.
Then Trixie turned around and started stomping away.
"Trixie? Where are you going?" Twilight asked.
"Away," Trixie snapped, still walking toward the woods.
Rainbow Dash started to float after her. "But, what about-"
"Shut up," Trixie snapped again, passing between the trees. "Trixie needs some time to herself right now."
She kept walking, and nopony else said anything to stop her. Within minutes, the unicorn had disappeared within the forest.
Nobody quite knew what to say after that. Ranma had stopped shaking on the ground, at least, but now stared forlornly in the direction that Trixie had wandered off. The small cart that contained Trixie's recent purchases and apparently the last of her money still sat by the side of the road next to the great heap of cinders. Minutes passed, broken up by the occasional clearing of a throat or awkward shuffle of hooves.
Finally, the redheaded pony stood up from the ground. With great reluctance, and no small amount of heartache, she turned around to face the various Ponyville residents.
"Hey... Spike? Can you write a letter for me?"
"Well, well, well. Isn't this a sight?"
A young griffon swooped down from the branches of a tree, whistling to himself at the sight next to the road. Piles of scorched wood lay within a blackened crater. Streams of dark smoke stretched upward into the sky. Huge furrows had been clawed into the dirt. Trees sat at unusual angles, with their roots partially torn from the ground and portions of their branches burned, shredded, or broken. It looked every bit the battlefield, which isn't all that surprising given that a dragon had passed by very recently.
And bizarrely, in the middle of all of it, was a little wooden cart loaded down with food and supplies.
The griffon crouched low, his eyes scanning for danger and his talons on his dagger's hilt while he dashed across the ground. He generally tried to avoid thievery around Lancanter; the economy was good enough that he could easily earn an honest living. But a single untouched trove of goods in the middle of a wasted battlefield was just too weird and too good to pass up. Surely if he didn't take advantage, the next random passer-by would. The cart's owner was almost assuredly ash and dust by now anyway.
He reached the cart, took a last look around, and then started sifting through the contents. It was mostly filled with sacks of grain and vegetables, although there were other items piled on top. Blankets, an empty canteen, a box of nails, and most conspicuously, a small sack with a rolled-up piece of paper tied to it.
"Finders, keepers!" Scooping up the sack generated the delightful sound of jingling coins. The griffon didn't spare much thought about the scroll attached to it, and started digging through the cart further. There was an awful lot here, and if there was anything completely worthless he'd rather ditch it right away than lug the cart around only to dump it later. Near the bottom of the supplies he found a pony's saddlebags, and he started pulling it up to the top of the pile so that he could check inside.
About at the same time, a gentle pink glow wrapped around the hilt of the dagger secured at his belt. It started to slide free of its sheathe, and the griffon froze.
"Hm? What was thAAAAAAH!!" the thief screamed as his own blade stabbed into his thigh, and he sprung into the air in a desperate panic. The coin bag dropped to the ground during his flight, landing upon a thin splash of blood across the dirt.
Whirling around, he immediately noticed a blue unicorn plodding toward the cart. Her head was hanging down, obscuring her face under a big, star-spangled wizard's hat, but a residual pink glow revealed the source of the sudden assault.
"HEY! What do you think you're doing?! Are you trying to kill me?!" he snarled, pulling his blade free of his leg.
Trixie stopped. Then she tilted her head up to stare at the griffon. Her expression was pure, icy contempt; she may as well have been staring at a rodent rather than an armed outlaw.
"Useless," the unicorn snorted. "Keeping petty thieves away from Trixie's things USED to be the one thing he was still good for. Where is that lazy weirdo?"
The griffon didn't understand most of that, but he did understand that this mare was apparently claiming the cart for herself. He might have backed off under normal circumstances, but wasn't feeling too charitable with his leg bleeding.
"This is your cart? Prove it! I found it sitting here after that dragon attack! For all I know the owner died and you're just trying to snatch it from right under my beak!"
A vein popped up on Trixie's head. Rather than responding, she pushed her hat up slightly higher, fully exposing the pink glow of her horn.
From the nearby pile of burnt-out wreckage, several smoldering chunks of wood levitated into the air. Most of them were thin and narrow, forming crudely pointed sticks and planks that all turned to point at the hovering griffon. Dozens of improvised projectiles spread across the road, each one pulsing with levitation magic.
The thief quickly decided that perhaps the charitable response was warranted after all. "Okay, you know what? Why don't we call this a wash? Not my stuff, not my problem. You can have it."
Trixie's eyes narrowed. "You have a purse. Leave it."
"Wh-What?" The griffon's eyes bugged out. "Wait, are you ROBBING me?"
"You tried to rob Trixie first," the unicorn snarled. "Consider this a penalty fee."
The thief rolled his eyes and started to turn away. "Yeah, whatever. Get bent, you nutty unico-"
The clasp around Trixie's neck flashed, and then her magic turned from pink to furious crimson. Flames burst around the tips of all of the wood pieces, turning each one of them into a fiery missile.
"OKAY! OKAY! I get it! Here! I'm sorry!" the griffon swiftly cut his own purse off of his belt in a panic, letting it fall onto the road. "Take it! Just let me go! Please!"
Trixie's horn dimmed, and the flames at the ends of the wood planks fizzled. The griffon took this as an agreement to his terms, and he immediately whirled around and zipped up into the air.
Trixie shuffled miserably toward her supply cart. It was a tiny, pitiful thing, smaller than a wheelbarrow and boasting four little wheels that struggled to navigate anything rougher than paved roads. She had bought it with the intent of transporting it within the travel wagon, perhaps using it to help Ranma run some errands. Now its contents were everything she owned aside from her hat and cape.
As she approached the cart, however, she noticed something odd. There seemed to be a few things there that she didn't remember buying or bringing with her. Had the thief started adding his own possessions to hers with the intention of transporting all of them?
Trixie noticed a small coin sack and scroll sitting in the road, and levitated it into the cart. With a grimace, she then pulled the scroll open and floated it in front of her.
"Dear Trix," she began aloud. Instantly Trixie felt a sense of unease welling up in her stomach. "By the time you read this, I'll be on my way to Ponyville with Sparks. After everything that's happened I figured it was the only real option left. I begged Sparks and the others for the supplies and money they brought with them, and left them in your cart. I'll work it off when I get back to Ponyville, but I know it doesn't come close to replacing everything I've cost you."
Trixie paused to rub at her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I know you're tired of hearing me apologize, and it's not really my fault anyway, so instead of saying sorry again I'll just say thank you. You saved my life and taught me a lot, but all I've done for you is put you in danger. Maybe with Spark's help I can at least get this stupid bounty off my head and things will settle down. Maybe I can find a way to make it up to you, earn enough to pay my keep, and meet up with you again in the future. B-But..." Trixie's voice started to break, and the magic holding the paper in the air started to waver. "But until then I'm not going to burden you anymore. Thanks for being a friend, Trix. Signed... uh..."
The parchment slowly floated to the ground. Trixie's gaze followed it, staring down at the indecipherable symbols at the bottom of the page. They were written in a wobbly scrawl, like a young colt's scribblings when they were first learning to write with a pen in their mouth, as opposed to the crisp, practiced script of the rest of the letter. Trixie could only guess that the bizarre sketches were supposed to mean "Ranma Saotome" in his native alien language. Frankly, they made her more skeptical than ever that the martial artist was literate.
After several seconds, Trixie's horn lit up again. The parchment rolled back up and then floated into the cart.
Without another word, the unicorn hitched herself up to the cart and wheeled it onto the road.
Then she started walking down the path. The heaps of burnt wood soon disappeared behind the trees, abandoned at the end of a trail of wheel tracks and wet spots in the dirt from falling droplets.
But there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
"...... What a completely bizarre conclusion. These ponies are absolute lunatics."
Blood Rite sat behind a large tree, idly crunching on a peanut. Hovering in front of him was a hazy image of the devastated camp site, now finally abandoned by everypony involved. He had been observing the area from a distance ever since he saw the mid-air cyclone that swatted Kamikazan from the sky, waiting to see if any opportunities arose to intervene.
No such opportunity arose, sadly. Merely some sort of extended drama that finally pried Havoc from the haughty blue unicorn that considered herself his master. Unfortunately that separation ended with the MacGuffin Stone being escorted by three of the Elements of Harmony as well as the mystery stallion, which hardly made his task any easier.
Rite briefly considered approaching Trixie, but decided against it. He couldn't gauge the mare very well and she had proven obnoxiously clever in the past. Even if he could convince her to replace Swan Song and help him steal the artifact, he'd constantly have to be on the lookout for betrayal and subversion. Bad idea.
There was another potential ally left behind by this mess, however...
Closing the scrying mirror, Rite wiped his mouth and stepped over the pile of discarded peanut shells. Then he trotted up through the forest toward the site of a catastrophic dragon crash.
Kamikazan was an odd creature. Mercurial, yet uncomplicated. Intelligent, yet short-tempered. Violent, yet mostly beholden to less destructive passions. Rite had mainly learned about him as the source of the residual magic energy in Flamehearst, and then as a potential means of unlocking the MacGuffin Stone's true power. In the past he'd considered at length the possible ramifications of awakening the dragon prince, and how it might affect the greater balance of power across the world.
Seeing the great red serpent now, in a broken heap curled up in an impact crater, made the whole thing seem kind of silly, though.
"Time to wake up, Prince," Rite said, his horn flickering white. "You've been through enough, but there's so much more to do..."
Rite's magic reached out to the dragon, carefully administering a jolt of energy directly into Kamikazan's nervous system. The shock would have been intensely painful to a pony, but to the massive serpent it qualified as a gentle nudge.
"Uuuhmm... Urgh... Uhhn?" Kamikazan twitched, his arms curling and his body shifting on the ground. His eyes fluttered open, but then instantly squeezed shut again under the pounding within his skull. He tried to stretch his wings out and fold them into a resting state, but the tremors of agony it sent up his spine rendered him instantly immobile.
"Everything hurrrrrts," the dragon prince moaned. A tear as big as Rite's head welled up behind a swollen red eye, and then slowly rolled down his cheek.
Blood Rite was honestly embarrassed for the creature, although he was very glad the serpent had lost. He had only witnessed the parts of the battle easily visible from a safe distance, but it seemed clear that Kamikazan had intended some degree of collateral damage. While Rite obviously wished to recover the MacGuffin Stone, ideally from atop a pile of Havoc's smoldering ashes, such an outcome was only worth so many innocent pony lives.
For now, though... "Hello, Prince Kamikazan. Please forgive my presumption in waking you, but we have some things to discuss, I believe."
Kamikazan turned his head the very minimum degree possible so that he could squint at Rite through the pain. "Who...?"
"My name is Rite," the sorcerer said, bowing his head. "No need to introduce yourself, Prince; I know who you are. I won't bore you with my life story, but in a nutshell I've been tailing that obnoxiously agile shapeshifter that knocked you down here."
"K-King," Kamikazan stuttered. "I'm a KING... not prince."
Rite diplomatically avoided rolling his eyes. "Why don't I simply call you 'your Majesty' and dispense with any confusion as to your precise royal claim? You seem to be in a tough spot, Majesty."
Kamikazan shifted his body slightly closer to an upright position. "Ac-c-cursed... pest!" he stuttered. "H-How... dare he! ... She? Dare she? I... I don't know!"
"Yes, well... the precise gender of our mutual enemy is questionable, although I first encountered him as a male. The more important thing, however, is that he or she has triumphed. You are broken, and the Equestrians may even now be preparing to attack and detain you." Rite started walking along the floor of the crater, staring up at the sky in thought. "I too have felt Havoc's wrath, although he's never attacked me with quite so much fury. It may be that as a fighter, Havoc is beyond any single creature to defeat." He reached the upper lip of the crater and then turned around, pacing back across.
Kamikazan shifted again, though he dared not lift his head from its current resting place. "Havoc... No. His name... is Ranma. Ranma Saotome. And I would have HAD him... if not for those blasted mares!"
Rite continued pacing. "That may well be. But hindsight does not serve you well from down here, your Majesty. I'm not certain why you wish Havoc, or Ranma, or whatever the ape's name is, dead. But I'm certain I can help."
"I don't want him dead," Kamikazan grumbled. "Not really. All I want is..." The dragon prince hesitated, and then his eyes narrowed. "Wait. Your name. What was it?"
Rite grimaced while he continued his pacing. He had assumed that the dragon wouldn't care about his identity, but he decided to be honest. If there was some conflict he'd rather be aware of it now while it was still easy to flee. "My name is Rite, your Majesty."
"Rite? Blood Rite?" Kamikazan pressed.
Blast. The fool has heard of me. Better prep a teleport... "Yes, your Majesty. The same," Rite confirmed.
"Then YOU are my target!" Kamikazan bellowed, lifting his head from the dirt. "Surrender the... the... urgh..."
His cheeks swelling as if he was choking back vomit, Kamikazan collapsed back onto the ground. It wasn't much of a fall, as the dragon had barely budged from his previous position. It was still an utterly humiliating sight, however, and Rite hadn't even slowed in his pacing across the crater.
"... Yes? Surrender what, exactly?" Rite asked, eyebrow arched. "Why are you looking for me? And if you are, how did you manage to end up fighting Havoc, of all ponies? We're not on good terms."
Kamikazan coughed, spitting a cloud of embers from his maw. "Ugh... The MacGuffin Stone. I... I demand the MacGuffin Stone."
Rite stopped in his tracks. In his mind, several puzzle pieces clicked into place. New questions and scenarios arose. "Hmmm... I see. Then we have a problem."
"Do not think... you can escape..." the dragon prince wheezed. "Even if I cannot... stand right now... I have your scent. You will not escape me for long."
"Yes, yes. Very intimidating when you're not beaten and gasping in a big dragon-shaped hole, I'm sure." Blood Rite started his pacing again. "The problem I was referring to is that you're mistaken. I'm not your target. Because I don't have the MacGuffin Stone."
Kamikazan growled, although even that agitated noise sounded weak and unintimidating. "Then who DOES?"
"Why, our little friend Havoc-slash-Calamity-slash-Ranma does, of course," Rite clicked his tongue. "Really, that much should be obvious. He was wearing the blasted thing right out in the open. You didn't notice?"
Kamikazan blinked. "Wearing it? But... all he was wearing was... wait... that clasp? That was the MacGuffin Stone?"
"You came all this way, challenged a cursed ape, and nearly burnt down a forest all for this gemstone and you didn't even know what it looked like?" Rite was trying not to talk down to the prideful serpent, but it was impossible to keep all the scorn out of his voice.
"I didn't think... he would wear such a thing like... like some petty amulet!" Kamikazan snarled back. Then he calmed, and a puff of smoke blasted from his nostrils. "But no matter... I will recover my strength, then I will lay WASTE to that insolent equine. And then... at last... I will have the key to Celestia's heart... and she... will... be... MINE!"
Again, Blood Rite stopped in his pacing as more questions were suddenly answered. "Celestia? You're... seeking the MacGuffin Stone for Princess Celestia?"
"I am," Kamikazan growled. "And I will let NOTHING stand in my way!"
The great red dragon surged to his feet, lifting himself off the ground and into a proper sitting position.
Then he whimpered, coughed up some more sparks, and slowly lowered himself back down onto his belly.
"... That is, nothing will stand in my way once I've had time to properly recover from this setback," the dragon prince amended, settling into his current position. At least it was more comfortable than his previous pose, if nothing else.
"Ah. Yes. About that," Rite mumbled. "You mentioned those 'blasted mares?' I presume you're referring to Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends? They're with Havoc now. Do you know why they're here?"
Kamikazan arched a brow. "No... why?"
"They're here for Havoc. Specifically, they're here for Havoc for the same reason you and I were here for Havoc," Rite explained.
"The artifact..." the dragon prince hissed.
"Yes. And since they had the foresight not to try to kill him for it, it seems they succeeded, too."
"It matters not," Kamikazan spat. "However many ponies must become dust and ash, none will stand between me and my goal! For now, that is the MacGuffin Stone, but it is but a means to secure my precious mate! I will destroy these usurpers, and return the artifact to Princess Celestia!"
"Uh huh..." Rite sighed. "Your Majesty, do you know WHY Princess Twilight sought the MacGuffin Stone to begin with? Do you know where she's taking it?"
"... No. Why does that matter?"
"We have much to discuss, then. Things are not so simple as either of us had hoped." Motes of light gathered at the tip of Rite's horn, spinning into a small magic circle. "But if your Majesty could find the strength to transform into a less... imposing body, I think I may have a safer, more comfortable setting in which you could recover."
Kamikazan tilted his head as much as he could without causing lightning bolts of pain to shoot into his skull. "It is good that you know your place and serve your betters, equine. However... I am curious. What were you talking about? What do we have to discuss?"
"I think we can help each other, your Majesty." The sorcerer smiled, and his horn pulsed. "But first... let's see to that wing, yes?" |
Taming the Wild Horse | Homecoming | Taming the Wild Horse
a My Little Pony/Ranma 0.5 crossover fanfiction
by SFaccountant
Chapter 7
Homecoming
"You're telling me... that the lesser Princess is on a quest to recover the MacGuffin Stone... on Celestia's behalf?"
"Correct, your Majesty. There's no other reason for Twilight Sparkle to acquire the artifact."
"UNACCEPTABLE!! I was to return the Stone to Celestia! The reward for its return was to be MINE!!"
"Correct again, your Majesty. Sort of. It is Canterlot's prerogative to secure the artifact by any means necessary, after all."
"And what of MY prerogative?! How am I supposed to get my reward for the MacGuffin Stone if that pretender to immortality gives it to Celestia first?!"
"I'm sure our friends in Canterlot would find the plea unpersuasive, especially given that you already tried to secure it and failed. On top of that, I can only imagine Princess Celestia would be MOST uncooperative were you to slaughter her favored subjects just so you can present the MacGuffin Stone to her before they do."
"But that's not FAIR! I can't show up to Canterlot Castle injured and empty-taloned! I'd look pathetic!"
"Indeed, your Majesty. Very pathetic. On that all can agree."
Blood Rite sat atop a flat-topped boulder, perusing the contents of a spiral-bound notebook. Laying below him, on a bed of black sand, was Kamikazan.
The dragon prince was in visibly better shape than he was only hours ago, when he was knocked unconscious in a crater outside of Lancanter. Broken scales were in the process of being shed. Broken teeth were being pushed out by fresh ones. The swelling over his left eye had receded. And most importantly, his fractured wing had set itself to aid its repair.
Dragons, though mighty creatures made functionally immortal by their natural magic, did not typically recover from injuries with great speed or regenerate things like lost teeth. Rite couldn't tell whether Kamikazan's superior healing was a function of learned magic or some inborn trait from his vaunted lineage, but it was fairly unique among the great serpents and uniquely useful after being dragged away from a brutal defeat. He imagined that the dragon would be "combat ready" again within a few days and completely recovered within a week.
Remarkable time to repair such extensive damage to so much flesh and bone. And yet probably not quickly enough to still intervene in a simple drop-off between Twilight and Celestia.
The great red serpent glared up at Rite, smoke puffing from his nostrils. "If you brought me here to mock me, equine..."
"Not at all, your majesty," Rite assured him. "I brought you here because our goals converge toward a common interest: recovering the MacGuffin Stone from a certain uncooperative pony."
"It doesn't surprise me that such a bumbling thug has made numerous enemies. However..." Kamikazan's eyes narrowed. "Once the pigtailed one is crushed, I imagine our goals diverge considerably. I will NOT let you escape with the artifact, equine."
"Hmm..." Rite flipped the page of his notebook. "I suppose they do, at that... But I think perhaps you're missing the forest for the trees, Majesty."
The dragon frowned. "What do you mean?"
"The MacGuffin Stone is merely a means to an end: You don't necessarily want to complete Celestia's chore for her, you want Princess Celestia herself. That is not incompatible with my own aims. Once I'm done with her, the Princess will be removed from power and no longer necessary to maintain the crucial cycle of day and night. Such a Princess would be, if anything, much more receptive to the prospect of settling down with a nice mate for the rest of eternity, don't you think?"
"A delightful prospect," Kamikazan said dryly, "but why should I believe you? You are Celestia's enemy, and I know nothing about you or your so-called 'aims.' Why should I lend my power to the cause of tearing down the mare that I love?"
"Well, there's one very obvious reason: your recent failure and imminent humiliation," Rite noted, flipping the page of his notebook again. "You cannot possibly stop Twilight Sparkle from giving the MacGuffin over to Princess Celestia in your current state. I can."
"How?" Kamikazan demanded.
"I have many options, although considering who we're dealing with I'm leaning toward subterfuge and deceit," Rite admitted, scratching his chin. "Both parties - Canterlot and Havoc - mistrust each other greatly, and it would take little effort to spark a confrontation. The problem is swooping in at the correct time when the artifact is vulnerable..."
"Let us assume all that works and you recover this jewel," Kamikazan grumbled, "what then do you need my assistance for? Do you simply wish me to stay my wrath while you go about your plans?"
"Oh, no your Majesty. I will need slightly more than that..." Rite's lips twitched up into a smirk. "You see, the MacGuffin Stone has many properties that are crucial to me. One such ability is to absorb the magic power of Princess Celestia directly, such that I may alter the course of the very sun."
"Madness," Kamikazan scoffed. "A mere mortal sorcerer like yourself cannot toy with powers so far beyond your ken."
"Perhaps. And if so, then my rebellion will fail, Celestia shall retain her throne, and you are no worse off."
"Fair enough. But you still haven't gotten to the part you need my assistance for," the dragon rumbled.
"It may simply come to the point that we need to assault Havoc in order to recover the artifact for ourselves, and in that instance it would obviously be advantageous to combine our strength against him. But by and large it's less that I need your assistance with my ultimate plan and more that I need your... permission." Rite's smirk stretched further into a grin. "You see, in order to seize Princess Celestia's power, I have developed a weapon to neutralize her. In order to use the weapon, I require a power source. The MacGuffin Stone is the only plausible power source, but even it is merely a tool to harness the power of some other creature."
"So you need the power of Princess Celestia in order to power the weapon you need to capture the power of Princess Celestia," Kamikazan mused. "I believe that's what you equines call a 'catch-22.'"
"Oh, no. I don't need the Sun Princess in particular to power the weapon," Rite explained. "I could make do with one of the second-tier Princesses. Or an ancient demonic power. Or, say, a particularly powerful dragon..."
In an instant the dragon prince was on his guard. He shifted his body to face the unicorn and took up a crouched, defensive pose.
"You DARE?" Kamikazan snarled. "You think I would surrender my magic to the likes of you?!"
"Oh, no no no," Rite chuckled. "I wouldn't drain your magic away. I would trap you within the MacGuffin Stone - temporarily! - to power it directly. The difference is rather technical, but the gist is that you imprison creatures for a generic mana source, and you drain their magic in order to-"
"SILENCE!!" Kamikazan boomed. "You think to trap me within some bauble to power your creations?! Unacceptable! I should devour you for the suggestion!"
"As I said, it is but a temporary arrangement, your Majesty. Having spoken to multiple subjects who have been through the process, it is quite painless... if not a little confusing," Rite said. Despite the dragon's refusal, his voice was still light and cheerful, and he didn't seem at all threatened by the rejection.
"UNACCEPTABLE," Kamikazan hissed again through clenched teeth. "I will not put my fate in your hooves, sorcerer!
"I see. Ah, well. It was worth a shot." Blood Rite levitated his notebook up off the ground, and then stood up himself. "So, what will you do when you've recovered and Celestia has the artifact, then? Regardless of what happens after that it's sure to be quite a humiliation."
Kamikazan started. "Wh-What? The artifact? But you said you were going to take it!"
"Well, yes. If you were going to cooperate in my plans. But you're not." Rite shrugged. "That's fine. I believe it will be slightly more vulnerable in Canterlot than being attached to the pigtailed scoundrel, so I'll just wait until it's been transferred. If you won't allow yourself to be used to power the artifact, then there's no reason to assist each other. I'll find some other way."
"You demand too steep a price, sorcerer! What's even the point of seizing the MacGuffin Stone from the lesser Princess if I still can't complete my quest?! How is this plot of yours any less a humiliation and betrayal?" the dragon demanded, slamming a fist onto the ground.
"Because my plan is the only means by which you will EVER lay with Princess Celestia," Rite said bluntly. The subtle mirth was gone from his voice now, replaced by a cutting, deadly serious tone. "Do you really think she was going to be yours if you recovered the MacGuffin? The idea is laughable. But even that distant possibility is closed to you now." He rose his head, staring down his nose at the red serpent. "Aid me, and I will give you the Princess. She will be stripped of her power, both magical and political. Helpless and alone. What happens to her after that is completely irrelevant to me."
Kamikazan gulped, an enormous lump rolling down his long, serpentine throat.
"But this prize requires a sacrifice. A matter of days within the gem. A paltry price, but if your pride cannot tolerate that, well..."
"Why does it have to be your weapon? If you think to defeat the Princess to seize her power, I can aid you directly in combat!" the dragon prince insisted.
"Your Majesty. Please." Rite shook his head. "We both know you could not truly bring your full might to bear against Celestia. One time you tried, and you spent the next few centuries trapped under an obsidian wasteland for your trouble. "
Then the sorcerer's expression changed further. He became bitter and downcast as he uttered his next words. "Besides, I could defeat Celestia on my own. Probably. But that is not the objective. I plan to break the bonds of destiny, not submit to them."
"You... what? Destiny? What are you blathering on about?" Kamikazan demanded.
Rite set his jaw. "Time is short, your Majesty. Choose. We can part here, and you can do what you'd like. But Princess Celestia will never be yours. Sparkle will give her the MacGuffin Stone, you will be scorned as an inept, malicious buffoon who couldn't even be trusted to seize some pony's treasure, and then some time later the royal Canterlot line will fall in a largely unrelated incident. OR... you agree to aid me. I will seize the artifact, use it on you, and by the time you're released Canterlot will be in ruins. Celestia will be powerless, and be given over to your... protection. If all goes well she won't even know of your complicity, although at that point it would hardly matter."
He had to spit the last word out through his teeth, as the prospect honestly made Rite feel ill. He had no illusions as to what he was doing; he was selling a mare - a Princess, at that! - like a piece of livestock. It was revolting, and wrong, and dozens of alternate plans and possibilities flitted through his thoughts. Part of him really hoped the dragon would think it too much and turn him down, but he knew he had to make the offer. Solving one of the main problems with his plan - the lack of a power source with which to attack Celestia - while also swaying a potential obstacle to his side was too great an opportunity not to try.
Kamikazan grimaced, turning his head away. Seconds passed while the serpent agonized over the bargain. The tense silence stretched into minutes. It was a frightening prospect, to leash his fate to that of some pony he had just met hours prior. So much could go wrong. Blood Rite could fail. Or he may succeed, but end up killing Celestia in the process. Or he might succeed and decide not to release his collaborator after all. Kamikazan could see no way to guarantee the stallion would hold up his part of the bargain entirely.
But Blood Rite was surely correct in his analysis. Celestia had given him a chance and he had failed her. In the past she had despised him for his cruelty and selfishness, but at least she respected his fearsome strength. But now? After he had been thrashed by a lowly equine rogue? This was the only way he could see to secure his prize.
Perhaps, though, he could secure a little more.
"I have one condition," Kamikazan finally said, his tongue snaking out between his teeth. "One other pony must be laid low during your little rebellion, should it actually succeed. If you help end him, then I will submit to be this artifact's... power source."
Rite arched an eyebrow.
"We must find and kill Ranma Saotome," Kamikazan snarled. "Whether by tooth and flame, or the machinations of your sorcery, I care not. The equine known as Havoc must die."
"...... I think that can be arranged," Rite replied, his lips curling into a smirk again.
Twilight Sparkle cracked a deep yawn and leaned backward, stretching out her wings. Little pains shot up her back, causing her to grimace and squeeze her eyes shut. The book she was levitating in front of her quivered in the air, slightly disturbed by her wavering concentration.
"Wings hurt, huh? I told you should have been working them earlier," Rainbow Dash admonished with a smirk. "Then again, I guess you didn't think you'd be fighting a dragon so soon after getting away from Blood Rite, did you?"
Twilight shot an unreadable expression at the pegasus. Rainbow was standing near the back of the train car, holding a toothbrush with her wingtips. Her mouth was currently full of toothpaste lather, and the cyan mare briefly stepped back into the tiny restroom stall to spit it out into the sink.
Then she wiped her mouth with a leg and stepped back into the main compartment of the train's sleeper car. "Where's Havoc? Still in the caboose?"
Twilight closed her eyes, and with a thought a flashing beacon appeared in her mind.
"Yes. He's still in the caboose," Twilight sighed. "I hope he's okay. He's taking this really hard."
"You mean she's taking this really hard, don't you?" Rainbow asked.
"No, Ranma asked me for some hot water a few hours ago. Presumably he's a stallion again." Then she tilted her head to the side. "Also, if he's not actually present to refer to, then 'he' is probably the best pronoun given that it's his real gender."
"Hmmm... I dunno. I kinda think Havoc is cooler as a pegasus. Or Calamity? Isn't that what Trixie called him before she stormed off? That's a cool name too!" Rainbow Dash mused.
"Dash, you've already bullied him into accepting a fake name because you like it better. Please don't do the same with his sex," Twilight deadpanned.
Rainbow chuckled and slid onto the seat opposite Twilight's. Applejack and Spike were already asleep, laid out on the slab-like beds built into the walls of the train's sleeper car. It was well past time that all the ponies should have been asleep, but some were more restless about the current state of affairs than others.
"Okay, okay. I hope HE snaps out of his funk soon, though. I have so many questions to ask him! That fight against Kamikazan was AWESOME! It made his battle against the dragonspawn look like a mid-evening cloud plow!"
Twilight had only a vague idea of what a cloud plow was and its relative difficulty/quality of spectacle, but she got the point. "Awesome in the technical sense, I suppose. There was nothing good about that battle."
"Well... okay, yeah. The way Trixie went off on him was less awesome. But he'll get over it," Rainbow said, stretching out her own wings. "He's gonna love Ponyville! As long as you don't blow him up again."
Twilight slapped her book closed and carefully dropped it onto the table, all the while glaring at her friend. "Yes. I'm sure he will. But we can't just brush aside what happened between them, as convenient as that would be. They were obviously very close."
"They didn't look that close from where I was flying," Rainbow murmured. "I mean, I get why she was upset, but who just unloads like that on a friend? Over a wagon?! And after he beat up a dragon over that same wagon!" Her face darkened, and she leaned in closer to Twilight. "Did you see the way he was shaking on the ground? I thought the poor guy was going to break into tears! What the hay happened to make him so afraid of her?"
Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. I'd like to ask, but... well, Ranma's been through a lot, and that seems like a... sensitive subject. I just want to help him clear his name and recover the MacGuffin Stone, and for that I really need him to trust me. One thing at a time."
"Yeeeeeah, about that..." Rainbow made a face, glancing over to the rear of the compartment. "I'm still not clear on how we're going to get him to give up the magic thingy. Didn't he already refuse?"
"He did. And I don't think it's going to be easy to change his mind, either." Twilight slumped in her seat. "If he won't surrender the MacGuffin Stone, then it's going to be a lot more awkward asking Princess Celestia for a pardon. But I'm not going to try to steal it from him or trick him into giving it to me. It's possible that this all turns into a stalemate, with Ranma keeping the artifact out of stubbornness and Equestria trying to trap him out of fear."
Then her expression hardened and she pushed herself up. "But it doesn't have to be like that. Ranma is a good pony! He's already helped us a lot by saving me and tracking down Blood Rite! He's fought dragons to stop their rampages even though he could have easily escaped himself! He could do so much good if we can just clear up this absurd misunderstanding! I want to be his friend!"
"Definitely!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "Just gotta stop blowing him up!"
"I only did it once!" Twilight growled, her voice a near-shout. "Why won't you let it go?!"
"Because it's still hilarious," Rainbow giggled behind a hoof. "I mean, you completely demolished your house and blasted him all the way to AJ's place, and everypony just laughed it off as an accident. How many ponies would have even survived that?"
Twilight crossed her forelegs, glaring at the pegasus silently.
"Oh, fine. Be a stick in the mud." Rainbow hopped down from the bench and stretched out her wings again. "I think I'm gonna turn in. Probably going to have to work a double shift again for the Weather Team to make up for my Save the World days."
"Good idea," Twilight mumbled, stepping down from her own seat and slipping her book back into a saddlebag. "It is pretty late."
Rainbow Dash trotted over to her bunk - top row, of course, right over Applejack - and made a high jump right under the covers. She rolled about for a moment, wrapping the sheet around her, and then collapsed onto the pillow with a contented sigh.
Twilight moved next to her bunk and slipped her bag under it. Rather than climbing in, however, her eyes wandered to the door in the back of the train.
She closed her eyes, and the beacon in her mind's eye blazed as bright as any lighthouse.
Twilight opened her eyes again to stare at the door.
Then the young Princess headed for the back of the train.
"Hey, Sparks."
Twilight felt her heart jump slightly when Ranma greeted her without turning his head.
The stallion was at the rear platform of the caboose of the train, reared up against the railing that separated the train car from the open track behind it. He stared out at the land left behind, his pigtail fluttering in the wind. An empty water cup sat on the floor at his hooves.
Twilight shouldn't have been surprised that she hadn't snuck up on Ranma. She wasn't trying to, for one, and the sound of the caboose entrance opening was anything but silent. But somehow the mare suddenly felt like she had intruded upon something by coming here.
After several more seconds Ranma still hadn't turned to face her, and she considered turning away in embarrassment. She couldn't decide what to say. The cursed pony's past still loomed large in her thoughts; both his immediate past of dragon-dueling and leaving Trixie's side and his supposed long-term past as a different creature from a different world where unicorns were some kind of novelty. How could she connect with somepony like him? Ranma seemed friendly enough to her, but she didn't kid herself that he considered her a friend he could trust. She could never forget that her first attempt to help Ranma ended with her electrocuting him and her second blew him up (as much as she wished other ponies would).
It made Twilight wonder: What had Trixie done that she and Ranma had become so close? Trixie was a self-absorbed liar and traveling showpony. It seemed strange to Twilight that Ranma could come to rely on somepony so selfish and vindictive. It didn't surprise her that their friendship had ended with Trixie screaming at him over random collateral damage until he left, only that it hadn't happened long before now. And yet... Ranma's final act as Trixie's companion was to ask Twilight and her friends to donate everything they could spare to help Trixie recover. He obviously didn't feel a shred of resentment over her behavior; only guilt.
"Do you miss her that much?" The words spilled out of Twilight's mouth before she could think better of it, suddenly breaking the wistful silence.
Ranma ducked his head, embarrassed. "I, uh... I guess. Sorry," he mumbled, slumping against the railing. "It's been hours since we left and I'm just moping around."
"N-No! I didn't mean it like that!" Twilight stuttered. "You obviously have good reason to be sad! I don't know what you and Trixie have been through, but your letter made it really obvious you were close!"
The memory of Ranma, red-faced and stuttering, dictating his goodbye letter to Spike was burned into the Princess's mind as firmly as the sight of his launching tornadoes and cowering before Trixie's shouting. He apparently couldn't write himself, and he obviously found it humiliating to pour his heart out like that in front of mares he barely knew. But he had done it anyway.
Twilight wondered how Trixie had reacted when she saw the letter. Was she shocked? Angry? Sad? Elated? Or did she shrug it off with breezy indifference and rejoice in recovering some essential supplies and funds? The prospect fascinated her. Ranma was very easy to read - if still very strange and mysterious in other ways - but Trixie had become better than ever at fast-talk and manipulating a conversation. If Twilight took Trixie's words at face value, she would have guessed that the magician thought of Ranma as a useless, aggravating burden unfairly foisted upon her by cruel, unrelenting fate. Yet Spike's nagging doubts had become her own. There was clearly something there besides the professional relationship of a bodyguard and his long-suffering employer.
"How long do you think this will take? A pardon, I mean."
Ranma's question snapped Twilight out of her thoughts. "Well, that... depends. Surely you understand that it's very, very important to Princess Celestia that she recovers the MacGuffin Stone."
In an instant, Ranma's demeanor changed. He snorted irritably and turned so that he was leaning his elbow against the railing. "I already told you, Sparks. It isn't happening. The MacGuffin Stone is mine."
"Yes, I understand," Twilight said with a gentle nod of her head. "I want to change your mind."
Ranma wanted to retort with a stubborn jab to emphasize his defiance, but his heart just wasn't in it. He found Twilight's earnestness rather disarming, and he couldn't say that he was relishing ownership of the ancient artifact right now.
With a swipe of his foreleg, the MacGuffin Stone flipped up into the air, and then landed on his upraised hoof. He'd gotten much better and handling things without fingers, although he still hadn't mastered whatever absurd pony magic allowed them to grab or adhere onto things with their hooves.
"So much trouble over this dumb rock," Ranma growled. "Jealous cultists, evil sorcerers, dragons, and even pony Princesses. And what's it ever done for me?! The stupid thing won't even give me back my clothes! MAYBE it could change me back to a human and MAYBE it could send me home again, but nobody knows how to use it except that jerk Rite!"
Twilight stared at the artifact, blinking at her reflection in its prismatic surface. "Okay, um... I kind of brushed this off before, but where ARE you keeping the Stone when you're not visibly carrying it?"
Ranma didn't seem to be listening. "Every time I pin that guy down, he manages to escape somehow! But even if I did manage to trap him, what then? Does he know how to change me back or send me home? What if he doesn't? Or what if he does but it doesn't matter because of my magic allergy? What the heck am I supposed to do?! I feel like I'm running around in circles!"
Ranma stood up straight, glaring at the gem, and Twilight's heart skipped a beat. For a moment, it looked like he was preparing to fling it into the wilderness.
Instead, though, he tucked the MacGuffin Stone... away. Somewhere. It was gone now.
"I'd toss it or bury it if the stupid thing didn't attract everyone straight to it like some kind of jerk magnet." Ranma groused. Then he turned to look at Twilight, his ears pinned back. "No offense."
"None taken!" Twilight said with an awkward chuckle. "But this is also something we can help you with!"
Ranma's ears perked up instantly.
"Er... maybe," the purple mare added weakly.
His ears dropped again.
"I'd certainly want to study the MacGuffin Stone if it were released to Canterlot's control! Aside from helping you return to your birth species and home world, an artifact that powerful could potentially do enormous good for Equestria in the right hooves!" She smiled hopefully and fluttered her eyelashes. "As could its owner!"
Ranma didn't look very flattered, staring out at the tracks again. Twilight's expression turned serious again and she cleared her throat.
"I know you've been through a lot, Ranma, and you don't have much reason to trust me. Frankly, you're being very understanding and tolerant considering how Equestria has treated you and given that you know I want something from you. But I'm doing this to help you. Not just because you saved my life and I owe you something, but because you deserve it. You've worked too hard and risked too much to be chased out of Equestria over an escalating misunderstanding."
Twilight placed a hoof against Ranma's shoulders, and the martial artist blushed despite himself. He still didn't care for her plan of begging a pardon from Celestia or handing over the MacGuffin Stone; in fact, Twilight's record for helping him in general was rather questionable so far. But she was honestly trying and regretted her mistakes. That counted for a lot in Ranma's book.
"Th-Thanks," the pigtailed pony muttered, still facing away with his cheeks flushed. "If you guys hadn't shown up when you did, I don't know what I would have done. I mean, obviously I still would have beaten Kamikazan! Obviously. But, y'know... after that..."
Twilight smiled back, and then pointed a hoof toward the door. "We won't reach Ponyville station until morning. We should get some rest now." She turned around and headed toward the exit.
"... Yeah. That sounds good," Ranma mumbled, casting a final, regretful glance at the tracks behind him.
Twilight pushed the door open to the sleeper car, noting that the lights were off. She fed a little power to the tip of her horn to create more light, and then walked quietly up to her bunk.
"Good night Ranma," Twilight whispered, lifting the sheet up with her magic and then sliding under it. She slumped onto her side, facing the wall.
"G'night, Sparks," Ranma replied, dropping onto the bunk next to her.
The magic aura holding the sheet up faltered, dropping it over Ranma's side. He snuggled closer against Twilight's back, shifting about until he got comfortable. Then he sighed pleasantly and closed his eyes.
Twilight remained absolutely still, her eyes quite open and as wide as saucers. Her horn flickered intermittently, the magic still flowing despite the break in her concentration.
Several seconds passed, but the alicorn dared not move. Twilight had no idea what was happening or why. Her thoughts were a confused whirlwind, and sweat started to collect and roll down her brow.
Is this some sort of bizarre human thing? Did I make a mistake? Should I have pointed out the empty bunk? Was there some cue I missed during our conversation? Should I do something? Am I facing the wrong way? Maybe if clear my throat? I can teleport, right? Would that be rude? Why am I worried about being rude to a stallion who just climbed into my bed without permission? Should I scream? Would that help? Is he trying to tell me something? Could I give him a little shock as a hint? Does his magic allergy translate the specific effect of a spell at random, or does it also randomize the approximate quantity of magical energy used in manifesting the intended effect? Would he be mad if I blew him up again? Would I survive that at this close range? Is this what he wants in order to give up the MacGuffin Stone? If it is, shouldn't he say something? Where DID he put that thing? Is this all some kind of-
A soft snore snapped Twilight out of her silent panic. Ranma was asleep.
"Next stop, Ponyville station! Please take a moment to check your seating area for any personal objects you may have left behind! Thank you for riding with us, and we hope to see from you soon, everypony!"
A foghorn heralded the train's arrival, and the vehicle squealed to a stop next to the embarking platform. Station workers unlocked the car doors, and the few passengers disembarking at Ponyville began to exit the train.
"Well shucks, fights with dragon royalty aside, that wasn't so bad," Applejack cracked her neck as she stepped onto the platform, and then cast a glance back at the others. "Brought back yer stallion and made good time, too!"
"Hay, even the fight with Kamikazan was pretty great!" Rainbow Dash laughed while exiting behind the farmer. Then she launched herself into the air to hover above the platform. "That'll teach him to get sniffy with us! Pony power!"
Ranma exited next, but he wasn't really paying attention to the mares ahead of him. He was staring worriedly at Twilight Sparkle, who was stumbling toward the entrance behind him. The purple Princess looked exhausted, with her mane in disarray and bags under her eyes. When he'd woken up that morning Twilight had already left the bunk, and he'd found her sitting in one of the booth seats reading. Clearly she had gotten up too early, but when he'd tried to ask about it she just blushed and pretended not to hear him.
Spike was trailing behind the alicorn, and the young dragon seemed just as concerned. "Are you sure you don't want me to carry your bags, Twi? You look like you're about to fall over."
"N-No. No. Fine. I'm fine," she retorted, eye lids twitching. "Jus... Let's jus' get home..." She noticed Ranma's concerned stare and quickly turned her head away again, cheeks burning.
"Well, unless ya wanna give Havoc another pitch to hoof over the shiny thang, Ah think we better git a move on," Applejack noted.
Twilight's eyes glanced over to Ranma's. Then they darted away again, and she scurried past him with her head down. "L-Later," she mumbled, gaze pinned to the dirt.
"Well, all right. Ah'll see ya later, then," Applejack said with a shrug. "Bye, Dash. Havoc, yer with me. Ah reckon ya may not remember the way t'the farm, seein' how ya mostly traveled by bein' blasted through the air last time."
"Ha! True!" Ranma laughed. Then he sobered quickly. "Uh, sorry again about your trees and stuff. Not my fault."
"Yeah, yeah..."
"Hey y'all! Ah'm back! And Ah brought back some help, too!"
Applejack let out a happy sigh as she crossed the threshold to her home, and then beckoned for the stallion behind her to follow. Ranma walked into the farmhouse uncertainly, looking around at the home interior.
Before long, three other ponies entered the living room: a tiny yellow filly with a red mane and a bow, an old, wrinkled, lime-colored mare, and a large crimson stallion with a harness around his neck.
"Hey everypony! This here's Havoc, some troublemaker that Twi tracked down 'round Lancanter." Applejack nudged her head toward the pigtailed stallion.
"My name is ACTUALLY Ranma," Ranma grumbled, rolling his eyes, "but I guess you can call me Havoc if you want. Everyone else does except Sparks."
"If ya wanna know why, ya'll might remember that tornado that ripped through the orchard 'bout a month ago and tossed a dragon critter into our barn. That was his doin'," Applejack said blithely. "Anywho, this here is Granny Smith. The squirt is Apple Bloom, mah sister. And the big 'un is Big Macintosh, mah older brother."
Big Mac gave a simple nod of acknowledgement and a small smile. The others were more suspicious, eyeing the gray stallion with narrowed eyes.
"Hey, Ah think Ah know you..." Apple Bloom mused, tilting her head to the side. "Miss Cheerliee told us to read a newspaper and explain the story fer class! Yer the one that attacked Princess Luna!"
"I didn't ATTACK her, it was a duel!" Ranma protested. "A duel that SHE started! What was I supposed to do?!"
"Couldn't ya have just said no?" Applejack asked.
"It was a matter of honor, okay? If you challenge me, then I have to accept. That's the rules."
Apple Bloom scratched her chin. "Didn't ya also beat up General Firebrand fer a rebellion to overthrow Canterlot's rule? That was in Silver Spoon's newspaper report."
"Well... Okay, fine, I did do that. That wasn't a rule thing. I guess that was kind of bad," Ranma said. "But I was only pretending to be an evil rebel at the time, and I couldn't figure out any other way to ditch him."
"Look, there ain't no question that Havoc here has made some mistakes," Applejack interjected, "that's part o' why he came to Ponyville. Ah'm not a hunnerd percent on 'im mahself - no offense, sugarcube - but he saved Twilight's life and she pulled out all the stops to bring him here so he could make amends and clear his name. If Twilight vouches fer him, then as far as Ah'm concerned, mah home is his home." She paused to pat the stallion on the shoulder. "Also, he owes me at least a week's hard labor fer the supplies Ah gave to Trixie."
Ranma offered an annoyed grunt, but made no further protest. Granny Smith hobbled forward and looked the martial artist over, squinting her eyes.
"Well, troublemaker he might be, but he looks like the sturdy sort. Good catch, Applejack! Ah'm right proud of ya! 'Bout time ya found yerself a beau."
"It ain't like that," Applejack said flatly. "Again, no offense Havoc, but yer not really mah type."
"None taken," Ranma agreed. "Besides, it would never work out. I'm a human!"
"Now, now. Ah know we come off as old-fashioned, but this is a progressive household," Granny assured him. "Yer kooky, made-up religions are all welcome here!"
"Can I get to work?" Ranma asked Applejack, his voice exasperated.
"Absolutely. Big Mac, you can take 'im from here. Ah'll get the guest room ready, an' then check on the farm chores."
The other stallion wordlessly walked toward the front door, and Ranma turned to follow him outside. They plodded toward the barn - freshly built and painted after Ranma's last visit to town - and then Big Mac stopped near the corner and turned.
The crimson farmer pointed a hoof toward a large wagon. It was stacked full of hay bales, and there were many more bales piled into small towers behind it.
"Move the hay inta the barn, please," Big Mac rumbled. "To the back."
Ranma actually jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. "Oh! R-Right. No problem."
The martial artist walked up to one such hay bale, dug a hoof underneath the edge, and then flipped it up in the air. The bale spun around, flinging hay scraps about, and then landed firmly on Ranma's back.
If Big Mac was impressed by the casual feat of strength, he didn't show it. The crimson pony watched silently while Ranma carried the bale into the barn and dropped it off next to a much smaller pile of hay bales in the far corner.
Ranma glanced back at the farmer. Big Mac smiled slightly and nodded his head. Then, without another word, the crimson stallion turned away and plodded off.
With no criticism forthcoming of his hay-moving technique, Ranma proceeded to the task ahead. It was dull, laborious work, and he didn't like it, but at least it was simple muscle labor that he was unlikely to screw up.
Upon his fifth trip to the hay wagon, he flipped three bales onto his back, one at a time, to create a small, uneven tower on top of him.
"This is gonna be a miserable week, but I have to do it," Ranma mumbled to himself while headed into the barn. "Can't screw up, and can't start any fights. If I can't pay everyone back and end up getting kicked out of this place, then I've got nowhere left to go. These are the only ponies other than Trixie who have ever tried to even give me a chance." He reached the back and then tilted to the side, letting the bales fall into place one by one. "Well, them and Swan Song, I guess."
Ranma shuddered.
Then he shuddered even more while a rumbling emanated from his belly. Ranma sat back on his haunches and pressed his hooves against his stomach. He had been given a few meager travel pastries for dinner the previous night and for breakfast on the train, which was basically all he had eaten in the past twenty hours. While he didn't want to complain about the free food he was getting, they were far from the generous portions he was used to in Trixie's employ. After the fight against Kamikazan he was particularly hungry, and he was still looking at a full day's hard labor ahead of him.
He stared down at his stomach, and then looked up at the hay bales.
Hay was easily his least favorite horse food, clocking in just below plain grass, but it WAS food. Looking around, the barn also held piles of apples and crates of other crops. Unsurprising, of course, since he was on a farm. But surely those were higher-value products than a heap of straw.
I'm sure they don't want me eating any of the good crops, but they wouldn't miss a hay bale, would they? They have a ton of this garbage! I won't even eat a full bale. Just half. Well, no, if I leave a bunch of half-eaten straw that might raise questions. Full bale. Can't leave any evidence. Gotta be fast, and then back to work!
He glanced right, and then left. Ranma's ears perked, his heartbeat slowed, and he stretched his senses to their maximum, searching for any sign of intrusion or observation. A slight blue aura wrapped around his fur as he focused.
"...... Wait a minute." Ranma frowned and turned toward a stack of apple barrels on the side of the barn. One such barrel had a hole in the side and seemed to have apples piled around it, rather than inside of it.
He walked up to the barrel and glared at it. "So what's your deal? How long have you even been here? Are you like, barn security or something?"
A dart suddenly shot out of the hole in the barrel. Ranma jumped to the side with a yelp, barely avoiding the gleaming needle tip before it stabbed into a wooden support beam.
A moment later the top of the barrel flipped up and flew at Ranma, and a batpony in a black cloak leapt out in a dark blur.
Ranma caught the barrel lid on a hoof and held it in place, and was rewarded with the repeated thunks of several steel blades sinking into the wood. Flinging the improvised shield away, he flipped backward just before a pair of curved hoof talons sliced through the air toward him.
"Die, thief!" shouted the assailant, his voice a shrill hiss through his dark blue face mask.
"I didn't eat any hay! Leave me alone!" Ranma cried, landing on the side of a support beam and preparing to jump off to a good attack angle.
Before he could, a second batpony leapt down from the barn loft, stabbing her hoof talons for Ranma's head. He twisted quickly enough to avoid the blades, but his moment of hesitation let the assassin tackle him off the side of the beam and onto the ground.
"Goddamn ninja!" Ranma shouted, rolling backward while still entangled with the new pony. "Get offa me!"
He kicked her away at the end of his roll, sliding to a stop on his back while she was sent spinning into a wall. The mare failed to react quickly enough and impacted muzzle-first, bouncing off the newly constructed sideboard with a pained yelp.
Another pair of talons flew toward his exposed belly, but Ranma struck them with a hoof to knock the blades off-course. Then he flipped upright again, striking his other assailant in the nose while he did so.
"Get sent to some alien planet full of cuddly colored talking animals and I still have pajama-wearing lunatics trying to kill me!" the martial artist complained while the assassins quickly stumbled back into ready combat stances. "How are you guys even up right now? Aren't bats supposed to be sleeping during the day?"
"Mere daylight will not stay the blades of the Lunar Guard," hissed one of the assassins through his mask.
"Although we're pretty lucky you were assigned to work in the barn; it's cool and dim in here, which is SUPER convenient for our ambushes," confessed the mare.
One of the hay bales behind Ranma suddenly burst apart, and a third thestral jumped for the cursed equine's back.
Ranma's reflexes were faster than the soldier, however, and his surprise attack earned him a buck to the chest. The third batpony was sent careening backward through the air, although he received a mercifully soft landing among the stacked hay.
"Aw, are you kidding me?! Now I'm down a hay bale anyway, and I didn't even get to eat it!" Ranma shouted angrily.
The other ponies blink-blinked. "... What?"
Ranma leapt into action rather than explain himself, and soon the barn was given over to the sound of screeching battle cries and shouts of pain.
"Hey, Applejack! Applejack! Do you know where Havoc is?"
Rainbow Dash shouted excitedly and swooped into a dive when she spotted the farmer in the fields below. Applejack had to restrain a frustrated sigh at being interrupted while watering her crops; hardly any time had passed since Rainbow Dash had left at the train station, and she had a minor backlog of chores to get to now that she had gotten back to work.
"Ah think Mac has him workin' in the barn, but Ah'd rather ya didn't bother him right now. He just got here an' Ah wanna get as much work outta him as Ah can 'fore Twi drags him off to Canterlot."
"Barn, got it," Rainbow Dash said. "Don't worry, this won't take long. I just wanted to introduce the rest of the girls. I told them all about the dragon fight!"
Applejack glanced down the road and spotted Rarity and Pinkie Pie approaching at a brisk pace with Fluttershy trailing close behind them. "Well, ya know Ah don't mind entertainin' company, but like Ah said Ah'd prefer he not be distracted right now," Applejack drawled. "Aside from his chores, he's still sulkin' a bit over what all happened back in Lancanter. An' we're still tryin' to get on his good side so he'll give Twi the MacGuffin. Ah think y'all should give 'im some space."
"Sulking?! Well that's no good!"
Applejack cursed internally when Pinkie Pie accelerated to a gallop and raced over to join them. She hadn't meant for the other mares to overhear.
"I know what'll cheer him right up!" the pink pony shifted from a gallop into a bounce, jumping around Applejack and Rainbow Dash in a wide circle. "Let's throw him a Welcome to Ponyville party!"
"This is the same fellow that insists he's an alien come to this world through uncertain means and transformed into a pony, right?" Rarity asked once she reached a comfortable speaking distance.
"Uhm, I think that's the same one," Fluttershy confirmed hesitantly. "And the last time he was here a dragonspawn followed him from the Everfree and he shot it into the air with a tornado." She paused. "Along with himself."
"Yeah, that's the guy!" Rainbow said with a self-satisfied nod.
"Oh, dear... IS he an alien after all?" Rarity asked, grimacing slightly.
"Could be. Looks like a pony t'me, but Ah don't know of any other pony that can grow wings by addin' water or turn fire into a twister." Applejack shrugged, tipping her hat to the side. "Havoc don't strike me as the mysterious type, but there's an awful lot we don't know 'bout him."
"But what we DO know is pure awesome!" Rainbow Dash insisted. "He's some kind of cursed outlaw warrior who explodes when you use magic on him, throws tornadoes, fights duels of honor, turns into a pegasus, and carries a secret Artifact of Doom!"
"And this... dangerous-sounding fellow... is going to be staying on Applejack's farm performing rote manual labor?" Rarity asked with an arched eyebrow.
Applejack turned around and started leading the other mares toward the barn, deciding that there was no stopping them at this point. "Well, the way Ah see it, he's mainly good fer muscle work and huntin' dragons. And Ah don't need no dragons taken down."
"Yet," Rainbow added ominously.
Applejack shot her a harsh look. "Now you quit that. Ah'm takin' a risk havin' Havoc on mah property and livin' with mah family. If we start getting beasties roamin' the orchard lookin' fer his magic rock, then it's yer turn to put 'im up."
"Okay, deal!" Rainbow said with a smirk. The barn was just ahead now, although she couldn't spot Ranma anywhere. "But if there any battles here, make sure to let me know! I wanna watch!"
"What'd Ah just say?! Don't jinx me, Dash! Ah ain't aimin' to have no fights on mah farm!" Applejack snapped.
A loud crash came from inside the barn, followed by an agonized, high-pitched screech.
"... Aw, consarn it," Applejack groaned before doubling her pace.
The deep, meaty sound of a steel blade stabbing into wood.
The bang of something striking a wall, followed by a brief tremor shaking the wooden slats.
The crack of hoof and bone, impacting with horrific force and gruesome effect.
Applejack slowed her approach toward the barn entrance, unable to see what was happening inside. A cloud of dust and hay blasted out of the front of the building, followed by another shriek of agony.
She stopped and took a deep breath. "Havoc? What's goin' on in there?!" Applejack demanded.
For a moment, all was still and silent.
Then three unconscious bodies were flung out of the barn, one after another, landing in a heap on the path.
Fluttershy gasped and Rainbow Dash whistled. Applejack's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Pinkie Pie made an "Ooooooooh" noise, leaning way forward toward the pony pile.
"Those are... Luna's guard ponies, aren't they?" Rarity asked, her face darkening.
"Wh-What are they doing here?" Fluttershy asked, creeping closer behind Rarity and shrinking behind her.
"Getting their clocks cleaned, by the look of it," Rainbow mumbled.
Ranma stepped out of the barn entrance.
He walked over to the pile of hay bales, paying no particular attention to the mares watching him. He flipped a bale onto his back, turned around, and then marched back into the barn with his head down and his expression inscrutable.
After several seconds, Ranma emerged again without the hay bale, once again trudging past the pile of thestrals on the ground.
"Hey, ya wanna take five and explain what just happened?" Applejack growled.
Ranma stopped in his tracks, finally acknowledging the farmer. He frowned, stared down at the thestrals, scratched his head with a hoof, and then looked up again.
"Not really, no."
"Why're ya fightin' Lunar Guard in mah barn, Havoc?" Applejack demanded.
"Well what am I supposed to do when ninja ponies ambush me?" Ranma complained. "Look, I'm still doing my job, okay? I didn't break anything, and I'll have your hay moved in a little bit. Unless more of them show up, I guess." He paused to punch a hoof into a random hay bale, waited a few seconds for a reaction, and then nodded in satisfaction. Then he flipped it up onto his back.
"Aw, fer Sam Apple's sake," Applejack slumped onto her haunches, rubbing her forehead. "Ya just got here and already we have brawls breakin' out on mah property."
"Okay, but this doesn't count toward what you said earlier, right?" Rainbow Dash mused aloud. "You said you'd kick him out if 'beasties' started attacking, and I don't think batponies count."
This was enough to startle Ranma, and his current load slipped off of his back. "Wh-What? Kick me out?! But I didn't start the fight! They attacked me out of nowhere!"
Applejack groaned into her hoof. "Yeah, Ah s'ppose they did. Not that it makes a lick 'o difference."
"Please don't kick me out! I already blew up Spark's house the first time I was here and I don't want to bother Zee again!" Ranma begged, clapping his front hooves together. "I can't start bouncing from place to place already! I'll never be able to stay in Ponyville long enough to pay you back if I do!"
"Awww, poor thing!"
Ranma blinked, suddenly finding a teary-eyed mare nose-to-nose with him. Her fur, mane, and tail were all bubblegum pink, and she had somehow crossed the distance between them without his noticing.
"Don't worry! If you get chased out of Sweet Apple Acres then you can room with me!" Pinkie Pie suddenly lunged forward for a hug.
Ranma dodged backward, letting the mare bounce onto the pile of batponies. A pained squeak came from the thestrals, followed by quiet weeping.
"So... who are you, again?" Ranma took a few additional steps back from the extremely friendly pink pony.
"I'm Pinkie Pie!" she hopped back upright, not obviously bothered by having her attempt at a hug evaded. She was also still standing on the battered Lunar Guard, but again, nopony seemed to care. "I'm so happy to meet you! We're gonna be best friends!"
"Oh. Uh, okay," Ranma cleared his throat and straightened. "My name is Saotome Ranma."
"Nope!" Pinkie chirped. "Your name is Havoc!"
"Dammit, Rainbow Dash!" Ranma complained, glaring at the pegasus above him.
She just laughed, flipping around and landing next to the martial artist before patting his withers with her wing. "What did I tell you, dude? It's the better name!" Then she brightened further. "And Trixie called you Calamity, right? That's your name for your pegasus form? That's even more awesome! You have a secret identity!"
Ranma groaned and looked away.
"Well, I for one think Saotome Ranma is a fine name." Rarity approached the stallion with an appraising look. "It's so... exotic. A remnant of a long-lost, faraway world. And perhaps the only scrap of it left, other than this so-called MacGuffin Stone."
Before Ranma could come up with a response to that, the unicorn inclined her head. "Ah, but I'm being rude. My name is Rarity. Please, if there's anything I can do to make your stay in Ponyville more comfortable, do let me know."
"Can I have some food, please?" he asked immediately.
"Hey, you'll get yer lunch break after yer chores're done," Applejack interjected.
Ranma's stomach lodged its objection in lieu of words, growling with such ferocity that Fluttershy jumped in fright. Pinkie and Rainbow snickered at the sound, while Rarity flushed and gasped.
"Oh dear, the poor stallion is famished!" she exclaimed. "Applejack, you simply must let us take him to lunch immediately! Between the fighting for his very life and the brute labor, he's likely to collapse!"
Applejack narrowed her eyes at Ranma. He blinked back innocently. His stomach rumbled again less loudly, like the weakened aftershock in the wake of an earthquake.
"Aww, do whatcha want," the farmer huffed, turning around and heading back to her crops. "Ah s'ppose that hay ain't goin' nowhere. Just be sure ya come back and get'r done, y'hear?"
"Yes, ma'am, Apple ma'am!" Ranma said, snapping one leg up in salute.
"Just follow me, darling," Rarity said, trotting in the direction of Ponyville. "We'll give you a welcoming feast fit for a Princess!"
"Uhm..." Fluttershy squirmed slightly, her eyes darting back to the batponies on the ground. "So... are we just... leaving the Lunar Guard here? Because... well..."
"Oh, right." Rarity paused. "Saotome Ranma, this is Fluttershy. She's a bit on the quiet side, you may have noticed." Then she started trotting out again.
"Yeah, I remember you. You're the dragon translator, right?" Ranma asked while walking past, causing Fluttershy to flinch back.
"Er, so, the uh... the batpo-"
"OOH! OOH! Let's eat at Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie Pie shouted, bouncing over Fluttershy.
"Pinkie, dear, I think doughnuts for lunch is a bit... unseemly."
"I don't think that at all," Ranma said, licking his lips.
"All right! Sugarcube Corner it is!" Rainbow Dash laughed, swooping over the other ponies.
Fluttershy sighed and sped up to follow the others.
"Sun and moon, a menagerie break-out and a dragon attack in the same day? Things are getting wild down South."
A unicorn guard sipped coffee on a bench while looking over the morning newspaper. A pair of earth ponies lounged across from him; one of them polishing his helmet while the other tried, and mostly failed, to pen a letter with a quill clenched between his teeth.
"What? Where was this?" asked the first stallion, putting down his helmet.
"Lancanter. Just out of Phillydelphia," the unicorn replied, pausing to sip more coffee.
"That's where that bandit clan collapsed just the other day, right? We had to transfer regional funds just so that they could pay out all the bounties! I've never seen anything like it!"
"It's close. Sure does seem like something's stirring up trouble in that area. Not that I'm going to complain about the bounty hunters earning their keep, for once. Celestia knows how many spend their careers chasing down alley thieves."
"Still bad for our budget, though."
A hoof knocked against the door.
The unicorn put his coffee down and slipped on his helmet. "Just a moment!"
With a pulse of magic, the long iron bar locking the reinforced front door slid out of place, and he pushed the door open.
The unicorn soldier stopped in front of the entrance, setting his spear butt-down on the floor next to him as he addressed their guest. "Welcome to Vanilla Peak outpost, citizen. Can I help you?"
Standing outside, at the end of the windy, rocky path that led up to the guard tower, was a single unicorn. He was wearing a voluminous cloak and hood, such that the soldier couldn't make much out as far as his features, but enough of the visitor's muzzle and legs were exposed that he could see it was a red-furred stallion.
"Thank goodness you're here. I have critical information for Canterlot," the visitor said. "I saw the rogue Havoc traveling with Twilight Sparkle outside of Lancanter. They're on their way to Canterlot!"
The guard blinked. "Uh... wh-what?"
In a flurry of magic, papers were levitated and unrolled in front of the soldier. "Listen to me! This is the rebel Havoc, a degenerate monster seeking to overthrow Princess Celestia!" One of the papers, a bounty poster with Ranma's image, bobbed up and down in the air. "My contact in Fillydelphia was tracking him down for bounty purposes. But after an incident outside of Lancanter, it seems he's heading toward the capital! He possesses a magic weapon and the means to use it, and he MUST be stopped!"
The other guards walked over to the entrance, confused and alarmed.
"Wait, hold on. You said Princess Twilight Sparkle was with this guy?" asked one of the earth ponies, frowning. "Are you trying to tell us that she's turned traitor?"
"Highly unlikely," the hooded stallion admitted. "I believe she's being coerced. Her magic may have been drained by the magic weapon, or perhaps Havoc is controlling or threatening her through other means. My contact was unable to get too close for fear of being discovered." His hoof pawed at the ground anxiously. "What I know is that he's on his way toward Ponyville, and eventually to Canterlot, and nopony else knows! If he isn't stopped before he reaches Canterlot, there's no telling what kind of damage he can do!"
The earth ponies shared pensive glance, and the unicorn soldier grimaced.
"I see. We'd better get a report ready, then. I'll need your name, as well as the name of your source. I have to verify this for command."
An impatient snort came from the visitor. "There's no time for that! We may have but hours to stop this madstallion! At least forward my warning to Canterlot so that they'll know he's coming!"
"I will, but it's going to take at least half a day by pegasus courier," the unicorn soldier said grimly. "So if our doom is as imminent as you say, there's nothing we can do about it all the way out here." He backed up a few steps, creating space for the hooded pony to enter. "I'll write up a dispatch and get it sent, and then we can work out the details and who this contact is. Is it someone in the Fillydelphia Bounty Hunter's guild?"
The other unicorn didn't enter. "You won't send it by air mail. In the basement of this outpost, there's a secret magic transmission system that can instantly wire documents to Canterlot's military command halls."
All of the soldiers seemed startled, and one of them glanced between his fellow guards. "Wait, really? We have that? I thought the basement was just used to store supplies and stuff."
The unicorn guard's expression hardened, and he shifted back to once again block entry into the outpost. "How do you know about that?! Who are you?!"
"I know about that because I helped design it," Blood Rite said, flipping back his hood behind his horn.
One of the guards' eyes bulged. "W-Wait! You're-"
"This could have gone so much easier..." Rite's horn pulsed, and every one of the soldiers felt a cold chill crawl up their legs.
The unicorn was the first to act, and the first to fall. His spear bobbed up into a stabbing position, and then a cloud of silvery light swept over the polearm. With a thought, the weapon snapped into three pieces, and all of them promptly shot toward its owner. The pieces of the wooden shaft bounced off the unicorn's armor, but the spearhead stabbed deeply into his shin. With a howl of pain, the stallion collapsed.
One of the earth ponies tried to charge as his companion fell, but a bolt of searing red lashed out from Rite's horn the instant he crossed the threshold. His spear bounced across the ground at the sorcerer's hooves, and the second guard collapsed in a gasping heap.
"There's no need for any of you to die here," Blood Rite said calmly, stepping past the twitching stallions toward the third one. That pony started backing up nervously, and his spear clattered onto the flagstones uselessly. "I merely have need of the construct I made so many years ago... then I'll take my leave."
The unicorn guard stood up, wincing at the pain and sweating profusely. "Soldier! Don't give up! We can-" a buck to his jaw slammed his head into the wall. His helmet popped off and bounced out the doorway, and then he slumped back onto the floor.
"Tch... useless." Rite cast a contemptuous glance behind him at the unconscious stallion. "Not that I ever took particular pride in Equestria's military or cared for its efficacy, but it's yet another institution rotting under Celestia's hapless rule."
The unharmed guard edged away toward the stairs that led up to the scout tower roof. His eyes were wide and he was sweating nervously, but he hadn't said anything yet and seemed to be clearing the way between Rite and the basement door.
Blood Rite considered the pony at length, and then made a judgment call. "Sorry. I can't afford to let you escape just yet."
His horn flashed, and a magic missile slammed into the final guard and threw him hard against the wall. The stallion promptly burst into green flame, which caused Rite to recoil and whinny in shock. A moment later, a changeling drone slumped to the floor, its eyes spinning.
"A changeling? That... That was a spy?"
Rite stared at the creature, dumbfounded. He'd heard of the changelings and their infiltration of Equestria, of course, as well as their brief attempt at conquest. But beyond that, they were merely one of several species and factions that lived at the margins of Equestrian civilization, siphoning off what prosperity they could from its porous borders and welcoming civil society. Having discovered one in hiding, he wasn't sure what to do about it. It wasn't as if he could turn it in to the guards.
"Well... I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to complain about you undermining the Equestrian state, but I am a pony first and revolutionary second," Rite declared, his horn lighting up again. "Whatever you were up to, equine-kind will be better off without-"
A clunking noise interrupted his monologue, and heavy wooden hatch leading to the basement cracked open.
"Hey, what was that noise?" A unicorn mare wearing a cloak poked her head up out of the stairwell leading down.
Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull when she saw an unfamiliar stallion whirling toward her, and she didn't get to see much else. Rite's telekinesis took hold of the entry hatch and slammed it down, striking her on the head. With a squeak of pain the mare tumbled back down the stairs and out of sight, screaming the entire way.
Biting back a curse, Rite flung the hatch open again and raced into the basement, hoping he hadn't just inadvertently broken the mare's neck. Not that he would be devastated by the death of an Equestrian soldier at his hooves, precisely, but the outpost's mage was rather crucial to his plans.
He found her groaning and trying to push herself up at the bottom of the steps amid a worrying - but thankfully thin - splash of blood across the floor. A pulse of magic from his horn promptly pressed her down firmly onto the floor again, and another sent the combat wand at her hip spinning away behind a stack of crates.
"Now, now, don't aggravate your injuries, dear. You likely have a slight concussion at least, and I need you awake for this next part," the sorcerer chided.
"Y... You... What do you..." she hissed painfully, curling up as best she could under the pressure of his telekinesis. Her vision was spinning, and one of her legs ached badly from her fall.
"Ssssh. This won't take long." Rite looked around the basement store room. A small, crowded space, full of supply crates and what passed for this mare's study: a writing desk and a small bookcase.
He raised an eyebrow at the bookcase, and walked past the mare to observe it. "You still keep the transmitters in hidden rooms? When Firebrand recommended such extensive security I thought it was mostly a waste of effort and resources." He chuckled. "It looks like Firebrand was right. But he didn't go far enough. He never does."
His horn flashed on and off, like a flickering lighting bulb. One book after another tilted back all across the top row, each one pushing back into its resting position with on an arc of white light. Then his magic crossed the second row in the same fashion, pulling every book at the top of its spine before pushing it back into place.
It was on the third row that a particular book offered a little more resistance, and when he pulled it back it settled into place with a click. A creak came from a hidden mechanism, and the entire bookcase started sliding across the floor to expose a hidden doorway.
His telekinesis wrapped around the mare on the ground to lift her up, and she yelped in pain at the pressure on her legs. "Pardon me, Miss. I'd prefer to be gentler, but I'm quite pressed for time. Enter the transmission room."
"Wh-What are you d-doing?" she gasped, limping into the next room under the pressure of the telekinetic force shoving her forward. "Why are y-you here?"
"I'm here to send a warning, obviously. Your friends upstairs were being difficult about it, but YOU'LL cooperate, won't you?" Rite sent an extra surge of energy into his telekinesis, shoving the mage forward onto the floor in the middle of the room.
The transmission altar was small, with a large stone slab centered in front of a runic obelisk just about the size of a pony's head. To the side was a desk, outfitted with vials of magic ink and vellum. All of these components were required in order to use the altar, and the mare at Rite's hooves was the only one in the outpost that knew the magic encryption to activate it. Anypony less knowledgeable about the process than he was would likely screw it up and obliviously watch their message disintegrate into nothing rather than being teleported to Equestria's highest command.
"That scaly lug had better keep up his end of the bargain after all this," Rite grunted, levitating a quill into the ink vial and unrolling some paper. "So much strife just to spare him some well-earned embarrassment."
He began to write, and then sensed a flicker of magic energy manifesting behind him. "Don't make me restrain you, please. This whole affair has been trying enough as it is."
The magic intensified rather than diminishing, and Rite grunted in exasperation. He turned and zapped the mare with a red beam, eliciting another pained scream and causing her magic spell to fizzle. The mage writhed on the floor in agony, kicking her legs and twitching.
"Such an ugly business, the Royal Guard," Rite mused aloud while he continued composing his missive. "You all suffer so much needless pain. So many pointless risks. And for what? What do you hope to preserve? Why do you sacrifice so much for your useless masters in Canterlot? Is it just what your cutie marks demand? Is this simply another asinine facet of our tortured destiny?"
The mare on the ground grit her teeth as the fire racing through her nerves began to ebb. "To stop... m-monsters... like you..."
Rite paused briefly in his writing. "... I'd like to say I'm not the monster in this story. That it will all be okay. That I'll deliver you peace in the end, or perhaps even paradise." He snorted, and then finished his letter with a jab of the quill. "But how hollow and absurd would that sound to you? Attacked out of nowhere for reasons unknown, hurled down a flight of stairs and then tormented into pacification at my whim... I won't insult you with claims of benevolence, young mage."
He floated the message onto the altar, and a few runes of the obelisk glittered slightly. "Perhaps this has already gone too far. Perhaps my sense of reason has already been consumed by my quest. Perhaps I am the monster after all."
Then he turned his gaze to the mare behind him, his horn and eyes shining brightly with power. "But I will NOT be stopped, little one. Not by hapless pawns like you. Now get up."
His levitation magic helped her to her hooves, and then shoved her toward the altar.
"Cast the spell. Send the message. And don't get it wrong. I'll know if the transmission was completed or not," Rite commanded.
The unicorn mare stared at him for a few seconds before her eyes wavered and she hung her head. Her horn began to glow a crackling, dark pink, and the mage mumbled a few words that made no sense to Blood Rite.
The obelisk glowed in sympathy, and its magic aura expanded to cover the entire altar. A few seconds later, arcs of power lashed across the rolled-up paper, and it vanished in a puff of smoke.
The mare cut off the magic to her horn, still hanging her head. A lone tear ran down her cheek, and then dripped onto the floor. "There... it's sent. I did as you asked."
Rite stared at the altar for a long moment, and then turned his icy gaze on the other unicorn. "I suppose you hoped I was bluffing about being able to tell whether the transmission worked or not. You just vaporized my message."
The mare's heart seized up, and she lurched away from Blood Rite with her eyes wide.
"The tear was a nice touch. But I'm afraid my time is more precious than your safety. And you've cost me too much of it..." Rite's horn started glowing again, the soft white aura flickering with sparks of glimmering crimson. "This next spell will search your memories directly and pick them apart in search of the information I need. The process is painful. Exceptionally so. Now... let's begin."
His magic slithered around her horn like an entangling whip, and she screamed in pain and terror.
She didn't stop for quite a while.
Rite emerged from the basement of the outpost almost half an hour later. His breathing was heavy, and sweat rolled steadily down his head. His task was complete. The message had been sent, and the altar destroyed to prevent any other messages leaving or arriving any time soon. His plans were set in motion once more and things were developing more or less as hoped. And frankly, he wanted to throw up.
The image of the unicorn mare writhing on the floor flashed before his eyes and her screams echoed in her ears, burned into his thoughts alongside the spell pattern he had sought. She had fallen comatose several minutes ago, but was still alive. The mage would probably even make a full recovery, so long as that concussion was treated properly. Her unwilling betrayal of her duties, meanwhile, would come to serve a greater, more worthy cause than her tiresome vigil and ineffective service to Canterlot's throne.
Such were the moral platitudes that Blood Rite whispered to himself as he departed his crime scene. The same as he had done a dozen times before.
They weren't working anymore.
He started trotting toward the exit, taking note of the other ponies he had pushed aside to accomplish this latest task. Unicorn Sergeant and Watchmaster, check. Earth pony rookie, check. Changeling... changeling? Right. There had been a changeling.
Rite honestly felt embarrassed that he had completely forgotten about having uncovered an enemy shape-shifter by accident. It was largely irrelevant to his plans, and he supposed he couldn't have just left the mage to her own devices while he took care of the spy, but even so it was quite a shocking development for him to have discarded.
More importantly, the changeling wasn't here anymore. Alone among his victims, it seems to have already fled.
"Well, that one will have quite a story to tell its queen, I suppose," Blood Rite mumbled with a grimace. "But enough of this. I still have more work to do."
He sighed wearily as he stepped out of the outpost and onto the path winding down the mountain. "Always, more work to do. But I can't stop now. I can never stop. Not until it's all over..."
"The hay is this? Havoc, in Ponyville? With Princess Sparkle?!"
General Wrath held a smoldering sheet of parchment in her wing, her jaw hanging open. Several pony captains were huddled behind her, and at the other end of a map table sat General Granite with his brow furrowed deeply.
"This is insane! It says they have verified information that suggests he's coercing Princess Sparkle into helping him get into Canterlot! He's planning to attack Princess Celestia!" Wrath said breathlessly, her eyes narrowing with each line.
"Princess Sparkle's been captured? Again?" mumbled one of the captains. "Is this just a Princess thing? I don't remember her having these problems as a unicorn."
"Shut it, soldier!" Granite barked. The lesser officers flinched, reflexively straightening and falling silent. "Wrath, you said this information is verified? By whom?"
"Doesn't say," the pegasus growled, slapping the missive onto the table with her wing. "It's not signed by the outpost head officer, either. That's a breach of security protocol."
"True. But that doesn't mean it's wrong. The instant-dispatch system isn't used very often. They may have forgotten in their haste. Or it might be a subordinate that sent it because the officer wasn't available and the information couldn't wait. You remember the Siren Swamps incident; in an emergency ponies panic and procedure gets swept aside." Granite's expression hardened. "This information seems... odd, but if there's even a scrap of truth to it, it's CRITICAL. These rebels are on our doorstep and we didn't even notice. We must respond."
"First things first; every access point to Canterlot needs to have its guard tripled. All entrants are subject to magic and mundane screening. I don't care if they enter the city riding on a Princess's back; they get checked twice before they even get a glimpse of the castle." Wrath announced, pointing a long feather of one wing at the captains like a finger. "I want quick-response teams ready and on a razor's edge. If this lunatic reaches Canterlot, we'll probably only have one chance to put him down before the Princesses get involved."
"That's good defense," Granite said approvingly. "Now... as for offense..."
Here General Wrath hesitated, looking down at the message. "I want more information. Something about this message... it's off. It feels wrong."
"You think the transmission system was compromised?" the earth pony asked with an eyebrow arched.
"... No. Although I really wish Firebrand were back from medical leave so that I could question him on the topic," Wrath admitted. "But there are other ways to spread disinformation. I just don't want to march an army to Ponyville without making sure this thug is actually there."
"Hey, uh, speaking of 'this thug'..." one of the captains interjected, hesitantly raising a wing into the air.
The generals glanced at him silently, allowing him to continue.
"... Is 'this thug' Havoc, the pony who joined up with a bunch of rebels to try to assassinate the Princesses? Or is he Ranma Saotome, the pony who looks exactly like him and is apparently worth a bigger bounty for some reason but only has like half as many crimes attributed to him and they're mostly arson?"
Neither of the generals responded, staring at the captain with blank expressions.
"Okay, so... lemme explain. This guy Havoc, he has literally the biggest bounty on our contract board, so a bunch of us are tracking his price, right?" the captain continued nervously.
"There's an office pool if you guys want to get in on it! I'm betting he hits 500k before he gets nabbed," another soldier volunteered needlessly.
"ANYWAY, so we're all snatching up the latest bounty posters for this guy, and this poster they released the other day suddenly features the same stallion, but with a different name," the first captain explained. "Also, this new guy, or the old guy with a new name, or whatever, has all the treasony rebellion stuff scrubbed from his list of crimes, but somehow got the same Equestrian-Enemy-Number-One-level bounty without any Equestrian-Enemy-Number-One-level charges. And it's not like the bounty office discloses the particular reason for these changes with every new posting, so... yeah. Little confused, here."
Granite and Wrath shared an inscrutable glance. Neither of them had kept up-to-date on the rebels' bounties beyond making sure that they hadn't been caught yet. They didn't know what to make of this new information, much less have any particular insight on the matter.
"Well, judging from our warning letter, this is definitely more of a treasonous Havoc pony than a miscreant Ranma pony," Granite reasoned. "Also, incidentally, I like the name Havoc much better as a name for a violent fugitive from justice. I definitely prefer approaching this from the Havoc angle."
"Names aside, I still don't trust the letter," Wrath said firmly. "I think something else is going on here, and the nebulous nature of this pony's criminal record isn't helping things. I'm going to prepare a response for the Vanilla Peak outpost to confirm their findings." She turned around fully to address the captains. "In the meantime, dispatch a scout team to Ponyville immediately. Assuming they don't find themselves flying into a storm of bedlam and carnage, they should ask around a little and try to get confirmation of Havoc's presence."
"So we're definitely going with Havoc, then?" the captain asked.
"They can ask about his name too, if they wish," Wrath drawled. "Advise the team to survey Twilight Sparkle's home for any signs of this crook, but they should not attempt to contact her directly. If she is compromised, this would put her and the team in unnecessary danger."
The pegasus captain saluted with a wing and promptly galloped out of the hall.
Another captain stepped forward as soon as the first was gone. "How should we brief Princess Celestia on this matter, General?"
"NOT AT ALL," the two generals said simultaneously. The lesser officers flinched under their hard stares.
"If this fool really is the rebel scoundrel we think he is, then Rite can't be far behind," Granite hissed. "NONE of this is to reach Princess Celestia's ears. If any of you are questioned about the increase in security, say only that we received a tip about a likely attack and that we're investigating."
The captains looked uncertain.
"I realize it is highly unusual, but we have good reasons to believe that this criminal is a unique threat to the Princesses. The more involved they become, the greater the risk," Wrath said coolly. "Now, go. You have your orders."
"Sir!" the soldiers barked, bowing their heads.
"So then it turns out that this Morning Star pony is a chick! I had no idea! But okay, whatever; girl or not, she's still an evil bandit, right? But then she starts hitting on me! Right there in the bandit lair, as I was getting ready to fight her! It was so weird! She seriously offered to pay to get Trix to leave so that she and I could just drop everything and make out. Ugh."
Ranma recounted his harrowing tale of heroics from behind a massive pile of doughnuts, all the while working diligently on making it less massive. Rarity and Fluttershy seemed somewhat unimpressed, or at least skeptical, of his tales of violence and seduction, but they seemed perfectly stunned at his ability to shovel sweets down his throat while he told them.
"Was she pretty cute?" Rainbow Dash asked, munching on a doughnut herself.
"She was... fine, I guess? I dunno. I'm not attracted to ponies," Ranma replied, pausing ever-so-briefly in eating to gulp down some milk.
"Aw, don't be like that! I'm sure you just haven't met the right pony yet!" Pinkie Pie said with a wink and a hug.
Or at least, an attempt at a hug. Ranma threw his chair back onto the floor to evade, tripping up the pink mare and letting her land on his other side. Then he kicked his chair back up and went back to eating.
"Seriously though: I'm a human. I'm just not into horses," Ranma affirmed with a slight flush.
"Well, regardless of your species preference, you do cut a rather dashing figure if I do say so myself," Rarity admitted from the other side of the table. "Surprisingly so, if you always eat like this... When was the last time you had an actual meal, Ranma darling?"
Ranma couldn't help but squirm at the form of address, memories of a crazed, rose-obsessed gymnast coming unbidden to his mind. "Erm... like, a meal this big? That would be before I had to fight the crocodile made of rocks. I was going to eat after that, but then the stupid dragon jackass found me."
In an instant his mood darkened visibly; his posture slumped in his seat, his hair covered his eyes, and even his pigtail seemed to go limp. Ranma didn't stop eating, though.
"Beating up dragons is hungry work," Rainbow Dash agreed solemnly, nodding and snatching up another doughnut. "Speaking of which, how do you make your tornadoes? Because I've seen you do that twice now, and it looks like you make them by punching fireballs, and I wanted to clear up how this works because if I try that and I'm wrong I don't think I'll get to try again."
"Ancient Chinese secret," Ranma mumbled before guzzling down more milk. "Don't try it at home."
"Ooh! You've been to Chineigh?" Pinkie asked brightly, popping up next to Rarity.
"I've been to CHINA," Ranma corrected. "It's a country in my world full of magic, warriors, and most of my life's regrets."
"Tell us more about this world of yours," Rarity said, leaning forward with her chin propped up on her forelegs. "What is your home planet like?"
"It's..." Ranma grimaced, pausing in his doughnut consumption. "It's a lot like this one, I guess. Earth has forests, and villages, and farms, and cities. We even have dragons and monsters." He leaned back in his seat and wiped the crumbs from his muzzle. "But instead of everything being run by ponies with magic, it's run by humans with technology."
"Do humans not have magic?" Rarity pressed.
"We... might? I dunno. I ran into plenty of magic on Earth, but all of it sucked," the martial artist groused. "Here in Equestria, magic... well, it still sucks for me, but all of you guys seem to do fine."
"Hey! Speaking of magic!" Rainbow suddenly stood up excitedly, grinning at Ranma. "Let's show them your mare body!"
A sweatdrop rolled down Ranma's head. "Could we not? I'd really like to just fill up and go back to work."
"Unacceptable," Rarity said firmly, her eyes gleaming despite her utterly serious expression. "We definitely need to confirm that personally."
Before Ranma could protest further, a glass of cold water was dumped over his head from behind. She yelped and jumped in her seat, and then spun around to find Pinkie Pie staring at her with wide, starry eyes.
"HOW do you keep doing that?" Ranma asked, unnerved. It wasn't quite accurate to say that the pink mare kept sneaking up on her, but rather that she kept losing track of Pinkie's movements inexplicably. She'd never seen anything like it. And technically she still hadn't, since she couldn't seem to catch Pinkie in the middle of whatever she did.
Nopony seemed interested in Ranma's question, though. Before she knew it Rarity was at her side, a hoof gently grazing her wing and an expression of exaggerated horror on the unicorn's face. Pinkie Pie was making "ooh" noises and circling her at high speed, and even Fluttershy was leaning in slightly to get a better look, utterly fascinated.
"Oh, no, no, no! This simply won't do!" Rarity gasped. "Ranma, darling, your wings are a MESS! Honestly, even Rainbow Dash keeps hers in better condition!"
"Heh. Yeah, that's true," Rainbow chuckled. Then she frowned. "Hey."
"I get that a lot," Ranma grumbled, tossing another doughnut into her mouth. "I'm not really up to speed on wing care. I don't need to be, either, since I just have to dunk my head in hot water to get rid of them."
Rarity's expression hardened. "Believe me, darling, the neglect shows. Your coat is FAR too lovely to be treated like this. We need a spa treatment, stat!"
"Pass," Ranma grunted before gulping down the last of her milk.
"Hey, don't knock it before you try it," Rainbow Dash interjected, surprising everypony else. "The hooficure treatment is a bit much, but good feather grooming goes a long way. I go every once in a while and it's really helped my air speed."
Ranma hesitated at the mention of "air speed," and her ears perked. This was more than enough of a signal for Rarity to take as complete agreement.
"It's agreed, then! I'll make an appointment for tomorrow! On me, of course!" Rarity clapped her hooves together, smiling brightly.
"Yay! Can I come? I wanna come!" Pinkie Pie said eagerly, bouncing up and down next to her.
"Of course, darling! We should all make a day out of it," the snow-white unicorn said with a grin.
Ranma didn't respond right away, staring expressionlessly at the last few doughnuts on the bed of crumbs and sugar on the table in front of her.
"I'll... think about it," she mumbled, dropping down from her chair. "Thanks a lot for the food, but I've really gotta go back to work."
"Okaaaaay!" Pinkie Pie called out while Ranma walked off. "It was super-duper nice to meet you, Calamity! I can't wait to see you again tomorrow, okay?"
Pinkie darted forward to hug Ranma goodbye. Ranma back-flipped over her lunge, and Pinkie skidded to a stop before spinning around. The two mares circled each other briefly, eyeing each other for weaknesses, and then Pinkie Pie blasted forward again.
The other ponies in the bakery watched the affair in befuddled silence. Ranma ducked, weaved, and jumped while Pinkie tried to hug her, all without saying a word. Every dodge brought her closer to the exit, until Pinkie feinted a lunge and hopped into the doorway to block the martial artist's path instead. Ranma veered away and jumped up to a window, threw it open, and then escaped that way rather than opting to go through her.
"Goodbyyyyyye!" Pinkie Pie chirped, waving to the departing pegasus.
"Pinkie... why do you keep trying to, uhm, grab her like that?" Fluttershy asked, her brow creasing. "I don't think she likes it."
"For the love of the game, Fluttershy," Pinkie said with a calculating grin, tapping the tips of her hooves together. "Love. Of. The. Game."
Twilight Sparkle awoke with a kick and a snort.
Her eyes fluttered open, and her wings twitched and resettled. She was in her bed, at home, in her freshly-rebuilt library. Her sheets were underneath her, as if she simply jumped into bed and instantly fell asleep.
"... Spike?!" she shouted, rubbing her bleary eyes. "Spike! Are you here?!"
After a few seconds, the bedroom door creaked open. Spike leaned his head in, regarding Twilight with a concerned expression.
"Twi? You okay? As soon as we got home you stumbled into your bedroom and collapsed," Spike said. "Was it that hard for you to sleep on the train? I don't remember you having trouble with that before."
Twilight didn't answer, her eyes narrowing. Then she shook her head violently, further fraying her bed mane.
"Where's Ranma?" the purple Princess asked, standing up. "I've lost enough time already. We have a lot of Friendship to get to."
"He's staying with Applejack, remember? Since most of the stuff we gave Trixie was hers, he's working it off."
Twilight frowned. "Yes, right... I didn't think about it before, but that's... less than ideal. It's going to be harder to spend time with him in-between farm chores. Hmmm..." She rubbed a hoof against her chin. "Maybe once he's done enough to pay her back, he could stay with us instea-"
Twilight stopped mid-sentence, her cheeks burning. Suddenly she envisioned herself curled up in her bed, spooning with the pigtailed stallion and snuggling into his chest.
Spike waited several seconds into the sudden silence, his eyebrow slowly rising. "Uh... yeah? You want him to stay here?"
Twilight recoiled, sputtering incoherently and looking scandalized.
"I d-didn't mean it like that!" she protested in a panic. "Just here in the library! N-Not here in m-my room! That would be weird! We barely qualify as friends yet! I'm not ready!"
"... What?" Spike asked, tilting his head to the side. "Twi, do you need to rest some more? You look like you're hyperventilating."
The alicorn sat down and slapped her hooves lightly against her cheeks repeatedly. "I'm... fine. Yes. This is okay. Everything is... good!" She offered Spike a ridiculously forced smile. "I need to talk to Ranma, though. For friendly, completely platonic reasons involving no physical contact."
"Oh... kay..." Spike moved out of the doorway so Twilight could trot through. "Are you sure? Because it's his first day in actual pony civilization and you seem a little out of it. I think you could wait a day if you're feeling rattled."
Twilight's stride became ever more determined as she approached the front door. "No, I need to start now." She pulled open the front door with her telekinesis. "The sooner we can get Ranma to Princess Celestia, the better. Putting aside his own timetable, the longer we keep him here the greater the chance of some disaster happening due to his presence. It would be a big problem if the Royal Guard found him, certainly, so we should hurry."
A thumping noise came from above, on the roof. Twilight paused, and then glanced up. She couldn't see anything unusual, but she could faintly make out the sound of pegasus wings.
Had a pony been resting on her roof? That seemed odd, but wasn't a problem. She hoped she hadn't startled whoever it was.
"Anyway, it's almost evening already. You can get started on dinner, but I don't know how long this will take. I'll see you later, Spike!"
"See ya, Twi!"
"Yes, that's what I said! Princess Sparkle has DEFINITELY been compromised! She's in on the plan! They're coming for Celestia!"
General Wrath and General Granite stared at the magical projection, their jaws agape. A unicorn soldier stood in front of them, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration and her horn pulsing to maintain the magical link. Below her was a hazy magical projection of a panicked-looking pegasus.
"I heard her say herself that she needed to get Ranma to Princess Celestia as soon as possible, and that it would be a problem for her if we found out about it! We have to stop them!"
"That... sounds pretty bad," Granite said grimly. "Did you confirm the target's presence?"
Another pegasus shifted into the image focus, briefly saluting with a wing. "Sir! We did indeed! First we contacted a citizen who was able to confirm the presence of the rebel Havoc! She described him perfectly to us with minimal prompting, and was able to provide further information as to his current location, known associates, recent activity, and favorite type of doughnut, Sir!"
Wrath raised an eyebrow. "So is this pony named Havoc or is he named Ranma?"
"Ah... actually, she called him Calamity, for some reason."
"You're kidding me. Another alias?!"
"Yes, well... after that, we met a Lunar Guard Sergeant at our rendezvous point!" the pegasus exclaimed. "He was one of the members of a reconnaissance task force, and the rebel ambushed them! Wiped out the entire squad! He said they never stood a chance!"
"Ambushed the Lunar Guard? Really?" Wrath asked, frowning. The batponies were well-known as the best stealth operatives in the kingdom.
"That's what he told us, General, and he had the bone fractures to prove it! He left before giving additional details - like, say, the target's name - but between our findings, whoever we're looking for is definitely here!" A pause. "Also, this may come across as an odd request, but if we're to launch an assault operation into Ponyville I would greatly prefer it to happen before or after 4 to 7 PM tomorrow afternoon, as that's when our civilian contact is throwing me and Sky Ranger a welcome party, apparently."
"That won't be a problem," Wrath said darkly. "We'll be moving out immediately. Thank you for your report. Remain at the rendezvous point until reinforcements arrive."
The pegasi on the other end of the projection saluted again with their wings, and then the image dissipated.
"... Twilight Sparkle. Working with the rebels. I can't believe it," Granite breathed. "Firebrand was right."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't know what happened. She could be under a spell or something, or perhaps she's being tricked," Wrath pointed out. "If she really has gone rogue, then we'll have the opportunity to stop her in her tracks as well... but I dearly hope that's not the case."
Granite sighed, and his ears pinned back. "If she has, Princess Celestia will be devastated. BOTH of the Princesses. ALL of them! Egads, Princess Cadance is her blasted sister-in-law, too!"
"By the sun, this is a disaster," Wrath groaned. "Even if we achieve a crushing victory, we could STILL end up with the royal order pruned. I keep telling the assembly, this is why we need nepotism laws!"
"Not the time, Wrath. We have planning to do," Granite set his jaw. "Lightly populated rural area, single target, weather team has medium cloud cover set. Low chance of enemy reinforcements, but multiple exfiltration vectors. We can't get cocky because this is one pony, unless we want to join Firebrand in the Fillypinnes on recovery leave."
"Encirclement followed by magic stunner web," Wrath shrugged. "I'll have the aerial battalion form an interception ring in case he tries to sprout wings and fly away. If Princess Sparkle stands with him, we can take her down in the same move. Strong, safe, fast."
Then a cough interrupted their strategizing.
"So... you're trying to capture Ranma Saotome-slash-Havoc with magic?" asked the unicorn who had been serving as their communications link. "You probably don't want to do that."
"And why not?" Granite asked, arching an eyebrow. "Is there something else you all know about this ruffian that we don't? Does he have an anti-magic field?"
"Well... not precisely, but..." the unicorn trailed off for a moment. "... The new bounty poster specifically says 'magic cannot be reliably used against him' in advising the capture."
"What? Why?" Wrath demanded.
The mage shrugged. "It doesn't say. I've read a few news articles on this guy, and he's supposed to have a bunch of nutty powers, but nothing explains exactly what happens to him if you use magic. But it seemed pretty important if you're counting on a spell to stun him."
"This stallion supposedly fought Princess Luna to a standstill through raw speed and strength alone, and we're supposed to take him down without magic?" Wrath asked incredulously.
"If it's a matter of strength and speed, then we have sufficient force," Granite retorted. "Such a battle won't be as... clean, of course. We may not be able to take him alive. But victory is still all but certain." He grimaced. "We'll keep the mages in the rear ranks as back-up. Hopefully their spells will have SOME effect if Havoc manages to break the front line."
Then he looked up at Wrath. "I'll take to the field as well. You should stay here."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because there's still a possibility this is a ruse to draw soldiers out of Canterlot and expose the Princesses. One of us should stay. You have the better nose for spies, while I have a better record for avoiding widespread collateral damage. This IS an Equestrian village we're talking about, not some lonely wizard tower in the middle of nowhere."
Wrath pouted. "Tch. You're always using that excuse to leave me behind!"
"Well, you're always setting roofs on fire, so it keeps coming up," Granite drawled. "Shore up our defenses and remain vigilant, Wrath. Whether we crush this lackey or not, we haven't reached the final hour yet. Blood Rite is out there, and he MUST be stopped."
"Of course, General Granite." The pegasus General stood up straighter and saluted her peer. "Blessings of the sun be upon you."
Finding Ranma had taken longer than Twilight expected.
Not because he was hiding or in some place where he wasn't supposed to be, but simply because he was working so far from the farmhouse. Twilight had initially scouted the orchard from above, only to fail to find the cursed stallion. Puzzled, she had questioned Applejack, and learned that Ranma had already had an altercation in Ponyville and a big lunch with the other Elements of Harmony. In consideration of the former, and perhaps also the latter - Applejack didn't appreciate procrastination when it came to farm chores - his second job after moving hay bales was chopping firewood at a faraway site at the edge of the orchard. The simple logic being that if Ranma was going to get into fights, the best place to do it was far away from the farm and surrounded by the least valuable resources the Apple family possessed. Twilight was honestly relieved Applejack hadn't ordered him to sleep out there, too.
Twilight spotted the martial artist in a clearing surrounded by piles of chopped and sawed wood logs. Some of it was chopped into quarters for firewood, while the rest was in bisected logs awaiting being chopped into firewood. Ranma was standing before a large tree trunk that had been cut close to the ground, facilitating the conversion from the latter into the former.
A wood axe was lodged firmly in a second, smaller tree trunk off to the side, and clearly hadn't been budged from the spot in months. Ranma certainly hadn't contemplated using it. He stood a log onto the chopping block and then stared at it briefly, his expression the very image of steely concentration. Then he let out a shout and struck the log. It broke apart into quarters, and each piece bounced away over the tree trunk and rolled into the surrounding piles of ready firewood.
"Hey, Sparks."
Twilight felt her heart skip a beat, and she landed next to the firewood pile. "Ranma! Hi! Keeping busy, I see! Applejack isn't working you too hard?"
"Nah." Ranma put another log into place, stared at it, and then slammed a hoof into the top. It split apart as before, the pieces bouncing away to join the others. Then his eyes darted over to Twilight. "Did you want something?"
"I just wanted to talk!" Twilight said in what she hoped was a cheery, carefree tone. "We have so much to discuss, but you spent most of the train ride alone!"
Ranma frowned, rubbing a hoof against his neck. "This is about the MacGuffin Stone, isn't it?"
Twilight's smile, already looking rather forced and awkward, dimmed somewhat. "Well, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't important. But that's not ALL I want to talk about..."
Ranma turned away for a moment, and then turned back and tossed something. It landed on the ground in front of Twilight, and she recoiled in surprise and just a little bit of genuine fright. After all, the last time this artifact had been flung at her it had instantly sealed her defeat in a critical battle.
The MacGuffin Stone gleamed up at her. Uninhabited, the gemstone wasn't obviously different from any other jewel. Twilight couldn't even sense much ambient magic around it. Such an unassuming thing, and yet...
The alicorn looked up at Ranma in shock, the question written all over her face.
"I'm not giving that to you or anything, but if you want to look it over and poke at it a little, go right ahead." Ranma placed another log on the stump. "Trix swiped some notes from Rite that let her figure out how to capture people inside and shoot them back out. She didn't manage to do much more than that, though. I kind of got the sense that she's scared of really powerful magic items."
"That... would make sense," Twilight said absently, walking up to the artifact. She was expecting Ranma to be more protective of the Stone, and now her mind was awhirl with possibilities. "Can... Can I take this back to my lab at home?"
"No," Ranma said, splitting the next log. Twilight's ears pinned back in disappointment, but the martial artist was adamant. "Sorry Sparks, but I'm not letting that thing out of my sight again. I just know that the moment I do, Rite is going to swoop in and blast whoever I gave it to." He turned to get another log. "I don't want that to happen to you because he could hurt you. I don't want that to happen to Princess Celestasia because then Rite will have the MacGuffin and I'll have to steal it back. Again."
Twilight frowned. "It's Princess Celestia."
"Yeah. Her." Ranma split the next log.
Twilight levitated the MacGuffin Stone next to her, but her focus remained on the pigtailed stallion. "Do you... have a problem with Celestia? Did she do something to offend you when you met her outside Coltson?"
Ranma paused, holding the next log between his hooves. The martial artist grimaced. "Not back then, no."
"Then what's your problem with her?" Twilight pressed. "Princess Celestia has watched over and protected Equestria for millennia. But more than just being our leader, she is my teacher. I consider her family. That doesn't mean you have to like her, obviously, but I will defend her."
Ranma arched an eyebrow. "You don't really think she moves the sun, do you?"
"What? Why wouldn't I?" Twilight asked, somewhat stunned. "How else would it move?"
Ranma sighed as he dropped the log in place. "Okay, look; maybe you're right. I don't know this Princess or what she has to go through to keep the kingdom together. Maybe she really can't do anything about the corrupt mayors and the bandit gangs. Maybe all this business about the bounties was a genuine mistake and she made the best decision with what she knew. And maybe, JUST MAYBE, space around this wacky planet doesn't work like it does on Earth, like the clouds, and she really does magically... lift the sun or whatever. All of that could be true."
His hoof slammed into the firewood log like a thunderbolt, and Twilight flinched in surprise. Rather than being split into quarters, this time the log was reduced to splinters and irregular wood chunks all around the chopping block.
Ranma's eyes burned as he stared hard at Twilight. "BUT... she still sent that jackass dragon after me to get the MacGuffin, which led to Kamikazan burning down Trixie's wagon. So that would be what she did to offend me."
"She... you... WHAT?!" Twilight almost stumbled in shock. "She sent Kamikazan? That's ridiculous! What even makes you think that?!"
"Because he told me." Ranma looked down at the stump with mild regret for having destroyed good firewood, and then placed another log. "Before he torched the wagon and forced me to kick his ass, Kamikazan said that he needed the MacGuffin Stone because Celestia wanted it."
"Th-That... That doesn't mean she sent him after you!" Twilight protested. "He might have figured out that she wanted the MacGuffin and set out to get it on his own!"
"Yeah, I guess..." Ranma paused. "But Kamikazan knew that I had the Stone. He never touched the thing before, so it's not like he used the MacGuffin Sense to find me. Who else would have told him?"
"How do you know he's never touched it before?" Twilight demanded.
"Because I was wearing the thing out in the open the whole time while he was demanding I tell him where it was."
Twilight's cheeks puffed up angrily, but she didn't have an immediate response to that. Her wings ruffled and the MacGuffin Stone spun around in the air, as if Twilight was preparing to fling it away in a huff.
"Well... maybe he was lying! Why should we trust that self-absorbed marauder to give away his real intentions?!"
Ranma paused to think again. "I dunno, he seemed pretty honest to me. Dumb, evil, and vicious too, but still honest." He chopped the next wooden log. "Anyway, I'm not telling you that your Princess is some kind of evil mastermind trying to make my life harder or something. But from what I've heard and seen, she's not the kind of pony I trust with a world-destroying magic gem."
Ranma fell silent and went back to chopping wood. Twilight remained equally silent, quietly fuming and staring at the MacGuffin Stone.
It can't be true. Kamikazan was lying. Or Ranma made a mistake. Or there's a piece of information missing! Princess Celestia would never send a malevolent clod like that on such an important mission! Especially when innocent ponies could get hurt! She'd send me, first!
Twilight snorted and nodded firmly to herself. This was definitely a misunderstanding and one more issue that would need to be cleared between Ranma and the throne. Celestia probably didn't even know the dragon existed.
Nonetheless, knowing what she did about the situation, it was very hard to fault Ranma for his stubbornness. He may have even had a point about possession of the artifact, ultimately. Twilight couldn't say with complete honesty and confidence that the MacGuffin Stone was safer with Celestia than it was with Ranma. But could she convince Princess Celestia of that?
The young Princess groaned and rubbed her head with a hoof. She was under no illusions that this reconciliation was going to be easy, but this was an entirely new wrinkle.
"Okay, let's forget about the MacGuffin Stone for now," Twilight said, floating the artifact back to Ranma. "It's yours. I accept that. In time, I hope you can trust us enough to protect and research it so that we can try to fix what's happened to you, but I won't make promises that I can't keep."
Ranma paused in his work, slightly overwhelmed as he took the MacGuffin Stone back between his hooves.
Twilight brushed away the firewood atop the stump and sat down in front of the stallion, almost nose-to-nose. "I need to know, though: if I take you to Canterlot and you stand before Princess Celestia, can you give an honest accounting of what you've done? Can you ask for forgiveness rather than giving in to resentment and sparking a conflict?"
Ranma's ears pinned back and he averted eye contact uncomfortably. "Oh, c'mon! I didn't do anything wrong!" he complained, storing the MacGuffin away in that inexplicable way of his.
"Really? Nothing at all?" Twilight pressed, leaning over to look him in the eyes again.
"Er... well... not ON PURPOSE..."
Twilight shook her head. "Ranma, ponies make mistakes. Sometimes other ponies suffer for them. If you can stand before Princess Celestia and explain yourself, I believe you'll be forgiven and your bounty neutralized." She frowned slightly. "I'm sure Princess Celestia isn't going to be happy that you're keeping the MacGuffin Stone. I honestly don't know how we're going to resolve something like that. But if you come with me to Canterlot, then I'm sure we can clear your name." She held out a hoof toward the martial artist. "Do you trust me?"
Ranma stared her hoof, and then sighed and placed his own against it. "Yeah. I guess I do. Thanks, Sparks."
"You're welcome, Ranma. Now let's go back to the farm; I'm sure you've chopped enough firewood for today." She smiled brightly, and Ranma couldn't help but smile back.
"You know Sparks, you're pretty cool for a Princess," he said with a chuckle, kicking some stray wood pieces toward the main pile.
Twilight blinked repeatedly. She wasn't used to that particular compliment. "I'm 'cool?' R-Really?" Her brow furrowed. "And I'm cool despite being a Princess, not because of it? Is that what you're implying?"
"Yeah. I can't stand royalty," Ranma confessed, "but you're different." He started heading toward the farmstead, and Twilight rushed to catch up and match his walking distance.
"Can you elaborate on that?" Twilight asked, her expression utterly serious. "How am I different? And if, in fact, these differences reflect positively upon me, are you sure the other Princesses lack these traits and aren't a product of your uniquely complicated interactions with them?"
Ranma just laughed, and Twilight pouted.
"But I'm being serious..." she grumbled.
"I know. It's really cute," the martial artist replied, chuckling.
Twilight flushed deeply and fell into silence while they walked through the orchard. Her thoughts were awhirl, one topic after another flitting through her mind. There was still so much she wanted to know about Ranma: what his real species was like, what his world was like, what his travels around Equestria was like. She wanted to know how he learned to fight and what type of metaphysical mechanism created the cyclones he used to rid himself of uppity dragons. She wanted to know about what happened on that day she had been rescued from Blood Rite, and whether Ranma had any special insight to the sorcerer's plans that may have eluded Equestrian agents.
All this and more bubbled just below the surface, but once again Twilight Sparkle couldn't decide on the right words to bring about a new topic. She found her eyes drawn to the sunset instead, and the golden light washing through the leaves and branches of the orchard.
"Man, it's going to be awful getting to sleep tonight," Ranma complained out of nowhere. "Jack wants me up super early, and I haven't slept alone in a long time."
And so it was that Twilight decided what she wanted to talk about. "SPEAKING OF WHICH."
Ranma seemed startled by the sudden interjection, and Twilight's eyes narrowed at him suspiciously.
"Would you care to explain why you slept in my bunk last night?" Twilight asked, her voice hovering between righteous judgment and anxious curiosity.
Ranma blinked. "Er... why? I dunno." His ears flattened against his head. "I mean, was that weird? I'm sorry. Trix never seemed to care, so I didn't even think about it."
Twilight kept staring at him. "You slept with Trixie?"
"Yeah."
"In the strictly technical sense of sharing a bedspread?"
"Yeah."
"So when you climbed into my bunk without permission or warning you had no other intentions and it never occurred to you that I might object?"
"Er... y-yeah..."
Twilight held eye contact with Ranma for several seconds while he grimaced under her scrutiny. Then her expression relaxed and she turned away.
"I see. Well, I'm glad that it was simply a strange, harmless presumption on your part. I was... somewhat anxious about it," Twilight admitted.
Ranma froze in place, and his ears twitched.
"Although I don't object to platonic cuddling in and of itself, there are obviously certain norms in conduct between mares and stallions that you should be aware of, even if you've only been a pony for a matter of months now." Twilight continued on ahead while she lectured, not noticing that the martial artist had stopped. "In general, you have to learn to respect other ponies' personal space, especially in a setting as intimate as sleeEEEEP!!"
Twilight shrieked in surprised when Ranma slipped under her belly between her front and rear legs and then stood up to carry her on his back at high speed. She flailed in panic, but the shock and sudden acceleration stopped her from doing much else.
"THIS!! This is what I'm talking about! Stop doing things like this!" Twilight shouted.
"Above! We're under attack!" Ranma retorted.
A steel wire net fell over the clearing between the trees that they had abandoned, stretching nearly twenty feet across the ground and weighted at the edges with small iron blocks. Twilight gasped and then glanced upward, only barely catching a glint of polished armor before it was obscured by the branches of apple trees.
"Th-That... That was a pegasus soldier! The Royal Guard is here already?!"
Ranma started to slow his gallop through the orchard. "Royal Guard? So that was your military? Not some bounty hunter? Aw, crud," he groaned. "I can't head back to the farm with soldiers on my tail! DAMN IT, it's almost dinner time, too! This sucks!"
Twilight flapped her wings to move off of Ranma's back, and then hovered higher to see if she could spot the pursuers. "Well, I was really hoping I could get you a pardon before this happened, but I suppose I can't say Trixie didn't warn me." She pursed her lips while she considered her options. "Okay, let me try to talk them down. I think I can get them to send a message to Princess Celestia rather than pressing the attack. Ugh... I really should have had Spike send something earlier. I just thought we had more time!"
"Should I make a break for it while you're distracting them?" Ranma asked, his eyes fixed on something off to the side.
"No! Just... Just stay with me and please, PLEASE don't attack anypony!" Twilight couldn't spot any pegasi above them, and she lowered herself back to the ground. "We have to find the unit officer! The pony in charge will be able to tell the others to stand down!"
"It's probably that guy up ahead."
Twilight whipped around to see who Ranma was referring to, but she couldn't see anypony ahead of them. "Who? There's nopony there."
"You don't feel that?" Ranma asked, a shudder rolling down his spine. "It's like the dirt is burning up under my feet. I've never felt anything like it."
Twilight didn't feel a thing from the ground, and wanted to question him further, but then she heard it: the rattle of armor links, coming from the same direction Ranma was watching.
Walking through the orchard, a stallion slowly walked into view. Larger than Big Macintosh, with a fur coat of mottled gray and mane of charcoal black, the pony was a relatively imposing figure on his own without taking into account any armament. He wore a massive suit of elaborate plate mail that covered everything but his head and tail. The suit was covered in medals, seals, and sashes with all manner of symbols and iconography, such that Ranma couldn't tell which, if any, of them were supposed to be his cutie mark. The stallion didn't seem to be armed, but he exuded a sense of grave, silent menace that had the martial artist on edge.
"G-General Granite!" Twilight stuttered as he approached. "I need to speak with you! This is a misunderstanding! Ranma Saotome isn't our enemy! Please, call off the soldiers!"
General Granite stopped. His gaze shifted from Twilight to Ranma, sizing up the pigtailed stallion. "Not our enemy? I think the battered ponies lying in his wake would disagree. But I'm quite interested in why you don't, Princess."
"Well, that's... kind of a long and complicated story!" Twilight hedged. "But yes, we can talk this over! There's no need for violence, please!"
"Not if you surrender, there isn't," Granite said, much to the mare's confusion. "Princess Twilight Sparkle and the rebel thug Ranma Saotome, more popularly known as 'Havoc,' I have been sent to arrest both of you. Lay down at once and submit so we may restrain you."
Twilight's eyes bugged out. "Arrest both of us?! Arrest ME?! But why?!"
"That will be one of many subjects we'll discuss after I've secured your surrender and begun your interrogation, Princess."
Ranma scowled. "Yeah? You and what army?"
A loud, resonant whine filled the air as soon as the words left Ranma's mouth. Several magic circles appeared at seemingly random points in the orchard around them, forming intricate patterns of gold, pink, and purple that expanded and then spun over the ground.
Armored ponies surrounding a single robed unicorn flashed into place within the circles, appearing in clusters of eight to ten equines. Dozens of them appeared in seconds and then spread out, taking up pre-planned formations while the mages backed up to offer fire support.
The furious beat of wings came from above as pegasi swooped down from the clouds where they had been awaiting deployment. Some of the winged troopers carried crossbows attached to a foreleg or a spear gripped in their jaws, while others carried nets, chains, or shackles hanging from loops at their flanks. It wasn't possible to spot all of the descending soldiers given the tree cover, but there were enough to form a containment ring in the sky and cut off any aerial line of escape.
Unnoticed by most, several dark shapes emerged from behind bushes or dropped from the thick webs of branches in the trees above to back up the ground formation. The batponies brandished hoofblades and throwing knives, prowling a third perimeter behind their less stealthy cousins. Some of the other soldiers seemed surprised to see them, shifting their formation so that they could keep an eye on the Lunar Guard soldiers as well as their target.
"... Okay, that's a decent army," Ranma admitted as a sweatdrop rolled down his head.
"This is the end of your reign of terror across our lands, Havoc, and the last gasp of Blood Rite's pathetic little rebellion," Granite growled. "In the name of Equestria and Princess Celestia! Seize the traitors!" |
Taming the Wild Horse | Judgment Deferred | Taming the Wild Horse
a My Little Pony/Ranma 0.5 crossover fanfiction
by SFaccountant
Chapter 8
Judgment Deferred
Blood Rite appeared near the edge of the town's border in a flash of white light, his teleportation flare casting long shadows behind the clusters of trees. He quickly ducked under the brush, searching the surroundings for any witnesses.
Nothing. There were no ponies gathered at this particular corner of the town at this particular hour. Which was to be expected; the sun was setting down and most of the townsfolk would be at home eating dinner. But he couldn't take his security for granted. Not here.
Another flash of light consumed him, and Rite re-appeared atop the nearest house. With a few indecipherable whispers and a glimmer around his horn, a sphere of silvery magic coalesced into the air barely a foot above the roof. It was about the size of a tennis ball, and inscribed with a runic symbol on one side and a dark spot on the other, like the iris of an eye.
Even doing this much was a substantial risk; Ponyville was often subjected to strange magic effects, was the home of the Element of Magic, and also visited semi-frequently by Equestrian royalty. There was no telling how long his scryer sentries would last, and what would happen after they were discovered. Canterlot was still as nervous as ever about his movements and activities, and they were desperate for any lead they could get to corner him.
But there was simply no way he could miss the pandemonium that he had just unleashed within this sleepy pony village.
"By Faust, they really dispatched the army here, all to hunt down that pigtailed pest," Rite whispered to himself.
In the distance he could see the pegasi above the trees, glittering from the reflection of the twilight against their polished armor. Beams of light flared up into the sky within a tight cluster in the orchard: group teleports, of the sort used to deploy Equestrian vanguards. How many ponies were facing down the accursed ape right now? Dozens? Hundreds? A thousand or more?
Rite had to tamp down his own excitement. He was sure that this deployment was so big in part because they thought - or rather, hoped - that he might show up to interfere. He still didn't understand quite how Ranma Saotome, the single largest thorn in his side, had been branded as his ally and fellow rebel, but it was a fortunate thing that most of his enemies hated each other. It had already neutralized Kamikazan - an incidental obstacle, to be sure, but still a serious threat - and it may yet remove Havoc from the board as well.
Or the entire Equestrian military. Whichever.
He teleported to another roof, and began setting up another sentry. "I would give my left legs to be able to see and hear what's happening in that orchard right now," the sorcerer said to himself. "But I'll have to set these here and hope the battle or its aftermath is visible from... hmm?"
Rite spotted a speedy blue blur arcing through the air above, and he fell flat onto the roof. With a flicker of magic, his cloak changed color to match the shingles, like the scales of a chameleon. The pegasus whipped past obliviously, zooming across town without slowing down.
"Careful... Careful..." Rite hissed, slowly standing up again. "I can't get caught here just yet. Nopony must know how far my reach extends."
He teleported to another rooftop, making sure to check the surrounding airspace extensively and keep his cloak in its camouflage mode. "One more, then it's back to the gateway." His lips twitched into a smirk. "I hope you put on a good performance for me, Havoc..."
"This is a mistake. This is all a mistake! You don't realize what you're doing!"
Twilight Sparkle's eyes darted around as she pleaded to the armored earth pony in front of her. Everywhere she looked there were ponies tensed for violence. Armored earth ponies, unicorns draped in magic robes, batponies with blades and masks, pegasi with swords and crossbows... and Ranma Saotome, standing before the mob.
"It may indeed be a mistake, Princess, but I'll determine that for myself after you and your... friend are safely in custody." General Granite's eyes narrowed. "Stand down."
"Get bent," Ranma retorted flatly.
The entire military formation took a step forward, and Twilight's hackles rose.
"You don't understand what you're doing! Ranma isn't a rebel! He's fighting AGAINST Blood Rite!" Twilight insisted.
"I will take your words under consideration during interrogation," Granite replied. "Stand. Down."
With a frustrated growl, Twilight slowly lowered herself onto the ground. "Ranma, please, just surrender. There's no need to fight."
"You can't be serious," the martial artist scoffed at her.
"I can fix this!" Twilight insisted desperately. "If I had just spoken earlier with Princess Celestia, this wouldn't have even happened! I'll get a message to her! We can sort all this out, but I need you to trust me!"
"I trust you just fine." Ranma nudged his head toward General Granite. "It's this chump I don't trust."
"You wound me," Granite drawled.
"Not yet, I haven't."
"No! Stop! Don't hurt anypony!" Twilight hissed.
"I must concur with the Princess. You've caused quite enough devastation already, Havoc. Surrender your weapon and lie down, and there might just be a chance things work out as Princess Sparkle hopes," Granite said.
Ranma quirked an eyebrow. "Weapon? What weapon?"
"Don't play coy with me, brigand," Granite snapped. "You possess an artifact with which to harm the Princesses. A magical jewel belonging to your master, Blood Rite." His nose scrunched up. "I won't spoil the dramatic tension by naming the object in question, but we're obviously not going to let you hold onto it in prison, or leave it to sit in some household drawer, unguarded. Where is it?"
A vein popped up on Ranma's head, and Twilight at last accepted that there would be no peaceful resolution to this stand-off. After all she had done to bring Ranma to Ponyville for his own protection and benefit, she couldn't possibly ask him to surrender his artifact under threat of force, and he wouldn't comply if she did. If General Granite took the MacGuffin Stone then Ranma would likely never see it again. Everypony here knew that. While Twilight didn't object to that arrangement in theory, having it play out like this was agonizing.
The realization sickened Twilight. Was she to blame for this? If she had been more cautious, or more forthcoming, or more aggressive, or more humble, could some part of this catastrophe have been avoided? Or was this inevitable the moment Ranma had stepped into Ponyville? Was there any hope of salvaging his future as a free stallion anymore? Was Trixie right after all, that there was no avoiding the collision course between Ranma Saotome and Equestria, only accelerating it?
"Sparks..." Ranma leaned closer to whisper into Twilight's ear, interrupting her grim contemplation. "Can you teleport out of here?"
Twilight pushed away everything else from her thoughts and considered the question. "No. They planted a magic field obstructing me. Four unicorns are keeping the field in place." She gulped. "If... If two of them broke their spell, then the field would collapse and I could leave."
"Got it," Ranma breathed, stepping away from the alicorn.
"Stop mumbling to yourselves and get on the ground," Granite said, increasingly agitated. "Princess Twilight has done her best to protect you, but you've spurned her advice as well as my orders. This is the last time I'm going to demand your surrender. The only way you're leaving this town is in shackles."
A bitter, regretful laugh came from Twilight, slightly surprising the soldiers.
"I'm sorry, General. I wasn't trying to protect him," Twilight said with a sigh. "I was trying to protect you."
The fight quite literally started before the Royal Guard realized it; a particular embarrassment for an army that had completely surrounded their target three times over.
Ranma rapidly scuffed the dirt with his back hooves while Twilight spoke, as if testing his footing. A stone was unearthed with his pawing, and it vanished into a dirt-colored blur through the air. A heartbeat later, a sharp cracking sound issued from the rear ranks of the formation, where the mages stood.
A shriek of pain came from a single unicorn - incidentally, the only one of the group whose horn was actively glowing - and he collapsed onto his side as a lump formed under his hood.
"SEIZE HIM!!" General Granite bellowed.
"Good luck with that," Ranma snorted.
The martial artist launched himself toward the general, his aura blooming and trailing behind him like the flames of a rocket engine. General Granite didn't flinch, leaning forward to take the blow directly.
Ranma leapt straight over him, revealing his feint. He landed within stabbing distance of the nearest soldier directly behind the officer, who spent only a moment stumbling in shock before darting forward with his spear. As expected.
Ranma dodged and bit onto the spear haft, and then slammed a hoof into the side of the soldier's head, taking out the spear owner. The sound of crossbows firing and formation orders came from all around, and the martial artist did a cautionary backflip before hurling his newly acquired polearm.
"YEEK!!" One of the other mages with her horn aglow recoiled in shock when the spear stabbed into the ground between her front hooves, grazing her chest. Her magic flickered with the break in concentration, and that was the only opening Twilight needed.
With a flash of purple light and a distracted apology, Twilight Sparkle vanished from Sweet Apple Acres.
"That treacherous little..." General Granite bit his tongue and turned toward the pigtailed pony. It was far too early in this mission to start bemoaning failure. Twilight Sparkle was arguably the more dangerous of the two alleged traitors, but the pigtailed rebel wouldn't be able to slip away so easily. Probably.
Ranma landed and rolled, jumping up into a sprint as soon as he got his footing. Crossbow bolts zipped past, stabbing into the orchard grounds in an uneven trail behind him, and spears lunged forward only to slice through empty air. It wasn't clear where Ranma was going; he seemed to be galloping about at random. But a few of the soldiers bearing spears came close enough that they started to break ranks and pursue the martial artist.
"Hold formation! He's trying to break you up!" snapped General Granite. "Move forward together! Choke off his maneuvering space!"
Ranma changed tactics immediately, turning on one heel and then bolting toward the General. Granite barely had time to blink before the gray blur struck him in the jaw, impacting with such force that the ground kicked up around him. The various soldiers firing on Ranma halted their volleys, and for a few seconds the battlefield fell silent.
Ranma blinked in surprise, his hoof still pressed against Granite's cheek. The larger stallion had barely budged from the hit, and was glaring down at him. Such a kick should have been enough to unsettle a tree, but the armored pony merely seemed annoyed.
"That actually stings a little," Granite growled, swatting away Ranma's hoof. "Perhaps there really is something to all the wild talk about your power. But it will take much more than that to put down the Royal Guard of Canterlot."
"Lemme guess: magic armor?" Ranma muttered, backing away.
"I decline to explain my abilities to you. Firebrand and Wrath may delight in showing off, but I prefer to complete my missions." Granite thrust a hoof forward. "Advance! Subdue this criminal!"
The soldiers on the ground march in lockstep, their clanking armor striking a cold, steady beat through the orchard. Together the units formed staggered rings of spears four ponies deep, slowly moving inward toward their target. With the mages and batponies forming a back-up formation behind them, Ranma didn't like his chances of going over or pushing through the grounded ponies directly; a few spells cast in a frightened panic could blast another massive hole in Applejack's orchard, to say nothing of what it might do to him. Never mind that he didn't have a good measure of Granite's abilities, either. The larger stallion was waiting patiently for now, declining to attack, but Ranma didn't imagine that would last much longer.
Besides, the Saotome style of Anything-Goes always recommended aerial combat anyway.
"Look out below!" bellowed a pegasus Sergeant before releasing his iron-weighted nets. Three other pegasi did the same, swooping down in long, shallow dives to drop their own.
"Look out above!" came a panicked shout from the ground.
The confused pegasi slowed and turned, and were treated to the sight of a nearby tree shaking violently, as if something were moving about the branches with great speed and force. Then a gray blur erupted from the tree top in a burst of leaves and apples, heading straight for the Sergeant.
A punishing kick sent the Sergeant flailing; his helmet plummeted to the ground with a sizeable dent, while the pony followed after it while flapping his wings in a blind panic. Ranma bounced away from his first victim, leaping onto the next-closest flyer and slamming both hooves into his back. He arced through the air toward another one, kicking off of her side before she could evade. He made his way over the treetops like this, bouncing from pegasus to pegasus in a series of lightning-fast kicks and acrobatic somersaults. Most of the soldiers tried to scatter, but enough of the flying ponies were so stunned at the sight that they missed their chance to dart out of range.
Ranma landed on the back of another soldier and kicked off, finally reaching the point in which he could see no more ponies in the air ahead of him. He plummeted back down into the orchard, landed heavily on an outstretched branch, and then used it as a springboard to leap to another tree.
A throwing blade grazed his shoulder, embedding itself in the tree ahead of him, but Ranma barely paid the weapon any mind. For now he simply took note that the batponies were apparently the soldiers closest behind him during his escape. That was a problem, as the thestrals were pretty much impossible for him to hide from. Echolocation wasn't a sense that Ranma had any experience in evading.
"Whatever, guess I'll just outrun all of them," the martial artist grumbled, hopping from tree branch to tree branch. "Better lead them out of the orchard, though. If they start throwing fireballs or something in here, Jack is gonna be really mad." Ranma had to imagine that the farmer was going to be upset about an army charging through her property no matter what, but if he could somehow ditch his pursuers without further damage at least she might not hold it against him for the rest of his stay in Ponyville.
His stay in Ponyville to clear his name and get the Equestrian army to stop hunting him.
"This sucks so much," Ranma complained, ducking under a pair of crossbow bolts.
"He's moving East!" shouted a soldier from above. "Pegasi, stay ahead of him while the ground troops catch up! And for Celestia's sake, stay high!"
Ranma looked up, and he grimaced at the sheer number of ponies soaring overhead. Most of them struggled to match his sprinting speed, but staying ahead of them long enough to lose the entire army seemed unlikely. Also, most of them were armed with ranged weapons of one sort or another. Ranma could dispatch any individual soldier easily, and a whole squad with some difficulty, but once he was facing down actual armies it was time to look for other solutions.
A batpony in a black mask dropped down in front of him, and Ranma ducked under a gleaming knife edge slashing through the twilight. Twisting sharply, he smashed a hoof into the pony's wing and launched himself away just ahead of a pair of crossbow bolts whipping through the air after him. The Lunar Guard shrieked in pain and anger, and the pigtailed stallion galloped away without slowing.
"At least Sparks made it out okay," he grumbled as he dashed through the trees. "I don't know what I'm gonna do, but it would really suck if she gets put in pony jail or whatever because she tried to help me."
A loud whining noise snapped him out of his thoughts, and a column of magical light erupted in front of him. Another squad of armored ponies materialized within the halo, and the magic pillar shrunk to a string-thin beam of light before fizzling in the center of the formation.
"Halt, vill-" the squad leader didn't get any further in his demand before he was tackled by a furry gray blur, sending his helmet spinning away and smacking into another soldier. The stallion was thrown to the ground and then flung into a tree, shattering the rest of his armor and fully removing him from the rest of the battle.
Ranma jumped onto another soldier's back and then leapt away from the squad, moving just inches ahead of stabbing spears and metal-shod hooves. The moment he touched the ground he was off like a bullet, speeding between the trees with the rumble of iron-clad hooves racing behind him.
The azure glow of Rarity's magic surrounded her teapot, gently lifting it from the stove. With a push to its underside, the pot tilted to pour into a series of small porcelain teacups, steam wafting from the amber liquid. After a moment it stood upright again, and then sank back onto the burner.
"I'm so glad you could make the time to stop by to chat now that you're back, Rainbow Dash. We were rather alarmed to learn that Twilight had suddenly departed without telling anypony where she was going. Again, I mean." Rarity trotted to her living room, the tea cups following on disks of soft blue energy. "I invited Twilight as well, but Spike said she was out."
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash lounged on a couch, with the latter laying on the arm in a pose that could only be described as "unlady-like." As soon as the teacups were set down, Rainbow bounced up and landed at the edge of the coffee table, scooping it up in her hooves.
"It was pretty cool! We didn't get to run into any sorcerers or rebels, but teaming up against a dragon was neat!" She paused to take a long sip of her tea. "Kamikazan is kind of an odd cookie. WAY angrier than the other dragons we've met. I also don't get the whole dragon royalty thing. I'm guessing he's a 'king' the same way Sombra was."
"Why did you fight him?" Fluttershy asked.
"Because of the MacGuffin Stone, of course. I guess it isn't just ponies that want that thing." Rainbow put her tea down. "Which is no big deal on its own, but if he didn't get the rock, Kamikazan was going to just start burning stuff to punish us. NOT cool."
"I can't help but be relieved that Spike was raised in a proper pony household away from others of his kind," Rarity grumbled. "Then again, I suppose those unicorns also spilled pony blood to get the artifact as well. Such wanton cruelty, all over a gemstone." She grimaced, floating a cup of tea to her lips.
"Yeah, I dunno what the big deal is, really. Havoc didn't even bother to use it when he was fighting King Scaly. But hey, if Princess Celestia says it's important, then it's important." She gulped down some more tea.
Fluttershy's ears suddenly perked during the lull in conversation. "Hmm?"
"And how is Twilight, really? You said earlier that she didn't get much rest last night, and I haven't seen her since before she left," Rarity asked, looking concerned. "She didn't get hurt during the battle, did she?"
"Nah. Twi did great." Rainbow paused to gulp down the rest of her tea, and then put the cup back down. "Things got a little dicey whenever we ran into Kamikazan, but AJ and I had her back! And then Havoc had her back too, and that was pretty much that." She chuckled. "She didn't get a scratch!"
"But she was the only one who couldn't rest on the way back home?" Rarity asked, one eyebrow delicately curving upward.
"Yeah..." Rainbow Dash frowned, placing a hoof to her chin. "She did get to bed later than I did, I guess. When I turned in she and Havoc were the only ones up."
Rarity's other eyebrow jumped up. "Reeeally..."
"He was still sad about Trixie dumping him, I guess, and Twilight felt really bad for him." Rainbow Dash shrugged, oblivious to the glint in Rarity's eye. "I mean, I feel bad for him too, but I also think he's way better off without Trixie leading him around the country and using him as a pack mule. Twi thinks there's more to it than that."
"Trixie dumped Havoc, you say?" Rarity pressed, leaning forward with a grin on her face.
"Boy, did she ever! I thought she was going to pop a blood vessel!" Rainbow Dash snorted and leaned back into a slouch. "I've never seen somepony so mad over a little collateral damage! She didn't even care that he had just beat up a dragon!"
Rarity leaned closer. "And then, last night, Havoc and Twilight were alone together while everypony else was asleep? And then she went home flustered and exhausted this morning?"
Rainbow blinked. "Uh... yeah. So?"
Before Rarity could reply, Fluttershy timidly raised a wing and coughed. "Uhm, does anypony else hear that?"
"Hear what?" Rainbow Dash asked, sitting up straight again.
Almost immediately she could hear it too; a crashing noise and angry shouting, muffled by distance and the walls of Rarity's boutique.
"Oh, what now?" Rarity asked, her mood instantly souring. "We were just getting to the good part!" She slid off her seat and approached the window.
"Aw hay, I hope that isn't Havoc," Rainbow Dash groaned, slapping a wing across her face.
"Well, um, I hope so too, but..." Fluttershy fidgeted with her hooves for a moment. "Well, he did hurt those Lunar Guards right?"
"They started it!" Rainbow protested.
"Er... does that matter?" the other pegasus wondered.
Rarity reached the window and tilted her head to one side, trying to get a good look. "What is going on out there?" she grumbled. "It's like there's some kind of mob running around."
A series of thumping noises came from the walls. Alarmed, Rainbow Dash jumped up on all fours and Fluttershy yelped and hid behind the couch. Rarity looked over, trying to guess where the impacts were coming from, and then she took an uncertain step away from the window.
"Is somepony on the roof? Where did-"
A pair of bodies suddenly crashed through the window, and Rarity shrieked and flung herself away from the flying shards of glass.
Ranma rolled across the floor, his legs entangled with the thestral snarling and snapping his jaws at him. Once they hit a piece of furniture the martial artist flipped up and slammed his opponent's head into the base, embedding the pony's helmet into the table and shattering the teacups on top of it.
He jumped into a backflip, leaping over several throwing knives that stuck into the table surface. Landing next to another Lunar Guard, Ranma spin-kicked a hoofblade that was flying for his neck, and then body-slammed the thestral after she stumbled. The mare was smashed against the wall, and she screeched painfully before slumping onto the floor, her eyes spinning in her head.
"PONY ASSASSINS!!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"I KNOW!!" Ranma shouted back. A spear zipped by his shoulder, shaving off a few dozen hairs before stabbing into the floor.
The martial artist bolted across the room as a pair of pegasus soldiers dropped in through the window. Rarity gaped at the scene in horror, while Fluttershy covered her head with a couch cushion.
"What in the name of Celestia is going on here?!" the unicorn demanded, her shock and terror quickly making way for anger.
"The same thing that's been going on for months, mostly!" Ranma explained while he raced for another window. "Sorry about this!"
That window shattered inward, and another pegasus landed in the living room with a sword in his jaw. Ranma attacked immediately, and a spinning kick sent the blade flying to the side and the soldier dropping to the floor. The sword thankfully went nowhere near the other ponies, but it did end up decapitating a helpless pony mannequin before sticking itself in a cupboard.
Another soldier swooped in through the window to block his exit, and Ranma glanced back at the two others who were sprinting across the floor. "I'm really sorry Rarity!" He ducked under a spear stab and then pivoted around on one leg, seizing the pegasus trooper's neck between his back hooves. "I didn't know this was your place!" He flung the soldier pony across the room, striking another one and sending them both flailing into a side table. A vase crashed down on top of them second later, breaking into dozens of heavy shards against their heads.
"If I don't die or end up in jail I'll make it up to you! Bye!" He jumped over another spear thrust, and then kicked off of the last soldier's side. Ranma went out the window, while the armored pegasus was thrown across the room and slid across the coffee table, demolishing the tea pot in his passing.
"Woohoo! Go get 'em, Havoc!" Rainbow Dash cheered, swinging one hoof in the air excitedly.
"Rainbow Dash, stop that!" Rarity admonished, scowling. "Look at what they did to my boutique! What is even going on out there?! How much damage have they already done?" Then she gasped. "Wasn't he staying at Applejack's home? Is she okay?! Did he wreck her barn again?!"
"Okay, okay, I get the picture. Let's see if we can put a stop to this," Rainbow Dash sighed, trotting up to the window. "But still, at least Havoc apologized."
"Element of Loyalty my plot," grumbled one of the injured troopers.
Rainbow stuck out her tongue at the stallion and then spread her wings, darting out the window.
It was dark out by now, with most of the town illuminated by scattered street lamps. In-between the lamps, unicorn soldiers led ranks of armored ponies with their horns aglow, casting about enough light for the troops spread through Ponyville to converge on their target. Not that they necessarily needed to see, as the sound of crashing timbers, banging metal, and agonized cries of pain were easy enough to follow. A trail of groaning equines in battered armor created a path straight to the harried martial artist, and dozens of soldiers galloped along the path to meet a similar fate.
"Yeesh, what did he do to deserve all this?" Rainbow wondered aloud. A wing of batponies whipped past of her head, their wings beating furiously against the air and blades clenched tightly in their teeth. "I feel like if we used this kind of force against every threat to Equestria, I'd have a lot more free time."
A formation of pegasi dove from the clouds above Ponyville, the lights glinting off their armor and battle cries echoing through the night. Ranma leapt up into the formation before they could complete their dive, shocking the squad leader before he was sent spinning into the ground. The martial artist bounced from pony to pony with a series of bone-shattering kicks and the pegasi soldiers immediately became a hapless mess, with half the unit trying to flee like frightened pigeons while the other half attempted to engage in proper aerial combat as per their training. Their dire situation wasn't helped at all by their unicorn comrades, who kept shining blinding beams of light into the fray to try to track Ranma in his flight.
Within seconds the pigtailed pony smashed a hoof into the back of the last soldier that had sought to stay and fight, and then he somersaulted away to the ground. Ranma took off immediately once he landed, galloping back around Rarity's boutique. More soldiers thundered after him, their path parting around the various ponies laying on the road in twitching heaps.
"Okay, I take it back. What did the soldiers do to deserve this?" Rainbow Dash mumbled. Then she flipped around, searching the ranks of the Equestrian soldiers for somepony that seemed significant.
It didn't take long to find such a pony. A massive stallion - by pony standards, at any rate - marched down the main road with a phalanx of unicorns lighting his path and two wings of pegasi escorting him from above. Ponyville residents peeked out of windows and partially opened doors, staring in awe at the veritable mountain of metal-clad equine marching past. Few knew who the stallion was at a glance, but the combination of heraldry and sheer strength of presence kept any of them from protesting at the bedlam rocking their hometown.
Even Rainbow Dash felt slightly overwhelmed at first, but the speedster quickly shook it off and swooped down toward the heart of the army. The pegasi soldiers flinched at her approach, but they didn't try to stop her as she dropped down right in front of the hefty earth pony to hover at eye level.
"Hey, what the hay's going on here?! Are you trying to get somepony killed?!" Rainbow shouted, causing the entire group to halt.
General Granite stopped and spent a moment sizing up the blue pony. "Return to your home, citizen. It's not safe right now. We're in the process of apprehending a pair of dangerous fugitives, and-"
"My name isn't 'citizen,' it's Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow interrupted with a snort. "I'm pretty sure you guys have heard of me! Now do you wanna explain why you're tearing up the town trying to pin down Havoc? I thought Twilight was going to sort this thing out!"
Granite pursed his lips, hesitating in response. "I'm uncertain as to how Princess Sparkle might 'sort out' the arrest of a dangerous criminal and rebel against the Equestrian royal order. What was she prepared to do?"
Rainbow just groaned. "Again with the criminal stuff! Look, I get it: Havoc kicked around your buddy, and you're mad about that. I understand. Hay, I kinda respect it! But we were already on track to take care of this rebel thing, and you're going to wreck half of Ponyville and way more than half of the army trying to force him into submission."
Granite's brow furrowed. "You were 'on track to take care of this rebel thing?' Take care of a rebellion? What do you-"
"Now see here!" a shrill voice shouted from the side of the street. "This has gone far enough! You ponies have the gall to call yourself protectors of the peace?!" Rarity was approaching now, looking fairly enraged and with Fluttershy in tow behind her. "What is the meaning of this, General Granite? Are you so desperate for some blasted bounty that you're willing to raze Ponyville to get it?"
Granite stared at Rarity, and then looked back to Rainbow Dash. "So am I to understand that you KNEW of the presence of a rebel warrior hiding in your village and you said nothing? What were you waiting for?"
"We were waiting for Twilight to resolve this horrid mess!" Rarity sniffed. "What emergency was so dire that it required a mass assault at Dusk to subdue a single pony?"
General Granite glowered at the mares, but he didn't respond immediately. His first thought was that all the Elements, rather than just the Element of Magic, had somehow become ensnared in the rebel plot, but that didn't quite make sense. He simply wasn't prepared to order all the Elements of Harmony be restrained and imprisoned for interrogation. Having to take in Twilight Sparkle was galling enough.
"General! General Granite!"
A young earth pony raced up the road, near-exhausted. Her helmet was dented against her temple and her unit commander was slumped over her back, unconscious, but she managed to reach the General and salute before slumping onto the ground.
"Units Delta Gumdrop, Sunshine Alpha, and all Summer squads have fallen back and require medical attention!" the soldier gasped. "The enemy isn't attacking our wounded, but having to constantly move them out of the engagement area is slowing our maneuvers!"
Granite grimaced. "I ordered our forces to surround him before attempting to engage!"
"We tried, General," the soldier moaned. "The target keeps sprinting back and forth and around the buildings, and eventually draws out one squad ahead of the others! Then he suddenly jumps in and decimates them and runs off by the time the rest of us can help!" She gulped. "Also, the flyers don't seem to realize how easy it is for him to reach them, especially with all the buildings around. Once he gets up in the middle of them he just bounces from pony to pony until they've all hit the ground. We can't help them in mid-air!"
"General," interjected a pegasus Captain, "I recommend we keep a tighter formation with our pegasi. Let me take them and a few batponies to the roofs, and we can ambush the target from above as soon as he assaults one of the ground squads chasing him."
"What? You're using my soldiers as bait?!" an earth pony Captain asked, looking offended.
"Well they haven't done a stellar job of fighting, have they?"
"Neither have the pegasi! Weren't you listening?!"
"Weren't ANY of you listening?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "This is all a mistake! Back off, already!"
"Why would the Element of Loyalty be telling Equestrian soldiers to stop chasing a rebel?" a different officer asked suspiciously.
"He's not even a rebel! It just seems like it because he keeps beating up our guards and soldiers," Rainbow explained.
"I'm pretty sure that's considered substantial evidence of rebellion," the first officer drawled.
"Oh, for pony's sake," Rarity groaned, slapping a hoof against her face. "This isn't going to end until a house gets knocked down, will it? No wonder the poor stallion's held responsible for destroying so many buildings."
"Buildings? We're trying to dispense JUSTICE, here!" a soldier retorted.
"So far you've done a sterling job punishing my coffee table. With some minor renovations I could declare my living room to be a museum showcasing the breadth of the Equestrian military's arsenal," Rarity sniffed.
General Granite lifted a hoof, and then slammed it onto the ground.
Every grounded pony within a hundred feet bounced as a shock wave pulsed through the dirt under them, and Rarity almost fell over where she stood. Rainbow Dash felt nothing in the air, of course, but she couldn't miss the brief rumble of moving earth or the rattling of the nearby windows as their foundations shook.
"Stop arguing," the General commanded. Then he glanced to the side, at a unicorn officer. "Voice amplification spell. Now."
The unicorn's horn flashed, and a translucent bullhorn of sparkling green energy appeared before the well-armored earth pony. Rarity and Rainbow Dash quickly scrambled away, their ears pinning to the sides of their heads. Fluttershy hit the ground immediately, slapping her hooves over her ears.
"ALL UNITS, THIS IS GENERAL GRANITE!! CEASE PURSUIT AT ONCE AND FALL BACK TO THE VILLAGE PERIMETER!!" Granite barked, his voice booming over Ponyville. "I REPEAT, ALL UNITS ARE TO DISENGAGE AT ONCE AND FALL BACK!! SECURE AND ASSIST YOUR WOUNDED FOR TREATMENT AS NECESSARY!!"
Granite fell silent, and the bullhorn started to fade away along with the glow around the unicorn's horn.
"I'm not done yet," he said calmly. In an instant the unicorn straightened and cast the spell again, waiting for the General's next move.
All around them, the soldiers of the Equestrian army made a mad dash back and forth across the streets of Ponyville. Many were carrying or dragging other ponies, or collecting dropped weapons as best they could while the unicorns lit their path. All were nervously glancing around at the shadows, terrified that the stallion they had set out to capture would suddenly emerge from the darkness to finish them off.
Within minutes, though, the majority of the Equestrian soldiers had cleared out of the village. The clatter of steel-clad hooves faded into the night, leaving only the General Granite and his entourage in the village square. Ponyville's citizens watched in tense, confused silence from their homes and doorways and clustered by the side of the road; those that hadn't already been drawn from their evening routine by the sound of combat had been drawn by Granite's shouting. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash stared impatiently at the remaining officer ponies to turn tail themselves, assuming that was the next step after they had seen their troops to relative safety.
They were wrong.
Granite sucked in a breath.
"I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR THIS, HAVOC!!" Granite boomed, his magically amplified voice causing windows to tremble. "I'M DONE CHASING YOU IN THE DARK! I WON'T TEAR THIS VILLAGE APART OVER SCUM LIKE YOU! YOU MAY DESERVE IT, BUT THESE TOWNSFOLK DO NOT!"
Rainbow Dash frowned and glanced over at Fluttershy. The other pegasus shrugged, smiling hopefully.
"I WAGERED A SHOW OF MASSIVE FORCE WOULD BE ENOUGH TO STOP YOU! I WAS WRONG, AND THAT IS TO YOUR CREDIT! SO I PROPOSE WE SETTLE THIS PERSONALLY! ONE-ON-ONE! COME FACE ME, HAVOC! SHOW ME THE PONY THAT BROKE GENERAL FIREBRAND!"
Fluttershy cocked her head to the side, and then leaned over to Rarity. "Wait, why would Havoc agree to that after the General already said he wasn't going to chase him anymore? Doesn't that mean Havoc won? We don't even know where he is."
"Of course. This is ridiculous," Rarity sighed.
"Totally gonna work, though," Rainbow Dash said.
"I'VE HEARD A LOT OF NASTY THINGS ABOUT YOU, HAVOC! CRIMINAL! REBEL! SAVAGE! MONSTER! THIEF! BUT NOPONY HAS LABELED YOU A COWARD! LET'S SEE WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!"
He turned back to the unicorn Captain and nodded. The magical bullhorn vanished in a burst of magic sparks, leaving only the sound of hushed whispers from Ponyville's spectators.
"You don't really think he's going to show, do you?" Rarity asked in exasperation.
Rainbow Dash smirked. "Three... Two... One..."
A dull crack and a batpony's shriek of pain came from behind Roseluck's house.
The Lunar Guard flailed wildly as he spun through the air, his helmet bouncing across the ground below. He hit the dirt hard and then rolled into a fence post, and several small blades fell loose from their holding straps and scattered themselves into the adjacent rose garden.
Ranma Saotome trotted out behind the thestral, his pace unhurried and a throwing knife clenched between his teeth. The martial artist had several small gashes and abrasions on his legs, and a streak of bloody, matted fur crossed his cheek. Still, his breath was even and he didn't look nearly as close to exhaustion as Granite thought he should be.
"Called it," Rainbow said smugly.
"Ugh. Stallions," Rarity groaned. "Oh, whatever. At least they're not tracking dirt and weapons through my boutique."
"Hmmm. I didn't really think that would work..." General Granite mumbled as the pigtailed pony walked up to him. "If I'd known I'd probably have done this to begin with."
"Yeah? Well when you wake up make sure to tell your buddies. I'm tired of having to kick around your goons every time Trixie's not around to trip them up first," the martial artist grumbled, stopping some twenty feet away.
"Soldiers, fall back to a safe distance." The officers around General Granite started backing away, leaving him and Ranma alone in the middle of the road. "As ridiculous as this state of affairs is, I intend to make good on my offer; you will leave this scoundrel to me. However this encounter ends, you are ordered to withdraw from Ponyville with the others."
"But don't leave yet, I still need you guys to carry this armor horse off, too," Ranma warned.
"You know, this sort of cavalier attitude toward harming Equestria's soldiers is probably what led to this fracas in the first place," Rarity said. "Can't you two just calm down and discuss this like adult ponies?"
"I have nothing to discuss with an enemy of the royal family except the location of his peers," Granite declared, scuffing the ground with his hooves, "and I'd prefer that Havoc be wearing chains for that conversation."
"I'm not an enemy of any royal family! Or at least, I wouldn't be if they didn't set up bounties for me for no reason!" Ranma complained.
"You can tell me about it at length during your interrogation. Let's hurry and finish this." He lowered his head, and his armor seemed to gleam even brighter in the moonlight. "I still need to see to the care of my injured troops."
Ranma spat the throwing knife in his mouth into the ground. "Fine by me! I don't want to stay up too late beating your head into the ground!"
Then he smacked his lips and frowned at the numb feeling in his tongue. "Also I'm pretty sure some of the blades that nicked me were poisoned, so I figure I have maybe ten minutes before I pass out anyway."
Granite didn't waste any more words, surging forward into a gallop. His boots pounded against the earth with unnatural force for such movements, causing small shockwaves and deep horseshoe imprints in the ground.
Ranma waited while the other stallion closed the distance, and then launched forward like a bullet. A streak of shining blue light followed his hoof as it struck Granite in the jaw, pitching his head to the side. Ranma planted his other foreleg and pivoted, bringing his rear legs to bear before the General could hope to react. A flurry of heavy kicks hammered the armored pony, and the sound of hooves ringing against steel echoed through Ponyville.
Granite slammed his hoof down rather than trying to hit Ranma with it, which initially confused the martial artist. Then the ground underneath him exploded, and a jagged spike of stone emerged and hurled the pigtailed equine into the air.
"WHOA! Okay, I didn't see that coming!" Ranma admitted, back flipping away.
Granite slammed another hoof down, and another stone spike promptly burst up from Ranma's intended landing point. Ranma kicked off the side of the spike and onto the ground, and then quickly leapt away as another rock immediately tried to skewer him.
"I do hope you're as tough as you seem," General Granite said, pausing to brush a leg against his muzzle. "I want to take you alive, but I can hardly afford to hold back. Any normal pony would be torn apart from a single hit by my Gaia blade."
"Gaia blade, huh? Okay, I admit it. That's pretty cool," Ranma mumbled. A pair of new, bloody abrasions matted the fur on his right legs, but the pigtailed pony seemed unperturbed. "Of course, you'll never get a real hit on me with something like that, but neat trick!"
Granite frowned, and then pounded a hoof against the ground. Ranma hopped to the side, avoiding another eruption of jagged rock. Another one burst from the opposite side at an opposing angle, but it went right over the martial artist rather than coming from beneath him. Two more hooves struck the ground, and two more spikes blasted upward ahead of and behind Ranma, rising high enough to tower over him but failing to actually touch him.
"Hey, are you getting tired already? Your aim is off!" Ranma taunted, kicking one of the stalagmites around him. "Or are you trying to pen me in or something? C'mon man, you can't really think this is going to work!"
Granite sat back on his haunches, raised his forelegs, and then tapped his front hooves together.
All of the stone spikes across the battlefield immediately crumbled to pieces and fell to the ground. Ranma only had time to yelp in surprise before the downpour of stone buried him alive under a ton of rocks, and a great cloud of dust billowed out around the pile of rubble from the impact.
"And that is that," Granite said darkly, gesturing over to where his officers were watching in awestruck silence. "Get a team with nets over here. Just put them over the whole pile and drag it off toward the rendezvous point. We still need to regroup and do sweeps for our... other target."
"Other target? Who would that be?" Rarity asked, furrowing her brow. "Rainbow, who else did you bring back with you?"
"We didn't bring anypony else with us! But that's not the point!" Rainbow Dash announced, pointing a hoof at Granite. "You don't seriously think this fight is over, already do you?"
"I hope not! I just got here!"
The other mares were quite startled to find Pinkie Pie sitting next to them wearing a pair of 3-D glasses and holding a bucket of buttered popcorn. The battle had attracted even more townsfolk by now, although most of them hung back much further than the Elements of Harmony. Including Applejack, who galloped into the middle of the square and made her presence known just after Pinkie.
"What in tarnation is goin' on here?!" the apple farmer demanded, jumping up and down. "Ah got spears lodged in mah trees, some bat pony spooked the animals, and some thick-headed galoot is movin' injured soldiers into mah barn!"
With a tired sigh, General Granite turned around to address the new arrival. "Surely you're not going to evict the Royal Guard from your premises when we're simply trying to tend to our wounded, Miss Applejack."
"What Ah wanna know is why Ah have wounded ponies on mah farm ta begin with!" Applejack fumed.
"Take a wild guess," Rainbow Dash drawled.
"Ah knew it. Ah just knew it," the farmer groaned. "Yer all here fer Havoc. Dagnabbit, Ah thought Twilight was gonna sort this out!"
"Nah, he's here to arrest her, too," Ranma interjected.
The other ponies jumped in shock, in part from the revelation and in part from the martial artist casually joining the conversation after he had been buried. Ranma was now standing atop the pile of stone rubble, looking much dirtier than before but not particularly worse for wear.
"Blast! The scoundrel dug himself out while you were all annoying me!" Granite complained.
"Whoa, hey, what was that about you being here for Twilight, too?" Rainbow Dash demanded.
"Not cool! Very un-awesome!" Pinkie shouted, bits of popcorn falling from her mouth.
"Aiding a fugitive from the law is also against the law! This isn't complicated!" the General said. "I'm only here for this scum, but I have no qualms against detaining and interrogating anypony who stands in my way! Unfortunately, Princess Twilight Sparkle is one of those ponies."
"The only thing standing between you and me is my fists, chump!" Ranma retorted. Then he looked down at his legs forlornly. "Well, hooves, I guess. Geez, I really miss having hands..."
With another heavy stomp, another stone spike erupted from the ground, aiming to skewer the martial artist. Ranma leapt up above the earthen lance, its jagged edge rushing past just inches from his hooves. The shattered remains of the previous gaia blades were launched into the air around him as well, and once Ranma reached the apex of his jump he kicked one them back down.
The stone slammed into Granite's forehead, causing the larger stallion to flinch. It didn't do much more than that, failing to even dent his helm, but it was enough that Ranma landed on the side of the newest spike and kicked two more stones over. They crashed into his chest and leg, cracking apart on impact, and the General stumbled slightly.
"Bah! You think you can overcome me with pebbles?" Granite growled, standing up straight again.
"Good point," Ranma admitted. He slammed a hoof into the gaia blade he was perched on, creating a deep crack across the circumference of the spike. Then he flipped up and over the spike's tip and smashed both rear legs into it.
Granite only had time to yelp in surprise before a spiky boulder nearly twice his size struck him like a comet, knocking him clean off his hooves. He hit the ground on his side, his plate mail digging deep furrows in the dirt before he skidded to a stop.
He began to stand up, but Ranma was on him immediately, laying a flurry of kicks into his flank. Plate metal started to buckle under the steady beat of hooves, and Granite started to feel the full impact of the blows as his magic defenses weakened.
"What, are you done already? C'mon, your unicorn buddy put up way more of a fight than this!" Ranma taunted before diverting a back kick into the General's head. Granite's helmet rang against the impact and then went flying off his head, bouncing away to land at Pinkie's hooves.
"That's enough, out of you villain!" the royal officer shouted, shifting just enough to pound his hoof into the dirt below him.
The ground suddenly exploded all around Granite, kicking up a great deal of dirt and knocking Ranma away. The pigtailed pony landed upright, but the dust blinded him for a few critical seconds while Granite got his bearings. The stallion soldier charged Ranma like a bull, smashing his unprotected forehead into his opponent's.
Ranma slid backward from the impact, but retaliated before Granite could. A hoof slammed into the larger stallion's jaw, and a flip-kick sent him staggering back.
Granite sent a spray of rock shards exploding from the ground in return, peppering Ranma with shrapnel and forcing him to shield his face briefly. That was all the opening the General needed charge again, tackling Ranma onto the ground and sending both of them rolling across the dirt.
"WOOO!! YEAH!! C'mon Havoc, get 'im!" Rainbow Dash whooped, swinging her hooves as if she was throwing punches. "Do that rock kick thing again, that was cool!"
"Rainbow Dash, I'm not sure you should be QUITE this enthusiastic about our guest fighting our army," Rarity grumbled. "Shouldn't we stop them? This is getting out of control!"
"It's fine! Nopony's going to die or anything, probably," Rainbow replied. More stone spikes erupted from the ground ahead of them, and scattered bits of rock and dirt fell from the sky. "Besides, now that I know he's here for Twilight too, I'm pretty sure the Loyal thing to do is back Havoc up."
"Use a super move!" Pinkie Pie called out, now wearing General Granite's helmet for no apparent reason. "Quarter-circle forward plus half-circle back plus punch!"
"Okay, this is definitely out of control. We JUST talked these ponies down from tearing apart the village over this!" Rarity complained.
Applejack walked over to join the others, giving the combat a wide berth. "Not sure whatcha aim t'do 'bout it, Rares. Ah don't think we can stop 'em."
"Do you think Twilight can stop them?" Fluttershy asked, surprising the other mares.
"Twilight? Maybe. Didn't Havoc say she was in trouble too? Ah don't think it would be a good idea to pull her back into all this, though," Applejack admitted.
When Applejack glanced over at Fluttershy, the pegasus wasn't watching the fight like the others but staring at something up on a roof nearby. "I, uhm, think you'll have to tell her that."
General Granite hit the ground on his side, teeth clenched against the throbbing pain in his head and jaw. Impacts thumped against his plate mail like a jackhammer, much reduced by the armor's magical shielding and mundane protection but not entirely muted. One of his greaves lashed out, scoring a glancing hit on his opponent and forcing the martial artist back. Then the soldier lurched upright again, ready for the next assault.
"You will not prevail, Havoc! I'll take you to Canterlot whether it be in chains or a coffin!" Granite growled.
Ranma paused to wipe some dirt off of his face before he replied. "Yeah, that's pretty much what I've come to expect from Equestrian hospitality. Is there a first class option? Like maybe a cage with no chains?"
With a wordless shout, Granite surged forward into a charge.
Then a purple beam flashed between the two stallions, slicing a furrow into the ground and halting both of them.
"Who just... Twilight Sparkle?" It was still dark, of course, and the source of the beam was standing on a rooftop out of the light, but the purple glow of her horn was just enough for Granite to make out the form of an alicorn with something small riding on her back. Presumably her assistant, Spike.
Ranma frowned when he too spotted the source of the interruption. "Sparks, I told you to escape! Don't worry, I've got this guy!"
"And escape you did," Granite said solemnly. "So are you here to aid this criminal further, or have you come to your senses?"
Twilight's horn glowed brighter, fully illuminating her and Spike, who was indeed sitting on her back. "I'm here to put an end to this before any more ponies get hurt," she said firmly.
"Ah! Any MORE ponies, is it? I suppose that's just poor luck for the dozens of soldiers already carted out on stretchers thanks to this savage." Granite's eyes narrowed. "You'll have to wait your turn though, Princess. One way or another, there's one more pony who needs to be 'hurt' here."
"No. This duel is over. Withdraw," the purple Princess commanded.
The General recoiled slightly, genuinely surprised. "Pardon? Putting aside your complicity in this affair, you don't give me orders, Twilight Sparkle."
A lightning bolt suddenly lanced down from the otherwise calm skies, punching a hole in the cloud cover and striking the ground with a crash. Ranma leapt away in shock, his pigtail standing on end. Granite barely flinched, thinking that the energy blast was some sort of warning shot Twilight was trying to frighten him with. When the dust cleared, however, the General's stoic expression melted away before the glares of Princess Celestia and Luna, standing side by side within a swirling aura of gold and blue light.
"P-Princess! What are you-?" Granite took a step back in surprise, and then his eyes darted to Ranma in alarm and fear. "No! Please, you must withdraw! It's too dangerous! This rebel has the MacGuffin Stone!"
Princess Celestia turned her head slightly, her eyes meeting Ranma's. Ranma blinked, clearly confused as to what was happening. "Hm. Is this true, Havoc?"
"No, I'm Ranma," the martial artist replied, waving a hoof. "Havoc is the other guy."
"We know you're the same pony," Celestia drawled, "that diversion won't work again, Havoc."
Ranma had the grace to look embarrassed, and his ears flipped down as he sighed. "Okay, fine. Yeah, I have the MacGuffin Stone. So what? I'm not a rebel, though."
"You're fighting Equestrian soldiers in direct defiance of our authority!" Granite growled. "What is that if not rebellion?!"
"Oh, SHUT UP," the pigtailed stallion groaned. "You morons jumped on top of me as soon as I got here, and I'm not supposed to defend myself?"
"Not to take their side in the greater context of our conflict here, which has been quite unfair to you in general, but that IS how arrests generally work, darling," Rarity interjected. Ranma pouted and turned his head away.
Luna's expression was unusually controlled, and unlike her sister she avoided meeting Ranma's eyes directly. "General Granite, we've been briefed on the situation. Twilight Sparkle has told us everything. Take your troops and withdraw."
"Twilight Sparkle?! But she was-" the officer started, only to be cut off with a flash from Luna's horn.
"That was a direct order, General. Or are you going to defy our authority in order to assert your own?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Th-This is... With ALL due respect, Princess, I must object!" he shouted. "This stallion is a dangerous outlaw carrying an artifact of incredible power who has shown NOTHING but violent opposition to us! He and Blood Rite have cut a fiery swathe of destruction through a quarter of Equestria! And-"
"Okay, NO! Right there! Wrong!" Ranma interrupted, shaking a hoof at the other stallion. "I am NOT with Blood Rite! That was MY fiery swathe of destruction, not his!" Noticing Celestia's frown, he stopped and cleared his throat. "I mean, 'destruction' is a bit much. It's true I burned some stuff, I guess. By accident! But the point is, I hate him and his stupid green lackey! Especially the green lackey! She changed me into a pony and keeps hitting on me!"
"If you'd like to explain yourself you may do so IN FULL while shackled to a wall in a proper dungeon," Granite growled at the martial artist. "I'll not hold your trial here, in the middle of a village while they're still carting my injured soldiers off the field!"
"Oh, SPARE ME the constant 'he hurt my poor troops' whining!" Ranma snapped back, stepping toward the larger stallion. "I was just trying to do some honest farm work and you jerks surrounded and attacked me! What the hell did you think was going to happen?!"
The two stallions edged closer to each other, looking as if they were ready to come to blows again. Then a clear, magically-enhanced voice cut through their building anger.
"I've heard enough," Celestia said, spreading her wings.
Her gaze rose, encompassing the other ponies who were gathered in the streets to watch. As if suddenly remembering themselves, the citizens of Ponyville all stooped over into a bow. The Elements and Royal Guard followed suit, and eventually, after a moment of silent resignation, so did General Granite. Aside from the Royal Sisters, the only ponies still standing were Ranma and Twilight. The former watched the display with unease, while the latter slowly descended from the rooftop to land next to Celestia.
"Havoc," the white Princess said, settling her gaze once more on the pigtailed pony. "So much grief and destruction has followed you since you set hoof into Equestria. The injured by now surely rank in the hundreds, to say nothing of the damage and petty crimes endured by your passing. Havoc may not be your true name, but surely you can see why the moniker comes so easily to us."
"Okay, FIRST OF ALL-" Ranma started to say, only for Twilight to firmly shake her head.
Celestia halted, slightly surprised at being interrupted. Twilight and Ranma seemed to share a brief, silent battle of wills hashed out through silent glares and gestures. After a few seconds the non-verbal argument concluded, and Ranma fell back onto his haunches while fuming quietly.
"... As I was saying," Celestia continued, "this is merely the surface of the matter, however. You have also performed great deeds in aid of Equestria. You rescued my sister, and then later, my student. You have foiled Blood Rite on multiple occasions. And despite the great power of the MacGuffin Stone and the threat it poses, I'm not aware of you using its power for your own ends. You have the spirit of a hero, Havoc, even if it's hidden beneath the countenance of a rogue."
"In addition," Luna interjected, "my own actions have... complicated this matter greatly. I have neglected my responsibilities, and I believe inviting a duel was quite reckless of me even if my intentions were honorable."
Celestia shook her head. "It is hardly your fault, Luna. Pride and misunderstanding have constantly escalated this needless conflict, and I too have failed. Twilight came to me to explain and resolve this matter at length, and I demurred. My reasoning was fair and just, perhaps, but it is quite apparent now that only she and her friends appreciated the importance and potential danger of this feud. So now I will put an end to it once and for all."
"Y-Your Highness? What do you intend to do?" Granite asked, his voice cracking slightly. "Surely you don't intend to let this villain go free?"
"If I were to study the situation at length then I would likely agree with you, General, but the last time I rendered such a judgment it precipitated this very confrontation, including the charge of my most faithful student as a rebel conspirator," Celestia said wryly. "If I'm to learn anything from my mistakes, surely it should be to put greater faith in my student's advice. So I will grant her request and bring this sorry grudge to an end."
The white alicorn folded her wings again and then turned her gaze back to Ranma, nodding her head slightly. "Havoc. Ranma Saotome. I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, hereby grant you and any other alias that I may not have mentioned a full, unconditional pardon. I release you from the judgment of our arbiters for any and all crimes and misdemeanors that are alleged to this day, no matter their urgency or severity."
"Calamity," Ranma interjected as soon as she stopped speaking. "Calamity is another alias. For my pegasus form. I think it's dumb but Trixie insisted, so... you know."
"You might have noticed there's kind of a theme with his pony names," Spike muttered.
"Yes. Well..." Celestia cleared her throat. "I need you to understand that I am taking this step against my better judgment, on the advice of my faithful student, Twilight. There are many important matters you have yet to answer for, but she has convinced me this is the only way to put an end to the bedlam and misery that's followed your travels within our lands. This is a second chance, Havoc. Don't waste it."
"Sure, okay." Then Ranma raised a hoof toward Twilight. "Thanks, Sparks!" The purple alicorn flushed slightly in embarrassment, but otherwise kept her attention focused on her mentor.
Princess Celestia finally turned her head to address General Granite. "General, I understand the decisions you've made, and I thank you for your efforts to protect Equestria and its ponies. I'm sure you have much to say. I ask that you reserve your arguments until the morning, so that you may tend to our soldiers and let your frustrations cool."
The armored stallion said nothing for several seconds, and then ducked his head. "As you wish, Princess Celestia." Without casting so much as a glance at Ranma, the General turned around and trotted away.
The other officers of the Royal Guard also dispersed, leaving to join the units that waited outside Ponyville. The crowd of Ponyville spectators parted to allow the soldiers through, and then they themselves started to leave as they decided there would be no further excitement that night. Only the Elements of Harmony remained to watch as the Princesses approached Ranma to speak to him in a less public fashion.
"Thank you so much for doing this, Princess!" Twilight said brightly. Her tone was light and gleeful, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart. "I know that this wasn't an easy decision and you're still unsure about him, but I promise you won't regret this!"
"Okay, just so everybody's clear, we all know I had him on the ropes, right? That fight was mine." Ranma insisted. "Not saying that I still want to beat him up or anything, but I absolutely could have if the pardon thing didn't happen. I'm counting that as a win."
Twilight's eyebrow twitched. "You won't... regret it very much, at least!" she revised, her smile looking slightly strained.
"I have little doubt you would have prevailed, yes. I've faced your tenacity personally and our generals, mighty as they are, are little match," Luna said. Her expression seemed slightly forced, as if she was still pretending she was addressing a crowd like before. "But we have topics of greater import to discuss now that Twilight Sparkle has brought you to us, Mister Ranma."
"Like what? I already got the pardon. That's what I came here for," Ranma said.
"The most obvious item, of course, would be the MacGuffin Stone," Celestia said delicately. "May I ask where it is?"
"I have it here," Ranma replied evenly, "and I'm still not giving it to you."
Celestia said nothing for several seconds, and then craned her neck to one side to look him over from another angle. "Where, exactly is...?"
"It's on 'im, Princess. Take it from us," Applejack grunted. "Don't worry 'bout the details, 'cuz Havoc ain't much fer explainin'."
"I... I see. It's unfortunate you still doubt our intentions, Havoc. We only wish to safeguard our kingdom and our ponies from harm," Celestia sighed.
"It's not that I doubt your intentions, I doubt-" Ranma begin, only for Twilight to interrupt.
"Ranma, be NICE please," the young Princess requested through clenched teeth, still smiling widely. "We're all friends here, aren't we? Everything is FINE."
"And what of the sorcerer Blood Rite?" Luna asked. "We have heard nothing of him since his capture of Princess Twilight and the artifact."
"Not sure," Ranma admitted, touching a hoof to his chin. "The last I saw of the unicorn goons was in Flamehearst."
"Flamehearst?" Celestia asked, her voice catching. The others noticed her surprise, but none of them knew what Ranma was referring to.
"Yeah, that's where they set up shop, apparently. Had a big evil wizard tower and everything." Ranma sighed regretfully. "I managed to get the MacGuffin back, but I didn't really get a showdown with Blood Rite. Swan Song tried to wipe everybody out at once, and then Rite ran off when your scaly red buddy dug his way out. I don't know where either of them are now."
"Scaly red buddy?" Rainbow Dash asked, furrowing her brow.
"Ranma, what did I tell you?" Twilight fumed, finally breaking her forced smile. "Don't bring that up again! Princess Celestia absolutely was NOT working with Kamikazan!"
Celestia gulped. Loudly. This was not lost on the other mares.
"You... weren't. Right?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I didn't... That is... It wasn't really..." Celestia looked quite distressed, not least by the slack-jawed expression Twilight was giving her. "... What did he do?" she finally asked, cringing.
"Oh dear," Rarity sighed.
Ranma's expression shifted briefly to anger, but the stallion deflated after a few seconds. He could hold a grudge as well as anybody, but he mainly blamed Kamikazan, not Celestia, for the destruction of Trixie's wagon and the subsequent chewing-out that had driven him to Ponyville. He had already paid the dragon back in spades, while Celestia had finally ordered her troops to leave him alone; for someone who was used to his personal vendettas constantly escalating without resolution, this was really as good a conclusion as he could imagine.
"Eh, he didn't do much that I know of. He was hunting me down for the magic rock and mentioned you, that's all," Ranma said. "He didn't get it, though, so if you were making plans for when he got back to you, don't worry about it."
"P-Princess, you... you sent KAMIKAZAN after Ranma?" Twilight asked, still gaping. "How? Why?"
"Is this not the dragon that appeared over Canterlot last week?" Luna asked. "Given your description of the lout, I'd not thought you would strike a bargain with such a creature."
Celestia winced, pressing a wingtip to her temple in frustration. "I... I did," she admitted, hanging her head. "Evasion or dishonesty will get me nowhere. With no leads on Havoc and no idea what happened to the MacGuffin Stone, Kamikazan claimed he could find it. I requested he do so. It was a foolhardy, opportunistic bargain, and I regret it." Then her head snapped up again. "I also EXPLICITLY demanded he not kill anypony! That was part of the deal!"
"And he didn't," Ranma said with a shrug. "Not for lack of trying, though." Celestia looked mortified at the admission, but he didn't press the matter. "Anyway, it doesn't really matter to me anymore. I left him in a big hole outside Lancanter. He might still be there, I guess. I don't know how fast dragon bones knit. Was there anything else because it's way past dinner time and I am STARVING."
Celestia had quite a few other questions for the pigtailed pony, but none of them were as important as those already covered and she could still feel Twilight's incredulous stare on her like it was burrowing into her skin. "I have more to say, but surely we can arrange a meeting under less... stressed circumstances," she coughed gently and nodded her head. "You are dismissed, Havoc."
"FINALLY! Jack, let's go!" Ranma leapt into a rapid trot in the farm's general direction, and Applejack sighed.
"Yeah, yeah, Ah'm right behind ya," she mumbled, following her house guest down the road. "Me and the others already ate, but Ah'm sure Granny can whip up... uh... Havoc? Somethin' wrong?" While the stallion had raced off at first, now he was slowing to a sluggish walk and wobbling back and forth.
"... Right, right. The poison. Forgot about that," Ranma Saotome mumbled, frowning. Then his legs buckled, and he fell down into the dirt.
"Is... Is he going to be okay?" Celestia asked, glancing around at the other mares. None of them seemed particularly worried.
"Aye. The Lunar Guard uses a paralytic agent to slow down their targets, but the venom is far less dangerous than the blades used to deliver them. If his wounds are not severe, then Mister Ranma is in no danger," Luna explained. "Applejack, allow me to escort you." Her magic encircled the stallion and lifted him up into the air.
"Mighty kind of ya, Princess," Applejack said, trotting under the levitating pony. "Just let 'im down easy, and Ah'll... uh..."
Applejack watched, perplexed, as Luna floated Ranma away from her and then walked under his levitating body much as she had. Then the Princess gently lowered him onto her back, settling her wings on either side of the stallion.
"Lead the way, please," the dusky alicorn requested, looking curiously happy. "Sister, you may return without me. I'll be along shortly."
Celestia looked like she wanted to say something while Luna and Applejack departed, but she thought better of it and shook her head. "I need to get back to the castle. I think I understand why General Wrath was ordering around guard formations now."
"Princess? I..." Twilight started to speak but then shrunk back, thinking hard on what she had heard.
"Twilight, I'm sure you're quite disappointed in me. I'm quite disappointed in myself, as well," Celestia admitted. "Not only did I put many ponies in unnecessary danger by entertaining Kamikazan's bargain, but manipulating him as I did in order to solve my problems was quite distasteful and, ultimately, useless." She shook her head. "This was a quest that I did not entrust you with, out of fear for your safety. That was another error, if not one made with better intentions. It was tremendously fortunate that you thought to seek Havoc out on your own, even if that too almost ended in disaster. Once again, Equestria owes you a debt."
Despite her earlier shock, Twilight couldn't help but feel her heart swell at the compliment. She'd taken on the quest on a wild hunch and out of an obligation to Ranma, but everything had - eventually - turned out as well as she'd hoped.
Celestia turned around and started walking away from the battle-scarred yard. Twilight followed her, head craned up to listen attentively. "I feel like we're close to bringing this ugly chapter of Equestria to an end. Kamikazan's involvement was... regretful, but it was brief and it sounds like it was ended decisively. I don't expect he'll be showing up to report his failure to me."
That sounded kind of dismissive to Twilight, but before she could find an appropriately deferential way to ask about it Celestia ducked her head down to hers so she could whisper.
"That said, be careful around that stallion, Twilight. He is a strange one, and I cannot read his intentions. So long as he possesses the MacGuffin Stone, he is no ally of Equestria."
Twilight felt her earlier proud elation drain away. After everything Ranma had been through, Celestia still thought he was an enemy? What did she think his "intentions" should be after being chased across half the country and surrounded by soldiers?
"I can hardly second-guess your judgment now, after you brought him here safely and managed to stop this debacle, but, well... What you've said about Havoc, in terms of... everything, frankly, doesn't fill me with confidence. He opposes Blood Rite for personal reasons, not because he wishes to defend harmony or preserve our kingdom. If he were to dwell on his grudges against Equestria, I have no reason to think he would not turn against us on a whim. We cannot trust him."
Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat. "But... he trusts me," she protested weakly. "When... When General Granite had us surrounded and demanded both of us surrender, the first thing he did was help me get to safety. He didn't even know I had a way to get help!"
Celestia paused in her walk, staring at her student inscrutably.
"He's... He's done a lot for me, actually! And he never had to! Until just now, when you pardoned him, I'd say I've never done much to deserve it, either! In fact, the first thing I did when we met was call him crazy and blow him up! That second part was an accident, though." Twilight felt like she was babbling now, but pressed on anyway. "We've done so much to him, for so little reason! Just because of a miscommunication! But he came with me to Ponyville anyway! Even knowing he might be attacked and imprisoned! Which is what happened! Except for the imprisoned part! We have to stop treating him like some kind of animal!"
The young Princess stopped to catch her breath, anxiously awaiting Celestia's response. Celestia continued staring thoughtfully, her expression completely unreadable.
"... I see. I'll leave it to you, then. Please disregard what I said earlier," the white Princess finally replied with a small sigh. "Your instincts have served you well, Twilight. Better than my own, at least. Do what you can, but do not hesitate to ask me for support or share more information." Celestia stretched a wing over to pat Twilight on the head, and the smaller alicorn flushed. "I must go now. I'll think on your advice, and if I decide to confront Havoc again, I'll forewarn you first."
"Okay, yes, good. Also, like I said earlier, his real name is Ranma Saotome," Twilight said quickly. "I know lots of ponies call him Havoc and he's pretty much given up on stopping them but he REALLY prefers his actual name!"
Celestia chuckled and backed away, a tired smile on her face. "Good night, Twilight. And thank you."
A golden flash consumed the white Princess, and then she was gone.
"Here's the guest room, Princess. Ah had Mac get it ready before supper. Just drop 'im on the bed there."
Applejack pushed open the door and stepped to the side. Princess Luna walked past her, with Ranma still nestled on her back. A soft snore came from the martial artist, and he nuzzled his face against Luna's wing.
"Did he fall asleep? Guess he might as well if he can't move anyhow."
Luna smirked. "Mister Saotome surrendered to his dreams almost immediately after falling to the road. Had we left him, he'd no doubt have slumbered in the dirt until morning. Such an odd pony, is he not?"
"That's a bit of an understatement, Princess," Applejack huffed. "Still, thanks fer comin' down and puttin' this bounty nonsense to rest. I'll be sleepin' easier too, knowin' there's one less angry mob liable to knock mah door down to get 'im."
The dark Princess stopped next to the bed, and then spread her wings half-way. She tilted one of them down and the other up, and Ranma slowly rolled down onto the mattress.
"Indeed! It is most fortuitous that Twilight Sparkle rushed a letter to us to call for our aid! And although I wish circumstances had not grown so dire, the danger pressed Sister to allow for a full pardon and demand that our soldiers stand down." Her horn pulsed softly, and the bed's blanket moved to tuck in the pigtailed pony. "I have also dictated similar demands to my Lunar Guard. Any thestral that lays hoof or blade upon Mister Ranma from here on out, for any reason, will be cast back to the caves on my order."
Applejack tilted her head to the side. "That sounds... a little different from what Celestia said."
"It was a necessary measure, as my warriors can be an undisciplined lot. They act out of hope of my favor more than concern for law and country." Luna snorted. "But no matter. They will trouble you no longer. Those who laid ambush within your groves will be chastised appropriately."
Applejack nodded solemnly. "Yeah, and Ah'm right thankful. Bad enough we could have evil sorcerers and angry dragons knockin' on the barn door, but Ah don't want no trouble from the ponies who're supposed to protect us from them, too."
"Dragons!" Luna said suddenly, laughing. "Did he not say he vanquished the great red drake Kamikazan?"
"That he did, Princess. I saw it with mah own eyes." Applejack sounded somewhat exasperated rather than awed by the recollection. "Ah'm mighty surprised Princess Celestia had her hoof in that, though Ah kinda feel like the varmint woulda been on Havoc's tail anyhow. He always seems t'be in the wrong place at the right time."
"Indeed he does," Luna said softly. One of her wings spread over the bed and brushed the tips of her feathers across Ranma's sleeping face. He twitched in his sleep and rolled over. "He has endured a great deal, has he not? I am... pleased I could ease this burden, and rather embarrassed to have been the cause of some portion of it."
"......" A long, slightly awkward silence hung in the room after that. Luna remained standing next to the bed, one wing extended over the blanket. Applejack remained in the doorway, waiting.
Then Luna cleared her throat. "You needn't tarry any longer. I can see myself out, and I'm certain you have other matters to attend to."
"Ah can stand here all night, Princess, don't you worry," the farmer replied evenly.
Luna's expression soured, and she folded her wing with a huff. "I suppose I too must get back to work. I expect I'll return soon enough, once circumstances are less heated." She trotted up to the doorway, and Applejack let her pass.
"And Sweet Apple Acres will always welcome ya, Princess. G'night now," Applejack offered before closing the bedroom door.
The next day begin with surprising, almost deceptive normalcy considering that Equestrian troops had charged through Ponyville the previous evening.
Those ponies who could afford to sleep late, did. This did not include the Apple family, for whom waking at the very crack of dawn was vital to their livelihood, nor did they spare their houseguest, even though he had been the focal point of last night's commotion. Ranma Saotome was dragged out of bed for a big, early breakfast (for which he was delighted) and then given the task of retracing his steps through the orchard and removing any weapons or other objects that had been dropped on the ground or lodged in the trees (for which he was less delighted).
In Ponyville proper, Twilight Sparkle also awoke earlier than she really would have liked. In her case, however, it was due to a persisting insomnia rather than the demands of the day's labors. She had spent much of the night tossing and turning, or staring intently at the ceiling while her thoughts raced.
Part of this was simply an anxious, comprehensive review of the last couple days. After things had nearly come so close to coming apart, with Equestrian soldiers marching on Ponyville and attempting to arrest her, Twilight couldn't help but think she had done something wrong. All of her actions had been taken in good faith and made sense at the time, so what had she neglected? She simply couldn't accept that simple miscommunication or bad luck had led to such a catastrophe. Something more must have gone wrong!
Another part of her concern was what was going to happen next. Ranma had been pardoned, which was their main objective in coming to Ponyville. He was a free pony, and could finally maintain that freedom without further violence. So now what?
Twilight hadn't been especially worried about this point before, given the importance of the pardon itself, but now that it had happened things got fuzzy. Celestia still wanted the MacGuffin Stone, and considered its possession to be vital to Equestria's survival. Ranma was apparently determined to pay Twilight and her friends back for the things they donated to Trixie (an offer that Twilight had no intention of redeeming, as the expense was trifling to her), so his immediate future looked to be consumed by farm chores, of all things. Luna was ostensibly of the same mind as Celestia, primarily concerned about Equestria's fate, but Twilight suspected that the Princess of the Night had other intentions. Speaking of Trixie, who had been left behind during a moment of emotional and financial turmoil, where was she? Was she really done with the cursed pony, after they had spent months traveling together being hounded by guards and sorcerers?
And what about Twilight Sparkle herself?
"Pancakes are ready!"
Twilight started slightly at the sound of Spike's voice, realizing that she had been staring blankly at the wall for several minutes. The plate containing her breakfast dropped in front of her, its aroma giving a pleasant shock to her senses. The alicorn's horn flickered, and her fork and knife, as well as a syrup pitcher, all descended on her meal.
Spike dropped a plate of opals on the opposite end of the table from the mare (also drenched in syrup), and then sat down. "So, what's on the agenda for today? Are we going to follow Ranma around the farm while he works? Invite him to dinner? Should I set up a sleeping space for him? You were talking about inviting him to stay here yesterday, before things kinda got out of control."
Twilight gulped down the first mouthful of pancakes before she replied. "That... That's probably unnecessary. The sleeping here part, I mean. Now that he's been pardoned, there's a lot less pressure to make sure he stays out of trouble."
"Ah, okay." Spike paused to eat one of his gems, and then delicately dabbed his mouth with a napkin. "What about the MacGuffin Stone, though? I thought you needed to spend more time with him to convince him to hand it over. You think it's better to give him a little space?"
Twilight didn't answer right away, slowly working through her breakfast. After several minutes, she took a long gulp of milk and then looked up at Spike. "What if... What if trust isn't the issue?"
"Huh? What do you mean? The issue for what?"
"The MacGuffin Stone. I mean... what if Ranma and I are already friends, and there's no hypothetical higher state of friendship that would get him to give me the MacGuffin? What if..." Twilight trailed off uncertainly, staring at some indistinct point above Spike's head.
Spike checked to make sure there was nothing behind him, and after he was confident that Twilight had simply zoned out he cleared his throat. "So what are you saying? That he's never giving you the gem, so you should give up?"
Twilight snapped out of her thoughtful daze and slouched in her chair. "No! Well... kind of. Not really, but..." She frowned, furrowing her brow and tapping a hoof irritably against the table. "It's more like... what if the correct course of friendship here doesn't lead to Ranma giving me the MacGuffin Stone, but to me letting him keep it?"
Spike arched an eyebrow. "Ah. Okay. And Princess Celestia would be... okay with that?"
Twilight groaned, and took a minute to shovel more food into her mouth. After guzzling the rest of her milk, she sighed in contentment and leaned back in her seat, staring at the ceiling.
"Would it... really be so bad? Just letting him have it? Can't we trust Ranma?" Twilight asked.
"Well... I trust Ranma, sure. But that's because Ranma stood up for me when Trixie tried to abandon me on the side of the road and put everything on the line to rescue you," Spike mumbled, scratching his head. "I don't think Princess Celestia can trust Ranma, though, because he keeps beating up her soldiers and committing arson."
"The crimes were pardoned, Spike," Twilight said firmly.
"Well, yeah, because if they weren't he was just going to keep beating up soldiers," Spike shrugged. "But I don't think the Princess ever really thought that Ranma might not have done that stuff or that he deserved forgiveness. So..."
Twilight grimaced.
Then she heard a gentle rapping on the front door.
Twilight jumped out of her chair, rather relieved to have a distraction. "I'll be right there!" she called out, her magic reaching for the door lock.
With a spark of telekinesis, the door swung open. Fluttershy sat in front of the threshold, and she smiled cautiously as Twilight approached.
"Oh, good morning Twilight! I, uhm, hope I'm not disturbing you..."
"No, no! Not at all!" the alicorn insisted. "Did you want to come in?"
"I'm, er, fine, that's okay," the meek pegasus replied. "Rarity just wanted me to stop by and ask if you wanted to join the rest of us at the spa today."
"You're going to the spa?" Twilight asked.
"Why yes, we are!" interrupted a third voice.
Twilight's expression darkened somewhat when Discord suddenly leaned in so that he was visible through the doorway. The draconequus was wearing a towel cap already, and had a plastic bowl with several bottles and a rubber duck in it.
"Ah. Discord. So you'll be joining us, huh?" Twilight asked, her tone flat.
"Oh yes, I will! I couldn't pass up the chance to meet everypony's newest acquaintance, Havoc!" Discord giggled just saying the name, his grin stretching from ear to ear. "I just KNOW we'll be the best of friends!"
This actually surprised Twilight, and her ears perked up immediately. "What? He's going too?"
Fluttershy nodded hesitantly. "Y-Yes. Rarity actually planned it for him, because... well, I don't want to say because I think it was a little mean, honestly, but, uhm..." She stopped to clear her throat. "We don't have an exact time yet, because Rarity needs to ask Applejack when Havoc will be available."
"Okay, well I should be able to go too," Twilight assured her.
"Lovely!" Discord cheered. "Oh, by the way: I found this little trinket of yours floating around outside."
He ducked through the doorway, and then tossed an object to Twilight while walking past her. The young Princess recoiled, and her horn flashed purple to immobilize the object in the air.
"What? A ball?" Twilight asked, squinting at the silvery orb. "This isn't mine."
"Oh reeeeeeeally..." Discord flopped onto a seat, clasping his hands behind his head. "How interesting! I wonder who else would be spying on your neighbors?"
"Spying?!" Twilight's eyes bugged out, and she pulled the object closer for inspection. Fluttershy gasped, covering her mouth with a wing. "You're right! This is some kind of magic sentry! Where did you find this?"
"It was floating over Miss Lyra's house," Discord said, shrugging. "It would have been easy to miss - by design, of course - but I was busy constructing my own prank and it got in the way." Then he started scratching at his beard. "I thought it was yours, as you're the only pony who might have a legitimate reason to be planting spy constructs around town. But perhaps it was not so legitimate..."
Twilight grimaced. "This could be bad. I've seen magical sentries before when I was in school, but none of them were so... advanced. Whoever planted these really knows what they're doing."
Fluttershy gasped. "Do you think it was Blood Rite?"
Twilight's eyes narrowed. "Maybe. But my first guess was the Royal Guard."
Discord laughed. Twilight took a moment to glare at him, but then floated the sentry orb over to her saddlebags and placed it inside.
"I may have to confront the Generals about this, but first I want to run it by Ranma. Chances are that this has something to do with him, so he might have an idea where they came from. At the very least I should tell him about them."
Discord stopped laughing, his eyes blinking rapidly. "Run it by... who?"
"She wants to show it to Havoc," Fluttershy explained.
"Okay, but she said Ranma," Discord said.
"Yes. Ranma is Havoc." Twilight put on her saddlebags, and then shouted back toward the kitchen. "Spike, I'm going to Sweet Apple Acres! I should be back for lunch!"
The draconequus glanced between Twilight and Fluttershy. "Wait. Hold on. Time out." He suddenly stood up from his seat. "We're talking about a pony, right? A stallion named Havoc?"
"He's not actually named Havoc," Twilight said with a sigh. "And, well, technically he's not actually a pony, either. But when you meet him you'll be meeting a stallion who everypony calls Havoc, so whatever."
She headed for the door, only for Discord to suddenly slide in front of her to block her path. "What does any of that mean?" he demanded.
Twilight frowned up at the draconequus, annoyed but also increasingly confused. Discord sounded oddly... serious about this. The smug, teasing tone he had employed when he'd first arrived was gone, replaced by genuine bafflement and... apprehension?
"Look, it's a REALLY long story, and I don't know all of the story because back when he first tried to explain it to me I assumed it was a bunch of insane lies or delusions. But the short version is that Ranma Saotome is from another world, which was apparently dominated by something called 'hyoo-muhns.' He ended up in this world thanks to the MacGuffin Stone, and then got turned into a pony by accident. Then Trixie started calling him Havoc and the name stuck. Can you move now? This sentry construct could be really important!"
Discord didn't move. Instead, his jaw fell open, plummeting all the way to the floor.
Twilight stared. "So... do you happen to know anything about this, Discord?"
The Spirit of Chaos reached down and picked up his chin, pulling it up and setting it back into place. "Maybe."
"That... didn't really seem like a 'maybe' reaction," Fluttershy mumbled, looking away.
"Look, either tell me what the problem is or I'll be on my way," Twilight huffed.
"The problem is... difficult to explain," Discord admitted. "But suffice to say, if this not-really-pony is who you say he is, we should probably cancel the spa day."
"What? Why?" Fluttershy asked, her ears flattening against her head. "Rarity and Pinkie Pie were really looking forward to it!"
"I'm sure they were, but bath time with Ranma Saotome has a way of ending with horrible violence," Discord mumbled. "One way or another..."
"Are you saying he's going to hurt us?" Twilight asked, a slightly angry edge to her voice.
"I don't know, to be honest," Discord admitted. "I haven't heard the name Ranma Saotome in three-tenths of an eternity. And it's not as if I've ever met him personally." Then his own eyes narrowed down at Twilight. "But I can assure you that if what you say is true, then you truly have no idea who you're dealing with, my little pony."
"Ranma Saotome is eighteen years old. He was born as a male human in a place called Japan, on planet Earth. He is a pre-eminent martial artist on his world, claiming to be the best warrior there is. Although that statement is obviously subjective and warrants skepticism, I've witnessed him performing feats of nigh impossible strength and speed, and on two occasions he created a tornado as a melee weapon. He's earnest and surprisingly credulous, but remains inexplicably suspicious about Princess Celestia raising and lowering the sun. He turns into a mare when exposed to cold water, and claims this is the result of some manner of curse inflicted on him in his own world, although it was somehow modified by the transmutation magic that turned him into a pony." Twilight continued listing facts while she sat down in front of Discord, like she was reading bullet points off a list. "He's a bit of glutton, generally relaxed about severe threats to his life, and is only fluent in the spoken - not written - form of Equish because it's so close to something called 'English' from his own planet. He does not like cats. Finally, he ended up on our world due to some catastrophe in which he was trapped in the MacGuffin Stone by a doomsday cult, although he doesn't know what happened after the trap was sprung. He hates Blood Rite and Swan Song because they were responsible for his transformation, and seeks to defeat them so that they can use the MacGuffin Stone to restore his body and, if possible, return him to his homeworld. He's otherwise fairly uninterested in the MacGuffin Stone, but at this point doesn't trust anypony else with it, a state of affairs that I'm rapidly warming up to. Especially given that he can somehow carry it without it being visible or using pockets. I don't think we're ever going to figure out how he does that."
Discord didn't respond at first, staring down at the alicorn blankly. "Okay, fine, so you have about ninety percent of an idea who you're dealing with," he admitted. "But still."
"But still WHAT? What's the problem, Discord?!" Twilight shouted, surprising the others with her intensity. "Getting this sort of reaction from Princess Celestia is one thing, but I'm not going to take any suspicions from you seriously without a clear and valid reason! Ranma Saotome is a friend! He saved my life! We fought a dragon together!" She stamped a hoof down on the floor, and Discord actually flinched slightly. "Either explain to me RIGHT NOW what you know and why it should matter to me, or get out of my way!"
The draconequus hesitated only a second, and then bowed his head. "As you wish, Princess." Then he stepped out of her path.
Twilight snorted and trotted past him and out the door. "Honestly, I was hoping for you to explain what you knew about him, but this is fine too. Honestly, what is everypony's problem with Ranma?"
"Well, if this Ranma is indeed the same as this Havoc fellow, I think a big part of the problem is how he keeps demolishing buildings," Discord replied. "Isn't that how you lost your tree?"
"It was an accident!" Twilight snapped. "Not only that, but it was MY accident! Ranma's only complicity in that case was accepting my assistance and being subject to a magical condition he didn't understand!"
"Okay, fair enough. What about all the other buildings?"
"Applejack's barn was complete random chance! When you launch a draconic creature into the sky with an inexplicable cyclone, its descent arc is completely at the mercy of local wind currents! I don't believe for a second that Ranma did that deliberately, and he was working to protect us in the first place!" Twilight continued.
"Uh huh..."
"Obviously, I can't account for the other buildings that have allegedly been damaged during Ranma's travels, but two structures were completely demolished within a single hour the first time he came to Ponyville. It's hardly unreasonable to suspect that those demolitions were also accidents, or even deliberate acts of destruction on the part of his enemies. Ranma doesn't just knock down buildings for fun," the Princess continued lecturing while she walked.
"I'm not sure that's any great comfort to their owners," Discord mused.
"Like I said, I can't speak for-"
Twilight suddenly froze, and then her head whipped around to glare at the Spirit of Chaos. "Why are you following me?" It hadn't occurred to her until now, but she had left the doorway of her home a few minutes ago and yet Discord had been keeping pace with her all this time.
"Me? To meet Havoc, of course!" Discord laughed at the question. "You've said so many interesting things about him! How could I not?"
"I, uhm, would like to go too, if it's not too much trouble," Fluttershy added, peeking out from behind the draconequus. "Not that I need to meet Havoc, but, um, that's where Rarity is anyway."
Twilight frowned, her focus still on Discord. "And what are you going to do when you meet him? I still think you know something and you're hiding it!"
"Well, DUH." Discord rolled his eyes, hands clasped behind his back.
The young Princess honestly considered marching back home and sitting in her library until Discord left, but eventually discarded the idea as pointless. It wasn't as if Ranma would be difficult to find without her help; if Discord wanted to meet the martial artist it was only a matter of whether he did so under Twilight's supervision or not.
Besides, there's a good chance Ranma might give him a swift kick upside the jaw. I wouldn't want to miss that, she thought as she started walking down the road again. |
Taming the Wild Horse | Brave New World | Taming the Wild Horse
a My Little Pony/Ranma 0.5 crossover fanfiction
by SFaccountant
Chapter 9
Brave New World
"Did I really beat up this many soldiers last night? I feel like I didn't!"
Ranma's complaints went unheard as he trudged across the orchard. A medium-sized cart bounced along behind him, the interior rattling with a collection of spears, helmets, arrows, knives, and assorted pieces of scrap metal that were not obviously of civilian farmer origin. He had already searched the path he remembered taking through the orchard to escape the previous night, but a little bit of searching revealed that such discarded equipment was scattered to some extent throughout most of the orchard. Ranma wasn't sure if this was simply because his escape had been more erratic and fiercely resisted than he remembered or if other circumstances of battle had caused them to abandon their gear in the middle of a farm, but either way the martial artist resented that they had left so much of their weaponry and armor behind.
He spotted another spear lodged into an apple tree, and a frustrated sigh emerged. "Look at this! Where the heck was this guy aiming? I was never this far from the farmhouse! Did they just start hurling spears at every shadow or what?"
Honestly, he couldn't totally blame them if they had. Pursuing an agile, stealthy, and extremely dangerous opponent through the woods at dusk leant itself to a certain amount of paranoid terror. He COULD blame them for not picking up after themselves, though. He unhitched himself from the work wagon and walked up to the tree.
Ranma jumped up and landed on the haft of the spear, dislodging it from the bark of the apple tree. The polearm bounced after landing below him, and with a swipe of his leg Ranma tossed it atop the rest of the military detritus.
He hitched himself to the wagon again and started to leave, but then paused mid-step. Ranma glanced back at the tree, his eyes narrowed.
Then he relaxed and started heading out again. "Hi Rainbow Dash. I don't suppose you saw any nets caught in the trees as you were headed over here, did you? Those things were pretty heavy, so I figure if any of them got caught in the branches or something the goons just left them behind."
After a few seconds a rustling noise came from the tree. Rainbow Dash poked her head out and spat out some leaves before she addressed the martial artist with a pout. "Dang. What gave me away?"
"Nothing in particular. I'm actually kind of impressed I didn't notice you right away. It's not like you blend in." Ranma caught a glint of metal and sighed, winding his wagon around toward the next blade that was scattered amongst the leaves. "Do you do martial arts?"
"Hay yeah, I do!" Rainbow bragged, swooping down and perching on the edge of the wagon. "Me and my friends get into plenty of scrapes of our own, ya know. Somepony has to protect them!" She reared up on her hind legs and did a few practice jabs with her forelegs, followed by a right hook with her wing.
Ranma watched out of one eye, fascinated. "That's pretty neat. I don't know much about the martial arts here in ponyland. I've fought lots of ponies, but, well... you guys don't seem very good at it."
"Most ponies don't really LIKE fighting, obviously. And the ponies that do usually rely on magical stuff." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "But not me! I can handle myself just fine!"
Ranma smirked. There was a crossbow bolt on the ground in front of him, and he carefully placed a hoof under its edge while keeping one eye on the pegasus. "I'm sure you can take care of yourself... THINK FAST!"
A red blur streaked toward Rainbow Dash, and she reacted instantly, jumping and twisting in the air. "HIYAH!" Her hoof struck the object like she was spiking a volleyball, and bits of wet pulp splattered across her chest fur from the impact.
Rainbow Dash blinked, staring at the partially crushed fruit lying atop the pile of weapons. "What the... did you just throw an apple at me?"
"Well, yeah. I wasn't going to throw an actual weapon. Come on," Ranma scoffed, tossing the discarded crossbow bolt into the wagon. "Good reflexes, though!"
"Pff! I told you I can hold my own! I'll bet I could even teach you a thing or two!" Rainbow smirked. "Especially when it comes to flying! Because - and I'm gonna go a little Element of Honesty here - your technique SUUUUUUUUCKS."
Ranma hitched himself back to the wagon without saying anything, and then paused to rub his chin with a hoof. "Rainbow Dash. Rainbow. Rainchan? No... Rainbon? Meh..."
Rainbow perched on the wagon again and tilted her head to the side. "What are you doing?"
"Deciding on a nickname. Maybe Rainy? Nah..." He squinted at the pegasus, as if he was weighing her in his mind.
"Just call me Dash," Rainbow said, waving a hoof at the stallion.
"Hmm... Okay. Dasshu it is." Ranma turned back around.
"What? I said Dash," Rainbow repeated.
"Yeah, so did I."
"No you didn't! You said it all weird!"
"Don't sweat the small stuff, Dasshu." Ranma smirked and started moving the cart through the orchard again.
"Is this your way of getting back at me for calling you Havoc?" Rainbow asked, pouting again.
"Nah. It's not like you came up with the name," the martial artist replied. "Although if it annoys you and it seems like I don't care, THAT might be because you call me Havoc."
Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry at Ranma, who kept smirking and walking through the orchard. There was a long pause in conversation as he sought out more arms and ammunition, and Rainbow watched him chuck a few more short swords into the wagon before she cracked a yawn.
"Hey, when are you gonna be done with this? It isn't even a farm chore, really. Just trash collection," Rainbow mumbled.
"Yeah, I know. But I don't have a choice," Ranma grumbled as he pressed on. "I'm pretty sure Jack is looking to get rid of me at the first excuse she gets, so I have to take this seriously!"
"Well, not at the first excuse, no. She had PLENTY of excuses before now. It took you, what, an hour to get into a fight in her barn?"
"Not helping, Dasshu."
The pegasus slapped a hoof on the edge of the cart, stirring the pile of sharpened steel inside. "What say we take a break and get in some Calamity time?" she asked, grinning. "Give your wings a workout before Rarity drags us off to the spa!"
"Can't. Working," the martial artist replied curtly.
"Come onnnnnnn. It'll be fun!" Rainbow pressed.
"It sounds like it. But I'm working," Ranma said again.
"You really need to improve your flying if you're going to be getting in any more aerial fights," Rainbow mused, her lip quirking into a smirk. "You'd be a pegasus pancake if it weren't for me and Twi, you know. Or maybe you'd rather just have us follow you around, in case you need saving? Does that work better for you?"
A vein popped up on Ranma's head. He jerked his body suddenly to the left, and the wagon bounced sharply on one side, tossing Rainbow Dash into the air.
She rolled in a clean, graceful arc, clearing the wagon's cargo bed and landing cat-like on the opposite edge. Rainbow Dash didn't look disturbed in the slightest, and she took a moment to buff her hoof against her chest. "So that's still a no, huh?"
"It's still a no," Ranma grumbled.
This reply annoyed Rainbow Dash far more than the attempt to bounce her onto the ground did. "I'll bet you're just sour at a mare being better at flying than you are! I can take it easy on you if you're embarrassed!"
The vein throbbed harder, but Ranma just ducked his head down and kept going. "I have a JOB to do, Dasshu. I owe Jack, okay? I have to do this!"
"Don't you also owe me?" Rainbow Dash huffed. "I left all my spare cash for Trixie because you begged us to!"
"Yeah. So if you have work for me later, then I'll do that," Ranma said, pausing to toss a crossbow into the wagon bed. "But right now I'm busy. I don't want Jack mad at me before I've even cleaned up the garbage from last night."
Rainbow Dash mulled over that statement for several minutes, laying on the edge of the wagon as Ranma patrolled the orchard.
Then, suddenly, inspiration struck.
"Hey, Havoc!" Rainbow barked, jumping up into the air. "I challenge you to a duel of honor!"
Ranma almost fell over out of sheer shock. Once he recovered from his double-take, he stared back at the pegasus incredulously. "You... want to fight ME?" he asked.
Ranma didn't mean to suggest that Rainbow Dash was some kind of weakling that had no serious chance against him. After all, more than one equine had surprised him in a fight with their magical shenanigans, clever ploys, or sheer luck since he'd begun wandering Equestria. But every pony he'd fought so far had also overwhelmingly deserved a solid kick upside the head, or at least pressed Ranma to the point where he had little choice. He REALLY didn't want to start getting into fights with the local ponies when he'd just been handed a pardon, especially one of the mares that he tentatively considered a friend.
Rainbow Dash, for her part, seemed to chew over his shocked reply for a few seconds. "Well... I guess it doesn't have to be a FIGHTING duel. You ARE really good at kicking things. Taking you on like that would be like... if I challenged you to a race. It would just be unfair!"
Ranma blinked. "Me racing you wouldn't be unfair. Well, not to me, at least."
"Oh REEEEEEALLY?" Rainbow's grin stretched from ear to ear. "Then I guess a racing duel it is!"
"Dasshu, gimme a break!" Ranma complained, hanging his head. "I can't turn down a challenge!"
"Well, yeah. I know. That's why I did it," Rainbow replied. Seeing his sulking expression, she got another idea. "I'll tell you what: let's make it interesting. If you beat me, then that debt of yours? It's a wash. Whaddya say?"
The pigtailed stallion seemed surprised at the offer. "R-Really? And what if you win? I mean, you won't, but... what if you did?"
"Then you... still have to pay me back, I guess." Rainbow shrugged. "No fur off my nose."
"I... wow. Really? I get something if I win, but nothing bad happens if I lose?" Ranma mumbled. "Usually it's the other way around."
"I mean, I guess I could make you bet the MacGuffin Stone on it..." Rainbow mused aloud, tapping a hoof against her chin. Ranma flinched, and then she grinned. "But who needs all that hassle? I just wanna see how good you really are if you push yourself."
"Well... okay, fine." Ranma shoved aside the wagon harness. "But just a quick race, all right? I don't want to get in trouble over this!"
"Would you stop worrying? It's gonna take me like a minute to embarrass you, and then you can go right back to collecting trash," Rainbow taunted, stretching her wings straight up. "There's a pond a little further to the West. Go get changed and come back!"
"Change? Why?" Ranma hopped a few times to limber up. "I'm not flying this race."
"What? Seriously?" Rainbow asked. "You know I am, right? I'm not going to run grounded just to make it more fair." She found this new development rather disappointing. While she was interested in a race for its own sake, the pegasus had been hoping to better gauge Ranma's flight technique. Also, it was going to be much harder to show off when her opponent was separated by the tree cover.
"Why would I try to outfly you? We both know you're better at it than I am," Ranma admitted. "For now, anyway." Then he looked back and forth. "So where's the finish line?"
"Let's use that pond I mentioned as a checkpoint!" Rainbow said, pointing in the indicated direction. "First one to touch the water and then make it back to the wagon wins!"
Ranma nodded sharply, and then stepped up next to Rainbow Dash. She lowered her profile, crouching low to the ground, and then spread her wings high.
"Ready? Three! Two! One... GO!!"
Ranma bolted forward like a loosed arrow, his hooves leaving divots in the earth. The trees of the orchard sped past in a blur, and the lowest-hanging branches quivered from the wind of his passing.
Up above the trees a rainbow streak cut through the air, unsettling the topmost leaves in equal measure. Rainbow Dash's wings pumped furiously to propel her forward, and she briefly glanced up, working out in her head how many precious seconds she would lose ascending and then later descending to reach a more comfortable soaring altitude.
Briefly scanning the orchard below revealed a glimpse of gray between the branches. Ranma was, evidently, keeping pace with her over the ground. That much was impressive, but not surprising; Rainbow hadn't hit her sub-rainboom top speed, and didn't want to exhaust herself before the home stretch anyway. It did mean that she probably couldn't give up any time for the sake of convenience, though.
The pegasus veered out of the way of an unusually tall apple tree, rolling in the air and tearing a few stray apples free in her passing. With that obstruction clear, the apple trees gave way to open grass plain underneath her, and Rainbow Dash spotted the pond ahead. Ranma burst from the trees right behind her, and then glanced up to judge his progress.
The ponies' eyes met.
Rainbow Dash exulted in her slight lead, and then decided to risk it for a bit of showmareship. With a mighty flap of her wings she surged forward, and then pulled her wings and legs tight, arcing into a shallow dive. A risky move, considering how low and fast she was flying, to say nothing of the fact that she didn't quite remember how deep the pond's water was.
Just before she touched the surface, Rainbow suddenly rolled sharply, and the pegasus touched the water while spinning like a drill head. The pond split around her, creating a tremendous splash around a swirling cyclone of color, and incidentally scattering a family of ducks that had been swimming too close to her approach vector.
Rainbow Dash bounced up again near the edge of the water and shot into the air, spreading her wings in preparation for the return flight. She gave her head a quick shake to get the wet mane out of her eyes, and then looked down to check on her competitor.
Ranma reached the pond, and then his body was consumed by a blue flash. Rather than touching the water and veering away he ran straight into it at a mad gallop.
Or rather, right over it.
Ranma sped across the surface of the pond as surely as if it were dirt, leaving a trail of sparkling blue flares and mild ripples behind. He didn't even splash enough water on himself to activate his curse, and in the blink of an eye the martial artist was on the other side. Then he kept running, leaping up toward a tree in the middle of the clearing and landing on it near the top. The entire tree shook from the force, and the trunk bent over with an ominous creak.
Rainbow Dash decided to stop watching and start flying again.
The tree snapped back, launching Ranma across the clearing like a catapult. He zipped past Rainbow - who was still accelerating after her brief pause - and then struck an apple tree at the edge of the clearing. Another blue flare of light bloomed from the impact, and the tree's apples quivered and promptly rained to the ground. Ranma kicked off the tree and launched himself into another one, and then kicked off of that one as well.
The martial artist became a whistling, zig-zagging blue streak through the orchard, bouncing from one tree to another like a pinball striking a series of bumpers. Leaves and bark blasted from each impact like shrapnel, and apples tumbled to the dirt in his wake.
Finally, Ranma spotted his abandoned wagon ahead. With a wordless shout, the stallion landed on the ground in a full sprint, his aura still pulsing around him and after-images trailing a jet stream of leaves and upturned dust.
He shifted his path alongside the wagon, and his hoof lashed out to tap the side even as he dug his hooves into the ground. Ranma's aura winked out and he screeched to a stop, digging a short furrow through the dirt that carried him past the finish line.
Then he whirled around, a wide grin on his face. "Ha! Made it! I win!" he shouted into the sky, searching for any sign of his colorful opponent.
He found none. Granted, the trees were dense enough here to obscure much of the sky, and his senses were still a bit off-kilter from ricochet-kicking his way back, but he was pretty sure that Rainbow Dash should only be a few seconds behind him.
"Did she... get lost? Or... strain a wing, maybe? Can that happen? Is she okay?" He walked past the wagon again, his eyes still scanning the sky above. "HEY!! DASSHU!! WHAT'S WRONG?!" He shouted, cupping his hooves around his muzzle. "DID YOU RUN INTO A TREE OR SOMETHING?!"
Then he felt a feather-tip brush over his back. "Havoc! You made it!"
Ranma yelped, jumping up high enough to turn completely around by the time he landed. Rainbow Dash was leaning over the edge of the wagon bed, giggling into a hoof.
"Where did... How are... When did you..." Ranma stumbled over his words, pointing a foreleg at the pegasus accusingly.
"Did you miss me on your way in? Sorry about that. Got tired of waiting for you and laid down for a nap," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. "Good try, though!"
It was hard to take her taunts seriously. Her casual tone was spoiled from being completely out of breath. Her chest heaved, her mane was stuck to her neck and forehead with sweat, and her wings were extended and slowly moving to keep the muscles from cramping. Obviously she had made it to the finish line before he had, but she looked like she'd pushed herself to her limit to do so. Ranma felt could have run the entire circuit again and probably matched his first time.
That was some comfort to the martial artist, but not much. He fumed silently while Rainbow smirked at him, and then sat down in a huff. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. That's what I get for taking it easy on you."
"I'm sure you say that to all the mares who beat you," Rainbow teased, gingerly stepping out of the wagon and dropping to the ground. She had been joking about taking a nap, of course; even landing on a pile full of weapons had been quite uncomfortable, and she almost cut herself trying to hide and set up this entertaining ruse. "But hey! You did good! I almost had to hit rainboom speed back there to make it ahead of you! Not just anypony can say that!"
"Yes, FINE. I get it," the pigtailed stallion groused. "Whatever. You won't win next time."
"Next time?" Rainbow asked, her ears perking up. "You already planning a rematch, Havoc?"
"What, you didn't think I was just going to take a loss and then scurry away with my tail between my legs, did you?" Ranma asked. He stepped closer, and his expression finally broke into a smile. "You DID challenge me to a duel of honor, after all. I have a reputation to uphold."
"I don't think it's going to be great for your reputation to lose to me over and over again, but I like your attitude!" Rainbow taunted, stepping forward so that they were almost nose-to-nose. "Any time, any place, Havoc. That's a promise!"
"Havin' fun on yer break, Ah see."
Ranma and Rainbow recoiled at the sound of Applejack's voice, and then quickly whirled around. The farmer was standing several feet away with a very displeased expression and a vein bulging on the side of her head. Behind her stood Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight, who were watching the encounter with intense interest.
"Jack! Hi! Uh... Look! Look at all the weapons I cleaned up!" Ranma said, sweating slightly and gesturing to the wagon bed. "I think that's all of them! I retraced my tracks from last night three time already!"
Applejack approached wordlessly, and then stopped to size up the pile of blades, polearms, nets, and dented helmets. "That's quite a heap o' scrap."
"I know! There was a lot! I didn't think I took out this many ponies last night!" Ranma stopped and coughed self-consciously. "Er... sorry again about getting your farm invaded."
Applejack didn't reply immediately, rearing up against the side of the wagon to get a better view of the bed and its contents. "So which of these things put all them holes in mah trees?"
"Holes? What holes?" Ranma asked, tilting his head to the side.
Applejack dropped back down, and then wordlessly pointed a foreleg up over Ranma's head.
Ranma turned around, and then sucked in a breath through his teeth. The stretch of orchard he and Rainbow Dash had been using for their race track was a mess, with a trail of churned earth and fallen apples scattered on the ground. The apples would have been bad enough, certainly, as the crops weren't ripe enough to be harvested, but that was not all: as Applejack had said, several of the trees had shallow divots carved into their trunks within patches of stripped bark, obviously as a result of Ranma kicking off of them at maximum speed. Calling them "holes" was disputable, but Ranma didn't really want to argue about the extent of the damage.
Rainbow Dash groaned at the sight of the trees, and then clenched her jaw when she saw Ranma's ears flip down. "Aw, geez. Sorry about that," she interjected. "That was my bad."
Ranma flinched in surprise. Applejack turned a hesitant glare on the pegasus.
"YOU did that? How?" the farmer asked suspiciously.
Ranma started to speak, but Rainbow talked right over him. "Not sure! I didn't quite go Rainboom back there because I was flying too low. Guess I came a little too close though, huh? Heh!" She chuckled and knocked her head with her hoof. "Anyway, it was definitely me who damaged your trees. And it was me who challenged Havoc to a race in the first place. Oops!"
Applejack scowled. "Well Ah guess there ain't nothin' fer it now, but keep yer shenanigans outside mah property, y'hear?! Ah don't want Havoc slackin' off on the job, an' Ah don't want ya tearing up mah crops! That clear?"
"Crystal!" Rainbow said brightly, briefly turning to Ranma and winking at him.
The martial artist found himself at a loss for words, and not just because it was convenient and pertinent to remain silent. He shuffled his hooves nervously as the mares' attention shifted to him fully.
"Well, Ah ain't here just to check up on ya. Rares and Flutters wanted to know when ya were free to have yer spa treatment," Applejack said. "If yer done with the weapons, then ya can clean up those fallen apples and then head out."
Ranma frowned. "Oh, okay... So what's Sparks and the weird monster here for, then?"
"Weird monster?! Why, I NEVER!"
Rainbow Dash jumped in surprise at the voice, having failed to spot Discord before he joined the conversation. The draconequus approached her and Ranma from behind, hands clasped behind his back. Ranma glanced over at him, but then turned back to Applejack and the other ponies.
Twilight couldn't help but smirk. "Ranma Saotome, this is Discord. Discord, this is Ranma Saotome, more commonly known as 'Havoc' and less commonly known as 'Calamity.' Discord is the Spirit of Chaos, and an ancient tyrant that we... well, convinced to be less tyrannical. Ranma is a human trapped in a pony's body who was the most wanted criminal in all of Equestria up until last night."
"Fascinating," Discord said, walking a circuit around Ranma.
"So am I supposed to beat this thing up, or what?" Ranma asked, narrowing his eyes at Discord.
"Beat him up? Why?" Rarity asked.
"I dunno, that's why I'm asking," the martial artist said. "I'm getting a real bad 'end boss' vibe here, but I want to be sure."
"Yes, well... Discord can be difficult, but he isn't evil, so there's no need for violence. Yet." Twilight gave Discord a warning glare. "However, I believe he knows something about your world."
"What?! Really?" Ranma whirled toward the ancient creature, his expression filling with hope. "You can help me go home?!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha! No!" Discord said, guffawing and slapping his knee.
Ranma's ears immediately flipped down. "Oh. So what do you know about my world, then?"
"Oh, this and that. I'm a big fan of humanity, actually! They were such FUN!" Discord said, still observing Ranma closely.
Discord circled around to stand in front of the martial artist, and then carefully took hold of Ranma's jaw and pulled it open, peering at his teeth. Ranma found the inspection unsettling and more than a little demeaning, but he waited patiently until the draconequus let go of him.
"Remarkable. He really is a pony. On the outside, at least." Discord stood up straight, his lips stretching into an even bigger grin. "But under the surface you're far more than that, aren't you?"
Ranma didn't really know what to say to that, but Twilight trotted up to him, placing herself between him and Discord. "Yes, we know. He's a human. We went over this."
"I'm not talking about something as simple as his animal heritage," Discord mused. "Don't you see it? This creature BLEEDS magic, yet he couldn't so much as light a candle with it! I've never seen anything like it!"
"Is that bad? That sounds bad," Fluttershy fretted.
"It's certainly not good," Discord shrugged. "But aside from the casual offers of violence, he seems perfectly sane. I'm impressed! He's nothing like I expected!"
"What did you expect?" Rarity asked. "Didn't you just hear about Ranma today?"
"I expected a monster, of course. A creature tortured by curses and haunted by the fate of his fallen people. A being that had ended the old world, and had been unleashed to ravage the new one. You know: someone like me, but without a sense of humor." Discord laughed. "He turned out to be far more interesting, though! To think, the Ancient Shapers spoke in terrified whispers of this! A hapless wanderer suffering from one too many curses and trapped in the wrong body! HA!"
All the ponies were more confused than ever by now, but none more so than Ranma himself. "Whoa, wait, what are you even talking about? What 'old world?' Are you talking about Earth?"
"Of course! Didn't you know why you were trapped in the MacGuffin Stone to begin with? What did you THINK happened after that?" Discord giggled.
"You know what happened to his world and how he got here? Really?" Twilight asked skeptically. "This isn't just a long and elaborate joke?"
Discord rolled his eyes. "It can be both."
Ranma's face was twisted into an expression of confusion and dread. He understood the implications of what Discord had said, but he wanted to hear it straight. "What happened to Earth, then? And how did I end up on this planet?"
"I COULD tell you... or I can simply SHOW you!" Discord raised his lion-arm over his head and snapped his fingers.
"Here we arrrrre!" Discord sang after he appeared in a flash of light.
Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash stumbled in surprise at the sudden change in location and quickly looked around. They had arrived on a beach somewhere, with a great expanse of ocean on one side and a short cliff face opposite the water.
"What is this? Where are we?" Twilight asked. There were certainly no signs of civilization on the beach itself, and the space above the cliff was overrun with jungle. There was, however, something else further down the water line, and while she didn't know what it was it certainly didn't look natural. "What is THAT?"
Discord snickered while the mares stared. They were still some way away, but the object looked to be the top of some long-buried statue. It was difficult to make out any more than that, as it had been covered over with layers of dirt and stone and punctured at multiple points by the elements. What was probably the head seemed to be wearing some kind of crown with large, triangle-shaped spikes, and another section of the construct stretched up into the air above it, holding something aloft.
"It's quite a mysterious artifact, isn't it?" Discord asked, grinning with his arms crossed over his chest. "Shall we get a little closer for a better look, Havoc?"
Ranma didn't answer.
Discord waited a few more seconds, and then turned around. "What, you don't answer to that anymore? It's a little late now, buddy." He scanned the confused ponies, and then his expression fell. "Huh. Where'd he go?"
The mares looked about some more in confusion, and then suddenly Twilight's eyes went wide. "WAIT!! Did you just try to teleport him?!"
Discord blinked. "... Yes? So? Why, does he get conjuration sickness?"
The other ponies gasped. Applejack's jaw fell open, and Rainbow Dash slapped a hoof against her face.
"Oh dear. Uhm, Discord, you see, Havoc has this condition..." Fluttershy mumbled, her ears folding against her head.
"So he DOES have conjuration sickness? Because I literally made that up just now."
"Not quite," Rarity sighed. "The poor dear has a magic allergy."
Discord tilted his head sharply to the side. "That's hardly any different from the thing I just made up, which is not actually a thing, because - and I stress this point - I was being facetious."
"Stop yappin' and send us back!" Applejack shouted. "He could be in trouble!"
The draconequus didn't really understand the concern, but with a shrug he raised his hand into the air again. "Too bad. This reveal would have been HILARIOUS."
He snapped his fingers, and again they vanished in a flash.
Again, the ponies glanced about in distress and confusion as Discord's teleport deposited them in unfamiliar territory. Unlike before, they quickly ascertained exactly where they were. They were on Sweet Apple Acres, in the middle of Applejack's orchard. Discord had, evidently, returned them to the exact respective locations from whence they had left.
The confusion was due to the face that a considerable expanse of the apple orchard immediately below and around them had been replaced by a massive, blackened crater.
"Okay, so somepony's going to have to explain this to me because I am stumped," Discord confessed, twisting his head around to look at the devastation. Even the trees that hadn't been completely demolished by the explosion were badly scorched on the sides exposed to the epicenter, with their branches stripped free of leaves and fruit.
Applejack's legs wobbled, and she slumped to the ground with an expression of horror on her face. Rainbow Dash gave a low whistle. Twilight shouted something unintelligible and started looking around in a panic while Fluttershy quietly scanned the sky above. As all her friends seemed occupied, Rarity sighed and answered Discord's question.
"As I said, he has a magic allergy. Magic spells don't affect him the way they should. Well, most of them, at least. Teleport being a prime example," the snow-white unicorn explained sadly.
Discord blinked. Then he looked around at the crater. Then he scratched his head. "Did I just kill Ranma Saotome?" he wondered aloud.
"Nah. He'll be fine. The guy's practically indestructible," Rainbow Dash assured him. Then she beckoned to Applejack. "I'm off the hook for the damage to the apple trees now, right? I mean the dumb race hardly matters with a giant hole punched in your orchard."
"DASH!!" Twilight and Applejack snapped simultaneously, glaring at the cyan pony.
"What? The last time he stopped by he blew up your home AND got chased through the farm by a monster AND got flung into the air by a tornado. I'm telling you guys, you're stressing out for nothing," Rainbow scoffed.
"I don't know about that. This blast crater is... quite a bit bigger than Twilight's former domicile," Rarity mumbled anxiously. "And if Ranma DID survive, where is he?"
"Incoming," Fluttershy mumbled.
Ranma hit the ground at a slight angle, striking behind the others and digging a furrow through the ground with his head. Black puffs of smoke trailed after him, marking his travel arc through the air and leaving an ashen shroud around his landing point.
"Ow," the martial artist volunteered.
"TOLD YOU," Rainbow Dash said smugly.
Twilight bit her tongue, electing to rush to the stallion's side rather than snapping at Rainbow again. Discord followed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully while observing the curled-up equine body.
"He looks quite healthy for someone who..." Discord paused to glance around, "who endured whatever exactly happened here. Did he explode?"
"Yeah, I'm... I'm fine," Ranma grunted weakly, his rear leg twitching. "I think I'll stay here for a few minutes, if that's okay..."
Twilight grimaced as she circled the martial artist, looking more pained than he did. She hated feeling this helpless, with a dozen normally useful spells on the tip of her horn but held back under the infuriating knowledge that every one of them was likely to make things worse. "We don't actually know the precise physics behind his allergy detonations. Obviously the explosion origin isn't inside him, or necessarily on a consistent point of contact. But anyway the important point is DO NOT USE MAGIC ON RANMA, as it will generate a randomized arcane result instead of the intended effect!" She sat down suddenly, rubbing her head with her hoof. "Of course I PROBABLY should have mentioned that earlier, when I was going over all the things I knew about him. Perhaps this could have been avoided."
"Oh, no, there's no chance of that," Discord assured her. "I would have tried to magic him anyway just to see what would happen." As the mares glared at him, he looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "What do you think would happen if I used a spell to make him explode?"
"I'm pretty sure that would create the effect where I kick you in the head over and over," Ranma grumbled.
"Discord, if you're not going to help, just leave Ranma alone!" Twilight snapped. "He's been through enough already!"
"Why so prickly, Princess? This is incredible!" Discord laughed, clapping his hands. "A fragment of a lost world, a legendary warrior, is hurled to us through time! Plots and counter-plots and the odd sex-starved dragon are all ruined for having crossed paths with it! And to round it out this wonderful anomaly can twist the most timid or powerful of magics alike into absolute CHAOS! Aren't you excited? I'm excited!"
"Ah ain't EXCITED at havin' mah orchard torched acre by acre fer yer amusement," Applejack seethed.
"Oh, fine. You're such a bore. HAVE your silly little trees."
Discord casually snapped his fingers, and in a flash of light the ponies found themselves surrounded by Sweet Apple Acres' bountiful orchard once more. The crater was gone, and the ground under their hooves was once more firm, undisturbed ground. The trees surrounding them were free of any apparent damage, including the gouges that Rainbow Dash had allegedly caused. The only disturbance that still remained, in fact, was Ranma himself, and the long gouge through the dirt he had made on impact with the ground.
Applejack was stunned, her expression slowly turning into a hopeful smile. "Yah... Yah fixed it? Really?"
"Really. No harm, no foul!" the draconequus said with a toothy grin.
Big Macintosh bolted into action, a frightened squeak escaping his seldom-used lips. A quick and hopefully-not-too-rough shove of his hoof sent Winona rolling into the barn, yelping in surprise. He reached down and bit onto Apple Bloom's bow, snatching her off the ground and prompting a noise not unlike that from the family pet.
He barely made it into the barn before the first spear plunged into the ground right behind him, fully embedding its lethally sharp head into the dirt. The second spear embedded itself into the barn wall, the third and fourth hit the ceiling, and then a firm, rhythmic patter, like the sound of heavy raindrops, started falling against the structure. It was accompanied by the sight of shuriken blades and throwing knives slicing halfway through the wooden wall to poke their gleaming edges into the barn interior.
Swords, halberds, crossbow bolts, arrows, daggers, damaged helmets and maces battered the barn walls while Big Mac protectively shielded his sister and their dog, waiting for the deadly storm to end. And soon enough it did; but not before a familiar wagon smashed into the ground immediately in front of the barn entrance, breaking apart in an explosion of shattered timbers and twisted nails.
"Yes! Nopony at all was hurt! Except for Havoc, technically!"
Ranma slowly pushed himself off the ground, feeling his bones creak from the effort. Twilight fretted wordlessly, darting back and forth and looking like she wanted to help push him up but was afraid that even the lightest touch could hurt him. It was adorable, really.
"So ANYWAY," the martial artist grumbled, turning to glare up at Discord again. "What were you going on about before? Do you know what happened to Earth or not?"
"Yes, I do. Although I really hate to divulge it outside of a humorous reference. It's not that funny on its own," Discord sighed.
"I don't care! Just spill it! What happened to my planet?!" Ranma demanded.
"Exactly what you'd expect happened to it. It was destroyed," Discord said with a resigned shrug. "A whacky death cult trapped you within the all-powerful artifact, went about their ritual, and obliterated human civilization."
Ranma stared at the draconequus, his expression frozen; not disbelieving, nor resigned or disturbed. Discord snapped his fingers, and suddenly a series of scribbly colored circles appeared in the air, as if someone had drawn over reality with crayons.
"This is the solar system as you no doubt remember it," Discord said, gesturing to the big, yellow circle with a spiked fringe. It was in the middle of all the other circles, which were all slowly floating around it. "All the planets swinging merrily through space at high speed around the sun as they had for billions of years! But with a little black magic, powered by the world's most dangerous curse magnet..."
He snapped his fingers again, and the sun started shaking and then swinging back and forth. The closest shape - a bright orange circle that no doubt represented Mercury - collided with the star and was completely consumed, vanishing in a puff of disturbingly real smoke. Pluto, a blue dot orbiting at the outer edge of the image, wobbled and then flew off-course, vanishing among the apple trees. Soon the entire system was a mess, with planets being pulled closer or breaking away farther while the sun zig-zagged across space.
"Some random cult did THIS?" Twilight gasped.
"Well, yes. You shouldn't be so surprised; your teacher uses the same magic every day." Seeing the startled gasp from the mares, Discord chuckled. "What? Did you really think that the spell to raise and lower the sun was some grand act of long-range levitation? It's an ancient and terrible incantation, developed to nurture or end life as we know it. We're fortunate enough that our benevolent Princess firmly prefers the former, but she was not the first to possess this magic, and if certain ponies have their way she won't be the last, either."
The strange projection suddenly zoomed in on Earth as the sun flew by alarmingly close, and then the crudely-drawn circle of aqua suddenly burst into flames. Real flames, at that; the ponies flinched away from the sudden heat, and their expressions turned to horror at the smell of burning wax.
"And so ended Earth," Discord said sadly, staring down at the flames with his arms clasped behind his back. "At least, so ended Earth as you knew it. Eventually the orbit came to be controlled and the world was slowly restored to some semblance of its former, vibrant glory. I won't bore you with the details, but it just so happens that the reference materials used in the rebuilding effort was less Encyclopedia Britannica and more 2nd Edition Monster Manual."
"Wait, wait, wait! You're saying... our planet... is actually HIS planet?" Rainbow asked, pointing a hoof at Ranma and gaping.
"Well how did you THINK the MacGuffin Stone ended up here?" Discord asked. "Scooped up by hidden space aliens escaping Armageddon and then discarded on some random backwater planet with the rest of the trash? No," he snorted. "They mostly just made off with the comics and pornography. Although to be fair, most of it WAS from Japan."
He snapped his fingers again, and the magic projection winked out of sight, leaving the ponies with only the smell of fire and the disturbed, unsettled feeling that comes from watching someone illustrate planetary genocide like a foal's bedtime story.
Ranma sat down heavily, his eyes unfocused and staring at nothing. Twilight considered the martial artist very easy to read, but at the moment she could only guess at what he was feeling.
"If... If all that is... true," Ranma said, his words coming uncertainly to his lips. "Then that... means..."
"Yes," Discord nodded somberly. "All of your loved ones are gone."
"... BOTH of them?" Ranma asked, his voice cracking in distress.
All the mares gave him curious looks at that, but only Applejack proved tactless enough to ask what they were all wondering. "Ya only had two loved ones?"
"Yes!" Ranma paused, glancing at the ground. "Well... okay, more like one and a half."
"Did you not get along with one of your parents?" Fluttershy asked tenderly.
Ranma looked confused. "What do my parents have to do with anything?"
Discord laughed and slapped his knee, which earned him more annoyed and disgusted glares from the ponies. Then he suddenly straightened up and coughed into his fist. "And that, unfortunately, is the story of your home planet, Havoc. You're already here, so you cannot return there. It is extremely unlikely you will ever see a human being again, and to the extent the possibility exists it mostly involves you finding a way to shake off this polymorph deal and using a mirror."
"Discord!" Twilight hissed through her teeth. "Could you TRY to be a little more sensitive and quit cracking jokes?!"
"I could, yes, but I doubt it would work," the ancient spirit admitted.
Ranma didn't seem to be listening, staring off into nothing again. Most of the other ponies didn't know what to say, but Applejack calmly approached the pigtailed stallion and placed a hoof on his shoulder.
"Hey, why doncha take five fer now? Head back to the house fer a little while. Maybe take a nap. Ah'll come get ya when Ah need somethin' important done," the farmer said firmly.
Ranma's stare finally focused, meeting Applejack's eyes. "Uh... yeah. Okay. That sounds good," he mumbled, slowly turning around. "... Thanks."
"Yer welcome. Just take yer time and get yer head straight," Applejack said while he slowly walked away.
Rarity waited until Ranma's backside was well outside of earshot before she sighed. "Well, so much for spa day. I'm glad I didn't make the appointment yesterday after all. The poor dear could use a little tender care and pampering, honestly, but I doubt he's in the mood."
"Oh, he'll be fine," Discord scoffed. "You don't get to be a font of chaos and destruction on that scale without learning to walk off the odd massacre and expedite the grieving process a little."
"You're a jerk, you know that?" Rainbow grumbled. "You should have told us, and let US break it to him!"
"Naw, as much as Ah hate to admit it, Ah think Havoc was better off gettin' it straight from the source with no sugarcoatin'," Applejack said, her expression grim. "Havin' some experience mahself with sudden loss of family..." She took a moment to adjust her hat. "'Course, me'n Mac had a farm to deal with at the time. Ah don't know what Havoc aims t'do now that he knows he ain't gettin' back home."
"Well, I imagine you don't want him as a permanent houseguest," Rarity said wryly.
"I doubt you'd even want him as a permanent Equestrian, honestly," Discord murmured.
This got him another round of hostile and/or baffled looks.
"Why wouldn't we? What's wrong with Havoc?" Rainbow asked.
"Didn't you just say that he WASN'T the sort of destructive monster you expected?" Twilight demanded.
"I did say that. And he isn't! At least, not on purpose." Discord chuckled, leaning over and patting Twilight on the head condescendingly.
"And what's THAT supposed to mean?" the Princess snapped.
Discord seemed amused at the question. "Did you miss the part where he demolished an impressive slice of the farm by accident? Don't get me wrong; I thought it was hilarious! But it seems like the sort of thing you'd try to keep to a minimum in the interest of harmony and friendship and whatnot."
"That was YER fault!" Applejack complained.
"I certainly played a decisive role in that little blunder, yes. Which is why I fixed it," Discord admitted. "But if I remember correctly there were a great many other explosive incidents our long-lost friend has been involved in, and surprisingly few of them involve me."
"Would you stop teasing us and get to the point?" Rainbow growled, hovering before the draconequus and jabbing a hoof at him. "What are you trying to say?! Is Havoc secretly evil? Is the MacGuffin Stone going to destroy the world again if we don't get it from him? WHAT?! Because if you're just going to tell us that Havoc is bad luck or that having him around will lead to him destroying Canterlot or something, Trixie already tried it and we already proved her wrong!"
Discord didn't answer right away, looking up at the sky thoughtfully and scratching at his goatee. Applejack and Rainbow Dash got tired of waiting after several seconds and turned away, ready to depart without waiting for the Spirit of Chaos.
"If I had to put it in laypony's terms..." Discord said, stopping the mares short. "He's not going to harm you directly, no. He won't even harm your property, necessarily. But he will absolutely destroy your destiny."
"Mah what now?" Applejack asked, exasperated.
Rainbow Dash just laughed. "Our destiny? Really? What a bunch of hay!" Twilight and Rarity seemed less sure, giving the draconequus a scrutinizing stare.
"It's true. While Ranma Saotome can, obviously, reduce a pony's future to a brief stint in the local Intensive Care Unit if he so chose, he tends not to do that. He even seems, on balance, generally benevolent in his application of brute force! But wild brawls are hardly his only contribution to disrupting Equestria's general order and welfare. He never sought to harm Canterlot, much less overthrow Celestia's rule. Yet his acts of interference soon eclipsed the efforts of those ponies who did! Isn't that HYSTERICAL?!"
The draconequus started laughing, although none of the mares joined him. Twilight looked perturbed, while Applejack, Rarity, and particularly Rainbow Dash looked annoyed and skeptical. Fluttershy simply paid polite attention.
"Applejack," Discord said suddenly, pointing both his hands at the farmer, "tell me: have you ever lost so many trees in so little time as when Havoc was in town?"
"... No, Ah don't think so," Applejack said, furrowing her brow. "But ya brought the last batch back, so it ain't so bad. And Ah lose plenty o' apples in other ways. We get by," she said firmly, nodding.
"Yes, you do. Barely. Budgeting a farm and a family is difficult work, isn't it?" Discord shook his head sadly. "How much harder would it be with the occasional explosion gutting a section of your farm? Could you make up the shortfall? Do you think the harvesting season could survive another invasion of your land by the Equestrian Army? What about a roving gang of criminals seeking revenge? Or perhaps a firestorm rushing through your precious trees to serve the arcane plot of an angry sorcerer..."
Applejack scowled. "Yeah, fine. That'd be bad. Real bad. Ah'd have to sell the farm then. So what?"
Discord stepped over next to her, bending down so that his long, serpentine body was folded over. "SO give him another week or two as a houseguest, and where do you think you'll be? You'll still be alive, surely. You'll still have your family. I imagine Havoc would go to tremendous lengths to ensure it, in fact. You might not even collapse into total, abject poverty! But I hardly think you'll still have your farm. Your legacy, your future wrought into the fur of your rear end by the claws of fate, will be dust and ash in his wake. What would you do then, Applejack? I'm sure Havoc would have some ideas, if you don't!"
Discord stood up and cackled some more, while Applejack huffed and turned away.
"Yes, Discord. Tumultuous events often disrupt ponies' lives, and higher-magnitude events tend to happen around Ranma. Including explosions. Basic causality. Fine. That hardly proves that he destroys ponies' destiny." Twilight said wearily.
"Well, of course it doesn't. How could I prove something like that? It's not even deliberate! It's rather insidious that way, don't you think?" Discord chuckled, sliding up to the alicorn and hanging an arm over her withers. "I snap my fingers to turn a few ponies into twisted, hateful mirrors of their true selves, and you imprisoned me in stone for it! Havoc leads a trail of destruction across the countryside for months and you turned against the Royal Guard to protect him! I love it!"
"I've heard enough of this," Rainbow Dash groused. "See you guys later." Without waiting for a farewell, she zipped away into the air, leaving a shimmering trail of rainbows behind her.
"Yeah, Ah'm with Dash," Applejack said, walking away toward the farmhouse. "Ah was more worried than anypony else 'bout takin' him in, but just 'cause Havoc tends to get into trouble don't mean he's some 'font of chaos' or whatnot. Hogwash."
Discord stood up and waved to the departing farmer. "I'm glad you're all taking this so well! I was a bit worried when you told me that Ranma Saotome had not only been delivered to this era, but to this very village! But so far this has been DELIGHTFUL!"
Twilight grimaced. "I can't claim it's been easy or... harmonious, certainly. But I believe that I've done the right thing, and so far so has he. Mostly."
"And with every step you take on that fitful path of conscience, fate unravels a little further," Discord mused, his voice suddenly somber. Then he giggled and rubbed his hands together, instantly ruining the foreboding effect of his words. "Ooh, I have SO MANY ideas! Fluttershy, let's go to the spa anyway! I need to look my best tonight!" He turned directly toward Ponyville and started strolling away, his long, serpentine tail happily swishing back and forth.
"Oh, uh, okay," the pegasus mumbled, giving Rarity and Twilight a questioning look while she started after the draconequus.
"Go ahead, darling. I'm not quite in the mood for more small talk with our resident chaos spirit. Next time," Rarity said wryly. Fluttershy nodded anxiously and then picked up the pace, rushing after Discord and out of earshot.
"... Well, I suppose I should get home too. I'm very skeptical of this anti-destiny theory, but maybe I have a book on the subject that can help contextualize the claim," Twilight mumbled. She turned around and started heading in the direction of the farmhouse.
Rarity moved to join her, although the seamstress was still staring in the direction Discord and Fluttershy had gone.
"Do you really think it's that absurd?" the unicorn finally asked.
"What? That Applejack might not be a farmer if her farm is destroyed? Of course it's not. But that's not the case Discord was making," Twilight said. "Not to mention that his example was hypothetical; Applejack's farm - despite suffering considerable damage recently - has not been destroyed, and she has not stopped being a farmer. Ranma has not yet managed to ruin her foreseeable future simply from living with her. And to my knowledge, the only pony who that HAS happened to is Trixie!"
Rarity blinked repeatedly while following next to Twilight. "Oh? What do you mean? I heard they were traveling together and had a sudden falling out, but I didn't hear the details..."
"Trixie has..." Twilight trailed off, her expression turning frustrated. "... Changed," she murmured after a long pause to think. "I can't articulate exactly how she's changed or why, but it was obvious enough to me that I noticed immediately while talking to her only briefly after I tracked down her and Ranma."
"Changed in personality?"
"Yes. Well... kind of? Trixie's always been temperamental and overconfident, but in Lancanter it simply felt more... REAL." Twilight lowered her head, grimacing. "She argued with me and talked over me like I was nopony special and what I had to say didn't really matter. Not to say I AM somepony special and everypony needs to submit to my requests, but it WAS objectively important, at least! And then, after she found the ruins of her wagon... she..."
The young Princess trailed off once again, staring off into space. Dried leaves and sticks cracked gently underhoof as she trekked through the orchard, and Rarity patiently followed in silence waiting for her to continue.
Eventually, Twilight shook her head. "Maybe I'm imagining things. It's not like I know Trixie all that well. But I never would have guessed the unicorn I saw in Lancanter was a stage magician. So if that's the best example we have, then I don't think there's anything to Discord's theory at all."
"Well, I don't know if it's a better example than Trixie, but there's also you," Rarity said.
Twilight nearly tripped over her own hooves in surprise. "M-Me? What? How?!" She didn't mean to sound quite so defensive, and Rarity recoiled at her tone.
"You don't think you've changed?" Rarity asked cautiously. "What with your library destroyed and the covert journeys across Equestria in pursuit of a troublesome stallion?"
Twilight didn't know what to say. The idea hadn't even occurred to her. "What... What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?"
"No! Well... Not really," Rarity hedged. "But I was more than a little surprised to hear that you ventured out into the Equestrian countryside just after Princess Celestia warned you about a new dire threat seeking to capture a Princess. And then asked Celestia to pardon a wanted criminal. And then went to bring the criminal back to Ponyville when she refused. And then, well, helped the criminal against the ponies trying to capture him."
"What's wrong with any of that?" Twilight asked, sounding distressed. "Under the circumstances it was the right thing to do, wasn't it?"
"Well I'm not going to say that you shouldn't follow your conscience even if it leads to a direct conflict with authority, but it's not something I expected of you, darling," Rarity admitted. "I simply wonder if your time in Mr. Saotome's company has given you a bit of a... rebellious streak, is all."
Twilight flinched like Rarity had slapped her. The unicorn blinked, wondering if she had crossed some unspoken line.
"You know what? Perhaps we're just taking Discord too seriously," Rarity said, sighing and trotting ahead of the young Princess. "He says bizarre things all the time. He's probably just trying to get in our heads or something. Forget about it."
Twilight followed along silently as they emerged from the orchard. Rarity promptly turned toward the road heading back to town, glancing back when she noticed that the alicorn mare wasn't following.
Rarity contemplated calling out, but eventually shrugged it off and moved on. Twilight was staring off into space again and their conversation had concluded. She trotted down the road, leaving the alicorn and the farm behind.
Twilight stood in front of the Apple farmstead for some time, her eyes furtively darting over to the departing seamstress and searching for any other pony that could witness her.
Once she decided the coast was clear Twilight spread her wings, and then jumped into the air.
The purple Princess slowly approached the window to the Apples' guest room, checking below and behind her to make sure there were no ponies within her line of sight.
Had she been asked, Twilight probably couldn't have explained why, exactly, she didn't want anypony else to know she was checking in on Ranma before she went home. Certainly flying up to the guest room and peeking into the window dramatically increased the likelihood of suspicion and misunderstandings, if nothing else. But nonetheless she found the idea of asking Applejack permission to speak to the martial artist hopelessly embarrassing.
Hovering close enough to touch the glass, Twilight moved to brace herself against the frame so that she could get a good look inside.
The window suddenly slid open instead, and Twilight's heart leapt into her throat when she found herself staring into Ranma's eyes.
The martial artist didn't seem surprised or displeased. He stuck his head out to check if there were any other flying ponies nearby, and then backed into the room to clear the window. "Hey Sparks. Did you wanna come in?"
Twilight didn't know what to say at first, a deep flush covering her cheeks. "I... uh, I... sure?" She meekly flew into the Apples' guest room and dropped gently to the floor, making sure to touch down as lightly as possible. Despite being invited in, she still felt like she was intruding, somehow.
Ranma backed up and sat down, leaning against the bed that he was using during his stay. "So, did you want to talk to me?"
Twilight took a moment to study the martial artist. "Well... um... are you... okay? About the... uh... end of the world?" She stumbled over the question awkwardly, feeling like an idiot.
"Yeah," Ranma replied, his eyes darting away quickly. "It's just... yeah. I'm fine." He hopped upright again, his ears perking up. "I think I'll just do some kata to blow off steam for a little while, and then see what Jack has for me to do next. Probably prying all the weapons out of the barn."
"You don't have to rush back to work, Ranma. We understand if you need some time to yourself," Twilight assured him.
"I DON'T need time to myself! I need to get this damn debt cleared!" Ranma snapped.
Twilight recoiled, and a second later Ranma did too. His ears flipped down, and he held up his front hooves.
"Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to yell! I, uh, I just... I'm kinda restless and, err... what Discord said really bothered, well not BOTHERED me, but, I mean, I can't say it didn't, right? Who wouldn't be bothered? But it was a long time ago, except it kinda wasn't, but, uhm-" he started babbling, and his eyes darted back and forth as if seeking an escape.
Twilight felt something click in her head, and she shook off the saddlebags that hung over her back. Without interrupting Ranma, she walked up next to him and turned to face the same direction. His legs tensed, as if he was preparing to leap to safety, but the stallion didn't flee even when Twilight finally laid her side against his and rested her head against his shoulder.
Ranma stopped talking and heaved a deep, shuddering sigh. Twilight kept leaning against him, and then gently raised a wing to stroke his back.
"It's okay, you know," the Princess whispered. "You don't have to prove anything to us. You don't have to be strong all the time. Nopony is going to be let down because you're distressed over the annihilation of everything you knew and loved."
Ranma gulped. "I... I do still owe you guys, though," he mumbled. The feel of Twilight's fur and feathers against him was extremely soothing; so much so that he almost felt like he had to stay extra alert.
"You owe Applejack and Dash a certain amount of money to cover what they gave up, true. But you certainly don't owe ME anything," Twilight insisted. "You saved my life. I stopped the Equestrian state from frequently inconveniencing you and donated a blanket. I hardly think the debts are balanced in my favor."
"It's... It's more than that," Ranma admitted, his shoulders slumping. "You guys came for me when I really needed it. You stuck with me when you were facing down your own soldiers. You didn't leave me behind when I said I wasn't going to give you what you wanted." He allowed himself to relax ever-so-slightly, leaning some of his weight on the mare next to him. "I just crashed into your lives, and probably made them a lot worse in some ways, but you still tried to help me. Hell, you didn't just try, you did it! While facing down an army! You could have just left me to beat General Rock-Name into the ground and run off, but you MADE your Queen or Princess or whatever come down and pardon me then and there!"
"And I'd drag her down here all over again if you needed it," Twilight said firmly. "Because I'm your friend. And because you're far too powerful and dangerous to alienate. But mostly because I'm your friend!"
Ranma chuckled slightly. "I guess I'm still not used to it. And after Trixie... uh..."
Twilight quickly interjected after he trailed off. "I don't know what you intend to do now that you've discovered what happened to your planet, but I want you to know that I'll be here for you. And for pony's sake, you don't have to decide now! I mean, yesterday you thought you were on a grand quest to return to your family on your home planet, and today it's suddenly dumped on you that it doesn't even exist anymore! I can't imagine what a shock that must have been!"
"It wasn't," Ranma mumbled sadly. "I already knew."
Twilight tried and failed to come up with a coherent response to that, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly while emitting a strained "whaaaa" sound.
"I mean... I didn't know for sure. But I've thought for a while that this whole 'alien planet' idea didn't really add up." He sighed forlornly. "Not that Discord's story makes perfect sense either, but there was just... too much in common between this place and Earth. The way you speak English, the way horse towns look bizarrely similar to human towns, the horse foods based on human foods, and all the monsters that seem like they're from Earth stories. Little things like that. And I never really had any theory for how I got here if I wasn't on my own planet."
Ranma leaned more heavily on the alicorn next to him, shifting his position so that her head was resting on his chest. "All this time everyone was gone, but because I couldn't know for sure I ignored it and kept going. I thought maybe if I just held out long enough and kept winning that somehow everything would turn out okay. Now I know for sure. It's not gonna be okay."
Twilight blinked away a tear. Where the previous topic had her practically glowing, now she felt a deep, cold pit in her stomach. "I'm so sorry, Ranma." She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her cheek against his chest. "To think, when you first came to me I wrote off your past as a hallucination! You had been dumped into the Everfree millennia after everything you knew was burned away to nothing, all alone, and I... I-!"
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Ranma scoffed. "Zee just dropped an exploding martial artist in your lap one day and you've been trying to help me out ever since. It means a lot to me, Sparks. In fact..."
Twilight felt Ranma's body shift against hers, and her heart started racing. She didn't intend for the physical contact to be anything more than a comforting cuddle; she'd gotten the idea from the way Ranma had casually and platonically slipped into her bunk on the train ride to Ponyville. There was something undeniably thrilling about rubbing up against the muscular stallion, though, and the Princess was having trouble keeping her thoughts focused whenever she felt him rub against her.
All naughty impulses vanished into a fog of confusion and a little fear when the MacGuffin Stone dropped onto the floor in front of her.
"If I'm not going home, then I don't have a use for this thing anymore. Swan Song already admitted she didn't know how to change me back to human, and it's not like Blood Rite would help me even if I knew where the jackass was. Take it. It's yours," Ranma said.
"M... Mine?" Twilight squeaked.
"Sure. Or Princess Celestia's, if you want to give it to her. I don't care. I'll be glad to be rid of the thing." He sighed and reached a foreleg over her back, gently hugging the mare closer. "... Let me know if you ever figure out where my clothes went, though. I still want my clothes back."
Twilight hesitantly reached over with a leg, her hoof hovering inches from the gem's surface. She was nervous about even touching the gem, although mostly she was just shocked that it had suddenly been given to her. This was the outcome she had been working toward ever since she'd left Canterlot to bring Ranma back: Ranma's record was clear. He had befriended the Elements of Harmony. He had uncovered the secrets of his origin. And now she had obtained the final objective. The MacGuffin Stone had been recovered. Everything Twilight had worked for had come to fruition.
And yet...
"Ranma... are... are you SURE?" Twilight asked. "You know how dangerous this is. Do you... Do you really think it's better off with Canterlot?"
Ranma blinked. "Don't you?"
"I... uh..." Twilight gulped. "Y-Yes... Yes! I mean, definitely!" The alicorn did not sound confident in her reply. "But you just... seemed VERY sure before that you weren't going to give it to us! Have you made sure to re-examine that case? You made some very good points!"
Ranma frowned, and then pulled away far enough that he could look Twilight in the eyes. "So, do you... not want the gem now?"
Twilight's heart started racing again. Her chest was brushing against Ranma's, and she was suddenly very conscious of the strong, gentle rhythm of his heartbeat. "I... I don't..."
The door creaked open, and Applejack poked her head in. "Hey sugarcube, we're 'bout to have lunch so... Ah..."
The farmer's voice trailed off while she stared at the ponies hugging each other next to the guest bed. Ranma and Twilight stared back. The former's expression was brightened at hearing the word "lunch." The latter looked like she had been caught swiping produce from the barn.
Applejack's ears pinned back and she grimaced. "Twi, if yer gonna try and cheer him up the old-fashioned way Ah ain't gonna judge, but y'all are gonna have to take it to yer place. Whether it's you or Princess Luna, Ah don't want no funny business in the guest room! Rules'r rules!"
Ranma blinked. "Princess Luna? What? What funny business?"
Twilight's fur had transitioned to a bright burgundy, with her face reaching a hue of hot pink. She honestly contemplated teleporting away then and there, abandoning the MacGuffin Stone, Ranma, and perhaps her entire life up until now. "Applejack, this is NOT what it looks like, I swear!"
"It isn't? What does this look like?" Ranma asked, perplexed.
"It doesn't matter what it looks like, because that's not what it was!" Twilight shouted, squirming free of Ranma's leg and jumping out of reach. "Ranma, thank you for talking to me, and thank you SO MUCH for the MacGuffin Stone!" She stuffed the artifact in her saddlebags, and then flung it over her back with her magic. "I promise I'll make it up to you later! PLATONICALLY! Goodbye!"
She leapt out the window, flapping her wings frantically get airborne and nearly knocking off her saddlebags in the process. Within seconds the alicorn was gone, speeding away toward town.
Applejack frowned at the open window, and then turned a scrutinizing gaze back on Ranma. "So were you two gettin' frisky in here or not?"
"What? No," the stallion said flatly, looking annoyed.
"Okay, fair 'nuff." Applejack turned back into the hall. "You feelin' up fer lunch, Havoc?"
"YES," Ranma answered, racing after the orange mare.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
All across Ponyville, the residents glanced up into the air upon hearing a loud, indistinct wailing sound. After spotting the purple shape in the air making a beeline for the center of town, most of them shook their heads and went about their normal business. It wasn't exactly every day that Twilight Sparkle raced through Ponyville in the middle of a nervous breakdown, but it happened often enough that everypony knew to give the library some extra space and just go about their day.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA," Twilight suddenly made a sharp descent, aiming straight from her front door. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA," her dive accelerated to unsafe speeds, and as she rapidly approached her home her horn started to glow. "AAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
Twilight vanished, winking away into a cloud of purple magic just before impact.
Twilight Sparkle reappeared inside and dropped onto the floor, her previous momentum safely neutralized. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" She finished screaming, and then started heaving for breath.
Spike poked his head out of the kitchen. "You're home early. Something happen at the spa?"
Twilight spent a few more seconds catching her breath, and then shook her head. "No, I didn't go. There was a race, an explosion, a story about the death of the planet's previous pre-eminent civilization, and Ranma and I had a deep heart-to-heart talk AND NOTHING ELSE so we got a little sidetracked."
Spike grimaced. "And Fluttershy wonders why we don't seem to like spending time around Discord. Are you okay?"
"Yes, actually! Screaming during the entire flight home was surprisingly calming. Thank you, though." Twilight's horn flashed, and the fold of her saddlebag flipped open. "And look! Ranma actually gave this to me!"
She pulled the MacGuffin Stone out of the bag with her magic, accidentally spilling a few other things in the process. A quill pen and some papers fell onto the floor, along with a small sphere that started rolling across the room behind her.
Neither Twilight or Spike noticed. Spike's jaw dropped open, and he pointed at the artifact breathlessly. Twilight beheld the gem with a calm smile, and then gently lowered it onto an upraised hoof.
"He... He actually gave it to you? But how? Why?" Spike asked, stepping away from the kitchen for a closer look.
"Because he's my friend and he trusts me, Spike," Twilight explained solemnly. "Granted, after we went through his past, it was clear that the Stone isn't much use to him at all. But still. Trust and friendship."
"Should we deliver it to Princess Celestia or send a letter to ask her to come here?" Spike asked.
At this question Twilight's triumphant expression faltered. Instead of responding, she stared hard at the gem.
"...... Uh, Twilight? We are going to give her the gem, right?" the young dragon asked.
"I..." Twilight faltered immediately, failing to find the words to explain herself. She brought the artifact closer, inspecting her reflection in its gleaming surface.
Her horn sparked, grazing the jewel with its charge. The reaction was paltry; the artifact glowed faintly in reaction, then dimmed immediately. Currents of energy ran underneath the surface, hinting at a vast web of magical potential locked away beneath the inert, multi-colored shell of glimmering stone. To the uninitiated the gem would have barely registered as a magic item, much less an artifact of great power.
Twilight had been very well initiated, however.
"Maybe I should run some experiments first," Twilight mumbled. "We know a few things that the MacGuffin is capable of: magic draining, extra-dimensional imprisonment, and, uh, destabilizing major orbital rings, apparently." She scratched at her head with her free hoof. "What if there's more? Couldn't its power be used for good?"
Spike looked stunned. "Used for good? Like what?"
"I won't know if I don't even run a few tests! Maybe I could make a trap for Blood Rite and stop him once and for all! Or safely imprison other deadly, antagonistic enemies! Maybe I could even cure Ranma's magic allergy or his gender-switching curse!"
Spike looked down at the gem, and then back up at Twilight. "What about the spell that turned him into a pony? I think he'd want that cured more than anything."
Twilight didn't seem to be listening. Her telekinesis was already pulling books from her shelves, piling them into a stack next to one of the reading chairs. "There's so much potential here! We should at least TRY to use it to help somepony before throwing it into a big vault where it will never be seen again!"
"Okay, yeah, I see your point," Spike said nervously, tapping his fingers together, "but would Princess Celestia be okay with you taking a few... what, days? Weeks, maybe, to study this thing without letting her know about it?"
Twilight faltered, and the next book leaned out of its row on the shelves, frozen in place while wrapped in a shroud of purple. She didn't turn toward Spike, her thoughts racing while she stared across the room at nothing.
"Princess Celestia said she trusts my judgment," she said calmly.
"Well, yeah. She does. And she should! We all do!" Spike assured her. "It's just that, well, this new judgment sounds a little different from yesterday's judgment, and I'm a little confused. And, er... it's not always a good sign when somepony gets a powerful magic artifact and their priorities suddenly change, so... I just wanted to make sure..."
A tense silence settled over the room. Then, after several seconds, Twilight sighed and her ears drooped.
"Thank you, Spike. I think I forgot why I was doing this for a minute." The book frozen in place shifted back into its row. "Even if it could help Equestria, if I were to research the artifact here, on my own, I'd have to do it in secret, hiding it away from my friends and the Princesses. Aside from whether it's wrong or not, I couldn't even keep it under wraps for long. Applejack already knows, and she's not exactly great at keeping secrets!"
The alicorn shook her head, looking even more resolute than before. "Obviously I should turn it over to Princess Celestia directly and ask to research it in Canterlot. If she says no, then she says no. There's too much at stake for me to take such a ridiculous risk!" She turned away from her books and levitated a small pouch from a different shelf. "We'll leave on the next train to Canterlot!" She slung the pouch's strap over her head, leaving it hanging over her chest.
"You got it, Twilight!" Spike agreed. "You should probably wash the MacGuffin Stone before you give it the Princess, though."
Twilight grimaced. "Spike, there's no evidence that Ranma keeps the artifact in a bodily orifice. Stop being gross."
Spike just raised an eyebrow. Twilight stared back, her eyes shifting repeatedly from her draconic assistant to the gemstone in her hoof and back again.
"... Then again, there's no reason NOT to clean it first," Twilight admitted, walking into the kitchen at a slightly hurried pace.
"Use soap!" Spike advised, walking in the opposite direction to clean up the floor.
Spike gathered up the dropped papers, and then noticed a small silver orb resting next to the couch. He placed the paper back into Twilight's saddlebags, and then picked up the sphere.
"What is this thing?" He squinted, staring at the intricate lines cut into the gleaming surface. Many of them were arranged in strange, unfamiliar glyphs, while slightly thicker ones spread across the sphere from a fixed point in straight lines and sharp ninety-degree angles. The orb had a strangely utilitarian aesthetic, but was beautiful nonetheless; he'd never seen anything like it before.
He took a bite. "Hmmm... kinda tangy," Spike mumbled, chewing slowly. He couldn't tell if the orb was a gem, a stone, or some kind of metal, but he found it surprisingly appetizing.
"Spike! Are you ready to go?" Twilight raced past him, heading for the door. The pouch around her neck bounced as she ran, weighed down by the gemstone within.
"Yeah, right behind you!" Spike flicked the other half of the orb into his mouth and then rushed after Twilight, closing the door behind them.
"Well... so much for that sentry."
Blood Rite stood in front of a magic mirror, the surface displaying a constant series of meaningless ripples and color distortions. He wasn't really surprised or frustrated that his spy construct had been destroyed, although he wouldn't have imagined they'd make good dragon snacks. If anything, he was giddy that it had been carried along with Twilight Sparkle for so long, evidently forgotten among Discord's hijinks.
The story Discord told of the world's origins, of entire civilizations instantly burnt to cinders due to the calamitous whim of some random lunatic, was extremely interesting on its own merits, if not mostly irrelevant to Rite's own mission. For the moment its only importance was explaining Havoc's - or Ranma's or whoever's - presence in the MacGuffin Stone when he had found it. Blood Rite's study of the artifact had neglected its origins in the middle of the rotting, burnt-out ruins of an ancient city, and now that he knew something of its past he almost regretted making the jewel the centerpiece of his master plan.
But there was nothing for it now. The gem was the best way forward, and more importantly, it was vulnerable. Learning about the dreadful fate of his family and species ultimately hadn't been a great shock to Havoc, but at the very least it removed any lingering desire to protect the MacGuffin Stone from those who wanted to actually use it. Twilight Sparkle had her own designs on the artifact, petty as they were, but ultimately intended to hand it off to Princess Celestia, as expected. There would probably never be a better time to strike.
Blood Rite trotted out of his cave and into the blasted wastes outside his new home. Immediately outside the entrance was a spire of carved obsidian, riddled with runic symbols and scraps of parchment. A gateway node, albeit more crudely developed than the ones he had built and hidden across the Equestrian countryside.
Off to the side, next to the spire, was a wide, deep pit burned into the sands and lined with coals. Kamikazan laid within the cavernous pit, smoke rising from around his scaly, armored bulk. A pile of jewels and gemstones was scattered across the smoldering ground; the remains of his lunch, apparently. Rite didn't know where the dragon prince had gotten the treasure, but he was just relieved that he didn't have to feed the serpent himself.
"Good news, your Highness. The MacGuffin Stone has been separated from its protector," Rite said, leaning his head over the edge of the pit. "Twilight Sparkle is heading to Canterlot with the artifact even as we speak. This is an ideal window of opportunity, and I intend to take advantage of it. When I return with the stone, we can begin the next phase of the plan."
Kamikazan twisted his head so that one golden eye glared up at the unicorn. "Didn't you say you could seize it even after Canterlot recovered it? Why attack now?"
"I could if I had to, yes. But such an operation would be quite dangerous. Probably not as dangerous as trying to assault Havoc while the Elements of Harmony are nearby, but far more dangerous than assaulting Princess Twilight Sparkle and some random train passengers. I wasn't expecting such a perfect opportunity to appear like this, and it would be foolish to wait for a better one. It's also generally better for everyone if we keep the artifact out of Celestia's hooves entirely. She's hardly above using magic weapons to defeat her enemies, after all." He turned around and started walking away. "I'll be back, your Highness."
"Halt," the dragon commanded.
Rite stopped, and then he heard the sound of the great dragon's wings flapping, blasting a wave of hot and dirty air over him.
Kamikazan landed next to his pit, and then a shroud of crimson magic started washing over him. "I will join you. I don't intend to lay here like a docile PET until you return with the means to imprison me." His voice was a resentful growl, although it lost much of its rumble when he fully converted to his hybrid equine form.
Rite blinked. "You're... coming with me? Why? To do what?"
"To help," the dragon grumbled, glaring at the stallion. "You said you intended to attack a train, was it? I can aid with that." He raised one of his lizard-like hands, and embers flickered around his fingers and then fizzled away.
Rite gulped. Having the power of a dragon on his side substantially increased the chances of success, but changed his plan of attack substantially. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of letting the reckless fire-breathing monster loose on a vehicle full of innocent ponies, either.
"The thing about that is... I thought we were trying to keep your involvement secret?" Rite asked cautiously. "There's no reason Equestria has to know that you're working with me. It would certainly make your eventual dominance over Princess Celestia much easier, don't you think?"
"No, I do not," Kamikazan snarled, walking past Blood Rite. "You already explained how I would acquire Celess: by force, after you depose her. Fine. I assent to these terms." His golden eyes flashed, and a series of hot sparks jumped from his horns. "But I don't care for deceit. If I'm to take what is rightfully mine, I will do so openly, so that all of Canterlot knows its new king!" His tongue flicked from within his mouth, dripping a rope of saliva onto the ground. It sizzled when it touched the sand, and acrid-smelling smoke puffed into the air.
"Huh... That's... Okay, sure." Rite was singularly unimpressed by the dragon's reckless pride, but he, at least, was comfortable enough with deceit not to say so.
"In addition... you mentioned that the lesser Princess has the artifact? We are seizing it from her?" Kamikazan asked.
"Lesser Princess? You mean Twilight Sparkle?"
"That is her name, yes," Kamikazan snorted. "That one bothers me. I wish to end her."
Rite winced. "That... isn't particularly helpful to our cause, your Highness."
"And why not?" the dragon demanded, twisting his neck about to glare at the unicorn. "The lesser Princess stands with Canterlot against this plan of yours, does she not? If she is an enemy, and I am no longer bound by Celestia's request not to incinerate her citizens, then let us be rid of her."
"My plan is not a brutal takeover of the Equestrian throne, Prince!" Blood Rite snapped. "This isn't about petty conquest! My aims are greater than that!"
Kamikazan rounded on the sorcerer, his eyes blazing gold. "I am a KING, equine!" he snarled. The local air temperature jumped several degrees, and burning cracks started appearing under the dragon's feet. "But that aside... Your plan is a fool's errand that I tolerate because it may yet succeed far enough to complete our bargain. You say it is not about petty conquest? HA!! If you lack even this much conviction, then you may as well throw yourself on Equestria's spears."
Rite wasn't deterred by the dragon's ferocity, meeting Kamikazan glare for glare. "I seek to uplift all of equine-kind, your Highness. Deposing a Princess is merely a means to an end. That end-"
"Is beyond you," Kamikazan interrupted flippantly. "You're a marauder with delusions of grandeur, sorcerer. You think yourself nobler than that - BETTER than that - but I can see through your façade. Your heart seethes with spite and jealousy, not hope and love."
Kamikazan turned again and rested a claw against the obsidian spire. "However... you're at least capable and wise enough to aid me in my own purposes, and for that I will show lenience. The lesser Princess doesn't have to die today, if you insist." He jerked his head to the side, gesturing to the spire. "Are we going, or not?"
Blood Rite was silent for several seconds, glaring at the dragon prince coldly. Then he finally approached, his horn pulsing with magic. "Thank you for your cooperation, your Highness," he said, his voice cool and flat. "Let us depart."
Rite's magic lit up the monolith, and the various symbols blazed with power. He set it to a particular teleport node, and then his eyes glowed. "To the end, and then the beginning."
Kamikazan snorted as the password was accepted and a portal opened up. "Drama queen." |
Taming the Wild Horse | Blood Rite | Taming the Wild Horse
a My Little Pony/Ranma 0.5 crossover fanfiction
by SFaccountant
Chapter 10
Blood Rite
"So what do YOU think of Havoc, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy was surprised by the sudden question, and she pushed the damp towel out of her eyes to look across the room at Discord. The draconequus was on his belly, his long, serpentine body stretched over two massage tables and a series of stools and chairs placed in a row between them. Aloe was hopping up and down on his back, grumbling through clenched teeth while she did her best to massage the spirit of chaos.
After a few seconds, Discord smirked and beckoned to the pegasus with a finger. "Come on, now. You haven't been around him as much as the others, I don't think, but surely you have an opinion at least. Do you like him? Fear him? Feel sorry for him? Think he should go away?"
Fluttershy fidgeted for a few seconds, thinking of a response. "I suppose I'm just... confused?"
"Confused? About what?"
"Er... Everything?" Fluttershy grimaced and slouched against her seat. Lotus Blossom trotted up with a nail file in her teeth and started on the yellow mare's hooficure. "I don't understand what happened to Havoc, or what Rite is trying to accomplish, or why they seem to be fighting each other, or why Canterlot is fighting them, or... anything, really." She sighed. "I understand the, um, stone and what it does, I think. I just don't see the point of everypony fighting over it."
"There is no change without conflict. Conflict drives animosity and violence, which begets suffering and hatred, demanding justice and change. And so the cycle continues," Discord intoned, grunting when Aloe landed on a soft spot. "A locus of chaos such as this can't be properly understood through simple cause and effect, unfortunately. It simply IS, and as others are forced to react, agitation escalates and the bonds of fate begin to dissolve."
"Oh dear. If that's the case I certainly hope Princess Celestia seals up the MacGuffin Stone for good," Fluttershy said.
"I was talking about Havoc. Although I suppose you could easily reach the same conclusion in regards to him," Discord said wryly. "The MacGuffin Stone also tends to drive conflict, but in traditional, predictable ways: big important artifact does X and Y, allowing for Z. Defeat A to obtain artifact and use it subvert B and overcome C. Z accomplished, kingdom is saved and/or conquered, end game, roll credits. Entertaining, but still bog-standard ancient artifact stuff." Aloe landed her back hooves right between his shoulders, and he heaved a pleasant sigh.
Fluttershy grimaced again. "It's still confusing. Havoc isn't bad, is he?"
"I hardly think I'm in any position to tell YOU who's good or bad, Fluttershy," Discord chuckled. "You should feel free to judge Havoc as you would any other pony. The others do, mostly."
"But... what you said about him and our destiny..." Fluttershy mumbled. "It... sounds pretty bad... I think?"
"If you're particularly attached to the fate you've been handed, I'm sure it's terrifying," Discord admitted. "How awful would it be for you to lose your home? For your animals to be scattered to the bloody mercy of the wilds? To leave the familiar comforts of your life in Ponyville behind for an unknown and unpredictable future?" He watched the pegasus squirm uncomfortably at the thought. "Loss, opportunity, and the violence of a life unmoored to home and hearth isn't for everypony."
Fluttershy nodded anxiously. "So should we... stay away from Havoc, then?"
"You might want to, personally. But the others?" Discord snorted. "Sparkle could benefit a great deal by having her world turned upside-down. And I'm sure Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie wouldn't care in the least if their destinies were subverted by abject disaster so long as it was sufficiently entertaining." Then he pursed his lips. "Applejack really should consider moving him out, though. As much fun as it is, he's an extraordinary liability to somepony with so much flammable property."
"It's kind of sad, don't you think?" Fluttershy mumbled, her ears flipping down.
"Hm? No, I don't think so at all. What do you mean?"
"You said it's not really his fault, right? That, um, destiny... thing?"
"Of course it isn't. That's why it's so much fun! If he had moral culpability you'd just turn the poor sap to stone or something!" Discord laughed.
"I think Spike said he did get turned to stone, actually. By accident. It didn't stop him for very long," Fluttershy said. "But I just think it's sad that there's so much strife around Havoc and he can't do anything about it except fight... which just, uh... causes more strife. Anypony who tries to help him or doesn't manage to avoid him will get caught up in it, no matter what he does. Can't he ever find peace?"
Discord craned his neck to look Fluttershy in the eyes, gauging if the pegasus was serious. "You mean well, I'm sure, but there's little point in pitying Ranma Saotome," he explained. "He fancies himself a hero, I believe. What use does a hero have for peace? Even surrounded by ruin, obliviously dashing the hopes, dreams, and expensive property of those he encounters, Havoc looks only to victory and righting the next wrong."
Fluttershy didn't look especially happy with that answer. "I still don't understand... I wish there was something I could do."
"As befitting of the Element of Kindness," Discord snickered. "But you needn't worry about him. Havoc has friends now. It's rather cute, actually." Aloe landed on another sensitive spot, and Discord paused to wheeze painfully for a few seconds. Then he cleared his throat. "It's those friends you should be worried about. Some of them are your friends too, after all..."
Twilight Sparkle exhaled a happy sigh as she laid back in her seat, a book floating open in front of her and a cup of tea resting on a small table in front of her. Spike bounced up next to her, settling himself as the train let out a loud whistle and the engine rumbled into action.
"So do you think Princess Celestia will let you study the Stone after all?" Spike asked.
"I think so, yes," Twilight answered. "We don't know a lot about the artifact. We don't even know what Rite intends to do with it! I think some study is warranted, no matter how dangerous it is."
"Okay, but... Discord said it was used to destroy the world, right?"
"It was, yes. Supposedly using the same kind of magic Princess Celestia uses to raise the sun. But there's no way I'd believe that without at least asking her first," Twilight said with a grimace. "What we've seen personally from the artifact is that it can act as some sort of extra-dimensional prison, capturing individuals and drawing on their latent magical energy. There's a LOT of questions within that premise, though."
"I'd think that Princess Celestia would want to have it sealed away anyway. At least until Blood Rite is captured. You know, just in case," Spike pointed out.
"That's... probably going to be a sticking point, yes. But I've got to try. There are so many possibilities!" Twilight confessed. "Ranma spent MILLENNIA within the gem, protected from a global firestorm that apparently wiped out mortal life on his planet, only to be safely delivered to Equestria! Think of what we could do with this sort of capability!"
Spike frowned. "... I guess we could trap a bad guy in there? Like you did to Discord, except he'd actually be useful for more than decoration?"
Twilight's excitement cooled at the idea. "Well... yes, I suppose we COULD just use it as a new type of magical prison, but hopefully we can come up with a better use than THAT." She snorted and took a sip of her tea. "Besides, Princess Celestia isn't short of means to lock away her enemies for a few centuries when she wants to."
There was a lull in the conversation while Twilight skimmed her book and Spike fell into contemplative silence. After a few minutes, the young dragon piped up again.
"You ever wonder... if maybe the MacGuffin Stone isn't the only magic gem that works like that?"
"That works like what?"
"By imprisoning powerful creatures inside it," Spike explained, scratching his head. "I mean, I don't really understand the principle behind magic rocks to begin with, but all that magic has to come from somewhere, doesn't it?"
"It depends greatly on the artifact type and whether the enhancement variance is sub-construct or mid-cantation," Twilight said, instantly losing her assistant with magic jargon. "Just from the analysis of the enchantment mechanics I can guarantee you that the Elements of Harmony, for example, definitely didn't have anything alive locked inside of them." She paused to flip the page of her book. "The Alicorn Amulet probably did, though."
"Probably?" Spike asked, grimacing.
"I'd place the likelihood greater than seventy percent. I doubt there was any way to get the source creature out, though." She took a sip of tea, her eyes still on her book. "Magic can be a morbid craft, sometimes."
Spike nodded silently in agreement, staring at the leather pouch hanging from Twilight's neck.
"But it's not that different from any other kind of power. We need to make sure it's used for the right reasons, and the first step to control is knowledge," the alicorn continued. "In theory, that is. The first step in this case was a violent struggle to seize the artifact, followed by an extended effort to acquire it from the pony doing the seizing. But my point is that knowledge is important, and right now we don't have enough of it! I don't think we even have a complete list of individuals with this 'MacGuffin sense' yet, do we?"
Spike poked her in the side before he leaned in and spoke again, this time lowering his voice. "Hey, don't look, but I think the mare the next seat over is watching us."
Twilight blinked, surprised by the sudden shift in the conversation. "Ah... is that a problem?" she asked. "A lot of tourists take this route into Canterlot, Spike. A lot of them have probably never seen an alicorn or a baby dragon before."
Spike seemed uncertain. "I don't know... I just get a bad feeling. Like... Like something really bad is about to happen."
This prediction got Twilight's attention, and her horn briefly flashed with magic. A small circle of silvery light formed in front of her, giving her a mirror that she could pretend she was using to check on her mane.
It was immediately obvious why Spike was suspicious; the mare - a yellow unicorn similar in figure and coloration to Fluttershy - was sitting up in her seat, ramrod straight, with her head completely obscured by a levitating newspaper. A hole had been cut in the newspaper, and Twilight could see the mare's eye peering at them through the tear.
"Okay, yeah, we should probably change cars," Twilight grumbled, closing up her book and dropping onto the floor. "I'm not completely ready to rule out 'nosy tourist,' but that's just weird."
Spike hopped down and followed her toward the connection exit door. "It wouldn't really matter most of the time but since you're carrying you-know-what we should probably be extra-"
A fiery roar suddenly erupted from outside the train, and the entire car jolted sharply. Twilight stumbled, spreading her wings to help balance, while Spike tripped flat on his face. Several other passengers shouted in surprise, bracing themselves against the sudden shock.
"What was that?!"
"Did we run over something? It felt like the train jumped!"
"I thought I saw a light! Out the window!"
"Does anypony else smell something burning?"
Twilight looked out the side window, noting a trail of smoke blowing past from the front of the car. After a few seconds she noticed something else: the car was slowing down. Clenching her teeth, she raced to the door and threw it open.
The scene was exactly what she had feared and anticipated. The walkway between train cars was badly scorched, while the connector that kept the passenger cars attached to each other had been melted through. Black smoke billowed all around the door, obstructing much of her view, but Twilight could still make out the rear of the next car pulling away through the flames.
"Hey! HEY! The engine is leaving without us!" Spike shouted, pointing across the tracks. Several other passengers started panicking in response, jumping out of their seats and searching wildly for any path of escape.
"What's going on?! Was it an accident? A bomb?"
"Are we slowing down? They'll come back for us eventually, right?"
Twilight considered teleporting her and Spike to the next car before it sped out of range, but quickly discarded the idea. She had a good idea what the purpose of this attack was, and jumping from car to car would just put more innocent ponies in danger. "Spike, get on my back! We're leaving!"
Her loyal assistant started clambering up her side, only to fall off when another jolt shook the train car.
"That came from the rear! Did they break off the other side, too?"
"What's happening?! Who's doing this?!"
Spike finally got onto Twilight's back, and then the Princess spread her wings in preparation for takeoff.
Once again the train car moved before she did, tilting sharply to the side. Ponies screamed as they were flung from their seats or slammed into the windows, and Twilight herself struck a wall before she could stabilize herself. Then the car swung back and forth, like it was hanging in the air by its roof.
"COME OUT AND PLAY, PONIES," growled a voice from above. "YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO ME."
Staggering upright, Twilight already had a good guess as to who their assailant was and what, precisely, he was doing, but a glance outside the window confirmed it. A thick, reptilian tail armored in red and black scales whipped back and forth through the air, and the heavy beat of enormous wings was barely audible over the panicked shouts of the passengers. On top of that, she could see the train tracks and the mountainside as well; the car had been plucked from its track and was being carried through the air. That complicated things.
"Kamikazan..." the young Princess hissed. Turning around, she addressed the other passengers. "Everypony brace yourselves against something! After we land I'll draw him off and you can make a break for it!"
The train car jolted again, and one stallion yelped as he was thrown against the window hard enough to leave cracks through the glass. Suitcases and random loose objects bounced across the floor while the equines struggled to cling to their seats. The car's frame groaned under the stress, the metal creaking under the claws digging into it.
Eventually the car lurched again, free-falling some twenty feet before slamming into the ground and then tipping over onto its side. The passenger car's windows finally shattered under the impact, and many more screams bombarded Twilight's ears that were hopefully simple expressions of shock and fear rather than relating to grievous injury. A magic telekinesis field served to stabilize Twilight herself, and she spread it out as much as she could to protect the passengers from falling glass.
Once the impact had settled, however, the Princess was acutely aware of the large, golden eye peering through the car's windows above her. Kamikazan reared back his claws, apparently intending to tear the compartment open.
Twilight broke and ran instead, with Spike still clinging desperately to her back. She leapt up to the car exit - now positioned sideways relative to the ground with a step up composed of secured luggage - and then spread her wings before emerging outside. Taking quickly to the air, the purple Princess had to dodge a series of trees almost immediately to get to open sky; apparently the train car had been dropped off into a wooded area, which meant they had been carried down the mountainside.
She heard Kamikazan's pursuit long before she dared look behind her, spurred on by the beat of massive, scaly wings against the air and the soft whimper of Spike as he hugged her neck. Once she got sufficient altitude she spun around, slowing to a hover while her horn sparked with magic.
Kamikazan flew up to meet her and then flew a little higher, ensuring that he had a properly steep angle with which to glare down at the little pony. "I think you can guess what I'm here for, mare. How much do you wish to suffer for it?"
"Mare? Don't you mean 'lesser Princess?'" Twilight said with a scowl. "Come on, I thought you of all dragons would be a stickler for titles!"
Kamikazan's lips curled to show off his sword-like teeth. "I've no need to recognize your filthy lineage, mare. But if you surrender the MacGuffin Stone, I need not end it here. There are too many ponies who want you to live for me to remove you so lightly from this mortal coil."
"That's... kind of comforting, actually." Twilight briefly glanced down at the train car in the forest below. The other passengers were fleeing the scene as she'd instructed, scattering into the forest in small groups. "By the way... you DO know that I'm on my way to give the stone to Princess Celestia, right? Do you think she's going to be happy that you ripped apart a train and took it from me so that you could give it to her yourself?"
"I need not explain myself to you, equine!" the dragon Prince snarled. "Will you surrender the jewel, or your life?"
I should stall him a little longer, to make sure everypony else has time to escape. Then I can make a break for it myself, Twilight decided. "What, you can't even give me a good reason? If it's just going to make its way to Celestia anyway then I really don't mind, but why did you have to attack a train for this?"
Twilight was surprised when this question made the dragon visibly upset. An angry grimace cross the dragon's features, and his tail whipped back and forth irritably.
"I am not Celestia's errand boy!" Kamikazan announced, his voice roaring a protest over the forest. "I am her conqueror! And soon her little pets like yourself shall bend knee to the Lord of Serpents, as it should be! The weak will tremble in the shadows and pay tribute to the mighty, and the ancient order of this world will be restored!"
Twilight gaped silently for a few seconds, surprised by the grand ambition proposed in the midst of what was otherwise a glorified mugging. "... Didn't it turn out pretty badly for you the last time you picked a fight with a pony?" she asked.
A hot snort came from the dragon's nostrils. "That bothersome gray pest isn't here this time. Equestria hides behind its heroes... or whatever Havoc is, exactly... but there's nowhere left to hide, mare."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I'm one of those heroes, you know."
"A worthless title and a shiny new horn does not a champion make," Kamikazan growled, "now drop the jewel, little mare, or face the full wrath of a serpent king!"
Twilight again glanced down at the displaced train car, and was gratified to see that it looked to be fully abandoned. "I'll have you know it's the wings that are new, not my horn!" Said horn started to glow, and Twilight's eyes narrowed. "Unfortunately for you."
In a flash of purple magic, Twilight and Spike vanished.
The young Princess reappeared behind a tree, carefully touching down on the forest floor and folding her wings. She kept close to the trunk, not daring to peek out through the canopy cover above.
"Well, this was unexpected. I imagined that we might get attacked after the MacGuffin Stone was out of Ranma's hooves, but this was a little TOO quick," Twilight grumbled.
"What're we gonna do?" Spike asked nervously, peering straight upward. "Should you just make a break through the air for Canterlot? He can't chase us into the city, right?"
"I think we should play this one slow, actually," Twilight mused, creeping away from the tree she was using for cover. "Kamikazan doesn't have a MacGuffin sense. He doesn't have much of a trail, either, and we're too close to Canterlot for him to search very far or very long. I think we can sneak away on the ground, or at least wait this out."
"Okay, yeah. Good plan!" Spike said, nodding. Then he paused. "But... if he can't track the MacGuffin like you can, how'd he even find us? He dropped right onto our train car out of nowhere!"
Twilight frowned. "That... is a pretty good question," she admitted nervously. "Ranma seemed pretty sure he didn't have it, but maybe he was wrong? Or does he have some other way of tracking me?"
A sharp whistling noise came from deeper in the forest, and Twilight snapped her head up. A bright crimson light was rocketing into the air, sailing over the forest while sparking loudly.
"Aw, ponyfeathers," Twilight moaned before the explosions started.
A beam of flame rushed down from above, sweeping across the forest and trailing detonations behind it. Birds scattered into the air, trees collapsed into burning splinters, and a wave of smoke billowed up above the canopy. Twilight anxiously watched the destruction from behind a magic barrier, mercifully spared from the direct impact of the spell but unsure how to proceed from here.
If I try to fly to Canterlot, Kamikazan can see and attack me, but I could probably evade him in the sky and Canterlot can probably fend him off. If I try to run on the ground he might bombard the forest until he either gets a lucky hit or torches the entire forest. Not great options!
"Twilight, what was that? That red thing?" Spike asked.
"Kamikazan isn't alone," the young alicorn growled. "I think I can guess who's helping him, too." She turned away from the burning swathe of forest and galloped lightly through the trees.
"Wait... Rite? You think Rite and Kami-whoever teamed up?" Spike asked, his breath catching in his throat.
"Yes, I do. That's going to make this difficult..." Twilight stopped and glanced back and forth, her eyes narrowing. "Although even with a dragon on his side, I see Blood Rite isn't willing to face me head-on."
Another explosion boomed through the forest, and light bled through the trees. This fireball didn't land close enough for them to see the detonation itself, but Kamikazan seemed to at least have a sense of which direction they were going. Birds leapt into the air while screeching in terror, and Twilight spied a few woodland animals fleeing in a panic.
"... Twilight, do you think you can get away while carrying me?" Spike asked nervously.
"Spike, not now," the alicorn hissed, still galloping in the direction of the capital.
"I'm serious! You don't need to carry me! I can get off and hide! Hay, even if Kamikazan hits me with a fireball I'll be okay! Probably."
"Spike, I'm not-" Twilight's refusal was cut off when a screaming beam of flames sliced across the ground ahead of her. Jets of fire erupted from the ground in its passing, igniting the dried leaves and twigs scattered across the ground. By the time the attack stopped there was a wall of flame in front of Twilight's path, already too tall to jump over and growing rapidly.
With a snort and a burst of magic, Twilight teleported herself and Spike to the other side of the obstruction. "I'm NOT leaving you behind, Spike," she admonished once she got moving again. "Aside from the obvious Friendship implications, do you think Rite and Kamikazan would hesitate to use you as a hostage if they got ahold of you?"
Spike groaned, his grip tightening on Twilight's shoulders as another explosion came from behind them. "Then what are we gonna do? Kamikazan is tearing this whole forest apart! And if it is Blood Rite helping him, we still don't even know where he is!"
Twilight began to reply, but was cut off as another thunderous boom echoed through the trees. She skidded to a halt, and her ears perked up.
"That... That sounded like a lightning strike, not a detonation." She turned her head up, squinting and peering through the gaps between the branches in the tree canopy. "What's going on up there?"
"Gah! Brimstone, what WAS that?!"
Kamikazan's wings flapped hard against the air to keep his flight steady above the forest. He wasn't totally sure what had happened, but something had struck his back with considerable force and deafening noise. The pain was muted, thanks to his thick scales, but he also felt an alarming numb sensation where he had been hit. His first thought was that he'd been struck by a lightning bolt, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky right now.
Whirling around in the air, Kamikazan immediately spotted several figures in gleaming light armor circling around him at a higher altitude. His eyes narrowed; perhaps his original guess hadn't been far off after all.
"Are you lost, lizard? If you need directions back to your nest you can always ask the Equestrian military for a helping hoof, rather than accosting random commuters on our railroads or lighting signal fires across our forests."
The formation of pegasi was led by a dark blue mare in gleaming silver half-plate. An open-face helmet that extended over her brow in the shape of a hawk's beak and boasted a bright red crest in its back sat on her head, and thin steel rims were strapped to her wings as shields. She also wore greaves, which were decorated with jagged runes and continually sparked with arcs of electricity. Kamikazan presumed those were the source of the attack.
"Hmph. I suppose even the Equestrian military has too much pride to let an enemy wreak havoc on the doorstep of their capital," Kamikazan growled. "Yet not enough sense to send a worthy force to stop it! It's no wonder Celess turned to me to secure her artifact!"
Wrath quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not quite sure what you're talking about, but if you think we can't stop you feel free to keep torching the forests. You'll learn quickly enough." She nudged her head slightly, and all the other pegasi - twenty of them aside from the officer - started loading crossbows with their front hooves.
Kamikazan snorted, and a stream of sparks blasted from his nose. "Do you truly think to throw your lives away so cheaply? Do you even know what you're meddling in?"
"Take aim!" Wrath barked, ignoring the dragon's questions entirely. The other ponies spread out, holding up their crossbows and readying multiple lanes of fire.
Wrath herself banged her front hooves together, and they suddenly came alive with electrical energy. Arcs of plasma whipped around and between her greaves amidst a loud hum, and she raised one leg above her head. With a sharp crack, the magical energies stabilized into a lance of shuddering lightning as long as the mare herself.
Kamikazan snarled and started gaining altitude, recognizing that the pegasi weren't going to back off under his threats. Flames leaked from his mouth and claws, and his eyes glowed fiercely with ancient magic.
"ATTACK!!" Wrath bellowed, hurling her lightning bolt at the dragon. "FOR EQUESTRIA AND CANTERLOT!!"
"... Huh. Wasn't expecting that," Spike admitted, holding a hand to his forehead and staring into the sky.
"They must have noticed the attack on the train and deployed an attack force!" Twilight said, gaping at the sight. "Come to think of it we are a little too close to Canterlot for an enormous flying creature to go unnoticed, but I'm surprised they're actually willing to go up against him!"
"Uh, yeah... about that..." Spike winced as an explosion burst in the sky, knocking away a trio of pegasi. "Are they, um... going to survive this?" Another peal of thunder cracked through the air as a magic lightning bolt found its mark.
"The General should know whether she's in over her head or not. OUR job is to get this artifact to Canterlot," Twilight said, spreading her wings. "As long as Kamikazan is distracted, we-"
"LOOK OUT!" Spike shouted, ducking his head down.
A volley of bright white magic bolts flew from behind the trees, and Twilight's focus shifted in an instant. A barrier of shimmering purple blocked the projectiles, and then she sensed a burst of magic from behind her, opposite the direction of the attack.
She swung around, her horn already crackling, and a magic beam lashed out to sear across the trunk of a tree. A hooded pony ducked away from the ray, scrambling for cover while his own horn pulsed.
"There you are! Not so tough when I'm the one with the MacGuffin, are you?!" Twilight shouted, firing another magic beam at Blood Rite.
Rite's horn fired its own bolt, striking the purple beam with a crackling stream of glowing white power. The energy feeds pushed against one another, and the ground beneath their point of contact started to crack apart from proximity.
"I may indeed have gotten a bit cocky after the last time we faced each other, Miss Sparkle," Rite grunted while magic surged around his horn, pushing ever more energy into the struggle of wills. "But I think you'll find I'm still plenty tough."
His magic suddenly turned from silvery white to bright red, and Twilight yelped as her spell was swiftly overpowered. She leapt away, flapping her wings frantically, and the bolt of screaming crimson blasted apart a nearby tree and sent the top half plummeting to the forest floor.
"You're good, Princess. Very good. But I will not be stopped so easily." Blood Rite fired a series of small magic bolts, like crimson arrows, after the alicorn, chasing her into the air.
Twilight evaded the first one, and the brought up another barrier, causing the rest of the volley to splash harmlessly against the wall of light. Rite charged up a more powerful attack, but this time when he let the bolt loose Twilight teleported away instead, letting the screaming orb demolish another tree.
Rite whirled around to face the Princess again, and caught a magic missile in the chest for his trouble. The sorcerer staggered backward, and barely managed to react fast enough to deflect another blast with his own magic.
Twilight panted heavily, her vision a bit dizzy from the rapid relocation and shifting magic flows. Her horn flickered weakly, briefly spent while her magic energy recovered from the exertion. Spike simply held on for dear life, wondering why he had bothered to come along.
"Ha ha ha... this... this feels right, doesn't it?" Rite asked, chuckling. His horn flashed, launching a sphere-shaped projectile at Twilight.
Twilight deflected the attack with a magic screen, sending it careening into the air. "What are you talking about? There's nothing right about this!" she complained, launching her own spell.
Vines exploded from beneath Rite's body, wrapping around his legs and trying to ensnare his entire body. In a flash of white light he disappeared, reappearing to stand in front of some piles of burning twigs. A series of thunderclaps rolled across the skies immediately afterward, followed by a draconic roar of pain and anger.
"You don't think so? I do," Rite said, his voice heavy. Magic swirled around his horn, shifting from white to red and back again. "If I should have to overcome some grim trial to fulfill my goals, it should be this, right here. Not smothering hapless soldiers or chasing after lunatic magicians. The guards are but pawns, and Havoc and the Dragon Prince are incidental obstacles who care nothing for Equestria but are simply too powerful to ignore. But you..."
He had to stop speaking in order to neutralize another fireball hurled his way. Twilight raced through the trees in a circle around him, waiting for an opening in his defenses. "What about me? What makes me so special to you?!"
"You are special because you, like myself, are a student and heir to Princess Celestia herself, of course."
Twilight paused at that revelation, but only briefly. Another teleport took her out of sight, and Rite quickly charged up a new spell.
A crimson orb streaked toward the treetops and then burst in the air, shredding nearby branches and tearing leaves from branches by the hundreds. Twilight, who had been attempting to take to the air behind the cover of the trees, barely managed to land on her hooves after the shock wave knocked her out of the air and cut into her wings.
"Look at you, Sparkle! Ascendant alicorn! Hero of Canterlot! Fighting off the scourges of Equestria and uniting our ponies under Celestia's benevolent will!" Rite trotted over to the Princess, his horn still sparking. "Given how little she's told you about me, I'm sure you have no idea how close I was to being in your very horseshoes right now." The sorcerer laughed bitterly while another thunderclap boomed overhead. "That's why you remind me of myself and why I'm glad, in a way, that it's come to this. You represent a part of my life that I still pine for, even now. It's time to defeat it."
Twilight had plenty of time to recover from her landing as he spoke, but she hesitated before launching her next attack, staring at the stallion. Rite's robes were dirty and torn, and he looked haggard and exhausted compared to when she had seen him last. There was real resignation in his voice, but it was buried under layers of misery and resentment.
"But why? What are you trying to accomplish?" Twilight demanded.
"I'm trying to overthrow the royal order, and set the pony race free from the asinine 'true destinies' that dictate our future," Rite said firmly.
"That still doesn't make any sense! Why would you do that?!" Twilight asked.
"Because it's what my cutie mark is telling me," Rite spat coldly, suddenly flinging aside his robe.
Twilight gaped in shock and Spike's eyes bugged out. The symbol on Rite's flank was one that was instantly recognizable to every pony in Equestria. Countless flags, banners, paintings, statues, and even the odd shrine or temple boasted imagery very similar to Rite's cutie mark. The mark of the sun was, after all, the cutie mark of the Princess Celestia herself, and the symbol was practically synonymous with the kingdom of Equestria.
Rite's hip boasted an identical symbol, but with a startling, soul-chilling difference: a crooked slash of bright red, like a jagged wound, tearing the image in two.
At its most literal, the image invoked the smiting of a star; an act of destruction beyond belief in its execution and scale. Twilight certainly considered the possibility, if briefly. But to any Equestrian that saw the symbol it inevitably invoked the royal order, and a tragic fate awaiting its most beloved matriarch. Did Rite's true destiny guide him toward her usurpation, as he intended? The seizure of her power and the end of her dominance of the sun? Or...
Rite's horn flashed, jarring Twilight out of her stunned contemplation. She stumbled into motion as another magic orb was launched in her direction, and her own horn pulsed.
Before she could decide on a choice of countermeasure, however, the orb exploded in the air some ten feet in front of her. Twilight was caught off guard and knocked off her hooves from the shock wave, and Spike was flung off her back and into a tree.
The string around Twilight's neck snapped apart, and the pouch containing the MacGuffin Stone bounced away onto the ground.
"Right flank, scatter! Get some altitude, ponies! Do you want to go home as heroes or as barbeque?!"
Thunder rolled through the air yet again as Wrath launched her magic attack, spearing Kamikazan in the wing. The dragon flinched from the lightning bolt, but neglected to roar angrily this time; either he was tired of wasting his breath snarling, or he was starting to become physically numb to the repeated electric shocks.
A stream of flames swept across the sky, and Wrath turned into a corkscrew spin, evading the blast. A glance behind her showed the dragon in furious pursuit, which elicited little more than an annoyed snort from the pegasus general. She doubled her speed in a few seconds, rapidly zipping out of range of Kamikazan's most reliable attacks.
Smoke blasted angrily from Kamikazan's snout before he once again broke off pursuit, wheeling his mighty wings toward the ponies that kept peppering his flank with crossbow bolts. They promptly turned away and sped up in different directions, splitting their formation to force the dragon prince to chase a single pony to the exclusion of all his other attackers.
It was a maddening tactic, frankly, although it was mainly just good for buying time. The crossbow bolts rarely broke through the protective layers of his scales to pierce his skin, and even the lightning bolts weren't especially painful to a dragon (although still uniquely annoying). But it didn't escape him that he had completely lost track of his original goal and was struggling to pin down the equine defenders.
This is ridiculous! I've only managed to knock three of the pests out of the sky so far, and that big one is thrice as fast as the others! What a waste of time!
The prince knew that the Equestrians were just trying to exhaust him and drive him off rather than make a serious attempt to slay him; this was hardly the first time he'd been on the wrong side of a pony phalanx and he knew when he wasn't being taken seriously. But they'd successfully drawn him away from the magic duel happening on the ground, and the prize that lay so tantalizingly close. What's more, if the ponies found Rite squaring off with the lesser Princess he doubted the sorcerer would fare nearly as well in the petty crossfire.
How absurd that I should have to suffer these fools to buy time for that stallion wretch. What's taking him so long?!
Kamikazan started to scan the forest below, only to hear the crack of thunder above him. A tremendous crash filled his ears and blinding light stole his vision as a lightning bolt struck the dragon prince directly in the forehead, stunning him.
"You've torched enough of our woodlands, lizard," Wrath proclaimed, hovering in the sky over the dragon. "You think you can ignore Equestria's warriors? Eyes up here."
Kamikazan didn't put his eyes anywhere in particular, as he was still blinking away the overwhelming light and sound of the last attack. He couldn't hear Wrath's taunts, either, given the ringing in his ears.
When his vision did recover, though, he happened to be facing the mountain and the section of the train tracks running along its side. The same tracks where half of the train's passenger cars still stood, disconnected from the engine. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of ponies still waited inside, helpless and vulnerable.
Their fate didn't interest Kamikazan; that's why he'd left them to begin with. But they probably mattered to the soldiers a great deal.
"General Wrath, was it?" Kamikazan snarled through bared teeth, finally turning his gaze up toward the officer. "I came here today with the intention to let your ponies escape with their lives. If you depart right now, I might yet still do so."
"Asinine," Wrath drawled. She tapped the tips of her greaves together, and more lightning surged between them. The other soldiers started moving to flank, flying a wide circuit around the dragon's sides.
"Have it your way," Kamikazan said darkly. A magic circle appeared in front of his nose; scarlet runes and intricate patterns woven together into a disk of eldritch power. The dragon prince reared his head back, and Wrath shifted her posture in preparation to dodge.
Kamikazan let out a roar, and a beam of bright red flashed across the sky. Rather than spearing any of the pegasi harassing him, however, it angled downward, aiming toward the nearby mountain. It slashed along the train tracks, and a series of bright pyres flared from under the passenger cars waiting on the mountainside.
"What in the-" Wrath gasped in surprise at the sight, and then her expression shifted from shock to fury. "You scaly coward!"
Kamikazan smiled as screams started coming from the train tracks. "Oh, don't worry; I aimed under the train cars. You still have several minutes before the ponies inside are roasted alive, which just MIGHT be enough time to rescue them! Or you can pester me with more of your silly fireworks. Your choi-."
The dragon prince was cut off by another lightning bolt striking him in the nose, and his vision once again exploded into a blur of bright light while his ears rang. Wrath promptly twisted about in the air, diving toward the mountainside.
"Don't just float there, get moving!" she shouted angrily at her subordinates. "Chimes, Shear, start from the end of the train! Hawks, keep watch in case the lizard tries to cook us while our backs are turned!" She pumped her wings harder, shooting in front of the other soldiers. "Take out the windows and get those ponies out of there!"
Twilight gasped and pushed herself upright, the roar of the fireball still echoing in her ears. Her legs stung from being singed and one wing ached from where she had landed on it awkwardly, but the Princess was far from defeated. The fireball had detonated early rather than following its trajectory, catching her off-guard, but it had also spared the Princess from the worst of the damage. Her horn still stung from the blast, but it also thrummed with fresh charge as she searched for a target on which to vent her anger.
The shine of a magical aura came from the corner of her eye, and Twilight did a double take. Her pouch was floating away among the flames still clinging to the grass, its broken strap already burning away. A flash of purple magic stopped it, and she heard an aggravated grunt come from the opposite side of the blast zone.
"You have impressive magical talents, Miss Sparkle, but your tactical awareness is lacking!" Blood Rite shouted. The stallion was mostly obscured behind the flames and smoke that was coming off the detonation, but could at least see the pouch from his angle. His horn pulsed with a halo of white, occasionally flashing crimson seemingly at random. "Alone, you could never beat me."
Twilight growled through clenched teeth as she felt the magical aura around the pouch slowly overwhelm her own telekinesis. The pouch quivered in the air, the flames slowly crawling over its exterior. "Too bad for you," she spat. "I'm not alone!"
"Got it!" Spike shouted, diving through the fire and grabbing the pouch.
Rite recoiled in surprise, and then his eyes narrowed at the dragon sprinting through the burning grass. "Right. You even have your own dragon, don't you?"
A magic ray slashed toward his head, and Rite was forced to direct his energy to deflect it. He dashed back to the trees for cover, shouting as he went. "You merely delay the inevitable!"
"I'm going to BEAT the inevitable!" Twilight countered, galloping in the same direction while firing another magic blast from her horn. It cut into a tree, and then Twilight had to create a screen before a trio of magic missiles came screaming back at her. Detonations of eldritch force burst around her, ripping apart nearby branches and gouging out tree trunks. Her horn flashed in response, the energies singing while more formations of heat and force spun into projectiles.
Spike gulped as he heard the whine and boom of the magic battle behind him. He was crouched behind a tree, covering from the combat and wondering if there was something useful he could be doing aside from being a conveniently fireproof gem-bearer. The pouch had mostly burned away in his claws by now, leaving the artifact behind and unblemished from the flames. What was he supposed to do now?
I can run for it, obviously, but if Rite wins there's no way I'd beat him to Canterlot on foot. Maybe if I try to flag one of the pegasus soldiers? Are they still okay? I haven't heard a lightning bolt in a while! Did Kamikazan get them? Wait! Over there! There's another pony!
To Spike's surprise, he spotted an unfamiliar unicorn galloping toward him through the trees. Initially he was relieved, thinking that perhaps the mare could help either by aiding Twilight directly or by giving him a ride out of the area. That relief faltered when he suddenly recalled seeing this pony before: in the train, where she had been spying on him and Twilight.
While her behavior in the train didn't necessarily make her an enemy, it did make Spike suspicious, and that suspicion wasn't helped when she sped up and lowered her head. "Hey, wait! Stop!" he shouted.
She did not stop, and Spike yelped as he was struck by a hoof and knocked aside. The MacGuffin Stone bounced into the dirt, and a green magic aura quickly enveloped it. The unicorn mare slid to a stop, floating the artifact over to herself, and then took the gem in her jaws.
Twilight turned her head at the sound of Spike crying out, ignoring the blooms of crackling red energy against her barrier. "Spike? Wait, who...?" Her eyes narrowed when she saw the mysterious mare seize the MacGuffin Stone. "That must be Swan Song in disguise! Ponyfeathers!"
Blood Rite likewise had stopped to check on his target, and an angry grimace crossed the stallion's face while his horn pulsed once again. "That is NOT Swan Song, nor is it any other ally of mine." His horn's aura started to grow, the energies blazing brighter and brighter, but his concentration broke when another magic blast struck him in the side, nearly knocking him over. "OW! What are you doing?! She's getting away!"
Twilight noticed that the mystery mare had turned around and was racing into the forest now, but her concentration remained fixed on Rite. "If she's not on your side, that's good enough for me! We're a short flight from Canterlot and I can detect the MacGuffin Stone at will! I'll deal with her later!"
A spear of purple light blasted toward the sorcerer, who vanished with a silvery flash. Rite appeared in front of the escaping unicorn, causing her to veer away with a distressed whinny.
"You won't get away from GAH!" Rite staggered again as another magic blast took him in the side, singing his coat. The sorcerer had passive magic defenses that blunted much of the force of Twilight's magic and protected him from any number of other sophisticated spells, but after only a few direct hits those barriers were sapping his magic reserves and physical endurance.
Rite stood up straight again, only to see what appeared to be a winged lavender missile diving toward him, surrounded by an oscillating purple glow. Twilight Sparkle released a wordless battle cry as she cut through the air, forelegs outstretched and horn ablaze.
Rite's horn flickered. In that moment, he had precious few options, but his power was not yet spent. The sorcerer had magic that could stop the mare. Not safely, but then the alicorn was, ultimately, an enemy. His blood grew hot as time seemed to slow to a crawl.
His will faltered, and the moment passed. Twilight crashed into him, sending the stallion flailing through the underbrush. He struck a tree with a pained yelp, and the glow around his horn winked out as his vision exploded into stars.
Twilight's breath heaved as she stood facing the stunned sorcerer, her wings spread and her horn crackling with energy. After he failed to get up she switched spells, and bindings of glowing violet appearing around Blood Rite's twitching body.
"I... I did it!" the Princess said breathlessly after Rite's legs were bound together by threads of magic. "I actually beat Blood Rite!"
"Yes! Great! Good job!" Spike was still dusting himself off after getting trampled, and he pointed a claw off to the side. "We should probably stop that random unicorn thief now."
"No," Twilight said firmly, shaking her head. "It's more important that Rite is captured. Like I said, I can hunt down the MacGuffin Stone anytime, so-"
An explosion bloomed in the direction Spike was pointing, instantly tearing apart a dozen trees and burning a fresh crater into the middle of the forest. A shriek of pain was barely audible over the fireball's roar, petering out into a miserable whimper. The sound of massive wings flapping came from above once the other sounds had diminished, leaving no doubt as to the source of the conflagration.
"Ah. Right. Him." Twilight's ears flattened against her head. "I was kind of hoping that the soldiers could draw Kamikazan away for longer than that."
Spike groaned and started running toward the blaze. Twilight galloped after him a moment later, although she doubted they'd be able to arrive in time.
Sure enough, Kamikazan was landing by the time Twilight and Spike got close enough to get a good look at the blast zone. The central pyre had receded, but there were numerous small fires scattered about on the scattered wood and underbrush. Smoke was everywhere, and as a result Twilight couldn't see the MacGuffin Stone or the unicorn that had taken it.
She could have closed her eyes to check the artifact's direction, but Kamikazan at least seemed to know exactly where his target was. The dragon prince lowered his head toward the ground, and then suddenly swept his wings forward. The smoke and flames in front of him were instantly blown away, revealing a glittering gem and a curled up black body.
"Wait a minute... that's-!" Twilight gasped in surprise at the sight of the MacGuffin thief. At first she had assumed the dark coloration was due to burns, but upon further inspection that was clearly not the case.
"How interesting," Kamikazan rumbled, keeping one eye on the lavender alicorn. "I wonder what the changelings thought they were going to do with this little trinket."
Indeed the body on the ground was a four-legged insectoid creature with a sharp, pointed horn, a pair of thin, featherless wings, and a carapace ridden with holes that obviously didn't come from the fireball damage. In fact, it looked like the creature hadn't been hit directly by the blast, although it had apparently been close enough to be knocked over and stunned silly.
Kamikazan reached down into the dirt, his massive claws taking up the fist-sized gemstone with surprising care and dexterity. "Celess, Rite, the lesser Princess, the pigtailed fool, and now even the changelings... so much strife over this little jewel!" He opened his upraised hand briefly, glowering at the artifact. Then he closed his fist again and shrugged. "But I suppose I can't talk as if I'm not involved, can I?"
"I still don't know what you're planning, Kamikazan, but you don't seriously think you can trust Blood Rite, do you?" Twilight asked. "He wants to depose Celestia and remake Equestria in his own image! I'm pretty sure being enslaved by an angry dragon isn't part of that image!"
Kamikazan looked annoyed at the question. "You may be right, actually. But there's only one way to be sure, and I will stop at NOTHING to make Celestia mine! The sorcerer challenges me at his peril!" Then he snorted in amusement. "And what chance would the pitiful unicorn have against me if he couldn't even best YOU?"
"Way to kick a stallion when he's down, your Highness," came a tired voice from behind Twilight.
The young Princess jumped in surprise and whirled around, her horn already buzzing with magic. Rite had evidently freed himself from his bonds - unsurprising, given that Twilight hadn't had time to neutralize his magic abilities - and was limping through the forest toward his draconic ally.
Twilight didn't hesitate, firing a magic shot at the sorcerer the moment she had a good fix on his location. Rite's horn lit up in response, but rather than defending himself or firing back, he teleported some twenty feet away to reappear in front of Kamikazan. "Thank you for your assistance in this matter, but we should escape before more soldiers arrive," he said, craning his neck up to look the dragon in the eyes.
Rite probably expected Twilight to stop attacking him once he was right next to the dragon prince, but he was mistaken. Another magic bolt struck him in the side, pitching the unicorn onto the ground with a pained yelp. Kamikazan couldn't contain a chuckle, and he clamped his free hand over his jaws to contain his snickering. A moment later another magic blast struck his other hand - the one containing the MacGuffin Stone - cutting his chortling short.
"I imagine you think you're going to stall me long enough for your winged friends to come back around and find us," Kamikazan mused while the alicorn charged toward him, "but no."
Kamikazan opened his jaws, and a billowing wave of fire descended on the oncoming pony. Twilight squeaked in surprise and shifted her magic focus, stumbling to a halt and raising a barrier just in time to block the inferno.
"It's time to go, sorcerer," the dragon growled while his body was consumed in bright light. After a few seconds the mass of glowing energy popped, leaving behind Kamikazan's smaller hybrid body.
Rite said nothing, pushing himself up while his horn crackled anew. Kamikazan stepped forward to stand between him and Twilight, regarding the mare with lofty disdain.
"I can hardly fault you for properly serving Celess at great risk to your life, but I offer you a warning, mare: The next time you think to oppose me, I won't abide by Rite's foolish sentiments for equine life," Kamikazan opened his palm, leering at the MacGuffin Stone before smirking at Twilight again. "Farewell."
Blood Rite and Kamikazan vanished in a puff of silvery white magic, mere seconds before a lightning bolt crashed into the spot where they'd stood.
"Tch! Did I miss? They couldn't have possibly dodged that, could they?"
General Wrath swooped down on the scorched clearing with a pair of pegasi soldiers holding formation behind her. She briefly made note of Twilight Sparkle, who appeared to be laying on the ground with her eyes squeezed shut and her hooves over her ears, and then continued scanning the combat area. Eventually her gaze settled on the changeling, and her eyes narrowed to slits.
"A spy. And it's still alive. Seize it," the pegasus commanded, jabbing a foreleg at the shapeshifter. Immediately the two soldier with her descended on the body, blades gripped in their teeth.
The changeling twitched and started to get up, but the armored ponies landed in front and behind it before it even regained its footing. The hapless drone promptly fell down again, releasing a miserable whimper.
Wrath dropped down to the site of her last lightning bolt, landing and taking several seconds to scan her surroundings. After she was confident that she couldn't see any signs of her targets, she finally turned to address Twilight Sparkle.
"I'm guessing the target escaped via teleport somehow? If that even was the target. I'm not sure precisely what happened, but I'm pretty sure the lizard didn't fly out of the area," the General asked irritably.
"WHAT? I'M SORRY, WHAT BLIZZARD?" Twilight shouted. Her ears were still ringing from the thunderclap, and her vision hadn't completely recovered either.
Wrath's muzzle scrunched up in embarrassment, and then she sighed. "Right. My fault. I really hate this side effect of the Blitz Boots." Then she took a deep breath and spoke again. "PLEASE FOLLOW US! WE'LL DEBRIEF YOU BACK AT CANTERLOT!" she shouted, carefully enunciating every word.
"OH! THANK YOU," Twilight turned and gestured to Spike, who was watching from the relative safety of the non-burning trees. "COME ON, SPIKE! WE'RE GOING!"
The dragon assistant rushed out from his hiding place and climbed on Twilight's back. She spread her wings, and after a brief wave of vertigo passed, Twilight and Spike took to the air. The pair of pegasi were airborne a few seconds later with the changeling buzzing along beside them, connected by a chain that was secured through one of its hoof-holes.
Wrath took another moment to review the battlefield, and the General couldn't repress a grimace. She didn't quite understand what had happened here yet, and strictly speaking her objective had been to drive the dragon away to begin with, but somehow this felt like a loss.
"Wretched lizards," the armored mare grumbled, finally vaulting into the sky herself. "FORM UP AND WATCH YOUR SIX, PONIES! LET'S SOAR!"
Ranma Saotome had a lot of bad dreams.
Usually, those dreams revolved around being trapped in awkward situations as a girl or being surrounded by cats. Occasionally, though, he ended up in nightmares more meaningful and harrowing. These sorts of dreams often involved a disastrous loss to a powerful enemy (or, more embarrassingly, a weak enemy with a key technique or unexpected advantage). The feelings of helplessness - or worse, the shame of an avoidable failure - tended to weigh much more heavily on the martial artist than his age old traumas.
As Ranma gazed despondently at the blazing ruins of Nerima, he was pretty sure it was going to be one of those dreams.
The Tendo Dojo, where he had been a houseguest for almost two years, burned. Its much-abused timbers collapsed bit by bit, and the building shuddered. The building had been subject to years of intense damage and hasty repairs, and it showed in its final moments. It seemed to crumble at twice the rate of the other structures on Soun Tendo's property, and its pyre burned higher and hotter as well.
Ranma sat on the edge of some unknown stranger's roof across the street, quietly watching the destruction of the only place he had ever thought of as home. The sun loomed in the cloudless sky above, its profile larger than he ever remembered. There were no people, or animals, or even cars in the streets. Just Ranma and his old city.
"You could have saved them if you were any good." A gruff, familiar voice said from behind him. "Hell, you didn't even have to actually defeat the clowns. All you had to do was not be so damn gullible! And you failed. As usual."
Genma Saotome walked up next to Ranma, scowling down at the burning dojo. The man wore his usual white gi, with a bandanna to cover his bald head and wire-rim glasses. His hands gripped the cloth belt around his waist that contained his considerable girth, and he was barefoot.
Ranma didn't look up at his father. He raised one hand, grimacing when he saw that the MacGuffin Stone was gripped tightly in his fist. He let go of the gem, but it didn't fall. It stuck to his palm, adhering more tightly than any glue.
"Pathetic. All that work to bring you up as a martial artist, and for what?" Genma sneered. "What was all my effort for, boy?"
A vein popped up on Ranma's head. "Well Pop, I'm pretty much the only thing that survived the end of the world. That's something." He dropped his hand with the MacGuffin Stone and craned his neck back to look at the sky. "They could've done worse for the last human on Earth."
"Last human? Bah! You don't even have that anymore!" Genma snarled.
Ranma blinked, and then raised his hand again. Or rather, hoof. The MacGuffin stone was still stuck there, of course, wedged uncomfortably in the soft inner frog.
"Oh, don't give me that! You turn into a panda!" Ranma snapped, his ears flipping down.
"I can change back!" the elder Saotome growled.
"I might be able to eventually! Get off my case, old man!" Ranma jumped up onto all fours, his tail sticking straight out behind him.
Genma crossed his arms over his chest, sneering at his son. "Just look at you now. Heir to the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. Everything I taught you, everything I worked for, all of it wasted!"
"It isn't wasted!" the stallion retorted hotly. "I'm still a martial artist! I still defend people!"
"You defend horses, not people!" Genma shouted back, "and you've let them down too! You can't even do THAT right!"
Ranma jumped at his father with an enraged snarl, swinging a foreleg for the elder Saotome's face. Genma spun out of the way, avoiding the flying hoof and turning around in time to grab the cursed pony by his braided tail.
"H-Hey! Let go of me!" Ranma flailed angrily as he was held upside-down, unable to reach his tormentor with his relatively short legs.
"You could have countered that at ten years old back when you had hands," Genma chided, glowering at the stallion. "Martial arts is for men, not ponies! It would have been better if you'd burned with the rest of humanity rather than shaming your family with-GAH!"
Something struck Genma in the back, knocking him to the roof's surface. He dropped his transformed son, who landed lightly on his front hooves and then leapt backwards to get some more distance. Once Genma recovered, both Saotomes took a moment to search for the source of the interference.
A pyre flared up near the edge of the roof, blasting sparks into the air and depositing... something onto the tiles. It too was awash in flames, although it shifted to form a discrete shape: A relatively small, four-legged shape, with eyes of bright white embers.
"I suppose this is where you get your horse girlfriend to fight for you," Genma sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I wonder which it will be? The snotty blue one or the preachy purple one?"
Ranma bristled. "I don't need anyone's help to take you down, old man!"
"But for the record," the flame-shrouded pony interjected, "Trixie is the snotty blue one."
Ranma flinched in surprise at hearing the illusionist's voice, and then flinched again as an explosion of light came from her horn. His surroundings melted away into a blur of white, and his other senses followed.
Genma was gone, as was the Tendo dojo, the conflagration in his hometown, and the blazing mare with a familiar voice. Pale whiteness stretched out in every direction, like a flat, endless plain covered in snow.
Or perhaps ashes.
Ranma looked down. The MacGuffin Stone was sitting there between his hooves now, apparently having detached from him during the bizarre transition.
"Honestly the fat dead guy had a point about you letting us down, but it's not like you didn't try hard enough." The gem pulsed with every syllable while Trixie's voice filled Ranma's ears. "Even you can only do so much. You're not going to save everybody."
Ranma grimaced, leaning down toward the gem. "No, I can! Just give me another chance! I always win!"
"If you always win, you wouldn't need second chances," the gem seemed to sing, taunting him. "You don't have to be the hero, you know. What's the point of putting your life on the line fighting dragons and sorcerers and doom cults anyway? Why do you care?"
"I just do! I do care!" Ranma shouted, almost pleading as he leaned down toward the gemstone. "I can beat all of them! I have to!"
"Why?" The MacGuffin Stone twinkled, and for a moment Ranma thought he saw Trixie's reflection smirking at him from behind its gleaming exterior.
"Because it's a martial artist's duty to protect the weak! This is the right thing to do!" Ranma announced hotly.
"Nobody gave you that duty. Nobody who matters anymore, at least. Is that the only reason you suffer so much?"
Ranma cringed. "Well, that... I... I want to help you! It doesn't matter why!"
The artifact pulsed with arcane light. "Then why did you leave?"
Ranma's face darkened. He didn't answer the question.
"It's going to be all right. You're not alone anymore." A new voice came from behind him, and Ranma felt a fan of feathers lay over his back. "You might have made a mistake. Or maybe it was the best choice under the circumstances. Either way, you don't have to face the consequences alone. Havoc..."
The voice was indistinct but decidedly feminine, and Ranma turned his head to see who it was.
"It's time fer dinner," Applejack said.
Ranma bolted upright, nearly hitting Applejack in the nose. She released a startled whinny, stumbling backward, and for a few tense seconds both of them stared at each other in shock.
"... Did you say dinner?" Ranma asked, having the decency to blush.
"Uh... Yeah. Wasn't sure if ya were hungry'r not since ya been sleepin'," the farmer drawled. "Ah take it yer up fer eatin'?"
Ranma nodded his head rapidly and hopped out of bed. Applejack eyed the martial artist warily, clearing a path toward the hallway.
"Ya were kickin' and moanin' a bit 'fore ya woke up. Bad dreams?" she asked.
"Eh, I've had worse. At least there were no cats," Ranma grumbled. "Also I got to see my pop for a bit before he was consumed by flames. It's been a while."
"Sounds awful. Let's go eat."
Princess Luna and Celestia sat in grim silence within Celestia's study. Across from them stood Twilight Sparkle and General Wrath, the latter of whom seemed considerably more upset than the former. Spike stood behind them, quietly twiddling his thumbs while the equine soldier fumed.
"That wretched, back-stabbing, cowardly... URGH!" Wrath's wings quivered angrily, leaving a few azure feathers drifting down to the carpets. "Rebellion and treason is bad enough! But now he's teaming up with dragons and changelings?! And this mule thinks he can just pop in and attack our citizens less than a mile from the capital?!"
"From what I can tell Blood Rite wasn't working with the changelings, no. But, well... the rest of that seems accurate, yes," Twilight said. "Particularly the last point. He really can just pop in and attack us at will, apparently."
"And in that respect I give my heartfelt thanks to you for your efforts, General Wrath," Celestia said. "Rite has troubled us for some time, but this is the first occasion that Equestria has managed to intervene directly."
"For all the good that did!" Wrath spat, her ears pinned back in shame. "Not only did the traitor and the lizard get away, but they took the blasted artifact, to boot!"
"That wasn't your fault," Twilight insisted, hanging her own head. "The MacGuffin Stone was my responsibility, not yours. There were safer ways to get it to Canterlot, but I didn't think Blood Rite would attack on the way!" she groaned. "Which I really should have! He can sense the MacGuffin Stone as well, so he can tell when it's on the move!"
"He can? How?" Princess Celestia asked.
"Those of us who have interacted with the artifact have some sort of... connection to it, apparently," Twilight explained. "That's actually how I tracked Ranma down; because I was trapped in the gem briefly, I can tell what direction it's in whenever I think about it."
"So THAT'S what that is!" Luna interjected, sounding alarmed.
"Luna? You have this connection as well?" her sister asked.
"Every time we discussed the artifact I would feel... something tugging at my attention. I didn't dwell on the subject for very long..."
"The best way to use it is to simply close your eyes and think about the MacGuffin Stone. Then you can get a clear compass heading," Twilight explained, squeezing her eyes shut. "It doesn't give any other hints as to its location, like how close it is, but it gives us a direction at least."
"Aye, you're correct," Luna agreed, grimacing with her eyes closed. "The beacon lay south-by-southeast! This means we may pursue Blood Rite wherever he goes!"
Wrath slammed an armored hoof into the floor and snorted hotly. "Princess, I request permission to deploy a hunting wing! I'll track that mule down and deliver him to you personally!"
"You have my permission, General," Celestia began, "but you will not be enough. We may have a heading now, but Rite is very clever and surely aware of this ability. He will not let you corner him so easily. You'll have to take somepony with you who possesses this 'MacGuffin sense.'"
"I volunteer!" Luna and Twilight shouted at the same time.
Celestia looked exasperated. "Even with a guard escort, I can't let either of you lead the way directly into Rite's lair. We know that he wants to capture a Princess and that he has a powerful ally in the dragon prince. It's out of the question."
Twilight arched an eyebrow. "But we're the only ones with a MacGuffin sense. If it's not going to be one of us, who's going to do it?"
"There's one other pony of whom we're aware who has an extensive association with the artifact," Celestia said wryly. "Conveniently, this pony also has wings. I think. I still don't quite understand the extent of Havoc's abilities."
Wrath clicked her tongue and Luna nodded along with Celestia's decision. Twilight's jaw fell open in surprise.
"What? Ranma? Why Ranma?" the youngest Princess asked.
Celestia seemed slightly surprised at the question. "Aside from the fact that he isn't a pony that Rite needs to complete his plans, he's faced both Rite and Kamikazan repeatedly in the past and won, hasn't he?"
"Well, yes, of course. But why would he do it?" Twilight asked. "Ranma would be perfect for tracking down Rite, except that the only reason Rite got the MacGuffin Stone is because he gave it up. And he gave it up because he doesn't care about it anymore and doesn't want to deal with all the problems it generates, like having to fight sorcerers and dragons for it."
Wrath frowned. "I'm not crazy about enlisting a pony who was a major enemy of the state just twenty-four hours ago on an important mission, but surely no Equestrian would refuse such a task from Princess Celestia herself."
"Ranma Saotome is not an Equestrian," Twilight said flatly. "He's an ancient warrior displaced through time by magical means who was fighting off pony soldiers just last night."
"Are you saying he wouldn't help us?" Celestia asked.
"I can't say for sure, but I feel confident in that assessment, yes." Twilight creased her brow. "More to the point, given the situation, why should he? Rite doesn't threaten him or anything he cares about. Ranma has already done tremendous damage to Rite's efforts and stopped him from victimizing Equestrian Princesses. Twice! And then the moment he gives the MacGuffin Stone over to me, Rite immediately steals it back! Why would he let us have it after that? Even if he agreed to track Rite down he'd just keep the gem this time!"
The others seemed appropriately perturbed by the explanation, if not also taken aback to hear it from Twilight.
"Didn't Princess Celestia give this guy a pardon? Shouldn't he be more thankful? The Princesses don't absolve just anyone of arson!" Wrath asked with a huff.
"Please, don't get me started," Twilight grumbled back. "The short answer is no, he does not feel indebted to Equestria for ceasing its pursuit of him."
"Although he feels real indebted to you," Spike mumbled.
Celestia didn't miss the aside, and she took a step toward her student. "Twilight, if you ask him to take this on as a personal favor, do you think he'd accept?"
"A... personal favor? To me?" the smaller alicorn asked.
"Yes. If it's a matter of friendship, then-"
"NO!!" Twilight shouted, causing the other mares to recoil in shock. The purple mare clenched her teeth and spread her wings partially, looking as if she was about to pounce on somepony. "Are you being serious?! You want me to use my friendship with Ranma to manipulate him into doing our dirty work for us?!" Wrath could swear she saw Twilight's horn spark briefly.
Luna seemed completely stunned by the outburst, but Celestia quickly regained her footing. "I am requesting that you ask Havoc for a favor, as a friend. He is in a unique position, and possesses skills we do not. There is no deception or manipulation here," she said sternly. "I realize that you feel responsible for this and you're quite sympathetic to Havoc's feelings. I'm not asking you to betray that. But this is the best solution available to us."
"Also, while I admire your devotion to the whole 'friendship' shtick, we may well be talking about the future of Equestria, here," General Wrath interjected, eyeing Twilight. "If I had to burn a friendship to protect the royal family, that's not a hard decision to make."
Twilight glowered at Celestia for a few tense seconds, and then sighed and folded her wings again. "Sorry about that little outburst. You make some good points, but I'm not going to ask Ranma to risk his life again just so I don't have to. If you want him to help, you're going to have to ask him yourself. Otherwise, I'll go. Again, the MacGuffin Stone was my responsibility."
"This is about more than just your 'responsibilities,' Sparkle," Wrath chided. "For all we know this could be a trap specifically to lure you away from anypony who could protect you. Are you really willing to risk handing victory to Rite for the sake of your pride?"
"I would suffer any humiliation to get the MacGuffin Stone back," Twilight retorted. "I'm refusing to help bring Ranma into this for his sake, not mine. He's suffered enough for our mistakes."
Princess Celestia stared silently at her student, her expression inscrutable. Then her shoulders slumped. "I understand. If we cannot get Havoc's help, then there's no choice but for Twilight or Luna to go."
"It should be me," Twilight said, standing up straighter. "I can handle Blood Rite! If he didn't have Kamikazan on his side then he wouldn't have gotten away last time!"
"And my team can handle the lizard," Wrath growled. Magic sparked around her wings, and Twilight felt a tingle up her spine just from proximity. "We'll set out right away!"
"You'll set out tomorrow morning," Celestia replied calmly. "I want you to be well-rested and prepared. No mistakes, General. Canterlot's future may lay in your hooves, and my student's definitely does."
The pegasus sputtered briefly, attempting to object to the command, but she wilted under Celestia's stare. "Yes, Princess. We'll set out once you raise the sun, then." Wrath bowed, her ears pinned back against her head. "I won't fail you again."
"You're too hard on yourself, General. Had I been in your place, and even known why the attack was happening to begin with, I would have done the same. You saved ponies' lives today, and that is never a failure." Celestia gave her a reassuring smile, but it faded quickly. "So... now that that's settled, I suppose I owe you all an explanation..."
Spike quickly dragged a chair up next to Twilight and sat down, leaning forward eagerly. Twilight's own expression was more measured, but only barely. Luna likewise shifted position to face her sister rather than standing beside her, as she too had been waiting for this. Only General Wrath seemed uninterested, glaring off to the side at nothing in particular while Celestia gathered herself.
"First... some background. You know that Blood Rite was a student at my school, just like Swan Song. What you may not know - because such records were destroyed - is that in his youth he was my personal protege, as Twilight is now."
Twilight nodded slowly. "He mentioned that, yes... so what happened? Why did he turn against you?"
Celestia winced, badly, and Twilight immediately wished she could take the question back. She might have been annoyed enough to challenge her teacher, but this was obviously a very painful memory for her.
"Rite... Rite didn't turn against me," Celestia whispered. "I turned against him."
"Rubbish," Wrath spat. "The freak had his rebellion plastered on his flank. You gave him MERCY, and he betrayed that!"
If the General's interjection was supposed to make Celestia feel better, it obviously wasn't working. The white Princess stared at the floor, a tear crawling down her cheek. "My advisors are... divided as to whether my actions were appropriate. It's time to tell the full truth, so that you all can judge for yourselves."
She straightened and cleared her throat again. "Rite was an impressive magic user when he came into my care, as you'd expect. He was relentlessly cheerful and optimistic as well, and had an easy time making friends in the Academy." The barest hint of a smile tugged at her lips. "Many ponies were wary or intimidated by him due to his name and his skill at magic. But such attitudes rarely lasted long. His good will and charming nature were too much for any but the most stubborn grouch."
Celestia briefly glanced up at her audience. Luna looked perplexed; Twilight and Spike were fascinated. Wrath was grinding her jaw, staring out a window while her hoof tapped impatiently. "Blood Rite's one failing, if it could even be called that, is that he didn't have a cutie mark even as he progressed into his teenage years and completed his courses. There was a great deal of speculation as to why, if I recall correctly, but he for one didn't care. He seemed uninterested in talk of his true destiny or special talent; he told me that he preferred his future being a blank slate, and he had enough talent in magic that he could hardly ask for any others."
She fell silent for several seconds, staring up at the ceiling. "Sometimes I still wonder... How much of his destiny is my fault? Our fate is printed on our bodies, more or less, for the entire world to see, but it's still so poorly understood. If I had tried a little harder, or maybe loved him a little more dearly, or perhaps left him alone entirely, would the result have been the same? Should I have seen it all coming?" Celestia turned a regretful gaze on Luna. "It wasn't the first time something like this happened, after all."
Luna squirmed uncomfortably, and a growl came from Wrath. "Your Highness, please refrain from any long tangents. I believe the next part of the story is how Blood Rite almost killed you."
Twilight's tail stood straight out in shock, and Celestia grimaced. "That's overstating the incident, General... but as you say, on to the point."
The Princess of the Sun took a deep breath. "It happened while we were practicing barriers. When we studied magic, I enjoyed giving Rite practical obstacles and watching him find a magical solution to overcome it. One kind of exercise was creating progressively stronger force barriers that he would have to break or get around."
"We've done those," Twilight remarked. "You usually put the dome around an old pillow or something or make a screen protecting a raised target."
"Yes. Nowadays I place the shields protecting inanimate, expendable objects. When I was training Rite I didn't bother," Celestia said wryly. "I would sit within the barrier myself, eating lunch or reading a novel as if I were oblivious to the pony trying to break through my defenses. I didn't fear getting hurt by my students' exercises, and anyway it discouraged them from trying to get through the barrier with brute force, which is almost never the best solution. So there we were, the two of us: I lounging on a chaise reading the paper beneath a magical dome bubble, and he slowly stalking around me and occasionally casting spells. He wasn't especially frustrated. We'd had no recent arguments or festering personal clashes. It was no different from a hundred other afternoon lessons. Until... it wasn't."
Twilight, Luna, and Spike all leaned forward in anticipation.
"It all seems so innocuous in retrospect, so... pointlessly tragic. I heard him mumble something like 'okay, well that's new,' and then a surprised shout. Then the pain hit me." She shook her head. "A blade of black and crimson was suddenly embedded in the chaise, just above my wing. It had pierced my barrier in an instant, like it was a soap bubble." Celestia squirmed as Twilight's eyes widened. "Rite was slack-jawed and pale, his horn still pulsing with unknown power. Very pale, in fact. His mane, which was pitch black then, suddenly sported a shock of white on one side. But the most obvious change was his cutie mark, which... well, it's as you say. It matched my own, struck through with a blood-red slash."
Twilight gulped loudly. Celestia stared at the floor, a few more tears dribbling down her cheeks.
"... And? Then what happened?" Spike asked eagerly.
"Exile," Celestia said weakly. "Blood Rite was blameless. He apologized profusely for the accident and swore he would never use such magic again. He had barely cut me anyway, and he had been the one to call for medical assistance while I was still stunned and terrified at what had happened. He was appalled at his new cutie mark; I had been witness to many great disappointments and setbacks in his life, and never before had I seen him so heartbroken and ashamed. But none of that mattered. Exile. His existence was scrubbed from Canterlot's archives, photo by photo, line by line, and then the effort slowly extended to the rest of Equestria. We didn't take any such steps as drastic as erasing memories or imprisoning ponies who spoke of Blood Rite, but the public consciousness mostly cooperated with the purge. In less than a generation Blood Rite, once a celebrated hero of Equestria and Princess Celestia's talented heir, was all but forgotten."
"It was, and still IS, an almost ridiculously merciful fate for the mule," Wrath said, barely keeping a rein on her temper. "Firebrand told me how hard it was to keep his troops from hunting Rite down and executing him. They were furious at hearing he'd be allowed to leave."
"Oh, how I wish I could blame Rite's sentence on overzealous protectors who would have taken the law into their own hooves," Celestia said bitterly, still hanging her head. "But the fault isn't theirs. When Rite was vulnerable, scared, and needed my support the most, I was too afraid to stand by him. I could have refused to punish him for the accident. I could have overruled my guards' commands. I could have-"
"You could have hosted a bucking assassin for another decade until some other twist of fate or circumstance turned him against you!" Wrath snapped. "Do you seriously think it's your fault that he's on a crusade to overthrow the royal order right now, or might it have something to do with the one-mare hit list stamped on his rear?! This was inevitable!"
"It's certainly easy to see it that way, isn't it?" Celestia whispered miserably. "Who knows where else the line might have fallen if I hadn't sent him away? But I did send him away. I took Rite's life up until then, his efforts and his prestige, his friendships and his future, and I discarded it. He'd earned that acclaim and his place by my side, but when it risked endangering myself I erased it all. And then I delicately explained that his banishment was an act of mercy while staring at his crushed, terrified expression from behind a phalanx of soldiers. The memory makes me want to vomit."
Wrath looked like she was about to argue further, but Celestia bent one wing up like a palm, signaling for her to stop. "But those mistakes are long past and we have new errors to reckon with, don't we? I only have a vague idea of Rite's plot, but it seems dethroning me is merely part of it. He resents me for my betrayal, but his deeper grudge is with the bonds of fate that have steered him to this path and it seems he intends to do something about it. It's even possible, in a twisted way, that he thinks this plan of his is an act of defiance against his destiny rather than its fulfillment. But his intentions are barely relevant. The MacGuffin Stone must be recovered so that he cannot complete his scheme."
"There is, of course, another way to put a stop to his insurgency if we manage to track him down. Permanently," Wrath said tightly.
"I will not grant permission to kill Blood Rite," Celestia retorted. Her voice was sad, despite the firmness of her words. "This vile grudge has escalated far enough. If he is disarmed of the artifact, that is enough. He cannot harm me without it, and he has no grievance toward Equestria's citizens otherwise. You are to recover the MacGuffin Stone, destroy any other weapons he's constructed, and then leave him be."
Wrath seethed quietly as she bowed her head. "As you command, your Highness. I assume you're not soliciting principled objections to this order? I don't suppose you'd be willing to compromise with a lengthy prison sentence?"
"I am thankful for your guidance, General, but I intend to smother this spark of rebellion, not set another conflagration alight. Stealing away Rite's ambitions once again will have to be enough," Celestia said firmly. "I chose exile as his lifelong sentence. I will not have the banished filling my prisons."
"Wow," Spike said breathlessly, awed by both the tale of Rite's past and the grim discussion of his immediate future. "Is there a story like this behind Kamikazan, too?"
"The story behind Kamikazan is that he's in love with me and I don't like him back," Celestia huffed. "Once upon a time he got very angry about it and hurt some ponies over the matter, and for that I buried him in a volcano. The end."
"Oh. That's not very dramatic," the young dragon mumbled, looking disappointed.
Twilight frowned. "If he's such a belligerent and dangerous individual, why did you send him after Ranma?"
Celestia suppressed a groan. She hardly wanted to revisit this matter now. "I have no excuse, Twilight. I knew Kamikazan wasn't going to simply leave me alone, so I thought to use his obsession as leverage to solve some other problem. It was distasteful and reckless, and I'm surprised Havoc forgave me so easily." Then she grimaced. "Also, I can't help but think it somehow set the stage for Blood Rite to join forces with him. The two don't have similar goals, and I can't imagine why one would help the other. Getting the Prince of Dragons involved in the chase for the MacGuffin was surely an error."
Twilight nodded slowly. She found the admission somewhat unsatisfying, but she wasn't sure what else her teacher could offer her. Celestia had approached this meeting with an impressive degree of honesty and humility, and Twilight didn't feel like pressing her any further just because she wasn't sympathetic enough to Ranma.
"Okay... So I think there's just one more thing to discuss, then," Twilight prompted. "What exactly is this special talent that Rite has? What does it do and how can we beat it?"
"It can create magic blades, apparently," Celestia offered with a tired shrug. "Unfortunately, neither I nor Rite himself had much more idea of what he'd stumbled upon."
"There are theories, of course," Wrath interjected. "Firebrand says that there's a very rare kind of magic that pops up among unicorn populations once every century or so. It doesn't have a name... or rather, it has several names from dozens of different but suspiciously similar legends. Soul magic, cursed light, spirit sickness, blood magic, lifecrafting..." The General shook her head sadly. "The thread that links all those stories together is that the user possesses some mysterious, inborn sorcery that's completely unknown to civilization and clearly different from conventional unicorn magic. Aside from being bizarre and powerful, it also draws its energy directly from the user's life force rather than their mana. The stories usually end in dramatic explosions or desperate sorcerer duels that leave the mystery magic user dead even after they win."
Luna drew a wing up to her muzzle, rubbing the wingtip across her chin thoughtfully. "I have heard of such stories. There are many wizards who dream of discovering a font of inborn power, suddenly becoming the mightiest of their peers and ascending into legend." She shook her head. "Of course, such tales are invariably warnings of the dangers of such power and the hubris of its practitioners. Have we any modern, detailed records of such ponies?"
"Sounds like we did until... uh..." Spike trailed off when Celestia winced again. "Never mind..."
"We're not aware of any other living user of this power," Wrath admitted. "Firebrand suspects there are a lot more than are indicated by the legends, because if you have this life magic or whatever then your most obvious courses of action are experimenting with it and killing yourself right away in an inexplicable magic accident or never using it again ever and living a perfectly ordinary life, neither of which are likely going to make it into ancient fables. Rite seems to have used it some more since the incident, but not so much to kill himself. Unfortunately."
Celestia grimaced. "His mane was still mostly black back when he was exiled, and his tail entirely so. I assume the rest has been bleached with the development of this special magic slowly drinking away his life force... Or maybe it was simply the stress of surviving on his own for so long."
"So we really don't know anything about it other than it being able to defeat magic barriers, and using it could kill him after it kills us," Twilight said, grimacing. "That's less than ideal, but now that I think about it he didn't use anything especially strange against me during our duel earlier today. He probably isn't willing to use this power against just anypony."
"Hay, since it's related to his 'true destiny' maybe this magic only works on Princess Celestia," Wrath grumbled. "But the upshot is that we'll be probably be fighting a desperate sorcerer-soldier and his pet dragon with a suicide contingency spell."
"It will not come to that," Celestia said, her voice cold and firm. "Rite may well be prepared to throw his life away to end mine, but he isn't going to kill himself to spite the soldiers trying to foil him. He's not petty."
Wrath seemed unconvinced. "I'll take that under advisement, your Highness, but it would be nothing short of negligent of me not to plan for the worst. Cornered animals are the most dangerous." She offered a slight nod to the Princess of the Sun. "Will that be all? I have much to do even if we're not heading out tonight."
"Yes, General Wrath. You are dismissed. I thank you for your assistance and understanding in these matters," Celestia replied.
With a deeper bow, the armored pegasus excused herself from the room. The Princesses waited until the door clicked shut behind her before Celestia turned her attention to Twilight again.
"Twilight, I will arrange lodgings for you tonight and a supply pack for tomorrow. We'll see to it Spike is cared for until your return as well." Even at this stage, after the arrangements had been agreed upon, she felt her stomach flip at the thought of her student being sent along with her soldiers. "... But if by chance you reconsider, my door is always open to you, my student."
"I'm not going to reconsider," Twilight said sharply, her voice becoming heated again. "I can do this!"
"I believe in you, Twilight," Celestia said soothingly. "But you don't need to prove anything to anypony. The safety and future of the kingdom is my responsibility, not yours."
Twilight started, surprised at hearing the same line she had used on Ranma earlier that day. "That... That's true. I don't," she said, her tone calming. "This isn't about measuring up to anypony. This is about the task at hand, Princess. It has to be done, and there's nopony better than me to do it!"
Celestia grimaced. "I understand. I just... To fight my old student, unfairly banished, and pulled into conflict by the yoke of destiny... I wish there were some other way," she lamented. "The path you embark on has no happy endings. There's no great lesson to be learned or bond of friendship to forge during this task."
"I dunno, maybe you and Wrath can hit it off," Spike interrupted, poking Twilight in the back of her leg. "She seemed kinda testy, but I think-"
Celestia cleared her throat loudly, and the young dragon quickly shut up. "As I was saying... This is different from the quests I've given you before, and I'd hoped to spare you from getting involved entirely. That was naïve of me. But please, be careful. Blood Rite may well have spent decades planning my downfall and I have only the slightest idea what he is really capable of. Meanwhile, he understands Equestria's security and magical studies like few other ponies alive; he helped design some of it, in fact."
"That's daunting, but I think that finding him is going to be the main challenge," Twilight murmured, closing her eyes briefly and checking the direction of the MacGuffin Stone.
"Why would that be the main challenge? You can check where he is by blinking, can't you?" Spike mumbled.
"Yes, and he knows it. Blood Rite has proven himself to be nothing if not a cunning strategist, and he still has a network of teleport gates, which means he can still travel faster than we can by air. If we can actually get to him and cut off his escape, then I'm confident we'll beat him," Twilight insisted.
Celestia nodded sadly. "Do what you must, my student."
Twilight bowed and she and Spike started heading for the exit. As her magic reached out and started to turn the doorknob, however, she hesitated. Her horn dimmed and she turned her head back.
"Before I go... I want to apologize for snapping at you earlier," Twilight said, her ears flipping down. "My objection still stands, but I know you were just trying to find the best solution available."
Celestia looked relieved at the apology, and a small smile crept onto her face. "I understand, Twilight, and I accept your judgment. I hadn't considered that he may keep the artifact from us after recapturing it from Rite... despite him doing exactly that up until now."
"I'm still somewhat confused about that," Luna admitted. "Is it not of paramount importance that Rite be stopped? What does it matter who owns the gem so long as it isn't him? I believe it would be prudent to at least inquire if Saotome might help."
Twilight shook her head. "I just don't want to pull Ranma into our problems anymore. And putting that aside... well... he can probably defeat any enemy we set him against, but his intervention really does tend to complicate things in unexpected ways. I can handle this mission. I WILL handle this mission!"
Luna still seemed skeptical, but Celestia at last seemed satisfied. "Thank you, Twilight. Now please, get some food and rest for tomorrow. You have a long flight ahead you."
Princess Luna heaved a weary sigh as the moon finally rose to its place of prominence in the night sky. She stood on her bedroom balcony overlooking the twinkling lights of Canterlot City below, but her gaze kept wandering. Not to the vast expanse of stars above or to the mountains cast against it by the pale moonlight, but to a canvas leaning haphazardly against the railing.
Luna took up the picture in her magical grip, lifting it up in front of her. It was a sketch of Ranma Saotome, one leg extended in a furious hook. The image was crude, and she had left it unfinished. The image of the stallion in valiant combat hadn't come as easily to her mind recently, and she'd eventually lost interest in the drawing.
A faint squeak and gentle scratch at her shin reminded her that Tiberius was about. Luna looked down at her loyal pet, and then stretched a wing down to lift him up onto her back.
"Such a fascinating creature Saotome is... But it would seem it is simply not to be," the Princess of the Night said glumly, looking back at the canvas. "It did my heart well to see him again, but he paid me no interest. He was not even conscious to witness what little aid I could offer upon the occasion. Twilight Sparkle delivered him to us. Sister cleared his name by our laws. All I could do was carry him to bed, and the Element of Honesty would not even allow me to stay with him until he awoke. Bah!"
She slumped onto a large pillow left near the railing, letting the drawing fall back into its previous resting place. Tiberius dropped down next to her, nuzzling into her chest fur. "I never imagined that after I convinced Twilight Sparkle to aid my pursuit of Saotome that she would then depart to track him down again after we found him the first time. Is her passion truly so much greater than mine? I'm not even sure she feels for Saotome as I do."
"Well, why didn't you try again before she could?"
Luna winced. "I... I wouldn't have known what to do were I to find him," she mumbled sadly. "Our first meeting was glorious! A thing of fable and legend! Our second quickly descended into farce. Pride, ignorance, and pure infuriating happenstance combined to sour the occasion. I actually demanded a duel! A duel, against the stallion I intended to court!" She huffed irritably. "Not that I'm dissatisfied with our combat, necessarily, but the idea that... wait..."
Luna suddenly jumped up, her wings spread wide and her horn sparking. Discord was on the other end of her balcony, leaning against the railing with his cheek propped up on his fist. "Discord! What are you doing here?! Begone!"
"Oh, don't mind me. What were you saying about the combat? I'm listening," the draconequus replied.
Luna growled, and her horn sparked some more. Discord sighed and held up his hands in surrender.
"All right, all right, if you insist... I just wanted to help, but I know when I'm not wanted," he said sadly.
"YOU want to help?" Luna scoffed. Her horn dimmed, and she relaxed her stance so that it didn't look like she was ready to attack the intruder. "With what?"
"With your little problem! I couldn't help but overhear that you pine for a stallion who has no feelings or even great respect for you. It's so tragic!" Discord took a step forward, his hands clasped together and a single tear crawling down his cheek. "A Princess in love, pouring her heart out to the ever-silent stars and her pet rat to bemoan her failures! Unparalleled power and beauty, yet you are alone and unloved! Forever, probably."
Luna's expression went from annoyed back to angry. "Tiberius is a POSSUM, not a rat! And spare me your false pity! I will not have you sneak into my quarters and mock me, Discord!" said possum scampered atop her head and shook his tiny fist at Discord from behind her horn.
"Don't lose yourself over a little mild teasing, your Highness. I really DO want to help!" Discord insisted.
"And what, praythee, could you possibly help with in this conundrum?" Luna asked, her eyes narrowed. "Have you some key advice or insight you wish to share that would allow me to seize Saotome's attention?"
"Well, yes. But that would take too long and be boring. I have a much more direct solution!" Discord slunk closer to the dark Princess, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"What is it?" Luna asked, a bit of nervousness creeping into her voice. "I very much doubt it will matter, but you've earned my curiosity, at least."
"How would you..." Discord drew out the word, tapping a finger against Luna's royal peytral, "like to MARRY Havoc?"
Luna blinked, uncomprehending. "I... would like that very much, I expect. That is the point of courtship, is it not?"
"Great!" Discord clapped his hands together. "Does Thursday work for you?"
The dark alicorn recoiled, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. "What?! You mean... now?! You would marry us at once?!"
"Well, not AT ONCE at once. We need a day to plan and put out invitations, so the day after tomorrow is best. Princess Cadence would hardly forgive you for not inviting her to your wedding; you know how she is." Discord started scratching at his chin. "I think a smaller ceremony would be ideal, don't you? OH! I know, let's hold it in Ponyville!"
"Hold! You cannot do this!" Luna protested.
"Oh, don't worry, there's hardly ever a reservation wait over there. The catering shouldn't be a problem," Discord paced back and forth, staring upward in thought. "Rarity will have to pull an all-nighter to have dresses ready in time, but frankly I get the impression she lives for this sort of thing anyway."
"DISCORD! STOP!" Luna commanded. Once the draconequus stopped talking, she took a deep breath. "What is the meaning of this? How can you intend to marry us so quickly?"
"Well it won't be me marrying you, really. It would have to be a registered agent of the state to be 'official.' And you definitely want it to be official because that makes it very easy to transfer property when one partner dies and though I hate to say it Havoc isn't-"
"DISCORD!" Luna barked again. "My contention has less to do with the minutiae of the wedding planning and more to do with the temperament of the groom! When did Saotome agree to wed me?!"
"Okay, so TECHNICALLY he hasn't yet. But why wouldn't he agree? You're a Princess! And quite a looker, by horse standards!" Discord assured her, grinning and giving her a thumbs-up.
"As you no doubt overheard before interjecting, my feelings for Saotome are unrequited," Luna huffed. "Even were I to agree to this bizarre plan, it will collapse the moment it requires the cooperation of the groom!"
"No it won't," Discord said simply. "So: are you in or are you in?"
Luna said nothing, simply glaring at him. Eventually Discord's happy grin slipped away, and he offered a sad shrug.
"All right, I get it. You're not THAT into him. That's fine. Twilight Sparkle is here tonight, right?" Discord started walking toward the exit, only to find a blue force screen suddenly appear in front of him.
"What?! Sparkle?! Why?!" Luna demanded hotly.
"Well, if you're not interested, she might be. I probably should have asked her first, really, given that they're closer, but since you were the one moaning to the sky about it I figured I'd give you first dibs," Discord explained.
"Do you mean to tell me that Saotome desires Sparkle's hoof in marriage?" Luna asked. The possibility that Twilight would fall for him had occurred to her, especially as Luna hadn't been completely forthright about why she'd sought Ranma out to begin with, but she hadn't really thought that the mousy, book-obsessed pony would interest the strange warrior stallion.
Evidently, neither had Discord. "You're awfully hung up on whether or not Havoc wants to get married this week," he muttered.
"It's of paramount importance to the event!" Luna retorted.
"And I'm telling you not to worry about it," the spirit of chaos chided, wagging a finger at her. "I'm telling you that if you want, I'll set you two up to be married in two days. I'll tell you where and when, and when you arrive Havoc will be there, ready to say 'I do.' Honeymoon planning will be all you, of course," Discord smirked and winked, and Luna's cheeks flushed deeply. "Or, if you have cold hooves, I'll go ask Princess Twilight Sparkle if she's up for some holy matrimony when she gets back from saving Equestria again. Frankly I think she deserves a coltfriend after rescuing your tails so many times, don't you?"
Luna slapped a wing over her face. "Stars help me, you were simply going to offer her a wedding out of the blue, just as you did to me? What would you do when she refused as well?"
"Well obviously Celestia would be next," Discord said, shrugging helplessly.
"Sister doesn't even LIKE Saotome! I suspect she'd as soon see him in irons and sent to the dungeons as kiss him!"
"Probably. But nopony says they have to STAY married..."
Luna slapped her other wing over her face, suppressing the urge to scream. "Why on Equiis are you trying to marry off Saotome in the first place?!"
"He seemed a bit out of sorts the last time we met and I felt a bit sorry for him," Discord admitted, scratching his cheek. "I thought it might help him feel more at home."
"That makes no sense!"
"You're going to have to trust me on that one." Then Discord appeared next to the dusky alicorn, swinging an arm over her withers and tugging her close. "And if this silly plan just HAPPENS to unite two ponies who are more or less fond of each other in an everlasting union of love or at least a solid weekend of lust, well, I think you'd all be much better for it."
Tiberius crossed his tiny arms and squeaked something at the draconequus.
"I'm being flippant?!" Discord gasped, looking indignant. "I don't see anypony else here to even listen to the poor, lonesome Princess! How about a little credit for caring?"
Tiberius squeaked louder, shaking a fist.
"Lower order mammals don't count, rodent."
Luna suddenly lifted a wing against Discord, pushing him away. "Enough of this. I have... I have thought it over." She didn't meet Discord's eyes as a blush once again colored her cheeks. "I... desire to marry Saotome Ranma."
Discord pumped a fist into the air silently.
"So long as you can guarantee that he will be at the ceremony and assent to our union of his own free will, then... then I can think of no compelling reason not to agree." She gulped, finally looking up into the crimson eyes of the spirit of chaos. "He will be there of his own free will, yes? You're not going to brainwash him?"
"I couldn't brainwash him if I wanted to! Enchantments are very precise magic spells, and very easily disrupted by sudden explosions," Discord explained, holding up a single palm in the air. "I PROMISE that Havoc will marry you of his own free will asterisk."
Luna's ear twitched. "What?"
"What?" Discord replied.
"You mumbled something at the end, there."
"I don't remember that."
Luna and Discord continued staring uncertainly at each other. Then Luna grimaced, her ears pinning back again.
"I hope I don't come to regret this decision, Discord," the Princess of the Night mumbled.
Discord just laughed, finally making his way to her bedroom's doors. "Oh, my dear, sweet, hopeless Princess! You've chosen love! And there's not a love story told that isn't replete with regret!" With an insane cackle, he threw open the doors and skipped away into the dimly lit corridors of Canterlot Castle. |
Taming the Wild Horse | Hunting the Fallen | Taming the Wild Horse
a My Little Pony/Ranma 0.5 crossover fanfiction
by SFaccountant
Chapter 11
Hunting the Fallen
General Wrath marched across the squadron of pegasi, meeting the eyes of each one with a withering stare. The mares and stallions stared back, unflinching. Each one was armed and armored to teeth; the combination of half-plate, a short sword, spear, and crossbow along with a soldier's standard travel pack would have strained the average pony to carry over a long journey. The innate magic of the pegasi helped carry substantial loads across the sky as if they were made of paper or cotton, but the mission ahead could require days of sustained air travel, followed by a desperate battle against a cornered opponent. Wrath searched each of her ponies for any signs of lax preparation or uncertainty, looking for any excuse to send them back to the barracks. To her satisfaction, she found none.
Until she reached the end of the line, at least.
Supposedly alicorns grew taller than other mares, but one wouldn't guess as much from the lavender Princess at the edge of the formation. Twilight Sparkle cut a slim figure next to the equine soldiers even before taking their gear into account. She was wearing her saddlebags and a thin weather tunic, and unlike the troops standing at attention she had a book levitating in front of her during inspection.
"So... did you want some armor or something? I know your talents don't revolve around physical combat but we're hunting for rogues and dragons, not going for a picnic." It didn't bother Wrath too much that Twilight didn't display the martial discipline she was used to, and this wasn't the first time she'd had a charge who wasn't a hardened warrior, but Twilight's role wasn't limited to being their magic compass, either.
Twilight lowered her book and shook her head. "No thank you. My wings aren't as well developed as yours, especially since I was injured recently. I imagine it's going to be hard enough to keep up with all of you even with a light pack!"
"Light pack... right..." Wrath tilted her head slightly to look at Twilight's saddlebags, which were stuffed to bursting with scrolls. "We'll get a head start by using a mass teleport spell to Coltson, but after that we will have a lot of flying to do. Why are you bringing all those writing supplies, anyway?"
"I plan on checking my heading frequently as we're traveling," the Princess explained, flipping around the book she had been reading. It turned out to be a collection of local regional maps complete with travelers' notes. "If I take enough readings and then see a gradual or sudden shift in direction, then it may help us triangulate his ultimate location or find one of his teleport monoliths."
"Just to be clear, we only have his direction? That's how this sense of yours works?" Wrath asked.
"To be extra-clear, the sense gives me the direction of the artifact, not Blood Rite. We'd expect them to be in the same place, of course, but it is possible they'll be separate," Twilight explained.
Wrath grimaced. "I hadn't considered that. That means it's all the more likely we're soaring into a trap."
"For what it's worth, I disagree," Twilight retorted, closing her book and sending it back to her bag on an arc of violet magic. "I don't think this is a trap. Rite isn't playing a long game anymore. As his plans have unraveled further and further his attacks have become more... aggressive and desperate. He's looking for an opportunity to strike and complete his objective, not playing for time or whittling away at Equestria's forces."
"And what if you're wrong? What if YOU become the opportunity to strike after being captured by the magic rock?" Wrath asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"He had me before. He didn't take advantage of it." Twilight shrugged. "I could still be wrong, of course. My memories of being captured are pretty hazy. But it sure seems like he wants to keep me out of his rebellion as much as possible."
"Well, then it's just about time we ruined his day." General Wrath turned around and spread her wings wide. "All right, ponies! Let's soar! For Canterlot and Equestria!"
"FOR CANTERLOT AND EQUESTRIA!!"
Celestia caught a glint of reflected sunlight out of the corner of her eye, and she turned her head to the window to watch the formation of winged ponies soar away from Canterlot Castle. She released a tired sigh upon spotting a pair of purple wings among them. In the end, Twilight hadn't reconsidered. Celestia hadn't seriously expected her to back down, but she still felt like this mission was a mistake.
"I know you worry for her, but take heart, Tia," Luna reassured her. She was sitting at the other end of their dining room table, munching on her breakfast (her last meal before bed, typically). "Blood Rite has evaded judgment thus far through careful planning and stealth. Now that his location is exposed he cannot hide from us. Twilight Sparkle will prevail."
Celestia shook her head and returned to her own meal. "It isn't just the confrontation that I'm worried about, Luna."
"Aye, I know. You still feel that this conflict is your fault, don't you?" Luna levitated her tea cup to her lips and took a long sip.
"Do you believe it isn't?"
Luna slowly lowered her teacup, looking thoughtful. "Rebellion cannot happen without an authority to rebel against, but Rite's plot has never felt like a true revolution," the dark Princess mused. "He seeks no popular support. He brings no message to the masses. He doesn't seek to undermine your authority, but to physically remove your claim to the throne with some incredible and unlikely magic solution. His plan would - in his view, at least - substantially improve the lives of Equestrians, but rather than make a case for his solution he plots in secret, supposing to overturn the royal order himself and impose his brighter future upon all."
"He suffers silently far from prying eyes, sure that with enough work and the right magic he can fix everything on his own," Celestia mumbled. "He was much the same even before he embarked on this ill-fated quest."
"A testament to ego, not justice," Luna sniffed. "Blood Rite wouldn't dare try to explain his better future to the ponies who would live with it to try and earn their blessings. So he plans to bring it about by force, sure that he will be vindicated eventually." She paused. "That is, of course, being generous and assuming he's put great thought into his cause at all, and isn't simply in thrall to his hated destiny."
"He has. I'm sure of it," Celestia protested. "These plans of his... they're too extensive, too grand to be a mere impulse driven by his cutie mark. Rite isn't simply trying to bring me down, although I'm sure his destiny pulls him toward that eventuality. He has something greater in store."
"Greater than seizing the sun from Canterlot's control? I shudder to think of it," Luna mumbled before biting into an apple.
Kibitz entered the room during the lull in conversation, carrying another plate of pastries and two copies of the Canterlot Sun. "Good morning, your Highnesses!" he sang, cheerfully unaware of the topic that had just concluded. He levitated the plate into place and then turned to Princess Luna with a flourish and a glint in his eye. "And a hearty congratulations to you, Princess Luna! I just heard the news!"
Luna's muzzle scrunched up, and Celestia blinked uncertainly.
"News? What news?" Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow. The "congratulations" suggested it was good news, and she could certainly use some of that.
"Ha ha ha! Very funny, Princess!" Kibitz wiggled his mustache and then floated the newspapers onto the table, dropping one in front of each alicorn. Each copy of the Canterlot Sun featured the headline "ROYAL WEDDING" in huge block text on the top, followed by the sub header "Beloved Princess of the Night to Wed Violent Arsonist." Below that was an exquisite portrait of Luna next to a picture of Ranma's bounty poster.
Celestia stared at the headline silently. After several seconds she levitated her tea to her lips, taking a long sip that completely drained the cup. Then she turned her head and spat it all out in shock.
Kibitz quickly raised a serving platter as a shield against the jet of steaming tea. "Ah. So you weren't joking. Hmm."
"What is the meaning of this?!" Celestia gasped, quickly wiping her mouth as her eyes bugged out at the headline.
"Could they really find no other image of Saotome aside from his bounty poster?" Luna griped, her ears falling flat. "And half the associated stories are about his crimes, of which he's been pardoned! The state of the press these days!" She huffed and pushed away the newspaper.
Luna couldn't help but feel Celestia's incredulous gaze burning into her after that, and she cleared her throat lightly before she addressed her sister. "The, ah, gist of the story, however, is true. I am engaged to be married. The wedding is tomorrow."
"When did THIS happen?!" Celestia demanded, standing her forelegs on the dining table and spreading her wings.
"Yesterday," Luna said. Then she shrunk back slightly. "Well, last night, to be more specific." Her eyes darted away, suddenly finding a very interesting spot on the floor. "After you went to bed, I think."
The elder Princess gaped at her little sister for several seconds, and then suddenly perked. "This is Discord's doing, isn't it?"
"Oh, sure, blame every little thing on Discord, why not?" The spirit of chaos rolled his eyes and threw his arms up, suddenly entering the room from behind a startled Kibitz. He sat down on one of the many empty chairs around the dining table and huffed as he poured himself some tea. "Never mind that your sister's been pining over the ruffian for months. Never mind that she's clearly a willing participant in this union. NEVER MIND that this is an occasion of love and romantic fulfillment that you're trying to write off as some whimsical prank of mine! Hmph!"
He took a gentle sip of tea, and then put his cup down and started buttering a slab of toast. "Anyway, yes, it was entirely my doing, so what?"
"I knew it," Celestia groaned, folding her wings and settling back into her seat. "I assume you're also behind the press catching wind of this event before I did."
"In my defense, I offered them a real photograph of Havoc, but they went with the bounty poster because it was more 'eye-catching' or something." Discord shrugged and took a bite of toast. "Anyway, invitations were dispatched this morning. The dress fitting is in an hour. I got an early appointment so you could still get to bed by noon, your Night Highness."
"That's... surprisingly thoughtful of you," Luna mumbled, her eyes darting back to her sister.
"Tut, tut! I want this ceremony to be a smooth success as much as anypony!" Discord insisted. "Considerably more than some ponies, technically!"
"Luna, please tell me you aren't serious about this," Celestia mumbled, massaging her head with a hoof.
"I... I am," Luna admitted bashfully. "More serious than Discord is, at least. I realize that this may be some elaborate prank of his, but... but if it isn't..."
Discord sniffled and wiped a tear from his eye. "Isn't it beautiful?! The strength of a mare's love can overcome any obstacle or justifiable skepticism!" Then his expression shifted and he swiveled around to smile at Celestia with his hands clasped together on the table. "Moving on. I have a question for you too, my dear Celestia."
"No, I do not wish to marry Havoc as well," Celestia deadpanned.
Discord silently pulled a notepad out of nowhere and flipped through the pages. Then he took out a pen and started scratching over several lines.
"You... You weren't really going to ask that, were you?" Luna mumbled in growing concern.
"No, no, definitely not. Not at all." Discord flipped to the next page, tore it out, and then incinerated it with a snap of his fingers. "Anyway, what I was ACTUALLY going to ask was: do you think you could officiate the ceremony?"
"What? No," the white Princess answered. Seeing the others recoil slightly in surprise, she added. "To be clear, I believe this is all some elaborate joke you're playing on my little sister, but unlike her I'm not going to be a willing participant in some overcomplicated mockery of her feelings." She paused to take another sip of tea, and then glowered further at the draconequus. "I will attend this ceremony, assuming it actually occurs, but as a guest."
"That seems reasonable," Luna mumbled, only to have Discord interrupt.
"Tia, I'm shocked! The most important, happiest day of your sister's immortal life, and you're treating it as a bad joke?" he gasped.
"I'm only going at all in the hopes that it's a good joke," Celestia deadpanned.
"Well... I didn't want to do this, but I suppose I have no choice," Discord sighed. "You remember that you owe me a favor, right?"
Celestia gasped while she was taking another drink, and then started coughing while she spat up her tea again. Kibitz quickly raced behind her and started slapping her on the back (incidentally moving himself well out of the splash zone).
"She does? For what?" Luna asked suspiciously.
"For helping her with this MacGuffin thing." Discord smirked at the Princess of the Sun while she caught her breath. "You don't think I forgot about that, did you?"
"THIS is your favor?" Celestia asked incredulously. "You're going to make me perform your probably-fake wedding?"
"No, I'm going to make you perform Luna's definitely-real wedding," Discord retorted. "Is that a problem?"
The white alicorn's eyes narrowed. "If I recall correctly, I have the right to refuse this request."
"You do, but are you really going to do so for something like this?" the spirit of chaos chuckled and shrugged his arms. "Conducting a wedding ceremony for your own sister isn't THAT objectionable, is it?"
Celestia growled, ruffling the feathers of her wings and puffing up her cheeks. Then, after several seconds, she deflated with a defeated sigh. "Fine. Have it your way. I'll officiate. I can think of plenty of worse things you could have asked for."
"So can I, and believe me, I'm very disappointed that I won't get the chance." Discord suddenly pushed himself back and hopped up, rubbing his mismatched hands together. "Well then, I'll leave you ladies to your meal. I have some additional planning to get to!"
"And what would that be?" Celestia grumbled. "Renting a venue? Catering?"
"Oh, no, I already took care of all that. At this point I just have to let the groom know he's getting married." Discord strolled out of the dining room, blowing a kiss to the perturbed equines on his way out. "Ta-ta! See you tomorrow at noon sharp!"
Celestia was still gaping wordlessly long after the door slammed shut. Luna quietly went back to her breakfast, a blush coloring her face. Kibitz wondered if he should withdraw; the good news he'd innocently brought up had turned out to be a great deal more complicated than he could have anticipated.
Eventually the Princess of the Sun shook her head, breaking out of her stunned stupor. "Let the GROOM KNOW?!" Her wings suddenly spread out again, nearly knocking Kibitz over. "Havoc doesn't KNOW? About HIS OWN WEDDING?! The wedding TOMORROW?!"
"Ugh, I know. I can't believe he's leaving that part for last," Luna groaned while dabbing her mouth with a floating napkin. Celestia started sputtering, and Luna quickly hopped out of her chair and trotted toward the door. "Anyway I have to get to that dressmaker. Thank you, Tia! I'll see you tonight!"
"Luna, wait! Did Havoc-" Celestia had barely begun to speak before her sister vanished in a burst of shadowy blue, leaving her alone with Kibitz.
"Well... anyway, I hope you all have a nice time." Kibitz slowly moved to withdraw himself from the room, grabbing Luna's used tableware with his levitation and carrying them along with him.
"This is wrong, isn't it? I'm not going crazy, am I?" Celestia asked, massaging her temples with her wingtips. "This morning my student left with a squad of soldiers to hunt down my ex-student who is trying to overthrow me alongside a royal dragon who also wants to be my suitor and they're teleporting around the countryside to avoid running into a criminal who is no longer a criminal because two nights ago I pardoned him to keep my soldiers from fighting him but not because he was actually innocent and now that ex-criminal is my little sister's fiance except he might not know about it?!"
"And you got roped into being the marrying official because you recently risked asking Discord for help," Kibitz added. "I think that about sums it up, yes."
Celestia sighed again and folded her wings. There was a long pause while she considered the recent events, and then her eyes narrowed. "......... If this isn't a prank, it means Luna will have found a special somepony and married him before I did," she grumbled.
"Well you do keep rejecting those who are interested, your Highness," Kibitz said. "Sometimes by imprisoning the suitor in grand displays of high magic. Some probably find it intimidating."
"You are excused, Kibitz," the white Princess said curtly, pouring herself more tea. "Have Raven meet with me at one o'clock today. It's been nearly two decades since I've officiated a wedding and I need to rehearse. This is all a terrible idea and obviously some kind of crazy scheme, but at the very least I'll be fulfilling my favor to the best of my abilities. I don't want to give Discord an opportunity to demand another."
"As you wish, your Highness."
Sylvia Hawke was no stranger to rough times. From the days of her youth in the Griffon Kingdom, to her years carving out a criminal niche in Hoofington, to that disastrous weekend when a random stallion had broken into her home and she was brutalized by an enraged magician, the griffon ringleader had certainly suffered her share of shortfalls. Each time she'd bounced back, recovering her health, her status, and her assets to become stronger than before. After Ranma and Trixie had left her family beaten and her gang scattered it had been no small task to reassert control over her fellow roughnecks that had come to see her as a weak and vulnerable leader. The struggle had been vicious, and she'd expended a lot of favors and made more than a few unfavorable deals, but within a month of her galling defeat by the equine adventurers Mayor Hawke was back on top, ruling Hoofington with an iron claw.
So it was especially embarrassing and intensely frustrating when those ponies strolled back into town and once again scattered her gang like so many bowling pins.
The whistle of magical rockets came from outside, followed by the sharp, explosive bang of fireworks. Colored light flashed through the windows, and the terrified screams of stallions trailed off after the noisy cacophony.
Sylvia threw the curtains closed, and then jumped over her desk. Pinned to the wall at the back of her office was a very large crossbow, and next to it was an array of bolts. They varied in type, ranging from small oil-filled capsules atop metal ignition plugs to long shafts of metal sharpened and tapered to a needle point, but they were all nearly as thick as the griffon's wrist and possessed the stopping power to knock over an enraged minotaur.
Another scream came from outside, followed by panicked wailing and begging. Sylvia couldn't make out the words or put a name to the voice, which was unfortunate; a great deal of scathing recriminations were in order if she ended up having to reassemble her criminal organization again.
"Go to Equestria, they said. The ponies are so friendly and welcoming, they said!" Sylvia snapped a needle bolt into the crossbow and then pulled back the draw, locking it into place. "You won't even have to worry about the guards; they're pushovers! Bah!"
She placed the crossbow on her desk, hearing the wood creak slightly under the weight of it. Then she took careful aim at the door of her office, sweat crawling down her brow and neck.
Several seconds passed with no further sounds of mayhem. The distant wail of terrified, fleeing pony thugs was barely audible in the distance, but she pushed it out of her head. She would probably get only one chance to attack if the intruders headed to her office. It was a lot to gamble, but this situation had escalated much faster than last time and she had fewer options.
Sylvia heard the sound of a hoof tapping on the door to her office. "Hello Mayor Hawke. The Great and Powerful Trixie has an appointment with you," sang a voice from the other side.
The door shuddered as it tried to open. The bar lock held firm. A moment later a pink magic field appeared around the locking bar and started to slide it out of the way. Sylvia gulped, but kept her nerve; such precise telekinesis use on something the user couldn't even see was quite impressive, but she hadn't seriously expected a locked door to delay the ponies for long anyway.
The door unlocked, and then swung wide open. A smirking unicorn in a purple hat and cape stood in the hall, and Sylvia pulled the crossbow's trigger. The needle bolt flew across the room in an eye blink, plunging into the mare's forehead.
The bolt stabbed deep into the wall, and the magic mirror it had shot through broke apart into motes of pink light.
"Heh. Works every time," Trixie chuckled as she stepped around the corner and trotted forward, her horn wrapped in a sparkling pink glow. Another pony followed behind her, its entire body hidden under a cloak and hood matching the star-spangled design of Trixie's hat and cape. Only a bit of gray muzzle poked out from the hood, bobbing slightly with each step.
Sylvia hissed and snatched another bolt from the wall behind her. At the same time, a pink magic aura wrapped around a different bolt with a knife-edged point and yanked it from the wall. As Sylvia slammed the next projectile into place, the floating bolt swung down and sliced through the crossbow's drawstring, immediately rendering the device useless.
Trixie regarded the griffon with an impatient stare, her horn still blazing with magic. "Trixie will take her appointment here and now, Miss Hawke. You should be grateful that Trixie isn't going to knock you out and drag you off first; it's not as if you showed Trixie the same courtesy the last time she passed through your town."
Sylvia glanced down at her broken weapon, and then up at the ponies waiting calmly in front of her door. Then she picked up the bolt and hurled it across the room at the cloaked figure.
"Please, stop embarrassing yourself." Without the superior force of the crossbow to propel it, Trixie's magic easily slowed the bolt's path through the air and brought it to a stop just inches from its target. The hooded pony didn't so much as twitch. Then the projectile accelerated back the other way, spinning toward Hoofington's Mayor.
Sylvia recoiled with a nervous squawk, falling backward into her chair. The flung bolt struck the wall, bouncing off and landing haphazardly on the floor. A few shredded feathers floated to the carpet, but otherwise the griffon was unharmed.
Trixie shut the door behind her with another pulse of telekinesis, although her horn continued to glow afterward. Sylvia tried to school her features, regarding the intruder with an air of cold irritation.
"I'd hoped the previous time we met would be the last, Miss Trixie. I graciously neglected to send any hitmares after you to cut my losses and prevent any repeats of the last time you rampaged through my home." A vein popped up on her head. "Yet here you are. To what do I owe this extraordinary displeasure?"
"Just some unfinished business," Trixie said, glancing around the office. It was generously decorated, but there wasn't much in the way of loose valuables out in the open; probably a necessity when one worked around a gang of thieves. In the corner of the office, just next to the weapons rack that was mounted on the back of the room, was a hefty wall safe.
Sylvia's feathers prickled around her head and neck. "Like what? Regretting you didn't finish off me and my only child the last time you bumbled through here?" Her eyes kept darting back at the hooded pony, watching for the slightest movement. She didn't recall Ranma Saotome being so quiet last time he was here, but she also recalled that Trixie hadn't been quite this bold and casually capable last time, either. Certainly the magician had still been arrogant, vicious, and resourceful back then, but it felt like she was dealing with an entirely different pony than the haughty entertainer who had been ambushed in her hotel room not too long ago.
"Oh, no, nothing like that. Trixie isn't interested in taking your life," the illusionist said, tsking calmly. "Granted, Trixie thinks Hoofington could probably do with a new Mayor and a cleanup of the local thieves' guild, but that isn't any of Trixie's business."
"From where I'm sitting, you don't seem to have many qualms with sticking your snout where it doesn't belong," Sylvia sniffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What, did you forget the last time Trixie was here?" the azure mare asked, blinking her eyes innocently. "Trixie did leave you with a severe concussion before she left, so perhaps you don't recall sponsoring the bandits who attacked Trixie's wagon, having thugs kick Trixie's door down, or using a magic ring to foalnap Trixie from her hotel room. But surely you should remember the ensuing fiasco after you tried to enslave Trixie and held her at knifepoint against Trixie's bodyguard. Otherwise you'd have a lot of questions as to what happened once you woke up covered in bruises and surrounded by unconscious goons. Trixie DEFINITELY has business to settle with you, Miss Hawke."
"What do you want?" Sylvia hissed, gripping her armrests hard enough that her talons started to dig into the wood.
"Before Trixie left, you offered - in a moment of terrified desperation - to purchase Trixie's forgiveness for your transgressions against her," the unicorn began, sitting back on her haunches. "At the time, Trixie refused. Since moving on from Hoofington, however, Trixie has become much more relaxed about attempts on her life and much less secure in her personal funds. So Trixie will accept your offer now and grant her forgiveness at an appropriately exorbitant price."
Sylvia was silent for several seconds while multiple feathers on her head and shoulders started twitching and standing up of their own volition. "...... That's it? That's why you're here?! To BLACKMAIL me?!" she screeched.
Trixie winced slightly from the volume, but nodded. "Well, yes. Trixie really would like to resolve her grudge, but that's a fair assessment. Will you be paying in cash or in kind?"
"I'm not paying you anything!" Sylvia snarled, standing up and slamming her fist on her desk. "Get out! Never set hoof in this town again!"
Trixie raised an eyebrow. "Are you doing that thing where you enter a negotiation with an obviously unacceptable offer in the hopes that the eventual compromise is more favorable to you? Because Trixie isn't buying it."
A slight creaking noise came from above. Sylvia's eyes narrowed at Trixie, who maintained an undisturbed expression of tired patience.
"I've said all there is to say," the griffon snapped, glaring down at the pony. "Get out."
"Trixie finds your offer insufficient and must press her claim," the unicorn retorted. "Ranma, go see what's in that safe, would you? Hopefully we can resolve this with whatever cash you have on hoof."
The hooded pony started to move, turning toward the armored door on the wall without uttering a word. Sylvia tensed, and then loudly cleared her throat.
A feral shriek came from above, and another griffon dropped from the rafters to tackle the hooded equine to the floor. A dagger plunged into the pony's back, eliciting a loud BANG like the sound of a balloon exploding. The griffon rolled across the floor, clutching his target for dear life while his blade searched - unsuccessfully - for flesh to bite into.
"What? What was...?" Sylvia stared incredulously at the pile of objects tangled around her son, Tom Hawke. Tom lay on the carpet in a confused heap, the cloak caught on his talons and one arm wrapped around what should have been the head of the hooded pony they thought was Ranma Saotome. Rather, it was a party balloon with a paper fold attached to it in a shape that resembled a pony's muzzle. Back where the "pony" had been standing, another balloon bobbed up and down, anchored lightly to a small wooden block. A third balloon was spread around the floor in the form of torn rubber scraps. There seemed to be a small sheet of paper attached to the "head" balloon as well, but neither of the griffons noticed while realization slowly dawned on them.
Trixie snickered behind a hoof. Sylvia stood up straight, regarding the magician with a suspicious glare. Trixie's horn wasn't glowing anymore for the first time since she had arrived.
"That was a decoy... You've been pulling that thing along all this time! That's why your horn was active since you broke in! This was all a bluff!"
"You seemed like the type to have more than one ace up your sleeve," Trixie shrugged. "It also helped scare away most of your thugs outside. A few fireworks and a vaguely stallion-sized shape sent them running for the hills!"
Sylvia threw open a desk and snatched up a dagger, her eyes never leaving the unicorn at the front of her office. "You have a lot of guts, Trixie, and I'll even admit you're rather clever! But in the end, your thug is missing and I still have one left!"
"Mommm! Don't call me a 'thug!'" Tom complained as he stood up.
"Honey, please, not now! Concentrate on disemboweling the unicorn!"
Trixie chuckled, smirking at the griffons brandishing knives at her. "If you think Trixie is alone, you should probably read that message on the balloon."
Tom hesitated, and then snatched up the note. He squinted at it, not noticing when Trixie leapt away and huddled behind a chair. Sylvia did notice, and her feathers prickled again in alarm.
"I don't get it," Tom mumbled. "It just says 'Trixie prepared explosive runes today.'"
The citizens of Hoofington winced as an explosion rocked the Mayor's mansion, blowing out one of the windows and unsettling the entire West wing of the house. The ponies that didn't count themselves among Sylvia Hawke's lackeys - many of whom had gathered outside after seeing or hearing the fireworks earlier - quickly scattered. Most of the ponies who did consider themselves subordinates of the Mayor also left, but did so more casually and with exaggerated nonchalance, as if they hadn't noticed their employer's home being blown up.
Those few who remained finally fled when the front door suddenly burst open. Trixie emerged from the mansion with her saddlebags stuffed to bursting and a trio of daggers hovering in front of her, but hardly any of the hooligans even waited to catch a glimpse before sprinting away.
The unicorn paused to scan the area, searching for any indication of hidden foes. Once she was satisfied that nopony was waiting in ambush, she let two of the daggers drop to the ground and she began to walk away.
"Well, this proved to be a worthwhile stop. Trixie's glad she decided to clear up this little grudge after all." The bits stuffed in her saddlebags jingled with every step, and a few loose coins managed to slip out of the folds and onto the dirt. "It's unfortunate Trixie couldn't find those Thief ponies from before so that they could purchase their forgiveness as well, but Trixie's current profits are just slightly greater than her sense of spite."
Before she got very far from the front door, Trixie heard another pony galloping up the road. She tensed and started to feed magical energy to the dagger she was still levitating, but then relaxed once she spotted the source: a mare racing up the street while carrying a pack full of rolled-up newspapers.
"EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! ROYAL WEDDING IN EQUESTRIAN BACKWATER! PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT TO MARRY ENEMY OF THE STATE UNDER EXTREMELY CONTRIVED CIRCUMSTANCES! EXTRA!" The newspaper mare rang a bell hanging around her neck while she raced past the mansion, and then flung one of the papers toward the (still smoldering) front door of the Mayor's house.
Trixie intercepted the newspaper with her telekinesis, drawing it along behind her while she returned to her wagon. "Now THAT'S an interesting headline. What enemy of the state would that be?"
The paper whipped around in front of her, and then unrolled itself in front of the unicorn. Trixie immediately found the portraits plastered over the front page, and her ears pinned flat against her head. "Really, Trixie didn't know what she was expecting. Of course it wasn't going to be Blood Rite," she grumbled, staring at the familiar bounty poster that detailed Ranma's crimes and reward. "Trixie is somewhat surprised the bride is Princess Luna, though. There's probably a very interesting story behind that, and Trixie would bet every one of her recently acquired bits that it isn't written anywhere here."
She reached her wagon and closed the newspaper. Then she stopped, tilting her head to one side. "Oh, there you are. Trixie was wondering what happened to you. You really live up to your name, don't you?"
A familiar stallion stood next to her wagon with a single hoof pressed against it. A magic symbol glowed a bright pink on the wooden siding next to his leg, extending a magical aura around his entire body and holding him in place. The pony whimpered fearfully as Trixie approached him, but lacked the muscle control to so much as lower his ears in shame.
"Here, let Trixie adjust the spell so you can properly beg for forgiveness, Mister Wagon Thief." Trixie's magic tossed the paper into the wagon bed and then reached out to the stallion, banishing the part of the aura wrapping around his head. "Trixie didn't really think any of Hawke's thugs would stop to loot a random wagon among all the explosions and screaming and such, but this is a town of thieves after all!"
"L-Look, I'm sorry, all right? You got me! I'm helpless! Have some m-mercy!" Wagon Thief blubbered, his imagination running wild with all sorts of sadistic imagery. The last two times he had crossed the blue unicorn he had suffered first-degree burns and multiple fractured bones, and back then he'd at least been able to defend himself.
"Well, you did happen to catch Trixie in a decent mood. Lucky you." Smirking, the illusionist lifted the saddlebags from her back and tossed them in the wagon as well, enjoying the metallic jingle of the coins settling. Then she paused, glancing behind her suspiciously. "Although... Trixie is kind of surprised your girlfriend isn't trying to help you. The magic trap only had enough power to paralyze one target, but it doesn't look like she took anything and then abandoned you on your own. Hmmm..."
Wagon Thief sniffled pitifully. "J-Jewel Thief... left me right after you and that pigtailed monster left town," he admitted miserably. "With me injured and unable to help keep us afloat she had to cut me loose and fend for herself."
"Trixie is happy to hear that she's learning from her past mistakes and getting her life back on track," Trixie said while she started hooking herself up to the wagon shafts.
The immobilized stallion frowned. "That's not what I said."
"That's not what you meant," Trixie corrected. She finished hooking herself in, and then craned her neck to address the bandit. "But that's neither here nor there. Trixie will tell you what; if you promise to tell Hawke and her thugs that Trixie left through the west gate rather than the east gate, Trixie will refrain from running you over on the way out."
"Yes! Fine! Whatever you want!" Wagon Thief wailed.
"Splendid! Goodbye!"
With that, Trixie reached over and gave the hapless rogue a firm push. Wagon Thief tipped over, falling onto his side with a pitiful squeak. Then she was off, galloping at a steady trot down the cobblestone streets.
Trixie didn't cast so much as a brief glance over her shoulder while she raced away from the Mayor's house. The streets were almost entirely empty, with windows and doors closed and locked tight; a regular occurrence in bandit-plagued villages, especially when they heard explosions. After several minutes heading East through town Trixie stopped, looked around to check if anyone was watching, and then took a left turn onto a side street and headed North. While she supposed Wagon Thief was just cowardly enough to actually abide by their bargain even after he was safely out of harm's way, there was no reason to trust the rogue to misdirect any potential pursuers.
Besides, the North road was the quickest route to Ponyville. Trixie had always wanted to see a royal wedding.
"All right Havoc, now that ya've split enough wood to last us through Winter Wrap-up it's time ya learn some proper farmin'. Ah don't know if ya plan on stickin' around 'til the busy season, but if ya do yer gonna have to learn ta buck trees."
Ranma stood at the base of an apple tree, staring up into the branches and the collection of bright red fruits hanging under the leaves. Applejack and Big Macintosh stood behind him, the latter maintaining stoic silence while the former instructed him.
"The idea is simple: ya gotta kick the tree so that the apples fall down. The technique ain't simple. If ya just kick the tree as hard as ya can then you'll just hurt yerself and scuff the bark." Applejack nudged her head toward Big Mac. "Let Mac show ya how it's done. Then I'll run ya through it."
Big Mac trotted up next to the apple tree and then swung around. Applejack did a quick circuit around the work site, dropping baskets on the ground to form a loose ring. Mac glanced back at the tree for a long moment, and then turned away again.
His left rear leg struck the tree with a solid thump, and the entire tree quivered. The branches shook noticeably more than the rest of the body, dipping low before the fruits hanging on the ends broke loose and tumbled to the ground. Apples rained down from the tree, and the majority of them fell in the harvest baskets. One fruit dropped squarely on Mac's head, and by reflex he tilted his neck to bounce it into the nearest receptacle.
Applejack nodded in satisfaction, and then turned to her pigtailed tenant. "So, whatcha think?"
Ranma looked left and right at the baskets, and then stared up at the tree for a few seconds. Then he finally addressed Applejack. "What's Winter Wrap-up? Is that what I've been splitting firewood for?"
Applejack sighed, mildly annoyed that the question had nothing to do with the job at hand. "Winter Wrap-up is when we ponies all get together to clear out all the snow and whatnot and start spring. Y'know, to change the seasons."
"You... You do... what? That's not how the seasons change!" Ranma retorted, furrowing his brow.
"Havoc, Ah ain't gonna argue with ya about how the weather works," the farmer said firmly, scowling at her guest. "However they did it 'fore the world ended and ponykind took over, now the Princess controls the sun and us townsfolk change the seasons and the weather factory makes the rain. That's just how it is!"
Ranma ducked his head and he snorted. "I'm pretty sure that whoever controls the sun should control the seasons, too..."
"Then Ah guess the next time ya meet Princess Celestia ya can tell her that she's slackin' off. Ah don't care," Applejack said, picking up a basket and sliding it onto her back. "Fer now we're talkin' chores. Get a basket an' follow me."
Soon they had arranged the baskets around another apple tree. Ranma pushed his own baskets into place more or less at random under the apples hanging above, and he couldn't help but notice that the Apple siblings followed after him to nudge them over several inches. He didn't know what the difference was supposed to be, and the farmers didn't offer an explanation; Ranma guessed that optimal basket placement was just something that came with long experience.
"Now, then..." Applejack walked up to the apple tree and laid a hoof flat on the trunk. "If there's one thing yer plenty good at it's kickin' things, so Ah figger you'll be a natural at this." She raised her hoof higher and tapped the trunk. "The idea is, ya want the kick to push upward, and spread as much force as possible. Ya don't want the kick goin' down into the roots. Besides doin' nothin' to get the apples down, it's also bad fer the trees."
She turned around, spacing herself about half a leg's length from the tree. "The other trick to it is a little less... science-y. Ya gotta kick through the bark, into the core of the tree. The bark just eats up the power of the kick and breaks. It's the wood that carries it upward."
"You mean like, aim for a bald spot?" Ranma asked.
"That can help sometimes, although hittin' knots in the trunk usually spoils the kick. What Ah mean is ya gotta hit flat-on and drive the impact deep; don't let yer hoof spring off. There's a feel to it that you'll get used to, but it'll take a little practice."
Applejack suddenly lashed out with a back hoof, striking the apple tree lightly. A single branch on the opposite side of the tree started shaking, and a trio of apples tumbled down into a basket while leaving the entire rest of the foliage undisturbed. Ranma recoiled in surprise, genuinely impressed.
"Heh. Ah'm just showin' off, but it's the same kinda trick what Mac did." She trotted away to join her brother. "Give it a try."
Ranma walked up to the apple tree, staring at it thoughtfully. He walked around the side, then slapped a hoof lightly against the trunk. After a few seconds he walked further around it, and then gave it a little kick again. There was no obvious effect, but the Apples didn't expect any; they waited patiently for the martial artist to make a proper attempt at an applebuck.
"All right, here goes!" Ranma shouted suddenly, whipping around and jumping onto his front legs. His entire body flashed blue, and his legs lashed out like a bolt of lightning. "HI-YAH!"
The tree trunk barely trembled, but the branches started flailing wildly. The apples broke free in short order and start falling to the ground, although the farmer ponies noticed right away that they seemed to be flying far beyond the placement of the baskets.
"Ha! Got it on the first try!" Ranma smirked.
Then there was a tremendous crack, and the top half of the tree split open as if a massive, invisible axe had fallen atop it. Ranma's smirk vanished.
"Ah. Um... that... was a practice tree, right?" Ranma asked nervously, a droplet of sweat sliding down his head.
Big Mac shook his head silently. Applejack sighed and walked up to the martial artist, clapping a hoof onto his shoulder.
"This's why we all insist on calling ya Havoc, y'know."
Ranma's ears flipped down. "Sorry..."
"It wasn't a practice tree before, but it sure is now, so after ya fill up the apple baskets ya can work on yer technique a little more," Applejack allowed, stepping back to join her brother again. "If ya want some advice on yer kicking style, Ah'd say ya should drop that flashy blue magic thing."
"That's not magic! That's my battle aura!" Ranma said, looking proud again.
"Ah don't care what it is. Just quit gettin' it on mah trees," Applejack said firmly. "Yer fancy human whatsit is great fer knockin' out dragons, but you can take it easy applebuckin'. We clear?"
Ranma nodded silently, and Applejack offered a tired smile. "Then Ah'll leave ya to it fer now. When ya think yer ready to harvest a tree without tearin' it in half, then come get me and I'll find ya a good 'un."
The Apple siblings helped collect the harvested fruit in the baskets, and then departed with their bounty. Ranma was left with the badly damaged tree, left to puzzle out the secrets of magic pony farming. Applejack's technique wasn't especially daunting to him; Ranma was experienced with energy flows and impact diversion far more subtle and complex than what she had used to knock the apples loose. But the mechanics of a tree were different from a person, and all his practice as a human was harder to apply as a pony.
"Bah. The tree isn't going to be very much help for practice like this. I need a new one," Ranma grumbled, giving it a solid kick with his front leg. One half of the split trunk wobbled dangerously, and the cleft between the two halves deepened. "Or maybe... instead I could come up with some kind of training exercise... something a lot like this but without risking the tree..." he rubbed the back of a hoof against his chin.
He was puzzling over it for several minutes before the fur on his back stood on end. Ranma's ears perked up and a grimace crossed his face, but he didn't actually move or respond to the new presence until he heard it speak.
"Ah, I see you're learning the apple farming trade. And it's going just as well as I would have guessed! Ha ha ha!" Discord stuck his head through the split in the tree, grinning down at the stallion below. Ranma stared back up, unimpressed.
"You again," the martial artist grumbled, resisting the urge to give the tree another kick. "What's up, weirdo?"
"Now, now, let's not be rude." Discord pulled his head back out of the cleft. "I just thought you might like a little help, that's all!"
The draconequus reached down to the part of the trunk where the split began, pinching the bark just under the crack. Then he drew his hand up, like he was drawing a zipper closed. The apple tree duly came together along the split, the wood and bark sealing together so completely it was as if nothing had happened.
"There! Much better! Let's reload it, too." Discord pulled open a section of bark like it was the cover of a maintenance panel, revealing an array of buttons beneath. He pressed one and flipped the bark back into place, and then new apples suddenly swelled into existence on the tree's branches to replace those that had already fallen.
"... Okay, thanks," Ranma mumbled, pausing to rub his eyes. "Is that all you came here for?"
"Not quite," Discord said with a grin, leaning against the newly restored tree. "As my new best pony guy friend, I was just hoping you could do me an itsy-bitsy little favor!"
"Why... Why am I your 'new best pony guy friend?'" Ranma asked suspiciously. It wasn't that he had anything against Discord personally, even if the spirit of chaos had accidentally blown him up; Discord simply had an air of casual, subtle malevolence to him behind his outwardly cheery persona. It was something Ranma had learned to pick up on long ago when dealing with various unnaturally old and ridiculously powerful people that frequently meddled with his life.
"Well you can't be my best pony gal friend; that slot's taken," Discord explained, "but I've often wanted somepony around to talk to about cool, MANLY stuff!" He withdrew an iron barbell out of nowhere and started doing bicep curls as he spoke. "You know: Karate, explosions, the scouring of all human life from planet Earth, baseball, comic books, picking up mares at the wedding tomorrow, that sort of thing!"
Ranma grimaced. "You wanna talk about Earth?"
"Oh, dear no, that sounds terribly depressing. It was just an example." Discord chucked the barbell behind him. "But back to that favor: you may have heard there's a wedding tomorrow! I'm helping out, and I need an assistant. I'd ask Spike, but it turns out only Princesses get to ignore Equestrian child labor laws."
"A wedding? Tomorrow?" Ranma frowned. "Who's getting married? Anyone I know?"
"Oh, but it's a surprise!" Discord said with a wink.
"A... surprise WEDDING? There are surprise weddings here in ponyland?" Ranma asked incredulously.
"For all you know, YES!" Discord laughed. "So what do you say? Can you lend me a hoof?"
Ranma stared up at the grinning face of the draconequus. "... Is it me? Am I getting married?"
Discord's face darkened. Ranma kept staring at him suspiciously. Discord stared back, his eyes narrowing.
Then they both started laughing.
"HA HA HA! Married? You? That's ridiculous!" Discord bellowed. "You barely know anypony here! How would that even work?"
"Ha ha! Yeah! That is really silly, huh?" Ranma chuckled to himself, but also looked distinctly relieved. "Anyway, it sounds fun but I really have to finish working off this-"
"There will be catering, of course," Discord interrupted.
"I guess I can ask Jack for a day off, sure," Ranma quickly revised.
"You leave her to me!" Discord said, walking off toward the farmstead. "You'll need the whole day, so plan accordingly!"
"Really? Do pony weddings take that long?"
"No, but I have a VERY SPECIAL job for you!" Discord said, cackling to himself. "I'll see you tomorrow, Havoc! Ha ha haa! MWAA HAA HAA HAA HAAAAH!!"
The draconequus flew away toward the farmhouse, laughing the entire time in a decidedly unhinged manner. Ranma watched him go, and then glanced up at the newly repaired apple tree.
"Well, he's a total weirdo, but as long as he keeps fixing up Jack's trees for me he's all right in my book," Ranma said to himself while looking at the unblemished trunk approvingly. He tapped a hoof against the spot that Discord had opened and closed like a hinged panel, but as expected he found nothing there. "Well, whatever. Let's give it another try!"
With a wide grin Ranma hopped up into the air, turning 180 degrees and landing on his forelegs. Both of his legs lashed out to strike the trunk, but as Applejack suggested he reigned in his battle aura this time.
The trunk quivered more than it had before, and the bark cracked under the impact of his hooves. But when the apples started falling nothing else happened to the tree, and Ranma watched the fruit plummet to the ground with quiet satisfaction.
"Heh. Not quite perfect, but not bad for my second try," he said to himself, raising a hoof and catching one of the falling apples.
Ranma was going to take a bite, but paused when he noticed something small take off from the apple's surface and hover in front of him. It was a honeybee. An ordinary honeybee, buzzing in a confused orbit above the apple, in the same way any old Earth honeybee would.
This was hardly alarming by itself, but Ranma became increasingly aware of more buzzing coming from above, along with a series of thumping noises. Then a beehive dropped from the branches and landed in front of him, cracking open on impact. Ranma yelped and jumped backward as a swarm of angry honeybees flooded from the sundered nest, startled and more than a little confused.
"This is some kind of dumb magical prank, isn't it? There was definitely no beehive in the tree before," the martial artist grumbled before rearing up on his hind legs. "Whatever, come at me if you want. Just more practice for the old horse body!" Ranma boasted.
Five more beehives fell from the tree and crashed to the ground, releasing hundreds of new insects into the air.
"God DAMN it," Ranma sighed, turning around to flee.
"Knock knock! Anypony home?"
Applejack grimaced at hearing Discord's voice at the door and she looked up from where she was making lunch. "Oh, NOW what?"
Apple Bloom was sitting on a stool washing apples in the sink, and she instantly perked up when she heard something banging on the front door. "Ah'll get it!" She jumped down and scampered across the floor to the entrance.
The yellow filly cracked opened the front door, and then yelped as it was suddenly thrown open the rest of the way, sending her rolling across the floor.
"APPLE PONY!!" Discord said, grinning down at the youngest Apple sibling and spreading his arms wide as if for a hug. "Are you ready for the wedding?!"
Apple Bloom blinked up at him repeatedly, scrunching up her nose. "... Yer a nice monster, but Ah think we should just be friends."
Discord laughed, slapping his belly and walking past the young pony. He didn't get very far before Applejack stood in his path, staring up at the draconequus with a calm, if displeased, expression.
"What're ya here for, Discord? Ya know better'n to stop by just fer lunch."
"So cold, Applejack!" he replied, gripping his shoulders and shivering while his body turned blue and frosty. "This is an occasion for celebration! Love is in the air!"
The farmer's apparent mood didn't improve. "Can ya skip the sight gags and get on with it? Ah got chores to do."
"Oh, fine. Be that way." Discord straightened up and clasped his hands behind his back. "I'd like to formally extend an invitation to tomorrow's wedding!" He flicked his wrist, summoning a folded scrap of paper from nowhere and offering it to the orange mare.
"A weddin', huh? Is it fer you, or is this some kinda whacky show yer puttin' on as a big joke?" Applejack asked, cautiously taking the invitation.
"It's not my wedding, but it's not a joke, either! Not completely. Like 40% at most," Discord replied.
Applejack flipped the paper open and then read the contents aloud. "'Applejack, Element of Honesty: You are cordially invited to attend the most holy union of...' uh... didja mess up the line? There's a dark smudge over the names of the bride n' groom."
"It's a surprise wedding! You get to find out who the bride and groom are when you're there!" Discord said brightly.
"Yer makin' that up," Applejack said bluntly.
"Of course I am, but that's not the point," Discord replied. "Havoc agreed to help out putting the ceremony together. You can show up at the appointed time as a guest, but he'll need the whole day off."
Applejack frowned at the invitation, intensely suspicious. "...... Is it Havoc? Is he the groom?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Or the bride? Ah guess he could be either."
"Wasn't he a criminal until this week? When did he get a special somepony?" Apple Bloom asked.
Discord stopped smiling and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at Applejack. "Look, can I borrow the cursed indentured servant or not? I'm a very busy chaos spirit; I don't have time to sit around while you pick apart my plans."
"Ah gotta feelin' Ah'm gonna regret this," the orange pony huffed. "Fine, let's do this. Can't end worse than havin' half the Equestrian army rampagin' through mah fields."
"You're probably right!" Discord said with a wink, swiftly turning around and heading out the door. "See you tomorrow!" He didn't wait for any further response, his tail curling around the front doorknob and tugging it closed while he departed.
Once the door clicked shut, Apple Bloom bounced to her hooves. "There's gonna be a weddin'! Can Ah come?"
"Naw, you should stay home with Mac," Applejack advised.
"Awwww! Why?!"
"'Cuz there ain't nothin' about this that ain't sketchy as all get-out," Applejack snorted. "Ah don't want you gettin' in no trouble."
"But Havoc causes trouble all the time!" Apple Bloom complained. "Why does he get to go?"
"Honestly Ah should probably stop him from goin' too, but Ah don't think it'd work," Applejack grumbled. "Tell ya what: if everythin' is on the level and nothin' explodes, Ah'll make sure to bring ya back some cake. How's that sound?"
"Okay! Thanks, sis!"
"Yer welcome, Bloom," Applejack said with a smile. "Now go get Havoc, wouldja? It's almost lunch time."
Apple Bloom trotted over to the front door, and then paused. Her ear twitched, and then she turned to face the window. "Does anypony else hear screamin'?"
Applejack frowned, and then walked up to the window.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA," Ranma sprinted by the farmhouse, wailing in terror. A massive swarm of bees trailed after him, creating a fearsome buzz with the sound of their collective flight.
"Aw, horseapples," Applejack groaned and turned around. "MAC!! Get the hose! We got magic bees again!" She grabbed her hat from the counter and slipped it on, stomping toward the front door. "Bloom, make sure the first aid kit's ready when we get back, wouldja? Those stings're nasty."
Apple Bloom saluted solemnly as her sister charged out the front door, and a lone tear crawled down the filly's cheek.
Kamikazan tapped a claw against the obsidian pillow of his roost, the talon chipping deeper and deeper into the gleaming black slab in time with his rising irritation.
Blood Rite was out at the moment, apparently gathering "intelligence" for his asinine plot. That left Kamikazan alone to rest and brood, pondering on his immediate future and the chances that it would conclude with Celestia safely in his claws. His ruminations didn't leave him at ease.
Kamikazan found Rite's plans absurd and over-complicated, with far too much focus on evasion and the bizarre artifact that he trusted to bring his ridiculous endgame to fruition. It was one thing to overcome the Equestrian order itself; their magical power was formidable, but not overwhelming. To re-order the solar system was simply madness. And then there was Rite's... other goal.
"Breaking the bonds of destiny, peh! What a pitiful creature," Kamikazan sneered. He generally thought the equines were weak and feeble-minded for being subject to the compulsions of destiny, doomed to whatever fate that was grafted to their hind leg, but he didn't think it admirable to try to reshape the natural order of equinity through sheer magical force. Rite had bitten off far more than he could chew.
But then again, so had Kamikazan.
His own temper and arrogance had eventually set him against the very mare he sought to court, as well as needlessly making an enemy of a bizarrely powerful pony fighter. If he was to ever make Celestia his, the only way now was to seize her by force. Blood Rite had taken advantage of his misery and desperation and struck an alliance, but as the sorcerer's plot advanced the prince's confidence soured. Rite had confessed that the Equestrians would be able to track them now that he possessed his precious trinket, and yet he was still not ready to confront them! What was the fool waiting for?
A low hum rose over the cracked ground, diverting the mighty dragon from his fuming. His ally had returned.
Rite stepped out of the shimmering portal, his ears perked carefully. A pair of saddlebags lay over his cloak, stuffed near to bursting. Hanging from his neck, suspended by a chain, was a single tin box; it had the look of an amulet, but was obviously designed to obscure the centerpiece of the accessory rather than show it off.
Kamikazan approached the stallion, his vast bulk cracking the layers of rock underneath. Embers leaked from the corners of his mouth, which was a fairly unsubtle indicator that the dragon prince was annoyed. "Finally, you're back. Do we move now, or do you wish to waste another sunrise drawing little pictures on the rocks?"
Rite grimaced as he stepped down from the monolith that he used to form his gateways. "I see you're getting restless, your Highness. But the end of our struggle is in sight."
"In SIGHT! You don't say?" The great red serpent made a show of looking back and forth. "The ash storms must be obscuring it then, sorcerer! I do not see my future bride here; only the same bleak, lava-blasted doomscape that's been my prison for centuries!"
"All right, I get it. You're eager to head into the final phase. Great." Rite sighed and took off his saddlebags before lifting a flap with his magic. "As it so happens, I've found the perfect occasion for our assault. So perfect, honestly, that at first I feared it was some kind of lure for me!" He levitated a rolled-up newspaper out of his pack, chuckling to himself. "That concern seemed unlikely the more I read on the occasion. Of COURSE Havoc would end up as the other half of a royal wedding. Really, I shouldn't-"
The unicorn was bowled over by a sudden roar of fury, followed by a blast of hot wind that buffeted him against the ground. Kamikazan reared up, his eyes glowing and flames curling around his jaws.
"NEVER!! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!! HOW DARE THAT CRUDE, VIOLENT WRETCH LAY HIS HOOVES UPON MY PRINCESS!!" The ground started to shake around him, and puffs of dark smoke erupted from several large cracks in the rock surface. "A ROYAL WEDDING?! I WILL SCOUR ALL OF EQUESTRIA WITH FLAME BEFORE IT COMES TO PASS!!"
Rite stumbled backward with wide eyes, quickly summoning a shield to protect him from the flames surrounding the royal dragon. "Wait! Stop! Calm down! It's not what you think!"
Kamikazan snapped his head down, his eyes aglow with magical power. Fire washed over his scales in waves, and the tremors still hadn't stopped. "SPEAK, EQUINE," he commanded, his voice booming.
"Havoc isn't marrying Princess Celestia, he's marrying her sister! The cretin rescued her from me during one of my earlier attempts to complete my plan! Celestia is merely officiating the wedding! Look!" He levitated the newspaper up higher, wary of how the pages were starting to darken from the surrounding heat.
Kamikazan stared, and his aura slowly dissipated. The ground stopped shaking, and his eyes returned to their usual dark gold while he squinted at the font printed for creatures a fraction of his size. "...... Celess has a sister?" he mumbled.
"Yes." Rite stood up straight, smoothing out his cloak and grumbling. "I suppose it's no great surprise you didn't know; she'd been banished for a millennium. I don't know if you'd even been born yet." He snorted. "The Princess of the Sun can be quite... harsh in her approach to incarceration. I suppose I should count myself lucky."
Kamikazan kept staring at the paper, pinching it delicately between his claws and bringing it closer. "... Princess... Luna is it? She's... She's beautiful."
Rite's expression fell, and he arched an eyebrow while looking up at the dragon wordlessly.
"... Ahem! But indeed, it would seem the wretch isn't marrying Celess after all. Good!" Kamikazan raised his head and flicked the paper away, attempting to look aloft and dignified after his outburst. "So then, what is your plan?"
"The wedding is taking place in Ponyville and is expected to be lightly attended for what one would expect for a royal marriage. Assuming the details in the paper are true, it means we have a few hours in which Princess Celestia will be vulnerable outside of her capital. We probably won't have to deal with too many guards, but of course there are... other obstacles," Rite admitted.
"The bride and groom," Kamikazan rumbled.
"Yes. I estimate my weapon should be able to handle them all, but if they should hold it off even briefly Princess Celestia may be able to escape. I won't be able to pursue her very far," Rite explained.
"Really? What use is your weapon if she can simply fly away or teleport?" Kamikazan growled.
"I have countermeasures for that, but even my magic and planning can only account for so many outcomes. And not all the complications will be magical in nature... I can only imagine how upset that pigtailed brute will be at having his marriage interrupted."
"... Will he be upset?" the dragon mumbled. "He's an odd one. He seemed uninterested in a fight when I challenged him for the artifact, but then flew into an enraged frenzy because I burned some stupid wagon."
"Us ponies can be fickle creatures, your Highness. Our reactions to certain threats are not always..." At this the sorcerer paused, his eyes narrowing. "... Proportionate. Nonetheless, the plan is set. All that you need to do now is give yourself to the artifact."
Blood Rite sat down and tapped both sides of the box around his neck between his hooves. The box cracked open, and then a gemstone fell out only to be scooped up on a cloud of misty white magic. Kamikazan's eyes narrowed at the MacGuffin Stone. The jewel started to glow, and then it flipped around in the air to face the mighty dragon.
"So this is it, then? I'm to be trapped in this... thing until you deign to release me?" Kamikazan growled. "And you REALLY think this weapon of yours will be enough?"
"Your Highness, please, let's not start doubting now," Rite chided. "We will never get a better chance than this. You could have spread your wings and flown away at any time rather than waiting for my preparations, yet here you are, staring into the eye of the unfathomable." His dry lips twisted into a smirk. "Was it curiosity? Desperation? Vengeance? Or was it love that brought you this far?"
"It was love," Kamikazan answered immediately. "... Maybe SOME vengeance. Mostly love."
"This means so much more to me than love or revenge," Rite said, his voice increasingly sharp. "I will free my people from the shackles of fate and the sun from the grasp of Equestria's royal order. It is all I want; all I have dreamed of since leaving that wretched castle. But if it's love you're after, your Highness, then I have to ask that love be enough."
"And vengeance. Don't forget that part," the dragon grumbled. "Upon my emergence I expect to claim Celess, unharmed, and the pigtailed fool, dead and burned."
"Would horribly maimed be enough?" Rite asked with a sigh. "Honestly, I expect I'll have to kill him over the course of the attack just to achieve my objectives, but he's proven very hard to finish off. Besides, wouldn't you rather end him yourself?"
Kamikazan raised a claw to his chin. "Hmmm... Now that you mention it..." Then he grimaced, remembering the previous occasions of hooves crashing against his skull. "No. Not enough! I want him dead and gone by the time you release me!"
"... Very well. If that is your price, then I shall pay it," Rite said, bowing his head. The MacGuffin Stone rose upward, floating through the air toward the dragon.
"Good. So... what am I supposed to do now?" Kamikazan plucked the gem out of the air, holding it between his claws. "Do you cast a spell, or... huh?!" the dragon prince recoiled, and the jewel started to glow.
"Yes, so, the trigger for this process is just touching it," Rite explained with a polite cough. "It will be fine, your Highness. You'll probably feel your magic energy being drawn into the gem. That's normal, probably."
"Guh! This... This HURTS!" the dragon clenched his teeth, and his eyes flashed. "You didn't say it was going to hurt!"
"Pain is an illusion of the mind, your Highness," Rite lectured. "Banish your fears and doubts, Lord Kamikazan. Victory is at hoof. By the time you leave the confines of the MacGuffin Stone ALL our dreams shall be realized!"
"Unless you lose," spat the dragon, wrapping his claws fully around the gemstone.
"What did I say about fears and doubts?" Rite's horn flashed, and light pulsed in his eyes at the same time. "There's no going back, your Highness. For either of us."
Kamikazan groaned, and a deep rumble filled the air as his body began to break apart. It didn't feel quite like a magical disintegration - another painful experience he had been unlucky enough to endure in the past - but was also distinctly more forceful than a teleportation spell. His senses faded into empty noise, and his vision went dark.
Blood Rite watched as the mighty red dragon dematerialized, coming apart into motes of light and flooding into the MacGuffin Stone. The gem pulsed lightly, and then plummeted to the ground. The sorcerer again caught it with his levitation magic, and it stopped falling to float on a pillowy cloud of sparkling light.
Rite stared at it briefly, tilting it from side to side and studying it. The jewel had a slight red tint to it now, visible only when the facets caught the light at a precise angle. Less obviously, Blood Rite felt new magical strength suffusing the gem. It felt different than before, when Twilight Sparkle had been imprisoned within. More tumultuous and violent. Mana wasn't supposed to have a "feel" to it, much less a mood, but this energy did anyway.
"I wish I had taken the opportunity to study the artifact in more detail before," Rite mumbled to himself as he walked toward the cavern where he had made his makeshift laboratory. "There's still so much we don't know about this gem. So many capabilities shrouded in mystery and rumor. But it will have to be enough."
He trotted inside, past the gaping mouth and over the scattered scraps of obsidian stone. The MacGuffin stone floated along behind him, swinging slowly from one side to the other, like it was weaving through a mysterious wind current. Off to one side of the cave lay a pile of large stones: rough-cut marble in varying shapes and sizes, all of them with extensive runic glyph carvings cut into the surfaces. The decorated rock filled the greater part of the cavern, carefully arranged and spread out across the floor.
"Once again, I hold the future of Equestria in my hooves," the sorcerer said to himself, approaching a particularly large, central stone. "The sun. The throne. The destiny of the equine race. Such incredible power wrought into the very fabric of magic itself. The pillars of this world."
A square-shaped slot was drilled in the top of the construct, and Blood Rite floated the MacGuffin Stone up over it.
"There's no going back now." The gem fell into the hole.
For a long minute, nothing happened. Rite sat in front of the rock, his brow creased.
The boulder shuddered.
"It works... It really works..." Rite mumbled in awe, releasing a breath he didn't realize he was holding. The runes carved into the stone started to fill with light, as if some luminescent liquid was slowly being squeezed into the furrows. "I... I had expected this, and all the other functions of the MacGuffin Stone operated more or less as I had predicted, but still... the research was so theoretical, so... untested. I can scarcely believe it!"
He shook his head to clear it. "Settle down, Rite. You're not done yet. Not by a long shot. This isn't even the most difficult technical challenge ahead."
Arcs of multicolored lightning started to spark from the main boulder, jumping to the other rocks scattered about the cavern. The runes carved into those pieces began to glow as well, and they started to quiver on the ground.
"First, tests. I must make sure everything is working as expected. Then the shielding wards! I couldn't add them before, but now that there's a proper mana core to-"
Rite's rambling stopped when a light turned on behind him, brightening the cavern interior considerably and casting the unicorn's shadow across the hunks of carved marble. He blinked, and then twisted his head around. A magic symbol drawn on the wall of the cave in chalk was surrounded by a pulsing, near-blinding light aura. Rite spent several seconds staring, and then much of the blood drained from his face. That was the alarm response from one of his magical sentries. Something was approaching.
"No. No, please, not now... is he... already here?"
Rite stumbled over to a rickety table with a cracked glass orb sitting in the middle, his horn lighting up with desperate fervor. The sphere quivered and flashed, and swirls of color started spinning up within. The sorcerer placed his hooves on either side of the orb, his eyes narrowing while he searched the magical fog.
His horn pulsed, and the colors stopped moving and then shifted in new, stomach-churning patterns. Tiny scraps of what appeared to be colored gas formed vaguely discrete images, mostly in the form of dark rocks and lava flows. Some of the magical shroud seeped out of the crystal ball entirely, squeezing out of the cracks and rising into the air. Despite the poor resolution and the damage to the orb, eventually Rite caught sight of movement in the scrying image. His horn pulsed again, and the image broke apart into colored gas again before reforming into larger, clearer shapes.
"... Princess Sparkle?" Rite mumbled to himself. "And... is that a pegasus hunter squad?"
The sorcerer peered closer at the image, his thoughts racing. Having the Equestrian military, apparently aided by a Princess, was not the kind of threat he had been expecting at this late hour. Arguably, they were far more dangerous than Havoc; a single pony could always be diverted more easily and Havoc in particular could be disabled with a single spell if he was unlucky. Twilight Sparkle, was, of course, extremely dangerous on her own as a clever spellcaster, and if he wasn't mistaken the pegasus in the lead of the formation was some kind of big-shot General.
Still, he couldn't help but feel great relief that none of the winged equines had a bright red mane.
"Sparkle must be leading them. Blast! She must have figured out the MacGuffin sense after all! Another reason why I wish she'd never gotten involved."
Rite looked over the rocks arrayed on the side of the cavern. The large central piece was floating now, and the other pieces were slowly being drawn up into the air as the runic markings pulsed with magic energy. The enchantment process wasn't all that slow, all things considered, but it took long enough that the soldiers would definitely find him before it was complete. And Twilight Sparkle, being able to tell where the MacGuffin Stone was, would definitely be able to interrupt the process.
This would not do.
"I'm actually tempted to just hurl the dragon at them, but I don't think the good Prince would be willing to cooperate any further after that," Rite growled, extending his magic toward the boulder again. "I have to relocate. But they're almost here! Blast, blast, blast it all!"
He began to levitate the MacGuffin Stone up and out of the construct, and the light that filled the various grooves and pits within the runic carvings rapidly dimmed to nothing. The artifact floated out of the repository slot, and a frosty-looking mist poured off of it while electric sparks lashed out from the edges.
"I'm SO CLOSE. I will not be denied now! Not by Sparkle, not by anypony!"
"So this is Flamehearst, is it? Just a random volcanic wasteland in the middle of an otherwise temperate region?"
General Wrath slowed her airspeed slightly while she surveyed the terrain below her unit. The entire ground was an utterly hostile carpet of jagged, dusty black rock. Blades of glassy obsidian jutted out of massive shale boulders, pockets of lava veins vomited smoke into the air, and even the most inviting patches of ground were too rough to easily navigate by hoof.
"I'm not sure it's 'random' exactly, but yes. That's what we're looking at," Twilight Sparkle confirmed, soaring above the soldiers. "I don't think these formations are normal. There's definitely an ambient magical effect altering the elemental composition here."
"Normal or not, I can see why a lone instigator would make his home here. It's well within Equestrian territory but the ground is almost impenetrable to hoof patrols and even most monsters. Hay, with all the smoke and hiding places down there I wouldn't bother with aerial patrols either," Wrath admitted.
"Only a strong command of teleportation magic would make it feasible for a unicorn to live here. And even then I think most would be completely miserable. We can't exactly rule out that living in this searing wasteland for years contributed more to his desire for revenge than Princess Celestia or his cutie mark," Twilight quipped.
"I suppose we could just take some extra time to sit down and listen to the traitor's life story after we safely and gently defeat him in deadly combat," Wrath said bitterly. "Perhaps read his memoirs while we're at it?"
"General, you should feel free to gripe about Princess Celestia's orders to me all you want, but I hope that when the time comes you'll do as she asked," Twilight said. After a pause, she added, "Also if we actually DO find any of his journals that would be extremely valuable and we should definitely recover them."
"As you wish, Princess," Wrath said solemnly, her eyes narrowing at something in the distance. "Wait... what's that?"
Twilight needed to search a little longer to find what the pegasus was referring to, as her eyes weren't quite as keen as the soldier's. A speck of color was barely visible through a column of smoke ahead of the squad, and she certainly would have missed it if Wrath hadn't said anything. The Equestrians soared through the column, and then Twilight's eyes widened.
"That's it! A magic gateway!" she said excitedly. "We're here!" After a few seconds, her expression darkened. "Wait... it's already active!"
"The gate is open? He's using it now?" Wrath asked.
"Yes!"
"DOUBLE SPEED!! LET'S SOAR, PONIES!!" Wrath's orders boomed through the sky like a thunderclap, and before Twilight knew what was happening the pegasi were rocketing ahead of her. She wasn't even sure how they had accelerated so quickly, which didn't bode well for her possibility of catching up.
Twilight started beating her wings faster, speeding up as best she could, and then she closed her eyes, turning her thoughts to the MacGuffin Stone. The strange beacon in her thoughts appeared, and her heart sank. The direction was far off their current heading, completely different than it was when she had last checked a few minutes ago. Had it already gone through the portal?
A sizzling whistle came from the sky ahead of her, and Twilight opened her eyes just in time to see a tremendous burst of magical light erupt in the middle of the pegasus formation. Bright rays of force shot in every direction, like shrapnel from a grenade, and even those soldiers who weren't struck flinched away from the flash and noise. Three of them started to fall out of the air, stunned, and the Princess gasped.
"Oh no! Hang on, I'll save you!" Twilight teleported, crossing the distance with magic that she couldn't cover with her wings. As soon as she rematerialized, however, she was almost knocked out of the air when Wrath dove past her.
"GET IT TOGETHER AND GET ALOFT, PONIES!!" the General roared, catching one of the stunned soldiers in mid-air and stopping his death dive. The other members of the squad were likewise helping their stunned companions, catching them before their descents turned fatal. "HE KNOWS WE'RE HERE!! SPARKLE, GET DOWN THERE AND KEEP HIM BUSY!!"
"R-Right! On it!" Twilight tilted toward the ground, her eyes narrowing.
Down below, on an obsidian plateau rising from the wasteland of blackened rock, was a monolith supporting a swirling blue portal. In front of the gateway, as expected, was Blood Rite.
Unexpectedly, the sorcerer was not charging another volley of magical energy to swat his enemies out of the sky. Twilight was preparing to teleport again to evade an incoming attack, but instead the stallion seemed to be hurling large rocks into the portal using both his hooves and telekinesis. She didn't know what to make of it at first, but after a moment the young Princess decided it didn't matter. She switched her magic focus and fired an attack spell, sending a purple lance of magical power straight for the rebel.
Rite heard the spell discharge and his eyes bulged as he glanced up at the sky. With a surge of desperate effort, the boulder he was currently levitating lifted higher into the air, and the bolt of purple energy stabbed into it. The sheer force cracked the surface and punched halfway into the stone before tearing it out of Rite's magical grip. The boulder went flying into the portal, trailing wisps of violet hoarfrost behind it.
The sorcerer seemed shocked by the intensity of the assault at first, to say nothing of his cargo being launched to its destination by sheer chance. He recovered quickly, and as Twilight approached closer his own magic started to wind its way through his horn. "Princess, hello! We really must stop meeting like this!"
A lightning bolt erupted from his horn, but Twilight had enough time to shield herself from the blast. The energy cracked against the barrier, and hot-white ribbons writhed over the glimmering purple screen. "Surrender the MacGuffin Stone and it will be the last time, I promise! You can't hide from me!"
"If you can sense the artifact then you already know it isn't here." Rite kicked a boulder behind him, sending it rolling into the portal. Twilight didn't get a very good look at it, but once it vanished into the shimmering gateway there was only one more of the strange objects left. It was as big as a young pony itself and covered in magic symbols, but Twilight couldn't imagine what it was supposed to be.
"The MacGuffin is important... but not as important as you." Twilight's eyes flashed with power, and she spread her wings wide. "You can't escape!"
A thunderous boom came from behind the Princess, and a bolt of lightning streaked past her toward the ground. Rite was already preparing a spell, and when the lightning bolt struck the stallion released a whinny of pain and fury that somehow rose above the thunder. He reared up, his horn pointing toward the sky.
Twilight yelped as a massive column of crimson light appeared in front of her, and she was blown back as a shock wave pulsed through the air. Several pegasus soldiers that were making an attack run were likewise knocked off-course, although they handled this disruption much better than the last magic attack. A huge cloud of black dust billowed up from the ground as igneous rock was crushed and swept up into the stream of energy, and an unearthly screech filled the Equestrians' ears.
Twilight wasn't able to place the magic type or the exact mechanics of the spell in the time before it seemed to run its course, and after a few seconds the column narrowed to a thread, and then winked out. She stabilized her flight again, and then looked around to check on the soldiers.
"Is everypony okay? Did anypony actually touch that magic pillar?" she asked.
"We're fine! SOLDIERS, CLEAR THAT DUST CLOUD!!" Wrath commanded, pointing a hoof at the ground.
She started flapping her wings more slowly and with greater strength, her body dipping slightly and then bouncing back up into the air with every beat. The other pegasi started doing the same thing, all of them synchronizing their timing almost perfectly.
It looked like a rather inefficient exercise to Twilight, but after a few seconds there was a substantial rush of air blowing away the dust cloud. Her horn lit up again, and she once again prepared to unleash her magic the moment she caught sight of the cloaked stallion.
The magic faded when she failed to spot her target. When enough of the volcanic dust was swept away that she could clearly see the teleportation monolith, Twilight cried out in frustration. The portal was gone, and so was Blood Rite. The last of the strange rocks he had been moving was gone too.
"Blast! Did he get through the gate?" Wrath asked.
"I think so! It's possible he's trying to hide around here, but I doubt it!" Twilight flew down to the teleportation monolith, landing right in front of the structure.
"Spread out! Search every nook and crevice of this place out to one hundred meters!" Wrath called to her squad. "Don't stray too far from each other, though! If he ambushes somepony we need to be close enough to help!" Then the general landed behind Twilight. "Can you sense him? Or, the rock, I suppose?"
"Yes. Northwest. But that isn't very helpful to us. The artifact was already through the gate when we found Rite." Twilight walked up to the monolith and placed her forelegs against it, standing up in front of the magical construct. "I think I have a different solution, though."
Her horn lit up again, and this time magic started flooding into the glyphs carved into the monolith. "I've been brushing up on static-pattern spell tethers! If I can track the mana resonance before it fades, I can rebuild the spell construct within the runic grid and regenerate an identical pattern!"
Wrath blinked repeatedly. "Uh... well, you kind of lost me after 'static.' But if you think it would help, then go ahead."
Twilight shouted something incoherent, and purple light flooded from her horn into the monolith. It seemed to seep into the carved patterns at random, sometimes clinging to the stone and sometimes bleeding off into colored vapor. Where the magic stuck, more energy seemed to be drawn into it and it expanded outwards, filling nearby runes with a violet glow. This continued for several seconds, with Twilight's expression growing more intense while her brow furrowed.
"Okay... almost there... I think I've got it..." droplets of sweat crawled down the sides of her head as the mana flow intensified, and she started to feel a painful throbbing in her horn. This was an extremely intensive and inefficient way to use a magic spell, and the gateway was not a simple pattern at all. Still, it was her only idea for following the sorcerer, and if she let her concentration slip now then she wouldn't be able to try it again.
"Yes! I've broken through!" The monolith was consumed by purple light, and then a small floating circle of bright blue started opening up in the air in front of her.
Then, after a few seconds, the circle rippled and vanished.
Twilight recoiled, blinking in shock. Her magic still clung to the construct, and the runes flickered softly in an activated state. But the pattern was broken. The spell didn't work.
"... What happened? Why did you stop?" Wrath asked.
"I didn't! Something else is wrong! The gate was starting to open!" Twilight complained. "The monolith is still active, it's just... not doing anything!"
"Why?"
Twilight paused to calm herself and tamp down her frustration. "If everything is working on this end, the interference must be from the other side. He must have shut down the other gate somehow when he saw the portal was opening again!"
Wrath snarled, and a few electric arcs crackled around her greaves. "So what do we do? Where is he?!"
Twilight's horn pulsed, still thrumming with magic. More droplets of sweat crawled down her brow. Possibilities bubbled up in her thoughts; spells, principles of energy, and magic theory collected over a lifetime of study and years of hard experience. The runes in the monolith shined with equal intensity, weaving a bridge through space and time that led precisely nowhere.
Her horn dimmed. The magic drained from the grooves carved in the stone. The gentle, reverberating hum that enveloped the monolith stopped.
"... Northwest. That way." She stretched out a wing, pointing away from the gateway construct.
Wrath twisted her head about to look where the Princess was pointing. "... So he got away, then?"
"He did," Twilight admitted, her ears flipping down. "I'm sorry. If... I'd just used the right spell, or... uh..."
"Ponyfeathers," Wrath seethed, spitting the words through clenched teeth. Then her ears also pinned back. "It's not your fault, Princess Sparkle. You did far better just now than me and my team. If we hadn't been taken by surprise or had resisted that opening barrage better than we could have cut off his escape." The pegasus turned to glare at the armored ponies around her, and they shrunk back nervously.
Twilight turned around and pointed a hoof toward a cavern sitting under a series of interlocking igneous spires. "We can investigate his cavern here. It's probably where he's been living. Maybe it will help us figure out what he's up to, but every hour we spend studying it is an hour we lose trying to catch up to his new location."
"Check the site for traps," Wrath ordered a trio of soldiers, nudging her head toward the cave. "You decide how much time you need, Princess. No matter what, we won't be getting back to the barracks tonight anyway."
"Right." Twilight watched the stallions trot toward the mouth of the cavern, and then glanced back at the monolith.
"... Do you think he can pull off whatever he's trying to do?" Wrath asked after a tense pause.
"...... I think it's possible, yes. He was bringing... something with him. He was successful. I think he has what he needs for his plans."
"And all we know about his plans is that he intends to dethrone Princess Celestia?"
"We know that he intends to dethrone Princess Celestia AND needs an incredibly powerful magic source to do so. I also speculate, based on his alliance with Kamikazan, that Blood Rite doesn't intend to seriously harm her."
"If you think THAT is going to reassure me..." Wrath started to say, her eyes narrowing.
"No, of course not," Twilight sighed, pausing to shake her head and get some of the ash out of her mane. "I just wish I knew exactly what he was trying to do. All I know is that it requires a LOT of magic. Way more magic than you'd need just for a battle."
Wrath huffed angrily and turned toward the cave. "Well, let's ransack this hole and get a move on. I want another shot at that mule!" She stamped one of her greaves on the ground, and a crackling spark ran up the side of her leg.
Blood Rite gasped for air, his legs quivering under him while the light from his horn dimmed. The energy was bright crimson, and it seemed to cling to his horn like a film rather than the magical aura that he and most other unicorns were used to. In front of him was the shattered rubble that remained of his teleport monolith. Behind him was the more orderly rubble that he had desperately moved through the gateway before Twilight could stop him.
Rite's rear legs gave out, and he fell backwards onto his bottom while sweat rolled down his neck. When the monolith had lit up again and another portal appeared, he had panicked. The constructs were large structures, with the mass of a fairly large tree and a network of protective spells besides, and destroying one had not been a simple matter. The sorcerer's heart thumped hard in his chest, but each beat came slowly and heavily, as if the organ was struggling.
"This... This is it, then. The end of the line. I can't even go home anymore," he whispered to himself. His hoof quivered as he brought it to the tin box hanging against his chest. A shimmering, nearly invisible wave of mana pulsed from the container at his touch, suffusing his body with raw, arcane power. Yet he felt no comfort from the energies.
Rite turned his head to look over his surroundings. It was a clearing surrounded by forestland, with a small tent nearby and a burnt-out fire pit. No supplies, but a reasonably safe area to rest, at least. This was the same monolith he had used for his expedition into the lost ruins within the Everfree forest. The monolith closest to the Equestrian capital. And his only viable staging point for an attack on Ponyville.
"I have perhaps a full day before somepony of the Equestrian royal order tracks me down. Probably less. All my plans, my alliances, and all my preparations have come to this. I'm ready... I must be! There are no other options now!"
He turned toward the pile of rune-carved stones. "Now, then... preparations... we have so much to do, and even less time than I thought..." |
Equestria Handyman | pre | "Good morning Mark. Hope you don't mind if I help myself. After last night and remembering how I still owe you a blowjob I simply couldn't resist." Giving his dick a kiss she crawls up until they were face to face "Last night you were fantastic Mark! By Celestia's mane do you have stamina" She says impressed while laying on top of him.
Chuckling with some embarrassment he places his hand on her back and looked away "Thanks, Bon Bon wasn't kidding either your tongue is surprisingly long...and malleable. That was incredible."
"Thank you, glad to hear it. You more than earned it, after last night. By Celestia,I thought we would be the ones that would rock your world with your first threesome but wow, you really know how to screw a mares brains out."
He chuckled in embarrassment "I might have gotten carried away a little, you two are simply gorgeous and when you told me not to hold back, well I just couldn't resist trying my best. I just hope it worked, and soon you two will be proud mommies."
"Aww thank you Mark. I really hope it does too, but only time will tell" She looks at him with bedroom eyes "And we might need to have more tries just to make sure."
"You can count on me" He nods in determination before looking around "And where is Bon Bon by the way?"
"Probably in the kitchen. She often likes to prepare big dishes after sex, especially during this time of the month" Lyra answer casually
"...you are kidding"
"Nope, it's kind of our thing. She likes to cook while I like to write songs, we really wear our passions on our sleeves, while in this kind of bliss"
"But I'm not seeing..." Before Mark could say anything she points to her night stand and he could see a tower of papers that weren't there before next to a bottle of ink and a feather "...ah."
"Yep, get ready Mark, today we feast like rulers."
All of the sudden they both hear Bon Bon scream making him stand up and look at the front door were moments later the mare in question wearing a pair of pink pantis and a simple old semi transparent white t-shirt that show how she wasn't wearing any bra, marches in with a giant grin on her face and a pregnancy test on her hand "It work! Lyra it worked!" She dashes to bed and doesn't waste time in showing the probe showing the result "The bun is in the oven, which means it is in yours too, we are gonna be mommies!"
Gasping in surprise and then happiness Lyra can't help but to yell in happiness as well and hug their partner as they stand up and start jumping up and down in complete glee, tears starting to form on both of their eyes.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I can't wait, please Celestia let me know...know I...bathroom!" Holding her mouth Lyra rushed out of the room and into the bathroom starting to feel the morning sickness causing Bon Bon to cheer once more knowing what that meant.
"Well...I suppose that confirms it" Mark says sitting down and grabs his boxers "Congratulations you two, welcome to parent...UPHM!" Tackling him into the bed Bon Bon gives mark a big slow kiss on the mouth using her tongue and sucking repeatedly for a solid minute before breaking the kiss. "Oh Mark, thank you so much! How would we ever repay you?!" She says with tears in her eyes as she smushes his face in between her perky breast causing him to blush real hard.
"Ah...eh, invite me for breakfast and hire some help at your store?" He replies thinking the first thing that comes to his mind.
"Done!" She agrees without missing a beat letting him go and walking through the door. "And please feel free to take a shower before leaving, I insist" She suggests leaving with more sway in her hips giving him a clear view of her rump as she departs.
"Ah ok" He finally replied semi in trance by her butt and confused at the offer but decided to comply as he prepared to get dressed once more.
"Lyra! Brush your teeths twice before you do it!" Bon Bon calls as she heads for the kitchen.
"Got it!" Her wife replies leaving the confused human in the hallway.
"Do what?" His question is immediately answered as like what happen with Bon Bon, Lyra suddenly tackles him into the ground as well and proceed to kiss him repeatedly ending in one long kiss treatment to make him stand to attention once more, especially in how Lyra was still pretty much naked and she was firmly pressing her body against his. "You are so not leaving, empty handed stud!" Lyra proclaims biting the air and winking before standing up and going to her room most likely to get changed.
Blinking a couple of times the human can only stare at the door for a moment before standing up and deciding that he better take Bon Bon's offer and take care of his boner before anything else happens.
Letting the hot water wash away the soreness in his muscles Mark let go a sigh of relaxation as he closed his eyes, enjoying his moment of peace and letting himself have some small degree of pride for a job well done, in more than one way. On his way to the girls house he wasn't completely sure how things would develop or what exactly he was supposed to do once the deed was done. He sure didn't want to make anything awkward or feel like he was messing with what otherwise would be a joyful moment between those two, so seeing how none of that happen and instead both Lyra and Bon seem REEEEALLY thankful for him, he couldn't help but smile washing the shampo off his face in time to hear the bathroom door open and closing behind.
Startled, he turned around only to find Bon Bon butt naked once more entering the batube looking at him with bedroom eyes all of the sudden. "Hello handsome."
"B...B...Bon Bon? Wha...why are you...?" The mare silenced him by placing one of her fingers on his mouth and pressing her chest against him "Just thought of helping you clean up. After receiving such wonderful news, I have gotten in a celebrating mood" Pressing her puss against his crotch she starts to girate her hips, never breaking eye contact. "Care for one last dance big boy?"
"B...But why? What about Lyra, I thought...?" She silenced him once more "What did I tell you about holding back? Don't think to much about it and enjoy it Marky, consider it a farewell fuck for the road, and as for my wife." She gets closer to his ear. "Who's idea do you think it was?"
If his dick wasn't rock hard before, it sure was now after that revelation. "S...So Lyra also wants...?"
Chuckling Bon Bon shook her head "No, Lyra had already had more than her fill and didn't want to give you the wrong idea with so much attention, while I on the other hand..." Letting go of him she turned around and bent over against the wall before looking back at him and using one hand spread one of her butt cheeks to give him a clear view of her black star."...I always wanted to try this, and Lyra never was for anal. So what do you say dude? Will you help me with one last fantasy before you go? I will let you play with the girls" She adds with a shake of her hips
"W...well I don't mind helping you with this too, as long as Lyra is ok with it." Mark agrees, approaching her and grabbing both of her flanks. "Oh she doesn't, don't worry about it." Bon Bon tells moaning in anticipation, as she could feel his dick rubbing against her labia rubbing it up as preparing before he line it up to her ring.
"Have you ever done this before?" He whispers into her ear getting a firm grip on her flank as she shakes her head slowly.
"Got it, in that case let start slow and delicate, I don't want to hurt you"
She nods vigorously as he slowly starts to enter and spread her inside, making her hold a gasp at the new intrusion "Especially now that you are a mommy." Mark could feel her whole body shiver the second he utters those words as all of the sudden she bucks backward putting all of his dick inside her anus.
"Oh Celestia help me, it feels even better than any of my toys! Say it again" She tells with hearts forming in her eyes.
"What?" That is all Mark can say at the sudden change in personality
"Say I'm a mommy, say I'm a good mom"
Understanding what was happening he nods and smiles, grabbing her breasts and starts playing with them as he starts to insert his dick into her over and over again.
"You are a good mommy."
"Yes!" He presses her against the glass door, while continuing to fuck her like a jackhammer.
"You are gonna be a great mommy!"
"Yes!" She yells as her vision starts to get blurry.
"You are such a naughty mommy."
"Yes...yes I'm! I'm a naughty mommy that likes it rough in the ass! Fuck me Mark! Fuck me like the slutty mommy that I am."
Their session continued for a while until her climax finally erupted and Mark shot one last load inside of her, holding her close while Bon Bon rode her orgasm out with a dopey smile.
Afterwards and after having a proper shower the two exited the bathroom and had breakfast with Lyra who was waiting for the two of them with a big smile and then gave him a bag the size of a trash bag full of bits ready to give to Mark.
"Dear god, this is...Lyra it is too much I couldn't..."
"Yes you can and will Mark. Trust me you earned and deserve every single bit" Lyra glares at him with finality making him know that he will take the money one way or another.
Saying their goodbyes, they part ways with the human waving at the happy couple, who reciprocate the action while hugging each other and promising him an invitation to their baby shower and to please keep it a secret until their announcement, which he was more than happy to oblige.
Once gone Bon Bon closes the door and stretches.
"By the stars what a night! That Mark fella really knows his way around a mare."
"Oh you can say that again dear" Lyra agrees plopping herself into a nearby couch in slight exhaustion "Now THAT is a friend, we should do something for him."
"Having a threesome, and that bag of bits wasn't more than enough?" Bon Bon looked at her partner with a raised eyebrow.
"Not like that, I mean he is a nice stud. And I feel a bit sad knowing he hasn't formed a nice herd yet, and yes Bon Bon I say herd, no mare could ever be able to handle that kind of beast alone."
Bon Bon chuckles and simply nods remembering how it felt during their shower session.
"So I thought maybe we could help him out with that, he probably doesn't even know how courtship works here in Equestria so maybe, we could teach him about it, and set up a blind date?"
Chuckling Bon Bon shook her head "Oh Lyra you helpless romantic, ok you peaked my interest what do you have in mind honey?" She ask her with a raise eyebrow
"Well the first thing would be to find a good alpha mare, tell me Bonny, is your cousin still single?" Lyra asks with a smirk and a raised eyebrow of her own. |
Equestria Handyman | Past Repercursions (Part 1)[Edited By NagaShark] | Three years ago
The tension kept building up as Celestia continued glaring daggers at Mark while he just looked around nervously sitting in her office and feeling like a student that was just sent to the principal's office after doing something really bad. Something that could potentially mean expulsion if he didn't come up with a compelling argument.
After what felt like an eternity with the clicking sound of a clock nearby the princess of the sun finally broke the silence with a sigh as she looked down in disappointment. "Mr. Stars" He flinched at how she was using honorifics.
Oh boy using my given title? This is bad, this is really bad.
"Do you know exactly why I called you here?" She questioned him with a raised eyebrow.
"I...I was told you wanted to tell me something about...Twilight" She cleared her throat in annoyance.
"Ah...!" Princess Sparkle's decision to reject being your successor, but I thought you and Luna were ok with..."
Celestia stopped him by raising her hand "Precisely, that is what I wanted to discuss with you. Tell me Mr. Stars, do you know how many years I had Twilight as my pupil?"
"Well she told me that you took her under your wing the same day she got her cutie mark and that was when she was 6, she is 20 now so...14 years?"
"Exactly, 14 years where I groom, teach, guide and advise her into becoming the princess she is today" She told while standing up and approaching her balcony until she was face to face with the glass door of it. "A mare I could trust Equestria as my successor. A mare I practically raised and saw her grow as if she was my own child."
She sighed and closed her eyes in frustration "A mare that could have birthed a new and prosperous era of harmony and friendship to Equestria if you hadn't said anything. All those years down the drain just because you couldn't keep your mouth shut" She glared at him and through the reflection in the glass.
"Princess, in my defense..."
"No! You listen here mister! Do you even know half of the problems you just caused!?" Celestia didn't let him finish as she turned around and lashed out in anger at him. "The future you just robbed Equestria of?! The years I have spent searching for the right successor reduced to nothing and that I have to start again from zero? Well? Do you?!"
Mark looked at her in surprise at her outburst for a second before taking on a more serious tone "She has the right to choose and you know it princess."
She sighed in frustration and returned to her desk "She does, and I respect her decision but it doesn't erase the problem you made as a result."
"Princess look, I'm deeply sorry for the mess I caused but the school of friendship is what she chose out of her own free will. She might not have had a dream of her own before, but she found one in that school, and was happy with her friends teaching friendship to everyone. I'm sorry to tell you but becoming Equestria next queen..."
"...Princess" She was quick to correct him.
"...Right, the next princess was never truly her dream. It was yours, and I don't think it's fair to simply decided to hand over the crown without even asking if she ever wanted it in the first place."
"So that is gonna be your excuse? Just saying it was all her choice and you had nothing to do with it? Are you seriously just gonna walk away from this?" She slammed her fist into the desk making it crack from the force "Why don't I just bend over so you can finish screwing me over already!" She blurted out catching both off guard as her eyes widened and she covered her mouth.
"Ah what just...?"
"Don't!" Celestia raised her hand and looked down in both frustration and tiredness "Don't...pay any attention to that"
Her voice was filled with sorrow and the human couldn't help but felt like all this mess was more than just a title. "This is not just about Twilight isn't it? You also wanted to retire, didn't you?"
She sighed again and intertwining her fingers she closed her eyes "One thousand and eighteen years Mark, do you have any idea how demanding and draining it is to be the ruler of a nation for that long?"
"It...it really sounds dreadful and even a titanic chore when thinking about it. Especially if on top you had to raise and lower the sun and moon for a thousand of those years" Mark answered looking down in pity.
"I've been doing this for far too long, and I'm more than tired, I just want to pass the torch and finally rest with my sister. See the world, ditch all of the royal drama...maybe even find my special somepony" She mumbled the last part with some heat in her cheeks so low the human didn't hear the last part.
"I understand, anyone would like a break after a while to spend time with...hey wait a minute!" Mark's eyes widened in realization as he pointed at her with an accusing finger "Isn't this unfair to your sister too?"
"What did you say?" Celestia looked at him with new anger starting to form.
"Twilight told me about the whole thing with Nightmare Moon, you promised her that you would rule together, as equals, but so far for what I've been seeing you are still the favourite princess while she is left stuck with night shift where there is almost nothing to do except maybe one or two meetings and just checks on other ponies dreams."
Celestia physically flinched in anger at the accusation.
"Furthermore, if you really wanted a break, why not hand over the nation to her? She only has been ruling with you for what? Eight years? Come on Princess, wouldn't it have been more logical and fair to just let her have her turn to shine already as a full time ruler?" One of her eyes started to twitch and the human failed to realize how the room was starting to heat up.
"Honestly for you going as far as to start looking for a replacement instead of trusting your sister with the nation it sounds almost childish, as if Equestria is some kind of toy you rather give away before letting your sister play with"
"Mark" Looking up, the human had to take a step back when he looked at her with pure fury in her eyes.
"GET OUT!"
With a furious roar the human was propelled backwards out of her room, running away before the flames could reach him.
"Sorry, sorry I promise I will fix this mess!" Celestia heard before she used her magic to close the door with force before sitting again and holding her temples with one hand.
I only wanted to be done with the same princess routine, is it really that much to ask?
Suddenly she heard her door open again and Mark popped his head in."Just putting it out there, would you be willing to relinquish your power to Luna and let her rule Equestria for a thousand years? AH!" He dodged a fireball heading straight at his head and closed the door.
The following days, Mark was subjected to all manner of chores and unexpected tasks starting with rude awakenings from the guards who demanded him to put on a butler uniform and proclaimed that he had officially became Celestia's personal chore boy, which in essence meant that he had to follow her around everywhere she goes and bring anything she required at any moment.
"Princess, princess I'm not sure if this is working," Mark said, trying to catch up with her while carrying a tower of paper twice his size.
"Oh really? Do you think this is too much work?" She replies sarcastically, glaring at him from over her shoulder as they keep walking.
"I don't mean it like that, I mean that..."
"If you have time to talk you have time to work now go fetch me a box of donuts!" She barks orders pointing at the door.
"What but what about these documents"
"Not my problem, now move!"
"But princess I..."
"I'm sorry, I have a royal court to attempt." She replied, closing the door with force in front of him, causing him to drop all the papers and sigh in defeat at the mess around him. Starting to pick them up he looked at the guards standing at the door with their gaze forward "Any chance she was joking about the donut thing?"
Rather than answer they simply looked at him with a raised eyebrow making him sigh once more "Yeah of course not."
After that Mark simply stayed silent and decided to let the princess do her thing obeying any command as ridiculous as it might sound with Mark trying to do them as best as he could, only for him to keep receiving criticism after criticism for minor problems. Thankfully Luna wasn't as hard as Celestia and she hadn't demand him to do anything, yet she hadn't seemed to be particularly eager to help him either as she merely resorted to continue giving him the cold shoulder, no doubt angered too of forcing them to keep ruling when all they wanted was to pass the torch.
Adding more guilt to his conscience.
I'm getting nowhere like this!
Mark punched the wall of his room cracking it in the process.
I promise that I will help fix this mess but so far I have been nothing more than just a glorified butler, they have thousands of those already, and solve nothing. Come on there must be something else I'm not seeing
He looked up through the window of his room, which was more like a spacious closet, for how little room there was in it. Whose only source of light was the window and a lightbulb in the middle of the room, no doubt a part of their passive aggressive way of payback for his actions.
I don't know yet how but I will find a way to repair all this. I promise you two, I will find a solution someway or another.
Back at the present
With a sigh the human looks up at the moon through the window of his home, in contemplation, wearing nothing but his white boxers with sun stamps on them.
"What is the matter, Marky-Po?" Celestia sneaks behind him and hugs his back while nuzzling his neck, wearing a pink semi transparent night gown, and yellow panties. "Something on your mind?"
"It's nothing Celly, I was just remembering back to when you summoned me, after Twilight rejected your offer." He tells her with a smile "Boy were you angry back then."
"And whose fault was it?" She replied with a smirk.
"Yeah it was mine, I stepped out of line accusing you of being childish back then."
"You sure did." They both share a chuckle before her expression turns more solemn as they keep looking at the moon "But you were also very brave Mark, not too many ponies would be able to stand their ground when facing an angry alicorn, even less to talk back. Don't get me wrong, it was still pretty stupid, but also brave."
"Makes me wonder how we ended up from that start to having this incredible friends with benefits relationship of ours." He turns around to look at her and hold her hands.
"Let not dwell too much in the past" She gives him a short kiss before her eyes turn sultry and she starts to lead him back to bed "Now come back to bed sweetie. Let me help you clear your mind." She mentions before licking her lips as they make their way to his room.
And sure as she promised the moment the princess stripped naked in front of him and lay on his bed spreading her legs and inviting him to come over with her finger all other thoughts he was currently having were gone and his mouth started to salivate. While he approaches the base of the bed and kneels down he grabs both sides of her hips.
"God I love our friendship"
"Then why not prove it, sweetie? I'm wearing a new edible underwear" She whispers the last part as a final incentive that works as he dives in and gives her pussy a long lick earning a moan from Celestia who giggles at his eagerness before gasping and lifts her hips so he could grab hold of her flanks while enjoying her lemon pie flavored panties.
God she is even wearing my favourite dessert flavor! I need to return the favor.
At that moment nothing would have made him happier than to just dig in and reach the princess' deepest treasure, but not wanting to have all the fun he decided to take his time and let her enjoy their session as much as he was, taking slow and long licks on her pussy, making sure to reach all the right spots, confirmed for how she was getting wetter and her gasp and moans were slowly increasing in volume, until eventually her first orgasm came like a torrent soaking her panties complete. In the heat of the moment Mark couldn't help himself and bite and rip off her panties taking a big chunk out of it, enjoying the flavor of a very erotic hard candy before swallowing admiring his handy work.
In front of him Celestia was panting, riding her afterglow as her well trimmed rainbow color pussy keeps winking like crazy, once he thought she had calmed down enough, he licks his finger and was about to continue his administration when a golden aura grab his wrist and launches him forward into the eager arms of Celestia. Who looks at him with lust filled eyes. "No more warming up! Take that dick of yours and ram it inside my pussy NOW!" She commanded almost in a feral and desperate tone, as she used her magic to take off his boxers and released his rock hard dick from it, restraining it from lining up to her waiting pussy.
Drunk in lust Mark simply dove in and rams his dick in her with all his might while at the same time aggressively kissing her, as she hugs him with both arms, legs and even entangles her tail around his right foot, as their love making quickly turns more feral. Her walls clamp on his dick massaging and milking it for all that it was worth.
They toss and turn exchanging positions, eventually taking their session all over the room as Mark rams Celestia against the wall to fuck her standing up, eating each other out in a 69 position and even defying gravity when her magic starts to short circuit and both floated in mid air as he takes her cowgirl style.
Both grunting and growling, with Mark even resorting to lightly biting down on Celestia's neck while mounting her like a possessed animal which only served to drive her more crazy, wanting nothing more than to mate with her partner.
Riding their final afterglow both human and princess collapse on his bed completely drenched in sweat and other fluids holding each other for dear life in a tight hug, with Celestia using her magic and wings to cover her partner and put a blanket on top of the two, as they pant slowly letting sleep take them away. Big smiles plastered on their faces, unknowing how at the moment they were sharing the exact line of thought before falling asleep
God I think I'm getting addicted to this mare
Heaven I think I'm getting addicted to this human |
Equestria Handyman | Matchmaking Season (Edited By NagaShark) | "At last, my latest creation is complete!" Rarity boasts in pride taking a step away and taking off her glasses to admire her latest creation, wearing her usual white formal shirt with long sleeves, long purple skirt with matching high heels and a measuring tape wrapped around her neck.
In front of her was Mark, currently wearing a formal uniform with blue pants, black and tall boots with yellow diamonds encrusted in a pattern at the edge of each, white gloves. A red cape with an even darker and thick red piece of cloth acting as a belt as well as a brown one going sideways in the waist area and a long shirt covering most of the pants with long sleeves having the same yellow pattern at the edge.
At the moment he was trying to remain as still as possible with his arms raised while Rarity inspected the uniform with a critical eye, and smiled in satisfaction when she didn't discover any flaw on it.
"Yes, with this I have proved that there is no attire in Equestria I can not create for either mares or stallions! You can lower your arms now dear."
Mark complies and nods, rubbing the stiffness out of his shoulder "Congratulations Rarity, you really outdid yourself with this piece."
"Aww thank you Mark, and thank you for agreeing to be my model for this little project of mine, both the measurement and the photoshoot session tomorrow."
"It was my pleasure, it sounded like fun and hey I'm flattered that you considered me an 'exotic eye catcher for your new line of clothes." Plus it means I get to pose with beautiful mares for a whole day."
Rarity smirks and raises an eyebrow as she crosses her arms "Oh really? I wonder why?"
"Ah come Rarity! Don't be like that, I'm not made of stone and well...a man can have dreams too" He says with a blush causing the tailor to chuckle at his reaction.
"Oh I'm just joking dear, there is nothing wrong with finding joy in your work, and who knows maybe that special mare for you could be among those models" She teases him with a wink.
"I...I don't think that wouldn't be too professional for my part Rarity, I bet most of them are already married or have a herd or a coltfriend" Mark dismiss her remark as he looks away
"Oh I wouldn't turn that possibility down just yet dear, you could be surprised." She tells him with a knowing smile, while passing him his cloths folded and clean from when he arrived and a bag of bits at payment "Remember 8 am sharp."
"Got it" He picked up both and went to change. "And since you brought it up, you pique my curiosity. If hypothetically one of them or even if it turns out that all those models were single, what would you do exactly?"
"Well first of all I suppose I would ask how is that even possible, and probably will start wondering if every stallion in Equestria is blind." He replied honestly while leaving the changing room and handing her the ensemble she just made. "Then probably I would be a bit nervous, remind myself that this is a job and not a place to find dates and be as professional as possible. I mean this is really important to you Rarity. It would be cruel and unprofessional just going around trying to pick up girls when all they really want is to do their job."
"Well that is really sweet of you to say Mark, but that doesn't exactly answer my question." She stopped him with a raised eyebrow.
"Rarity I swear I would not try anything, other than maybe take small peeks."
"And why not?"
That reaction takes Mark completely off guard as she sighs and looks down before continuing "You still have difficulties assimilating some of our culture don't you? Mark, in Equestria the birth rate of stallions might not be as bad as before but it is still very low."
"I know that, Twilight taught me how now a days the birth between colts and fillies is one male for each six females and forty years ago it was even wider with one for each fifteen or so I think, making Equestria a mostly matriarchy nation, although now days stallion rights and reforms have been working hard on..."
Rarity stops him by raising her hand. "...Yeah, you know the facts but it appears you haven't exactly assimilated the social implication of what that represents."
"Huh?"
"Tell me Mark, does Earth allow romance and the pursuit of relationships in the workplace?"
"Oh no, that is very frowned upon."
"Well in Equestria it is the opposite, no pony cares about shows of affection and it is actually encouraged in some companies, as a sort of stress relief. A worker in love is an efficient worker."
"What?!" Mark exclaims in complete shock at the news "But...how I...that doesn't make any sense!"
"And that is the point. It really looks like you are still clashing with some aspects of our culture." She smiles and puts her hand on his shoulder "But that is ok Mark, that is why your friends are here for you. To help you out to understand things better"
She let go as her eyes widened. "As a matter of fact I have the perfect book on the subject." She goes to the living room and picks up a magazine from a coffee table. "Aha here it is" She hands it over to him and he looks at the contents of the cover page.
"Fashion week?" He reads out loud in front of the tailor.
"Read the subtitle underneath silly."
He inspected it some more until something caught his attention "Top ten most common forms of flirting on the platform?"
"Exactly! It's an article of the most used moves mares used to catch the attention of the stallion they wish to court, or be courted by."
"Wait, in Equestria it's the mare who flirts with the stallion?"
"Oh Marky, you still have a lot to learn. It is really hard to say for sure to be honest, sometimes the stallion engages the conversation, sometimes it is the mare. It makes no difference to be honest. But anyway, back on track, take this magazine, read the article and tomorrow if one mare gives you a signal don't be afraid to ask her out, trust me mares love confident stallions." She ends with a wink.
"Rarity I'm still not sure about this, I told you about that mostly as a joke!"
"Noneses! You are very sweet, kind and attractive young stallion Mark. Any mare would love to have a date with you." She ends up kissing his cheek surprising the human as he looks at her with some heat on his face as she lightly pushes him out of the house "Remember! 8am sharp, and you better have read the article by then!" She calls before closing the door.
Ah, what just happened?
The human is left blinking in the middle of the street as he simply keeps walking toward his home with the magazine in one arm trying to figure out what just transpired unaware of the giggling fashionista peeking out of the window to make sure the human left.
Oh how I love playing matchmaker!"
Taking out her scroll she speed dialled a number "Lyra?...Yeah he just left, everything is set and ready!...It was just like you fear, our stud doesn't know much about courtship, but I gave him a crash course. Is Milky ready too?...Excellent, oh that mare is just gonna a fall in love once she sees him with the ensemble I made...remember 8 am sharp, romance will be in the air~" She mentions in a sing-song voice.
Later that night
Reading the last sentence in the article Mark put down the magazine and sighs while rubbing his eyes. His mind was in turmoil with emotions and different thoughts at the moment.
God I need advice.
He took out his scroll and was about to call Celestia but stopped considering how things had gone so far with her and ultimately shook his head.
She would probably just tell me to take advantage and find a date, and Molly would probably suggest I sleep with all the models, not to mention, she has worked really hard to be where she is now. I can't keep risking her having a relapse just because I was a pervert. I will not let her fall into old habits.
"Sorry Celly but I can't keep relying on you for every romantic problem I have." He starts to scroll through his list of contacts "Besides this seems more like a job for another princess" he smiles when he spots the name he was looking for and presses it to start the call.
"Young Mark! What a pleasant surprise hearing from you"
"Hi Luna, hope this isn't a bad time"
"Nonsense, I always have time for my friends, and tonight was a slow night anyway. So I was mostly just painting my nails at the moment"
"That is good to hear because I could really use some wise advice from someone that knows what it's like not knowing how things work in Equestria."
"Oh you come to the right mare young Mark. There is no other mare that knows the feeling better than I, so tell me, what is on your mind?"
"Well, some days ago I took a job helping Rarity with a new line of clothes she wanted to try out. A stallion selection to be precise, she thought I would give her an special exotic edge to her line by modeling them as well, so one thing led to another and after doubling my salary and offering a copy of her creations free of charge I end up agreeing to a photoshoot tomorrow."
"And the prospect is making you nervous?"
"Kind of, but not because of the photo session, the problem is that there will be supermodel mares there too, and I have the feeling that Rarity is trying to set me up on some sort of blind date with one of them...or at least I hope it is just one. I'm still trying to figure out the rules when it comes to herds."
"I see? And you are not interested in seeking that kind of relationship at the moment?"
"That is the issue, I'm not completely sure, a part of me would like to try and learn what would it be like to form a herd, while the other, well...I'm terrified Luna, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept of polygamy being the norm here, where is the line between flirt and cheating? Is there a limit of how many mares one single stallion can have? Is it rude to even ask that question? Asking it makes me a pervert? How does a date work? By god how does a double date work? I..."
"Mark! Mark calmed down." Luna says stopping him from his barrage of questions increasing his panic more and more, making him stop, signaling for her to continue "Deep breath, close your eyes and just clear your mind." She instructs him to help him slow down his racing heart until he manages to relax.
"Ok...Ok I'm better now, but you see the problem now? I want to try but I'm not sure if I'll ever have what it takes"
"Oh young Mark, I see your issue and to be perfectly honest this appears to be a subject my niece could be of greater help than I could but if you seek my advice I would say not to stress over it and simply let your heart take charge."
"...You're joking" Mark asks her in disbelief
"Like I told you many moons before, here in Equestria we are far more liberal and open in contrast to how they work on Earth according to what you told me."
"Yeah I remember, I still can't believe that you didn't even know the concept of monogamy, or that it was something that rare to happen here."
"Precisely! Call it a common custom, tradition or survival instincts. At the end of the day it doesn't matter, most of the time in Equestria mares simply enjoy partaking in group activities, including intimate ones"
"Even you?"
"Sure, of course the issue there was more if a stud will ever have the courage to approach either my sister or I, and then if he would have the endurance to handle either or both of us." She tells with a chuckle "Why the question? Are you perhaps offering some sort of arrangement?"
Mark's face turned red at the implication and was left speechless until he heard her chuckling "Just a jest young Mark."
He joined in the laughter when he heard that. "Man Luna, you really caught me off guard just now."
"I could tell by the silence, but don't worry I know you are not ready for me or Tia yet"
He got stiff the moment he heard that.
Yet?
"Back on topic, if it eases your worries, before any herd begins a stallion needs to find that special alpha mare that he can confide with. A mare who can share his worries and discuss when and who could join their group. So you see? You don't need to jump straight away into a group of mares, like any other relationship it needs work and to grow gradually at its own pace with cooperation and understanding of everyone involved. The only times a herd starts right away is when the stallion and/or mare invite over their friends with benefits into their circle and they agree. Yes Mark before you ask it's far more common than you think, by my stars there are even cases where studs of pre existing herd after approval by his mates go and keep those relationships going, to ease the pressure of lonely mares until they find a herd of their own."
"Are all relationships in Equestria really this casual and well...kind of promiscuous in general? No offense."
"None taken and yes, they pretty much are, I mean if they weren't, creating herds could be far more difficult don't you think?" He could feel the sass from her voice.
"Point taken."
"Of course this will always be your choice, young Mark. I'm not forcing you into something you feel uncomfortable with. I'm just telling you right now, there is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to courting mares, just take it one step at a time. And remember, your friends will always be there for you when you are confused, or need any advice or wish to learn more about our culture."
"Thank you Luna, that actually takes a huge weight off my shoulders."
"Anytime young Mark, so what would you do in the end?"
"I'm not sure yet but for now I think I will simply let things flow naturally and see how things develop, and if by the end of the day I land a date, you will be the first one to know it"
"I wish you the best of luck then, let me know if you wish to speak with my niece in the future, for more advice this is her field of expertise after all" A ring is heard from Luna side. "Oh my pizza is here! We'll talk later young Mark"
"Until next time Luna have a good night."
"You too my friend" Luna ends the call leaving the human alone with his thoughts.
Find a marefriend, have I really gone this native? Oh who I'm kidding of course I have.
Mark chuckles to himself after some self reflection before looking at the stars in the sky.
Screw it! Any man dreams of having a harem at least once. If things work out maybe I could even invite Celly to join, and like the expression goes, when in Rome.
The next day
"Mark over here!" Rarity waves enthusiastically as the human makes his way to the park where various tents are lined up to change, a line of outfits were lined up nearby and photographic equipment and a stage were assembled to start the session.
"You are early, there are 10 minutes left before the session starts." Rarity points out as she checks the watch on her wrist.
"Didn't want to risk being late" Mark shrugs before smiling and looking around at the equipment. "Plus I was too excited to wait, it really looks like you really went all out with this photoshoot."
"Well of course, if you wish to shine you need to use only the best!" Rarity proclaims with pride inflating her chest, resulting in a small chuckle from the human from her showboating.
"So where is everyone?" Mark asks with a raised eyebrow looking everywhere for the camera and modeling crew.
"None of the other models have arrived yet, and the camera crew are setting everything up in their tent, so let me introduce you to the team." Rarity says in excitement as she grabs his wrist and guides him inside one of the tents, where four earth pony mares were hard at work setting everything up for the photo session, all wearing unusual outfits making them look more like models rather than part of the crew.
"Ah Rarity, why are the models setting everything up?"
She only chuckles at the comment. "No silly, those are simply the crew of Photo Finish each and everyone of them had a flare to pop and catch the eye the moment you see them, that is how she does things." Rarity explains.
"Is this my star?!" Mark was startled when he suddenly heard a female voice with a german accent behind him, and when he turns around he saw a light blue earth pony mare with white straight mane and tail wearing black and purple sunglasses, a striped long sleeve shirt, a black long skirt with purple diamonds and a white string at the edge and a purple scarf currently inspecting Mark with a critical eye.
"Oh hi Pho..." Rarity starts to speak but the mare stops her without looking at her.
"Ah! I'm inspecting Miss Rarity, pleasantries can wait, now..." She raises her hand pointing out without saying anything before suddenly pointing at Mark "Introduce yourself!"
"Aw...hi? My name is Mark, and I'm here to help with the photo session by modeling some of the clothing lines, who are..."
"Aha! So it is you then! Yes, you will be the star of today! I can see it radiating from you, boy." She exclaimed in an overly dramatic pose. "As for me I...am Photo Finish! One of the best fashion photographers in all of Equestria! With my camera I'm capable of finding and exposing...the magic!"
She then starts to circle around "And you my star have aroused my intrigue! Hmm...no tail, no fur, no horns" She started to list while getting closer to him.
"Hey what are you...?"
"Yes, yes indeed! I have never captured an image of a model like you before. I can see the raw beauty of you, powerful yet dormant, no that would not do it needs to be awoken! To be properly seen! This is the challenge that will fall on me: Photo Finish! And I...will find it!" She keeps narrating in her overly dramatic tone before returning to normal without saying anything for a moment "Now...I go!" She suddenly runs and helps the rest of the crew putting together the final details for the session leaving Mark blinking at the whole ordeal.
"What just happened?"
"Oh don't give it too much mind dear. That is how Photo Finish does things, is part of her ritual to find the perfect photo, if anything you should feel pride, she is laying eyes on you! That means you have piqued her interest and believe me, for somepony that works with a lot of models and has seen it all. Doing so is nearly impossible, you really gave her a good impression." Rarity tells him, giving him a wink.
"Now let's change your clothes while we wait for the rest." Rarity guides him to the dressing room "So...did you read it?" She whispers once the two were alone.
"I read the article, yeah. And after giving thought I decided to to give it a try."
"Wonderful!" Rarity virtually skipped at the news "Oh I love it when love is in the air!" She says while passing him the set of clothes he was modeling yesterday.
"Don't get your hopes too high either Rarity, I'm not just going to say yes to the first mare that winks at me, I'm just saying I will keep my eyes open and let things develop naturally." Mark replies before going to change, as Rarity smirks.
"Of course, completely reasonable, just know if you need any advice I'm always here~" Rarity says before leaving to give him privacy while he changes.
Once he was ready, Photo Finish didn't waste any time and placed him on the set to take some pictures as she instructed him to do various simple poses to lose him up as she put it, before stopping and inspecting him once more.
"No, no, no this will not do."
"Am I doing something wrong?" Mark asks in worry.
"Yes! You are not giving me anything! The energy is there but you are not doing anything with it. Boy what do you think this is it?"
"Ah...a photo session?"
"Wrong! Oh I see the problem now, you are not seeing what your role is, you don't understand what a star's intent is. Are you a boy?"
"I thought you meant like a..."
"Of course not, so let me tell you, when you step into that set you are no longer Mark the boy of the stars, you are a symbol for all stallions in the world to look up to! When boys see you they must see a role model to imitate a symbol that shows power! Confidence! Self sufficient! They must see a stallion that can tame the hearts of any mare they set their sights on!" She proclaims in excitement.
"Ah I'm not sure how to reflect..."
"That is it! You are overthinking it, boy you must stop thinking at once!"
"Stop thinking?"
"Yes! You are only following instructions but are not showing me anything that I listed, I know it is there, I'm never wrong when seeing the magic, yours is definitely there, is screaming to be seen, but you refuse to let them play! Why are you torture them? I need a model not a puppet! Now from the top! Let try this again" She tells in frustration
"Miss Finish, the rest of the models have arrived." One of the assistants mentions.
"Are they now? Hmm Good, change of plan, send them in, and you boy! Stay right there, I want you to see how the magic shines! Maybe all you need is the right motivation."
Entering the tent, Mark saw three beautiful mares walking in, wearing formal night dresses like they were getting ready for the grand galloping gala.
The first was a bat pony that had a gothic air, with half closed eyes with dark blue shadow that matched her tail, short spiky mane similar to Rainbow Dash's, and light blue fur. She was wearing a dark black formal one piece sleeveless dress with sparks that resemble stars, a blue corset, and white pearls. The whole ensemble gave her an incredible look but her expression made her look like she was tired or annoyed to be here right now.
"Can we move this along? I would like to be anywhere but here right now." The bat pony mentions in complete disinterest looking away.
"Ah come on Umbral! Don't you at least want to say hi to the new model? He looks kind of cute" A cheerful white pegasus mare with golden mane and tail suddenly comes close to Umbral for a hug. She was wearing a vibrant sky blue one piece dress with a pink belt with a V opening to show some of her cleavage, and a silver necklace with the pendant of the sun on it.
"Surprise, I told you to stop hugging me." Umbral reproaches, still annoyed but making no attempt to push her away as Surprise only chuckles while pestering, before noticing Mark and letting go, waving hello at him. He does the same and then looks to the final mare that, contrary to Surprise and Umbral, seems to be the most reserved as she kept her head low and was wearing a dark green hood to cover her face.
She was also wearing a two piece dress with a cloud white top with semi transparent sleeves and a long forest green skirt bottom as well as what appeared to be a gray bow tie and green globes. For what he could see, she looked like an earth pony with yellow fur and blue mane and tail. Looking up she made eye contact with him before immediately looking down in embarrassment.
Needless to say all 3 look simply gorgeous and Mark just couldn't keep his eyes away from them being mesmerized by each and everyone of their unique charms. A fact that Finish didn't waste time in notice and smiles as an idea formed in her head.
"Yeah, now we're cooking"
"Oh, Oh, Photo Finish! Can I go first? Please, please, please I promise I will stay still" Surprise insists on wanting to be placed yet, she stops her dead in her tracks "No! You! Get in position!" Photo Finish commands pointing at Umbral and then at Mark, much to her surprise "Me? You want me to have a session with a noob?" She says in frustration.
"Don't question my art! Now move, move, move!" Photo points at him once more making her shrug and roll her eyes. "Whatever, if it means I can get out of here quickly!" She says in disinterest as she goes to stand next to Mark "Hi my name is..."
"Not interested, listen buddy here is how things are gonna be I do my thing you just stay there and smile and we will be cool got it? You wouldn't want to be on my bad side." She warned him, flashing her teeths. Irking the human with her attitude.
Geez what a diva, maybe someone should teach her some humility, in fact, why not have a bit of fun?
He starts to ponder, starting to get an idea on what to do.
"Now...we improvise! Show me what you can do boy, teach me how you would enchant a mare, woo my model!" Photo Finish instructs as she ready her camera
"Ja! This I want to see." Umbral says not impressed at all looking at Mark with a raised eyebrow "Friendly warning boy...I bite."
"Fine by me..." He smiles and extends his hand for her as if they were about to dance which makes her roll her eyes and take it only to be brought forward as he grabs her waist and extends their arms while smirking forcing her to look him in the eyes "...I can bite back." He proclaims much to her surprise as Photo captures the exact moment Umbral looks at him in surprise and had some pink tint on her cheeks. "Let dance, sweetie."
"Wow, did it just get real hot in here?" Surprise asks looking around.
"Yes! That is it, the magic at last, keep going! We are not here, embrace your fake setting!" Photo instruct as Mark starts to lead, actually making them dance as Umbral was caught off guard by his actions and how his hands keep moving her like a puppet with subtle and slow actions, caressing of her waist, sudden spins and dips and he making her hug herself with his hands intertwined with hers that just keep catching Umbral unaware as he keeps her focus on his eyes, teasing her repeatedly with small breaths near her mouth taunting her to move forward. .
At the time she wanted to gain control but each soft touch, each whisper of nothingness, each proximity of his lips just kept her in a sort of calmed trance, that implores her not to ruin the moment and just enjoy the sensation as much as she could, and make her want him to stop the tease and actually kiss her already, something that unfortunately never arrived.
It wasn't until she heard the sound of Photo Finish firing at a quick pace that she managed to snap out of it and realized that they both stopped dancing and were giving their audience a quick show. "Friendly advice? You don't want to be on my bad side either." Mark tells her with a smirk making her blush and look away in anger. "Show off." She mutters, refusing to make eye contact.
"Yes! I have uncovered a treasure trove ready to be seen! Next model! Do the same, enchant these models! Make them want you!" Photo instructed as Surprise takes her friend's place and things soon start to flow more naturally for Mark, as after taking a deep breath he lets his instincts do the talking and lead each mare according to their personalities, in different settings. With Surprise being more as if the two were just playing pretend, making her hard to read, not sure if she was genuinely interested, or found a way to tease him back, as they dance a bit faster, and with the third mare whose name he found out was Milky Way, had a stiff beginning but once they relaxed they kept enjoying the session, as she was friendly although not as energetic as Surprise, and whose movements feel more natural and organic, instead of wanting to tease or have fun like the other two were.
From a formal gala, to a day in the park, to an exercise session all four of them keep going through the motions and wardrobe changes without even caring or noticing the camera rapidly firing shot after shot.
The beach setting was probably the most challenging for Mark as he had to face all three models wearing two piece swimming suits that allow them to show how they each have fairly big breasts, and made sure to engrave it into his mind.
With Umbral using the chance to take revenge by 'accidentally' almost making him cup one of her breasts on more than one occasion. Surprise, constantly hugging him pressing her breast against his arms, chest or even part of his face and Milky Way whose boobs were easily the same size as Celestia's, was almost impossible not to notice.
How he managed to complete the session hiding his boner was nothing less than a miracle, on his part, as he had to muster all of his will power to power through.
Starting to get lost at one point he briefly stops the session to approach Photo Finish with an intense glare "What is it?" She ask with neutrality but rather than answer he simple approach her and took hold of her glasses
"Nothing, I simply couldn't continue watching you hide your own magic either" Caught off guard Photo Finish was surprised when he removed her glasses so he could see directly, her purple eyes staring back at him as he smiled "You have beautiful eyes Photo Finish, you should let the world see them more often." Still semi paralized she didn't stop him from hanging said glasses on her scarf and returned to the set to continue the session.
Returning from her stupor, Photo Finish brought up her camera again. "Continue!" She proclaimed like nothing had happened and kept taking photos.
I must be careful, this boy's magic is too intense, I almost got caught on the blast! Photo Finish thought gulping at the still fresh memory in her mind.
Soon everyone present started to lose the notion of time as Mark was able to find his own pace and model on his own with more assertiveness, as the models needed a moment to recover and give Photo Finish enough material to work with.
"Will that be enough?" Mark stopped posing to look at Photo Finish who remained quiet for a moment before standing up, putting her glasses back on and passing her card to him "Yes, I have seen more than enough, I have seen the latent magic in you my boy, and I love it. If you ever want to model again, call me...at once! I would make sure that all of Equestria knows your name" She exclaimed in an overly dramatic voice, before grabbing his checks and kissing both much to his surprise. "And now...I leave!" She then turns around and rushes off to the tent with her crew grabbing all of her equipment and leaving as well.
"Oh! A career as a model? You should keep that card darling! You never know, maybe it could be a side gig" Rarity teases him a little before starting to pack her clothes up. "Thanks again for doing this for me Mark, you really helped me promote my new line"
"It was nothing Rarity, it was kind of fun. A bit more intense that I expected at one point, but fun"
"Really now?" Rarity looks back at him with a smirk "And when was that moment exactly?" She ask with a knowing smile as he smirks back and look at her
"You set up that swim suit section, didn't you?"
"I just thought it could help you open up to the idea of entering the dating game darling, and I'm sure you weren't the only one that had fun" She tease pointing at the rest of the mares who were currently chatting with one another with their regular clothing, Umbral wearing jeans, a spiked bracelet on her right arm, a leather jacket and dark purple tank top. Surprise wearing a pink skirt, and a yellow t-shirt that matched her mane and Milky a long blue skirt and white button up shirt with short sleeves.
"You really left an impression on them, Marky dear."
"Ah come on you are just saying that."
"No I mean it Mark, I'm not sure how or what exactly you did back then but Surprise was right, things sure heated up once you loosened up, even I was half wanting to have a turn dancing."
"Really?"
She nods with a smile "Really, so much so I would love to take you dancing later on but for now." She gives him a little push. "Go ahead, talk to them."
"What? No, I'm not sure I could trust myself. The bikini session is still very fresh in my mind and..."
"Come on!" She insisted, "Be daring, live a little I promise, none of them bite...well maybe Umbral but she won't do it, I promise." She gave him another shove as he looked back at her confused for a moment before ultimately deciding to comply and approach them. He was nervous but knew Rarity was right and more importantly he wanted to know more about those three.
"Ah excuse me" Mark called the attention of the models who all looked at him. "Sorry to bother, I just wanted to say that all of you did an incredible..."
"Aww, you're nervous! Don't be. We are all friends here." Surprise suddenly exclaimed bringing him into a hug "My name is Surprise by the way, I know you pretty much, know it by now but I like to introduce myself" She gave him a big grin as she let him go.
"And live up to your name I noticed." Mark tells, still shaken by being caught off guard, making her chuckle. "Guilty as charged! And these are my friends..."
"Oh no!" Umbral suddenly rushed forward and pointed an accusing finger at her "You are not introducing us again, last time you said I was a biker gang leader and Milky was a secret agent."
"It was a joke" Surprise defended herself.
"We know Surprise but sometimes you can be a tad bit intense." Milky Way tells her, placing her hand on the pegasus shoulder before looking at Mark "My name is Milky Way by the way, nice to meet you...Mark was it?"
"Yep, Mark Stars. The last one isn't my last name by the by, just a title I kind of sort of got"
"You got that title? Ok now I want to hear that story. The name is Umbral" she points at herself "Don't tick me off or mess with my friends and we will be cool, so what is the deal with you Stars? What exactly are you?"
"Umbral! Could you try being more delicate?" Milky reproaches her friend as she only rolls her eyes. "Please, like you two don't want to know as well."
"She's right, I would like to hear the story." Surprise replies casually.
"Well...yeah but we could have asked more nicely."
Mark only chuckles at the antics before answering. "It's ok, I get that reaction a lot and to answer, my race is called humans, and I suppose you could think of me as an alien...not that kind of alien! No I don't have strange alien powers or a spaceship" He was quick to answer before Surprise could ask the obvious question making her look down in disappointment
"You get those questions a lot, eh Stars?" Umbral question with a raised eyebrow.
"More than what you might think, unfortunately. And sorry to disappoint you but not even I know how I came here, one day I simply appear and crash through Princess Celestia's ceiling in the middle of Day Court, with almost no memory besides my name"
"Wait, wait, wait! You figuratively and literally just crashed into the Princess day court, and lived to tell the tale?" Umbral asks in shock.
"That is one heck of a surprise, Marky." Surprise tells with a big grin.
"How did you survive that? Or didn't get arrested?" Milky asks equally invested.
"Oh it's a long boring story, you don't want to hear it."
"I'm not so sure about that." Milky mentions with a smile. "I for one would like to know more about that, say maybe while drinking a coffee?" She asks him, fluttering her eyelash catching him by surprise.
"What?"
"Come on girls, that would not be fair! We should tell him about us too" Surprise adds, causing Umbral to chuckle "Ah what the heck not like I'm doing much at the moment, so what do you say Stars? One coffee tomorrow at say noom?"
Did she...are all three asking me? No, I'm overthinking it, this is probably just coffee
"Sure I would like that, where do we go?"
"Oh! What if we don't know? Let's meet at the center of the plaza, and THEN find a place to drink coffee! That way it will make it more interesting." Her companions simply shrug and nod.
"Works for me, see you there Stars, oh and about that modeling gig?" She gets closer to him "I say go for it at least part time. I still need to get you back." She practically whispers with their faces real close and she blows him a kiss and wink before leaving with her friends "By Marky! It was nice meeting you!" Surprise wave before following her friends leaving him frozen in shock, until the smirking face of Rarity appears in his field of vision.
"Mark Stars, you little liar!" She playfully reproached giving him a light shove "And you were nervous about entering the game, you are a natural!"
"What?"
"Not only did you make three new friends, you got yourself a play date like it was nothing"
"So?"
"So? Mark dear, do you have any idea how many drink invitations eventually become a date?"
"A date!?"
"Relax, darling it's not like anything out of the ordinary is gonna happen, you will only be four friends exchanging stories, how things develop from there is completely up to you. But it felt nice right?"
"Yeah it really was. Maybe you are right Rarity, perhaps it's time for me to enter the dating world"
"That is fantastic dear! And I will be more than happy to help you out if you need anything else, but for now just have fun with your new friends...and if any of them catches your eye, let me know and I will teach you how to court your alpha mare"
"Alpha mare?" Mark looks at her confused, as she put her hand over his shoulder. "We have much to discuss."
As they advance Rarity looks at Lyra looking at them from the bushes as she winks and gives her a thumbs up, making her jump from joy. |
Equestria Handyman | Mark First Date (Edited By NagaShark) | "...And after that, all hell just broke loose that day." Mark recaps what he said to the 3 mares while playing with the straw of his drink. Soon after meeting at the agreed-upon spot and finding a good coffee shop, Surprise didn't waste time and asked him to please just continue the story. Something he was still pretty confused about, why were they so interested. In how all of them seemed to absorb every word he was saying. "The royal guards, naturally stand to attention and surround me thinking I was some kind of threat, and in my panic and feeling like I couldn't breathe, I accidentally shoved/ rammed one into a nearby pillar which just made things worse."
They gasp at the revelation "Pegasus threw rope at me, and unicorns immobilized me with ice spells, just adding fuel to my terror as I started sending ponies flying everywhere trying to escape until the princess ordered everyone to stop and approached me, she saw how terrified I was." He looked down with a chuckle. "She probably saved me from spending the rest of my life in a dungeon, that day."
"Well of course she would know you were scared silly, that is how princess Celestia is." Surprise giggles before waving her hand rapidly. "Keep going! What happened after that?" She eagerly asks while sucking her milkshake really fast from all the emotion.
"After that, things went by in a blur. After calling off her guards, she approached me and told me that if I calmed down she would let me go, I was unsure but that was better than being an icicle so I complied. She sent me to a guest room to calm my nerves while she sorted that mess out. Later that day I met Twilight and Fluttershy who helped me calm down and figure out what was happening. After the air was cleared I took Twilight's invitation to live in her castle, and well the rest is history, I learned more of my new powers, found a job, got a home of my own, you get the picture."
"Come on Stars, we all know that couldn't possibly be the end of the story, so spit it out. What happened after you arrived at Ponyville?" Umbral ask intrigued pointing at him while holding her cup of coffee
"Oh no Umbral, I think I shared more than enough already. Now it's my turn to ask about you three."
"He is right Umbral, we have been pestering him into telling us his life story, it will only be fair if we repay him with our own." Milky reasons with her friends. Making the bat pony shrug and lean back in her chair. "Eh fair enough, fire away Stars."
"Well I suppose I should start with an easy one, how long have you been supermodels?"
"Oh Milky and I are just part time models" Surprise tells pointing at herself and Milky as she nods "I actually work for a tourist travel agency, mostly doing recon of hotels, malls, parks and other tourist attractions, fill a report and give it to my superiors so they can promote vacation plans for their clients."
"And I'm a humble milkmare/owner of my own product from Trottingham." Milky continues, "Surprise and I only model on occasion when we have time with Umbral, for moral support."
"And because it's fun!"
"As for me, well not gonna a lie it started off as a way to piss off my old man back then when he just keep jabbering about following the family tradition, but then I found myself enjoy the gig so I stuck around and before I knew it I was posing for front pages and perfume ads'' Umbral replies casually. "These two have been my childhood friends since kindergarten so of course I would invite them over for fun from time to time, just as they do for me with their jobs. When we are all together modeling it's not any different than playing dress up and hey it's a great way to catch up after being apart for a while."
"Or have a test vacation/adventure of sorts when visiting new places and meet the locals when helping me." Surprise adds.
"Or promoting and campaigning my product outside the town" Milky finishes.
"Wow, you three seems to be really close" Mark mentions, impressed on how they found the way to include each other in their working life.
"That's what friendship is all about Marky, finding a way to keep in contact and hey when working with friends, any work looks more like a fun game." Surprise tells him with enthusiasm.
"What about you Mark? With what you told us, you could have gotten any sort of job, why choose taking odd jobs as a handyman?" Milky questions with interest.
"Well I suppose it just sort of happened, and I'm not so sure you want to hear much about this one. It has a bit of a sad beginning." He confesses to them with some worry.
"Eh suit yourself, but honestly does it really matter how it started, I mean looked at you? Having a date with three mares at the same time, having a happy life and a stable income? I say you really made whatever happened work." Umbral mentions pointing at him with her cup once more before taking a sip.
"Ah excuse me...a date?" He asks, unsure if he heard correctly, making her smirk. "Play your cards right and it might be one, so still not want to talk Stars?"
"Umbral don't pressure him" Milky reproaches her friend.
"It's ok Milky, and she is right, as sad as it began things turned around so I suppose I shouldn't feel bad talking about it." He takes a deep breath before continuing "But it will open an old wound so I will try to avoid some of the details, you see after some time living with Twilight, there was this incident that really bummed my mood, and I mean crash and burn. It was like all the colors just drained away. I couldn't see anything but gray, I felt horrible and didn't want to do anything for I don't even remember how long."
"Oh my." Surprise gasps at the confession.
"I just needed to do anything to distract myself, I was completely desperate to just occupy my time. Something to bring some color back into my life so not wanting to mope around in self-pity I took a walk around town until I found this temporary job opening at Sugar Cube corner, moving boxes. I thought to myself 'why not? The smell could help me forget." So I took the job and made use of my strange super strength, and the plan worked. Thanks to Pinkie, the bakery smell and me just moving boxes I briefly forgot what happened to me, but then it returned once it was over.
So I kept walking until I found another odd job, then another, and another and so on until I finally came to the conclusion that I like moving around and simply doing odd jobs. I don't know, I suppose I simply found it fulfilling and fun. That is why I became an extraordinary handyman."
He ends the story with a smile, only to find his head trapped between Surprise breasts as she at some point just stands up and rushes up to him to bring him into a bear hug with tears streaming down her face. "That is so sad! I'm so sorry you had to pass through that. You are the bravest alien I have ever met!"
"Tha...thank you" Mark reply with a red face not sure how to reply on how close he was now to her boobs
Good God she smells wonderful.
Chuckling Milky and Umbral shake their heads. "Ok Surprise let him go before all his blood rushes south." Milky comments as the pegasus stands back making all the mares chuckle at his blushing surprised expression.
"Did you enjoy your Surprise pillow?" Umbral asks with a smirk and raises an eyebrow as he only nods before recovering completely.
"A...Anyway that is pretty much how I end up becoming Equestria handyman, it took time but I recovered from the incident and I enjoy the idea of not being attached to just one job so I kept it in order to move forward and even get the courage to try entering the dating game."
"Ah so you were expecting to turn this into a date then?" Umbral kept teasing him.
"What? No I mean if you like...not that I want to force you or anything but well I..."
Umbral kept laughing at how he kept choking on his own words until Milky shoved her in disapproval. "Stop it Umbral, the poor stallion is doing the best he can, we should be more supportive of him."
"I was just teasing Milky but yeah I should stop now, and good for you Stars, I bet you will kill it at the dating game, friendly advice? Listen to your mares and play the field a little before deciding on an alpha, trust us you don't want a crazy mare in your herd" The other two nod at the comment
"Thanks Umbral, I will keep it in mind, but I probably would go slow into this, I don't know the first thing on dating in general and well, let just say humans have a way different definition of a stable relationship, please don't ask, it's a long story."
"That's ok, we don't want to turn this into an interrogation either, say why don't we forget about all these sad stories and talk about this being a date or not and just have fun!" Surprise suggests. "It is still early and there is plenty more of the town to explore! Marky, you could give us a tour of the place."
"Actually I have come here..." Milky starts but Umbral stops her "...wait I want to see how this plays out." she tells in intrigue as Mark shrugs.
"I like that idea actually, I know one or two places we can check out" Mark says, standing up and paying for his drinks, the mares soon doing the same, as they go explore the rest of the town.
"Then it's decided, let's go see what this town has to offer." Umbral smiles and takes the lead as Milky rolls her eyes and plays along half curious on how things will develop, a certain mint and light yellow couple of mares unable to stop the smirk of happiness as they continue drinking while looking at the group leave.
And so the rest of the day the four of them decided to simply cut loose, and explore the town with various activities like bowling, sightseeing at the park, a petting zoo for kids, and watch magic tricks from Trixie, as she performs for an audience, not caring for anything anymore and simply enjoying each other's company. Once sunset arrives they decide to call it quits, and Mark accompanies them back to the hotel they were staying. Where they say their goodbyes with Umbral shaking his hand and Surprise blindsiding him with another firm hug imprinting his face in between her breast once more before giggling and skipping as she went to her room.
Ok that is twice now, she must be doing that on purpose
Mark thought as he recovered, and was preparing to leave when Milky stopped him by grabbing his shirt.
"Mark wait, before you go there is something I need to tell you"
"Yeah?"
"Listen, putting all the teasing and joking aside, I really think it's really brave what you are doing. I mean when I started dating, the whole concept was terrifying, so I dread to imagine what it must be like for you"
"I thought this wasn't a..."
"Oh come on Mark, we both know it was, we only said that to help you relax, and it worked right? You weren't tongue tied, you showed us a good time and to be perfectly honest. I really appreciate all the effort you put into not being a pervert, no matter how much Surprise tested you."
"Wait! That was a test?!" He ask in disbelief as she tries to calm him down
"Yes it was, and you have all the right to be mad at us because of it but please try to understand, Umbral, Surprise and I...it not easy for any of us to try to date, I mean Umbral is just a bucket list score for most ponies or a shallow price or accessory with other models, you see how Surprise can be a bit intense and me well, look at me" She extend her arms bend forward so Mark could had a clear view of her breast making him blush and look away. "I'm not blind Mark, yes I have a slim body and huge breasts. I have had them since I was a teenager. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a nice stallion or mare that doesn't want me just because of them, and all they see is Milky the 'busty' mare?"
"I...I think I have an idea yeah." Mark says looking at her again with sadness and pity as she stands straight once more. "And I imagine being models didn't help on the matter?"
She nods twice "That is why we needed to make sure you were different, that you actually care for us, and not just for how we look. Which you did." She smiles and grabs his hand. "No matter what Surprise did, or how much Umbral teased you, you never once took advantage of us, you legitimately were considerate of our feelings, and were interested in knowing who we were, you treat us as friends and not even once, not even when Surprise keep pushing your face into her chest did you stop viewing us as such. You truly are a marvelous human being Mark"
He couldn't help but to blush at the compliments "I simply treat you with the respect you deserve that is all."
"That is all I ever wished to have and for that I'm thankful, Mark listen, if you don't want to consider this a date then that is fine by me. We can view it as just a hang out with friends, I just wanted to say my piece, and if later you want to have a proper date with any of us, we will always be a call away"
She let him go and turned around preparing to leave when Mark extended his arm "Milky before you go..."
"Yeah?" She look at him with curiosity
"If...if this was indeed a date, would it be too bold for me to ask for a goodbye kiss before ending it? A quick one on the lips? I will even put my arms behind my back if it helps!"
She looks at him in surprise before smiling and chuckles at that. "That will not be necessary after that trick. I believe you were entitled to fondle my girls but if all you want is a kiss, I don't see the harm"
She looks at him with half lidded eyes and approaches him once more. "I had a good time Mark."
"Me too" Mark tells her now more relaxed as they hug and hold each other's cheeks before sharing one quick kiss which lasted longer than expected before they break apart "I had a great time" Milky says kissing him again.
"We should repeat it some time." Mark says before repeating the action, as she hums in approval as they start to close their eyes and openly make out with more intensity until their tongues find each other snapping them back to reality as their eyes wide in realisation of what they were doing and how their hug was turning into caressing each others bodies.
Slowly pulling away Mark broke the kiss as they both looked at each other in surprise. "Wow." That is all he could say in response. Snapping back to reality, Milky's eye widened again and stood back to look away and clear her throat "S...so it's getting a bit late."
"Y-yeah, I-I should be going then."
"Yeah maybe for the best so eh...here is my phone number." She quickly handed over/pushed a piece of paper into his hand, before rushing inside the hotel room. As Mark recovers and heads back to his home, to take an ice cold shower, ignoring complete how Milky was doing exactly the same thing in a vain attempt to get the image out of her head of the kiss they shared and the reaction it had on her loins. |
Equestria Handyman | Past Repercursions (Part 2) (Edited By NagaShark) | Six months after starting serving the crown at night
"Here is all your paperwork you wanted me to classify Princess." Mark tells Celestia with neutrality as he left the mountain of papers on her desk as she was currently reading some document.
"Huh?" She looked up slightly startled to see all the papers in order. "Oh I see, thank you young Mark."
"I also brought your dry cleaning, finished polishing your jewelry, and the castle armors, organised your schedule and got the present you ask me to get for Luna's upcoming birthday."
"Very good, thanks for assisting young Mark." She replied with a calm smile nodded once before she returned to reading the documents. "That will be all, you are dismissed."
"Good" He slammed his palms against the desk, frightened her slightly at the action and made her look at him with his glaring eyes " Because we need to talk, and I'm not leaving or letting you push another ridiculous task to avoid the subject Celestia. Now is my turn to talk."
She remained emotionless at his defiance before she sighed and put the papers away. "And I thought by now you had already learned your lesson." She shook her head in disappointment.
"Bullshit!" He yelled at her, surprising the princess at his foul mouth as he pointed an accusing finger at her. "If anyone needs to learn a lesson here is you, you overgrown brat!"
That got a reaction as she slowly glared back at him "I'm gonna pretend that you only said that because of the stress and will give you the chance to apologize once you are done venting. You wanna talk? Ok, let's talk, what is getting you all riled up Mark?"
"You and your hypocrisy! That is what is making me so mad right now" He replied without missing a beat.
"Excuse me?" She asked/warned him as she stood up and extended her wings in an imposing and intimidating manner, yet Mark remained firm and just kept glaring at her.
"You heard me, Celestia" He went and approached her balcony pointing at the city below. "When we first talked about Twilight you said you were basically tired of being a ruler, that you couldn't wait to pass the crown and live a simple life, dragging your sister along wherever she wanted to or not, but you know what I haven't seen once ever since you made your chore boy? A tired princess! Every day, every moment you have been the princess I have seen you work with a smile on your face and a song in your heart. So don't go and tell me you want to stop being a princess because that's just a straight off lie!"
"That is called putting on a facade." She defended herself.
"Oh please Celestia you couldn't act to save your life, I know what I saw, if you truly wanted to stop being the princess you at the very least would have the decency to talk it over with your sister which you never once did. So cut the crap and tell me already! What was it? What is the real reason why you didn't want to be a princess anymore?"
He could see her horn glow as her anger kept boiling. "Oh here we go, resorting to your magic because you know I'm right and you don't want to tell me what is the real problem, you know what? Do it! Send me to the moon! Smite me, but know that in doing so you will only be proving that I was and will always be right and that will be burned into your conscience!"
Her horn started glowing as she made her hands into fist and started to shake them for how angry she is now. "What right do you have to judge my decisions?! You are not my subject! You are not even part of Equestria, you are only an alien from another universe stuck here! Who isn't spending the rest of his miserable life in a dungeon thanks only because of the kindness of my heart!" She yells getting closer to him. "A full grown up human with the personality of a teenager wanting to rebel against any authority figure!"
"And you are just a stubborn spoiled preteen trapped in the body of an ancient Greek goddess throwing a sissy fit whenever someone tells her no! Refusing to listen to others' ideas simply because she didn't think about them before!" Mark replied in kind as he advanced toward her, both throwing daggers at each other with their eyes, as they kept advancing until they were practically in front of the other, as their faces kept getting closer, until out of the blue both their eyes went wide in complete and utter shock when they realized how their lips were now connected. Not only that but neither of them was completely sure when or how long were they like that.
Breaking apart and turning around both keep their faces down still processing what just transpired, as the silence in the room suddenly became really awkward. "I'm sorry." It was Mark who finally broke the silence "I don't know what just came over me."
"It's ok! I mean it's probably that we were just simply tired."
"Yeah extremely tired, that was probably it. Sorry for calling you a brat, that was mostly the heat of the moment."
"I understand, I didn't actually mean it when I said you would be living in a dungeon. I would never do such a horrible thing not even to criminals so even less someone that didn't do anything wrong." She confessed in guilt.
"I know you wouldn't, you are not a tyrant and you will always see the good in everyone."
"Thanks also sorry for calling you a teenager"
"Not that you weren't that far off, it's something I have always struggled with since I was thirteen, especially when it comes to romance..." He stopped himself and looked back at her doing pretty much the same, until their eyes met and they looked away once more with blushes in their faces.
"Anyway, Ce...Princess Celestia, I really think you should consider what I'm saying, you are an extraordinary princess and it is clear how much you love your job, why retire? And why give the country to someone else other than your sister?"
"Mark, it's not that simple." Celestia finally replied in melancholy.
"Then let's talk about it ok? And if not with me, at least with Luna, you still owe her an explanation and an opinion. I have talked with her and nothing would make her happy than to get more involved with the country." Mark tried to reason with her, causing her to sigh and nod.
"I can do that." She finally relented and nodded making him smile. "Thank you Celestia, that is all I ask you to do." They both turned to look at one another and smiled for a moment before getting nervous again and walked away. "A...anyway goodnight princess."
"Goodnight young Mark" They wave at each other and nearly trip over objects behind them until Mark leaves and the princess sat on her bed letting go of a breath she didn't know she was holding.
How did that even happen? How long did it last? I...I even enjoyed it. A lot, but why? I mean seriously what just happened?
She kept pondering the action wondering how that kiss happened in the first place as she touched her lips, as well as to why all the anger she had toward Mark was evaporating and turning into something else.
Back at the present
Opening the door of his house Mark was mildly surprised when he saw Milky Way wearing a brown trenchcoat, some sunglasses and a big blue hat to hide her identity as much as possible.
"Milky?" Mark looks at her confused and with a raised eyebrow at her cloth choices.
"Hi Mark, could I come in?" She asked nervously as she looked around like she was fearing that someone was following her.
"Ah sure, come in." He steps aside and lets her walk inside before closing the door behind her.
"So sorry for this I bet you are wondering why I'm wearing all of this?" She asked him as she took off the sunglasses, hat and trenchcoat and put them on a nearby sofa, revealing a simple semi formal button shirt with short sleeves and a long green skirt.
"It came to mind, yeah, what happened? Is someone following you?" Mark asks in worry, as she nods.
"Kind of, but don't worry it is nothing very serious. I just wanted to avoid my cousin and her relentless questions on how my date went and when will be the next one." She clarified in exasperation.
"Your cousin?...Rarity?" He guessed.
"Bon Bon actually, she found out about our date and now she and her wife have been pestering me about it, and I'm not exactly in the mood to give them more material to work with, so that is why I snuck in so we could talk." Milky explains as she sat next to her trench coat.
"Ah ok that explains, the trench coat I mean, I had no idea Bon Bon was your cousin though." Mark replied as he sat on the sofa chair in front of her. "And sure, what would you like to talk about?"
"Well mostly, I wanted to talk about that kiss from last night and ask, exactly what was that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Mark, when I gave you that kiss I intended to be a quick peck and then be done with it, how exactly did you manage to turn that into a full blown make out session?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.
He sighs and looks down. "I was really counting that it was just a coincidence, but it just keeps happening." He looks up to see her raising an eyebrow at the comment. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad I promise, just something that happen with me and some special friends of mine."
"I see so you are not that clueless about our world as I originally thought eh?" She ask while crossing her arms.
"Please don't misunderstand, yes I have a friend with benefits relationship with a couple of friends...friend I think" He looks up deep in thought. "One was more like a sort of gift, the other it was more like helping them out and the other...no that one is a clear example."
"Mark, you are going off topic here." Milky warns him starting to get irked by the sudden side track.
"Right, sorry, sorry. Anyway what happened back there is like a sort of power of mine one I do subconsciously, according to all the friends I have been intimate with, I have this sort of six sense of knowing how to really please a mare, if you know what I mean. I swear it is not on purpose it just simply happens, and like I said. I was really hoping that my friends were just exaggerating or just wanted to boost my confidence when they told me about it."
He looks down in shame. "If that makes you uncomfortable in any way, I'm deeply sorry, trust me when I say that the last thing I wanted is to put you in that kind of position."
She sighs and looks down. "It will take some time getting used to."
The reply takes him completely off guard as he looks at her in surprise, as she smiles at him. "Mark, I told you all I ever wanted, what my friends and I were looking for, was a nice stallion that treated us right, and didn't view us just as a piece of meat. And that is exactly what you just proved to me. Back at the hotel after you kissed me, all you needed to do was ask me to take you to my room and I would have complied. Heck! You could have taken all three of us if you so wanted and yet you restrained yourself, you respect my wishes to the very end! You truly are the stallion I have been looking for."
He gets a bit flustered at the compliment as she grabs his hand. "Now I really want to have that second date with you. That is of course if you are still interested."
"Of course! Nothing would make me happier." He exclaimed with a little bit more enthusiasm that he would have liked surprising her slightly as he sighs in embarrassment "Right off the bat I should also warn you, I have a very juvenile way of thinking, it's something I have been struggling with since I hit 13. I swear I'm trying to change that, but you will need to be patient with me."
"Mark, did you really meet Surprise a couple of days ago?" She asks him with a deadpan look. "If I can handle her I can handle that teenager brain of yours."
"Ok point taken." He replies with a chuckle. "Now I understand better why we get along so easily."
"Oh Ihave an idea, and hey now that I know this." She grabs his hand. "It means that when we are ready to take that step, it will feel way better than we could only imagine."
"Milky?" He looks at her in surprise as she goes and kisses his cheek.
"Not now, it would be way too soon, and I would like us to work on our relationship more before that, but it won't take too long and when the time comes...oh it will be so glorious." She physically shivers at the mental image.
"S...sure of course, I can picture that! Plus doing so would be the logical thing to do, and I will stop sleeping with my special friends too"
"What? Why would you do something so cruel?" Milky asks him mortified at that comment, taking him completely off guard.
"Ah what?"
"Oh right, another human thing right?" She asks once she manages to calm down as he merely nods. "Mark, just because we start a relationship doesn't mean you have to end your friendship either. I mean do you want me to break mine with Umbral and Surprise?"
"Well of course not, that would only be mean, and you have the right to be with them." He immediately tells and moments later it lands on him what she really meant.
"Wait, you three are...?!" She chuckles and silences him with a quick peck on the lips "We are really close friends, I more than understand what you are doing with yours, so no more talk about ending those friendships ok?"
"Ok," Mark replied, still processing how Milky was basically telling him to continue sleeping with Celestia. "Wait, does that mean I'm technically dating them as well now?"
"Well like Umbral said, play your cards right and you might be, but for now I should be going before Bon Bon finds me." She mentions putting on her disguise back on. "Talk to you later?"
"Sure I will call in the evening, take care, Milky, and thanks for giving us a chance." He replies finally managing to calm down although internally he was still processing all that new information.
"Well what can I say? You really knew how to sell the idea." She jokes before leaving as Mark closes the door and exhales in relief and slightly proud.
I did it, I'm not 100% sure but I think I got myself a marefriend! I need to tell Celly! |
Equestria Handyman | The Milk Maiden (Edited By NagaShark) | Looking around everywhere Mark made his way through the pristine crystal hallways of Princess Twilight's castle in search of said royal/librarian.
"Hey Twilight, do you have a minute?" He keeps calling for her name as he opens doors "Spike told me that you were in a study session, sorry for interrupting, I just need help for something quick? Twilight? Where are you? Twilight are you...?WOW!" The moment Mark opened the next door he was greeted by the image of said princess, naked next to a mare that looked exactly like Twilight but with light yellow fur, red, and slightly messy mane and tail with two stripes of purple running through them, and square glasses. Equally naked as their voluptuous breasts were smooshed around the dick of a sweaty orange stallion with ginger mane and tail and circle glasses as he had his tongue hanging out and his eyes rolled as he was in pure bliss. All 3 looking at him frozen in place from the shock of being caught in the act.
"...SO SORRY, didn't mean to interrupt" Mark quickly turned around and closed the door as fast as he could before heading to the exit.
"Mark, wait!" Twilight suddenly appears wearing a bathrobe and grabs his wrist. "You don't need to apologize, it was my fault for not locking the door." She explains in guilt and with a blushed face. "When we came back, we were so worked up, Moondancer and I were fighting not to pounce Sunburst right there in the entrance, that we completely forgot that the castle doubles as a public library."
"Twilight!" Mark pinch the bridge of his nose "CHILDREN come here"
"I know, I know we thought about that and placed a barrier so no minors could enter the castle but it was a slow day and the idea of being caught was..." She couldn't stop but to bite the bottom of her lips before returning to normal "B...But anyway I'm with you now, you said you needed my help?"
She tries to change the subject as Mark crosses his arms and looks at her with a raised eyebrow "What? I would never refuse help to anyone to find a book and you say it will only take a minute."
He sighs and looks down in defeat. "I will try to be brief, I was wondering if you had a book that could help me find a gift for my marefriend"
The second he uttered those words he was bombarded by a high pitch squeal from Twilight as stars literally shown in her eyes. "You got a marefriend!? Mark that is incredible! Wait, why have you never told me? Who is she? How long have you been going out? Are you serious? Did you start today? Are you forming a herd? Or is it yet too soon for that?"
"Twilight come back, come back to me" Mark interrupts her and grabs her shoulders shaking her briefly before she could continue asking more questions.
"Sorry, sorry, you are right, that is none of my business. I'm really happy you found a special somepony Mark! You really deserve it, and I really hope someday you will let me meet her."
"Thanks maybe at some point I could introduce you two, or maybe you already know each other, she is Bon Bon's cousin after all. And speaking of relationships, it is none of my business either but what happened back there..." He points behind Twilight "...didn't you used to date a pegasus guard? Sentry something I think was his name"
"Flash Sentry and I still are actually" She tells with a big smile "Me, Moondancer and my Flashy are on our second year as a herd, in fact" She recalls feeling reminiscent.
"What? But then what is up with...?"
"What? Oh! You mean Sunburst? No Mark, you got it all wrong, that was just his birthday gift, fun fact, it turns out that both him and Flashy had their birthday on the same day, so me and Starlight decided to give them a surprise gift for the occasion, she and Trixie are taking care of my Sentry too at the school right now actually, so you see? It's nothing but just a little show of affection toward our stallions that's all."
"...by sleeping with your friend's coltfriend?'' Mark asks with a deadpan voice.
"Well yeah, why? What is wrong with that?" Twilight looked at him confused by his reaction. He was about to respond but opted to hold his tongue and shake his head.
"Nothing, at this point I shouldn't be surprised by now" He replied as he began to advance to the library with Twilight close behind. "And hey after the initial shock I must say that is really considerate of you two...ah four, your coltfriends are really lucky guys"
"Aw! Thank you" Twilight blushes slightly at the compliment. "So, you said you are looking for something that will help you find a gift for your marefriend right?"
"Yep, I was thinking of giving her a surprise visit to her hometown tomorrow, and didn't want to arrive empty handed so I thought of getting her something but I wasn't exactly sure what."
"Well I'm happy to help but why didn't you ask Rarity? This seems like something she might know more about"
"Actually that is why I'm here, I asked all five of your friends before arriving here, Rainbow Dash suggest me subscribe us both in a competition, Applejack said to just surprise her at her job and help her with it, Pinkie told me to throw a party and Fluttershy well she..."
"She is still nervous around you, isn't she?" Twilight ask in concern as he merely nod
"Seriously I still don't get it, you two used to be really close friends, exactly what made her get so jumpy around you?" Twilight wonders, confused by her friend's demeanor as Mark bite his tongue as he remembers how she surprised him after following him on one of his hunting trips, and caught him in the act of enjoying a dish of a well done piece of hydra steak.
"It's a real mystery" He finally tells "and well after that Rarity suggested I gather the ingredients and pay to make a special diamond necklace, so I was wondering if you had a book that could tell me exactly what I would need."
"Oh! A personally selected and hand picked necklace? That is actually a good idea, I have just the book you would need" She tells him as they reach the library where she doesn't waste time and taking flight goes to the second level of the room in search of a book and giving a brief show to the human who had some heat on his checks before looking away. To his luck Twilight had the decency of putting a pair of purple panties before chasing after him.
"If you don't mind me asking how long have you two been dating? And how come I have never seen you?"
"Well we mostly have been in a long distance relationship ever since we started dating, she lives in Trottingham and this is the first time we see each other in person after our first date, we have been going out for I think 3 months now." Mark answered her as best as he could.
"I see, that explains how I never saw you two together" Twilight humm a little as she kept registering the books "Aha! Here it is, chapter 14, the list of what you would need is in there" She exclaims in victory and takes out a thick book before giving it to him.
"Jewelry, Diamonds and how to construct them" Mark read the title out loud before nodding and looking at her. "This is perfect, thanks Twilight."
"Anytime, let me know how things went after your visit" She says with a smile as she starts to get anxious. "And well not to be rude or anything..."
"I'm going." He nods in understanding and turns to leave. "Oh and Twilight!" He catches her when she was about to teleport away. "Quick advice, bring him some water, that poor stallion looks like he is about to pass out."
"Water right, good idea. Bye Mark!" She calls in a hurry before teleporting away as he chuckles.
Oh boy Sunburst, you are walking funny by the time those two are done with you....Wait if she does that as a gift for her friends, does that mean that in the future she might suggest that I...? Nope not thinking about it. I will just assume that it is only between her and Starlight cause the two are really close friends, that's all.
He shakes his head as he exits her castle and starts looking for the ingredients for the necklace. Never noticing a pair of eyes following his movements from nearby bushes as he exits the castle.
The next day
"Here you go, come again" Milky smiles as she hands over a dozen bottles of milk to her customer and waves them goodbye, and attends the next customer in line. As she put away a couple of empty bottles behind the corner "Welcome to Orbit Milk where our dairy products are out of this world, how can I help you?" She speaks with a practiced smile as she gets ready to attend the next customer.
"Oh I don't know, I was mainly just browsing around." She immediately recognized the voice and looking up she saw none other than Mark smiling at her. "Wanted to see my marefriend at work, and I have to say so far, I like what I'm seeing." He mentions glancing at her uniform that looked like a regular milkman uniform from Earth with everything including the hat and bowtie with the exception that instead of pure white hers was blue with stars and comets that made it look like she was actually wearing the milky way ensemble. "Hi Milky."
"Mark? What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" She was pleasantly surprised by his arrival as she had to fight the urge to go and give him a hug over the counter .
"Wanted to surprise you and see your shop, and I mean it Milky you really have something incredible going on here, all your stories don't do justice to this place." He compliments as he steps aside. "But we can talk later for now I will just look around, tell me when you have a moment"
She shakes her head and chuckles as she watches him leave and explore the shop, eyeing the cheese section of her place, and noticing the wrapped gift in his arms. Noticing that contrary to what one would believe, Milky's shop deals with more than only milk sales, cheese, yogurt, ice-cream. Basically any dairy product imaginable was for sale as well as obvious side dishes to eat or drink with them like crackers, cookies, and even some fruits like apples and grapes. An extensive and intriguing concept that Mark was more than eager to explore like a kid in a candy shop. A notion that Milky found both adorable and touching for how much interest he was showing for her work.
"Ah miss?" A mare calls for Milky attention.
"Oh my Celestia! So sorry about that miss! How can I help you?" Milky turns to the customer with an embarrassed smile as she only chuckles and waves her hand. "Oh don't worry, mare I've been in your horse shoes before, my husband surprise visits me at work all the time, I find it touching when your special someponies show interest in your work right?" She dismisses her concern helping Milky relax as they go over her order without much hassle.
The rest of the day went like any other one as customers kept coming and Milky took their orders with a smile on her face as Mark offered to do some small jobs here and there to help her out like sweeping the floors or helping customers carry their items back to their carts. She was unsure at first but ultimately decided to relent and allow the help which at the end of the day, she appreciated the helping hand.
Once it was closing time and the last customer left her store, Milky let go a sigh of relief and flipped the sign at the front door from open to close before addressing the human in her store. "And with that we are done for today." She says in pride.
"Have to say Milky I'm impressed, this store of yours was filled to the brim ten minutos ago, and yet you handled everything like it was nothing. Do you really manage this store all by yourself on a daily basis?"
"That is right and I know what you are implying so I will stop you right there, I don't need any more assistance, like you just saw it, I'm more than enough to handle the rush hour without any problem ever since I opened this little store of mine." She responded with confidence.
"Oh goodie, stubbornness runs in the family" Mark mutters to himself
"What was that?" Milky asks him with a smile, being unable to hear what he just said.
"I said that I can't exactly argue with the results, both you and Bon Bon really know your stuff and can really handle the heat like it was nothing." Mark quickly replies, causing her to blush from the compliment.
"Aww that is so sweet of you." She then approached and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for helping me with the store, you didn't have to do it. But I sure as heck appreciated the gesture Marky, you really made my job a lot easier today."
"It was nothing, and it gave me an opportunity to see you in action. And I have to say, I'm impressed, you really know how to exploit the concept of milk and all the dairy products that come from it" He nods a couple of times while looking around the store, with his arms on his hips that remind him of the present he had in one of his pockets. "Oh right! Milky I hope you don't mind." He pulls out the present and hands it over. "I just didn't want to surprise you empty handed so I got you a little something."
Intrigued, she opens the present to reveal a diamond necklace with a thin chain on it and the symbol of her cutie mark engraved in a heart shaped ruby. "Oh wow Mark it's...it's beautiful" Milky responds before hugging it and looks at him in appreciation as he gets closer and helps her put on, while she looks at herself in a mirror. Once secure she turned around and surprised him with a quick kiss on the lips. "I love it! Thank you" She giggles when he grabs her hips and returns the gesture. "Glad you like it, I hand pick all the materials myself."
"How thoughtful." They continue kissing briefly, as Milky hugs him back until things escalate and they soon start to make out, as their tongues start to dance with one another until they have to break it to take a much needed breath.
"Such a lovely gift deserves another, tell me Marky. Would you like to taste a sample of my best milk?" She asks with half lidded eyes.
"I would love that." Mark reply starting to get excited, getting an idea of what she was referring to."
She gives him one final kiss before letting him go and heading to the back of the store "I just need a minute, would you lock the door and close the windows before coming to the back room?"
"Sure." He nods eagerly before getting to work before heading to where she went.
The room was completely dark minus a spot light in the middle of the left wall where there was nothing except a wooden chair. "Please take a seat." Milky calls from the shadows so he couldn't exactly pinpoint her location, making him nervous yet excited by this little game she wanted to play.
Gulping some saliva and with his pants starting to get tight, he complies and sits down in time for the lights to be turned off, leaving him in complete darkness. " Tell me Marky, do you know why my milk is in such demand when any pony could get the same deal from the open market or their local farm?" Milky keeps talking as he starts to hear her unbuttoning and unzipping her pants, following the sound and adjusting to the darkness Mark soon found her standing in front of him as she placed her hat on top of his head and got close to his ear. "Because mine is the best milk in all of Equestria." She whispered before taking the chance to lick his ear sending shivers down his spine and place him at full mast.
"But don't take my word..." She stood back and although he couldn't see her completely he could clearly see her silhouette getting rid of her shirt and tossing aside as she leaned forward until he could feel her right breast virtually touching his lips, as he heard his own pants being unzipped and an exploring hand taking out his dick. "...I will gladly prove it, open wide big boy."
Not needing further encouragement Mark opens his mouth and leans forward as he starts to suck her succulent breast milk, provoking a moan from Milky as she sits on his lap, and starts rocking her hips soaking his dick with her wet cunny, making him moan in response sending vibrations into her already sensitive nipple as she hugs his head as they keep making the other gasp and moan repeatedly in a slow rhythmic dance of the flesh.
"Do...Do you see it now? How does...how does it taste? It's delicious, right?" Milky manages to question in between moans as Mark finds himself unable to do anything else other than nod in agreement. Moaning his approval as he hugs and caresses her back.
"There is no need to hold...ah!...to hold back Mark. Drink to your heart's content, enjoy your reward for being such a patient and caring coltfriend. You earned it!" Getting adventurous Mark starts to move his hand lower until he reaches her flank and starts to squeeze her flank making her gasp from the surprise before giggling.
"Oh Marky! Getting daring, aren't we?" She stands up briefly and turns on the lights again flipping a switch behind Mark as they look each other in the eyes, smiling in content, no words were needed as she lined her neden with his pole until the tip touched her, she then descended slowly, until they became one never breaking eye contact.
Standing up Milky was surprise on how easily he manage to support the two before Mark grabs hold of her head and brings her into a deep kiss, that caught her off guard for a moment, as he starts to trust in and out of her, at a slow pace that soon started to gain speed as she matches their rhythm and their actions become more and more primal and intense.
Eventually they move their session to the second floor of her store. That was where she lived and finding her bed they continue as Mark discards his cloths and starts to fuck her like there was no tomorrow.
"Oh my stars! Oh my Celestia. I just...Mark I...I'm cumming!" Milky finally exclaims as they were currently having sex doggy style, making them stop to catch their breath, mostly Milky as they lay down on her bed.
"How...How are you still hard?" She questions in between panting, noticing how he was still inside of her.
"I can't help it, Milky, laying next to such a beautiful mare, with milk that I could easily get addicted to? It would be impossible not to be hard. Don't worry I'm not gonna be pressured if you can't go on. Just rest." Mark replies, rubbing her shoulder in a caring manner as he slowly pulls out only for Milky to grab it and turn around with a giant grin on her face.
"Milky?"
"Oh you are not going anywhere mister." Milky tells in between chuckles. "Tonight is milk tasting, and mama wants her drinks too!" She declared before lowering herself and had her turn at sucking at him causing him to flinch and grab the bed sheets at her blowjob technique.
Soon after the room was fill with their collective screams and moans as they continue to fuck the night away like wild animals, in various positions, until they pass out from exhaustion.
Later that morning.
The sounds of chirping birds slowly wake up Mark as he looks at the ceiling before feeling something soft and big pressing against his chest. When he looks down he saw the satisfied smiling face of Milky Way staring back at him with her hair all messed up, completely naked. "Good morning handsome."
He smiles and holds her cheek with one hand. "Morning to you too gorgeous." They share a long passionate kiss before breaking apart. "And thank you for the taste sample last night too, it was glorious"
"You weren't half bad yourself, stud" She smirked and got more comfortable on top of him. "I don't recall the last time I have been fucked like that before. It was intense and wild, and by Celestia, did I love every single minute of it, all seventeen times." She kisses his check before leaning her head under his chin as he hugs her, and chuckles nervously and with some pink on his cheeks.
"Glad you like it...Milky I just wanted to tell you. Last time I got carried away but I swear I'm not like that, I really want our relationship..."
"...Shhh" Milky stops him by placing a finger on his lips "I know, sweetie I know, that is why last night ended up the way it did. I would have never done the things I did with anyone else. Only you." She leaned up so they could see eye to eye. "I have been waiting for this ever since our date at ponyville and by the stars the wait was more than worth it, so trust me. I know you don't just want a physical relationship."
He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "You have no idea the weight you just lifted off my shoulders honey, because I really don't want this to end just because I couldn't control myself."
"That is ok, I don't think I can control myself either, now what do you say if we go for eighteen?!" She exclaims in hunger before launching herself into a deep kiss with him. |
Equestria Handyman | The Princess Of Matchmaking (Part 1) [Edited By NagaShark] | As the train station was slowly filled with activity from passengers disembarking from the 10: 30 am train, a particular pink mare with mane and tail stripped in the colors of Pale Yellow, Bright Pink, and Purple, matching wings with a bright pink to purple gradient and a long horn made her way out of the carriage carrying her luggage as she advances to the entrance where an eager Twilight was waiting for her. She was wearing a blue long sweater, light purple toga and golden regalia that denoted her royal status.
"Cadence!" Twilight calls before approaching her to give her a hug
"Twily" Cadence rush to her as well until they were next to one another
"Sunshine, Sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hands and do a little shake"
"Sunshine, Sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hands and do a little shake"
They say simultaneously doing a little routine of their own before chuckling and hugging each other.
"I'm so glad you came to visit."
"But of course, I always love spending time with you Twily." Cadence messes with her mane a little. "We have so much to catch on, especially with that little herd of yours, you naughty girl, should I be expecting a little niece pretty soon?" She teases, causing her to giggle and swat her hand away due to her embarrassment.
"Cadence! Flashy me and Moondancer are still not thinking thoughts like that yet." She replies with a big blush. Making Cadence to chuckle again.
"Just messing with you a little."
"Oh just you wait Cadence I have a whole schedule ahead of us for these two weeks! We all gonna a have a lot of fun."
"I'm sure we will." Her expression suddenly turned mischievous before getting closer to her. "And you know who, doesn't know I'm here yet?"
"Nope, he is completely clueless." Twilight shakes her head matching her expression "Would you like to go pay him a visit now?"
"After the letter you sent me, I have been dying to talk with him again, there is much we need to catch up on as well." They both giggle with some mischief in the atmosphere as they leave the train station.
Meanwhile at the apple farm Mark had to stop moving barrels when he suddenly felt a chill running down his spine.
"Is everything alright partner?" A yellow blond mare with a long mane combed into a ponytail, a stetson hat, a red dotted shirt on top of a white one tied in a knot in the front, that barely contains her double D size breasts, as well as show her muscular yet slim torso and Daisy Duke cut jeans asks him with a raised eyebrow as she stops loading the barrels of apples into a nearby cart to go sell them at the market.
"I'm...not so sure Applejack, I simply had this cold chill going through my back just a moment ago." He responds unsure of what was happening before resuming his work "Eh it's probably nothing"
"I wouldn't take those kinds of chills lightly, partner." Applejack tells him with a worried tune. "As far as we know, you might be coming down with something." She secures the last barrel before focusing her attention on Mark. "We are pretty much done here anyway, why don't you go home and hit the hay for a while just to be on the safe side."
"Oh come on AJ, now you are overreacting, it's not like I'm getting the flu or something, I just had a bad feeling that's all."
"And that is better because...?" She waves her wrist in a circle while looking at him with a raised eyebrow, cornering him into a spot until he rolls his eyes. "Ok you got me there"
"I'm just saying, Ponyville isn't exactly a quiet town partner, if you're feeling something bad coming, the best thing to do is try to just wait until it passes by."
"Fine, I will take your advice and will go home, happy?"
"If it means you stay safe, eeyup" She chuckles and waves him goodbye. "I will come visit later with some apple soup, just in case. Stay safe, partner!" AJ calls as he nods and leaves the premises.
I really hope that there really is nothing to worry, partner, me and the rest of the town can handle Ponyville's usual craziness, but I'm not sure you could.
Applejack kept pointing until he was out of sight before sighing and heading to the farmers market with her cart full of apples.
As Mark kept walking down the dirty road he had to stop briefly, and look around his surroundings the moment he felt that someone was watching him, turning the corner he starts to speed up his march. Yet the sensation of eyes on him didn't seem to be fading and instead he starts to hear bushes shaking in the near distance putting him more on edge. Finally finding his opening once he saw the entrance to the everfree forest. Making a sharp turn in a U he dived inside to confuse his chaser and soon jumped from tree to tree until he found himself in the top of a particularly bulky one hiding himself from view as he awaited his chaser. Something that fortunately didn't take long as the hooded figure appeared from the path he had taken before stopping and looking around confused when they couldn't find any trace of Mark.
Taking the chance Mark gets down from the tree making sure the figure didn't see him and circles around them before pouncing on them, grabbing their arm and putting them in a head lock as he grabs their neck with their free hand and presses them against a tree.
"Ok buddy, time to talk, why are you following...?" Mark added pressure on the arm but stopped and had to do a double take when all of the sudden the figure voiced a femenine moan of pleasure and arched her head backward catching him off guard and making him release the hooded figure from the surprise alone.
Before he could say or do anything else, the figure reveals a pair of yellow wings from her back and flies away as fast as she can, leaving him perplexed and blinking repeatedly.
What in the hell just happened? Who was that figure, that voice and that color wings...there is something familiar about it.
Shaking his head he decided to not dwell too much about it and resumed his trip back home.
Applejack was right, I shouldn't take those kind of chills lightly, I just hope the worst is over.
He sighs as his home/shop gets in view and to his pleasant surprise none other than Milky was waiting for him at the counter, immediately improving his mood.
"Milky."
"Hello handsome." She greeted him and, not wasting time Mark went to her and grabbed her sides, and spun her around making them chuckle as she hugged him back and they shared a kiss. "I'm so glad to see you, why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"That is why it is called a surprise visit dummy." She replied with a wink making him chuckle as he put her down gently. "Ok you got me there."
"And I must say." Milky looks around the shop. "I never would have imagined a handyman and a hardware store would look so similar" She says admiring the shelves with all sorts of construction tools, materials and even pieces of wood.
"Nah all of this is mainly owned by Mr. Nail, and Ms. Plank" Mark quickly replied with a dismissive hand gesture. "I simply help with the store while renting their guest room on the second floor. Kind of like what Pinkie does."
"So you are also working half time here?"
"Kind of, my number and business details are at the front door and counter" He says pointing at said ads on both the front door and behind the counter. "So when ponies come here they can find me if they need any help on their projects, this place is the best spot to find clients that need the help of a handyman, and on slow days I mainly help customers carry wood, or other materials to their carts."
"Sounds more like you are an additional service the store offers rather than a separate entity, wouldn't it be better having a shop of your own so your services are more easy to spot?"
Mark could only chuckle and scratch the back of his head "Heh maybe but I wouldn't even know where or how to start one. I mean what would a handyman store even look like? I can do pretty much any job, especially if it involves physical labor, how do I present that? Like an office maybe?"
"That could be an option." She then leans forward. "And I would be more than happy to help you set it up, as a successful business mare myself." She replies playfully. "It will give us a lot of time to spend together."
"I'm liking the idea more and more." He replies with the same bedroom eyes as they hug each other once more, and are about to kiss when Mark suddenly feels someone was watching and looking to his right he saw both Cadence and Twilight grinning ear to ear at the show in front of them, much to the couple's surprise and confusion.
"Don't stop! Keep going" Cadence instructed in excitement, ignoring how awkward she just made everything.
"Y-your Highnesses!" Milky exclaims on alert and quickly ends the hug to bow to the two royals in the store.
"Good day Princesses, welcome to nails and planks. How may I help you?" Mark follows along and greets them both as potential clients much to their surprise and/or annoyance.
"Mark, I told you not to use titles with me." Twilight reproaches.
"Or me." Cadence follows suit placing her hands on her hips. " And don't try to play coy with me mister, I have a bone to pick with you right now. How was it that I had to find out you got yourself a special somepony from Twilight? I thought we had a deal!" She points at him with an accusing finger and a hurt expression.
"Y...you are friends with royalty?" Milky questions Mark in surprise.
"I kept in contact with the sisters yeah, and it's a bit of a long story but I did spend a couple of years in the castle where I met Cadence at some point." Mark quickly replied before looking at the princess "And ok I'm sorry for not telling you Pri..."
"AH!" She screeches in annoyance.
"Mia..."
"Say it and die" She warns him again.
With a reluctant sigh he just rolled his eyes "Cadence, I'm sorry for not telling you, ok? But you kind of go overboard when it comes to playing matchmaker and I didn't want you to spook Milky by doing something like a surprise visit to meet her."
"I wouldn't have done that"
"Really? Then you travel all the way here to buy wood?"
"...fine you got me, but you could have at the very least told me you where ready to enter the dating world."
"I was gonna tell you eventually, I swear!"
"When?"
"Preferably a day you weren't busy being a princess, and too late for you to start sending me into blind dates the very first day"
"By the stars, are you still holding a grudge about my little white lie? I only wanted to help you loosen up a bit and see that mares could be beautiful!"
"It's kind of a big step Cadence! You could have been more delicate about it, instead of just tricking me into going into that strip club!"
"S-Strip club?! What?" Milky eyes wide as she looks back at Cadence. "Ah excuse me, but why are you so interested in my coltfriend's love life?" She asks while hugging Mark and looks at Cadence suspiciously.
"I apologize if my actions were and are a bit invasive." Cadence replied in genuine shame. "It is just love is something that I simply treasure and adore seeing it being nurtured and grown, and can't help but wishing to see and hear the result of my work."
Mark smiles and nods. "Don't be so harsh with her honey, Cadence is just too passionate with her title at times, and well I still owe her for helping me see women in Equestria in a brand new light and relaxed to the idea of dating." He lifts her chin so Milky could look at his eyes "In a way it is thanks to her that I manage to find you." He gives her a small peck on the lips helping her relax and calm down, despite the high pitch glee coming from the Princesses in front of them.
"And Cadence I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, you're right I should have, I owe it to you. But hey, everything was resolved in the end. I found that special somepony, and I will be more than happy to introduce you." He steps besides Milky so both mares could face each other and with a gesture points at one another. "Milky, this is a very good friend of mine that helped me not be scared of entering the dating game Princess Cadence, but don't use the title she is kind of allergic to it."
"Hey!" Cadence reproaches, while Twilight only giggles.
"And Cadence, let me introduce you to Milky Way..." He grabs her hand and looks at her with dreamy eyes "...my marefriend."
"Nice to meet you." Miky plays along and extends her hand in front of Cadence who completes the gestures "It's always a pleasure meeting more of Mark's friends."
"Likewise" Cadence relaxed and decided to follow their example with a smile, before starting to get excited while looking at both of them "And allow me to say you two just look so cute together! How long have you been dating?"
"Oh I think this is like our third month?"
"Fourth, actually remember? We have Lyra and Bon Bon's baby shower tomorrow." Milky corrected him.
"Right, right my mistake but don't worry mom, I have been a complete gentleman and we didn't do anything until we were both ready." Mark joked around smirking at Cadence.
"Oh I'm sure you did sweetie, you were always the shyest of all the colts in the playground" Cadence counter patted his cheeks lightly.
"Well played." Mark finally replies pushing her hand away as all the mares share a laugh
"But all jokes aside, tell me more? Please tell me your story. How did you two meet? Where was your first date? Is it too late to suggest some herd candidates?"
"Cadence! You are doing it again!"
"Oh please, please, please just this once" She practically begged them to give in by giving them THE puppy dog eyes.
The couple looks at her unsure before looking at one another for help not sure how to respond.
That Afternoon
"...And after that we kind of stayed in contact and sort of started this long distant relationship." Mark finishes the story on how they meet, as the group continue to enjoy a treat in a coffee shop near town hall.
"Aww, that is so adorable!" Cadence claps her hands together with a giant grin both from hearing the story and manages to convince the two of telling it after some more coaching. "And a bit sad, are you really ok with being separated that long? Only able to talk, thru your scrolls and meet twice or thrice a month? I'm sure I would be jumping the bones of my dear Shining Armor by the third day apart."
The comment makes Twilight have a double take and almost spit her drink, while looking at her sister in law with a blush. "Cadence please! That is my brother we are talking about, couldn't you spare me the details?"
"Oh trust me Twily, I did" She replies with a dreamy smile into the void.
"A...Anyway, to answer your question, we are pretty much ok Cadence." Mark replies. "We simply like to take things slow."
"Well..." Milky confesses, looking away much to Mark's surprise and horror.
"M-M-Milky" He stutters slowly reaching for her shoulder as she quickly looks at him.
"Don't worry! Is nothing bad! I'm with you on taking things slow and I love how much patience you had and wanted to know me better until we jumped into anything physical! It's just..."
"Just what? Milky...am I doing something wrong or that is making you uncomfortable?" Mark grabs one of her hands and to his relief she places her other hand on top of it.
"No, in fact it is me who is worrying about placing you in a difficult position." She looks away trying to come up with the right words. "Is not that I don't love you, I do, I really do. You have been nothing but kind and patient and supportive, there is absolutely no other stallion I would want to be with. You are the only one in my eyes, Marky."
He smiles in understanding and grabs her other hand.
"Whatever it is we will figure it out together Milky I will be right beside you." He then goes and kisses her forehead to ease her worries a bit, succeeding in calming her down before she takes a deep breath and prepares.
"I would have preferred doing this differently but..." Milky takes a glance at Princess Cadence. "...Well if anyone could explain things better and give us some advice am I right?"
"You have my word." Cadence quickly nodded in understanding of what Milky was talking about.
"Ok here it goes, Marky I know how you are still getting used to our costumes and tradition so we can always pause this conversation for when you are ready but I think...I'm ready, it's time we have the herd talk."
Everything went silent as soon as Milky said those words. Mark kept smiling at him before finally turning his head to the side in confusion "The, what now?" That is the only thing he could ask before hearing an incredibly high pitched squeal from the Princess of Love herself that cracks a nearby window as he glares at her. "Sorry, sorry I couldn't help it, by all the stars it is happening!" She can barely contain her excitement. |
Equestria Handyman | The Princess Of Matchmaking (Part 2) [Edited By NagaShark] | "Herd formation: For centuries Equestria has been known for being a herd society due to the unbalanced ratio between female and male birth, while now days the gap between males and female have shrunk considerably and the risk of extinction has disappeared, thanks to the advances in medicine, science and magic as well as the increase of the average expectancy. Herds continue to be a norm that continue to practice, with the average of 6 to 10 mares and one stallion."
"6 to 10 mares?!" Marks interrupts Twilight's explanation in shock. Before looking at Milky who was looking away in embarrassment. Making him realize his mistake and sitting down to grab her hand. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."
"No it's ok, I understand if this is a touchy subject and you would prefer it if I drop it and..."
"No! No! I'm on board with it." Mark quickly replies, catching everyone by surprise as Milky slowly grins and grabs his hands in anticipation. "Really?"
"Yeah really, I was just taken off guard, but I'm willing to try it, even if I have my reservations." He looks down in shame. "I know it makes me sound like a hypocrite, but I'm not sure I would ever be ready to share you with another stallion."
All 3 mares only blink for a moment before understanding what was happening and nodding, Milky even grabbing and hugging one of his arms "Oh my sweet, beautiful, naive stud. That will never happen." She tells him lovingly while nuzzling her cheeks against him.
"Yeah, due to the low rate of stallions, a herd with more than one is extremely rare...and it's kind of frowned upon." Cadence elaborates "Like Twilight said things have changed since the times of the 3 tribes, and there are certainly all kinds of couples everywhere, just mares, just stallions, interspecies, and so on. But if there is something that has basically turned into an unspoken law that for the most part everyone respects is that there can only be one stallion for each herd...unless it is one with just stallions of course."
"Really?" He was confused before looking at Twilight "But then what happened with Sunburst..."
"That is a completely different thing!" Twilight was quick to answer with a deep blush. "I told you, that was a birthday gift, it was only a thing some herds do and I wasn't stealing a stallion!" She was quick to defend herself.
"Ok, ok Twilight calm down" Mark raises his hands as she drinks some water for her nerves.
"Sorry, it's just that there is a lot of types of herds in Equestria, but I really didn't want to give you the wrong impression, and a herd that takes away stallions from other mares are just monsters, even if those mares then ask to join their herds."
Twilight stops him before he could ask the obvious question. "The idea of asking to form part of a herd like that is both degrading and cruel, mares forced to do that would be practically submitting to the alpha mare that took more than one stallion for herself " Twilight say barely containing her growing anger
"That is why in Equestria a herd can only have one stallion. I know it might sound counterproductive but in reality it made things more fair for everyone and left more stallions available" Cadence finish the explanation "Swingers? Of course, like Twilight says, there are all sorts of herds in Equestria but having more than one stallion in one is where we drew the line."
"And even if that wasn't the case, it will not change a single thing!" Milky says with finality. Tightening her hug. "You are the only stallion for me Marky, you and no one else."
The show of affection warms Mark's heart as he rests his head on top of hers. "You have no idea the weight you just lifted from my shoulders." His expression quickly turns to worry as he looks her in the eyes. "But that will really be ok with you? The idea of being with another mare really would not bother...ah Milky?" Mark had to stop when he noticed how Milky eyes turn sultry and look at nothing.
"Hm? Oh!" She shakes her head to snap from her trance. "Sorry I just had the mental image of you with another mare in front of me is..." She shivers in delight before continuing "...so enticing" She whispers with a small blush cupping his cheeks to look into his eyes in adoration "But to answer your question, nothing would make me happier than knowing my Marky will not be alone and is happy with other mares while I'm away because of my job or with my friends, I already saw everything I need to know, you will not just be chasing after every skirt you see, you would really look after a true and legitimately connection for both of us. And by Celestia is that just hot.'' She gets closer to his ear. "Especially if you don't mind me looking for candidates myself." She then blows air into his ear sending a shiver down his spine at the implication of her not only giving him permission and seeing more mares but also of her doing the same, giving him really brief images of his time with Bon Bon and Lyra.
Needless to say, Mark at that moment couldn't stand up from his chair, as he only gulps. "Ok you..." He finally manages to reply with a cracked voice before clearing his throat and shakes his head to snap him away from any sexual fantasies "...you convinced me."
All the mares share a laugh at his antics as Milky kisses his check affectionately. "I knew you would like the idea."
"So, how do we start a herd exactly? Is there a ritual or rules I should know? Things I can and can't do?" He questions the 3 now more than interested in the subject.
Milky simply shrugs. "It depends on whom you ask, every herd does things differently, hunting in bars, inviting close friends, organizing dates between the stallion, the alpha mare and the potential candidate, the list goes on."
"I see, that helps a little, but the question would be what could work for us?"
"May I recommend something?!" Cadence quickly voiced her opinion with barely any excitement.
"Sure Cadence, what would you suggest?" Milky looks at her with expectation wanting to hear her input on the matter.
"Since both of you are new to the concept of herding, why not maintain things casual and take away all the pressure? Start by developing beneficial friendships." She explains entering into an educational mode. "Just go out there, have dates, have some fun, test the water. Then when you find mares that would like to take things more seriously, introduce them to the other, and if she likes it, add her to the herd."
"So basically we both go seek potential candidates and make friendships with benefits?" Milky summarizes holding her chin, considering the option. "I kind of like the idea, what do you say dear? Do we give it a try?" She look at Mark who was also considering the suggestion.
"Hmm it's promising yeah, I would only add one thing."
"Which is?"
"That we keep each other posted of new friends or candidates." He replied, looking at Milky. "I want to hear that you are happy and hear the story of how you met, will that be ok with you honey?" She returns the smile with one of her own and nods. "There is no problem with me whatsoever." Her eyes suddenly turn sultry. "Just don't spare details." She tells him with a wink, giving him an idea of what she was referring to.
"O-Ok" Mark stutters and takes another sip of his coffee "It's decided then, thanks for the help Cadence."
"It was my pleasure Mark, nothing makes me happier than helping couples find and extend their love nest." She flashes him a warm smile in satisfaction.
"And if you like we can help you too." Twilight eagerly adds. "We can help you practice how to relax on dates and...maybe if wanted, set a couple of blind ones?" She mumbles the last one making the couple roll their eyes.
"Well I appreciate the offer but I don't think..."
"...I would consider it Marky" Milky interrupted her with a smirk "Remember how it took you sometime relaxing for our first date?"
"Ah...ok point taken."
"And besides they are your friends AND the princesses of love and friendship! If they believe they know of a mare that could be good for us, I trust them." She looks at him making no attempt to hide her eagerness. "What do you say? It could be fun."
Mark thinks it over before finally relenting and nods. "Ah what the heck, you are right, let's be daring!" He then brings her into a kiss as Cadence and Twilight cheer.
"Thank you so much! You two, I promise you will not regret it! You are gonna love these mares!" Cadence and Twilight then take out their scrolls and start making calls until Mark interrupts them "Let start them a week from now ok? Let us prepare mentally first"
"Right." They say simultaneously with deep blushing faces taking their phones away. |
Equestria Handyman | Cadence’s Past Lesson Of Love (Diamond Dust) [Edited by NagaShark] | Seven Months After serving the crown
Exiting the room a group of mayors were happily chatting with the Princess of the Night as she shook hands with them with a smile.
"Thank you so much for this opportunity, your highness." One of the mayors, an older unicorn stallion with formal attire, a monocle and a big mustache, shakes hands with Princess Luna.
"Don't mention it Mayor Dice, in fact I should be the one thanking you for giving the opportunity of the bat pony race to establish a nightlife in your humble town."
"Oh but of course! The productivity alone will be a dream come true! But the cultural boom! A brand new lifestyle, the possibilities of interactions. The night will no longer be just for sleeping!" He exclaims in excitement as his companions voice their agreement and leave happily from the courtroom as Luna waves them goodbye noticing Mark approaching.
"Young Mark!" Luna calls out to him "Do you have a moment?"
"Sure Princess what is it?" Mark replied with a happy demeanour.
"I just wanted to thank you for that brilliant idea of yours!" She cheered, resisting the urge of just hugging him to maintain their professionalism, after the kiss incident a month ago Celestia kept her word and actually spoke with Luna about their situation where issues were found and both princesses noticed how Celestia's plan wasn't as flawless as she originally envisioned.
Words were exchanged, hiding frustrations and forced acceptance were discovered, and after a heated argument the Princesses managed to find a common ground to stand on, and once more work together to rule Equestria properly with no more secrets or agendas for the future that the other wasn't informed of yet. A real rollercoaster of emotions in which their relationship grew stronger and closer after that day.
Something Mark will not forget for a long time, a big deal on how touched he was of seeing the Princesses make up and put everything into the air to try to improve...and a small part because to this day he still doesn't understand. Why they requested him to stay in the room from start to finish, no matter the numerous times he tried to excuse himself out.
After that, things began to improved for all of them, after a heartfelt apology Mark was given a decent room for him to sleep in, still not as big as a guest room but at the very least the improvement give him space to breath, he had a window with a view of the city, and the bed was upgraded from a twin to a queen.
He was still acting as the Princesses chore boy, although this time it was by choice. Neither of them demanded him to do anything ridiculous, and they even listened to his advice if he had one, in fact he was allowed to use more casual clothes and explore the castle as he pleased, helping around where he could, mostly Luna, as Celestia had turned particularly distant and had barely spoken with him after they shared that kiss. He felt bad about it, but reasoned that she mostly needed space and they would speak again once she was ready.
Princess Luna on the other hand became more open with him, and the two actually started to hit it off, as she invited him to her night court, to keep her company in the long hours of doing nothing, giving him plenty of time to chat, learn from one another, and help her come back to modern times, since she was still struggling a little with modern technology. During the time, Mark took it upon himself to find out how her night court actually worked and started to come up with ideas and advice to help her improve and inject more life into it.
Advice that she took to heart and so far had given positive results unusually fast.
"I hardly think this could be considered my ideal Princess, what I suggest was basically a night fair, something more than common on Earth. You were the one with the brilliant idea to expand upon it and find a way to give the bat ponies more chances to be introduced into society."
"True, finding and exploiting your idea's potential and looking after my subject was indeed one of my best strikes of genius so far, but credit must be given where it is due, and gratitude is needed for the idea that started it all. Rest assured the bat pony community will not soon forget the service you have given them this night."
"Ah it was nothing really, honestly I still find it hard to believe Equestria never once even heard the concept before. Fast food? All sorts of games? A ferris wheel and a rollercoaster to see the starry night? It is practically the perfect setting for a romantic evening!"
"Couldn't have said it better myself!" The voice of Cadence alerts the two, as she walks inside cleaning her mouth with a napkin before putting it away "Hi auntie" She greets Luna before the two princess exchange a hug.
"Dear niece, when did you arrive?" Luna asks, ending the hug to see Cadence properly. Mark had to internally chuckle at how alike she was to the royal sisters, she too was wearing a similar outfit to theirs, but hers was pink and yellow, and was more reserved with actual short sleeves and a circular hole in the chest to show some of her pink cleavage, something that he couldn't help but noticed with her gold regalia drawing attention to that spot.
"Oh we just did, Shining and I arrived at sunset and decided to take a look at your carnival idea, Mark is right. Watching you illuminate the sky with your stars while holding hands on top of the ferris wheel it's simply magical."
"Ha! Classic." Mark mentally patted his back.
"And where is Shining Armor?" Luna looks around for the unicorn in question.
"Sleeping in the guest room, after we returned I felt a bit...thirsty and the poor dear got tired afterwards." She confesses looking away with a mischievous smirk on her face.
He got sleepy because she was thirsty? What does that even...eh is not of my business, probably a royal couple thing, or maybe a thing between those two
Mark shrugged as he turned around and walked away. "I will leave you two alone so you can talk, have a good night princesses."
"Mark, wait!" Cadence call for him when he was reaching the front door and he turn around to look at her with curiosity.
"Yeah?"
"Well first of all, I told you already that you don't have to use the title with me"
"You got it Miamore"
"Or use that one!" Cadence physically flinched in anger and closed her eyes, and clenched her fist for a moment, chastising herself for walking right into that one before relaxing, much to her aunt's pleasure who suppressed a giggle.
"And second of all I actually wanted to talk with you."
"Really?" He turns around to look at her with curiosity.
"Yeah you see, I have been thinking and I realized that we never hung out before."
"What do you mean? We have hung out before, Flutter's birthday. I think I saw you once at the Grand Galloping Gala, when you came to visit Twilight that one time. When we first met." He starts to list all the times they have seen one another.
"That is not the same, sure we have exchanged pleasantries, but other than the day we meet have we really spent time together, other than the greetings and small chats before going our separate ways?" She asks dejectedly.
"Sure we had... there was the time...Oh! That time when we went camping and...oh wait that was Twilight...well I'm sure there was that party...no that was with princess Luna...or what about that cake eating...no that was princess Celestia...ah." He tries to recall any moment in their life they really hung out slowly coming to the realization that she was telling the truth.
"See?! All this time you have been hanging out with my aunties and my sister in law, and making memories to treasure but not me? Why? I told you, I would always be there if you ever wanted to talk about anything but so far we haven't done anything together! Are you ignoring me?"
"What? No, of course not!" Mark was quick to do some damage control approaching the distressed princess "Cadence I'm so sorry I didn't mean to make you feel like you were being left out it's just...well a lot of things happened and I really didn't know what to talk about it. The crystal empire is four hours away from ponyville and by the time I stop working it is like 8 or 9 pm, and who calls someone at 3 in the morning?"
"You are just making excuses." She says refusing to make eye contact, sounded really hurt at the moment.
"No I'm not, I'm really sorry Cadence, please let me make it up to you."
"Promise?" She look at him over her shoulder as he nods with a smile
"Promise, tell you what? Tomorrow morning why not, you Shining and I go explore the city and..."
"...No." She interrupted, turning around. "It has to be tonight."
"What?" He looks at her perplexed.
"I didn't just realize that we haven't spent time together before, I also came up with an idea to make up for lost time." She explained with an eager smile. "So if you really mean it when you say you want to make it up to me, then let's hang out now."
"Now, as in right now? In the middle of the night?" He points at the floor and then at a nearby window where the moon could be seen as she nods eagerly "But didn't you say Shining Armor...?"
"He is not coming." She was quick to answer. "This is a thing for just the two of us."
"Well I would be lying if I say I'm not intrigued but are you sure? You just came back from a fair, and it's getting a bit late, aren't you tired?"
"Knew it!" She threw her arms in the air in exasperation. "You are pure talk Mark Stars, you say you want to make it up to me but as soon as I propose something, you immediately think of a excuse to refuse, just come out and say it, you hate me."
"Ok! Ok! Let's go out tonight! Just let me change first." Mark quickly said not wanting to make Cadence angry now, and just like a switch, her demeanour switched to eager and happy as she hugged him and kissed his forehead.
"Thank you so much! I promise Mark by the end of the night we both are gonna be the best of friends, 10 minutes sharp at the entrance, don't be late!" She practically skipped out of the room as soon as he agreed to her proposal.
"...She just set me up, didn't she?" Mark asks Luna after recovering from everything that happened as the Princess chuckled and nodded.
"But just half of it, something you should be aware of, when getting to know my niece, young Mark, is that she has a small flair for the dramatic. But I can tell you she spoke the truth, she genuinely wants to spend time with you and build lasting memories, just like you had done before with all the other Princesses." She said solemnly before nodding "Which I agree wholeheartedly, please do not worry about anything and just go, enjoy my night to your heart's content."
He simply nodded and took her advice, went to his room to grab his wallet and a sweater for the cold and went to meet Cadence at the entrance of the castle. As she opted to change as well, putting on a trench coat, and long dark pink skirt.
"There you are." Cadence waved at Mark as he came closer.
"Thanks for waiting, and I have to say, this is certainly surprising but you are right Cadence we haven't spent too much time together, it will be nice having a night out just the two of us."
"It sure will, there are lots we simply need to catch up on."
They both left the castle and headed to the city. "So where are we going? A coffee shop? Donut Joe? I think the bowling alley is still open, what do you say we go play a round?"
"Maybe another time, today I am more interested in getting to know you. Tell me Mark, have you ever considered finding a marefriend?"
"Wow Cadence don't you think that is a bit personal?"
"Sorry sorry, it's just something that I can't help myself with. You know Princess of Love and all that." She stuck her tongue out and bumped her head in embarrassment earning a small chuckle from him.
"Well if you really need to know, I haven't really thought about it. Assimilating that I'm gonna live here the rest of my life has been tough, and to be perfectly honest, I simply don't think I'm ready yet to take that step." He confessed looking down in solemnity before chuckling and looking at her "But don't worry about it, I mean I'm not even sure if I could picture myself dating a mare yet, don't get me wrong, you are really pretty and even adorable but attractive? I'm not sure I'm there at the moment."
"We will see." She mumbles looking away with a smirk.
"What was that?"
"I say that is ok, I appreciate you being honest with me Mark. And you should at the very least consider it, there is no greater reward in the world than finding that special pony to share your joys and worries with"
"Heh boy you really love to live up to your title don't you?"
"Guilty as charged!" She replied without skipping a beat, before giggling as Mark rolled his eyes at her antics while they continued their march.
Later that night
Guiding Mark through a section of Canterlot he hadn't explored before, the Princess of Love guided the human to the heart of the city. Until they arrive at an elegant wide building with a dome roof and an imposing neon sign at the front door, as well as a bouncer and a long line of ponies waiting to get inside.
"Amazing Tails?" Mark read the sign out loud before looking at Cadence "A nightclub? I don't know Cadence, I never was much of a dancer." He confessed to her with some worry about the whole idea.
"I know this might sound a bit out of your comfort zone, but you promised to make it up to me, consider it a punishment for ghosting me for so long."
"I didn't..." He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose "Fine for you I will give it a go, but I'm staying in my seat, got it?"
To his confusion she only shrugged. "Good for me, this is mostly to have fun and I guarantee you will love it." She promised in complete confidence as she grabbed his wrist and brought them both to the front of the line.
"Cadence the line is the other way!" He pointed behind him in alarm yet she ignored him and kept walking as the bouncer saw the two and nodded before letting them through.
"Relax, I already paid for a special reservation." She dismissed his concern. Soon they both walked inside where DJ music started playing, thankfully it wasn't something just down right blasting their ears off and was more of a more mellow and jazzy tune, enough to put everyone in the mood to dance but nothing full of adrenaline like he had half expected from the place.
Huh so it's not the loud type of night club, makes sense, I never did I picture Cadence as the fan of loud music.
Passing through two red velvet blinds the two reached a podium where a slim zebra with a mohawk hair style,and braided tail. Attending the customers and checking their reservations on a big thick book, she was wearing a red mini skirt, black nylon socks, a garter belt, a white button shirt with the 3 of them unbuttoned, allowing anyone to see a purple and slightly frilly bra holding her double E size breast, blue eyeshadow, and matching red lipstick, and golden rings on her neck and right arm.
Behind her Mark could see some tables and chairs arranged, and even see some clients enjoying a good dinner while other mares with identical outfits were serving them and a dance floor in the middle of it.
Wait, this is a restaurant!
Mark had to do a double take, as he looked at the mare once more confused.
Ok odd choice for a uniform but hey at least it means I will not have to dance then.
He let go a breath he didn't know was holding, as Cadence approached the mare with a wave and a smile. "Tempress! So glad to see you. It has been so long since I last saw you." Cadence exclaimed in excitement as the zebra lit up once she saw her and the two shared a hug "Cadence, so good to see you" Breaking apart she looked at her with curiosity "How have you been doing? How is your husband? The flame is still going strong and steady as always?" She smirked and gave the princess a light elbow.
"You tell me? Four milkings, a 138, a slow dance and a one tail!" She proclaims in pride earning a hive five from the zebra "Damn mare! Can anything slow you down?! That stallion is one lucky stud!"
"Believe me Tempress, we both are." She gets closer to whisper in her ear "It's still imprinted in me!" They both share a giggle while Mark only smiled and stepped aside so Cadence could have a moment with her friend.
"So what brings you here sweet tush, are you on the prowl again?" Tempress kept smirking as she returned to the podium.
"Maybe?" Cadence faked ignorance before stepping aside to allow Tempress to see Mark. "But mostly I wanted to give my friend a tour."
"Hi" He waved to her in a friendly manner.
"Well hello there handsome." To his confusion Tempress' expression suddenly turned sultry as she leaned forward.
"Take it easy, Tempress." Cadence suddenly stepped forward between the two and approached the zebra. "This is his first time."
"Oh really? Cadence, what are you plotting?"
"Just want to help him expand his horizons and realize the beauty the world has to offer." She got closer to whisper in her ear.
"He still thinks mares are just 'cute.'"
"HA! Let's see if he can keep saying that after the show, also Blue is here too."
"Really?" Her eyes suddenly widened. "She really came through?"
"You have to hand it to her, she keeps her promises."
"Heh this night just got even better." They both chuckled before looking back at Mark.
"So sweetie, Cadence tells me this is your first time?"
"Well not completely"
"Huh?" They both look at him surprised.
"I have eaten in fancy restaurants before but this is the first time I have been to one with a bouncer and neon signs. I must say the first impression I had was that this was a nightclub, boy did I get the wrong idea right?"
"Wait, you think this is a...?" Tempress managed to ask before she started to chuckle.
"Yeah pretty silly of me to think that right?"
"Please stop" She begged him to stop, laughing even harder before issuing another waitress, this one a griffin lady with a ponytail hairstyle and yellow feathers and tigress faction on her lower half, to take care of them both "Take...take them to their usual table."
"What is so funny, Tempress?"
"I will tell you later, now please before I fall over." Tempress kept trying to recover from the laughter, the other waitress looked at her confused but nodded and complied as she guided them to their tables.
Soon the two were brought to a round table located on a balcony on the second floor where the waitress gave them two menus, and offered them the specials before leaving, but not before passing her hand over Mark's shoulder and rubbing her tail on one of his legs. Confused, the human looks back at the waitress as she winked at him before leaving with an unusual sway to her hips.
"Tell me you saw that too." Mark looked back at Cadence.
"Saw what Mark?" She asked casually looking over the menu.
"That waitress...if I didn't know any better I would say she was getting a bit...frisky with me, almost like she was flirting."
Cadence choked, holding a giggle, looking away and trying not to laugh as Mark kept looking at the direction she had left. Before looking at his menu once more. "Geez I heard of fishing for tips, but I think she is going a bit too far."
He shook his head, ignoring how he was making Cadence teary eyed from laughter.
"So how did you and Shining find this place?"
"Oh you know, exploring, mostly it was our third anniversary, and we wanted to celebrate. My sweet beautiful Shining felt a bit adventurous and looked around as well as talked with friends from his unit, until one of them mentioned this place....
I will take the special salad, and a glass of red wine please." She tells a waitress who attended the two once Cadence signals her.
"I will go with the spaghetti alfredo and...what is this special made milkshake blast?" Mark asked the waitress who looked at him in surprise, but pleased while Cadence was scared immediately.
"CANCEL that last one! Just spaghetti and soda for him!" She exclaimed quickly confusing the two.
"Cadence?"
"Trust me you are not ready for that one yet" She warned him and although he still was confused he decided to trust her and nodded, the waitress looking oddly disappointed at his change of order and took their menus as she left.
"Anyway, as you can imagine we were both kind of nervous from experimenting for the first time, both after we loosened up a bit we ended up loving this place. The food is good, they serve you really fast and the entertainment, unf just you wait." She said in excitement. "After our glorious experience we became regulars and ever since then we come here on our anniversary."
"And you wanted to share it with me, Cadence I'm touched."
"Oh don't thank me yet, this is barely the entrance, wait until we reach the main event!" She said cryptically and with a smirk, confusing Mark. Soon their food arrived and they both entered into some small chit chat until, all of the sudden the lights went out and a spot light was placed on the middle of the dance floor.
"At last the moment I was waiting for." Cadence looked at it with anticipation "Time for the main event."
Walking to the center of the floor a baby blue furred stallion with a butler outfit, a top hat and a monocle steps into the light with a microphone to address everyone. "Ladies and gentlestallions of the audience, allow me to welcome you all to our humble abode. I hope you have enjoyed our food to your heart's content and are having a glorious evening so far. Allow us to serve you one last time with an exquisite feast for your eyes, as we celebrate yet another night of harmony and passion."
Harmony and what? What is goin on?
Mark started to look between the buttler and Cadence confused as her eyes were glued to the center stage as was the rest of the clients present.
"Without further adieu please my friends let the wheel of fate decide, let's see which of our lovely ladies will open the entertainment for the evening." Suddenly behind him appeared 3 curtains where a reflector light showed 3 symbols, one a horn, another a wing and another a hoof in a triangle formation before all of them started to spin.
Near and around Mark he could hear everyone starting to chant their preference as the symbols slow down and finally the symbol of the horn was left on top and the other two soon disappear as some clients cheer in happiness.
"Ah such a lovely choice, join me my friends, and gather a round of applause for the one and only beautiful Diamond Dust!" The butler stepped aside and from the rising curtain Mark's eyes went wide when he saw a runway, ending with a pole that was being deployed in the center of the room as everyone whistled and clapped their hands in excitement, Cadence raised them as she looked back at him.
"Drink it in my friend"
"Cadence you...you brought me to a strip club?!" He whispered, finally realizing what was happening, as she only nodded and smirked at him.
"Let's see if you still think mares are 'cute' after this."
"I can't believe you actually brought me here! I'm leaving!" He was ready to leave when Cadence stopped him by grabbing his wrist. "Aren't you even curious? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life alone?!" She asks him with pleading eyes.
"Please just because you are the only human doesn't mean you have to live in this self imposed exile, I beg you as a friend, please just let me show you. Let me help you see how beautiful our world can be."
He kept looking at her for a moment before closing his eyes, memories of the kiss replaying in his mind as his curiosity was starting to peak. Shaking his clenched fist he promptly sat down and sighed in defeat. "I don't want to be alone."
She gave him a hug and kissed his forehead "Thank you" She whispered in gratitude.
The lights went off once more before being replaced by a starry night filter one as in the back of the stage a spotlight shone on a blue curtain revealing the silhouette of a mare, hugging herself while the music started.
Pulling up the curtain revealed a slim beautiful mare with white fur that had an almost glitter effect on stage as she suddenly looked forward showing her diamond pupils at everyone who whistled in approval, wearing a long sleeved, white button up shirt. Long black tie. Khaki tear away slacks with fishnet stockings upon her legs along with a garter belt. She sure managed to catch the attention of Mark who looked at her in surprise as he held the armchair with force, unable to take his eyes away from her.
With a sway of her hips she ever so slowly made her way to the pole until she reached it and with a quick move, did a spin on it holding it with both hands behind her back as she looked at the audience, exclaiming a soft moan her fur glittered once more before turning around and bending over slightly so everyone could see her flank swaying to the music, ending when she used her tail to spank herself and spin on the pole once more.
Winking at the audience and licking her lips she step away from the pole and start to swing her full body slowly like a snake grabbing her hair with her eyes close, one hand going to her necktie and as she move she undo it every so slowly before stop complete and in one swift move take it off. The audience becomes entangled by her actions as she starts to play with the piece of cloth, as she rubbed all over her body ending with her licking the tip before tossing aside where a stallion quickly grabs hold of the item.
Working the audience more Dust return to the pole and start to circle around it for a bit before hugging it from behind and smile at the audience as she lean down with her hips swaying backwards before blindside them by pelvis trust forward and as her slacks were torn off her body using her magic in yet another show of lights revealing a semi transparent black panties that could only be called a G-string as she arched her head backwards and leaned down with both legs spread so everyone could take a closer look at her, and a small preview of her hidden treasure.
By this point Mark had started to sweat and felt his mouth getting really dry, until Cadence gave him a glass of water for him to drink, with a straw.
Jumping on the pole she started to spin in place using her legs for support with one hand stretched out before exchanging positions with sudden movements until she was suspended in the air with her arms and legs firmly pressed on the pole as she faked a gasp and one button of her shirt was grabbed and pulled off. Everything became tense as she looks to be scared, as the audience got worried until suddenly she smirked mischievously at them moving her head forward used her magic to rip apart her shirt in one yank showing part of her bra to everyone, as she licked her lips and pushed her chest forward to allow everyone a better view.
"Cadence" Mark calls for her in a barely whisper voice.
"Yes Mark?"
"You won, I'll never call mares cute ever again" She inhaled sharply, petrified by the performance as she could see a bulge starting to form in his pants making her smile and chuckle in victory.
"And you wanted to leave? See what I meant? Isn't this beautiful?"
"Yep."
Surprising him once more Dust used her magic to levitate in the air as she turned around and ever so slowly started to remove her shirt. Looking at her audience from over her shoulder with a playful giggle, and teasing them with her thong like panties as everyone kept looking at her glorious flank completely in a trance. Copies of herself start to appear next to her making her more alluring until finally they explode in a shower of light as she returns to the ground and removes, and tosses her shirt completely to the other side of the stage where it was promptly grabbed.
"I don't think I would ever be able to see a mare the same way ever again" Mark realized that he was starting to drool when Dust let her audience memorize her underwear that let him have a small peak at her perky D size breasts before continue her show with slow big sways of her hips as she explored her body, reaching the elastic of her bra in a teasing matter, demanding the full attention of everyone present.
"Wait she...she is not actually."
"Told you Mark." Cadence answered as they both looked at how Dust stopped and extended and intertwined her arms in the air. "This place offers one of the best shows in all of Canterlot." She has to clean some of her own drool as in a more subtle and slow motion Diamond Dust brought and extended her arms down unclipping her bra and let it it levitate in the air teasing more and more of the audience as she slowly walked backwards to the pole before with a spin she hugged it once again. Her bra now grabbed in her outstretched hands as everyone yelled in happiness while looking at her nude form.
Using her tail to partially block her panties she started to move up and down, swinging her hips, her magic started to pull on the strings of her panties as light started to emanated from her body until finally kneeling down and giving one final pelvic thrust everyone was greeted by her glistening winking pussy with one hand outstretched while the other was supporting her body ending the song and receiving a standing ovation, from the audience.
"Did she teleport her bra and panties?" Mark is impressed by the motion until he hears something fall nearby and looking next to them he saw no other than Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis both admiring their treasures as they were holding Diamond Dust's panties and bra respectively.
"Aw and we were so close." Cadence says in disappointment. "Don't worry Mark we might be able to catch the next one."
"Next one? How many shows do they perform for now?"
"Six"
"Six shows?"
"Do you want to leave?"
"...no" He confessed looking down in slight shame but excitement to see what else will happen.
"That is the spirit! Knew you would love it" |
Equestria Handyman | Cadence’s Past Lesson Of Love (Aspen Delight) [Edited by NagaShark] | Splashing his face with some water, Mark sighed and tried to calm himself as he saw his reflection while holding the bathroom sink. A storm brewing in his head as a mix of emotions kept circling around his head and slow realizations started to dawn on him.
A realized sexual frustration was the most prominent one, as he suddenly remembered that other than in his imagination, he never once saw a naked figure during all his years living in Equestria. And past experience reminds him how lots of mares he had met before were more friendlier than he used to remember after their initial surprise in his appearance.
Yep it's...it's ingrained in my mind, great. I'm so not going to be able to sleep tonight.
He sighed in frustration as the image of Diamond Dust's naked body was plastered in his head with scary accuracy. Not only that but ever since he excused himself to the bathroom during the interlude, his vision started to notice more clearly the waitresses assets and how even some of them were winking at him as they noticed him staring and promptly making their nipples to stand on attention.
God I'm a pervert!
He held his head with both hands in shame splashing water one last time.
"First time in a gentlestallion club?" Startled Mark looked at Fancy Pants checking himself in the mirror before looking at him with a smile "Yeah, the first dance really leaves you a very graphic impression doesn't it?"
He nods in agreement as he cleans his face "Fancy Pants you are a respected and well known face in the nobility circles, what are you doing here with your wife?"
"Same as you boy enjoying a lovely evening with the misses." He answered without skipping a beat.
"But...but this place is a strip club"
"So?" He looked at him with a raised eyebrow before it dawned on him and he nodded "Oh I see, yeah the purity goggles, nasty little fella that rallies your brain doesn't it?" He chuckled briefly. "My boy, if you think this is just a show where mares take their clothes off then you clearly haven't been paying attention at all!"
"Mark my boy, while it's true I don't fully understand how things work on Earth, the concept of a gentlestallion's club is far different here judging by your reaction. You are putting too much attention to a single brush and missing the rest of the picture."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is where you see a lady taking her clothes off. I and everyone else here see art in motion!" He exclaimed in excitement. "The exquisite female figure on display! The marriage of movements and music, the feast for all five senses by the accompaniment of delicious meals! Are you seriously going to throw all that away just because of reservations and deny that you are having a good time?"
"I...I don't know what to think anymore."
"Yeah we were in your position for our very first time, for how I see it you have two choices now my boy. You could either leave and try to figure out all those emotions until you either accept it or fool yourself in denial, or stop spinning the issue in your head and just enjoy the rest of the show before making any judgments, the choice is yours."
Fancy Pants started to leave before looking at him over his shoulder. "Just so you know if you decide to stay, the next dancer is a friend of mine, and trust me Delight is a professional artist, with the pole and her brushes."
He left him to his own devices as he thought everything Fancy Pants had said until eventually Mark returned to his seat where Cadence was waiting with some small sandwiches. "There you are, did you manage to calm down?"
Mark nods and looks at the food she ordered which she quickly noticed. "Think of it as popcorn, each show they offer the audience small snacks to eat while enjoying the performance, trust me, for how things will heat up you would want to distract your hand doing something. The water and drinks are complementary though as long as they are not alcoholic of course, then the limit is 3." She told with a knowing smile and a glass of water in hand as he smiled too and nodded.
"I will trust your judgment, right now I want to see what will be the next piece of art" Mark replied confusing Cadence slightly as he looked next to him at Fancy Pants who nodded at him in gratitude for deciding to stay before hugging his wife and kissed her forehead as she cuddled next to him while enjoying a snack herself. While awaiting for the next performance.
Soon the lights were dialed down and a green filter was placed on them as the room was slowly filled with nature white noise, and the butler reappeared. While behind him the runway was pulled back and instead the floor was opened to show a new platform raised up. "Thank you for your patience my friends, we hope you enjoyed the performance of our lovely Diamond Dust and wish best of luck to those that won her prize."
"Won her prize?"
"When a stripper tosses their underwear whoever catches it, could meet her after the show if they so please" Cadence explains "Of course doesn't happen often and they can choose to refuse by keeping/destroying or tossing their garment onto the runway but after the way she presents herself at the end." Cadence shivered at the memory. "Poor Diamond really wants to get polished if you get my meaning." She ends with a smirk.
Ok what kind of place is this? Wait, does that mean that if one tosses her underwear at me, she will be inviting me to...
Mark shook his head trying not to think about the implication, not sure if he is ready to take so many steps that fast.
"After such an incredible opening let us ease all of you with a more calm show, from the far away lands of Zebrica, let us welcome the seductive, the passionate Aspen Delight" The butler presented her. From a rising platform a zebra mare appeared alongside 5 different bamboos and a pole in the center of the painting to resemble a thin tree trunk as well as various small Aspen trees and bushes that gave the impression of a small forest setting.
She was wearing a long billowy forest green almost translucent beaded blouse with golden acorn buttons down the center, showing her cute and slim belly button. Upon her long sensual legs were a pair of skin tight lycra leggings ironically zebra print with a rhinestone leather belt. Upon her hooves could be seen shoes of gold to match the golden rings adorning her neck and wrists and ankles.
She had her mane arranged in a long mohawk ending in the center of her back. As well as a long straight tail with some golden rings at the base. She was wearing some light masquera to accentuate her face even more, yet the most striking thing was the light green tribal paint that she was wearing on her face presumably going to the rest of her body, as they were lost underneath jewelry and outfit.
At the rhythm of a bongo drum, Delight started the show with slow and pronounce movements as she made her way to one of the bamboo poles, unlike Diamond who focused more on her hips, Delight seems to match her steps with the music as the clinging of her rings served as accompaniment for the drumming, giving her an almost rattlesnake like allure as she grabbed the bamboo and after a couple of spins managed to wrap herself around it, tightening her cloths as the clients could see an imprint of her flank. Resulting in everyone gulping almost simultaneously.
The human could only watch in astonishment as she continued to wrap herself like a snake until she was in the middle of the bamboo making it rock slightly as she started a small belly dance for everyone, licking her lips and showing the imprint of her bra to them, as one of her hands ever so slowly slithered it's way to her waist and slowly unbuckled her belt.
Everyone cheered at the performance with silent fascination, as ever so slowly she pulled away the belt, once off she started to spin it a couple of times making the bamboo rock back and forth with more speed, until finally while bending backwards in one swift motion she used her own belt as a whip and snapped the base of the bambo to make a back flip landing on her feet as she kneeled and continued to spin in a half circle while hugging the bamboo from behind, everyone applauded at the athletic demonstration as she, with indifference let go of the bamboo and tossed the belt to the audience.
"Does she even have bones?" Mark questioned Cadence in surprise as she chuckled and shook her head.
"Oh Delight, you queen of teasing you." She responded ignoring Mark as she started to eat her snack refusing to look away as Delight makes her way to the second bamboo pole and gave it a small lick sending a chill up the spine of all the stallions present as she used one of her legs to bend it forward before wrapping herself around it once more until she was kneeling in mid air with her flank in the air and her eyes closed and face down, only for her to thrust her whole body back and forward moaning with each gyration and placing more stress on her blouse putting everyone at the edge of their seat until finally in time for the bamboo to break so did the buttons on her blouse as she was launched forward slightly faking an orgasm before biting her lips and looking once more at the audience with a wink, as she stood up, revealing how indeed the painting was going all over her body and circled around her considerably big breasts accentuating them, and drawing more attention toward them.
Her belly dancing and slow swaying movements turning more and more hypnotic as she takes both broken pieces of bamboo and in swift moves nails them to the remaining two, to create a second level where she jumps to effortlessly as if she was as light as a feather, spinning around she bit her finger and looked at the audience with an innocent playful manner before surprising everyone as she does a split in mid air pushing the two broken pieces and bending the bamboo poles even more until she grabbed her legs and give the audience an alluring show twerking her flanks and flagged her tail before moving it from side to side, slowly making circles in the air. Putting everyone in a trance and eating up their snacks like there was no tomorrow.
Finally the supports break alongside her leggings who split in two as she break her fall with her arms and slide backwards to face the audience licking her lips as the sound of fabric could be heard ripping apart and like a slingshot half of her leggings were launch at each side of the room, as she faked surprise before waving at everyone with her legs, showing both her lacy bra and brown panties and how the painting reached her legs.
God that lady has some powerful legs.
Mark admiring the sight was eating as fast as Cadence as Aspen spun and stood up approaching the final pole of bamboo, which was the shortest of the bunch with a hypnotic sway to her hips, before looking over her shoulder and winking at everyone as she saunters up to it, and spinning in place, used the tip of it to unhook her bra as she removed the elastic on her shoulder ending with her moaning and used it to remove her bra completely leaving it hanging there as she extended an arm to the air while spinning slowly to let everyone see her beautiful breast, earning a round of applause for her efforts.
Only to silence everyone when she placed herself upside down and using the other side of the tip proceeded to do the same with her panties in one long sliding motion until she reached the ground with her tongue out licking the air as she admired her handiwork petrifying her audience.
Surprising Mark one final time Aspen took her underwear with her shoes and crawl to the pole copying a snake without much problem until reaching the base, and sliding upwards hugged it for dear life teasing everyone with a view of her breast and later ass, as she hooked one leg and started to spin and even extend her legs into a V position supported by her arms, making sure no one could see her final prize as she gave them a final fake out pretending to leave the poll only to hug her crotch against it once more. Besides teasing, Mark could see her inspecting the audience with hungry eyes soon realizing what she was doing.
Aspen intended to seek the winner of her prize as well, he concluded as her vision lingered on him for a moment before resuming her look around. Once found, she put her show to an end crossing one leg and hugging the pole with her arms as she exposed her beautiful striped pussy to the audience in a V pose with her head arc back while tossing her garment at her price, earning a series of cheers. One lucky mare that managed to grab her panties was the loudest as Mark let go a breath he didn't know was holding, as the song and her show ended.
"Wow THAT is a calm show?" Mark asked Cadence. "I think I forgot to breathe more than once."
Yeah, Delight can be a bit of a tease at times." She responds with dreamy eyes. "But by Celestia I'm so jealous, the things I could do with my Shining if I only were that flexible." She sighed before looking at Mark.
"So what did you think? Do you think Zebras are 'cute' too?"
"Not any...hey wait a minute! Did you also plan on showing me all types of races in the world?"
"Well of course, I don't discriminate, every type of woman is gorgeous, and I intend to show you that and why, no exception."
"Normally I would be slightly mad, but honestly I kind of wonder what else to expect now." He said in intrigue, earning a giggle from Cadence, happy to see him losing up more. "Art in motion indeed"
He nods once slightly confusing the princess once more. |
Equestria Handyman | Cadence’s Past Lesson Of Love (Chelsea Divine) [Edited by NagaShark] | "So lad, did you enjoy the performance?" Fancy Pants asked Mark, using the interlude the couple decided to go pay a visit to their balcony neighbour as he nodded eagerly.
"I see what you meant by art in motion, that woman is surprisingly flexible."
The couple shared a laugh "Oh indeed she is, she is probably the second most flexible mare I know."
"The second? Who is the first?" His answer was responded soon after as he notices Fleur look away with some pink on her cheeks "Honey! You promised you would stop bragging!" She pouts playfully, not really mad at her husband's antics.
They share a small laugh until the couple look around. "Say boy if you don't mind asking do you know where the princess went? We wanted to come say hi to her too."
"Oh in the bathroom, she told me that Aspen made her drink too much water."
"Ah but of course! That makes perfect sense." Fancy nodded twice. "So my boy are you feeling better now?"
"Yeah, thanks for the pep talk back there, I wasn't sure at first but now I'm glad I decided to stay, all these ladies are just incredible!"
"Aww, thank you so much." A new voice caught their attention, and looking behind, Mark was surprised to see none other than Diamond Dust wearing a blue bathrobe with her arms crossed smiling at him. "We always try our hardest to give the best show to our audience."
Mark tried to say anything but he had a block on his tongue,he wasn't sure what to say to the mare he saw not too long ago in her birthday suit.
To his luck this wasn't the first time this had happened to her as she lightened the mood with a surprise giggle. "Wow it usually takes until I reach my bra to have that effect, I'm getting better!" She proclaimed in pride, earning a laugh from the couple and succeeding in lightening the mood.
"So Miss Diamond, what brings you here?" Fancy questioned but rather than answer she approached him and hugged his side and started to draw circles on his chest. "Just wanted to come and say hi to the lucky couple. It's been a while hasn't it?"
Some heat was forming on his check as he stopped her from continuing "Now, now miss there will be plenty of time for that later, right now we are helping this fine fellow." He said pointing at Mark.
"It's his first night at a strip club." Fleur whispered in Diamond ear, causing her eyes to widen.
"Wow that is big, I'm your first nude handsome?"
"I...I suppose, I'm still learning."
"Huh, it has been a while since I was the first nude for someone, if I had known I might have chosen you."
"Ahemph!" Fancy cleared his voice looking at Diamond with irritation.
"N-no that there is anything wrong with you sweetie! It is just the first time it is always special and well, you know I'm a sucker for diamonds in the rough!" She confessed with some heat in her cheeks, earning a roll of the eyes from Fleur.
"Oh Diamond you and that big heart of yours." They all shared a laugh helping Mark relax more
"Maybe it's for the best, anyway." He told her. "I wouldn't know what to do if that were the case to tell the truth." He confessed with a shrug "But I think I should thank you Miss Diamond, before today I didn't realize how lonely I was before and well I was having a hard time not seeing ponies as well...attractive. You just opened my eyes back there."
"Oh that's so sweet! I helped you discover your sexuality?" She holds her hands against her chest. "I'm touched."
"Wow I wouldn't be going that far either I just said that you showed me how incredibly sexy and attractive a mare can...I just said the definition didn't I?"
They laugh once more as they nod. "Trust me this means a lot to me, it is an honor to be the one that awoke you ah..."
"Mark, Mark Star, nice to meet you."
"Mark Star, I will surely remember it, make sure to let me know if you decide to come back." She gave him a wink. "I will make sure to take care of you if you're ever interested." He got flustered at the idea until an alarm sounded snapping them back to reality. "Ah, the next show will begin shortly. You should be going back to your seats." she told the couple as she pinched the check of Fancy Pants. "I will see you after the show handsome."
"I can't wait."
"Oh and Mark, some friendly advice, maybe don't tell too many mares that you are new here." She looks around in worry. "Some mares are on the prowl tonight and newcomers are usually their preferable dish."
The warning made him flinch and gulp a little. "I...I will keep it in mind, thanks."
"Don't worry we have your back if anything happens." Diamond gives him a thumbs up and leaves, but not before giving Fancy Pants a long wet kiss and squeezing his butt. "A preview." She told him with sultry eyes as he stumbled his way back to his seat with his wife.
Heh, what a nice mare. A bit slutty but a nice mare none the least.
Mark nodded as he watched Diamond leave just in time for Cadence to return
"Ah I feel better, did something happen while I was gone?"
"Oh not much, Fancy Pants and Fleur come over for a bit to say hi, we chatted a little, then Diamond Dust appeared and we talked for a bit and she warned me about mares on the hunt for new clients before she had to leave when they announced the next dancer was coming up."
"Oh I see, too bad I couldn't greet them and..." She was about to look at the stage before looking back at him in surprise "What was that about Diamond Dust?"
"Tell you later," Mark replied not wanting to interrupt as the scenario was changing once more while the lights were turned down and a fog machine set to work spreading it's fog around all over the floor, as the announcer came into view in time for a big spot light simulating the sun giving the stage the appearance of being in the clouds.
"Hope you have enjoyed the company of our lovely Aspen Delight and congratulations to the lucky mare that had managed to fancy the eye of such a exotic and beautiful flower of a far land. To keep the passion going allow us to a trip into the skies"
From the roof slick semi transparent curtains descend as well as a big ring connected to a chain that allows them to spin, shadows of a female figure flying through the curtains could be seen yet it was moving so fast that everyone could only see glimpses of her. "Ladies and gentlestallions in the audience, please relax, and enjoy a treat from a recently returned race that came back from extinction, let's give a round of applause for our angelical and delicate looking Chelsea Divine!" The butler stepped away signalling the music to start as the flying figure finally came into view as she landed in the ring for everyone to see.
Standing proud in the center, there was a hippogriff mare with purple mane and long dark blue soft hair looking solemnly at the rooftop as her tail waved lazely back and forth resembling a pendulum. She was wearing a Saddle Arabian dancers periwinkle purple pants, a beaded turquoise green tiara connected to a transparent veil that showed her beak. The top was a two piece number once more in Turquoise green in the form of a transparent micro Badlah and a strapless bra that goes from Turquoise green into Periwinkle purple. All of which is beaded in Rhinestones to glitter in the light. Upon her hooves were Golden calf length strappy sandals to complete the look.
(Do not own the rights to this song. recommended listening.)
Swaying her body slowly she extended her wings as she looked at the audience, ruffling her wings a little and letting feathers fall as she slowly started to sing. The light changes from a sunset setting into a starry night as the ring slowly splits in four as she moves her hands in the air while belly dancing as her show continues. The rings now illuminating to resembling the moon until in one fell swoop of her wings she dive to the left taking the moon with her and disappearing into one of the curtains grabbing the fabric and wrapping herself on it as she continue singing and spinning around with one arm outstretched as the audience whistle in approval at her alluring performance.
"Oh yes the song and dance show, you are in for a treat Mark, Chelsea has been known as the siren of the skies ever since her debut." Cadence said, closing her eyes to enjoy her singing for a moment.
He could only gulp as she adopted an innocent and lost expression while extending her badlah and continued her belly dance, while dancing in the air until floating lighty she simply let it go as it effortlessly fell down to the ground for eager clients to fight over.
Mark does not focus on the Badlah only kept looking up as she ascend until the light blinded them momentarily before splitting into two reflections pointing at her as the song increase it's beat and she let go of her veil extending both arms and wings to adopt a more angelical pose, fans starting blowing the curtains as she keep dancing the view blocked partially until she disappeared completely surprising everyone as her voice still echoed everywhere, until all of the sudden she appeared on the ground next to a gray stallion unicorn wearing green shorts and white sweater who was blind sided by it when she land her talon inches to his crotch before she grabbed and gently caressed his face as she sung with an affectionate expression turning the poor stallion from gray to red.
"There it is! Chelsea's signature move!" Cadence squealed in excitement.
"S...Strippers can interact with the audience?"
"As long as it is part of the act, and they don't linger too much, yes, it is allowed. Like a siren from myth Chelsea is particularly fond of 'fishing' while performing." The stripper in question starts to lean toward the stallion before pulling him back and returning to her show but not before sliding off her sandal and leaving it behind as a present for him.
"And like a siren on the prowl, she takes pleasure in reeling in..." She effortlessly dances around the audience taunting and teasing them to approach only for a wing or a spin to miss the mark until she grabs hold of another stallion and hugs him and lifts them both as she nuzzled his face with one wing, before letting him down on his seat with her other sandal on his face. "...and then let go of the small fishes. All of them warm ups while seeking her real prey."
Mark looked back between her and Chelsea in a mix of both fascination and fear, of her noticing him, emotions that increase as the hippogriff in question actually notices him and looked surprised for a moment before smirking and resumed her ascension to the sky hiding once more behind the curtains, as more spot lights were turn on and off showing her figure as she played with her body and looked like she was starting to remove her bra.
Enticing the audience even more until all the curtains converged in the center covering her completely before she pushed them all away with arms extend in pure delight, a small explosion of lights accompany as her bra was nowhere to be seen and everyone cheered at seeing her breast who glittered in the light from the glitter and the two small white diamonds piercings in her vibrant pink nipples, driving the audience wild as she grabbed her hair and descended on top of the ring and started to perform a pole dance using the chain. Moving and spinning around in slow motions so everyone could drink her features and admire her shining breast, as the ring keep descending until reaching the center of the platform were a hook in the floor keep it in place
As the music keep picking up speed so did her dancing as she continued her belly dancing routine using her tail as an alluring fan and then ever so slowly start to slide down her pants until in one swift move she took off to the sky while her tail took off and tossed her pants away for another spectator, leaving Mark cold at the picture in front of him.
Having noticed the human, Chelsea decided to fly closer and lick her beak as she continued her erotic dance making sure he absorbed her entire glistening figure, specially the skimpest panties Mark has ever seen that were practically a small scarlett red string with a beautiful baby pink rose just above her trimmed strip of her kelp bed the string that goes down and then up in the back is adorned with beautiful pearls. Leaving nothing to the imagination as he could see her well trim and pulsating vertical clam winking at him one of the pearls resting right up against her own little heart shaped pearl of pleasure polishing it and making her absolutely soaked as she kept looking at him with a predatory smile.
Cadence gasping from happiness grabbed and shook his shoulders a bit "This might be it Mark! She might choose you."
In a trance by her hips movements Mark was guided forward by her tail as she used her talon to scratch his chin before flying away with a spin showing him her bubblicious butt as she kept singing and dancing to the beat of the song until the very end as she slowly extend her arms and flew upwards fading into the light ending the performance, the audience erupting in applause.
Recovering from the shock Mark fell on his chair trying to recover and calm his racing heart.
"I think she likes you" Cadence looked at him with a giant grin.
"Or she choose me as a final tease"
"Are you sure?" She raised an eyebrow and pointed to his hand, and as he looked down he discovered the practically drenched T-string panties in them, leaving him stiff. "But when did I...when did she...how did..."
Cadence was practically jumping in place before recovering. "Now, of course this is completely up to you if you want to see her." She explained with a calm expression before grinning again. "But it will only be fair to at the very least thank her for the performance don't you think?" |
Equestria Handyman | Cadence’s Past Lesson Of Love (Skye Venus) [Edited by NagaShark] | Backstage in the dressing room Aspen Delight got out of the shower with a content sigh as she dried herself off and headed to her locker. Around her various mares were busy preparing for their shift as waitresses, changing to start them or even preparing to take a shower themselves.
"Great job out there Aspen." Diamond complimented her approaching her own locker to change herself.
"Thank you Diamond you did a great job too" Delight smiled at her friend as put on a green skirt catching the attention of Diamond who looked at her with a raised eyebrow "Going commando?"
"Yes, I thought to give Honey Lemon a small sample before we reach her house, to awaken an appetite." Delight confessed with a smirk causing Diamond to roll her eyes "Aspen you tease that mare, any more and she will tackle you into the nearest alleway." They both share a laugh until Chelsea marched into the room with a giant grin on her face "Wow! Don't wait up for me ladies! Momma just caught herself a star!" She yells in pride, catching everyone's attention.
"Congratulations Chelsea, tell us what pony will you end up choosing this time?" Delight question with a raised eyebrow.
"Jeje, a rare one if I ever saw one. Do you remember that weird bipedal stallion from the news way back? The human boy?"
The announcement caught Diamond's attention as she looked back at her friend in worry.
Oh no.
"Him?" Delight looked at her confused. "Are you sure? We still know very little about him, how are you sure he even has a penis to begin with?"
"Oh trust me Delight he has the equipment alright!" Chelsea says starting to salivate "I saw, and by Celestia I want to see how it looks."
Delight only rolled her eyes and continued changing "Back to prowling I see, you should be careful Chelsea for all we know his species cock could be identical or even worse than a lion's.
"Ha! That bulge is anything but tiny."
"I wasn't talking about the size." Delight continued without skipping a beat making Chelsea pause and flinch. "No he...he...he probably doesn't have one of those." She tries to hide the slight fright of the idea.
"Are you sure you want to take the chance?" Diamond intercert "I mean what if he does, what if he has two? Are you sure you really want to pass your pussy to all that pain?"
"Pain? HA! You ladies are wet blankets" Another voice joined the conversation and turning to one of the vanities a griffin with the upper half of a peregrine falcon and the lower half of a black leopard, with a pair of double D tits covered by a candy apple red bra putting on a white t-shirt.
Finished with her make up she looked back at Delight and Diamond with a smirk. "You two really need to land a griffin one of these days." She then looked at Chelsea. "Don't listen to those scaredy cats Divine, if his dick is anything like that you are in for one glorious ride." Her feather ruffle as she shiver at the thought alone "Those barbs are like mini fingers scratching all of your itches as your walls clamp down, turning your loins into jelly as he not only grab hold of your G-spot but everything in between and makes your whole clam just as sensitive."
All of them had to pause and clear some drool that formed at their lips as Chelsea started to get more excited. "Really?"
"Oh yeah, tell you what, if you are still unsure what do you say we make it a sandwich and let me have a go at it too. All that talk Diamond said got me curious."
Oh Celestia no, those two are well known man eaters, if Mark is left with those two he has no chance.
Diamonds started to get more worried.
"Sure! It has been a while since I did a threasome. Let's have some fun! Oh I need to warm up now."
She licked her beak as she stepped into the shower and soon the three started to hear her moan as she masturbated furiously, causing the griffin to chuckle "Hah that bird is one classy perv." She shook her head and stood up.
"Skye, wait!" Diamond tried to stop the griffin but she had already gone to perform.
"Something the matter, Diamond?" Delight questioned her friend with worry.
"Yeah, I met Mark ah...the human from before earlier, and he...well he is still pretty new to a lot of things as in I was his first nude and his sexual awakening kind of new." She confessed making Delight eyes widen. "Oh that is serious, those two can get a bit pushy when they get real horny, Skye in particular can be angry if the stallion left her hanging." She looked at where Skye just left equally worried.
"Exactly! We need to do something about it."
Delight starts to think of something "You say his name is Mark, by chance his full name is Mark Star?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I think I might have something, come with me" She gestured to follow as the two left the dressing room.
Back at the podium.
"And are you completely sure, she wouldn't be mad?" Mark asked Fancy Pants who after finding out about his prize Mark went and asked for advice to the couple who were more than eager to help.
"But of course boy, it is not that rare to turn down an invitation. Some ponies only wish to thank those mares for an incredible show, and to be the winner of their little prizes. Maybe even autograph their garment to make it more memorable."
"Although I'm not sure how you could write anything on this" Fleur confessed looking at the panty string with an unsure face noticing some hair stuck on one of the pearls making her flinch slightly.
That lady danced with this pinching her neithers? Ok now I have to shake hands for how she kept the act start to finish.
"Thanks, that is a huge load off my shoulders." Mark nodded more relaxed now.
"Anytime lad, so what will you do?"
"I think I will meet her to return those panties, and thank her for the show, Chelsea really looked incredible with all those movements and looked like she had fun." He said with a chuckle "Besides Cadence was right, the noble thing to do would be to show her gratitude and thank her for choosing me."
"Very well said lad, she might be a bit disappointed but I'm sure she would more than understand." Fancy egress and soon the ring of the next show once more.
"Ah that is the signal, better go back to your seat."
"Will do, thank you two." Mark waves at them and promptly returns with Cadence who looks at him slightly worried. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah, Fancy calmed me down and told me there is nothing to worry about."
"I could have told you that."
"Yeah but not without teasing and suggesting I take her out on a date or something."
"I wouldn't...ok fine but I would still have helped you afterwards."
"I believe you, I just wanted a bit of a more straight away answer this time."
She pouted and crossed her arms slightly angry that he went to see Fancy instead of asking her, making him laugh a bit. "Fine but if it happens again I better be the first choice!"
"What do you mean? I already won."
She looked at him with a deadpan look making his blood freeze.
"Oh boy."
"Yep so stay sharp, other mares might find you fancy."
Soon the lights went out and the curtains and platform were removed as the announcer appeared once more "Greetings once again my friends, as you have experienced this evening has been filled with magic, passion and trip to the skies themselves. But as the night grows late we shouldn't forget the simple pleasures in life.
Once again a new platform emerged confusing Mark as this one featured a very simple and almost bland set up, as it looks like a Suburban home, or more specifically a piece of a suburban home. The window to one of its rooms with a garage underneath it with a light pole in front of it.
"How beauty could be found anywhere, from far away lands, to the skies themselves to even, the girl next door" He finished with a smirk as he stepped away from the platform. "Mares and gentlestallion do not be fooled by appearance, underneath what could be considered a bland stage, lies the potential of romance passion and emotions! Let's give a round of applause to Skye Venus!"
Suddenly from the window a reflection came to life and the image of a lady changing, tugging down on her shirt as if having just put it on could be seen. Slowly turning her head extends her claw and ever so slowly rips the piece of fabric in front of her in a long slow motion before stepping out with a jump and then standing up in front of the audience with a smirk and raising eyebrow extending her wings. She had short spiky hair, a mini white t-shirt and a pair of khaki short jeans. Upon her legs are a pair of knee length black and white horizontal black and white socks upon her hind paws. Over which was a pair of brown leather work boots.
Some griffins in the audience clap and stand up in excitement as the music started catching the attention of Mark as he eyes wide recognized it immediately.
(Do not own the rights to this song. recommended listening.)
Wait, that...that song, I know that song!" Mark looked around confused on how word for word it was the exact same song he had hear back on Earth, as Skye approached the pole with a confident smile at everyone rolling her shoulders before grabbing it and doing a couple of swinging arches of her hips back and forth in a playful manner injecting adrenaline into the audience as they moved to the beat of the song.
Matching the lyrics with the sway of her hips she made sharp turns with them while grabbing the pole hide behind it pretending to be distressed with her hand on her forehead before turning around grabbing the pole and spun around a couple of time before looking at the audience with a playful smirk as she slowly brung her free hand to her white shirt and slowly start to rip it open exposing a lacy scarlett bra much to the delight of of the audience. Closing her eyes she hit her hip against the pole with a sour expression looking down before smirking at the crowd with her claw to her face faking embarrassment.
Looking away she continued to approach the audience moving her shoulders to the beat of the music as if she was just simply having fun, getting her arms closer to her body before giving her chest a good shake to rattle the audience with the bounciness of her melons.
"Is this a strip show or a pop show?" Mark questioned in astonishment as he saw various ponies and griffins copying her movements as she taunted and teased the closest clients, before jumping back to the pole and performed various maneuvers with fast, long, and deep, extended leg splits and turns around pressing the iron between her butt grabbing her shirt and rip it off completely, before tossing away injecting more emotions into the crowd and herself as her movements got a bit faster.
When the song slows down once more she leaves the pole and flies off to lay on a cloud.
"Where did that come from?" Mark asked, confused.
"Fog from the previous show." Cadence says while dancing.
Skye stood up and started to dance at a slower pace giving her back to the audience as her hips grab more attention, grabbing her butt and doing slow dips to make even more of an emphasis on them even more, especially when she starts to rip them too with both claws. Faking surprise she turns and takes a couple of steps back until she was hugging the pole once more swaying her body like Diamond did as she looks around in an exaggerated manner before faking sadness and looking up slid down with both legs stretching spinning as she descended, until she jump and rip her jean shorts off exposing her likewise scarlett red, lacy, crotchless panties. Dancing once more at the chorus once more giving a shake of her boobs once more and adding a sway to her hips and a sharp spank to her plot to accompany them.
The electricity was so much that even Mark was finding himself moving slightly to the beat of the song, as she went back to the pole and to his surprise he saw some clients pulling out luminous sticks as Skyes does sharp and slow dips at the beat of the guitar. As the lights turn on and off making it look like a rave, taking and tossing off her boots at the final chord of the guitar.
As she jumped back and with the assistance of two eager members of the audience take off her socks with each sharp chord, winking at them as if they almost fainted while she returned to the pole and got behind it hugging it with both claws, closing her eyes she execute more slow dips followed by small sharps hip thrust as she circle the pole and start playing with the elastic of her bra, slowly unhooking and let it fall as she start to ascend slowly supporting herself with both feet and hand talons as she look up, as she plays with the elastic of her panties before looking over her shoulders with a smile, and then jumps doing a backflip landing on her hind paws and showing proudly her panties in her claws with one hand on her hips and a glistening feathery yet trim pussy for everyone to admire , rallying the audience even more as luminescent bars move back and forth as she danced on the pole at the chorus, doing some small sweeps and getting behind so both breast, pussy and ass could be admire and watched.
While performing she looks around until she finds the target bobbing his head to the beat of the song lost in her performance.
So that is him? Huh shorter than I would have liked but has his charms.
Grabbing both garments she stretched and aimed licking her lips.
Smile human, tonight you are mine.
She tossed them and they found their target square in the face as he launched back slightly before looking at the garment in surprise and then shock looking at her while she smirked and blew him a kiss ending the song by kneeling with her legs stretched out in a V position.Followed by using the index and middle digits to spread open her flower giving Mark a good look at what she planned have him buried that night.
He goes pale and gulps as the message is loud and clear.
"Cadence!" He whispers, finding the air in his lungs gone as he sharply looks at her in terror. "Help!"
"Remember, start with a long I, move then with a A and then..."
"CADENCE!"
"What? You don't want to go in there blind right?" She asked with a shrug and a confused expression.
"If I may be so bold your highness" The voice of Delight caught their attention, and looking back they saw her accompanied by five Thestral waitresses, smiling calmly at Mark.
"It might be too soon for him to entertain Skye."
"Don't worry sir." One of the bat ponies approached Mark and held his hand with a calm smile, trying to calm him down. "We got your back." |
Equestria Handyman | Cadence’s Past Lesson Of Love (Daisy Valentina) [Edited by NagaShark] | During Skye's performance, near the kitchen
"...and now because of a poor choice of words Skye also has him in her sights.
"Oh that is not good, I have heard stories of stallions ending in the hospital with sore hips because of her alone." A Thestral waitress with a purple mane arranged into a ponytail and some freckles on her face recalled as 2 other Thestrals agree with worry.
"And Chelsea is particularly restless tonight, all evening she has been rubbing against any male she has seen so far. If those two ensnare him together..." She didn't dare finish the sentence and resorted to just shivering at the idea.
"We can't let that happen! Mark Star is the human that helped us have a chance of being seen in a more friendly light!" Another Thestral says with her friends agreeing.
"Yeah we owe it to him, we should take the bulk of their lust so he can finish them off." The third one added and her friends are about to agree before stopping.
"Y...what? No, no, it's not that Mary."
"It's not?" She looked at them confused.
"Don't worry we will explain."
"So would you help him out?"
"You can count on us, tonight is his lucky day. I know more Thestrals that would love to help and thank the stallion that helped our race." They nod before leaving to spread the word.
"You think it will work?" Diamond asked her friend, still a bit unsure.
"You know how Skye is, herds are the one thing she doesn't mess with. She sees him spoken for and she will back away." Delight answered with a knowing smile.
"Well that solves my blunder, but what about Chelsea, you know how persuasive she can be, and now that Skye is curious she might convince her to break her one rule."
"That one...will require another approach." Delight started to think about it. "We might need the help of my friend Fancy Pants."
After the show
"After that we went to find as many Thestrals as we could to help you Mark."
"Wow, I don't know what to say. Thank you" Mark looked at them in gratitude and managed to calm down now. "I don't know what to say."
"There is nothing to say sir." Another Thestral, this one with a small scar on her left eye and a military hairstyle blue mane caught his attention. "For years we have been struggling to be introduced into society and not be seen as bloodthirsty monsters by others. Thanks to the suggestions and tips you gave Princess Luna we are now closer to our goal. This is the least we could do for you."
He nods before something caught his attention. "I swear I have heard your voice before, have we met?"
"Good eye sir, Lieutenant Silver Wing at your service." She gave him a small respectful bow. "I am one of the patrolling guards near your chambers. What a stroke of luck to catch me on my day off right?"
"Wait Silver? You got two..."
"Yeah this one is more of a hobby, let go of some of the steam from the stiffness of royal guard duty you know?"
"Wow and just when I thought I learned everything about Equestria." They all shared a chuckle until Cadence cleared her throat.
"Not that I don't like seeing you making friends but aren't we forgetting something? Fancy will take care of Delight but what about dear Skye? Who will help that poor Griffin?"
"We figure she could take someone from her fan club."
"No, Cadence is right. Those poor two seem to be very worked up, sure I'm not sure I'm ready to face a predator, specially if she really is that aggressive but we should at the very least help her out somehow." Mark says feeling a notch of guilt and not wanting to leave the griffin all worked up and dry, until he comes up with an idea.
"Hey Cadence..."
"...sorry already got plans" She shook her head "Any other day I would say yes, but I am also entertaining a new entrance into the world of dating!" She says with a smirk.
"Then it is up to plan B, ladies you know her better than I. Do you know what Skye's type is?"
"Oh I know!" The freckled Thestral answered, raising her hand. "She has a weakness for Abyssinians."
"Hmm then what do you say we look up one for her to take home? Is there one in the club?"
They think until they remember something and smirk. "Sir, I think I know the perfect one. And you are in luck, it's a bachelor party. Skye's favourite!" Silver mentions.
"Awesome! Then while the next show happens..."
"We go fetch him and ask if he would like to take your place. Consider it done sir." Silver nods before looking at her friends "Better not take any chances, two of us should stay while the others go fetch him.
"Thanks Silver, all of you. You really were my guardian angels tonight." All five of them blush lightly at the compliment as they go fetch the lucky Tom. Delight looks at them before smiling at Mark. "You are a really kind stallion Mark, others would just just dodge the arrow and be done with it, to go beyond that and wanting to let her have someone to help her out in her time of need is really generous of you. I might be interested in selecting you now."
The comment made him stiff for a moment.
"Don't worry I'm not gonna do anything you don't want, but if you are interested, and feel ready. We will be ready to welcome you." She smiled warmly at him before turning around. "Have a lovely evening, kind Mark." She calls while calmly walking away.
"I should be going too" Cadence excuses herself, confusing Mark.
"But the show is about to start!"
"Yeah, but after that one is Blue Nova, a dear friend of mine going on her first round as a stripper." Cadence explained with a calm smile "You remind me that I should check on her and help her with any jitters she might have. Enjoy the show." And with that Cadence leaves, with two Thestrals taking her place at each side of Mark as the signal for the next show is heard and the lights are turned down once more.
A spot light shined in the center of the room and like the other times the announcer appeared "And now after being injected to life with the performance of our lovely Skye Venus. Let's all brace ourselves, with a notch... of fear."
To his surprise and confusion Mark felt the floor tremble a little with each step as from the ground a long thick pole appeared.
"From the proud and mighty race of the Minotaurs, comes a beauty among beauties, a Holstaur like none other, a warrior self exiled from her town for refusing to lift her weapon and fight, the amazon that replaced violence with love and caring. No better definition for a gentle giant could ever be found."
The trembling continued as a classic yet massive red barn rose from the floor alongside some bales of hay, before the doors of it opened and an imposing shadow emerged followed by the figure of the next dancer.
"With size she frightens, with heart she entices and with her form she awakens the beast of lust! The one, the only DAISY VALENTINA!" The butler lost himself in the moment, briefly announcing the dancer as if it was a fighting match she was stepping into. As those in the audience unfamiliar with her are left speechless and slackjawed at the figure in front of them shyly waving at them in a friendly manner.
Holy Big Green Giant! That...That is one HUGE Minotaur, wait that is the male...what did he call her a Ho...Hu...Holstaur! I...Oh my God.
Mark's mouth suddenly felt like he was in a desert for how dry it suddenly became as his eyes landed on the massive jugs that Daisy was sporting. His eyes went wide with desire causing him to grab the nearest glass of water and drink it like his life depended on it, his hands trembling. The Thestrals looking at her can't help but giggle at his reaction.
"Mark by chance are you a stallion that likes breasts over flanks?"
"If not, I think I just did...why do I suddenly want milk?" He answered still in shock, drinking in every single inch of Daisy's body. Her short horns were painted pink, her light brown hair was arranged in a cutesy twintail style on either side and upon her lips was some cherry red lipstick enticing everyone into giving her a kiss. She was wearing a long sleeved red and black checkered flannel shirt unbuttoned for all but four valiant buttons. The top few were undone as were a majority of the bottom buttons. Instead it was tied just under her gargantuan mammaries. Upon her hips rested a leather belt with a large shiny belt buckle holding on a pair of ironically, Daisy Duke cut jean shorts. Upon her hooves were a pair of Rattlesnake skin Cowpony boots. And sitting upon her head between her cute little horns is a black stetson with a beautiful hawk feather in the band.
With a pink blush forming at her cheeks from looking at some many clients looking at her she paused for a second and held her check in embarrassment before approaching the pole and grabbing hold of it with one hand, signaling with the other to start the music.
(Do not own the rights to this song. recommended listening.)
Starting by grabbing the pole she started to circle around swaying back and forward in slow motion to the beat of the song until she was facing the audience moving her hips and forming circles in the air with her tail.
Mark shivered in delight as he found his pants extremely tight right now. "Scratch that! I love both breasts and flanks equally!" He confessed, discovering a second awakening, much to his companions' surprise and delight.
Standing up she grabbed her hat and looked down with a smile before jumping on the pole and started to spin, earning a series of cheers.
"So huge, so weightless, like a giant cloud." Mark shook his head as she dipped a couple of times before hugging the pole from behind and then, smirking at the audience leaning forward letting her breast jiggle with a force of a small quake making everyone flinch as she giggled as if to apologize and before her eyes turned slightly sultry as she started to unravel her shirt. Putting Mark at the edge of his seat.
Circling around the pole she gives the audience her back as she unbuttoned and then looks forward playing with her shirt revealing her cow print bra, as everyone cheers seeing less clothes on her.
Spinning the shirt like a towel she put it behind her back while pointing at a stallion in the audience who point at himself dumbfounded as she nodded and rather than asking for his reply she used her shirt as a lasso and brought him to the stage where she then proceeded to dance with him, he is red as a tomato with the back of his face buried in her titanic milky udders as she swayed their hips together in a playful manner before spinning him again and returning him to his seat the shirt now becoming his new belt.
Other than looking at what happen and quickly standing out begging to be next yet she shook her finger and chuckled as she returned to the poll, putting both hands on her hips and start to sway them slightly faster until she unbuckled it and then used it to grab the pole and do a second long dip to let everyone see her flank once again before taking it away and bringing down her belt to spank herself with the force of a whip startling everyone and mesmerizing them as they see how her butt titanically jiggled as she tossed the belt away.
Mark fell backwards back into his chair by the force and started grabbing the table for dear life as she held the sides of her shorts while continuing to sway them stopping briefly to see the audience who begged her to take them off, and she faked not hearing them by placing one hand next to her adorable ear which only added to them shouting louder.
Oh sweet merciful God, please, please take...them off!
Thrusting backwards she complies, as everyone cheered and Mark heard a crack, looking down he notices how his grip on the table was too much, and he literally cracked it from sheer force, the notion concerned him for a second before his attention returned to Daisy tossing her shorts away and now in only her black and white cow print bra and thong returned to the pole and leaned against it in a provocative manner.
Mark couldn't help himself. "JESUS! Baby got BACK!" He blurted aloud. Blushing right after when looking at the smirking faces of his companions, Thankfully his scream was drowned out by all the yelling as Daisy grabbed her hat and not looking at the audience started to sway her ass from side to side enticing everyone and even using her tail to caress some of the clients cheeks before sauntering away.
Jumping on the pole she did a couple of spins before dry humping it slightly licked the base puting Mark's hair in a crisis as she closed her eyes and listened to the music with a sway of her hips moving her chest forward slowly. Her bra barely contains her treasure until finally in one particularly strong thrust it popped open and fell into her hands as everyone drools at the beautiful image of her giant breast.
"Oh mama, you GOT MILK Too!" Mark exclaimed again and once more his companions looked at him.
"Listen I."
"It's ok Mark." One dismissed his concern.
"That is why you are here, glad to see you are enjoying the show." The other continued.
He nodded and resumed watching seeing how Daisy had a big smile on her face as she turned around and moving her hips, she rubbed her ass against the pole, her tail slapping her flanks a couple of times to keep them jiggling causing more quakes.
Spinning around she slowly made her way to the edge of the stage and called someone from the audience for some assistance. Who in a trance like daze they did in this case another griffin that flew toward her like if her limbs were now jell-o, Daisy continued to call for her while walking backwards until reaching the pole for support and extending her leg to ask for assistance to remove her first boot.
Getting the message the griffin gets to work and grabbed her boot taking it off as Daisy leaned forward giving her a closer view of her thong making her salivate and about to take a lick until Daisy stood back up and used her tail to spin her around until she lay on the floor where she is presented with the other boot to remove.
Repeating the action the griffin was about to launch at her only for Daisy to expect that and grabbed her claw and spun her around dipping her like a tango move while her dance companion was left in a daze holding the garment.
Winking Daisy kissed her forehead and gave her a playful slap on the haunch sending her back to her seat which she does so like an obedient drone.
Moving her head to the beat of the song she turned around and started to sway her hips slowly and provocatively shimmying them down slowly with the aid of her hands and jiggles that rub the elastic up and down painfully slow as she knelt down arching her chest forward to give a show at the revelation of her ripe fertile valley until it reached her thighs in which point she pulled them all the way down quickly, and remained bent over as her tail massaged one of her gluteus making everyone lift their glasses in cheers.
Stepping away from her underwear and turned around to see everyone with a small blush of embarrassment, knowing how everyone was looking at her adorable trim pussy that she rubbed previously to give it a layer of shininess, she held her hat and goes to the pole once more to play on it, and to the delight and horror of Mark grabbing one of her massive Jugs, pinched her gorgeous teat and released a stream of milk that formed an arc and landed expertly in the lifted empty glasses.
Seeing the chance he does the same, and almost falling from the balcony he lifted his glass too. Daisy almost doesn't notice but when she does, she gets worried about how close he looks to falling before chuckling and winking at him, serving one small shot of milk that he gladly took and then drank with gusto, before his eyes shot wide and looked forward.
"It...It...it's magnificent." He whispered teary eyed until he found something landing on his head and see Daisy hat has landed too which he look back at her in surprise as she chuckled once more and shook her finger no before picking up her underwear and waving goodbye at the audience, swaying her hips as a final treat for everyone. |
Equestria Handyman | Cadence’s Past Lesson Of Love (Grand Finale) [Edited by NagaShark] | Pacing back and forth, a certain blue dragoness, who was still in her underwear, glared at her dress for the evening with an intense fire in the cheeks of her face.
"Still haven't changed yet?" Daisy startled her, made her jump slightly as the dragoness glared at the still naked stripper cleaning the sweat from her forehead.
"By the ancient dragons! Put on a cowbell or something! You scared me half to death just now."
Daily only chuckled as she grabbed a towel and passed it over one of her shoulders. "You don't know it yet, but one of my acts actually does include one. And sorry didn't mean to scare you, still nervous?"
"None of your business!"
"Relax, there is nothing to worry about, the audience is more than charged right now, they would cheer even if you were to just remove A sock at this point." She told her pointing behind her.
"That is easy for you to say, you are not the one having to go out there wearing that!" The dragon tells pointing at a Prench maid outfit color blue with a skirt two times too small
"Actually I did once, not my best show, the skirts keep ripping before time." Daisy told with a shake of her head in memory. "And relax the trick is to think like this is a game." She advised her patting her shoulder.
"Yeah a game where you prance naked in front of a stadium." She confessed in slight anger and with a deep blush.
"Having cold feet?" The voice of Cadence startled the dragon once more as she turned around looking at the smirking Princess. "For pit's sake! Did everyone decide to sneak up on me today?!"
Both the Princess and Holstaur shared a small laugh while the Princess looked at Daisy. "Another incredible show Daisy, you really rocked their world back there."
"Aww thank you, I know you are saying that because I literally did but I liked the compliment." Daisy tells with appreciation and a small blush before heading to the shower "I'm sure you will do fantastic too Candy, best of luck"
"Wait what?" The dragon looked at Daisy entering the shower before looking at the Princess.
"What is she talking about?"
Rather than answer Cadence resorted to a smirk and took off her trench coat to reveal that she was wearing the exact same maid dress on the hanger with the difference of hers being pink rather than blue.
"What?" The dragon is left speechless at the revelation.
"You think I would leave you alone in the middle of the lion's den? Of course I have your back, that is what friends are for."
The dragon looked to the side, and started to play with her hands. "Will you help me put it on?"
"Sure." Cadence nodded and used her magic to help her friend put on the dress. "By the way, Daisy is right. It's normal to be nervous, but once you let go, it can be pretty fun. I'm so glad you decided to give it a try, Ember."
She just mumbled in agreement as Cadence helped her put on the maid hat while she applied some make up. "Just remember to keep your end of the deal."
"I still remember, don't worry." Cadence roll her "You're doing this to work on your seduction and I and my Shining help you being more delicate and femenine."
"Good, and remember not a word about it ok? I want to improve my image and not shatter it completely." She said with a scowl.
"Ember, what did we talk about?" Cadence looked at her with a raised eyebrow as she sighed.
"Count to five in your head, smile and speak softly." She repeated making Cadence smile and put on some final touches.
"Good dragon." She then surprised her with one final surprise "Here." She offered a pink domino mask confusing the dragon.
"What is that for?"
"To help you out, and make the show more entertaining." Cadence says wearing one as well. "You don't have to worry about hurting your image if nobody figures out it's Ember dancing."
The dragon smiled at the idea and took the mask, "Thanks Cadence." She then recalled something. "But what about that?" She points at her horn "and your flank stamps, don't think a mask will serve much when ponies can still see those brands on you."
"Nothing a little magic can't fix." Her horn came to life and turned invisible "As for my cutie marks?" She lifted the side of her skirts a little to reveal they now show a scarlet red heart being licked by a tongue. "You would be surprised what some good water and sweat resistant makeup can do."
Ember started to think about it and came up with an idea. "Do you still have some of that with you? I think I would like to make my scales shine more."
Cadence smiled and nodded revealing a base of glamour in her hand. "Let's make you dazzling."
Back at the podium
After fanning him with the menus, Mark is finally able to recover from the whole ordeal, as the Thestrals look at him with worry and slight anger at how he almost endangered his life for a cup of milk.
"That was extremely reckless Mark."
"Yeah! You scared us for a moment back there."
"I know, I know and I'm sorry it just...God I don't know what came over me" He said holding his head. "So far I have been able to stay calm with the other dancers but when Daisy took off her bra, I think I was just on auto pilot. Like I just stopped thinking and somehow became a..."
"...beast." The Thestral from his right replied with a smirk.
"Yeah, like that."
"Well Mr. Stage did warn you, didn't he? He wasn't exaggerating." The one on his left said.
"Daisy can awaken some primal urges in others, especially those that see her for the first time."
"I believe it now, God I can still taste her milk." He tells them, remembering that he was still wearing the hat. Taking it off and looking at it Mark stared in contemplation. "And now I need to return this too"
"You know, you could keep it if you want."
"Not sure if I should, I don't know what I would be willing to do if my primal self returned." He looks at the hole in the table he made. "It might even turn dangerous."
"I know you would be able to control yourself." The Thestral smiled and held his shoulders for support.
"Well aren't we mister popular here?" Someone called from behind and turned around, the 3 saw Silver and the other 3 Thestrals with the Abyssinian in question. A yellow, tall cat with a red vest and formal black pants and light red button shirt, with blue, slightly purplish hair.
"I'm starting to see why you weren't willing to partake with such delicate pieces of cloth now. With such a lovely group of ladies, it will almost sound unfair seeking another lady to spend the night." He told him with a smirk.
Silver smiled and went to sit next to Mark. "Play along." She whispered before smiling and looking at the cat. "Honey this is Capper the Abyssinian I was telling you about."
Honey?
Mark looked confused until she grabbed his hand and it dawned on him.
Oh right, the herd act.
He hugged her hand back as Capper gave them a bow. "Nice to meet you."
"Bloody Mary told us how tonight was a special night for mister Capper since this is his bachelor party."
"Sad but true, I must break the heart of so many lovely ladies but a dashing pirate managed to capture my passion, so I decided to give her a ring in engagement." He told in an overly dramatic tone.
"Hey, congratulations to you two. I wish you the best of luck."
"A thousand thanks."
"Here in Amazing Tails we have a tradition when it comes to bachelors, but Mister Capper and his friend were kind enough as to not draw too much attention to them, so the rest could have a good time."
"Please, we all came to have a good time, I simply didn't think it necessary to draw all attention to me, I much rather leave the spotlight to the lovely ladies."
"And we thank you for that, but unfortunately herds are the one rule Skye has when it comes to intimacy. She doesn't like to share much." Silver adds the last part in a whisper. "So we thought, and since it is his bachelor party, why not give him a small gift?"
"Oh Silver, you are such an attentive angel." Mark played along and goes so far as to kiss her check, surprising himself.
Why did I do that?
Luckily Silver doesn't seem to mind as she giggled as he looked back at the cat "And I have no problem whatsoever, consider it a gift from a lucky man to another." He offered him Skye's panties which Capper eagerly accepted.
"Thank you Mr...."
"Mark...Mark Star, nice to meet you."
"Mr. Star, thank you for such a caring gift, truth be told I do have a soft spot for ladies with feathers'' He licked his lips in anticipation while admiring the underwear. "They awoke a certain...appetite in me if you pardon my language."
"Don't worry I understand completely, just treat her well."
"Oh you can count on that." He chuckles a little putting the garment in one of his pockets and leaves licking his lips. "I think I will go see a cute little bird."
"And that is one down, she might be surprised but once she sees Capper she will leave you alone Mark." Silver comments with a smile. "Thanks for playing along, that kiss really sold the act."
"Thanks and sorry, I think I got carried away a bit back there."
"No, no that is good, the more affectionate the more convincing. Skye is good at seeing when someone is pretending so it might be good if you keep it up when we go see her backstage."
"I see, and what about Divine?"
Silver looked at their neighbours' booth as Fancy and Fleur nodded in agreement. "Fancy is on board, so we will only have to convince the hippogriff to make the switch. It might be tricky but it is possible. Don't worry Diamond and Aspen told us that they will go talk her out of it."
Mark nodded and soon the signal for the final show was heard, as one final time the lights were turned off and the spotlight revealed the buttler again.
"And now as our closing act, we have prepared a special show for you ladies and gentlestallions, one final treat for your eyes, as tonight we give you not one but two lovely ladies to end this night with a glorious bang. A rare opportunity for an upcoming new dancer and veteran that has blessed us with her performance on rare occasions.
Wait two dancers at once? Oh my poor heart please that neither are the same race as Daisy.
The floor opens and 2 poles emerge alongside a pile of books and a wall filled with them, a set of double doors. Which opens bathing the room in light and fog as two shadowy figures emerge from it.
"A spectacle of blue and pink, a tale as old as time. If our veteran could be considered the Amazing Tails dear Princess then her companion could only be described as the dragon of the story! Everypony I leave you in the care of Blue Nova and Pink Lust!
The announcer stepped away and the spotlight revealed the two as everyone cheered at the appearance of the dragon who had on a blue Prench maid dress that barely reached her mid thigh baby blue silk gloves and socks upon her legs. A baby blue headdress upon her head and Maid's shoes upon her paws. A pink domino mask covering her face, the eyes completely hidden behind a screen the same color as the rest of the mask. Completing the look with a tie of the other's dress color like the mask. And a pegasus wearing an almost identical outfit except in sweetheart pink with a baby blue mask smirking with one hand on their hips.
Various looks of both mixed curiosity and reaction seeing a pony, and dragon combo, for the first time for some of them even.
Oh good, they...they are not Holstaurs.
Mark let go a sigh of relief before looking back at them with curiosity.
Hmm weird there is something familiar about those two. I swear I have seen that mane before in the pegasus but with that domino mask I'm not so sure.
(Do not own the rights to this song. recommended listening.)
Hearing the song Mark could only smile, shake his head and start tapping his foot to the beat. Head nodding along as well.
"Just follow my lead." Pink whispered to Blue as the song played and they tapped their feet and slowly built memento as they approached their respective poles hugging it from behind and swaying their bodies in slow exaggerated motions starting to build the crowd as Pink slowly got more attention as she licked her lips provocatively.
Not wanting to be outdone Nova started to circle the pole for a moment before she comes up with an idea, and jumps on it spinning a couple of times until she is upside down spreading her legs letting the skirt fall and moving her body slowly as she used her tail to caress it side to side, earning more attention from everyone.
Pink noticed and matched her movements and does the same except rather than jumping she pressed her chest against the pole and rubbed it slowly licking the air to compliment each others actions.
"Yikes, is that dragon a natural." Mark complements as his companions nod in agreement mesmerized by their combined actions.
Irked from sharing the spotlight Nova slap her right flank cheek and jumped off of her pole to approach the audience, breathing a puff of fire to startle everyone a little, scaring Pink as she takes slow deeps dives closing her eyes playing with her body, in between her breast, sliding down to her hips, before looking at the audience and winking at them before breathing a fire ring in the a shape of a heart gesturing at the audience with heart hands and looking demure she gives them a wink.
Earning the attention of one who approached as Pink got closer to Nova and used her wings to block her hips and breast as she nuzzled her side catching the attention of everyone.
"You are getting carried away!" Pink chastised with a whisper while keeping the act as Blue played along and kept guiding the client with her finger licking the air with her forked tongue.
"I will not be outstaged." She replied with a smirk.
"Ember! You promised."
"Fine, what do I do?"
"Just let me help." Pink grabbed her hips and guided them as they swayed them together as the stallion came closer, until Cadence grabbed him and spun around making him dizzy and fall on the stage as she smirked and allowed him to take one glove with him. Winking at Blue who gets the message and smile as she goes to the other side and knew to move her hips side to side to everyone until her tail snared around another client this one a female pegasus with blue fur and gray mane whos color turned red as Nova tossed her onto the floor before crawling toward her on all fours until she was close before biting one of her gloves and ever so slowly pulled it off in front of her making her gasp as she licked her cheek leaving the glove pasted on it.
Nova stood up and giggled innocently, grabbed her once more and kept dancing as she tossed her to the crowd.
"Gently!" Pink chastised her, approaching the dragon and started dancing more aggressively until she was placed against the pole and inches closer to Blue's face. "Take the head dress." She instructed as they caressed and played with each other's faces until grabbing the respective piece and separately tossing their head dress to the spectators. Who cheered once more.
Turning around they keep their hips close to one another as their hips move in sync popping left and right to the beat along with their tails making slow dips.
"Tie?"
"Not yet, just hear the music, let it guide you." They close their eyes and dipped forward with each gap of the song before departing and kneeling to twerk more naturally before looking at one another and smirking extending their arms for the other bites down and take off the other glove slowly before removing and sling it to the audience lifting their legs in sync and do a flip as they reach their poles again and gasp spinning around.
"Alright, some good old fashion synchronization, not bad." Mark says as everyone started to move to the music that he had been grooving to since the first note.
Leaning forward they both play with the others breast smashing them together and slowly untie their ties as they wink and smile at the audience before taking them off and used it as leverage to turn away from them, presents their flanks in slow motion as their tails move parts of the skirt to tease them with partial panties shots, earning some whistling from the audience. As Nova blushed at all the attention she was making in that position. Looking at Pink she says 'on three' and counts to 3 until they let go and extend legs for the other to catch it while tossing the ties.
Keeping moving to the beat they extend their wings and took to the air and made thrusting movements at one another until finally they removed their first shoe, doing a spin roll, and grabbing their poles, spun around until Nova was facing her other shoe as she used her tongue to untie it, and then tossed it into the air with one flick of her tongue.
"...Okay that is hot, how prensile is that tongue." Mark gulps as Pink jumps toward Blue's pole as they lean in a 69 spinning position, descending while Pink used her wings to untie her shoe before jumping in different directions, with the other shoe flying away with one flap.
Getting back to back they keep dancing to the music with their eyes closed. "Socks next, audience?"
"Audience, but I call this time" Pink instructed, pushing Nova away with her hips as she returned to her pole and giving a few deep dips to entice, accompanied with a puff of flames each time she moved upwards.
Pink meanwhile spun and turned her back she looked over her shoulder with an innocent smile and biting her finger which left her target an Abyssinian in a lawyer suit petrified as she used her other hand to call for him, he did so in a trance.
Moving backwards she guided him to the stage before stopping her advance, putting her hoof on his chest and looking down in embarrassment, lightly pointing at the sock. Immediately he got to work and grabbed the elastic as Pink moaned loud and slow while moving backwards until the sock was removed. Standing up and guiding the client up with her wing on his chin as she made him turn and Blue extending her leg too for him to remove.
As he does so, she use her wings to also move back and guide him forward, losing himself of balance until it was off.
Before falling off Blue and Pink catch him and while giggling they nuzzle each side of his face as they took to the air before kissing him leaving him stiff as they spread and showed the other socks for him to remove which he grabbed from the base with a dopey smile as they sat him down on a chair before flying back slowly removing their remaining sock.
Returning to the stage they stay airborne and hug each other spinning slowly as they nibble each others neck as they untie the knots on their aprons and play with them doing big dips to the audience until they descend to the ground, getting closer as Blue use her fire to burn small pieces of Pink's dress while Pink uses her nails to scratch part of Blue's as well making everyone gulp as ever so slowly there appeared more and more skin on them turning up the heat as they playfully massage each others breast while dancing and almost kissing when licking the air with their tongues inches away.
Oh my god talk about hot...wait would that be even considered a kiss? He questioned. Not noticing the smirk on Pink's face as she looked at him.
"Ember one last assist, you in?" "
Ah but I had something planned."
"Me too, what do you say?"
"Eh..., ok sure." Blue hid her shrug inhaling deeply and in one quick and well aimed puff of smoke she burned Pink dress in a heart ring of fire as she faked surprise as everyone cheered in excitement. But, before they could take in her features she used her wings to cover herself and fly upwards to the second floor.
"Hey nice they are going for something like Chelsea as they look at the audience...smirking at them...flying right this way!" He realized too late what was happening as Pink lands next to him with her hands on her hips with a smirk as he was so close he even notices a beauty mark in the shape of a mole on her right thigh extremely close to her pretty semi translucent blue crotchless panties, as well as the heart shape blue diamond piercing on her pulsating candy button.
"Hi handsome" Lust smiles at him, using a voice modulator as he slowly looked up to admire her beautiful pierced E size breast before taking off in time for Nova who was chasing her lands and tackles him into his chair with some force almost knocking the wind out of him. "Need..."
"Ahemph!" Lust lightly cleared her throat, making the dragon nod and playfully caress the side of his face with her forked tongue closer to his lips. "My apologies master, could you be of assistance? These clothes are so, tight." She emphasizes each syllable making him red as a beet and half surprising her when she felt a poke at her crotch yet she maintained character as Mark eagerly nods and with shaky hands, guided by Cadence placed them on either side of Nova, at the beat of the music.
"No need for delicacy sir." Lust appeared behind him placing his head in between her breast caressing his chest. "Please help this fair maiden, rip it open." She whispered in barely contained excitement as Nova giggled half sincerely.
HA! This twig? Rip my clothes, that would be the day! I better help before he humiliates him...
Nova was preparing to help by ripping more of her dress herself when suddenly That little twig as she thought Mark surprised her with a flex of his muscle he growled like a horny starving beast so deep, so full of lust that most females would climax at the sound, some did, as in one tug managed rip her dress in half like it was a wet paper towel, looking at her like a piece of meat to sate his desires with in time for Lust to arc her back and orgasmed to her utter shock and Nova to be left speechless at the action gulping a little.
By all the stars, what just happened? Lust wondered for a moment before being brought back to reality and fly away but stopped when she saw Nova standing there like a deer paralized with her big breast that was now sporting erect nipples yet Mark's piercing gaze left her cold.
My, my Marky you've been holding out, who knew you had such a side. Oh Shining is SO getting lucky tonight again!
Pink couldn't help but feel slightly proud at seeing her friend unleash the beast and literally stare down a dragon because of her help. As she guided Nova away from him he growled, deep, and low, so much lust in the tone it was dripping in it once more, making her exclaim a small femenine gasp.
"Wha...who is that guy?" Nova managed to reply, snapping from her surprise.
"Blue focus, we still need the finale."
"Right." She shook her head and returned to character as they descended and twerked and moved their hips to the music with a rising audience completely in euphoria as they could see their glorious flanks in the semi transparent crotchless panties, gasping they looked up playing with the elastic of their bra slowly unhooking it before tossing them away behind stage, for Lust as Nova goes a small step further and held her bra against her breast teasing the clients in wanting the garment as she licked her lips and seems to toss them at them before incinerateing them with a puff of flame reducing them to a pink poof of smoke as she chuckled at the distressed clients and shook her finger, licking it then rubbing it against her now erect right nipple, while Cadence give a jiggling dancing to the music letting the audience see and admire the blue diamond piercings in her nipples before being surprised by Nova, who grabbed hold of her panties and pulled them closer together, everyone holding their breath as the crotchless part left access to their drenched muffs and thighs to connect and kiss repeatedly Lust's blue diamond pierced love button tapping into Nova's own little jewel of a clit. Putting everyone on edge and making them a drooling mess, gasping when in the heat of the moment they ripped each other's panties off before Nova brought the two to the ground in a scissor position, and grabbed ahold of the back of Pink's head. Ending the song with a kiss, as the first 2 rows pass out from that finale.
The audience goes wild in cheers and applause as the two separate, a string of saliva connecting them for a moment.
"That kiss wasn't in the script, is there something you want to tell me?"
"Shut up." Nova replied, separating their legs. "What do you expect when you work a...unh!" She flinches in pain feeling something tugging one of her pubic hairs before using her index and middle finger to retrieve the cause, finding Cadence's heart piercing from her pussy, surprising even the Princess.
"Nice suction."
"Just keep your part of the deal." Nova looked away in embarrassment but with a smile especially when seeing Mark looking at her and having to lick his lips free of drool from her actions, with a small nose bleed and very hungry gaze, making her blush a little.
Nova's head was filled with confused thoughts as she briefly felt like this human was hunting her. |
Equestria Handyman | Aftershow, A Night In A Tense Castle (Edited By NagaShark) | "Wow, wait a minute" Skye pointed at Mark in irritation. "You have a herd!?"
"Afraid so miss, so sorry." Mark replied with sorrow as Silver hugged tightly against his side. Soon after the show ended Mr. Stage waved goodbye and everyone headed to the exit except for the lucky stallions and mares that won their respective prize to meet the dancers.
Just as promised the Thestral stood by his side all the way there to sell their act, and soon were joined by the rest of the winners, the result was immediate as Skye was heading to greet him with a green tank top a black biker jacket and a pair of jeans only to stop in her tracks once she saw Silver and the other four Thestrals, who she kept looking at with agitation and suspicion as Mark explained.
"And all those years working here, none of you had the idea of telling me?!" She accused Silver.
"I'm sorry Skye, it kind of happened, we actually have just started dating recently." Silver excused herself with her companion nodding as she kept looking at her with a raised eyebrow.
"How recently?"
"Please don't act surprise" Silver instructed Mark with a whisper as she grabs his checks and planted a long sloppy tongue filled kiss that caught him by surprise, until he saw Skye and played along hugging her back and start to caress the back of her head and her back minding her wings and placing it in the center on the lower half pressing it with his thumb and pinkie. Not completely sure why but feeling that he should. Surprising Silver slightly as she felt her whole body shiver at the touch and letting herself get lost in the kiss, that lasted a minute before breaking apart.
"Very..." She tells with a cracked voice before speaking again "Very serious, this human is the love of my life." She confessed with a deep blush.
"Geez I get it, get a room you two." Skye said in slight disgust. "All that mushy stuff is too much for me, you're loss Star." She smirked and air thrust her hips. "I was thinking of letting you nest."
"Well perhaps you still can, we feel bad about your plight, so the girls and I thought of finding you a nice little fella that would like to keep you company tonight." They step aside, opening a space on the door.
"You are pitying me now? You think I will just forgive you just because you got me ah..." Her words die down when her eyes land on Capper who smirks as he approaches the griffin taking her hand and kisses it. "Mr Capper, it is an honour to meet you Skye, I just wanted to tell you your performance was exquisite." He smirked and with her palm open he returned her underwear "Enough to open an...appetite" He finished with a lick of his lips ruffling Skye feathers in the process.
"And it's his bachelor party too Skye.'' Bloody Mary adds "We thought you might like to help him, you know? For tradition."
She remains silent before looking at Silver with neutrality. "Apology accepted" She then looked at Capper with a smirk.
"So Capper eh? Ever been with a griffin before?"
"My future wife is one actually" He matched her smirk. "So yeah I know what feathers to ruffle."
She chuckled with some heat in her cheeks. "Oh boy Capper, something tells me you and I are gonna become really good friends."
"What? But what about our deal?!" Chelsea asked, looking at Skye, as she was wearing a micro skirt, Pink tank top, strappy sandals, and sunglasses.
"Sorry Chelsea, Silver beat you to it, and you know my rule. I don't play well with herds." Skye apologizes as she and Capper leave but not before she looked at Silver and Mark again. "You better look after him well Silver, I don't let go of targets that easy, and Stars. Whenever you want to feel a bed of feathers, call me." she ended by licking her lips provocatively making him flinch.
"But...the catch." She look down dejectevely as her plans were ruin until Mark approach
"Don't feel bad, Miss Divine, I didn't forget about you." He tells her with a warm smile. "I'm really honoured to be chosen, I really am, but tonight my mares and I weren't exactly looking for extra attention." He answered apologetically. "So we looked for a friend to help out."
"You got my blood pumping Chelsea." Diamond approached her with a smirk with Fancy and Fleur close by. "What do you say about a foursome?" She get closer to the hippogriff and whispered something that made her eyes widen in surprise.
"Really?"
"Would you like to find out?"
Chelsea looked back at Fleur who bit the air enticing her in the process as she nodded at Diamond. "Ok let's do it!"
"Knew you would like the idea"
"But before I leave please Silver I have to know" She looked at the Thestral with pleading eyes "How does his cock look?"
Silver chuckled and shook her head. "A lady never kisses and tells."
"Oh come on! Please!?"
Marks looks at them both worried before signing and looks down. "Is it really that important to you?"
"Yes!" She answered in desperation without skipping a beat.
"I'm telling you it is nothing that important, just a penis like any other, probably way smaller than the average stallion."
"Please just a peek and that's all."
He looked at Silver for help.
"We can make a wall so only she can see if you choose sir."
"Sir?" Chelsea catches that slip and looks at Silver confused, but immediately drops it at Mark's next word.
"Fine, it sounds fair since you showed me yours first, but one peek and that is all." Mark instructed.
"Yay!" She claps her hands together in happiness. As the Thestrals move into position and the hippogriff sits in excitement as Mark unzips his pants and looked around and pulled out his member for her to see.
"Wow."
"See? it nothing special"
"What are you talking about? This is anything but special!"
"Ah...what?" Mark looked at her confused.
"I mean sure, I have seen bigger but we are talking about comparing that to a Minotaur so of course it will be small in comparison but small, it sure is not." Mark's cheeks heated up as he put it away.
"And the shape, I can almost picture my cervix feeling so comfortable around it." Chelsea shivered at the image and even Silver got curious at what she heard. "Hey Silver, are you sure...?"
"Ahemph!" Fleur stops her from saying anything.
"Right, right" Chelsea clears her throat and stands up as they end the peek "Another time then." She goes and hugs Mark. "Aw your skin feels so good, please consider it for another opportunity."
He didn't answer and remained stoic as she let go and went to the couple to hug Fleur's arm. "Let go everypony, now I'm REALLY in the mood!" They all rolled their eyes and left the place as Mark watched them go confused.
"Ok, that was...unexpected"
A laugh caught his attention and turning around his face turned red when stepping out from her locker appeared Daisy wearing a simple sunshine yellow sundress and a sun hat. "I say it's a compliment."
She approached the group as Mark remained stiff feeling his mouth saying momma under his breath.
"Chelsea has been going around with various stallions before so her saying you are gifted is one incredible compliment." Daisy said, looking at the door where she left before looking at Mark. "Aww you kept wearing the hat, how thoughtful" She said, placing her hands on her chest "Would you like me to sign it?"
"I would like to sign you" He blurted out of the blue, confusing her.
"Huh?"
"I...mean no, yes! I...thank you so much for everything!" He finally managed to yell with a giant blush on his face. "I loved every single second of your performance and your milk was exquisite. I have never ever drank something so delicious! You were glorious!" He spilled his guts out, caught off guard by her presence as she gave him a knowing smile.
"I scare you, don't I?"
"W...what?"
"It's ok, stallions normally are scared of me when they get too close, so you don't have to just shower me with praise. I'm not gonna hurt you."
"I...I...no!"
"It's ok." She patted his shoulder. "It was very thoughtful of you to say all those things. I really love to hear you like the show...and my milk." She looked away still smiling with a bit of a blush
The mention of her milk made him go stiff once more at the memory with a blush as she walked away. "I am not afraid...!" He tried to tell her but by now it was too late as Daisy was gone. "...of you." He looked down dejectedly, the last words almost a whisper..
"You really aren't afraid?" Silver asked, surprised by the revelation.
"Afraid? Who would be afraid of such a magnificent woman!?" Mark asked her in complete shock. "Daisy is possibly one of the most gorgeous and prettiest women i have ever...eh I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you all feel bad, all of you are gorgeous and attractive and...not that..." He kept finding himself tongue tied until he heard them giggle and saw them shake their heads.
"You don't need to apologize sir, we all have our types, we appreciate the compliment though. If it helps you feel better, mine are the diamond dogs."
"Crystal ponies."
"Pegasi."
"With Skye it's the Abyssinian's."
"Nothing gets my blood pumping like the scales of a dragon."
"The wolf clan aren't half bad either."
One by one all the Thestrals share their personal preference to help lighten the mood, succeeding as everyone shares a good laugh and calms down.
"Hey speaking of dragons, where is Blue Nova? Or Pink Lust for that matter?" Mark asked, looking around the lobby as the Thestrals remembered the words of Ember when she entered the room.
One word that I or Cadence were here and I will burn you to a crisp!"
"They made a compromise with Princess Cadence and left early." Silver replied with a smile as Mark nodded.
"Oh yeah Blue Nova was Cadence's friend right? I bet those three wanted to catch up or something."
"The Princess is waiting for you at the entrance though." Bloody Mary adds. "You shouldn't leave her waiting."
"Yeah, you're right, too bad I would have loved to thank them for the show. Especially that Blue Nova girl, I don't know what it was but something about her really made me feel...I don't how to describe it, more primal?" He questioned as he left the dressing room, the Thestrals exchanging faces with mixed emotions of worry and intrigue, the ones closest to him when he growled shivering a little with the memory still fresh, before waving at him goodbye.
As he walked to the entrance the Princess of Love waved at him. "Mark there you are."
"Hey Cadence, you missed the last two shows."
"Oh I didn't, I simply watched them from backstage. I saw you are particularly fond of Daisy, you naughty boy you." She lightly teased him, earning a chuckle as she poked his cheek.
"Ok, ok I admit, I had a good time, you were right. I kind of needed to open my eyes."
"See? What did I tell you? Our world can be one magnificent, and beautiful place to live in, right?" She questioned as they continued their trek back to Canterlot Castle.
"You sure did, I don't think I will ever be able to say that mares in Equestria are just cute anymore, especially not after that grand finale."
Cadence suddenly trips, catching his attention.
"Careful Cadence you need to pay attention where you are going."
"T-thanks, so I take you enjoyed the final show?"
"Oh yeah, are you sure this was your friend's first time? That dragon was a natural out there!"
"Oh I could mention some pointers." Cadence mumbled.
"Huh?"
"Oh nothing, just thinking about their dance and how it made me feel." She shivered at the memory. "By the stars I need my Shining right now!"
Mark chuckled and shook his head. "They really leave you wanting no? Too bad Nova and Pink had to leave early."
Mark doesn't notice how the Princess goes stiff for a moment. "It was really kind of Pink helping your friend showing her the ropes. That poor dragon seemed so scared and...and...vulnerable." He growls remembering how she looked when he stripped her before shaking his head. "Sorry, I got lost in thought for a second.
He looks back and sees Cadence starting to pant. "I'm with you Cadence, those two were something else especially at the end, do you think they are an item?"
"No they are not!" She quickly blurted out, confusing Mark at her exclamation. "Sorry it's just I always get a bit mad when ponies jump to conclusions just because of a bit of foreplay."
"They ended it by scissoring each other and kissing. At that point, that stopped being foreplay Cadence."
"...ok maybe but I'm still sure they are not a couple. I know because my good friend Blue is still a very single and willing dragon looking for love, and Pink is happily married with the love of her life." She exclaimed proudly.
"How do you know that?"
"Well you see..."
"Oh that is right! Your anniversary! You and Shining had seen her before."
"Right, Right! That is exactly it, she chose us and after having fun the subject came up."
"Wait if she is...then why did she want to spend the night with you two?"
"Oh! Well that was before she got married." Cadence quickly answered. "She mostly wanted to be married, so we helped her out." She chuckled nervously, making Mark suspicious.
"But you just said she told you she was..."
"Fine you got me!" She finally exclaimed in exasperation. "She isn't married, I blurted it out, but she and Nova are not an item either, they are just good friends. Nova told me." She confessed. "I lied because well the final act was mostly Nova getting extremely carried away, and then embarrassed to the length she went to impress a stallion."
"What?"
"It's a dragon thing, and she made me swear not to tell anyone, so please let's keep it between us." Cadence pleaded with Mark as he nodded.
"Pink clearly got the wrong message when that final action happened, you see when female dragons find a male that they are interested in they...make another female submit in front of him to show power." she blurted with a blush.
"Oh? OH!" Mark started to piece together what was happening. "So when she took Pink..."
"It was a...mating dance."
"A dragon...me?!" Mark says in panic.
"She didn't mean it!" Cadence adds. "It was just a very heat of the moment thing I swear that is what Blue told me." She then looked down in sorrow "The poor dear was in distress once she figured out what was happening, that is why she left so fast. Please Mark don't hold it against her, like you she is still learning."
"Y...yeah! I understand so...are you sure she isn't actually..."
"I...don't know, if it was an instinct or if it was genuine only time will tell, for now the right thing to do is let her figure out her emotions."
"Yeah...I agree, and I understand now Cadence I promise, I won't say a word."
"Thank you." They resume their walk.
"I'm mostly sad for poor Pink Lust, being used like that. And after all the help she gave her, even going as far as faking an orgams just to help keep the show on the road."
"Yeah...fake orgasm, and don't worry Pink is very kind. The part of her choosing us was real, I'm sure she forgives Nova, heck if anything Nova made her night with a good memory to masturbate to."
Mark flinched at that comment. "Yeah, you are probably right, her and half of Canterlot." He tells with a nod. "ANYWAY! We should pick up the pace and get to the castle as soon as possible." He said speeding up his walk.
"So..." She fiddles with her fingers after catching up. "...would you be interested in coming back? Or maybe perhaps entering the dating world?"
"You will be the first one to know when that happens." Mark blurted out. "Right now, like you I have a lot on my mind and well...I think I will need some quality alone time too." He confessed with a blush as Cadence having one as well and they spent the rest of their walk to the castle in silence until they entered and went their separate ways.
"Cadence." Shining rubs the sleep from his eyes when he hears their guest room door open and from it walks Cadence marching straight to him, as he sits down.
"How was your night? Did you and Mark have...?" That is the last thing the captain could say as Cadence simply took off her trench coat revealing that she wasn't wearing anything underneath and showing her drenching wet pussy, panting at him like a possessed mare surprising the captain as he stood to attention.
"Cadence? What happened to your heart piercing?" Rather than answer she just rushed at him at mad speed cracking the wall behind the two as their bedroom door is closed and locked with her magic a sign of 'do not disturb' materialized and started to rumble at the movement and intensity of what was happening on the other side.
Meanwhile approaching his room Mark held his head replaying all the shows he experienced, his pants killing him as he could only think on how much he needed to take them off, not helped by the image of Pink and Blue scissoring, Diamond's winking pussy, Skye smirking while presenting herself at him, Chelsea's ethereal song and playful tail and finally, Daisy's naked figure, that by far is what was driving him over the edge.
Opening the door he was about to unbutton his pants when he saw none other than Princess Celestia sitting on his bed looking worried before looking at him once he entered the room.
Ah FUCK ME, what now?! Haven't I endured enough!?
He screamed internally as he looked back at the Princess with a raised eyebrow, too tired and slightly frustrated to care much at this point. "May I help you?"
With a sigh she stood up and closed her eyes. "We need to talk." She responded approaching
"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" He looked at a grandpa clock before looking at her. "It is 1:00 am in the morning, Cadence drained me of all my energy on our night out and you need to raise the sun in 5 hours." He listed in irritation.
"No it can not wait!" she yells equally irritated. "It is not my fault you decided today to go dance in some night club with my niece."
"Celestia." He pinched the bridge of his nose in stress. "For a month I have been trying to talk with you!"
"I...I needed time to process things!" She said with some shame realizing how childish she was behaving. "You know, you are right, it's getting late and that kiss meant nothing, just something weird that happened, just that."
"The kiss, yeah the kiss of course you want to talk about the kiss now."
"I wanted it to make sense for sure." she chuckled lightly. "None, I'm realizing I have been silly, sure it was good I will confess but it was just that a kiss right?"
"Right, right" He nodded, playing along as he approached her.
"It's not like I threw myself at you either."
"Yeah." Mark laughed alone, Celestia ignoring the bear she was poking right now.
"I mean for a moment I thought I was losing my mind, wanting another. It was just." She sighs and looked down in shame. "It had been so long since I had some pony contact. And well that kiss reminded me about it a little." She sighed and closed her eyes. "So now you know. You wanted to know why I didn't want to be a Princess? Here it is, I feel alone and wanted some company."
"That's all? That's easy to fix."
"I would appreciate it if you could take this more seriously. I'm exposing my soul here Mark."
"I know, and I see a lonely Princess that wants contact." He grabbed both her shoulders catching her by surprise. "Let's fix that." He whispered with a growl and pushed her into his bed, surprising the Princess.
"Mark what are you...!" Before she could say anything Mark rushed to her side and grabbed both cheeks of her face before diving in and planting the mother of all long kisses that caught her completely off guard as she put her hands on his shoulder trying to push him away, but finding her strength quickly fading as she moan briefly as he continue to explore her mouth with abandon, grabbing and intertwining her tongue with his own until finally he let her go, a string of saliva still connecting the two momentary before breaking apart "There, now that is a second kiss, do you want to talk about it?" He said in slight anger as the princess slowly shook her head.
"Want me to stop?" He growls again making her shiver and her wings to spam slightly as she shakes her head once more.
"Tell me to stop." He climbs into bed kissing her cheek and making his way to her neck nibbling and biting upon it tenderly yet aggressively. "Tell me you want me to stop." He continued reaching her collarbone and stopped to loom over her and lick his lips. "Tell me to stop right now!" He grabbed both sides of the shoulders of her dress. "Before I lose my mind!" He warns her one final time, physically shaking as he was fighting with all his might, not to cross the line of no return. Tears running from his eyes freely from the strain.
Princess Celestia looks deep inside those eyes. Into the windows to his soul and saw a spark. Seeing this she leaned up next to his ear. Close enough her whispered words ghosted kisses against the tender flesh. "Take me Mark!" Finishing the contact with a tender nibble to his ear lobe. Then capturing him into a soul searing kiss filled with absolute hunger.
Breaking the kiss he look at her in surprise breathing heavily, he licked his lips and breathed faster, and faster, until suddenly he bellowed a primal roar and then gripped both pieces of fabric with force and ripped the enchanted garment open showing her bra and making him look at her for the first time in his life.
They were covered but he could see them. Her breasts were big, they were way big. So big it reminded him of the hunger, and the thirst, remember as he felt thirsty and feeling unable to control himself as he dove in for another kiss, hugging her closer, wanting nothing else than to feel her fur and feeling his shirt itchy. He didn't want to end the kiss but knew he needed to remove the piece of cloth. Yet his prayers were answered as he felt something enveloping it and then teleported it away onto a nearby chair as he saw in Celestia eyes fire, not of anger but just an intense inferno, a hunger like no other he had seen. And he just needed to extinguish it.
Moving his hands up and down, Mark set to work doing what he could to find each button memorizing her form with scary accuracy as she moaned repeatedly as he cheered in victory with each button found, until finding the hook of her bra, taunting him and denying him of what he wanted the most.
In a fit of rage he yanked the invasive item rending it in two and slid her bra away, taking a moment to memorize the sensation of her breast over his chest, their softness, their size the glorious sensation of her nipples poking him repeatedly, as he could feel a small wetness, and his mind illuminated even more.
Milk was a promise, his prize, his goal. It was there for him to take, and the joy of being able to taste was beyond glorious, and needed to be repaid. Ending the kiss he started to nibble her neck as she continued to moan softly with eyes closed and arms firmly hugging his frame. Moans that increase in volume after a sharp gasp, one hand slid downwards and got lost in the rest of her dress, massaging her right haunch lingering right on her cutie mark and circling around the edge of the sun caressing her hair as it felt like a current was passing through her body before continued it's way, finally finding its mark.
"Wait, wait!" Celestia managed to utter. "I...I haven't trimmed...my pussy...is...is." Mark stopped momentarily to look at her in the eyes with neutrality. "Trim or bush." He smiled and got closer to his prize. "I don't care, what I want..." She held a gasp when his index and middle finger found her center and slowly made their way inside her folds. "Is to make you smile." She kept gasping as he returned to his administration, making a hook with his fingers and trying to find a rhythm to things, eventually finding a small slightly different feeling patch of flesh on the upper wall of her love tunnel that made her gasp even sharper and ark her hips forward.
Mark didn't exactly know what he had touched but her response made it clear that it was what he was looking for as he started to massage it and play with it, turning the Princess' mind into mush as she could feel her climax approaching. As Mark kept descending until he reached his final goal. Her beautiful teats, her pearly white breast with the most adorable dark pink nipples he had ever seen. He could almost hear them calling for him, memories of Daisy reappearing and making him lick his lips once more as he leaned down and licked the side of her right nipple in a painfully slow motion.
"Oh the stars! Oh my sun I...I..." Celestia tried to talk but her gasp made it impossible as Mark finally placed his mouth around his prize and took one delicate suck savorating the experience for all it was worth, it was like it was a real fine wine. A comparison not too far from reality as the milk was something superb, a flavour of a cake could be detected and a very creamy one at that with a touch of vanilla, of an ice cream variety with a topping of melted caramel. Ultimately a lesser version of that was the nectar that was Daisy's milk yet an incredible and delicious taste nonetheless which he was over the moon of having the glorious opportunity of tasting. He knew that such gift needed to be repaid so with renewed vigor he started to rub and move his fingers faster and faster while with the other hand he played with Celestia's solitary breast, pinching and rubbing, exchanging nipples to suck and even increasing the force once realized the approval the attention to them brung. Until finally the moment of truth came and holding a note Celestia let go a scream and Mark's fingers were suddenly soaked as she came fast, and hard. Not wanting to let that be the end he continued rubbing, increasing even more the force of her orgasm until her eyes went cross eyed and her tongue hung loose, as her breast soon follow springing to life like geysers and making him stop and release them for air to avoid being drowned in her glorious nectar.
Taking a step back, Mark allowed Celestia to rest, he could tell she needed the moment as she panted with one hand on her face and her tongue still hanging loose. Looking down he felt slightly bad on how the top half of her one beautiful white dress was torn in half while the lower half looked like it just came out of the washer with how drenching wet it was.
Returning from his glow, Mark remembers his rock hard erection and how it has come to the point where it was painful, causing him to hold his stomach, and hold back tears, as ever so slowly he tries to unbutton his pants.
His groans alert the Princess as she looked up and is shocked to see him in pain with a massive tent showing in his pants.
"You are in pain." she said in a whisper catching his attention.
"Celestia?" Mark looked back at her but she used her magic to slowly sit him up and slid his pants off leaving him in his boxers, he can't help but feel released from not being so imprisoned by them.
"You are in pain...and it is my fault." Celestia confessed in sorrow slowly making her way toward him and grabbing the elastic of his boxers. "I must fix it." She tells almost in a trance, slowly taking his boxers off and admiring his erect penis for a moment. "Beautiful." She tells with a teary eye before licking it sideways, Mark flinches and lays against the wall next to his bed. The Princess continued her treatment with her velvet tongue, as her mind was overrun by the mission of helping him not feel pain, and return the favor. To prepare his member, shivering at what he will do once he would be ready.
The pain slowly faded and it was replaced with pleasure, as the princess held the base of his dong with both hands and brung the tip to her mouth before swallowing until it reached ¾ of his length bobbing her head repeatedly as she is mesmerized and grateful for the salty flavour, which she was enticed to taste more with her tongue circling around it. Mark wanted nothing more to thank her and return the favor but her pussy and breast were out of reach so he opted to caress her horn delicately causing her eyes to flutter with the added pleasure as she continued and he slowly extended his other hand to reach the base of her wings pressing a recently discovered spot right at her wing pits to grant her more pleasure as she moaned. The vibration added to the sensation of her blowjob.
Feeling his member starting to twitch and approaching its release she stopped and with a pop, left his penis standing back and looked at him expectantly.
Reaching her side he lay her on the bed and once more grab the ripped parts of her dress before looking at her for approval as she merely nodded and with yet another tug he rip her dress open finishing splitting it in half with a growl making her pant, as he could see she was wearing a simple pair of chicken yellow panties. Trembling under his gaze and enticing him even more as he tossed the dress that made a wet splat as it hit the floor and made his way to each side of her panties before stretching them and pulled them down in one yank exposing her rainbow color pubic hairs causing him to pause momentarily.
"The drapes match the carpet." He smiled at the discovery as Celestia blushed and looked away before being surprised when he grabbed both hips and lifted her up before giving her other lips another lovely kiss before diving his tongue inside.
"Ma...Mark! Y...you don't need...I...I'm still SEN...AH!" She arc her back and her labia spasmed a little as he remembered what Cadence jokingly said
An I...then an A...an O...H...L...O...V...V...E
He closed his eyes and started to explore her love canal spelling words trying to remember which spot to press to increase her pleasure until he finally found a rhythm. Surprisingly her vaginal juices didn't taste bad and even had a more powerful vanilla flavour, helping him to enjoy even more of the sensation as his hands massaged her flanks and cutie mark wanting nothing more than to ensure Celestia was well attended.
"By...AH...By ALL THAT IS HOLY PLEASE FUCK ME!" Celestia finally screeched, feeling her consciousness starting to fade as she continued to be bombarded by pleasure before the stallion had connected.
She was on cloud nine and right now the only thing she wanted was to feel his dick inside her.
Getting the message Mark nodded and gently lowered her hips allowing her a minute to catch her breath before lining his rock hard shaft with her entrance, flashes of all the girls he had seen appearing before his eyes, their pussies lining up with Celestia's and filling him with a primal desire of want, as he forgot delicacy for a moment and instead went right in with force as his rod slid inside like a glove making her moan in pleasure his bed starting to rock back and forth to his movements.
"Yes."
"Yes!" Once more her tongue was left hanging out as Mark slowly started to pick up speed giving himself a small prize by sucking on her teats briefly before going back to work caressing and sliding his hands over the side of her hips and stomach extending his arms to rub her rigid wings and even scratching her horn all carefully thinking trying to keep pleasing her over and over again, until the second orgasm came with her hugging his frame with both arms and legs for dear life riding the afterglow.
Panting she kissed his cheek before speaking again. "Mark me, Claim me as yours." She half begged. "Make me feel your seed."
More inspired than ever, Mark redoubled his efort, finally feeling like he earned it, Celestia was ready, she had given consent, he could stop holding back and do what he was planning in fantasy.
Remembering Diamond Dust he kept ramming at her at full force as her walls clamped shut around him like a vice and massaged his dick "Oh heavens!"
Remembering Delight, he spread her legs discovering how flexible she could be as she helped him and brought her legs to her head letting him grab her by the flank alone and lift her up as he fucked her standing up kissing her repeatedly as his dick finally came and shot his first load. "Oh yes! I can feel it!" Celestia bellowed but rather than slowdown, Mark only sped up.
As he imagined Chelsea and how she played with her veil, Mark came up with an idea and picked up the torn pieces of fabric confusing the princess briefly until while kissing her he started to tie and secure her wrist and using the other half proceeded to do the same with her hooves.
The sensation was more than alien to the Princess, but the rush of been incapacited like that, her partner hungered for her and started licking her face while she was unable to stop him, was exhilarating and she could feel her pussy winking like crazy begging to be attended, which Mark happily complied almost as he had just read her mind first by using his fingers and then inserting his dick once more.
Taking her doggy style he recall Skye he grab hold of her wings and give them a small yank making her go stiff and sway their hips together with crossed eyes as he kept playing with her wings and he with reckless abandon, took out his dick from her pussy and line up to her ass, stopping briefly in worry but when no complain was heard he ram her ass too with a smile and biting her neck "Yes, yesh! Fuck me in the ass, fill all my holes!" Celestia exclaimed in ecstasy, making him continue, and yank her tail as well.
Standing up he rammed her against the wall and fucked her standing up drinking with gusto once more imagining Daisy and Celestia as the same mare and making his dick longer and harder as he pierced her repeatedly, as he came once and then twice in her butt when he rammed her from behind and repeated the process.
And by the time it came the turn of Pink and Blue he had put her in a reverse cowboy position and moved and giritate her hips remembering the scissor and made them cum together as they kissed each other. They see double as Celestia completely spent, fell on top of him and hugs him while sleep claims them.
The rays of sunlight manage to awaken the two with content, as they blink a couple of times smiling at one another, her mane a complete and utter mess covering one of her eyes, while holding hands which she was still tie up with, before slowly it dawn on them what happened last night, as evidence as when looking up and around they saw a room utterly and completely destroyed as if the mother of all earthquakes or a cyclone just happened in Mark's room rending the place a completely mess.
At the moment both sharing the same line of thought
What have I done?
Back at the present
"...How we got away without anyone noticing what happened, was simply a stroke of pure sheer luck. Thanks to Cadence and Shining making an even bigger mess and the captain making a whole fuss on how he left Cadence a twitching mess. Though downplaying how he needed fluids given via IV afterwards. Hiding our dirty little escape was easy as we took advantage of all that chaos. After that, things got a bit weird." Mark ends recalling the night of the strip club to Milky Way who was curious about hearing the story after they say their goodbyes to the Princess and return home, while they both stare at the ceiling hugging one another, completely nude and covered by a blanket, thanks to the story ending working them up.
"Weird how?"
"It's hard to explain, but it turns out that a thousand years of sexual frustration can leave a real nasty impression on you, almost like a split personality of sorts." Mark confessed with a sigh "And I was the genius that unintentionally let the genie out of the bottle."
"Don't beat yourself over it honey." Milky reassures him, hugging him closer. "There was no way you could have possibly known about it and in the end it all worked out, right?"
"Yeah, turns out that poor Molestia was feeling lonely and craving physical contact. So I step in and try to quench her thirst, sort of speaking and convince her to open up to me. We talked, came up with options and after some time she and Celestia made up and came to an agreement. But that is a story for another time"
"I still find it hard to believe how my coltfriend managed to reach friends with benefits relationship with the Princess of the Sun!"
"Yeah there are days I can't believe it either, but it will be a problem if word gets out about it so I'm trusting you to keep the secret, could you do that for me sweetie?"
She nods and kisses him on the lips briefly. "You can count on me honey, your secret is safe."
"Thank you so much, you know how much it means to me knowing I can trust you"
"Probably as much as you trust me enough to share stories like that from your past. Now..." Her eyes turn sultry as she sits on top of him with a predatory smile "...could you tell me again about that Blue Nova dragon and what she did to catch your attention? I might want to meet her someday." She then licks her lips and dives for a more long and passionate kiss. |
Equestria Handyman | Lyra And Bon Bon Babyshower (Edited By NagaShark) | While enjoying a minty and marshmallow flavoured drink, Mark and Milky took a moment to admire the party around them, in typical ponyville fashion the news of Bon Bon and Lyra's soon move from what originally was thought to be a humble party among friends and family, celebrating into a full blow party courtesy of the resident party planner who was more than happy to organized a proper celebration at the arrival of their babies, as a matter of fact she practically begged them to make one, once news reached her ears.
Anticipating that, the 3 come up with the theme and reserve the space at Sugar Cube corner where guests arrive and soon the party is in full swing. With baby bottles and pacifier balloons, cute baby cup cakes and a table full of gifts for the happy couple who were currently chatting with their closest friends holding hands and wearing a long dress with the others color pallet as their baby bumps were starting to show. Almost all of their friends have one lingering question in their minds that has produced various speculations.
When, who and how did they manage to get knocked up simultaneously. Theories were easy to come up with, each denying their claims, their wondering on how it happened just kept increasing much to Bon Bon delight as she found particular pleasure in teasing her newly hired team of pastry chefs, encouraging them to keep guessing how it happened. Earning more than one reproach from her wife in the process.
"Come on, stop lying, you used the spell didn't you?"
"You really think Lyra could have that skill or money to do that twice?
"Plus the boss told us already how uncomfortable the image alone made her wearing or taking it" Another voiced his opinion.
"Yeah of course they would not use that route, my bits is on hiring a breeder."
"Oh sure, because that would be cheaper." Their employers keep bickering as the couple keep giggling at their antics. Milky had a look that couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Oh Bon Bon she hasn't changed one bit. Still loves to torture her friends with all her secrets and teasing."
"Was she always like that?"
"Believe it or not, worse. She loved the 20 question game when we were fillies and suggested to her friends to guess what she got as a birthday present, bribing them not to reveal their own with her homemade candy. And Celestia help you if you look for a gift she made for you, that mare would guard the secret with her life."
"Ha! I can totally see that, Bon age 6 with a big red ribbon on her head protecting the closet with a broomstick."
"You are not that far off actually, it was a mop." Milky shared his laugh as they made their way to the happy couple.
"I'm happy she actually kept her promise." Mark tells, recalling briefly how happy she was the morning after his little help.
"What was that honey?"
"Oh nothing, just reminiscing about something." He responded with a chuckle.
"Mark! Milky!" As soon as Lyra spotted them she didn't waste time and went over there and gave the two a big hug each "So glad that you made it."
"Hi cousin" Bon Bon and Milky exchange a look and raise their heads briefly in greeting
"Hey Bon Bon congratulation for getting that bun in the oven you two"
"Thank you."
"So, is still to early to know the sex?" Milky wonders pointing at their bellies.
"Nope we found out not too long ago." Lyra tells in excitement before looking at her partner "Should we tell them?"
"Lyra we talked about it, we will tell everyone at once with the cake."
"Please, please, please! At least a clue?" Lyra mentions looking at Bon Bon with a puppy eyed expression causing her to crack. "Damn that adorable sexy face, fine ONE clue and that is all"
"Yay!" She goes and gives her a quick kiss on the lips from happiness. "I love you honey."
"I love you too, now tell it already before I change my mind" Bon Bon looked away with a smirk and a blushy face.
"Ok here is the clue, Celestia blesses us even more than expected!" She whispers as to not draw too much attention "We are not expecting two bundles of joys! We are expecting 3!"
"Three? Wait, one of you is...twins!?" Mark manages to whisper at the last second as to keep the secret as Lyra nods vigorously "I never imagined I will mother twins! This is so exciting!"
"Wow, that is big, so which one got the 2 for one price?" Milky asked in intrigue and Lyra was about to answer when Bon Bon stopped her "Nice try you got your clue and that is the only one you will find out when we cut the cake and not a second sooner."
"Bon Bon! Lyra! Over here! You have to see this!" Pinkie calls from a distance, gaining their attention.
"Sorry duty calls, talk to you later." They both excuse themselves and go meet Pinkie.
"What did I tell you? With her life." Milky chuckles and shakes her head in remembrance of the old times.
"I see it now, but wow twins, that is one huge bomb to process"
"You could say it again, whoever was the stallion that knock those two, must have had some powerful boys"
"What made you think they got a breeder?"
"Marky please, I know my cousin, she would never go with a dick spell, and would rather find a way to enjoy the process from start to finish" Milky then looks up in thought "But who is the million bit question. They wouldn't hired anyone to do the deep, so my elimination it would had been someone close to them"
Mark chuckle and shake his head "You are starting to sound like Bon Bon employes"
"Oh shush you, as if you are not intrigued either. Let's hear your theory, who do you think did the deed? Or do you believe my cousin would have tried the dick mare route?"
"Honestly I didn't think too much about it, the subject sounded a tad too personal for my taste." Mark confessed with a shrug. "For now I'm just extremely happy to know two good friends of mine got the chance to ride the mommy train together."
"Mommy train?" Milky repeats, recalling something. A last trip she took to ponyville before meeting Mark. Lyra and Bon Bon had invited her to go bowling as they caught up and talked about how they love their honeymoon on Ololuscios, as well as catching up on various things.
But by far the biggest news was how Lyra commented in confidence how recently she started thinking of having a baby, and most curious of all was that she used that phrase too.
"Wait, is that a chocolate fountain?" Mark eyes lit up as he saw how Pinkie started the machine in question and give some nearby children marshmallows the sizes of apples on a stick for them to used in the fountain a line quickly forming.
"Oh I need to taste one, honey would you like me to bring you one too?" Mark turns to look at Milky.
"Oh sure, thank you so much honey." He nods and goes to get in line as Milky keep looking at him suspiciously.
Now how did you know that phrase?
Later that day
After things died down a little bit and everyone was enjoying a light snack before time for the cake. The happy couple invite Mark and Milky to sit next to them as they were more than eager to see how things have been going with their relationship.
"So, how have you been doing?" Bon Bon questioned with a smirk
"Pretty good actually." Milky answers honestly, leaning against him and nuzzling his chest, earning a small blush from him. "This human has been nothing but a giant teddy bear, making me feel like a complete princess," she says, closing her eyes.
"Milky." Mark looks away trying to hide his embarrassment as he hears the two mares aww at the display.
"Gosh you two are just ADORABLE!" Lyra yelled with glee as she had to lean against Bon Bon as she smiled and rubbed her arm in affection.
"So glad to hear you're this happy Milky, it's almost like someone saw how good of a match you two could have been together."
"Ok miss subtlety we get it! You were right, you are the best, you are the queen of matchmaking." Milky rolls her eyes as the two chuckle
"Well I wouldn't say the queen e...aht!" Bon Bon stopped when while smiling Lyra pinched one of her nipples. "Honey~ aren't you forgetting something?"
"Of course not dear" She chuckles slightly nervously not wanting to get into trouble. "I can't take all the credit, it was Lyra's idea to find you a match dude. You're welcome by the way."
"Normally I would be slightly irked by you messing with my life but this time, I couldn't be more thankful." He leaned his head on top of hers and kissed her hair as he tightened their hug much to her delight and giggles. "I'm just crazy for this mare, and every since we meet, it has been as if the world have gained more color"
"Aww honey." Milky chuckles appreciating the compliment "Seriously Lyra and you two Bon Bon, thank you so much for introducing us."
"It was our pleasure, really."
"Just don't forget to invite us to your wedding AND baby shower later." Bon Bon half joke with a smirk, as they all share a small laugh.
"And since that subject came up. I'm also curious about something." Milky asks in intrigue, letting go of Mark and looking at Bon Bon in the eyes. "You two say that Marky and I would make one incredible couple together and you are right we are." She grabs his hand. "But I have to ask, how exactly did you come up with that conclusion?" She questions with a raised eyebrow as suddenly Lyra flinches.
"In fact, as far as I recall you never told me about Mark or how you two met. How exactly did you meet? And became such good friends to set us up?" Bon steps in and tries to calm her wife as she starts to sweat.
"Oh that is actually a funny story" Mark tells the couple as they look at him.
"I help them in her store more than once"
"Really?" Milky looked at him in time for the couple to let go of the breath they were holding.
"Yeah mostly moving heavy boxes or packaging Bon Bon candies. Ever since they went global business has been booming so I offer my service as a handyman." He explain with a smile
"That is right! Marky has been one huge help in the store he even suggest Bon Bon to hired extra help"
"Aha" Milky still looks suspiciously at the two. "And you simply agree, just like that? Without any sort of incentive?"
"I had my reservation yeah, but now I see I was being childish. Those ponies have been a blessing and a half in the store to tell the truth." Bon Bon shrug. "You should do the same cousin, I'm telling you, it's worth it"
"I told you I don't need any help!" Milky tells in anger, triggered by the one subject she loathed. "Orbit Milk is a business I started from the ground up! All by myself and been working it just fine to this day! I don't need a legion of employees doing MY job."
"By the stars please tell me I wasn't that childish." Bon Bon looked away in embarrassment.
"Ok we are out of drinks I think I will get some, Marky could you help me carry them?" Lyra voiced and let the two cousin discuss while they move away until they were far enough "Oh Celestia that was close"
"Yeah, who knew Milky was also a detective" Mark says, impressed by her skills "Gosh that mare is incredible" He admires his mare before looking at Lyra "You think we should tell her?"
"And make things awkward? Hey Milky would you like to hear something curious? We thought Marky would be perfect for you because we know how good he is at fucking." Lyra dramatized.
"Ok I wouldn't say it like that. But you have to admit, you and Bon Bon kind of dug yourself into that hole by not telling her the details on how we get to know each other better...and didn't exactly help when you keep teasing us about our love life."
"Yeah I know that now." Lyra confesses with a sigh. "Don't worry though, my Bonny has this." Lyra smiles as she looks at her and Milky discussing "Something those two share is that their store is their babies and they simply can't let go if someone insinuate or suggest telling how to run their business, let's give them 10 minutes and you will see Milky will drop the subject all together"
"Lyra I'm not sure, I don't want to lie to my marefriend, Yes! Not saying anything counts. Maybe we should tell her, I mean it was nothing."
"Yeah this banner over here says otherwise" Lyra points at the banner of congratulation on top of her
"You know what I mean, what I did was just helping you out, that is all, like moving a couch. You were happy we became friends and that is the story, there is nothing else to talk about."
"Yeah exactly it was just that but..." She looks away "what if it makes things awkward? What if Milky breaks up with you because you were with us and that is how we meet?"
He shakes his head "I'm not afraid, I trust my mare better than that." He tells her with confidence "I will respect your wishes if you don't want to tell her now, I will tell her at home and it will be only my problem if it happens."
"Mark" Lyra looks at him with worry.
"Just consider it ok? I need to take a leak real quick and be right back but I'm telling you, it's not that big of a deal as you might think" Mark smiles and turns around starting to head to the bathroom. "Also, just so you consider it as well. Not wanting to talk about it, would imply that IT meant something. And that would turn it into a problem." Mark left her to consider his words as he left, ignoring a certain mare that was watching him leave from another table before standing up and following.
After leaving Mark sighs in satisfaction and was about to return to the party when he bumps into someone, and looking up he was surprised to look at Fluttershy staring back at him in surprise. She was wearing a fairly simple combo of a green turtleneck wool sweater and a pink khaki long skirt
The ambience suddenly turned tense as neither of them knew exactly what to say, memories of their fall out starts to replay in Mark's head as he looks away in shame for a moment. "Hi"
"Hi" Fluttershy finally spoke, catching him by surprise and then hope as she seems to finally be willing to speak with him again yet before he could say anything she looks at him angry for some reason. "Is it true?"
"W-what?"
"Are you...are you f-f-forming a h-h-herd?" She ask looking away with a blush
"Ah y-yeah why are you...?" Before he could ask anything else she run past him heading to the stairs before looking at him in surprise
"Fluttershy?" He took a step forward but she simply ran away.
"Fluttershy wait!" He chases after her and they both rush to the stairs and into the second floor as Mark supports himself on the rail and jumps to cut the space between the two as she keeps running until reaching the end of the hallway where she turns around in time for Mark to corner her putting both arms to her sides making her flinch and recoil with her hands together.
"Fluttershy, please." Mark looks at her in sorrow. "Talk to me, what happened back then. I'm so sorry I thought you were a Roc or a Manticore or other predator on the prowl for their next meal. If I knew it was you I would have never tackled you to the ground, you are my friend Fluttershy I don't want you to be afraid of me."
She ever so slowly turned to look at him in surprise as Mark slowly realized how close their faces were and how he still had his hands on either side of her head. He was surprised and scared that he had just frightened her once more, until he was blindsided when she moved forward and planted a quick peck on his lips leaving him cold and standing back.
"F...Flutter...?" With an intense blush she rushes away not looking at him as she goes back to the first floor once more, as he is left standing there inmobile by what just happened.
After a while he manages to return backstage and to their table where Milky notices his mood. "Honey, what happened?"
"Will tell you after the reveal, I'm still trying to process it myself." Mark explains holding his face. "I'm not sure why but Fluttershy just kissed me." He gives her the short version not wanting to keep her worried as she looks at him surprised "Kiss you?"
He nods "Yeah like I say we will talk about it later, right now we shouldn't steal their thunder." He looks at Bon Bon and Lyra who were equally surprised by what they just heard. But Mark wasn't ready to let go of a more pressing matter. "Lyra did you have time to consider it?"
She nods and closes her eyes. "We did, and you were right. It will be best to confess."
"They told me." Milky tells with neutrality before smiling and looking at him "And they told me how it meant nothing."
He smiles and grabs her hand. "I would never get between in their love sweetie what happened was just carnal, maybe even less"
"I wouldn't say..."
"You!" Milky points at Bon Bon. "You stay quiet."
"Mark is right Milky we only wanted a friend that understood our feelings, which Mark was. Just a friend helping us out become mommies." Bon Bon continue ignoring her warning
"I see, so those babies..."
"Nope, totally ours!" Lyra clarified.
"Oh thank Celestia." She let go of the breath she was holding. "That was my only concern."
"It was?" He looks at her in surprise as she chuckles.
"Oh my big hearted dummy!" She squishes his cheeks together. "I don't mind you helping some mares being mommies with empty sperm, that is an incredibly generous thing from you, my only rule is that YOUR boys!" She rubs his crotch much to his surprise. "Are for your herd and your herd alone, are we clear?"
"C...crystal! Not sure if I'm ready to be a dad either but if the time come, I will only claim you and well...the mare we choose"
She smiled and gave him an esquimo kiss, words didn't need to be said. They both knew what they meant to one another.
Soon it was time to cut the cake and the couple was more than eager to do so. Bon Bon and Lyra look at one another and with a nod cut it, surprising everyone when Lyra pulls out a blue slice of cake while Bon Bon pulls another...and then a pink one. Gasping everyone as the message was clear. Bon Bon was having twins.
"Sweetie." Mark leans against Milky so they could whisper. "In your family has there been any history of twins?"
"Nope."
"I see...a father of twins. That could be adorable." Milky smiles and tightens their one arm hug. "You would make an amazing dad if it happens."
"You would be an incredible mommy."
"Thank you, and thank you for not saying it or thinking about it."
"Think about what?"
"How big my 'mommies' would get' He gasped sharply as the image reached his head causing her to giggle. "Don't worry big boy, I will take care of you later, but first there is an issue of a kiss that we need to talk about."
"Agree" Mark nods remembering the new subject that needs to be addressed. |
Equestria Handyman | The Everfree Hunter (Edited By NagaShark) | After the party is over Mark and Milky return to his humble apartment where after explaining the events that happen at the party in detail they discuss, and wonder the cause of such behavior. Starting with how it began in the first place.
"Ok let's unpack here, what exactly happened between you two? What caused her to be so afraid of you in the first place" Milky wondered while sitting on a sofa, opposite to her was Mark sitting on a chair keeping his gaze on the floor as he sighs.
"To explain I will have to go back a very long time ago. Two years after I arrived here to be exact...and confess a little something about my species that I was worried you might find scary. You see, while I'm perfectly fine eating fruits and salad" He extend a finger and reveal one of his sharper teeth "my diet could also include meat"
"No! Seriously?" Milky ask sarcastically surprise and confusing the human at her reaction
"Honey I have kissed you thousands of times now, did you really think I wouldn't notice something sharp poking my tongue? Of course I knew! In fact I'm getting so used to the sensation I had started to enjoy our kiss even more because of it"
He looked happy and relieved at the news and at the moment he wanted to approach her but she stopped him.
"So anyway you were saying?"
"Right so, as I was telling with my diet and me refusing to just give up on meat altogether came a revelation of sorts.
Four Years Ago
(The bold italic sections is Mark acting as a narrator)
God what I would give for a well done steak right now.
Mark mumbled rubbing his belly in memory, and craving a different kind of dish than the fruit salad he had in front of him.
"What is it Mark?" Fluttershy voiced her concern as he looked up at the rest of the main six, as they were currently enjoying a picnic near Fluttershy's cottage, all of them sharing the same expression as hers. "Is there something wrong with your salad?"
"Nah there is nothing wrong with it, just." He stopped not sure how to explain how he was craving meat, especially when speaking to them, which were clearly herbivores, and could potentially get frightened, or even get the wrong impression if he didn't choose his words carefully.
"I suppose I'm still home sick" He finally said, not completely lying as he was mostly missing how easy it was to find a steak or pork or chicken back on earth and realizing how he hasn't eaten any of that since his arrival.
Immediately after saying those words the entire mood crashed down, as not even Pinkie knew what to say or do to lighten the mood, adding more weight to his guilt.
Way to go Mark, not only flat line the mood, you just manage to depress yourself too.
"And I just killed the mood completely, better be going before I finish flat lining it." He stood up and excuses himself getting ready to leave.
"Mark, wait!" Twilight called for him and grabbed his wrist. "Please, don't go."
"Twilight I..." He sighed again before looking at her. "...I appreciate the gesture, but unfortunately this is a friendship problem you simply can't fix."
"Is it really nothing we can do, partner?" AJ asks pleading, hating to see him so down in the dumps.
"Not unless you find a way to bring a piece of earth back here" Mark tells half sarcastically, closing his eyes and clenching his fist in anger "Sorry forget I said that, I shouldn't, it's just AJ what would you do if you would never be able to see your farm again? Or Pinkie never be able to be at a party? Or Rarity never be able to see...ah damn it!" He shook his head "I'm sorry I just need to go before I ruin this day completely. Please just let this problem go. There is nothing else to say."
To this day I still feel horrible for what I did, all of them wanted to help and just because I was just thinking with my freaking stomach I ended up making them feel terrible. The second I stopped feeling these cravings, I was set on making it up to them. But little did I know, the main six weren't ready to throw the towel with me.
"What is this?" Mark asked in astonishment as after a week from the incident Twilight asked him to come with her to visit the ruins of the castle of the two sisters, only to find a small section of said place repaired and repurposed to become a cabin made of stone, fully equip with a freezer, an oven, all sorts of apple dishes courtesy of Applejack and even fresh sheets, blankets and everything else that he could of needed to spend a couple of days in there.
"I know you were joking, and didn't mean it," Twilight explained.
"But we felt bad knowing how much you missed your home." Rarity continues.
"So we put our heads together and remembered how the everfree forest kind of reminds you of home right?" Pinkie added.
"Yeah with all the freaky things with the weather acting on its own and the sun and moon moving without any help." Dash shivers at the idea.
"We know it's not Earth." Fluttershy grabbed his hand with a kind smile. "But we thought maybe, whenever you feel home sick you could come to this cabin and pretend you are camping back home."
"Girls I...I don't know what to say." He sniffed, and had to clear some tears from his eyes. "After what I said to you, I don't deserve this, I'm sorry."
They all brought him into a group hug "Don't be, we knew you didn't mean any of those things."
"Yeah I sure would be more agitated than a rattlesnake if some force rip me away from my family farm."
"And just because you are camping doesn't mean you can't do it in style" Rarity exclaimed in pride. "I guarantee these blankets will feel divine at night, especially looking at the starry night." She pointed upwards showing a skylight for which he could see clouds passing by.
"Just don't ask for wishes if you see a shooting star, you might attract Luna." Pinkie jokes and all share a small laugh.
"Oh you don't need to worry about the wildlife, I asked around and my animal friends told me that none of the dangerous one's come here, and they promised to leave you alone if you do the same." Fluttershy comments as he nods. "I will keep it in mind Fluttershy."
And in mind I kept her word, I didn't intend for that to happen but boy was I grateful for them to do it. Turns out their little plan worked, as after the first night I really felt like I was back on earth. The night was peaceful, the clouds moved on their own, I could feel the weather move without any assistance, I don't know if things felt natural.
And then something unexpected happened, something that unintentionally granted me my dark wish of feasting on actual meat for the first time in a very long time.
Startled by a loud noise. Mark exited his cabin to find out the origin of the commotion. A rabbit was being chased by a big Cragodile as the beast was fast approaching and had the poor hare against a wall corner snapping his massive jaws at him, unable to reach thanks to a suite of heavy armor that had fallen on the beast pinning it down.
Mark didn't know why, but watching the poor bunny scared for it's life, a massive predator inches away from it's next meal, as said bunny was looking at him begging for help made him act without thinking, spotting a piece of a column near him, and kicked it will all his might at said predator, he intended to grab it's attention, convinced that the cragodile's skin would protect it.
How wrong was he as the force behind it not only launched the croc into the air, it killed it on the spot. He was mortified for what had just happened, as he watched the dead body, snapping back to attention as the white rabbit was just hugging his leg with tears on its eyes from being rescued, the poor thing still shaking from the ordeal and made him remember why he did it and how he just saved a life.
He felt bad but he didn't want to let body just be left to rot. And a curious idea came to light.
Skinning and cutting that Croc was a chore and a half, I didn't exactly know what I was doing and of course the first try was a disastrous waste of a lot of the flesh yet in the end I managed to obtain my prize and for the first time in two years, I ate meat once more. One which flavour I was shocked to recognize.
It...it tastes like a steak! Mark thought with tears streaming down his eyes as he continued to consume the chunk of meat, it had more elasticity that he had preferred but the flavour was definitely there, and with that meal his final wish was granted that night.
Back at the present
"After that it was a matter of trial and error, I started small. Using a pond near my cabin that Fluttershy must have missed to hunt more Cragodiles. Then moving to other targets, stalking them and learning their patterns on each trip, and learning a bit more on how to be a hunter. Am I making you uncomfortable?"
He looks at Milky in worry yet she shakes her head and asks him to continue.
"Of course no one knew what I was doing, in everyone's eyes I was just spending my time camping when in reality I was learning to hunt. Each victory rewarding me with another meal and another lost flavour recover. I don't know when but at some point I must have been indoctrinated into the forest as animals start to recognized me and view me with mix feelings, some avoid me, some remain near as I was in a way protecting them and some, must have turn me into a challenge, in how they tried to hunt me. Those last ones were my usual dinner, if it happened."
"How long did you spend in that cabin?"
"These days I only go when I have a craving and try to be as short as possible just visiting twice or thrice a year but back then. I spent almost a whole year there, sleeping there four times a week, during which I constructed my set of rules. If I were to be the predator I had a duty not to upset the balance in the ecosystem so I set myself 4 conditions."
He lifted 4 fingers and one by one put them down as it listed his condition "Never the female of the species to avoid targeting a pregnant one, never the cubs to ensure its legacy, only predators and only take what you need. With those rules I pray I never upset any balance established there, and at times to my surprise other predators started to join me in some of my hunts. I didn't mind much, I only needed a portion of my usual prey, so they could have the rest of the body after."
"Marky dear, don't get me wrong, this is an amazing story to tell the least and I'm fascinated by it but I think you are getting side tracked, what does any of this have to do with Futtershy?"
"I'm getting there, sorry for this sidetrack but I needed to tell you so you could understand better what happened. You see, with my rising popularity and allies when I went hunting my prey started to...increase in size and at one point I decided to target one that would give me all the meat I would ever want and will not need to actually kill it" He sigh and close eyes "I planed, executed, and succeed in taking down the head of a hydra"
Milky actually gasped at the revelation, more than enticed by the story.
"After a battle as intense as that one I was just more than pumped full of adrenaline, it's flesh was by far the best of them all, I don't know how it was possible but it tasted like pork, a tender more elastic type but it was definitely pork and after roasting and adding the right condiments, I was on cloud nine munching on my final trophy as I saved some of it in my freezer and the rest gave away to my friends, the Manticores that helped me bring it down." He smiled and cleared some of his drool remembering the flavour.
"But then disaster happened, I was so sure there was no one there, it was the middle of the night, outside my cabin. Every animal was either sleeping, or eating what we hunted. I even left some pieces for stranglers that wanted a piece as well. So if someone was there it could only mean they were targeting me specifically. Normally I would have just given them a warning or scared them away but that night I had so much adrenaline, so high from the hunt that when I saw a pair of eyes looking at me. I...I decided to chase."
He blurted in shame now putting his hand on his forehead "I thought it was just another predator, a small one at that, meaning it was fast and if giving distance it could surprise attack me with a projectile or something so I just kept chasing as to not let it get away, starting to growl for some reason and eventually I reached my mark as I pounced and grabbed it, with my arms and legs, with force pinning it to the ground, not giving any chances. At that moment, a cloud was blocking the moon so everything was dark but I paused when in my hug I felt something soft in my palm and when the light of the moon came back I was frozen to see the frightened figure of Fluttershy who, as soon as I relaxed my hug, jump and backed away from me."
Some tears started to stream from his eyes. "That poor pegasus I almost hunted one of my closest friends, the look of terror in her eyes, the shakening of her body, the red face she had from embarrassment because of the grab I even made her pee a little as there was a wet spot on her skirt."
He had to sniff before continuing. "To this day the only thing I wanted to do was apologize but when I took a step closer her wings sprung to attention in a defense mechanism making me back away as she took to the air faster than I could see."
Rubbing his shoulder Milky tries to console him as his blood shot eyes looked at her "The following days I tried to speak to her, lord knows why she didn't tell anyone what I really was doing. Did she understand me somehow? Did she know I could eat meat all alone? I'm so lost and confused I don't know what to think! When we spoke at Sugar Cube Corner I thought she finally forgave me but then, she kissed me?! I...I just don't know what else to think!"
"Shh!" Milky guided his head, resting it on her chest and letting him cry. Rocking back and forth "It's ok honey, it's ok, you didn't do anything wrong."
"Yes I did, I traumatized the kindest mare in Equestria and now I'm afraid I might make her feel some bizarre stockholm syndrome, I'm the worst!"
"No you are not, whatever happens I'm sure there is an explanation for what happened. Don't worry, we will find out what it was, together" She reassures him, patting his head and helping him calm down. |
Equestria Handyman | Prey On The Prowl (Edited By NagaShark) | "Come on Fluttershy, he could really use your help. Now that Mark has decided to try having a herd, he is more afraid than ever. He could really use your help." Twilight pleaded her case as she and Fluttershy had tea outside her cottage, enjoying the first days of winter and how the snow had left her cottage with a fresh blanket of snow where some of her more arctic animal friends were enjoying it and playing around . They were both dressed for the occasion with Fluttershy wearing her usual green wool turtleneck sweater. Pink ear muffs, mittens, and scarf, she was also wearing thick pink khaki jeans. Twilight was wearing a royal purple sweater, scarf, and mittens, while wearing blue thick wool jogging pants.
"Oh my...I'm not sure if I could help Twilight." Fluttershy looked away with a blush. "I'm not that good at giving advice about t-that sort of subject."
"That is ok." They were both surprised when they heard the voice of Milky, and they saw her with a red scarf, a red purse and green trench coat smiling and waving at them. "I know a bit of the subject, I could even help you if you want."
"Her" Fluttershy clench her tea cup and look away still blushing slightly.
"Oh hi Milky, what are you doing here?" Twilight asks with curiosity.
"I actually came to see Fluttershy too." She asks with solemnity. "My coltfriend told me all about a little fall out you two had and how nothing would make him happier than to recover a dear friend of his." She approached the two looking at Fluttershy "I was hoping we could talk about it, I want to hear your side of the story and see if there is anything I could help with."
"I...I don't think there is anything you could help." She finally tells in sorrow looking down, yet Milky wasn't done yet as she grabs her hand. "Fluttershy I'm begging you! My sweet coltfriend is a mess because of you. He is in pieces breaking his brain apart because he thinks you hate him!"
"W...What!?" That manages to snap her out as she looks at Milky in shock. "H-Hate?! I...no I would never...!"
"Then you need to stop!" Milky get closer with a small glare "Whatever that is going on with you needs to stop now, because whatever is happening is hurting you both and it will not stop until you stop running and talk about it."
"I...I'm not completely sure what is going on but I'm with Milky, Fluttershy." Twilight stepped in. "Mark has been really sad about how you've been treating him. Please tell us...what exactly happened between you two?"
She looks away with a blush and only manages to whisper incoherently, having been put on the spot.
With a sigh Milky saw that and turned to look at Twilight "Twilight if you don't mind. Could I take care of this one alone?"
"Huh?"
"Sorry it's a herd issue, kind of private." She wink at her.
"Oh? Oh! Wait, she..." Twilight was about to exclaim something, and slowly turned to look at Fluttershy but Milky stopped her by placing her finger on her lips asking her to remain quiet.
"I will tell you what I can but this kind of needs to be between the two of us." Fluttershy can only flinch at the touch of Milky, who puts her hand on her shoulder. The Princess was a bit unsure and taken aback, not sure if she was reading the situation correctly. Ultimately deciding to comply and nod. Milky only wanted the best for Mark and if her hypothesis was correct, then she will be beyond happy from the news.
Teleporting away she left the two mares alone as Milky took Twilight seat and with a sigh she closed her eyes, "Right from the start to ease you on, I know my coltfriend eats meat. So you don't need to hide it around me"
The statement caught the pegasus of guard as she looked back at the mare in shock "He told you! He told you about his hunts? How he is a predator that can only obey his instincts and seek his prey!?"
"Ah, excuse me?" Milky looks at her confused by the sudden estatement.
Fluttershy stood back slightly ashamed of her outburst and sat back on her chair "How much did he tell you?"
"All of it, how he loved the gesture you all 6 made for him, his first accidental hunt. How he decided to learn to become a hunter. He feel bad for keeping it a secret from you by the by"
"He shouldn't!" Fluttershy tells in worry, "If anything he should be proud of it, as a hunter Mark turned out to be a very kind and thoughtful individual"
"Oh? So...you knew even before the incident?"
Fluttershy think about it biting her finger until eventually decided to confess and nods.
"From the very beginning. It all started with one itsy bitsy mistake I made. Yes, I had asked my friends for the perfect spot where no one would mind his presence and I had full confidence he would respect their territory no problem. But it wasn't until it was too late when Angel reminded me of something that had slipped my mind."
"The Cragodile pond." Milky answered, remembering the story as she nodded.
"Don't get me wrong, I was right, the spot was correct...except during their migration. And the moment I remember it was already too late and they were already on the move. I tried sending Angel ahead to warn Mark but by the time he arrived the Cragodiles were already gone and my fear was confirmed, one straggler was heading to his cabin. I had nightmares of what would happen if Angel hadn't distracted him."
"So the bunny from the story..."
"It was angel, yeah." Fluttershy smiles at the memory. "You should have seen it, never in my life have I ever seen something so dangerous, and yet caring, there he was, eating a piece of a Cragodile, still messy from dissecting it...and petting poor Angel to sleep trying to calm him down from his scare. Even when terrifying, Mark resulted to be one of the most gentle souls I have ever seen."
"Don't need to tell me twice." Milky agrees although her reason for it might have been different.
"Of course I knew he could eat meat from before, his canine teeth were a dead give away, as I have seen it on my friend bear, raccoons and others. But like the last one I really thought he could survive by only eating fruits, until what I saw that night"
"Why didn't you say anything? Mark told me that he keep returning to town on occasions"
She shook her head "That cabin was supposed to be his own personal space, his peace of earth to relax and calm down. I simply didn't have the heart to ruin it by invading his space. But that didn't stop me from being worried that he might get hurt, but the more I saw him learn and adapt the more...interested I became."
"I imagine by that time the animals were starting to notice him right? He said something of some avoiding, approaching, or taking him as a challenge of sorts."
"It was more than that, they respect him, Milky. They even started calling him 'hunter' because he was the predator of predators, the one at the top of the food chain. The stories some of them have told me, the things he did while looking for a meal. Did he tell you about the two lioness manticores he rescued?"
"No I think he skipped that part, he really did it? Are those the same ones that helped him take down the hydra?"
Fluttershy nods eagerly. "The more I watched the more I wanted to learn, how he made tools, how he hunted in his unique way, how he never took more than what he needed and if he had extra he gave it away to wolf packs or other poor starving animals. He was different from other predators and everyone loves him because of that."
"Well that makes things easier and complicated at the same time. "If you were ok with everything he was doing, then why are you still so jumpy around him? Was he that terrifying when he pinned you down?"
To her confusion Fluttershy immediately turned red and looked down as steam started to leave her face.
"Fluttershy?"
"I...eh...I...was afraid y-yeah." She managed to confess looking away with a nervous smile. "O-or at least t-that is what I thought."
"Ok, care to clarify more?" Milky asks, still trying to make sense of the whole ordeal yet Fluttershy resorts to mumbling incoherently as a response. Getting an idea Milky decides to take a shot in the dark with what was going on, and stand back.
"Ok I get it now, don't worry Fluttershy, I will talk with him. And explain that you two can be friends again if he promises never ever to hunt again or chase you anymore."
Her eyes wide in complete horror as she practically jumps at Milky. "NO!" She hugs her hips for dear life. "Don't tell him that! Don't you dare cage him!" She warns her suddenly getting slightly angry.
"Then you might as well talk Fluttershy, I might already know what is happening but I want you to confess. I'm his alpha after all." She gets closer to her with a glare of her own. "And I don't take too kindly to mares that hurt my stallion." They broke the hug and keep glaring at each other.
"You don't know him, no mare would ever be able to, I'm the only one that really understands him. I...I'm his kitten not you!" she blurts out before covering her mouth in surprise at the proclamation.
"Ah, his what now?"
Knowing there was no escape and fearing she might take him away she finally decides to confess. "Mark is a really kind and attentive stallion, he would never show his face to you. He would rather make sure to please you before he ever had his turn and even so, he wouldn't do anything."
"Is that why you have been so opposed to me and the idea of a herd?"
She just looks at her in surprise. "Don't deny it, I have seen the way you look at me, you don't like me very much, despite not knowing me. Yet I couldn't figure out why until now, that incident awoke something in you right? Somehow I was still trying to figure out why but the idea of him hugging you turned you on, didn't it!" She accuses her with a finger. "That is why your wings were erect that night, and the spot on your skirt! Mark said it was a threatening pose and your bladder, but that wasn't, was it? You were turned on the second he pinned you!
"No it wasn't that...it was everything." She hugs herself and starts to smile. "The rush of the chase, being cornered like that, accepting your fate as his target." She shivers at the idea before signing in defeat and looks down in shame.
"Yes it turned me on, I don't know why but it did, I...felt goosebumps the more I picture his face, hear his growl, feel his arms grabbing my body, claiming me as his, taking me as his mate. At first I tried to deny it but that only made my dreams more...ah wet." She finally admits defeat and shares what happens but not without embarrassment.
"I didn't know what to do, and each time Mark tried to talk to me, I was afraid that if he knew, it would be the end of the chase. Something I didn't want to end. I studied what was going on thanks to a book Twilight had and then I realized what I had become. That night I became his kitten, the prey to his primal hunter. A mate for him to chase and show his real face without any fear."
She then gets angry and accuses her again. "And then you arrived and ruined it, everything was fine in how he chased me. He only needed a bit of a push, another chase, a small tease. I was sure that if I rile him up enough, he will chase me again like he did at that babyshower."
She takes a step closer. "He always kept me in his mind, he must have known I was close by, and I didn't care even when he hunted other prey."
"Fluttershy how long have you been stalking him?" Milky asks in surprise.
"Ever since he came back to Ponyville, I was afraid the Princesses would have changed him up after they asked him to stay with them for a whole lonely year! But I was relieved that didn't happen, in fact if anything he felt...more confident, he was still the hunter I knew and loved! And like any good hunter he needed to run."
"Fluttershy he is not a wild animal" Milky reasons with her.
"I know that but I still don't understand!" She had teary eyes at this point. "If anyone should be his alpha it should be me, but since you came. I haven't seen my sweet predator again! I was getting afraid you cage it! The only thing I wanted to know is that it was still there, and begged him to look at me."
Milky brings her into a hug and pat her head as she cries her eyes out. "Flashes of our chase keep repeating as that single request keeps popping in my head, the desire for him to look at me, until I finally."
"Kiss him and at last manage to show your heart to him, isn't it?" Milky questions as she simply nods while buried in her chest. "I'm sorry" She whispers once she manages to calm down.
"It's ok, I forgive you." Milky replies immediately, breaking the hug. "And I accept your feelings"
"Wh...what?" Fluttershy looks at her confused. "Fluttershy, I'm sorry but I'm the alpha and that is that, but I'm not denying the fact, you are right. There is a part of him that I haven't been taking care of like a good marefriend would do, but you could"
Her eyes widen in realization as Milky smiles and nods at her. "Fluttershy, if you are willing to accept me as the alpha, would you join our herd?"
After taking a moment to process what she just heard, Fluttershy could only squee in sheer happiness before her eyes rolled back and she passed out.
"Fluttershy!" Milky manages to catch her in time before she hits the floor. |
Equestria Handyman | The Hunt (Edited By Naga Shark) | "S-She wants to be in our herd?!" Mark exclaims in astonishment as Milky nods with a smile.
Skipping some of the details like proclaiming herself as his 'kitten' how long has she been stalking him, and how she wasn't exactly scare as he had originally thought she was, as promise to Fluttershy once they part ways from her home, and formulate a plan to ease the idea on him, Milky recall the conversation she previously had with Fluttershy with Mark once he came back from work.
"Yeah it turns out she never had a problem with you eating meat, she always knew, the moment she saw your canines when you laugh real hard at one of Pinkie jokes. It turns out that she remembered a little too late about that pond and sent Angel ahead to warn you."
"So the bunny of that night was her pet all along" Mark thought, starting to recall how odd that bunny started behaving at some point. When they first met he was a bit indifferent toward him, not really overly affectionate and overall just wanted to keep it to himself.
But then all of the sudden each time he tried to visit to try to talk with Fluttershy the bunny was oddly friendly toward him jumping up and down and demanding to be pet and even carried a little, giving him a nuzzle in gratitud before jumping away.
Huh and here I thought the bunny simply warmed up to me after going there so often.
"But...what about the scare I gave her that night?" Mark asks, looking down in shame of what he did.
"Yeah that is true, she was a bit...frightened from the incident but after she managed to calm down. Some feelings emerged and after some soul searching, she eventually realized that she likes you, like really likes you, so all those times she was so jumpy around you and refused to talk, she wasn't afraid of you. In reality she only wanted to confess her feelings but always stopped because of a case of the jitters." Milky explains with a chuckle and looks away.
Technically true, she was kind of trying to get his attention. Although she kind of skipped a few steps.
She mentally justified her wording, now realizing that Fluttershy could have saved a lot of time if she had just come out and had asked him out on a date disguised as taking coffee or something.
"Wow, this is huge, I mean she is a very close friend, maybe even the closest." Mark looked down, processing what Milky told him before looking at her "And are you sure...?"
"It's not Stockholm syndrome, I made sure. Those are her honest to Celestia feelings." Milky stops him before he could ask the question circling his mind. "The real question here is, would you accept her? I invited her but this is a decision that needs to be agreed upon, by both of us." Milky sits next to him and grabs and lifts his hand. "Now you know how she feels, but I need to know how you feel about all of this."
He thinks about and sees the honesty in her eyes questioning himself too. Realizing how pretty Fluttershy was, and admitting that now that Milky has given her approval he too was starting to feel intrigued, even excited for a reason he couldn't fully comprehend. The repeat of the kiss at the baby shower still played in his mind, and made him feel like he wanted to continue.
"Honey?" Milky calls for his attention as she notices how he was staring at space for a bit. "Would you like her to join us?"
"I...I...yeah!" He finally confesses with a blush. "I think I would love that. Fluttershy has been such an incredible, attractive friend and I...I would like to know her and give us 3 a chance"
"Me too." She gets closer and rubs her nose together with him in happiness, while holding both his hands with her own. "Fluttershy is such an adorable and kind mare, I will feel a lot more calm knowing she would be taking care of my stallion while I'm gone on my trips."
He chuckles with some embarrassment breaking the esquimo kiss before remembering something that made him pause. "The only thing that I still don't get is why she passed from fearing me to loving me in that way? If it wasn't trauma, then what?"
Milky smirks at that, as she comes up with an idea.
"Oh I wish I could tell you!" Milky looks away with a smirk "But I promised Fluttershy to let her explain it herself when you see each other."
"Ah I get it, she wants to put all of that incident behind us, before starting anything right?" He nods a couple of times. "I am completely on board with the idea. Did she ever tell you what day works for her?"
She bit her lips in anticipation "It can be tonight and just the two of you, if you are ok with it. But not at her cottage." Milky shakes her head.
"Huh?"
"No, she'd much rather see you in the place that started it all." She increases the hold on his hands. "And with some conditions"
"S-sure, anything to put that trauma behind us." Marks nods eagerly.
"Glad to hear that, ok this is what you need to do."
An hour later at the entrance of the castle of the two sisters
The human made his way toward the ruins illuminating the place as he walked toward his cabin. He wasn't particularly afraid of walking around the place so late at night as he had already memorized the structure like the back of his hand, not to mention that the wild life already knew who he was and were more than happy to leave him to his own devices.
Entering the home Mark was surprised when rather than finding the mare in question he saw a small note in his desk that read. "Find me." on it. Soon after he heard some metal clattering in the castle catching his attention as he goes to explore.
"Fluttershy? Is that you?" Mark ask trying to find the mare
"Did Milky tell you?" The voice of Fluttershy echoes through the hallways making it difficult to point out, and he suddenly recalls the instructions his marefriend gave him before coming here.
The poor mare is too shy to say her feelings outright, so once there no matter what happens just play along and do not hold back.
Hold back? What do you mean?
You will understand once it starts.
"Y...yeah she told me that you wanted to talk, so here I am, where are you?"
He keeps hearing things falling down as he follows the noise, finding more sets of armour scattered around the floor, as well as a path of petals that he was sure weren't there before. "Ok Fluttershy this isn't funny, stop with the games."
To his confusion and slight annoyance rather than answer he heard her giggling "I...I'm not so sure, I kind of like it." Stopping in his tracks he saw how in the end of the hallway was Fluttershy wearing the same rob of the mare that was stalking him some days ago.
"F-Fluttershy you were the mare that was following..." Before he could finish she merely turned around and taunted him by shaking her hips at him "C-Catch me if you can!" She forces herself to say before disappearing to the left.
"Wh-what?! Fluttershy what is going on, wait!" He unconsciously gives chase as ever so slowly she seems to be enjoying herself giggling and chuckling as she flies to the next floor and waving at him before running again, always trying to make sure he always had her in his line of sight.
"Fluttershy, what the hell are you doing this, answer me!" Mark could feel himself getting frustrated but strangely also happy. There was something odd with the way she kept taunting and running away. As he stopped calling after her and just kept running, the mare definitely was playing something she wasn't afraid, yet she wanted him to chase her, and he was starting to enjoy it. Like a game of tag.
"What is the matter Marky?"
"What?" Losing her in the throne room he eventually found her sitting on the rail of the second floor "Weren't you the hunter that took down a hydra?"
The way she was smirking at him was starting to make him angry "How come you are having trouble with little old me?" She started to rub her chest. "Or are you all talk and no bite?"
Now more determined he jumped from pillar to pillar to reach her as she kept running, this wasn't just a game of tag. He didn't know why that taunt was affecting him so much but right now he only wanted to get that mare and make her take that back."
For her part Fluttershy couldn't be more happy, or turned on, she didn't need to look back to know that Mark was right behind her. His gaze virtually undressing her with his eyes, his growls becoming music to her ears, his movements as dangerous and graceful as she remembered, her primal was back and at last she was the target.
It wasn't until they reached the garden where she had prepared her final surprise that she dared to look back only to be confused when Mark was nowhere to be found. A knot in her throat was starting to form as she was worried he would abandon the chase as she looked around.
Thankfully her prayers were answered when she felt a chill down her spine, as she felt him staring. He was stalking her and even with all the space she was feeling cornered, dying inside on how he was now teasing her.
Mark that is not fair! I'm the one that is supposed to tease you, not you tease me!"
She thought looking around growing anxious waiting for the moment he would jump at her until finally from a gazebo the human did just that and brought them both down to the ground, memories of their first chase coming back as he pinned her just where she wanted. Surrounded by a pile of red petals in the middle of the snow, in the shape of a heart that she previously had left there, nothing more than to been taken prisoner there
"There! I caught you!" Mark says panting, his gaze piercing her own eyes. "No more games! Now tell me what the heck has gotten into...into you?" He pauses when she gives him The Stare.
He couldn't look away, her eyes were piercing back at his soul and reality soon dawned on him as he started to take notice of her features. She was also panting, the proximity of his body made him aware of two soft orbs poking his chest, he could hear his heart beating faster, and realized how his dick had become harder than diamond, as it was currently rubbing against Fluttershy's own crotch.
For a moment he thought he went too far, yet Fluttershy didn't seem to make any attempt to fight back as they keep looking at one another until finally unable to resist himself he dove in and kissed her hungrily, wanting to break the tension, wanting to claim his prize, wanting to savour every second of it.
It wasn't until he heard her moan that he realized what he was doing and broke the kiss as she tried to make it last longer, looking at him confused.
"Fluttershy I...I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He tries to back away until he sees her smile vanish and is replaced by the biggest soul piercing version of The Stare he has ever seen before. He had heard of it before, how she in more than one occasion manage to use it against a dragon and won and even fight back a Cockatrice as it was petrifying her and now was using it on him, taunting him making him mad, and wanting nothing more than to put this mare on her place. On his dick.
With a growl that made her shiver Mark kissed her again with total abandon, harshly pulling her head forward and exploring every inch of her mouth as he stood them both up and carried her bridal style, to escape the cold. His mind wanted nothing more than to take her into his den, and establish his dominance over this mare.
Kicking the door open he didn't waste time and deposited her into his bed as he grabbed the hood by the shoulder and ripped it open like wet paper making her giggle in excitement and surprise, as Mark found renown vigor and start taking his shirt off when he noticing that she was wearing nothing at all underneath.
Before tonight, Mark didn't pay too much attention to Fluttershy's body as most of it was often hidden under her sweater and skirt but now before his eyes he could see a new hidden treasure as he admire the big butter yellow orbs that were her breast, easily the same size as Milky's and judging by their hard darker yellow nipples excited to be touched and played with. As well as her small bushy drenched pussy winking at him.
Tossing the shirt away, he jumped and resumes his attack kissing her more aggressively, before going down and start nibbling at her neck while his hands got to work, one grabbing hold of her right nipple and pinching it, while the other explores south, reaching her pussy and circles around her labia for a while before diving two fingers inside, determined to explore every inch of it and find her most sensitive spots.
Ever so slowly her moans started small but increased in volume as she had to bite her lips just so she wouldn't scream. A losing battle as she discovers as Mark keeps biting down until he reach one of his goals her right breast as he dove in and bit down, in time for his fingers to capture and play with her G-spot, making her mind go blank and scream as she reached her first earth shattering orgasm, while he drank with gusto from her squirting breast. Her milk was soft and creamy with a notch of sourness that reminded him of a piece of lemon pie that unfortunately only added fire to his lungs from finding one of his favourite dishes in her, and making him take his pants and boxers as fast as he could.
God I need to make this mare mine!
Fluttershy shared his wants as her hands were assisting in removing it too until his tool sprung to attention and they both had to gulp and stare at one another as she lay down. "Please...don't be gentle." She whispers as he barely nods and while snarling like a wild beast that had just been released. He drove his length inside Fluttershy. Smashing through her hymen like a Yak battering ram. But what really slammed poor Fluttershy straight into the most powerful orgasm of her life was the fact that the head of Mark's septer had just battered its way through her cervix in one thrust. The scent of blood wafted up to Mark's nose from her shredded hymen and it was like a switch had been thrown. Mark stepped back. The Hunter had awoken. This mare had awoken the beast and it was hungry. Without a chance for Fluttershy to adjust, The Hunter set to work plowing her like a field in Spring. Like a jackhammer he railed her relentlessly. Hard enough that the frame of the bed actually broke. The jolt of the crash landing caused the tip of his WPD, Weapon of Pussy Destruction, to slam into the roof of her womb. Causing her world to go pink as a scream of unbridled bliss broke free of Fluttershy. A scream heard by ponies as far away as Canterlot where a certain Princess heard it and smiled. As Fluttershy's fingernails claw furrows into his back drawing blood. The pain only drives the Hunter more lust hungry.
Having to stop from the shock the both look at the damage they cause for a brief second before the Hunter look at Fluttershy again and licked his lips, the smell of blood still fresh in the air as he grab her hips and continue to piston her again and again grunting like a beast, mesmerized by her jiggling breast until he grabbed her face and dives in for another kiss, capturing her tongue and then bit it as his hands go and grab her stiffed wings by the base with some force playing with them and making them spasm as her eyes flutter in complete ecstasy, while her second orgasm was fast approaching and she could feel him reach his limit too, as she grab his hips with both legs leaving it clear where she wants it.
With a smile and a grunt, the hunter gets the message and lets go of her lips to instead bite her neck and hug her back to sit them both up as Fluttershy nail reach his back and claw as his first orgams arrive painting her walls white, while her eyes roll back and follow soon after with her own.
Riding their afterglow they look at each other with hearts on their eyes, as Hunter feels her hips and then his eyes turn predatory and lick his lips feeling her cutie mark and then going further until he is groping her ass.
Her having the same thoughts match his gaze and lick and slowly disconnect her pussy with a slow and wet pop before turning around and put herself on all fours, looking back at him with a growl and a shake of her hips.
The Hunter slapped both hands down upon her flank cheeks hard. Pulled her cheeks apart and placed the crown against her pucker before shoving himself as deep as he could. Half his length shoved in before the overwhelming tightness drew him to a stop. With a feral growl. He drew back to the crown before delivering a gut puncher of a thrust hilting every inch in her back door. With a feral gleam in The Hunter's eyes he reached below her body with one arm to not only lift her right leg to allow him to get an inch or two deeper but to also allow him to relentlessly assault her winking love button.
Looking at one another and licking the air they both start to find a rhythm and start to fuck faster and faster, the room starting to fill with the sound of sluggish wet slaps as he wasn't done with her and resumes pleasing both holes using his fingers to reach and press her special spot making her go cross eyed and put her hand on one of the tables leaving a deep scratch mark behind as the second orgasm ocurr, follow by a third one soon after, as the hunter refused to slow down, placing her leg over his shoulder and using his now free hand grab hold of her tail, to give her a strong jank adding more to the sensation and turning the poor mare pussy into a faucet, that only grew in potent as he lean down and scratch her back with force
After hours of merciless hole destroying fucking the hunter finally release his final 8th shot into her anus before falling besides her. Fluttershy at this point having turn into a twitching spasmodic mess with a perpetual gleam in her eyes as he bring her closer to spoon refusing to let her go and not even taking out his penis until it went back to his flaccid state leaving her body with another wet pop. Fluttershy purring like a kitten until sleep took hold of both.
The next morning
Waking to the sound of singing birds, Mark could only stare at the ceiling in shock, still absorbing what he did last night, as his companion continues to rub and purr against his chest in complete and utter bliss until finally she manages to wake up and looks at him with nothing but adoration.
"Good morning sweetie" She approaches him and plants a long kiss on his lips that threatens to awaken him again before sitting back.
"Morning to you too, gorgeous." He smiles lovingly to see her smile the way she did before the soreness of his hips and the sting of his back remind her of everything that happened "Fluttershy about last night..."
He could feel her shiver and hug his frame "...was the most incredible earth shattering fuck sessing I had in my life? By Celestia, Luna and every other deity watching YES!" She sighs dreamily and closes her eyes. "It was a thousand times better that I could had ever imagine"
"Fluttershy what the heck happened to us? One second I was chasing you, the next it was like I wanted to mark you as mine like some sort of wild beast!"
"Not a beast, but a hunter." She clarifies kissing him again briefly.
"What?"
"Wasn't it cathartic? Actually letting yourself go? Acting by your primal instincts as you chase your target?" She looked at him with one eye closed and a knowing smile "It sure was for me, you have no idea how many years I waited for you to finally catch me? To finally take me as yours" She kissed his chest. "And now that it finally happened. I'm the happiest mare alive!"
She gets comfortable as he hugs her back and appreciates the compliment "Yeah, I don't know why, or how it happened but. Being with you...it's something else Fluttershy. Until now I've been terrified I might have hurt you but I...I would be lying to myself, if I say I didn't enjoy it. The sensation of having you in my arms. Knowing I have captured you, I just don't want to let you go."
She chuckles at that proclamation "But of course silly, after all, that is what makes me your kitten."
"My...kitten?"
"I will explain later, for now please could we...could we stay like this a little bit longer?"
He stays quiet for a moment but smiles and nods "Of course, anything for my "kitten"" they both chuckle briefly and go back to enjoy a couple of minutes more of sleep. Until the ringing on Mark's scroll gets their attention and looking at it, he find thousands of messages from Celestia,
Wait, why would she be calling me? Unless...no there is no way she could have known...right?
Later that afternoon
As the citizens of Ponyville were preparing for yet another day, all who looked at Fluttershy walking down the street had to stop and pause to rub their eyes not believing what they were seeing.
With a happy tune and a small sway of her hips from happiness the mare in question was making her way to the market with her usual grocery pack, yet this time around her wardrobe had a more considerable change than usual.
Instead of her regular bulky green sweater, the mare had replaced it with another darker green one that was smaller and hugged her frame more. On her hips rested another pink dress but this one was a mini-skirt. Below that she was wearing butter yellow yoga tights that blended in with her fur. Her hair was combed into a ponytail with two long strands of hair going on each side of her face showing her now confident smile and the most impressive change was how she had some small eye shadow and actual lipstick on her, top it off by a bandage on her neck completing the shock of everyone.
Some stallions and mares were so allured by her appearance that they couldn't help themselves and approached her with predatory smiles.
"Wow Fluttershy, I have never seen..."
"Not interested." She repeats without skipping a beat or wavering her smile as she keeps advancing as she finally spots Mark talking with Big Mac at his stand, while waiting for her. Both stallions were naturally taken aback by the change.
The poor farmer even tumbled out of his chair once he saw her clearly.
"Fl...Flutter...Fluttershy?" Mark utters a complete surprise in her choice of wardrobe. "Why the sudden...?"
Before he could continue she approached, and planted a kiss on his lips adding more shock to everyone looking, as she leaned against his chest with a blush on her face and a content smile. "Just wanted to try a new look for my stallion, do you like it?"
Now understanding, he smiles and hugs her with one arm. "I love it." She giggles like a filly for a moment at the compliment, before looking at Mac who has just recovered from his fall. "Hi Big Mac, has my order of apples arrived yet?"
"E-eyup." He harshly whispers getting to work on getting this order, as they complete her shopping list. |
Equestria Handyman | A New Dawn In Ponyville | Still recovering from the initial show from their friend new look with mixed reactions. AJ and Rainbow Dash still had their jaw dropped from both the revelation of her joining a herd, and deciding to change cloths, Pinkie and Twilight virtually bouncing from the excitement, and Rarity couldn't help but keep thinking of ideas for her to pose for new dresses now that she had decided to expand her wardrobe and show more of her natural beauty.
Needless to say the commotion was worth a reunion on their round table as Mark had to excuse himself to attend an urgent call, in the hallways of the castle.
"H-hello?"
"YOU ARE IGNORING MY CALLS?!" His ear almost flew off from the yell, as the voice of Molly could be heard from the other side.
"Molly! Molly! Calm down, no...I...I didn't ignore...no I'm not mad at you...Molly...please...please wait...no! No! Don't come here. I fucked her like a wild animal!" He blurts out of the blue making the call go deadly silent.
"......go on." Molly tune became more cheerful at the news.
With a sigh of relief, Mark checks that there wasn't anyone nearby before continuing. "Ok first of all how exactly did you know I...well..."
"Fuck the brains out of dear sweet Fluttershy until your dick left an imprint in her womb?"
"...y-yeah let's go with that."
"I only had to step out of the window and pay attention." she explained with a giggle.
"Come on Molly, the truth."
"That IS the truth sweetie, my, my, how close were you to Canterlot last night?"
"Ah...we...weren't in Canterlot, I...took her to a cabin in the everfree forest." He tells with a blush.
"...you are not joking."
"God I wish I was." He tells with an ever increasing blush at the idea of everyone hearing them despite being in a secluded area.
"My, my, either that mare has one big set of lungs. Or you have an even more feral side in you sweetie."
"Please don't start Molly." He warns her before sighing and pacing around "God this is so embarrassing, all of Canterlot heard it?"
"Sound doesn't move in a straight line dear, think again."
He goes stiff at the implication "I would rather..."
"From Appleloosa to Manehattan and if I may add, bravo."
He has to sit down and take a moment to calm down "Mark? Are you still there?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm here."
"Good, because you have officially been summoned."
"I what now?"
"Well, there is the slight issue of damage control to attend to. There were ponies that thought a banshee was on the loose, and things have become more hectic around here because of it. So I imagine you wouldn't mind giving me a hand calming everyone down...or would you prefer I talk directly to the happy mare? That is of course if she can still talk."
"No! No! That wouldn't be necessary! Molly, she is incredible but the mare is still a bit shy. You can't possibly put her on the spot like that!" He warns her.
"Oh wonderful! In that case I'm expecting you at 5?"
"Wait, today?! You want me to just drop everything and come see you now?"
"Would you prefer it if I came to visit?"
He sighs in defeat "I will be there."
"Oh wonderful! I can't wait to see you sweetie. It has been a long time since we talked and when I get lonely I tend to get frisky, especially hearing how much you have been improving."
"Molly stay focused here."
"I'm sorry Marky Po, you better come over soon while I still can contain myself, because right now the only thing I could think of is you ripping my..." Mark's face turned as red as a tomato as Molly started to describe exactly the extent of the depravity she had in mind, making him put some distance from the scroll "...making me choke on your white succulent milk while...marking me over and over as I go blind!"
"See you at 6."
"Ok see you then bye!" Molly hung up with a friendly tune as Mark sat down and let go of a breath he was holding.
Oh boy, it's gonna be one of those days I just know it.
He looks back at the throne room with a sigh.
I hope things are going better for them.
"So Fluttershy dear, are we to assume this is gonna be your new look from now on?"
"Yep, ever since I find myself in a lovely herd for me to belong to. I have discovered some new confidence in me I never imagined I ever had in the first place." She tells with an eager nod.
"Well...I for one I'm glad to see you more confident Fluttershy." Applejack voiced her opinion "Never thought I would see the day of you wearing make up just because but, if it makes you feel good then that is all that matters."
"Aww thank you AJ."
"Well as much I would just love to talk about this...and I really want to." Twilight continued, "This will force us to change our plan a little."
"What do you mean Twilight?" Pinkie asks, confused at the statement.
"Don't you remember? Well minus Fluttershy we were thinking of helping Mark open up to the idea of going on some blind dates. I was counting on Fluttershy helping him learn the do's and don'ts of a herd while going on dates or if he is interested in a new mare how to approach but well..."
"Eh to much egg head talk for my liking, I say he is more than ready now." Dash lazily replies. "Right now I have been meaning to ask, Fluttershy what is up with the bandage?" She asks, pointing at said cloth on her neck.
To their surprise she blushes and looks away with a smile while touching her neck. "Would you promise not to judge if I told you?"
"Of course not silly you can trust in us" Pinkie explains.
"In that case, last night my Marky and I...we did things and..." she holds her cheek and turns to the side giggling like crazy. "...we went a tinsy bit aggressive...these are love bites." She mentions in pride showing them the imprints as they gasp.
"He hurt you?" AJ asks in anger.
"No! He didn't, I asked him to do it, I bit him too." She adds fiddling with her fingers.
"Wait what? Him?!" Dash points at the door in surprise. "Does that mean that yell from last night, that was you?!"
"Oh my! Y-you heard it?" Fluttershy asks now even more embarrassed but also with some pride, not ashamed whatsoever. As the experience was beyond her wildest dreams.
"My, My, now that is quite the novelty" Rarity needs to fan herself from the implication, meanwhile Dash keeps looking at the door and then Fluttershy.
"Him? Really?"
"What is the matter?" Fluttershy looks back at her friends.
"No offense Fluttershy we believe you, trust me I do. I know you are being honest but the fact is. I'm wracking my brain. How is that possible, it just kind of hard to understand that all, especially with that scream." AJ replied with solemnity "I mean I know the colt has muscle but if there is something I know is that he wouldn't be able to hurt a fly, let alone perform aggressively."
That comment actually made Fluttershy laugh a little "You would be surprised."
"Yeah I'm with Applejack on that one, that guy is just a wet blanket when it comes to confrontation, if he really shacks with a mare chances are that he would be asking if he is doing anything right every five seconds." She then thinks about it. "Oh I get it, you guided him thru right Shy? Or you used a special dildo to reach there. Have to say wow, didn't know you could know your body that well...what did you tell him?"
"I'm telling the truth, I..." She then thinks about it before smiling and shaking her head "...and I can prove it too." She then looks at AJ and Rainbow Dash "Although I'm not sure what else I could say after that if you are still unsure I suppose this is something you simply have to experience to understand." She looks down still smiling "After all, only his kitten would understand."
Rainbow only groans and looks up. "Come on Fluttershy, spare us the 'cute nicknames' now." They all share a small laugh minus Twilight who looks at Fluttershy in surprise as she nods slowly and wink at her.
"Oh! Oh! I have an idea!" Pinkie interjects. "Since you two still are unsure that Marky can rock a mares world out then why not take him for a date and see for yourself?"
"Oh my!" Fluttershy actually was surprised by the proposal. "I...I'm not sure Pinkie, we just began dating and I wouldn't want to put too much pressure right from the start."
"Not that it matters much." Dash tells with a shrug. "I bet he can't even get a peep out of me."
"Pinkie is this by chance just because you want to have more friends that are couples, with you and your herd?" AJ looks at Pinkie with a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe?! We always have fun talking about how we all love each other so much! And how we met!" She then looked at Twilight "Remember how much fun we had Twilight?"
"That trip to Saddle Arabia was really fun, yeah." Twilight agreed in reminiscence.
"Plus it could help with the plan as well." Pinkie pressures on. "We still want to help him learn more about herds right?"
"I still haven't agreed." Fluttershy points out. "And it would be unfair to decide something like that out of the blue!"
"Fluttershy is right Pinkie, we shouldn't just take this as some sort of bet." Twilight argues.
"Even though we would win no problem." Dash tells in confidence, and Rarity sees an opportunity. "What if we discuss it as a possibility then?"
She looks at Fluttershy. "Like you said dear, it would be simply madness just to ask him to jump to the next mare as soon as he obtained a new one, especially since we are supposed to be helping him learn how to extend and be a part of a herd."
"Thank you Rarity."
"And as Princess Cadence suggests she and Milky are open to the option of a beneficial friendship. So I propose we focus on helping him out, propose the suggestion of a date with us as a test of sorts and if we agree then we are open to debate whenever he could truly satisfy a mare or not. As long as his herd agrees of course." Rarity reason.
"Fine by me, it would not change a thing." Dash agrees and shrugs in disinterest.
"It could be good to help him practice." AJ nods as well.
"Well as long as they know and agree, in reality it could help him relax in this situation." Twilight concludes.
"Then it's decided, we will talk about it with them and if they agree we put the plan in motion." They all agree at the idea and Fluttershy smirks at Rarity imagining what she was plotting.
Later that day at the train station
"Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity" Fluttershy tells Milky and Mark as they share a hug while preparing to board a train.
Milky chuckles and pats her head. "Don't mention it Fluttershy, nothing would make us happy than to have you in our little herd, please don't be afraid of visiting me in Trottingham."
"Oh I will, don't worry about it." Milky goes for a kiss but stops when she notices how Fluttershy looks unsure at the idea so she instead resorts to kissing her check, understanding her reservation.
"Are you absolutely sure you need to go right now to Canterlot?" Applejack looks at Mark with a raised eyebrow. "Kind of out of the blue and convenient that the Princess just so happens that she needs your help right now."
"I know, I hate to leave right away like this too but well...that scream." He and Fluttershy exchange a look and blush, as Milky bites her finger nail, one of the promises they made too, and told Mark was that she would be watching their night of passion throw a camera that he brought with him so she more than knew how intense he got...and wishes Mark would get a bit rougher with her in the future, although minus the biting parts. She was more than happy to let Fluttershy keep that to herself.
"Lots of ponies got really startled because of that, so I need to do some damage control, I caused it after all."
"Allegedly" Dash and Applejack roll their eyes, the former in disbelief and the other not completely sure he alone could have done such a feat.
"And well, I can't ask you to drop everything and come with me, my job lets me do this sort of thing, but your animals need their caretaker.
"I understand." Fluttershy nods and grabbing her chin Mark gives her a slow long kiss. "I promise I will be back as fast as I can."
"Just give me a five minute head start." She whispers at him with a wink making him chuckle.
"Behave yourself Flutters."
She blushes and gives a girly giggle.
"Are you sure you will be ok with this Milky?" Twilight asks in worry.
"Oh absolutely, like I said I have plenty of trust in your judgment and you are my Marky's closest friend, honestly I was kind of surprised none of you ever well...you know"
"I suppose the subject never come up before and well, we never really had that kind of relationship until he came back from Canterlot" She then think of something "Kind of think about it, I don't think he even saw mares or anything for that matter attractive" She look up in wonder before shaking her head. "Anyway thank you so much for giving me that chance and helping with your herd."
"Please, it was my pleasure. Oh and Rainbow."
"Hmm..."
"As the alpha mare I'm warning you right now, he can, he did and if wanted he will make you sing."
"Milky!" Mark looks at her in shock not believing that she just challenged Dash like that causing the daredevil to smirk.
"Ha! That would be the day, if he does that I will spend a whole day wearing nothing but a collar, tag with my name on it, and a leash."
"Dash no!" Mark looks at her in terror for what she just agreed on.
She simply shrugs and turns away. "Don't tell me I didn't warn you later, Marky dear, make sure to take a picture of it too."
"Oh you are so own Milky, you are going down." Dash continues in confidence and with a sigh Mark doesn't say anything else, as he and Milky board the train and the main six wave goodbye as they depart to their respective stops.
"You couldn't help yourself could you?" AJ looks at Dash with a raised eyebrow. "You had to go and turn it into a bet.'
"What? I have this on the bag, that stallion is going down! And then stay down." She says in sheer confidence, making Fluttershy sigh and then smile at her.
"Don't worry Dash, I will pick you the best collar possible, promise not itchy at all"
"Why does everyone think I'm gonna lose?" she asks incredulously at them. "You will see I will make you all eat your words."
AJ spoke up. "Sugarcube your muzzles writing checks your plot can't cash."
"Pss whatever, later" And with that Dash flew away, soon the rest followed her example having a whole day of work ahead of them.
"Soo." Rarity approaches Fluttershy expectantly as her friend only rolls her eyes knowing where this was going.
"I know what you are doing Rarity and it's not gonna work, I really doubt AJ and Dash will want to buy your line of lingerie."
"Oh I'm not so sure dear, would you be interested?"
"...maybe" Fluttershy confesses with a smile "Do you have something with perhaps layers?"
"I might have." She says in excitement "So tell me, is he...?"
"Oh yes."
"Oh my! Grace the wall?"
"Get past it." She can't help but drool. "What did you think provoked the scream?"
Rarity can't help but giggle at the idea, finding the experience more and more enticing by the second. "Oh my, now that is material for me to work with, for my next clothing assembly!" |
Equestria Handyman | Aftershock And Reflection | Just as Molestia had said, things in Canterlot were a bit hectic from the whole incident with Fluttershy. Luckily, going with the lie makes things easier than explaining the truth, that most likely no one would believe in the first place, if the statement of Dash was anything to go by.
So fortunately after helping handle the bulk of complaints, attending calls and issuing minor orders on what to tell the audience, things calmed down enough for the Princess to finish calming down everyone, until finally dusk arrived and the chaos finally ended giving Mark a chance to breathe.
He half expected Molly to simply pounce on him but surprisingly she was more than reserved and even caring, understanding how tired he must have felt and resorted to mostly light teasing and one or two sneaky kisses in exchange for the complete unfiltered story.
Thank god Milky sent me a copy of the video to my scroll. That will keep her entertained for a while.
Mark chuckles as he recalls how Molly had to excuse herself to 'attend urgent paperwork' an hour before her shift ended leaving him as basically the substitute Prince to attend the remaining petitions.
Making his way to the dinner table he stumbles into Luna who had just woken up and left her room.
"Hi Luna." Mark calls for her but she looks at him with oddly neutrality. "Greetings young Mark."
"Luna? What is the matter?"
"Apologies for my change of mood. I'm mainly absorbing...a certain show." She tells with a slight shiver.
"A...show?"
"Miss Fluttershy had a particularly VIVID dream last night."
"Oh? OH! So..."
"Yep."
"All of it?"
"In graphic detail."
"Oh boy I...Luna I'm sorry"
"Don't be, there was nothing wrong with what you did, but unfortunately it will take a bit of time before we can chat more friendly once again. For now I'm starting to inquire about a turn too." She tells with a blush before walking away.
Mark gulps and holds his head "Man I hope this blows over soon enough, this is crazy, how can a single scream make all this chaos?"
"Easy, by the sheer volume alone" Bella Swan answered as she walked past him with a tower of sheets. "Hi Mark I would ask how are you doing but at this point I think that would be redundant, right?"
She smirks at him.
"Hi Bella, doing fine actually, thanks for asking. What about you?"
"Incredible! The other day I found a new coffee shop. I lost another pound, oh! And did I mention I started dating the drill sergeant Flash Magnus?!"
"Wait really?"
"Oh yeah, I have been having a crush on him for so long now so I asked him out and after a coffee I became his alpha!" She tells in pride.
"Wow that is incredible Bella seriously! Congrats!"
"Thank you! I don't believe I have ever had the confidence to ask him out if it hadn't been from the help of the 'royal lover' She wiggles her eyebrows as he rolls his eyes. "And what about you? To whom do I have to send...she is still alive right?"
"Oh yeah she is completely fine and alive."
"Can still walk too?"
"Surprisingly yeah" He nods realizing that it was a legitimate question. "Wow that mare can really take a...I suppose you could call it a pounding"
"I agree if she can still move after that scream!" Bella agrees with a whistle. "So to whom should I send the bouquet of congratulation flowers?"
"Hardy har har Bella very funny"
"No I'm serious, that mare must be over the moon right now. I sure would be gloating as much as possible if I had ever reached bliss like that. You truly are something else Mark."
He blushed a little, looking away "I'm not sure if I could take all the credit, or even pride about it. What I did there was something completely different, it was intense, aggressive even. You would not even believe me even if I told you who the mare was."
"Oh why did you say that? Now you must tell me."
"Fine, fine, brace yourself, it...it was Fluttershy."
"...I can't believe it."
"Told you."
"No, no I mean, I can't believe it was her, wow does that mare have some lungs." She then notices how he looks a bit unsure. "Are you really feeling bad from being a bit rough with her?"
She notices something and pulling his shirt a bit notices his bandaged back. "From what it looks like she returned the favor."
"It not that is...I hate pain Bella, I really do. And the few times I have been with a mare I have always been trying my best to help them feel comfortable and have a good time. I'm kind of a giver like that."
"Oh yeah you are.'' She recalls their own encounter. "So what is the issue? She simply likes it rough."
"Yeah and I simply adore it, which I don't know in a way makes me feel a bit bad, and perhaps a hypocrite. I find pain abhorrent and a turn off, but then turn around and discover that I love causing it? I...feel pride she was in bliss sure but how I took her, how I simply well...made her mine. I'm conflicted and unsure if I should feel pride about it."
"Uh huh? Sounds serious." She nods a couple of times. "Maybe you should take a peek at the royal library before going back home, Mark. Perhaps there could be a book about the subject that could calm you down."
She looked at him in curiosity as she put her hand over his shoulder. "For what is worth it, I don't think you are a hypocrite, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with liking causing a bit of pain and not liking receiving it, that is how you are wired, plus."
She poke his head "that cute little brain of yours really thinks of your partner first, gosh how you went straight away for my spot!" She shivers at how they started their encounter. "If you ask me, that mare was probably wanting that side of you to be fair. After an orgasm like that I would let you use me as a hat." She half joke and laugh marching away.
"Tell Fluttershy that I said hi, and congratulate her for seeing heaven." She keeps joking as Mark gives a small wave and nods.
Visiting the royal library? Hmmm that is not a bad idea.
After having a small dinner alone due to both Princess been currently unavailable, do to urgent document for Molly's part and a last second meeting for Luna's part Mark went to the library and picked a couple of them that catch his attention, mainly types of fetishes, kinks, advices for dates in herds, and a book of daring doo.
...world of primals, although similar to S/M this kind of preference is vast and has various subdivisions to consider and take in mind. Among them are 3 prominent ones that often repeat in a relationship with Primal Submissive, and Primal Dominant, non-primal and primal, dom and sub and dom and dom..."
Mark pauses and reads the descriptions again in interest "...if triggered, primals can and will turn more aggressive often with warnings of pre-acts of sexuality like growls or nibbles..."
His eyes widened remembering the amount of times he started things with that move.
Oh my god I'm a primal...and so is Fluttershy wow, she...she wants to be dominated? Huh ...on paper a sub and dom relationship is the best kind because both parties obtain what they seek, one wishes to hunt, the other wishes to be hunted... the teases! Wow, Fluttershy you really knew what you were doing so that stare.
He chuckles and shakes his head. 'My God, by going easy she was actually getting angry? Boy did I almost make her mad back there, I better apologize once I get back, huh they liked to be called by various names, less popular of them being 'prey' as that entitles them being food, and much rather things like 'targets' 'goals or even...kittens.... 'Of course.'
He kept reading more interest in the subject, catching another detail that made him pause "...Other triggers can be the exposing of the body, layers of clothing for them to search for their prize or even the smell of blood...the smell of blood?"
Mark repeats out loud and then remember something that happen so fast he didn't had time to process it
She was a virgin! And I still rammed her...oh god, now I really need to...although now that could explain how she matches Celestia in voice. Did the sensation of being deflowered add pleasure, let see...ah aha! It did! Wow, Fluttershy it is almost like you are slightly a masochist. Now we REALLY need to talk."
Putting the book away he starts investigating more of the subjects like Celestia and Molestia preference, Milky's style and even finding a little bit of himself as he goes along.
`Ok so I'm a primal but also a giver, ok odd combination but that calms me down, you can have more than one kink and this seems to have good synergy.'
He shakes his head while chuckling and looking through the window. 'So in short I'm basically the beast of beauty and the beast? Hah! That explains so much. Hmmm what is this?'
He stops at a section of clashes of taste: A primal Dom and Dominatrix could result in either an intense session or complete disaster depending on the umbral of pain. If the Dom is willing to give, the Dominatrix would have a rush of fear at not knowing when, or even IF the Dom will pounce back in revenge, if the Dom does not budge, they might retaliate and cause a switch...a switch? What is that?"
Passing the pages he searched until he found the subject that he was looking ...the moment a Dominant becomes a Submissive, could be temporal as a tug and toss of power or permanent if Dominant successfully submits their partner and appeals to a pleasure greater than when being dominant....'wow, so that is what happened to Molestia? No wonder she insists on calling me master.'
He puts the last book away and stares at the ceiling, deep in thought. "A dominatrix slayer?" He questioned the name out loud before laughing. "Yeah right! As if I will ever encounter another mare like Molestia, and if I do she will stop the second she makes me angry."
He continues to chuckle before yawning from tiredness. 'Bella was right, this really helped. Wow, me a Primal, I should warn Cadence and Twilight before they set me up with any mare. I could scare the poor thing.'
His eyes start to get heavy and slowly start to fall asleep his final thoughts being if by chance were any other mares he might accidentally had hunted before, smiling when convinced that there was none.
Meanwhile in a cave in the Dragonlands Ember, the Princess of the Dragons and daughter of the Dragonlord was tossing and turning on her bed, still trying to get out or at least ignore the look Mark had, when he was looking at her after ripping her dress with such ease. She was failing horribly. "WHY What is it about that Stallion that he haunts me, awake, and in my dreams!" |
Equestria Handyman | Changing Home | "...I'm sorry we had to have this conversation over the phone lad."
"It ok Mr. Nail I...I understand."
"Believe me when I tell you that if it were up to me or my wives I would gladly let you stay, heck! I might give you the whole store, but Planks and Nails has been in our family for generations, and after receiving the news of my colt coming back from a colleague to keep tradition, I thought it was time to retire and let the new continue. I asked if you could stay but unfortunately they need that space as well, to make a crib."
"Wow, that is huge Mr. Nail! I'm so happy to hear you are gonna be a grandpa!"
He heard a weak chuckle from the other side. "Thank you I'm not gonna lie I'm a bit excited at the idea too. Do you have a place to go?"
"Yeah, I had some bits lying around in case I needed to go to a hotel or something for a while, and the Princess..." he looked around to his room "...they say I could stay in one of their guest rooms if anything ever happened."
"So glad to hear that, I was terrified of thinking that I was throwing an honest hard working lad into the street without anywhere to go. Would you mind saving time if we pack your stuff?"
"Sure I know I can trust you and Ms Plank, just try not to hurt your back lifting something heavy ok?"
"Ha! You are sounding like the misses now! Don't worry I will be fine and we will be careful with your stuff, I will send you the address of the container where you can pick them up anytime you wish."
"Thank you."
"No Mark, thank you for all the help you have given us in our store, you will always have the employed discount if you ever need anything from the store."
"I will keep it in mind, thank care Mr. Nail."
"You too lad and congratulate your marefriend from my part, when you see her." He end up with a chuckle before hanging up.
Ok how did HE know? Is Bella right? Is Fluttershy just gloating about what happened to her now?
He questions with a raised eyebrow until he hears a knock on his room and opening it he sees both Princesses and Lieutenant Silver standing there.
"Good evening young Mark," Luna says solemnly "May we come in?"
"Ah...sure" He invited them over. Not sure what all of them wanted to talk about, and soon everyone found a seat around his table "So, how can I help you?"
"We mostly wanted to talk and see how have you been doing" Celestia responds
"Miss. Swan told us how you had a lot on your mind and thought you might want to talk about it." Silver continued.
"Thanks for the concern everyone, I could actually use someone to talk to." He says with a small smile. "The idea of entering the dating game and later, starting a herd have been...a bit overwhelming, exciting and eye opening, in a good way."
"Why not tell us about it."
"Well I suppose it all started when Bon Bon, Lyra and Rarity decided to set me up on a small blind date..." Mark opens his tale and after a couple of hours finished with how he arrives at where he is, the mood improves as they share stories and even at some point request some tea and cookies to munch while chatting.
"...and then the next morning she blindsided me one final time with a complete makeover. Don't get me wrong I'm extremely sure that was completely her decision and she merely wanted to feel more comfortable in her own body, not caring showing it a bit more but...well."
"You also want to take credit for thinking you fucked some confidence into her with your performance right?" Silver inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"I wouldn't have said fuck granted...but yeah that too." They share a small laugh and Mark holds his cup. The whole experience made him realize something, until tonight every time I have been with a lady I have done everything in my power to make sure she is satisfied. I really don't mind, actually I'm a giving lover. The illusion of working for my prize made me feel like I actually earned my satisfaction and felt joy. I dare to say I might not be able to perform all that well unless my partner has had one or two orgasms before I can."
Because he was looking down Mark didn't notice the small heat he was forming in all the mares present, with Celestia being the strongest from past experience and Luna and weakest as she was mainly having some curiosity on the matter.
"Not completely sure why, maybe it was mainly a fear of being a quick shooter or something you know?" He chuckle and look back at them "They can't be all that mad at me for finishing first if they had a turn running some 'laps' before I start."
"It could be a factor, yeah, although that in itself is also considering being a generous lover." Luna explained. "Your concern for your partner outweighs your craving for personal satisfaction. A very sweet trait in a lover that lots of mares would find touching, thoughtful maybe even a turn on for some cases."
"Yeah I gathered as much but last night, what happened with Fluttershy it was different in a way. It was the first time the roles were reversed and for the first time I was only concerned about MY personal satisfaction before hers. I mean it kind of was also HERS because she wanted to be dominated and my god was it cathartic, and letting go of any restraints on...so many levels, but I'm still surprised that there was a restraint to begin with."
"We all have that kind of inner self." Luna smiles and grabs his hand. "It's a part of what makes us, us, and most of the time we are unaware it even exists in the first place but it is always there, so when you see it for the first time it can truly be quite the shock." She let go and grab her cup "What is important is learning to accept it and understand that there is nothing wrong of having that shadow in you. Take it from me, ignoring it will never make it go away and would only make things worse for your health."
Celestia looks at her sister in concern and puts a hand over her shoulder as she looks back at her and smiles in understanding.
"Thanks Luna, and don't worry, the last thing I want is to ignore it. I kind of like the idea of being a bit of a hunter, and I'm more than grateful to Fluttershy to let me discover it. So much so I only want to repay her kindness as the giving lover that I am."
"Oh then may I suggest something to do just that?" Celestia inquired with a big smirk on her face.
"Sure, what do you think Celestia?"
"If you really wish to repay her, then next time you see her, don't say a word, just march over to her, grab her cheeks and plant one strong kiss on her lips to tease her a little, she will love it"
"Sister, what do you have in mind?" Luna raises an eyebrow at her sister, not sure if she likes the grin she was sporting.
"What? Just because they like to tease doesn't mean a dominant can't tease on occasion as well right? Just try not to linger too much though." Celestia warns him "She could get the wrong impression and get mad if there isn't much of a follow up."
"I will keep it in mind." Mark chuckles and nods thinking about the idea. "And thanks for listening, you were right, I feel much better already."
"It was our pleasure sir." Silver replied "We are glad you are better now and trusting in us to share some intimate aspects in your life."
"Yeah I imagine I might as well, considering how honest and calm you have been sharing some aspects of your life too."
He taps the edge of his cup for a moment remembering something that made him pause "Say, one last thing I wanted to ask. Do dragons hold grudges, or have a good memory?"
"You mean like elephants?" Celestia inquired with a raise eyebrow.
"Ah...kind of maybe."
"Well they could hold a grudge, sure, but when it comes to memory it is similar to a pony it depends on the dragon, why the question?" Luna's question confused by the change of subject.
"Just curious about something" Silver eyes widened remembering the event a year ago and understanding what he was implying.
"Don't worry sir, you didn't hunt that dragoness."
"I didn't?"
"Dragoness?" Both Princesses question in surprise before looking at Mark, and then smirk, who simply blushes and looks away. "It is kind of a long story, the short version is, I might have accidentally triggered my Primal briefly some time ago."
"Which is totally fine considering it was a strip club, and like I said there is nothing to worry about." Silver elaborates as the Princesses now more than ever wanted to hear the story.
"Trust me, chances are that dragoness, most likely doesn't even remember your face by this point." Silver assured him with a confident smile.
At that moment at the Crystal Empire
Calmingly filling some reports on her desk the Princess of Love heard a knock on the door followed by a guard stepping in.
"Yes?"
"Apologies, your majesty, but the dragon lord is here to see you, and she says that it is an urgent matter."
Ember? The Princess looks at the guard confused before nodding. "Thank you soldier, send her in."
"At once your highness." He salutes and leaves the room, moments later the dragoness in question walks inside with a neutral and calm pose. She was wearing golden armor legging, a brown armour body piece, a red cape and the dragon lord scepter.
She kept staring at the Princess of Love, calm and collected until the door behind her was closed and her expression twists into one of anger. "What did you do to me?" She calmly asks while glaring at said Princess.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't play coy with me Princess, I know you must have done some sparky thing with that horn of yours and put something in my mind! Don't know why you want to torture me but you better take it away this instant!"
"Ember, calm down, I swear I have no idea what you are talking about." Cadence defends herself trying to calm the distressed dragoness.
"Yes you are, otherwise why am I still being haunted by the face of that scrawny human!"
"I have no idea, I..." She pauses again. "...could you repeat that last part"
"I been trying for almost a year now but that stupid glare of his keeps repeating over and over in my head!, and I want it to stop!"
"I see, Ember. I think I know what is happening and I definitely can help."
"You better."
"But to do so I will have to take a call very quickly, do you mind...?"
"Fine, but you better not be planning something Cadence, or I will hand this castle to my subjects as a snack."
"Don't worry you can count on me." She excuses herself to the bathroom to make the call but not before having a giggle fit under her breath. |
Equestria Handyman | Clash Of The Submissive Ones | "Oh what about this one?"
"Hmm, nah too small, I need the extra space for materials just in case." Mark politely declined the option as he and Fluttershy were looking for houses available in ponyville. After sharing the news to his mares on how he unfortunately would be having to move out from his apartment and as a result, spend a bit more time in Canterlot, they didn't waste time and start investigating options on how to speed and help him find a new place to live, not only to have a genuine home of his own but also, a place in which he could start promoting his services more clearly to the masses. A freelancer type of arrangement basically.
And so, after Spike agreed to look after her animal friends while she was gone, Fluttershy took the first train to Canterlot and decided to pay him a visit and do a bit of house hunting with all the magazines she brought with her. Finding very prominent ones in the process and going through the process of elimination to approach the ideal one.
"Ok that is another one down, only five remaining." She pulls the flyer away and lays the remaining 5 in front of the two as they cuddle closer on his bed, her even using her wing as a blanket for him to use.
"You know if anything happens I could always just go live in the cabin too."
"Out of the question!" She quickly shook her head without skipping a beat. "That is your little space and I would not let you sacrifice it, without at least considering the options" She rubs her face against his chest affectionately "Besides, if you were to live there, it would no longer be our special little nest right?" She emphasizes her point by actually purring, making him nervous and looking away with a blush.
"Come on Fluttershy, don't distract me now."
"Whatever do you mean?" She keeps up her assault and flutters her eyelashes at him.
"F-fine, we will leave the cabin as the last option." He picks one of the options "But is it really that important that they all have a basement. I still find it weird why you want to put it as a must."
"Well, where would my hunter keep his precious trophies then?" She argues. "I know you try to be reasonable, and just recycle everything but I just thought it would be practical if you could have at least a little space for your tools."
"Gosh I can't believe a caretaker actually just said that." She chuckles, taking it as a compliment as they keep looking at each other, until a knock at the door alerts them both.
"Were you expecting someone?" Fluttershy turns to Mark as he shakes his head, and goes to answer the door to see the Princess of the Sun on the other side. "Hi Mark." She pokes her head to the side and smiles at Fluttershy. "Hi Fluttershy, is this a bad time?"
"Hi Princess Celestia" Fluttershy stood up, and approached Mark, who hugged her with one arm. "Is something matter?"
"Not at all, I was just wondering if I could come in. There is a certain subject I wanted to discuss with you two. One that is a bit of a personal matter."
"I see." Mark nods in understanding, looking at Fluttershy in worry. "Do you mind if we pause this for a moment, kitten? The princess is right, this is kind of important and you should know about this."
She looks at them still confused, but nods as Mark steps away and lets her in, before closing the door behind.
"So I would like to start by asking, have you told her anything?"
"No." Mark shakes his head and grabs hold of Fluttershy's hand who just keeps looking at him in surprise and confusion. "As promised I stayed quiet, for the moment only Milky knows, I wanted to discuss it with you first before telling it to the rest of the herd."
"Thank you" Celestia smiles in gratitude as the poor caretaker keeps exchanging looks between the two. "Hm...c-could anyone please tell me what is happening?"
Celestia sighs and offers a chair. "You might want to sit down for this Fluttershy, the news could be quite surprising, you see, even though I didn't or are presently seeking a relationship, Mark and I...have formed a special kind of friendship." She smiles at him and takes his hand once everyone is sat down. "One intimate kind of friendship."
"W-W-what?!" She looks at her in disbelief before looking at Mark who nods in agreement. "You and the princess are friends with b-benefits?!"
He gets scared and grabs her shoulder. "Honey calm down, don't shout."
"Do not worry Mark, I already placed the sound dome" Celestia horn stops shining as she looks at Fluttershy with a nod. "That is right Fluttershy, your coltfriend and I have developed a special intimate type of friendship where we have explored the pleasures of the flesh since he stayed in the castle for a while, a secret that I don't have the heart as to ask him to keep it from his herd, and only wish for you to please maintain it." She looks at her with pleading eyes.
"I...I understand." She replies with a nod. "You can trust in me Princess, just need a moment to process all of this, my sweet hunter. He actually hunted the sun itself." She says starting to smile at the idea and Mark could see some pride in her eyes.
"So Hunter eh? So my sweet little master has been fishing for more titles? That is hot" Mark's blood froze a little when he recognized Molly's voice and saw how Celestia's eyes turned from magenta to red, both Princesses were present at the moment.
"Master?" Fluttershy repeated herself, surprised that the princess actually said those words before looking at him with curiosity "Is she your kitten too?!" She asked slightly irked and hurt at the revelation.
"No! No! She isn't you are my only kitten Fluttershy I promise" He grabs her hand to try to calm her down. "What we had is different than what happen with Celly or Molly"
"But just as intense judging by that scream" Fluttershy question just keeps pulling away as Celestia's mane was slowly turning pink, and her gaze was going from motherly to sultry. "So you are the mare of the hour, not bad kitty, I almost got jealous."
Fluttershy started to get uncomfortable in how the Princess was looking at her, until Mark stepped in, "Enough Molly! If you want to stay, you better behave." He warns her and the Princess actually listens and steps back. "As you wish, master."
Sighing in frustration Mark looks at Fluttershy in sorrow "I swear I will explain everything, but for now. Don't be afraid Molly is also a friend. Think of her as Discord"
"O...ok" Fluttershy slowly nods and lets the two explain the events that led to their friendship, managing to calm Fluttershy down as she listens, and slowly processes all that happened.
"...then things just sort of happened and just like with a trigger, Molestia here escaped."
She waves once at Fluttershy. "And just like Nightmare Moon she had...plans for Equestria"
"What...sort of plans?" Fluttershy asks, worried by the revelation of the Princess also having an alter ego just like Princess Luna, especially in how she keeps looking at her.
"Not important!" Mark replied with an intense blush. "Trust me you don't want to hear them, the important thing was that I intervened and..."
"...he fucked me so good, and so hard he took away the evil in me leaving me as pure as my counterpart wanting nothing more than to please my sweet master." Molly finishes surprising him with her wing and brings him closer for a hug as she rubs their chins together, something that riles Fluttershy who starts to glare at Molestia only inciting her to continue doing so.
"ANYWAY!" Mark separates the hug and sits on his chair again only to see Fluttershy next to his other side hugging his arm while keeping her glare at Molestia.
"After that incident we talked and became fast friends. Like Discord Molly only needed a friend, she was in pain, and no one understood what she was going thru, so wishing to help her out, I became her very first friend and slowly but surely all three of us, Celly, Molly and I started to talk as they came to an agreement to share their body in harmony."
"That is right Fluttershy" Celestia took control once more "Molly might like to be a bit more flirty than one would like but she has good intentions and solved our differences, she is as much I, as I'm of her"
"And not so sure Celly." Molly picks up the conversation. "The poor mare seems to be still terrified. We need to do something, quick! Master, tie me up! Real tight! Completely immobilize me so she isn't afraid. Maybe slap me a couple of times too, so she is sure I couldn't do anything."
She conjures various chains and ropes yet Mark only crosses his arms and looks at her with neutrality. "Take them away Molly...now!"
She simply shrugs and does just that. "Can't blame a mare for trying."
"As you can see, like you Molly had a certain preference when playing in bed, in this case being tied up."
"Oh my! And what about princess Celestia"
"Same but...she only wants the rope"
"MARK! She didn't need to know everything" Celestia reproaches with some heat in her cheeks before sighing in defeat. "But yeah, it is true Fluttershy I admit having a certain weakness to a small bit of S/M play, just like you..."
"Have a predator / prey foreplay fascination?" She nods a couple of times "I understand Princess don't worry if anything it's a relief knowing that." She leaned her head over his shoulder "That means that I'm still my hunter's kitten and you are more like his best prize yet!"
"Hah go get an ego kitty, we might not be into the chase, but he sure can play with us more than you." Molly snapback.
"Well we get along way better." Fluttershy snaps as the two keep glaring at one another.
"Ok you two! Snap out of it!" Mark interjects before things escalate. "I love you two equally in different forms, Fluttershy it's true no mare can really make my blood pump like you when I chase you." Fluttershy blushes and smiles at the compliment.
"And Molly, the sort of play times we have going on are something beyond wild, and I love every single second of it."
"Aww, you always say the sweetest thing"
"So can we agree you are the best in your respective fields and be friends?"
"They look at one another and then smile. "Anyone that can awaken my master's inner beast like that is ok in my book"
"And I shouldn't be jealous, my hunter is someone that can take down a hydra! Of course he could capture a Princess too." They shake hands in understanding
"Hydra eh? Now that is a story I would love to hear"
"There that is better. And Fluttershy thank you for understanding, Celly and Molly are really good friends of mine and well I don't want to end our arrangement but it was killing me keeping a secret from you and..." she silences him with a kiss. "...you don't need to apologize Marky you are a hunter, this is what you do. I'm more than ok with you going on the hunt, I wouldn't mind if you go after all the Princesses in the world." She leans in and rests her head on his chest. "None of them would ever be able to tame you, just promise me something."
"Yeah?"
"I will always be your primary kitten! If another mare wishes to be part of the prowl that is like me they will have to talk to me first, ok?"
He nods and kisses her forehead "I promise to try my best, just be patient with me, I'm still learning about what it means being in a herd or discovering how we are primals. Heck I'm not sure if this would be stepping in to Milky's role as the alpha, but even if another mare decided to become another kitten in our little herd. They will have to answer to you first." He rubs her chin and brings her for a brief tongue kiss. "Someone needs to warn them about the kind of hunter they will be poking right?" He mentions with a smirk as Fluttershy releases a girly giggle and nods.
"And all of them would need to learn who and why is your number one kitten."
"Kiss me again and I will take the shirt off." Molestia warns them, snapping the couple's attention back as she looks back at them while drinking tea. "Also quick question tigress." She brings the cup to her lips "What is your policy of sharing fun with another mare?"
The question actually made her flinch and look away, confusing Mark. "Fluttershy?"
"I see, there is none, poor Master." Molly shakes her head "Here is one incrediblely beautiful kitten but she doesn't play well with others."
"I...can play with others!"
"Really? So you wouldn't mind if us 3 had a little fun now?" Molly challenges them, making Fluttershy flinch and back away.
"Ok that is it!" Mark doesn't stand for it and confronts Molly. "This is your final warning Molly, keep it up and you get the plank treatment."
Much to Fluttershy confusion that actually seems to work as Molly looks legitimately scared at the threat and backs away. "Ok, ok I will play nice, no reason to do something crazy."
"Apologize."
"I'm sorry Fluttershy I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable"
"And?"
"And if you don't want to have fun with another mare and master that is ok too." She looks legitimately mortified as she sits down with her hands brought together as Mark sighs and puts his hand over her shoulder. "Molly I'm sorry I don't want to scare you like that, but you understand it's for your own good."
She nods and smiles when he rubs her shoulders together. "I know you are a good girl, so just try to remember what we practiced."
"I will, would...would you help me treat it again? Just need the finger session this time."
"Sure, you have been a good girl, I say you earned it." Molly smiles and nuzzles his chest warming Fluttershy heart at the show of affection.
He is such an attentive hunter
"Ah, if I might ask." She approaches the two more calmly and raises an eyebrow "What exactly is the 'plank treatment'?"
"Oh it's just something I do to help Molly when she gets a bit too pushy." Mark dismisses the subject with a wave of his hand.
"Pray he never has to do it with you tigress, trust me. It's the worst. He just...lays there immobile while staring at you." She shivers from the memory. "Try as you might no matter what you do he will just stay like that until you apologize, that is by far the ultimate mood killer if I ever saw one."
"That is horrible!" Fluttershy says feeling empathy for dear Moly. "And you did that to her?"
"Only in extreme and very few cases, trust me. I hate doing that too. Do you have any idea how painful it gets? How much willpower do you need to have to not crack? And you don't want to know how stiff it leaves you right after." Mark adds with a shriver. "But it had to be done and I'm glad I haven't been forced to bring the hammer down ever since."
"Agreed." Both mares nod as Fluttershy approaches Molly. "I'm also glad the way things ended well with you 3. It is very nice to meet you, Molestia, I hope we can become good friends."
Molly smiles and nods. "I would like that too. And please call me Molly."
Fluttershy agrees and soon Molly brings the flyers into the air, "So what were you doing? Mind if I join?"
"Molly I told you, you need to ask first."
"It's ok Marky." Fluttershy stops him."I had the same issue with Discord at first, and I don't mind. Marky and I were looking at houses actually since he unfortunately had to leave his apartment. Would you like to help us decide?"
"Sure, now what would you say about adding a pool?"
"None of them had that as an option" Mark mentions
"I know, I could add it. One word. Bikinis. " She smirks and chuckles when looking at Mark's shocked expression. "Or maybe not, your choice"
"Ah, wait a minute...it...it could be open to discussion."
"Isn't he adorable how much he loves our boobs?" She asks Fluttershy as she joins her with a laugh and a nod. "It really is, yes."
Mark could only look down with a blush and steam coming from his face, unable to come with a rebuttal making them laugh again before continuing choosing a winner.
Later than evening
Happily chatting, both Celestia and Fluttershy made their way to the dining room. Mark has to excuse himself to take a call from Cadence and promises to catch up to them later.
"Thank you so much for understanding...well everything Fluttershy" Celestia smiles at her, as they walk through the empty hallway.
"It was nothing. I think it's a badge of honor in a way knowing my coltfriend grabs the attention of even the Princesses of Equestria. Although for how caring he is, it would be kind of surprising if he didn't."
"Indeed." She then looks solemn. "And not that is any of my business and you can choose not to talk about it but, If you don't like the idea of having sex with Mark and another mare at the same time, that would be perfectly fine, lots of herds have that sort of arrangement."
She in response sighs in defeat and looks down. "It's not that, I would like to be able to but...I'm not sure if I could open up to another mare, My Hunter understands me and he makes me feel so secure but another mare I...I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with the idea yet."
"You don't need to force yourself if you don't want Fluttershy, I'm sure Mark would understand." Celestia offers.
"But that is the thing, I want to, as his kitten nothing would make me happier than watching him perform when dominating a mare as I know none would be like me, and it will be even better to join in but...I'm a bit scared of the subject." She confesses and in understanding Celestia pats her back.
"I understand you, don't need to rush things, if that is what you want then you can try and find a way to ease up to the situation like putting a goldfish in a tank, slowly and delicately."
"Thank you princess Celestia and...eh...pe...perhaps if I can work up the courage and it's ok with her I...I might even be ok with inviting Molly to try it out too."
Celestia had to pause and chuckle while holding her head. "You don't hear it, but Molly is now dancing in cheer. I think she would like that idea too."
They finally see the dining hall fast approaching and exiting the corner saw Luna heading the same way, yet she hasn't noticed them yet, reminding Fluttershy of another question.
"Is Princess Luna...?"
"No, and she doesn't even know it yet either...I...I'm waiting and see how to ease those two goldfish too."
"Oh? Oh! A-and are you sure you don't mind sharing...?"
"Not at all." She replied with a smile and a nod. "It will be a crime to deny my sister the chance of being with someone like him, besides..." She turn to Fluttershy with a smile. "I always loved the idea of Luna making more friends"
"Even if it is THAT kind of friendship?"
"Especially if it's that kind, I understand your reservation but trust me, a thousand years of insolation really makes you less reserved and more open to various ideas...Plus I like what you suggested, all the available Princesses of the world? Now that is food for thought" Molly continues briefly giggling at the image before handing over back to Celestia.
"Agreed, I also wouldn't mind if Mark expanded his circle of 'Royal' friends. It could even become a topic to discuss and talk about in future meetings.You are welcome."
Fluttershy is surprised watching that side of Princess Celestia but nods at the idea and lets out a sigh of relief. Knowing that pursuing something with Princess Luna would not generate any type of tension between the royal sisters.
Luna finally saw them and wave at them "Hello sister, Ms. Fluttershy." Luna greet them both cordially.
"Hi Luna, how was your evening?"
"Not much different than any other type, so pretty boring actually." She then smiles at Fluttershy. "Although the night before there were some curious dreams I captured after the banshee attack."
Fluttershy can't help but blush and look away from the implication. "Do not worry fair Fluttershy, no pony knows what really happened...or believes, for what it is worth. As far as they are concerned a vengeful spirit rose and was subsequently defeated before it could do any damage, your act of intimacy is perfectly secured."
"T-Thank you princess Luna" Fluttershy nods, still blushing but grateful they covered up her little scream.
"It was my pleasure, my night after all, is a place for secrets too." She winks at her before offering her a Jadeite Jade collar. "A gift, to aid you should the situation repeat."
"Oh?" Fluttershy took it and eyed the jewelry with curiosity. "A cancelling sound stone, if the situation were to repeat itself just put it on and it will ensure your "ahem" approvals don't exit the current room"
"Oh!" Her blush intensified as she put the Jedeite Jade collaraway "T-Thanks for that too ah...and Princess about the dream I had not too far back..."
"Don't worry, that will stay safe with me too." Luna nods again this time with a little heat on her cheeks. "Any pony has the right of the privacy of their own dreams, and I merely peeked momentarily to ensure it wasn't a nightmare, judging by the screams and growls."
"T-thank you." Fluttershy just nods, and goes to sit at the table in the dining room before she dies from embarrassment, making the Princesses chuckle a little.
"It's always the quietest ones, aren't they?" Luna comments to her sister
"Indeed and by my Sun if I know why it happens."
They all take a seat and soon after Mark arrives. "So sorry for coming late, everyone." He rushes and takes a seat next to Fluttershy. "Had a call with Milky and it took longer than expected."
"Oh? Trouble in paradise perhaps?" Luna enquired with a half joke "Nah, nothing of the sorts, the opposite actually. She just wanted to tell me how things have been going in Manehattan, a couple of ideas for branching out my job, oh and she met a lovely mare called Coco Pommel."
He then leans back to whisper to Fluttershy in her ear. "Will tell you later."
She nods in understanding, just adding more to the curiosity of Luna.
"Oh are we keeping secrets now? Come on you two, share some of the gossip with us, this is a safe place." Luna encourages them both.
"Leave them alone Luna, they have the right to their privacy if they so wish, and choose what to share."
"Apologies, I suppose I'm still a bit hyper after hearing such approval two nights ago." Luna confesses much to Fluttershy cringes, after being reminded. "Don't get me wrong I don't intend to make things uncomfortable, if anything I'm happy for you Fluttershy. Finding a stallion that could make you that happy now AND during performance is more than worth praising."
She can't help but smile. "My hunter is one incredible stallion." She nods in agreement much to Mark's surprise on how relaxed she turned after the initial shock.
"After hearing that, I believe you. By my moon I might even get jealous. Say dear Mark, would it be ok if I was next?" Luna said with a small bush gracing her cheeks.
Mark, who at the moment was drinking some grape juice, did a spit take, as he looked at her in shock before turning to anger, when she started laughing. "Oh Marky you just make it so easy sometimes"
"Oh hardy, har har Luna." He says in annoyance as he starts to clean up, before noticing a blush forming on Luna. The other mares join in the laughter with Luna but also take notice of the small blush forming on the Princess' cheeks.
"Sure, go ahead and laugh, but one of these days I will call your bluff."
"Oh really?" She smirks at him. "And how pray tell would you be doing that?"
"Oh I don't, you seem to like to poke the bear, but I wonder, what would happen when I take you up on that offer?" He mentions licking his lips making her laughter die down a little. "Say my Princess is tonight's moon full?"
"Ah, no it isn't." She shakes her head.
"Would you like me to fill it?" He wiggled his eyebrows, and was slightly startled when her wings stood to attention before standing back and chuckling. "Not so funny when on the other side eh?"
"Hah, ok I admit you got me good that time." Luna joins in his laughter, but the other two mares don't believe it and stare at the princess with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
"Maybe it will not have to be so delicate after all princess?"
"Agreed." Celestia nods much to their companions' confusion.
"What are you two talking about?" Mark asks them.
"Oh Fluttershy was telling me about how you should always be slow and delicate when placing a goldfish in a tank." Celestia explains, before starting to giggle alongside Fluttershy adding confusion to the human and Lunar Princess who look at one another seeking answers but finding none. |
Equestria Handyman | Castle Calls | Answering his scroll Mark was slightly confused when almost immediately he heard the sound of uncontrollable giggling from the other side.
"Hello?"
Hearing a gasp he had to pull scroll away slightly as to not to hear the series of smacks and thuds, as he heard as whoever was calling sounded like they just drop their scroll.
"Hello? Hello?! Mark you there?"
"Yeah I'm here?" The human leans on a column as he takes the call. "Hey Cadence, how have you been doing?"
"Incredible actually! And before I forget congratulations!"
"Oh for pity's sake! Are you telling me even YOU heard it?"
"Hear what?" She ask perplex
"Ah...congratulations to what exactly?"
"Oh Marky, you naive stud. I'm the Princess of Love, do you really think I wouldn't notice a certain 'spike' of affection in the air? It was like a sugar rush back here. Thank the stars my sweet Shining and I were just going through some papers when it happened. I was ready to tackle him right in the open when it hit me!"
"He...He is fine right?"
"Oh yeah he is perfectly fine, we recovered the sensation in our legs after an hour." She dismisses his concerns.
"O...k, I'm gonna pretend that that is not concerning and just say thanks?"
"No Marky thank you! The crash was a nightmare for sure but by my Auntie was worth it!"
"Well I'm glad to hear you two had a good time at least. Not gonna tell you what mare she was though, I haven't even asked her if she would want me to share it." Mark tells her with finality.
"Ah of course, of course, that is real kind of you. I will not press the issue."
"Thanks, Cadence, not to be rude or anything but I am kind of on my way to meet the Princesses and my marefriend for dinner so I should make this short. I will call you..."
"Wait!" She begged him to stay on the line. "There is something else."
"What is it?"
"Remember what you and Milky promised us while I was visiting?"
"The blind dates, yeah I remember."
"Well I had someone new for later but what would you say if I told you that a certain dragon told me that she would like to meet you?"
"Certain dragon? Wait, you mean...your friend Nova?"
"Oh yeah, remember what we talked about back then? Turns out that she isn't sure yet but might be interested in talking, to clear the air."
"Cadence you are not expecting me to just go and have sex with her, right?"
"No! Of course not promise this will be just a friendly meeting, just that. Where would it lead though? Well that is up to you."
He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose "Not sure if there could be much, I'm currently between homes but I will see what I can do. Would she care about waiting for a week? Just so I had my place ready."
"Oh! S-sure, sure I will tell her that, thanks for agreeing to it Mark."
"No problem, we did, kind of promise after all."
"Oh and Mark, just an advice, dragonesses tend to breathe multicolor fire if they get too excited."
"Why would I need to know that?"
"Just so you remember to stay in dog position or ready yourself to push her face away" Cadence chuckled and hung up before he could offer a rebuttal, leaving him flustered from her final words.
"Of course you had to end the call with that, didn't you. Gosh this is gonna be so hard to explain to Fluttershy!"
He sighs in defeat before hearing his scroll coming back to life once more and to his surprise see that it was Milky this time who was calling.
Meanwhile back at the Crystal Empire
The Princess of Love was still grinning like crazy as she saw the annoyed dragon tapping her talons."Took you long enough! Ok, you had your call, now on with the zapping thing." She demanded pointing at Cadence's horn.
"Oh no Ember this isn't something that can be solved that easily." Cadence shakes her head and guides her to sit in one of her chairs.
"Sure I could cast an end love spell but that would not do anything but give you a very brief relief. It only works for widows after all." She confesses in sorrow. "and it's mostly to help them endure the pain, and move on while carrying their love."
"Sounds good to me, so I just kill the human and..."
"NO!" Cadence stops her in alarm. "Nope, no that is not gonna solve anything and if you dare resort to that I swear I would make you regret it." She warns her with finality. "Don't tempt me, you think it's bad now. Picture it a thousand times worse."
"Ok, ok, no killing geez, jumpy much?" Ember raises her arms in a defensive position and lets Cadence relax before continuing. "So...what is the plan then?"
"You are saying what happened in that night club is haunting you right? In that case the only way to fix it would be a direct confrontation with the source."
"You said no killing."
"NOT that kind of confrontation" Cadence clarifies in exasperation. "I mean a date."
"W-What?!" Ember's face turns pink and she slowly backs away "Y-you want me to just have one of your pony dates?"
"How do dragons date?"
"I...don't think we do, it's mostly just a mating season kind of deal. We just beat each other to establish power and then the winner chooses the dragoness that got interested and won their own fights."
"That sounds more like a very bizarre fighting tournament."
"Hey, my parents met that way." Ember defends herself. "So...you want me to just go over there and demand him to finish the job? I already proved my worth to him."
"Please don't remind me." Cadence warns her remembering the end of the dance. "I'm still recovering from my last session." She cringes as her flower was still feeling sore from what happened the night before. "And no, we ponies don't do that, and neither would you. You want to put an end to that state so you will listen to my instructions and have a normal pony type of date."
She nods and starts looking through some books "I will walk you through."
"You better, you are coming with me." Ember demands
"Excuse me?"
"I can't risk him forgetting that I already proved myself so either Pink Lust comes with or I grab the first mare I see during our date and remind him." Before remembering something and reaches into a pouch on her side, pulls something free and tosses it to Cadence. "Took me a while to find it in my Horde but here is your piercing." She says as Cadence catches it. Somehow slightly sticky. As if it had been licked clean.
"Did...did you lick it?" Cadence asks in surprise yet Ember only shrugs.
"Sometimes dragons like to give their mates something to enjoy themselves while having sex, I figure I might get used to your flavour just in case
"Wow, wow, one that is NOT gonna happen and two I'm NOT gonna go, in case you forgot I'm married!" She shows her wedding ring. "Don't know how it works for dragons but pony mares only have ONE stallion for a herd, and I already chose Shining Armor." She reminds her with finality.
"So, are you gonna pretend he didn't make you quiver too then?" Ember raises an eyebrow at her.
"Of course not! That only added fuel for Shining and I's night" She remembers with fondness, "and I stand firm, I will NOT choose another stallion"
"Then you better think of something Princess, because there is no way I'm tackling this alone."
"Oh, so the dragon lord is scared?"
"I will pick a mare from the street Princess, don't tempt me either." Ember matches with a taunt of her own.
Cadence thinks it over and starts wondering on options before coming up with an idea. "Ok have it your way I will go, but Pink Lust will join us for your date."
"Huh?" Ember looked at her totally confused.
"Come with me" She guides her out of the room and into the barracks where Cadence requests for a special soldier who, after requesting her presence soon arrived.
In front of the two Ember saw a female Changeling wearing one of her crystal ponies guard uniform giving them a salute. The armor was made entirely from an almost Amethyst crystalline metal. A Roman styled Helm with a plume of Lavender hair. Beautiful scrollwork patterns of ivy graced it.
"Private Aphid reporting for duty, your highness." She tells with a wide friendly grin, her skin was light pink, she had a small smooth horn in the center of her forehead and her eye colors were the same purple ones as Cadence.
"At ease soldier, this one is an off the record mission." Cadence informs her making Aphid to relax and lower her arm.
Ember keeps looking at the Ling and then Cadence with a raised eyebrow. "Ok you brought me here, so what is this?"
"You will see, Aphid dear, Ember is well aware of my marital activities so there is no reason for secrets. Would you show her our special little arrangement?"
Her eyes turn sultry and she smirks. "With pleasure." All of the sudden she was engulfed in a green fire before appearing again disguised as a perfect copy of the princess as she approached the dragon lord. "A pleasure to meet you Ember, please try to be careful, this is the first time we have tried it with a dragon tossed into the mix." She chuckles and is about to reach for Ember's armor before Cadence stops her. "Calm down Aphid, that is not what is gonna happen."
"It's not?" Aphid looks at Cadence using her own voice and returning to her regular form. "Then what is it?"
"What the heck do you and your husband do in your bedroom?" Ember asks, surprised and confused at what she just witnessed.
"You see Ember ever since Thorax made us see changelings in a new light, my Shining and I have been trying our best to help them enter into our society without fear of retribution. Aphid here has been a blessing from the sky since she decided to join our crystal guards, acting as babysitter, bodyguard, body double and well..." Her cheeks turn pinker, same as Aphid, before they share a kiss with her returning to her Cadence persona. "Twin play." They say simultaneously.
"Ok I'm with you so far, so what you are saying I take her with me and she pretends to be Pink Lust?"
"That is precisely the idea, yeah" Cadence nods briefly.
"Take me where?" Aphid asks in intrigue.
"You see Aphid The dragon Lord here has encountered a certain intimate problem that needs my help to solve. One that requires some intimacy."
"Oh then why don't you help her..."
"...as in intimacy with a stallion dear." Cadence finish.
"Oh! Now I get it, yeah your one rule right?"
"Exactly! And that is why I wanted to enlist your help once more as my pretender" she tapped the horn. "Fortunately, said stallion saw me as Pink Lust so for this you would not need to do a perfect copy, just like some of the play times we have done."
"Understood princess."
"You do know what you are agreeing to here right kid?" Ember questions the changeling "We are talking about helping me get laid, you could get in the crossfire and I might have to eat you out to establish dominance."
"Do you mind if I eat a bit of the love?" Aphid questions innocently, seemingly ignoring Ember's warning.
"Wait! Are you actually ok with this?"
"Well of course, I'm a friend with Cadence and Shining Armor, until I form a herd of my own they don't mind me having fun myself right Princess."
"Not at all, so you see Ember this way you can keep up appearance, I assure you Aphid has studied my behaviour, appearance and personality to a T. She could be considered my exact copy in every sense of the word and I mean EVERY sense."
Ember only shrugs. "Works for me, ok lets go Aphid, we need a male to nag."
"AFTER we discuss how we will play the date." Cadence insists, irked in how Ember keeps jumping ahead of her plan. "Also I don't need to request we keep this little endeavour between us as a secret right?"
"And risk everyone finding out I dance naked? You got a deal, Cadence." Ember nods. "Good, in that case let's get to work."
Back at Canterlot Castle
"...so did you finally decide on a house?" Milky asked as Mark made his way to the dining room.
"Yeah, we were having difficulties deciding between the final five but luckily Celestia came and helped us decide on one. A cool 2 floor house with a yard near Sugar Cube Corner, about 2 blocks away from Carousel Boutique, a good spot for business and with enough space to double it as a home too.
"I'm so glad to hear it. Next would be buying it and starting moving your stuff as soon as possible."
"I will start making the calls first thing in the morning."
"Perfect, and you mention the Princess paying you a visit, by chance did Fluttershy...?"
Mark looked around to make sure no one was close. "Yeah, she knows now, Celly was kind enough to explain it in person, Molly also popped out to say hi as well and thankfully they got along without a hitch."
"Really? There were no problems at all?"
"Well...for some reason they got a bit competitive but I managed to calm down and they seem to have become fast friends, so everything is fine."
"I see, Marky, perhaps we should make a rule about the subject. For the sake of the Princess. Only share the issue with members of the herd and not friends with benefits, keep the information tight."
"Agreed, we should try to keep everything just between us."
"And speaking of friends I have wanted to talk to you about somepony, named Coco Pommel"
"Oh! My sweet beautiful alpha is also in the prowl now?" Mark questions with a smirk, causing her to chuckle.
"Nah I think we will leave it as just friends, the poor dear just recently decided to enter the dating world and I mainly just wanted to help her gain some confidence. "
"Ah that is so sweet of you Milky"
"Thank you! And don't worry I'm not planning to spare any of the 'details' either" Mark froze as he heard Milky breathe into the scroll. "Her teats were a cute B cup size, and her pristine trimmed pussy was shaved in a needle shape."
"M-Milky! I'm heading to eat right now."
He heard her chuckle briefly "I'm so sorry sweetie I couldn't help myself, call me later once Fluttershy and you are alone...I want to share my story with the whole herd." She kisses the scroll and ends the call leaving Mark holding the device completely flustered.
God I love that mare!
Later that night
After returning from the session with Molestia, and subsequently cleaning his entire right arm. Mark opens his scroll and places it on speaker.
"Hello?"
"Hey honey I put you on speaker right now."
"Hi Milky, how are you doing in Manehattan?" Fluttershy adds.
"Oh incredible, the place is simply gorgeous, the food delicious and the business opportunities endless. Orbit Milk is gonna have another boom very soon!" she says in excitement earning an eye roll from the couple on the other side.
"So glad to hear Milky, Marky told us that you have been making some friends there too."
"Oh yeah, the sweet, sweet Coco Pommel."
"Yeah we met her once during one of our trips there, how is she by the way?"
"Doing great, but pretty tired. The poor dear is using one of my boobs as her pillow." They both get surprised at the revelation as Milky chuckled. "Would you like me to give you a play by play?"
"Yes please." Mark says almost entranced by the mental image Milky was painting, as well as still being pretty worked up after having calmed down Molly's flower leaving a good imprint of her region in his mind.
While Fluttershy mainly resorted to nodding.
"I thought so, but why should I have all the fun, why don't you try to copy some of my moves, while I narrate."
"I...I'm not sure I would be able to do some of them Milky." Mark reminds her holding his breath.
"Oh I'm sure you would think of something. "Ok why don't we start. I began by placing my extended hand over her chest as I slowly pushed her into the bed.
Too excited to let the opportunity pass, Mark takes her roll, and pushes Fluttershy down as she looks at him with a blush and a smile in anticipation.
"Then I started to tease her with a near miss on her face, making her wonder when I would kiss her before surprising her with an unexpected long one, my hand caressing her face as our bodies were pressing against one another..."
Milky continued talking until finally all of them were spent laying in bed sweating as Fluttershy was resting on his chest with a satisfied face no doubt copying how Milky and Coco were at the moment.
"Good night my sweet herd." Milky tiredly says on the scroll.
"Goodnight my sweet alpha." Mark replies with adoration. They both reach for the scroll reaching for one another before sleep claims them. |
Equestria Handyman | Royal Blind Date (Edited By NagaShark) | While throwing some pebbles into a pond, Mark waits patiently for his blind date while remembering all the events that lead him here, from the conversation he had with the Princess of Love, to how after a crazy week he finally became the owner of a brand new house fully equipped and ready to transform into a home, to the night that quite possible started it all, as he now realized that quite possible Blue Nova was the very first female he had used The Growl as Fluttershy dubs it on.
One whole year of questioning what exactly happened to her, wow that poor dragoness, I just hope I didn't cause her any insomnia or worse, strong nightmares.
He tosses the final pebble, and sighs as he looks at the horizon, before checking his clock again, noticing how the mare of the hour was getting late for their blind date. By one hour to be precise, making him start to wonder if by the end she decided to cancel the whole thing. He was currently wearing a black blazer, red scarf, red gloves, a formal gray shirt, brown formal pants and formal black shoes. Overall a semi decent attire for a date, hand selected and helped pick by Fluttershy wanting to help him give a good first impression.
"Sorry to keep you waiting" A voice catch his attention he took notice of his date approaching or rather dates, as making their way to the center of the park was not only Blue Nova wearing a long elegant purple long dress, with what appear to be golden chest plate armor with pauldrons and a tick golden ring on one of her horns as well as a pair of purple long gloves. Without the domino mask on, Mark could see her face more clearly, noticing a pair of freckles on her cheeks, specially a 3 lines under both her eyes as well as a lighter tune diamond shape patch of scales near her nose adding a cute factor to her already beautiful figure.
All of that would have been enough for him to find her captivating if it wasn't for the fact, that beside Blue Nova was none other than Pink Lust having a sleeveless purple dress that shows her shoulders and part of her cleavage covered by a dark pink sequence of ruffles, and was split on the side to allow view of her powerful legs. She was also wearing a golden coin necklace, jade round earrings and what looks like red ribbons on her right arm and left leg that briefly guide Mark view downwards where he found that she was wearing crystal blue high heels.
For a second he though that he was looking at Princess Cadence on how Pink and her had the same mane pattern color and style but looking at her closer and without the domino mask he notices more and more differences starting with the lack of a horn, a much longer hairstyle, her eyes were almost pink instead of purple like the Princess and she had a beauty mark mole on her right cheek that unfortunately only served to remind him of another place where she had a mole that causes him to blush a little.
Unknown to him not too far away near a bench chair the Princess of Love was taking some deep breaths while holding her chest before sitting down and pretending to be reading a book as a pegasus, wearing a blue wig, a barista hat, thick sunglasses, long brown sweater and matching blue skirt. A part of her hair was arranged to flow to the right so no pony could see an enchanted earring as she pretended to talk through her scroll.
"This is the last time I listen to you! We have time, five more minutes! He is probably not there yet!" She chastises Ember as she only keeps smiling.
"I hope we didn't make you wait too long. There was an issue with the train station and some ice which is why we were delayed." Ember says, giving him a small bow in apology.
"It...It's ok, I was a bit worried but now I understand the delay." Mark replies with a smile before noticing Pink with curiosity "But now I'm curious on what is happening, I was under the impression this was supposed to be a blind date just for the two of us."
She in return only smiles and takes a step forward. "Hope you don't mind the intrusion, but just like Nova here I too have been dealing with the events of our night together wondering what exactly happened, and intrigued to know more. So much so I might have given my underwear too, but you were already entertaining 2 ladies. So I thought two more might have been found...scary" She explain with a smile, and now that she didn't had the voice modulator or music to distract him Mark manage to detect a small prench accent on her voice
"Oh? Oh!" Mark looks away in embarrassment. "So you also got affected by The Growl. Wow now I feel like I really should be apologising."
"The...Growl sir?" Pink repeats as she and Ember look at Mark confused. Even Cadence was confused by the sudden term.
"It's kind of a long story, the short version is that The Growl is a special kind of growl that makes ladies well...horny as you recall from what happened that night."
So that is what happen, hmm Aphid, I would activate the bond necklace, is that ok with you?
Sure no problem! That means I would be able to eat some of your and Shining Armor too! So we both win! Aphid reply in her mind and feel a slight shiver as Cadence tap a identical copy of the necklace with a heart trap inside a golden circle.
"Listen, I'm so sorry for what happened. I didn't intend to use that ability on you. I didn't even know I had it in the first place. Those feelings of conflicted emotions are most likely caused by that" Mark explains with a sigh.
"You don't need to go out on a date with me just to get some answer, if all you wanted was that then that is it. You don't need to force yourself anymore into something you don't want"
For their parts the ladies remained quiet and looked at one another for a moment before Nova stepped up "Not gonna lie, knowing that actually makes things easier, and gives me a piece of mind on what the heck happened back then. No offense kid but I'm not usually impressed by scrawny males." She confessed being brutally honest with him much to the anger of Cadence and cringe of Pink.
"But that doesn't answer what the hell is up with that freakish strength of yours." She glares at him. "So this is happening, human because trust me, you really don't want to piss off a dragoness, especially when she is wearing high heels." She breathed fire through her nose at Mark, causing him to flinch a little but later felt a sense of anger.
Not completely sure why but her taunts of him being scanny was making him wish to prove her wrong.
NO focus.
He swallows hard trying to push back The Hunter in him before nodding, thankfully coming across as genuinely fearful.
"Understood" He then looked at Pink. "And what about you? Are you still interested in going through with this?"
She smiles and nods, "Thanks for clearing the air but even knowing what caused it, that doesn't change a thing." She smiles at him with care. "The only way to know if the feelings are genuine or just pure instinct is by getting to know each other better. You have already seen our bodies in all our glory sir."
The comment made him flinch again. "So please let us see your soul in return, let us judge by ourselves if a spark was ignited or we were just awakening our more primal side."
"Ok if you are sure about it." Mark nods and guides them to the restaurant where he had paid to have a reservation for them hoping that the place would not mind adding an extra chair.
The Princess of Love close behind, eyeing everything.
"Ok Ember like we practiced, this is just wine and dine, you have some food, chat, and maybe if you wanna dance. The place has a dance floor." She explained to the mares.
"Oh! Can I dance a little please?" Pink begs through her own communicator with a whisper as to not alert Mark.
"Right, then we go to the back door and rip our clothes off?" Ember question.
"No! That is a restaurant not a brothel! This is about pacing here."
"More like torture, how do you ponies move around with these shoes on." Ember complains trying to keep balance on her high heels.
"Please just be patient, I promise it will all be worth it, remember whatever happens just stay calm and don't demand things aggressively. "
"By the ancient dragons this human better be worth it." She shakes her head and uses her tail to adjust the shoes as best as she can without anyone noticing.
Luckily it was a slow day at the restaurant so squishing in Pink wasn't difficult and soon they managed to place their orders.
"So while we wait for our meal, would it be ok for me to ask you something?"
"Sure, just as long as we can do the same" Pink replies as Ember nods.
"Just tell us what is on your mind."
"Well I have been meaning to ask, and I'm not sure if there is anything wrong with it, in fact I had to understand how your work can be considered art in motion, boy is the title accurate but I wanted to ask...why would you choose to be strip dancers?"
"Believe it or not, in my case it was to improve the image of dragons." Nova tells him with a smile "I'm just sick and tired of everyone thinking that we are just a bunch of dumb knuckleheads that will start a fight at the drop of a hat. We dragons have a sense of honor too you know, but not all the species see us and they immediately jump to, just wanting to rob them of their gold or start a fire or something like that."
She gets worked up before relaxing. "I want to show the world that dragons can be more than just brutes that breathe fire, we can easily have a sensitive side too and well a lot of species pay attention when you drop your bra." She smirks at his blushing face.
"C...can't argue with that, a very noble cause to be honest" Mark smiled and not too far from them Cadence also smiled while drinking water, liking what Ember was saying.
"And what about you Pink? What inspired you to pursue a career as a dancer."
Prepared for that question the real princess starts to give instructions to the line as she pretends to be on the phone.
"It sort of just happened, at the time I was dating this magnificent, kind, beautiful, virile...ahem I was dating this stallion so I wanted to surprise him for his birthday so I asked around and found Amazing Tails where they took me in and showed me the ropes for a simple dance. I felt like they presumed a little so I invited him over to a show and then I danced my heart out for him."
"Wow, I bet he just love it"
Cadence smile widens at the memory as she nods, as the two grew even closer after that night "Yeah we did, unfortunately in the end it didn't work out for us and we went our separate ways, but my love for the pole remain so I just kept on dancing up until this day." Pink finish telling the rehearse answer as Mark nods. "I see too bad it didn't work for you but I'm happy at the very least you found your vocation in life out of it."
"Thank you."
"Ok, now it's our turn." Ember points at him "Now tells us why, and how exactly someone so thin could have all that strength."
"Ha! That is actually quite a long story, you see it all started when one day out of the blue I simply crashed into Canterlot Castle..." Mark kept recalling his story until the food arrived and they engaged in some minor chit chat as the mood kept improving.
Once the band starts playing, Pink takes the chance with Mark, they hit the dance floor where they enjoy some slow dancing, Cadence taking the chance to approach Ember who opted to remain at the table.
"So how are things going so far?"
"Most disappointed answer ever, he just got that strength?! What kind of explanation is that?"
"Ember...he was ripped from his home permanently."
"I know, I know that really sucks but I don't know I would like to hear another explanation like he ate some weird magic rock or something"
"What can I say, there are mysteries that not even we could ever comprehend, rather than just make sense it could be better just accept them. Don't you think so?"
"I suppose."
"So, you got all your answers then. Does that mean that the date is over?"
"Yeah right, if anything it is just beginning." She replies with a smile before glaring at Cadence "But it is not because I'm enjoying myself or anything like that!"
"Oh? Then what could be the reason then?"
"What else I am looking forward to getting laid."
"Oh my, did he captivate you that much?"
"Eh, like I said, I'm not all that into scrawnies but the kid is decent. Doesn't seem all that scared of the fangs, and honestly I'm curious if his shaft can be of some use."
"Oh, something tells me it can." Cadence smirks at her with a knowing smile.
"I will be the judge of it. And if he manage to please me enough I might even do one of those things you ponies have with friends with benefits deals"
That actually surprised Cadence as she grinned at Ember. "Really?"
She only shrug in reply "Eh this is mostly so I can get him out of my head and be done with it, but who knows? He might entretain me for a while, the kid can get bragging rights of getting approval from the Dragon Lord, and I scratch my itch of scrawny one, not saying he has a chance to handle me, of course but I will try go easy on the human."
"Oh Ember I'm so happy for you, I promise you will not regret that decision."
"Hah don't get your hopes up yet, the kid still has to prove if he can really "slay" the dragon." She licks her lips in anticipation.While emphasizing slay with air quotes.
"Sure, sure, one shouldn't rush things either." Cadence agrees before walking away, hiding her excitement "He is gonna bloom another friendship!" She harshly whispers and returns to her seat as Pink and Mark return, panting heavily from all the dancing they have done.
"Did we miss something?"
"Nope, everythings quiet here."
"Are you sure you don't want to dance Blue?" Pink points at the dance floor.
"Pretty sure, I can barely walk with these shoes on, much less dance."
"I think I can solve that." Mark mentions having gotten an idea which piqued the interest of both.
"Ah, this is much better." Nova sighs in satisfaction as she and Pink fly around near Mark, after having paid for their dinner, the 3 went back to the park where he offers to take off their shoes, so they could feel more comfortable and exploit the clear air to fly around while he holds their shoes as they enjoy a small 'walk' under the night sky.
All the time he was mindful not to look up too much since both mares were currently wearing skirts and he didn't want to just keep stealing peeks at their panties while they enjoyed flexing their wings and flying without their restrained high heels.
"Hey why the thousand yard stare down, Mark? Go ahead and have as many peeks as you want." Nova surprises him as he looks up and she even goes as far as rolling up her dress a little so he could have a better view of her underwear "It's not like there is something you haven't seen before."
"T-thanks but I think I will try not to look to much, don't want to go stiff here in the open either"
"Eh suit yourself, the offer stands though. Consider it your reward for getting me out of those torture devices." Nova says pointing at the shoes with a murderous glare before going back to enjoy her little flying session.
Sitting on a bench Mark looks at them enjoying themselves with glee and slight jealousy on how free and happy they seem to be right now, secretly wishing he could be able to join them.
"What are you doing?!" Cadence's voice suddenly appeared in Nova's ear, her voice making her flinch from the volume. "What? What did I do now?" Nova questions in annoyance.
"Oh I don't know, maybe ditch your date and think only of yourself?!" Cadence reproaches with sarcasm.
"What do you mean he is right there."
"Yeah,GROUNDED doing nothing but sitting on a bench while you two are having all the fun."
"I told him he can peek at our underwear, what else do you want?"
"Invite him over! Or what? Is the dragon lord so fragile and weak she can't even lift one single human?" Cadence taunts and in annoyance Blue descends in front of Mark.
"What is it? Are you tired?"
"Nope just thought of something."
Pink descended too, having reached the same conclusion.
"We noticed that there is something missing here."
"Oh, and what is it?"
"You silly." They reach to either side of him and before he could reply the 3 take to the air and above the clouds.
"After coming up with such an incredible idea, we wanted to repay the favor."
"And since you are not interested in a free show, what do you say if you join us for a flight?" They both kiss each side of his cheek making him flustered and giggle a little. "No objections from me here."
They continue their flight passing through clouds and enjoying the bird's eye point of view of the city as Cadence watches them go with some binoculars before sighing in relief.
'There crisis averted.'
"Excuse me miss?" Looking up she was surprised and pleased to find Shining Armor with a fake brown mustache, a fedora, a brown open trench coat and formal black pants and shoes "Rusted Chain, private detective." He showed her a fake badge. "I have been following the tracks of a certain peeping Tom mare stalking the park at night, tracking couples, hoping to see them engage in night activities so she could masturbate from the show. Mind if I ask you a couple of questions?" He rehearses with a smirk which she responds with one of her own as her eyes turn sultry.
"But sir, I'm but an innocent mare enjoying some small bird watching."
"In the middle of the night?"
"I'm tracking some nocturnal birds."
"Miss I'm sorry, I'm afraid I will have to bring you to the station for a thoughtful body inspection." He grabs her by one arm as she gasps and fakes surprise. "Oh but mister, can't you at least invite me to dinner first?" She giggled a little, and came closer to his ear. "Did you bring the handcuffs?"
"Right in my pocket I chose the soft pink ones you love and have the reservations for the hotel ready." He whispered back earning him a kiss on the cheek leaving a lipstick mark behind. "Love you honey, let go. Those 3 love birds are more than set by now." Cadence tells glueing herself to Shining Armor, the sensation of Aphid, has giving her all night was more than enough to put her on an amorous mood for a while now.
They both chuckle and head to a nearby hotel to have some fun of their own.
Later that night
After getting tired from their small flight, Mark invited both mares to his house so they could catch their breath, and had a couple of beers to end the night.
"Have to say, I have this lovely pegasus in my herd that I love with all my heart, and I have had my fair share of experience with other pegasai before but this is the first time I had a front row seat experience in the clouds. Man the freedom those things give you. I really wish I could have a pair of wings for myself now."
He passes them each a bottle and they cheer before taking a sip. "Well if you want to go for another ride, we might come up with something." Pink suggested with a giggle.
"Hah this is nothing, I was mostly minding Miss Prissy here not wanting to rip her feathers out. Tell me when you really want to feel some speed while flying. With how little you weigh I could reach mach 5 like it was nothing." Nova boasts in pride before taking a swig from the bottle too.
"But for what is worth, this is my first time flying like that with others, it...kind of felt nice." She confesses playing with her bottle and having some heat in her cheeks.
"Yeah totally agree, not only the view but the sensation as well, and the company. You have really soft scales, Nova." He compliments only making her blush to increase.
"I know it's not my place to say anything but if you could work something out maybe you can add something like this to your routine if you ever want to do a two mare show again."
"I will keep it in mind" Pink nods before smirking at Blue "Although we would have to change the ending."
With a groan Nova rolls her eyes. "For the last time, I'm sorry ok, it was my instincts taking over. That and that...growl thingy of his."
Mark chuckles a little. "Yeah, guilty as charged."
"So...what are your instincts telling you now?" Pink looks at her partner with a raised eyebrow, before looking at Mark.
He got nervous and took another swing at his drink rather than replying "Come on we are all thinking about it, so the question I have been meaning to ask is...were you also curious Mark?"
"Yeah." He confesses after thinking about it. "Ever since that night, the image of you has been popping up once or twice."
Nova's eyes widened at the revelation and felt a touch of pride feeling like the dance worked, she got his attention...and it endured for a very long time. Which in turn was turning her on as she licked the neck of the bottle.
"Tell me...have...have you ever wondered what it would be like to be with a dragoness?" Nova asks starting to pant as he nods in reply
"Have you...considered being with a human?" He questions back as they both nod too. "Ever...I don't know, touch yourself to those thoughts?"
"All the time." Ember answers with an embarrassed smile as her eyes turn sultry. "Want me to demonstrate on Pink?"
Mark was licking his lips and as much as he wanted to push back, couldn't help but to growl softly and put the bottle away, as he approached the two. "I think I had a better idea, would you like me to do the honours?" He extends both hands already formed into a hook sending shivers down both mares backs.
Pink in particular is starting to feel tipsy, not from the beer but rather, the lust in the air, both mares nod slowly and start to reach for their respective garments until Mark stops them.
"No." He kneels in front of them. "We have all night, let us enjoy it thoroughly." He smiles and guides them to lean down on the couch as Mark places himself between the two and caresses Pink's leg while Nova rolled up her dress giving him access to her leg as well, as ever so slowly he made his way to their respective petals making them moan and exclaim small gasps from the touch and the teasing until he find the elastic of Lust panties but stop when he didn't find anything for Nova. Looking at her in surprise he had to pause.
"Commando?"
"Fly free and proud." She replies with gasp as he smiles and resumes his work serpentining his way forward and enters Nova slowly, working her walls to build a good moisture as he pushes away the panties in Pink until he eventually finds her center as well and with close eyes he gets to work.
"D-don't be a slow poke there! Go fast!" Nova instructs and Pink nods rapidily as Mark smiles, fully intended to honour her plea.
At that exact moment Cadence was moaning softly on cloud nine from her husband's administration when all of the sudden her eyes go as wide as dinner plates and she flinches confusing Shining Armor on how quickly her petals were starting to spasm.
"Candy?"
"Shining I...I don't know what is happening all of the sudden I'm feeling...ah! T...the necklace! It is still connected. I didn't turn it off! I'm feeling what Aphid is! And OH MY AUNTIE, Shining I can't reach, take the necklace!"
He got to work and was about to remove it when an idea pops in his head and he smiles. "Mark really worked you up didn't he?"
"You're questioning me about that night NOW!?"
"It's ok sweetie, it's ok just hear me out. I got a proposition, I let you feel it too. If you let me give Mark a necklace as well."
"You want to feel what he does he enters...?! AHHHH!" Her back arches in complete ecstasy as Mark was unknowingly working overtime on her walls. "Just imagine Candy, a double sensation right here, you know how much I hate the idea of two stallions one mare, but I know you have always been curious. So this could be your golden opportunity. You would finally be able to scratch that fantasy from your list." He smile at her in understanding kissing her forehead
"Shining you know how I feel with the idea of you with other mares without me preseeeeeee...AHHH!!!! The stars it's like his fingers are pleasure seeking arrows!"
"What do you say, Candy? Will you be interest on phantom breaking our little taboos?"
"ABsol...Abs...Absolutely NNNNNNNN...oh heavens! He found the spot! AH!...IT AH...I feel double the power right now! HOw...he...IS...DOINGT...D...DEAL! YO WON!"
Shining cheers in victory, and resume his work eating her pussy doubling her sensation immediately and making Cadence go cross eyed.
In the meantime Mark was hard at work turning both Pink and Blue pussies into slowly wet flowers as their minds were going blank, at some point the intensity was such that Nova grabs hold of Pink and planted a long tongue kiss on her surprising the mare as their orgams grew near while they moan in each other mouth until like a dam their orgasm erupted leaving a string of their juices on the floor drenching their skirt and Lust's panties as they break the kiss and take a breathe for air.
Even the human needed to sit on the floor and admire his handy work, panting, and with a painful erection to boot, from watching such an intense kiss, not helping that now with the dress out of the way he took notices of the cute pulsating trim pussy of Nova and the blue T-string with pearls and a cute little blue rose pair of panties of Pink.
Huh just like Chelsea, no wonder I barely found any resistance.
"So?" He addresses the two with a smirk. "What do you think? Was I better than your hands?"
"You were magnificent sir." Pink replies between pants and a deep blush.
"Mark if you don't take those pants off and fuck me I will rip them myself." Nova half threatens lifting her claws.
With a chuckle, and getting the message he gets to work removing his scarf first
"I said pants!"
She was startled when he got closer to her and put his scarf behind her to pull her closer until their noses met. "And I'm done hearing your orders...Princess."
Blue gulps slightly fearing that he figured out who she really was until he pushes her away back to the couch "Now I'm the one that will give the orders here" He commands, feeling his primal side slowly awakening. As he takes his blazer off "And I say."
He unzips his zipper and lets his dick hang out for the two to see and salivate over. "First one to blow, first one I serve"
They both gulp and look at one another for a moment before rushing toward him wanting to see who goes first. Blue pushes Pink aside and envelopes his dick in her mouth wrapping her forked tongue around it.
"That is it, Blue, that is a good dragoness" He pets her the back of her head before looking at Pink "Don't feel bad Pink" He unbuttons his shirt next "Don't be shy, come here." He offers his hand with a kind smile and outstretched arm which she gladly takes and comes closer, so he could give her a soft long kiss much to Ember annoyance until a yank from her horn returns her to her duty and makes her realize he hasn't forgotten about her.
"Fly up sweetie." He instructs Pink who, like in a trance, does that and keeps flying until Mark stops her and positions her on his face giving him a first view of her delicate petals. "Let's give you some attention." He was about to get to work but paused briefly, noticing something. Her cute beauty mark was on the wrong leg.
Wait, I'm sure that mole was on the right, but then, if this isn't Pink then who...
He shakes his head not wanting to think too much about it and gets to work taking a couple of long licks on her labia and using the pearl to help him a little before diving in, starting to spell words on her wall, lingering on the G-Spot on the final letter.
W-H-O, A-R-E, Y-O-U-!
Pink keeps moaning too much in a trance to notice yet the Princess finally gets worried when the sentence repeats itself.
"Oh...OH! HE...He knows? B...But HOW! Oh stars he is demanding...by the heavens please stop toying with the GGGGG...Twin! TWIN! Just say Twin!" Cadence yells hopeing Pink got the message so the torture could stop.
Understanding what was happening, Shining stops thrusting in her and looks worried. "Oh Celestia, do you think he is mad?"
Cadence looks at him in worry while panting as Aphid only yells the order and stops as Mark glared at her.
"Why did you lie?"
"Please...Pink actually didn't want to come...Blue was too afraid to come alone."
Blue only glares at her from being sold out.
"I...I didn't want her to miss out, so I decided to step...in. Don't be mad."
"Name, REAL name now."
"Please, I'm so close."
"Then tell me, or you two walk home now." He gives them an ultimatum and Blue eyes widen in terror feeling his penis starting to deflate much to her shock and horror.
"A...Aphid Heart." She finally confesses in shame. "That is my name. I swear I was only moral support but then you were so sweet and kind...I really want...want to see why Blue was so engrossed with you. Please don't end things now."
He keeps staring at them for a moment before sighing, still pretty much angry from being lied to.
"I really hate when others lie to me, but I hate even more leaving two mares high and dry. Especially you." His gaze softened cupping Nova's cheeks. "I expect an apology by the end of this night. And suggest you both to brace yourself."
They got confused and worry when the glare resumed "Not even I know how I could get having angry sex."
Resuming his work he starts to eat Aphid out again, but this time with more intensity, like a starving beast and her honey pot was the only water left, as his erection returns to full force surprising Nova.
Did...did it get bigger? By the ancient dragons, take me now!
Nova starts drooling and keeps working with more happiness as Cadence and Pink start to scream from the intensity and pleasure, continue their assault until finally all 3 reach an orgams, he didn't even warn Nova and simply grab both of her horns and force her to drink it all by the expedient of cramming his entire length down her throat, not that she cared much as she was happy being submissive like that.
Putting Aphip over his shoulder and grabbing Nova by her stomach he lifts and carries the two to his room like two sacks of potatoes placing them on his bed with some genteless before stepping back and crossing his arms. "Rest of her dress" He points at Aphid while looking at Blue.
"What?" She looks confused for a moment until he glares at her.
"Now! I said you were first, but she is NOT gonna stay on the sidelines, so while I work, so will your tongue."
Getting the message Blue gets to work and starts to undress Pink with a grin enjoying more and more this side of Mark as her companion didn't seem to mind much as she looked a bit surprised but didn't seem to care to obey, and didn't want to ruin the night for her or Ember.
Once Aphid was down to her underwear Mark took a moment to admire her blue full lace bra before that was removed and Blue took the final piece of clothing off. Her panties before looking at him for more instructions.
"Get in all four in front of her crotch and start lightly licking the edges.
She nods and does as told, licking the sides of her pussy like a popsicle as Mark growls again and removes his pants and shoes before joining them in bed. Grabbing hold of Blue's flanks making her flinch from excitement and gasp lightly at his grip as he start to rub his hands over the fabric before grabbing hold of it and yanks it in two like it was nothing, causing Blue to gasp and flashback to when he did the same with her maid outfit and then got even wetter when not wasting any time he grabbed the back of her armor and rends it effortlessly before tearing it apart like a walnut as he tosses the pieces away, exposing her ass to him and perky her breast immediately. Aphid holding a finger on her mouth and biting while briefly touching her earring so Cadence could hear the sound too.
"That was enchanted golden armor...and you cracked it like it was a walnut!" She exclaims in between pants increasing Cadence lust as she hugs Shining Armor with her legs and brings him into a tongue war.
Both mares were having difficulty not cumming by the act alone, as Blue could feel something poking and rubbing at her brown start before going lower and rubbing her folds making his rod wetter teasing her into which hole he would put it.
Finally he places the tip in between her gates and leans forward grabbing the back of Blue's head so she gets closer to Aphid's pussy. "Once I go in, reach deeper, and lick the spot." He instructs and tells her where Aphid's G-Spot was as they work in unison and he slowly enters Blue, while she does the same with her tongue. Reaching half way of her wall before backing away much to her confusion as she looks back and sees him looking at her with a glare "You better match my movements, or Aphid will get the prize instead got it?"
She nods eagerly and prepares herself as he goes back in with all his force,breeching her cervix in one thrust and causing her to go cross eyed and moan loudly as her lips kiss Aphid and her outstretched tongue tickles the entrance of Aphid own provoking a scream of delight and grabbing the bed sheets.
Luckily no one outside could hear them as planning ahead Mark made sure the windows and walls had enough enchantments to be sealed and be soundproof...unfortunately the same couldn't be said in the hotel as every pony currently in a room heard loud and clear a certain Princess.
"OH MY SWEEET BEAUTIFUL CAPTAIN! FUCK ANOTHER BABYYYYY IIIN MEEEE!"
God why does it feel so... good?!
Mark was feeling incredible at the moment, while the sensation of Blue's wall massaging his rod was feeling incredible, the added bonus of the surprise suction of her pussy wanting him to stay inside encompassed by the moans of approval Aphid was driving him to the edge just as much as it was to the two mares.
A sensation of triumph and pride washed over him knowing how he was instructing a dragon flawlessly to do as he orders, while at the same time ensuring she was pleased. He was still angry but if this was an attempt to make up for all the lying, he sure wouldn't complain, and would certainly consider it a good first step. Finding joy in this different type of dominance, his little kitten still will be his number one, and Celly and Molly are definitely a close second but these two were an incredible and beyond words secured third.
Feeling his climax approaching he remember Blue other hole and decided to give her one last present before taking care of his other mare, licking his middle finger leaving it as wet as possible he lean back before driving in and inserting said finger in her pucker, while grabbing and yanking her tail, and even going as far as taking a good bite into her while losing The Growl to add in the explosion of sensation making her scream into Aphid pussy, in time for his own climax as he shoots rope after rope into her. Moments later the two mares whose eyes roll back and orgasm with force. Blue even increases when he plays around, and twists his finger some more, for added sensation until it all ends with a crash. He let go of Blue with a wet pop, allowing her to release the rest of their combined fluid with a goofy wet smile and itching legs, part of her tongue still inside the spasmodic walls of Aphid who was panting trying to recover her breath.
"Well, it looks like you learned your lesson." Mark lifts Blue's face and pulls out her tongue so she could see him in the eyes "There, that's better. There better not be any more lying from now on."
"Yes...yes, no more...lies." She manages to utter completely spent, and he raises an eyebrow before sighing again. "So disappointed, I will have to deal with you later...Ember." He whispers her name in her ear just enough for her eyes to widen in surprise and then gulp slightly afraid of what he had in store for her later.
"For now, just be a good dragon lord and enjoy the show." He picks her up and places her on a chair nearby before returning to bed to attend to Aphid.
"P...please be gentle" She begs starting to realized what would happen
"Don't worry Aphid I will, you were honest." He cups her face. "But I still have questions and unfortunately still need to punish you as well." He kisses her forehead. "It's your turn now."
He lightly chuckles and captures her mouth as he lays next to her as his hands go to work and he starts to look for and find all of her spots. Ember watches that starts to sweat and a small thrill rushing through her back as she watches him enjoy his meal, turning that poor mare into an opera singer.
Is that how his species mate? By the whole dragons, I don't want to know what the females could do.
"Sweet stars, how can he find all my buttons?!" Cadence says with hearts in her eyes. Making Shining chuckle.
"Having a good time Candy?" He got confused when she grabs him with foam forming at the mouth and an almost demented grin. Chuckling like crazy, breaking her handcuffs.
"Should I be worried?"
"Maybe." She launches at him and starts kissing repeatedly, as he searches desperately into a stand desk for a blue vial which Cadence quickly snaches and force feeds it to him. "Yes...recover endurance my sweet knight you are gonna need it!"
Cadence pauses and freezes as her breast starts to squirt, letting the captain have his second wind and tries to recover control.
Meanwhile, finding her breast sensitive. Mark pinches and pulls at Aphid's nipples earning gasps of approval as he had a good hold, thanks to her piercings.
Breaking the kiss he chuckles briefly at her expression. "You know I wasn't completely sure I was on board with the pierced nipples." He nibbles and goes down until he reaches her chest and smashes her breasts together. "But you sold me, hope you don't mind. I have gotten a bit...thirsty."
Not waiting for her approval he brings her nipples to his mouth and bit them while squishing her breast for her milk causing her to arch her back and scream loudly as he enjoys his feast.
Hmm strawberries and cream milk with a touch of honey. Delicious.
He keep sucking and drinking as his right hand went south to once more play with her valley grabbing her G spot while his left got to work on her wing and started play with her wing pits, and tickling the base of the feathers, finding joy and even chuckling briefly at how he just turn that mare into a musical instrument, controlling her gasp, moans and volume of them, as Ember watches in fascination starting to want to get closer, until he heard the chair creak and immediately looks at her with a glare.
"You better stay there Ember." He warns her, and immediately she shrinks back again, and lets him continue, until finally Aphid reaches her fourth orgasm, and Mark lets her go just to line his rod right at her entrance.
Feeling slightly sorry, he grabs both of her hands and pinning them to the sides of her head by intertwining their fingers. "Like I promise, I will be gentle." He whispers and slowly inserts his dick in her overly sensitive folds while giving her a series of long, slow kisses to help endure the sensation.
Clasping down with force on his hands her eyes roll back, as every inch of insertion results in another orgasm, until the moment of truth comes and everything goes pink for her, as his dick finds resistance at the entrance of her cervix only for a grunt and thrust to breach it. As she had one final orgasm.
Breaking the kiss and releasing her hands he holds her face together as she moans and gasps uncontrollably. "You're ok, that's it, you're ok I'm here, I'm not gonna move, we will ride it out together."
She managed to nod with tears on her face just wanting a pause. Cadence and Armor in a similar position as she kisses his forehead.
"You will always be...the love of my life." Cadence manages to say as both her and Aphid close their eyes, passing out from the exhaustion. As Mark quite literally fucked them into an unconscious state.
With a smile he cleans some of her hair and kisses her cheek before ever so slowly he exits her love canal. "One down."
Turning around he smirks as she sees Ember licking her lips in anticipation with her legs outstretched.
"One to go, will you also want me to be delicate?"
To his amusement she shook her head. "Heck no! Wreck me good."
He nods, matching her enthusiasm. "Fair enough, just know you asked for it."
"But before you do, can I request one small thing?" She points at Aphid's necklace. "That is mine, I let her borrow it to sweeten the deal and I don't want her to get any ideas in case I forget to ask for it back."
"Oh." Mark sees the necklace and nods. "Ah sure, I suppose I can do that."
Smirking internally, Ember sees him removing said jewelry and even lets him put it on her.
Sweet dreams Cadence
"Now!" Mark licks his lips and lifts her up bridal style. "I think it's time to slay a dragon, tell me. Can a dragon produce milk?" He asks with a raised eyebrow before chuckling and takes her back to his bed. Stretching her labia before going to work with 3 fingers while kissing her aggressively.
The Princess of Love having been turned into a semi functional puppet as she starts moving again, Shining's dick still inside her allowing her more access to act.
Just as promised, Mark wasn't gentle at all. As The Hunter side of him awoke and with beastial growls, starts his work with a strong bite on the neck near her collarbone making her moan and groan in satisfaction. While his other free hand took both of her wrist and immobilized her as he moved and played with the walls of her flower, repeatedly pressing harder on her G-Spot enticing even louder moans. Until he felt her climax approaching. Signaling him to let go and replace his hand for his dick, as his hands got to work with her breast. Playing with and pinching her nipples repeatedly. Tugging at them as he takes hold of her tongue and bites down on it, yanking it forward.
Making her move her head to meet the aggressive tongue kiss, while his hands slid from her chest to her back. He starts to scratch and tug at the base of her wings. Finding and exploiting all of her most erogenous points as his hips thrust back and forth, fighting the vice-like grip and suction her pussy was putting to work, as she fights silently, imploring him to remain there and milking him for all he was worth. Steadily gaining more and more speed.
The Hunter got more aggressive, and bit down on her lower labia. Pulling it briefly before going back for another possessive kiss. Her tail moved around in excitement and her wings to stand at attention as she kept moaning into his mouth, and wrapping her tongue with his own. Until finally, she had to break the kiss to scream as her orgasm arrived with a fire breath that Mark anticipates and grabbing the back of her head give a jank so she breathed it away from him,the intense flame that lasted a minute as he hit his orgasm and shoots his load straight inside her cervix painting it white.
Not wanting her to rest, once the fire subsided he moves his hand downwards and pulling her off him he guides her to turn around, and lay on her back as he went to town, and once again got to work on pounding her from behind as sloshing wet sounds, and strong slap at her ass were filling the room as she held onto the head of the bed for dear life with red flanks with the imprint of his hand on them, and cross eyed as her second orgasm arrived.
He pulled out and released his load shooting it all over her back, before grabbing her butt cheeks again and spreading them apart as far as he could before inserting his dick into her pucker. Making her flinch and raise her back, giving him access to her wings to use as support. All while yanking at them, and fucking her ass hard with grunts, and interchaging between slow and fast thrusts until ultimately a final shot was released inside of her as she had one final violent orgasm as they both collapse into the bed. Mark licked her cheek and grunting while getting comfortable.
Laying down possessively on top of her they both find sleep as Ember cuddles closer to Mark, she pulls Aphid closer and pulls the blankets over top of the 3.
The next morning
With crossed arms the hotel manager keep glaring at the disarray the couple caused in disappointment, the two were a complete wreck with their manes in disarray and standing out, bite marks on Cadence while Armor entire body was covered in lipstick kiss marks, their cloths beyond wrinkled and slightly damp, as they keep looking down. Cadence was forced to be carried bridal style by her husband since at the moment she couldn't move or feel anything from the waist down.
Behind them was the room they reserved or rather the ruins of said room as every square inch present was completely and utterly broken from their night activities, even the walls had brand new imprints of Cadence and Shining's back.
"We are terribly sorry for everything. I promise we will pay for all the damages." Shining pleads to the manager as he taps his fingers and raises an eyebrow.
"I sure hope so, but I'm also wondering if you two are really ok. Last night it sounded like the poor Princess was being slaughtered!"
They chuckle briefly and Cadence nuzzles Shining's face. "My hubby got a touch carried away."
"Are you sure you don't need to visit a hospital, your highness?"
"Oh I'm sure, this has happened before, we know how to remedy it." Cadence dismisses his concern gently, as the couple chuckles nervously with blushes on their faces.
By all the stars, what the Tartarus did you do Ember? Are you even still alive?
The manager sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Naturally you understand that I will have to ban you, correct?"
"We understand, it would only be logical. And don't feel bad, the publicity of having to reject service to royals will interest more clients, especially if we clarify why." Cadence promised with a smile.
"Well that would be a weight lifted off my shoulders, please just don't take too long with the reparations and, I hope you have enjoyed your stay here."
"We did." They reply simultaneously.
"I noticed." The manager intensifies his glare, and points at the front door for them to leave. Not wanting to make the situation any more tense or awkward.
While that happens, in Mark's house things got a bit calmed that morning as the human was kind enough to serve the two some breakfast and even request the help of Fluttershy for a change of wardrobe.
"Ught! Can you remind me again why I need to be wearing this?" Ember asks in annoyance looking at herself in the mirror using Aphid formal dress, while her companion borrows one of Fluttershy's old bulky sweaters and long skirt.
"Because it matches your scales?" Mark jokes earning a grunt from Ember "And because you two lied and pretended to be someone else so now you will wear someone else's clothes."
"Can I just give you another blowjob or something?" Ember offers.
"You can but I don't think it will make any difference. I kind of ripped your clothes off so, you kind of need that, and I didn't think Fluttershy's style would suit you."
"I think it suits you better than that dress." Fluttershy comments with a chuckle, as she leans over his chest. "And he is right, you lied to my sweet Marky. That wasn't very nice of you to do."
"We are truly sorry for doing so Mark." Aphid says in sorrow.
"Eh, water under the bridge the important thing is that everything is fine now and hey I say this was Pink's loss, if she decided to pass on that opportunity."
"Yeah completely." Aphid chuckles a bit.
"Also don't worry about anything Ember, your secret is safe with me, I will not tell anyone about this...or the thing a year ago."
"Thanks." Ember nods genuinely grateful for his words.
"Anyway we should be going now, it was great but there are lots of things to do back at the crystal empire and dragonlands"
"Yeah, I better get back to work." Ember agrees and they both headed to the door and into the train station
"So, could you tell me why you are wearing the necklace?" Aphid enquired with curiosity as Ember smirked.
"Mostly curious, you handled the assault pretty nicely back there Aphid. I wonder how Princess Cadence managed it last night?" Ember giggles mischievously, imagining how wrecked the poor Alicorn was left. |
Equestria Handyman | Herdings Do's And Don'ts, Rarity | "Oh Marky, Marky, Marky, how much fun are we gonna have?" Rarity grinned with close eyes as she stirs her teacup before taking a sip and looking at Mark as they enjoyed a small snack in her house.
"So it appears somepony has been very busy since we last talked, hmm?"
"Hah, yeah it has been crazy how things have developed since you set that blind date." Mark replies with some embarrassment looking away, and chuckling nervously.
"I say, courting the hearts of a lovely earth pony, and then a pegasus, tell me, is there a unicorn on the horizon next?" She looks at him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"Anything is possible I suppose I mean I had made quite a few friends recently, including two pegasus and a dragon"
"Is that so? Well now I'm wondering if avoiding unicorns is a preemptive act."
"Nah I simply hadn't met many mare unicorns that aren't already in a relationship mostly." He answered honestly while taking a sip of his tea.
"I see, would you like to meet one?" He chokes a bit, before putting the cup down. "Excuse me?"
"Oh nothing as serious I assure, I just thought a small field practice could be good for your very first lesson. Approaching mares."
"I think I got that covered, Rarity."
"Really? Then explain this to me of all those friends you have had before, did you really engage any of them or did you simply grant a blind date with them?"
"I...holy crap you are right"
"Language dear!" Rarity reprimanded him. "And you see now? Sure you know how to talk to mares, but you haven't actually ENGAGED in any sort of conversation, when the intention was seeking romance from the start. And to do so, the approach needs to be delicaly careful and mindful of their respective tribe."
"Is that really a factor?"
"And a particularly big one too I'm afraid" Rarity nods. "Which is why for our first lesson I will help you with a small crash course of approaching mares, in a personal favourite night club I like to assist."
"You want us to go dancing for our first lesson? Like right now?"
"Well of course not silly, that would be ridiculous. We will go at night, and until then we will work on your wardrobe"
"What is wrong with what I'm wearing?" He asks wearing a simple green shirt, blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a red sweater.
"Well nothing...if you are going jogging." She answered with neutrality. "And yes Mark the outfit influences. But don't worry, dear Rarity here will help you select the perfect combination that will guarantee head turns. Trust me."
"Is this by chance just an opportunity to show off a new clothes assembly to the public?"
"It can be two things! Now let's go, time to make you fabulous!" She grabs his wrist and drags him to her study, to start choosing options for their night out.
That night at Club Hot Feet
Making her way with confidence Rarity made her way to the entrance waving hello to the mares and stallions, captivated by her charms and chosen wardrobe. Wearing a light blue long sleeved halter top, white belt and purple skirt Rarity made sure to expose her outfit for everyone to see before turning around to see her partner.
"Mark, come here."
"Rarity are you sure about this? I feel a bit ridiculous wearing this"
"You look incredible! Come on, trust me" She encouraged Mark as he made his way to her wearing a black vest on top of a button gray vest, a black belt, blue jeans, formal black boots, and a semi open formal white shirt as well as a chain necklace as he blush slightly at all the stares he was receiving.
"Are you sure this looks fine? I mean I'm wearing two vests here."
"Why don't you see for yourself?" She points at a group of mares that were waving at Mark with half lidded eyes making him chuckle slightly nervous at the attention, before following Rarity inside.
Once in the club, the two were blasted by the sound of dub techno music courtesy of Vinyl Scratch as she played another of her best records living things up on the dance floor.
"Hey, nice beat." Mark could feel his head bobbing to the music as he approached the dance floor, until Rarity stopped him by hugging his arm. "Patience Marky, there will be time for that later, first we need to establish your game play."
"My game?" He repeats confused as she guides them to the bar where she orders two light drinks.
"Well your moves, let's try some examples" She looks around until she spots one of the flower mares dancing alone. "Let's say you want to woo that mare, what do you do?"
"Ah I don't know, just come closer and say hi?"
"Good, that is a good start, then what?"
"I...ask her if should like to dance and then ask her name or something?"
"Mark, are you looking for a date or a friend?"
"Is there a difference?"
"Yes there is, a date you show you are interested in pursuing a romantic road, a friend you are just pursuing someone to chat with, and tell her you are not interested. No mare here is interested in friends. So you start acting like that is the plan, and they will get past you after ten minutes."
"Ok then...we might have a problem."
"Mark...you actually don't have anything?"
"I'm sorry I was always a disaster while dating back on Earth I...I never really had any sort of 'game', there I said it."
"That is ok I can work with it." Rarity calms him down with a reassuring smile "You don't need to worry, this isn't exactly that complicated either, there are only two things you need to know." She lifted two fingers "Tease, and light dirty talk."
"Really? That is all?"
"Trust me, that is all you need to show any mare you are interested in them, and you can back down if they are not." She nods a couple of times. "Just tease carefully and remain polite at all times, this advice is mainly for light hookups. After that it is about listening and springing slight flirtings, but that is for a letter lesson. Tonight is all about working on your teasing game."
"Ok how do I start?"
"First..." She takes their drinks and gives him his, they take a sip before leaving it at the counter. "we go to the dance floor and dance a little while looking around, once you see a lonely mare then you approach slowly and talk with her."
"Sounds good, anything in particular I should keep in mind?"
"2 things mostly, unless you want to get slapped don't say that she has pretty wings or horn. That is like saying she has pretty breast"
"Duly noted!" He nods and then they go to the dance floor to enjoy the music while looking around any potential hook up. Eventually finding one in the form of a white Earth pony with light pink hair and mane. A pink short dress that reach her tight, black tight shorts and some small eye shadow
"Isn't that Redheart?" Mark points out recognizing the mare.
"Oh my you are right! It is good for her! I always thought that poor lady deserves some love after all she does in Pony General." She gives Mark a light push. "Why don't you see if you can make her night?"
"Well I suppose she wouldn't mind the attention, she seems a bit lonely." Mark nods with a smile and approaches her. "Remember the two things dear, keep it light!" Rarity calls before continuing dancing dealing with a pair of stallions having the same idea for her.
"May I have this dance?" Mark lightly joked approaching the mare in question that was startled and confused to see him here "Mark Star? What are you doing here?"
He chuckled as they continued dancing "Could ask you the same, didn't think you like to go to nightclubs."
"Oh really?" She smirks at him "And where exactly did you imagine I would spend my weekends?"
"A gentlemans club"
"WHAT?!" She asked him completely livid.
"I...I mean ah...a coffee shop with a nice book to read?"
She just keeps glaring at him and crosses her arms.
"Back away now?"
She nods a couple of times.
"Fair enough, have a good night." He nods and slowly dances away from her so she could enjoy the rest of the night.
"Mark, what did you say?" Rarity asks, surprised at how fast he returns.
"I...think I went overboard with the teasing."
"Oh Mark." She shakes her head in disappointment. "Ok we will keep trying to remember LIGHT teasing."
"Do you have some cards for me to use maybe?"
"Are you gonna read them while dancing?"
"Nevermind."
Rarity nods and they continue trying to build his game, with other mares.
"So tell me, ponies call you the flower sisters, is that like a title or are you?"
They chuckle a little before answering, "Just a title, don't worry." Daisy answers.
"Oh thank you, you have no idea how much I have been racking my brain trying to figure it out. I must say your flower shop is simply incredible, you really must love your jobs."
"Thank you." They all giggle at the compliment and start to have a good time right until someone by accident spills some beer on Lily while she looks at the spot in horror. "Oh no! My favourite dress!"
"The horror!" All of them look at it in horror before literally passing out, confusing Mark as he slowly backs away, rescued by Rarity that pushes both away, before an audience could form. "Ok that was on me, those three are a bit on the dramatic side, lets search something more your wheelhouse." She laughed nervously.
"...then after paying our first loan we officially started our own spa business and have been happily earning a living doing what we love!" Lotus ends recalling their stories as he and the twins were sitting in a chair.
"That is incredible! I have never been to a spa before, but now I would be lying if I said I'm not intrigued to give it a chance."
"We guarantee you, we will take good care of you and will leave with a satisfied smile on your face." Aloe promotes the place.
"You know, my marefriend travels a lot and is the master when it comes to promotion. If you like I could talk with her and we could work something out."
"Oh?" Aloe looked surprised and then slightly disappointed as she was preparing to leave "Wait, wait." Lotus stops her sister "What do you have in mind?" She inquired about what they could arrange.
"Mark!" Rarity pulls him away in annoyance. "Ok new rule NO promoting business, you are now just focusing on relationships got it?"
"I thought I was doing fine and..."
"Ah!?"
He sighs in defeat. "Got it."
"I just don't know how to get to him, when we started he was so attentive and passionate, but now he is always working in that lab of his obsessing over time." Derpy tells dejectevely drinking her beer
"You know what I think. That Time Turner guy sounds like a complete jerk for ignoring such a lovely girl like yourself." Mark mentions with anger
"Really? You think I'm pretty?" She asks hopefully as he smiles while Rarity nods in approval thinking she finally got something going on.
"I don't think, I KNOW you are beautiful, stallions are intimidated just because you are also an incredible mom, they can take a hike if they don't see it too."
He placed his hand on her knee making her shiver slightly "You know what I think you should do?"
"What?"
"I think you should tell that Time Turner how good he has it and start appreciating you for the gorgeous mare you are!"
"What?" Both mares look at him in shock.
"Yeah, remind him how beautiful you are, and why he fell so strongly for you."
"But how?"
"Ok this is what you can do, next time he excuses himself to his lab, lock the door, and make sure he knows you have the key, and if he wants it back he is gonna have to look for it"
"And where would I hide it?"
He smiles and issues for her to come closer so he can whisper it in her ear, making her blush and her wings sprung to attention. "Oh my"
"Let's see if he wants to spend time in the lab after getting the key." He tells her with a mischievous smile.
"Yeah...yeah! I shouldn't just mop around and feel sorry for myself! Thank you so much Mark! You are incredible" She brings him into a hug which he chuckles, accepts and reciprocates.
"Don't mention it, now go reignite that flame girl!"
"I will! Time Turner here I come!" She says determinedly heading to the exit hitting some other ponies on their way out.
Mark smiles and looks back at Rarity before giving her a thumbs up as she shakes her head and holds her mane.
"By Celestia he is as thick as a brick!" She laments looking at the counter.
"Ok by far that one was the best" Rarity heard someone sitting next to her and looking up to see Pon3 with a beer bottle chuckling lightly while looking at Mark who went and talked with some other mares.
"Never in my life have I seen a stallion fail so many times and still come out on top." She looked back at Rarity.
"If it helps anything, you are on the right track, but maybe the approach is what is wrong."
"Please Vinyl right now I'm not exactly in the best of moods." Rarity confesses massaging her head.
"Nah don't sweat it Rares, we all had bad days and hey look at your boy, sure he is failing but he is also having fun, and isn't that what matters?"
"Not when you are supposed to teach him how to flirt."
"Huh, so that is what it was, though you were having a sort of bet going on" Vinyl chuckles before taking a sip of her drink "Seems like you need a breather, want me to take it from here while you take five?"
"You want to help him flirt with mares?"
"Eh why not sounds like fun, and it's not like I don't know what I'm doing. I helped my sis get her stallion didn't I?" She point at Octavia who was currently dancing with Thunderlane, slightly provocatively even, much to the pleasure of poor Thunderlane who could only chuckle and smile with a terrible blush, as Octavia giggles and give him a esquimo kiss.
"You did that?" Rarity ask in astonishment at the revelation
"Oh yeah, and believe me Octi was just as much of a disaster at dating as your boy over there, so what do you say? Would you mind if I give it a go?"
Rarity eventually shrugs and nods. "Sure, why not? I don't know how else I could help him at this point."
"Nice!" She cracks her knuckles and neck before approaching Mark. "Now watch and learn"
Vinyl watches as the ladies that Mark was talking to, just lose interest and march away without saying anything leaving him down and dejected.
"Tough night eh big boy?"
He was slightly startled by her arrival but when he saw her he simply nodded and sat on the counter. "I always sucked when it comes to flirting, and was extremely dense to notice it too." He confessed, staring at the table. "Worse of all, Rarity is probably mad at me right now."
"Hey enough with the pity party this is a night club not a sumber bar" Vinyl pat his back "Cheer up, dude you were doing fine even with the failures"
"What do you mean?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"What I mean is sure you miss all the marks but you know what else you did, made those mares feel special" She points at the previous failures he had and sees them happily chatting among other mares or stallions even the latest rejected seem to almost glow.
"More than having fun, a night club's whole thing is to help a mare feel sexy, feel wanted. And overall tease stallions into choosing them, you know what was your problem? You hand over the price way too soon."
"The price?"
"The flirting, the teasing, and compliments. Oh sure any mare loves to hear them, but you know what they love even more? Work for them."
"Really?"
"Trust me, it is the law of the jungle here, a mare leaves her stallion for too long and 5 more mares will try to take a crack at him, especially if he is in a herd. And if he is single, well...it's fair game for the first alpha."
"Ok you are making that up"
"Am I? Look over your shoulder briefly, the spa twins have been taking shots at you ever since I sat down."
He was surprised but when he looked, indeed he saw the twins looking at him intrigued before looking down when they thought he spotted them looking.
"Ok what is happening?"
"Eh simply completion, mares are not the only prize dude. Present yourself a bit as a catch and it will be like blood in a shark tank"
"That is something I didn't consider...not sure how to apply it though."
"Easy, just need the right push. Tell you what, since I find it moving how you wanted to help old Derpy and her marriage this one on the house." Vinyl giggled with some volume to catch some of the mare's attention before leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Oh Mark, you are so funny! Say why don't we take this back to my house? Just give me a moment." She says with a sultry tune before walking back to Rarity, who saw the whole thing confused.
"And now we wait."
"Are you serious? Just like that? A kiss and a pep talk, how is that gonna...?"
"Ah..." She lifts her fingers and starts snapping "In 5, 4, 3, 2...." Pointing at him again Rarity saw how both Redheart and the twins came back to see him, and they started to chat more openly. Mark was initially surprised, but then just went through the motion before inviting them over and started to flirt slightly.
"H-how...? What...?"
"Like I told your boy...this place is a shark tank" She replied with a smirk "A mare shows some slight interest in a stallion and if she leaves, he will swarm in no time. So...is this just a flirting lesson or are you planning to take the winners home? Because I could clean my basement if you know what I mean."
"Oh no this extrictly flirting lesson, to help him when looking to extend his herd, nothing else." Rarity clarifies.
"Are you sure? Because Redheart seems to want to give him a check up" Vinyl points out seeing how the nurse seems to be getting more touchy than the other mares.
"Oh ho, better jump in before those mares get the wrong impression." Rarity says in alarm.
"I would be more worried about what those mares are poking at, Rares I heard what he did to Fluttershy."
Vinyl call as Rarity goes to jump in and break anything up before things escalate.
"Oh sweetie there you are! I was looking for you." Rarity calls with a chuckle getting very close to Mark "I see you made some friends" She keeps chuckling as she slaps Redheart's hand away as she was starting to venture south.
"Yeah...I was just chatting with these lovely ladies, just like you..."
"...ask you to do it,oh but of course, of course." She kisses his cheeks lovely. "I just love to see you tease them, to work up an appetite" She giggled like a schoolfilly before looking at the mares. "You can join too if you wish ladies, you don't mind just watching while you're tied up right?"
That seems to do the trick as the mares back away, confusing Mark, as he looks back at Rarity.
"What was that?"
"Sorry to surprise you dear, I forgot the final lesson, learn to reject softly so you don't get pounced. Trust me, it's important to let everyone know you are not gonna just take every skirt in your field of vision, for their and YOUR sake."
"I wouldn't have gone that far." He defended himself.
"And THAT is why it will be for your sake, if you work a mare up too much they could have some difficulties dealing with rejection. But don't worry about how you handle yourself tonight I'm sure you will get the hang of it." She yawns in exhaustion. "For now, it's growing late, so we should head home now."
He nods and stands up catching Rarity who trips and almost falls as she was feeling a bit tipsy at the moment. "Thank you dear, I might have drank a bit more than I should have." She confessed with some embarrassment.
"Say no more" Mark nods and before she could say anything he picked her up bridal style and carried her to the exit.
"What?! No Mark, that is not what I mean, I can walk perfectly fine!" She tells in embarrassment from being carried like that.
"Ah come on Rares, you two look adorable." Vinyl jokes "Let him spoil you a little, I can take your place if you don't like it." She wiggles her eyebrows at the two and Rarity just hugs his frame in defiance. "On second thought I wouldn't mind some attention, thank you Marky."
"Sure." He can't help but chuckle at her antics as he carried her home like that, luckily the streets were empty so no one saw the display, and soon they both arrived at Carousel Boutique.
"Here you go, safe and sound."
Rarity giggles a little as he gently places her down. "My hero, I must say this is the first time I have been carried across town like that, a lady could get used to it." She tells Mark with a wink as she fishes for her keys.
"I imagine you might like it, so will you be fine from here on out?"
"But Mark, why so attentive? Aren't you gonna help me change into my nightgown next?" She tease him a little making him chuckle
"Ok message received, I will tone it down with the help."
They share a small laugh as she grabs her kiss and opens the door to her house. "For what it was worth, even with the mistakes and the rocky start, tonight was really fun."
"Yeah I agree, hope we can repeat it someday, not as a lesson but well just hanging out and dancing. Oh and don't worry about the clothes, once I clean them up I will bring them..."
"Keep them, you earned it." Rarity dismissed his concern. "Besides you look radiant with them, and I will not take no for an answer."
"Well if you insist." He goes and gives her a hug. "Thanks for a lovely evening Rarity."
"My pleasure...Mark you are not putting a bag of bits in my purse right?"
"Of course not" He tells with a chuckle, putting a small check he made beforehand.
"Good, because I wouldn't take your money for the clothes either, consider them as your one wardrobe friend discount."
"Understood" They break apart and look at each other's eyes. "I had a blast too, goodnight Mark." Rarity then surprises the human when she plants a short yet passionate kiss on his lips before going inside and closing the door. Leaving the human confused, and not even sure if she knew what she did." |
Equestria Handyman | Silent First Impression (Edited By Naga Shark) | "Finding topics to talk about isn't exactly quantum magic science, partner." AJ says as she and Mark keep working on her farm, he is filling for Big Mac while the red farmer was busy on a date with his herd. Applejack found the opportunity more than convenient to buck two trees with one kick and give him a lesson in honesty and topics to talk about during blind dates.
Cleaning some of the sweat from her forehead she picks up a barrel of apples before turning around as Mark picks up a barrel of his own. "Just keep things casual, and common, listen to what she wants to say, show some interest and do the same, if the mare is decent she will repay the favour."
"Got it, and what if things go quiet because neither know what to talk about?"
"Then I suggest you change topics a bit because, best case she is getting bored, worse case things are getting tense and awkward." Applejack warns him as they load the final barrel into a cart ready for the market. "By that point it would be better to just call it a day or night and go your separate ways. Because that date is officially dead if neither of you can keep a good conversation flowing."
"So no pressure then." Mark replied sarcastically and raised an eyebrow at Applejack.
"Hey I'm just telling you, it's better to end a date from the root, instead of just forcing it to keep going."
"Know by experience?"
"Eeyup, not my best moments, especially when my stubbornness refuses to see when things are done." She laments with a sad smile and chuckle. "But well, eventually it got through my thick noggin and my streak of disaster dates ended when I just went with the flow. Not trying to just agree to anything my date was into. So I'm telling you, it is better that way, things go quiet, just walk away. It will make things easier for the both of you."
AJ insists, and after Mark nods, they go to the front of the cart and start pushing it toward the market. Before Twilight intercepts them as she was on her way to the farm.
"Howdy Twilight." Applejack waves at her
"Hi Applejack, hi Mark." She waved back but looked a bit worried.
"Something the matter, partner?" AJ ask with a raise eyebrow
"Well kind of, didn't you notice?"
Much to the utter surprise of the human he saw the silhouette of her cutie mark flickering under the layers of clothes.
"Ah shoot." Looking to his left his surprise continues when he notices the same happening to Applejack as she stares at her own flank.
"Uh what is happening?"
Mark questions looking between the two mares.
"Oh that's right, this is the first time you have seen this happening, right Sugarcube?" AJ looks at him. "Don't worry this isn't something serious, it just means both Twilight and I have a friendship mission to attend ta."
"A friendship...mission?"
"We will explain on the way, for now we have to hurry."
"And what about the apples?" Mark point behind him
"A pony feathers! I forgot, and Big Mac is munching with Cheerilee and Sugar Belle by now." AJ starts to think what to do as Mark nods and put his hand over her shoulder.
"Just go, I will cover for you."
"Wow really?"
"This seems important and by now the only thing remaining is selling this. Don't worry I got you covered AJ." He gives her a thumbs up. Causing her to smile in gratitude. "You're the best sugarcube I will make it up to ya later."
She lets go of the cart and follows Twilight. "Let go, partner, let's see what is going on."
The Princess follows behind as she looks at Mark "Oh! Also Mark, Cadence asked me to ask you to please call her as soon as you can! She found your first blind date."
"Wasn't Blue the first?" He calls back, but by then both mares were gone, so he shrugged and decided to just find out what Cadence had in store for him after finish covering for Applejack.
To his luck Applebloom was attending the stand in the market so once he delivered the apples, she pretty much took over without much of a problem giving him time to have a small break to speak with Cadence over the phone.
"Hello?"
"Ma..." Cadence tried to speak but had to pause and cough repeatedly before continuing with a very raspy voice "Mark so glad to see you call."
"Cadence? What is the matter? Why is your voice sounding so raspy? Did you and Shining go at it like rabbits and you got carried away with a blowjob?"
"We did, and I attended to him, yeah. But that is not what happened. I simply woke up with a strong cold." she replied before coughing again.
"Aha" He replied, not believing her for one second but completely sure he wanted to know the truth."Well make sure to drink lots of water and rest, go a bit slow with Shining ok? The poor stallion must be a skeleton by now."
"Oh don't worry, he is in way better shape than I currently am." She replies dismissively. "But enough about me, that is not why I asked you to call, this is about your promise to go on some blind dates."
"Speaking of which, how is Ember doing?" He asks with some concern in his voice."I was a bit mad when I figured out she was lying, and might have gone a bit overboard."
"You think?" Cadence reproached, barely holding the anger in her voice.
"Cadence?"
Sighs for a moment. "She is fine, sore and not particularly fond of sitting at the moment but fine. Mark I'm sorry for lying, I really am but you had to understand, this is the Dragon Lord we are talking about here. She is working so hard to put dragons in a better light, revealing that she partakes in well...dancing. Might question her role as the leader. So we needed to keep the secret."
"I understand, that is why I promised her that I would not tell a soul."
"Thank you."
"I'm mostly mad at Pink now, for ditching her like that and thinking she could fool me by sending her twin."
"She...probably had her reasons." Cadence reasoned with. "Pink can be a bit proud like that."
"Yeah I figured, but well her loss, and Aphid can have so many bragging rights over her twin now." He replies in a more cheerful tune.
Oh Marky, if only you knew.
Cadence giggles in confidence before continuing, convinced she got away with at least that secret. "Anyway, back to what I was saying. I think I found a perfect mare for you that could be great for your herd!"
"Nothing is set in stone Cadence. Milky and I agreed to keep things casual."
"Sure sure but this one I bet you two would love! She is like Fluttershy, shy collective, kind oh and Mark...her species also produce milk." She adds the final part with a whisper putting him on alert.
"W...what would I care..."
"Mark don't, don't even try to deny it. I saw what happened with Daisy, and Ember, fill the blanks"
He sighs in defeat "Thank you, but for the record that is not a must...I just simply...think it's an added bonus." He mentioned with a small blush "Hey wait a moment here! Did Ember tell you? Ember? She actually told you in detail what we did and I said?"
"Well sure we have gotten a bit closer ever since she decided to ask my help on not being aggressive all the time."
"Ah."
"Anyway, back to your date."
"She isn't another Princess right?"
"No of course not, I have more friends outside royalty, she is just the leader of the Kirin's."
"What now?" He asks, not completely sure if he has ever seen her species before.
"You will see, she is so sweet and kind. Even wanting to have this date to improve the image of her race. And like you are fairly new to the game of dating so you would have tons to talk about."
"I see, that is interesting and well, that takes away some of the pressure. Hey wait a moment did you say she is the leader of her species?"
"Already have the reservations ready for a restaurant in Canterlot and prepared a room for you two in a special hotel! Better be there at 8 sharp."
"Cadence!" He reproaches her from ignoring him now and thrust so much on him out of the blue.
"No need to thank me! You will love it, oh and Shining wanted to give you a good luck charm for your date. To help with the nerves."
"Cadence don't you dare ignore..."
"Ok! Have fun, talk to you later bye!" And with that she hung up, but not before hearing a low growl of anger coming from the other line that made her shiver and involuntarily clench her buttcheeks.
He is mad now but once they have their first baby I'm sure he will thank me.
She convinces herself while putting the scroll away adjusting her position on her donut wincing slightly and groaning herself.
Ember I swear, don't know how, don't know when, but I'm so gonna get you for this.
Later that evening
After receiving Shining Armor good luck charm, and tell both Fluttershy and Milky where he was going, the latter throw the phone, Mark resign to his situation and go meet his dated on the Tasty Treat, a fairly famous and well know restaurant of spices that according to Rarity and Pinkie Pie had some of the most delicious food Canterlot had to offer, he was currently wearing the ensemble Rarity gave him the night before growing to like how it looks on him, and how the new change a small golden necklace with a shield of arms with 2 swords trapped on a ring completed the whole assembled.
Luckily his date seems to have come early, as even if he didn't know what a Kirin looks like. Spotting the leader of their race was more than easy.
In the front of the restaurant was a stunningly beautiful lady with attractions Mark has never seen before. At first glance he thought it was a pony but her horn was branch-like, long, thick and forked at the tip in a deep red with a swirl of pale pink, giving away how that was far from the truth, as more and more details appeared as he got closer. Her fur was an almost dusty cream grey. Her eyes are a lovely shade of red. As he looks to her eyes he notices a simple row of scales from the bridge of her muzzle fading into her sea green and pale turquoise striped almost lion like mane. She had a very long, whip-like tail the same color as her fur, with a fringe of hair like her mane getting longer towards the tip. However, yet another difference was that her hooves were split. Like a deer or goat.
Overall the kirin leader was in a word, the definition of exotic, and beautiful and watching her for the first time enticed him to get to know this new and mysterious lady in front of him.
She was wearing a rather simple ensemble of a sleeveless blouse that hugged pretty well to her noticeably large breast, not as big as Fluttershy or Milky but definitely getting very close, and her long green skirt allows some modesty to her appearance while also showing some of her lean legs and like her shirt hugged her pretty close at her most incredible asset, a very enticing and wide set of birthing hips that most likely promised to hide a pretty promising flank to match and be admired.
Usually Mark wasn't all that interested in the flanks of a mare but looking at her, he sure was starting to see the appeal.
Oh mama, I can almost hear the old Sir Mix-A-Lot song.
Snapping from his gawking, and with a shake of his head he approached the Kirin. Who, once noticing him, did the same.
"Mark the human?" She asks in a low, almost whispered voice, that only serves to remind him of Fluttershy and smiles at her. "Nice to meet you, miss..."
"Rain Shine" She smiles back and they share a bow "Most apologies right away."
"For what?"
"I...can't talk much." She confesses with a sorrowful expression keeping her eyes down. "So long, my race has been in silence, talking normally it...kind of hard. Please don't leave if I...don't respond much."
She tries to elaborate in a semi broken speech pattern. Looking at the human with pleading eyes. He could tell she was struggling even just saying this much, terrified that just because of her situation she might scare him away and ruin this.
Just like Cadence said, in a way she and him were very similar, both fish out of water trying their best to fit in, and find a special someone to share the joys and hardships of life."
With a caring smile and a nod he grabbed her hand, surprising her. "It's ok, Rain Shine was it?"
She nods once with a smile.
"Ms. Rain Shine you don't need to worry about anything, Cadence didn't tell me about your situation but I understand how hard, and even scary entering unknown territory can be. I will try my best to keep the conversation mostly limited to yes and no questions. Would that help?"
"Yes" She nods once more in gratitude. "Thanks."
"Don't worry, miss. I'm with you. This is my first time trying to court a beautiful kirin such as yourself, so it would be best, if we only try to relax and not add much pressure to anything right?"
She blushes at the compliment a little but then smiles and nods again. "Yes."
Entering the restaurant they took care of the orders, with Mark trying to help as best as he could with any specifics she might like and telling a waitress with long purple mane Rain's situation, which thankfully she understood and manage to take her order when she points at the specific plate on the menu.
After that while waiting for their food, they engaged in some mild conversation where Mark gladly talked about his past first before she did the same, with him trying to help her out with guesses and assumptions so she could fill with yes and no.
It started slow but when the waitress came back with a black tea and a bottle of honey and one of lemon juice on the house for poor Rain. It surprisingly improved her throat and she slowly but surely started to find more of her voice.
"...Then, after rebuilding our homes, we came to the conclusion that our emotions could be dangerous if we got too angry, and came to the unanimous decision of just staying quiet, for a thou...a very long time ago."
"Wow, that is huge, I mean to keep your society functioning without uttering a single pep, how did you deal with the silence?"
"It was...hard." She admits looking away. "But our shame and fear of what could happen if we spoke kept us going. At some point, I suppose we accepted it...but now that Autumn showed us what we were missing. I realized how much we needed it."
She smiled and closed her eyes to enjoy the small music playing in the restaurant. "The melodies of the musical instrument, the joy of singing, the filling, the harmony of songs, by the first Kirin, how did I manage to live without it?" she questions herself by remembering.
"Did you ever sing anything?"
She confesses with a nod. "A little, a very long time ago, it was one of my hobbies." She smiles in nostalgia while holding her cup. "I may like to do so once again."
"Well, what would you say if I told you this could be your chance?"
"Oh?" She look at him with curiosity as he point at the back of the restaurant were they were setting a stage.
"Looks like this place offers karaoke."
"Kara...oke?" she repeated, not sure what he was referring to.
"It is basically a special spot for clients to pay to have a turn singing something. A sing along or maybe even something original if they want, wanna give it a try?"
"Oh no I couldn't, I don't think I'm ready for..."
Mark grabs her hand and looks her in the eyes with the same warmth and caring one he has given since the start of the date. "Please Rain, you lived an eternity in fear of your own voice. Your throat is sounding much better, won't you at least give it a try? Just one small little soft song?"
She thinks it over before finally smiling and nods. "You are right, I've been afraid more than long enough."
She says with determination, as they go and ask for a turn, with Rain requesting a solo wanting to sing to him in particular. Taken aback and with a blush forming at how she was looking at Mark only nod and sat in the middle of the room as she did some warm ups before starting
(don't own the right of this song)
Love, love is a verb
Love is a doing word
Feathers on my breath
With wide eyes everyone in the restaurant was rendered speechless as with closed eyes Rain Shine let herself go with the song and captivated everyone with her angelical song bringing more curious bystanders into the place like a siren's call.
Gentle impulsion
Shakes me, makes me lighter
Feathers on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Feathers on my breath
Opening her eyes she smiles when looking at Mark staring at her with complete adoration and she could feel her heart flutter as she continued to sing with her soul.
Night, night after day
Black flowers blossom
Feathers on my breath
Black flowers blossom
Feathers on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Feathers on my
Getting closer to Mark she playfully tickles his nose with her tail before going and continuing to sing around the other clients and even the waitress and chef as everyone stopped what they were doing to listen to her performance.
Water is my eye
Most faithful mirror
Feathers on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Of a confession
Feathers on my breath
Most faithful mirror
Feathers on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Feathers on my breath
You're stumbling in the dark
You're stumbling in the dark
Gracing her hand against his cheek she keeps looking at Mark lovingly as she returns to the stage and returned the mic to the waitress as everyone cheers and gives applause with a standing ovation managing some heat to form in her cheeks as she scratches the back of her head from the embarrassment "Thank you." She bows to the audience before returning to Mark, and grabbing his hand helps him stand up.
"And thank you Mark Star, for reminding an old Queen of a passion and love she thought she had long forgotten." She surprises him with a small peck on the cheek as the entire place cheers at the sign of affection, while Mark becomes the new target of embarrassment with a flustered face.
Later that night
Mark led Rain to the hotel discovering that Cadence not only reserved a five star for Rain to stay, she also took the liberty to choose the nuptial room.
Oh hardy har har Cadence! So hilarious!
Mark grumbles under his breath as the Queen of the Kirins looks around confused, and surprised at the room landing on the heart-shaped bed.
"Oh my."
"I swear I had nothing to do with this Rain." Mark defends himself with a deep blush. "This has Princess Cadence's writing all over the place. I in no way was expecting the night to turn like this."
After recovering from the surprise she smiles and nods. "I believe you." Approaching him she grabs his hand. "Princess Cadence indeed can get carried away when it comes to romance, she kept saying how you would 'make me see the stars' as she put it." Rain says with a roll of the eyes as they both share a laugh.
"I swear, there is a thin line between love and lust, that she keeps jumping back and forth across isn't there?"
"Indeed she does." Rain nods and lets go of his hand. "For what it's worth, at the very least, I say you earned a small prize."
Her eyes turned half lidded and she got closer to him, as his eyes widened in realization. "Wait Rain there is something you should know before...MPH" It was too late as the kirin surprised him with a short yet passionate kiss that lingers for a moment before her eyes turn to curiosity and she intensifies said kiss, hugging and getting him closer until they finally broke apart with a string of saliva still connecting them.
"What just happened?" She looks happy but with a raised eyebrow.
"It's...kind of like a power of mine, if I get intimate I kind of know how to please a mare. Like really well."
"Really now?" Her surprise kept increasing as well as her grin.
"Know that I don't plan to do anything you don't want, we can end the night right here if you still wish."
They broke the hug and Mark was ready to leave when Rain grabbed his wrist and hugged him from behind, he now noticed how perky her breast had become. "Woah there, what is the hurry? The Princess went to the trouble of offering us such a cute room for ourselves. Why not take advantage of it, besides."
She gets closer to his ear. "There is something else I have been missing for a VERY long time."
Mark freezes and gulps when he hears the sounds of a zipper followed by the image of her skirt in front of him as she had used her skillful tail to lift it in the air.
"Interested Mr. Star?"
She remains behind him as he hears her getting rid of the shirt next with her magic and nibbles his earlobe. "The door is right in front of you, so you choose, walk away...or turn around." She offers an out, licking the side of his ear to appeal more to the offer.
Remembering how he felt the first time he laid eyes on this exotic lady, the hunter in him awoke and was starting to feel intrigued to capture this new target.
"I should warn you, if I start. I can't stop not until my mate is completely satisfied."
"More than fine with me." Rain replies with a giggle.
"Then that is all I wanted to hear." He smiles and closes the door, starting to unbutton his shirt and vest before turning around to absorb the image of her body and the lingerie she was wearing. A sheer white lacy, and frilly pair of bra and boy cut panties that hugged her hips like a second skin. Upon her legs on her left thigh was a garter belt attached to a pair of white stockings.
While that happened Shining Armor was busy at work inspecting the female section of the barracks with a critical eye, before looking at said guardsmares with disappointment. "Is this a joke?"
He asks sarcastically at them as they recoil. "Is this a joke?!" He repeated, making them stand to attention. "Sir no sir!"
"Damn straight it isn't! This is by far the filthiest barracks I have ever seen, you seem to have mistaken this place as your personal closet, unpolished armor, food lingering everywhere and what is this?" He goes and grabs a pair of black panties that were more of a thong for all to see. "Underwear! Seriously! You don't even have the decency of putting your civvy clothes away, to which one of you does this belong?"
"That would be mine sir!" A shy crystal mare with a long goldilocks style mane in spirals replies. "I have no words, seeing such disgrace to the uniform do you know how...ah!" how much...ah!" Shining had to stop himself while clenching the underwear for dear life. "...how disappointing this is!" He finally yells with a dark red face, getting confused when said mare rather than answer just looks down with an equally red face.
And to his horror saw he was also standing to attention.
"By Celestia." Another guardmare says in shock and happiness. "The stories were true! He is hung."
Completely exposed, he suddenly recalled an early conversation he had with his wife.
"Thank you so much Candy, I will make it up to you I promise!" Shining replies eagerly, putting an exact copy of Mark necklace on himself.
"Don't mention it dear, have as much fun as you want. Just know one little issue."
"Oh?"
"As much as I would LOVE to take care of you, my little flower..." She looked down at the ice pack on her crotch "...still needs a bit of time to recover, so I already informed the staff and royal guard of something I had planned. You have my permission."
"Permission? For what?"
"Oh you will see..." She says with a mischievous smile. "Let's just say, I gave part of the guards and regular staff the day off just. For. you, my cute little hubby, and know that I'm so moved you want to share my pain dear."
Understanding what was happening and while holding his stomach he notices how now five very hungry looking guardsmares were staring at him. "Are you sure it's ok?" One asks, still unsure.
"The Princess herself told us that today was fine, that we would have to be her boobs and crotch." Another mare mentions. "This is for the Empire too."
"For the Empire!" The one with the golden mane replies, smirking at the prince. "You really love my underwear sir?"
He gulps when she starts to strip. "I'm actually wearing a prettier one now, want to see?" She pulls down her pants and Shining has speechells to see even thinner panties hiding nothing of her shaved pussy who was now winking at him. Not only that but her companions seem to be having the same thought as they start to toss their clothes away.
What did I get myself into?
The Prince can only ponder as he feels the need to open his mouth. At the moment Mark was sharing a long tongue filled kiss with Rain slowly guiding the two to the bed, as he tossed his shirts away before laying her down gently.
Licking his lips in anticipation causing her to giggle, as he lay next to her and grabs a hold of her hair, while continuing to kiss her, enjoying the sensation between his fingers. Unlike a mare, her mane felt more smooth, almost like he was feeling silk running through his fingers, making him hum in delight as he continued to explore her tongue before flinching and breaking the kiss to look down.
At some point her skillful tail wasn't done playing around, and while they were busy making out she took the opportunity to guide it toward his pants and slip past his boxers to wrap around his hard dick.
"Better take those off too big boy, because I'm not stopping." Rain half warns and winks at him as her tail starts to move, giving him a tail job, tickling the tip with the edge of her tail, and proving that she wasn't playing around.
Receiving the message he reluctantly let go of her mane and set to desperately taking his pants and boxers off as she proceeded to nibble and lick his neck getting more and more aroused by the second judging by the wet spots forming on her panties, even assisting once the zipper was off and toss the final piece of clothes away.
"Oh yeah, that is the stuff." Rain comments admiring his dick with hungry eyes. "I had tools before, my fingers and of course an active imagination from time to time, but nothing can compare to the real deal." She gave his dick a small tug. "Now let us see how well it..."
To her surprise Mark stops her from continuing by grabbing her tail and giving a yank of his own as he glares at her. "I'm sorry Queen, but when I dance, I lead."
Pressing his index and middle finger against the fabric of her panties he made her jump and moan with a gasp as he smiled at her. "And now I must return the favor."
"Yes, take them off! I want to feel them!" she demands in excitement but rather than comply he keeps rubbing his fingers together adding to the sensation in her pussy, even though the fabric was there, he seems to know what he was doing, and was slowly cursing herself for putting underwear on in the first place.
"And you will, in due time, for now, no need to rush things up, if it really has been that long..." he starts to kiss her neck "...you would want..." He reaches her collarbone. "...to savour" his other hand ventures farther to the base of her tail and starts to play and rubs at her dock, teasing her, and making her feel sparks when the edge of his fingers starts to grace her black cherry, with every pinch and press. "...every moment" He snickers mischievously, planting his face in between her breasts and starts to give them a good lick and move around her bra, making sure to treat each boob and even lick the nipples against the fabric. Even taking the liberty of motorboating them on occasion to add the sensation, and live out a small fantasy.
Each tease, move and lick just drove her crazy, and moaning louder and louder, until with closing of her eyes she couldn't take it anymore.
"Mark if you don't take them off, I'm gonna rip them off and tackle you right now!" She warns him with a glare making him chuckle and leave her tail to grab hold of her back, lifting her chest just so he could unhook and yank away the bra in one move, surprising her for a second as he admires her beautiful teats with dark cream colored nipples before going south and grab hold of her flanks and lift them briefly as he smirk at her and pulls them down with one move too.
"Yes!" she exclaim in happiness feeling release at last as Mark keeps his hands firmly grasping her succulent ass as he brings it closer, her hidden treasure admiring a new cute novelty of the kirin, like in her face her pussy looks like to had some sort of scales, running down in a straight line splitting in half to show a string of a bushy turquoise pubes, complete wet and splitting too to show her pulsating flower.
"Please don't...don't stare so much" The voice of Rain snaps him from his surprise and looking up he saw her with a mortified expression looking away from him. "I know it's a bit different from a regular mare, but that is how it looks for a kirin. I hope it's not that disTRAC..." She can't even finish that sentence as Mark was hard at work giving her other lips a slow passionate kiss before looking back at her.
"It's beautiful." He answers with a caring smile. Before going back to work and starting to eat her out fully.
"Now flustered she smiles at him, and tries to grab hold of his face only to be forced to grab the bed sheets with force instead and arc her back while moaning.
"Y...you really think...AH...think so?...isn't...it...weird? At all..." Rather than answer he spelled his reply with a long N-O.
"I...I'm so...so happy! I...oh yes!...yes! Keep going...keep eating me up!...Keep eating this delicious Kirin Pussy!" She screams in ecstasy as her tail goes crazy before coming up with an idea and resumes with her tailjob on Mark pennis surprising him momentarily but accepting the challenge and intensifying his administration of tongue to flower.
The flavour was certainly different, where when most of the mares he had eaten they mostly had a creamy strong vanilla flavour, she seemed to have a more dry almost bakery one. He wasn't completely sure but the more he licked the more he felt like he was licking a very moist sweet bread. Which only encourages him to eat faster and harder. Until finally both of their orgasms hit and with his face buried, he unleashes his first load on her back and tail, while she splatters his face with her mare nectar. Forcing him to stand back and let her go as they ride the afterglow looking at one another with hunger.
"Oh wow, that felt so good." Rain brings her tail closer to her, and licks the excess cum he had released taking a long lick of it before swallowing it. "You are quite the expert in the art of cunnilingus, dear."
She chuckles on how her action left him cold and drooling as she sat down and spread her legs using two fingers to spread her pussy apart. "But now I question, if that is your only area of expertise"
The comments made him snap to reality, as she issued him to come closer with a crooking finger and sultry eyes. "Come here Mark Star, show me how well your rod can please a Queen."
Her eyes suddenly wide and she felt a tremor going through her spine the moment Mark growls and exhales a small fog from his mouth, before pouncing, and bringing her to her back once more. "I told you, Queen." He tells her with a grunt and a predatory smile. "I lead!" In a yell he bring his two fingers down and with a hook immediately set to work finding and playing with her G-Spot while his palm absolutely terrorised her little pearl, making her eyes roll back from the sudden intrusion, yet he wasn't done with her as he grab her face and got closer to her ear. "And now I'm getting thirsty." He kisses her cheek briefly, before moving down. "So sit back and enjoy, I'm gonna make it worth it."
Nibbling and kissing her neck he continues to move until finally he found his objective on her right orb as his free hand cup the other breast and start pinking and moving around, playing with her nipple as with the other he open his mouth to suck...hard biting down lightly in order for the milk to spray like a geyser right into his mouth as he enjoys the exquisite flavour of a bagel, a very sweet one filled with purple passion fruit jam.
"Oh sweet merciful gods! Don't stop! Don't stop Mark! Keep drinking! Ah...EH Oh......hohoh! Keep fingeringing, keep drinking me, drink to your heart's content! Whatever you do, DON'T STOP!"
She practically begs as she was holding his head for dear life, as her eyes had rolled back completely. She was losing her mind over his assault.
Much to the chagrin of a certain captain who after somehow managing to please four of his guards leaving them with giggling faces he made his way to the kitchen trying to calm down and remove the necklace yet he finds it impossible as it didn't budge, thanks to a small additional enchantment in place.
'What is the matter dear? Don't you want to keep feeling one of Mark's adventures?' The voice of Cadence echoes inside his mind.
'Candy what did you do? Why can't I take the necklace off?'
'I'm so sorry sweetie, I really am, but as much as I secretly enjoy it, I did ask you to take it off for a reason.' She reminded him of how she was practically begging him to remove the necklace.
'I'm sorry! I should have listened, please take it off. I swear I will accept any other punishment!' He pleaded to his wife.
'Don't be, in the end I actually have to thank you. I would have never been with another stallion other than you, so experience what Aphid did...well I no longer would have to think about it ever again'
'So you will take it off?'
He could her giggle 'Nope, but I will help you enjoyed as much as I did'
His blood froze when the kitchen doors opened and from it. They walk 3 pairs of twin mares, all dressed very provocatively with a sexy maid, chef and nurse outfits. The poor captain could feel all of his blood going south immediately.
'Nothing but the best for my stud, love you. Have fun!'
Shining was starting to have mixed feelings between terror, and aroused as the mares made their way toward him and he stopped struggling with the necklace, accepting his fate he simply decided to close his eyes and become Mark's puppet as he stood up and started drinking with gusto.
As Rain's second orgasm comes closer she wrap her tail around Mark leg and hug him closer as her walls clamp around his fingers, their movements difficult until finally while strangely holding the note of Major third, fifth as she musically screamed her approval drenching his hand completely and leaving his face cover in milk as he finally let go of her and lick his lips and fingers with a smirk.
"Delicious." He whispers, making Rain blush while panting trying to recover from his second assault.
"Please." She extended her legs one more time, closing her eyes and arching her head back. "I need it, let me feel it, please fill me completely." She quivered begging, making the human feel a touch of pity for the poor Queen and making him want to fulfill her wish.
"You must be sensitive by now." He smiles and lines the tip of his dick with her entrance. "So I will start slow and steady, and then we will move faster."
She nods eagerly and as promise he spread her walls apart before starting to insert himself in her with a sloshy wet sound as the juices of her previous orgasm let him enter her with ease, until he found resistance in the form of a wall of her cervix causing him to pause until a her tail wrap around his waist and guides him further finish the job as she exclaim a long low moan of approval with fluttering eyes.
"Oh yes...your dick is way better than anything else I have ever had, he fits just like a glove in my pussy. Ah...I don't want this sensation to ever end."
Mark couldn't help but to laugh a little at the compliment, stopping briefly to hold her hand and look her in the eyes with passion as she looked at him with the same eyes. Sharing a kiss and after she nods he start to slowly work on her pussy thrusting in and out minding not not to pierce too much of her cervix and then gradually building up speed as she meets him halfway and their hips start to sway, not caring how he keeps reaching further inside her walls.
Soon moans encompass each trust and just like before rather than a scream they come across as musical notes, as Rain seems to be in the middle of a singing practice not saying anything in particular and just exchanging tones over and over. Making Mark chuckle at how adorable she sounded and sharing another brief kiss as the momentum kept building until he started to fill his dick throbbing again indicating the arrival of another orgasm, something that she seems to be sharing as she kept her eyes closed and was holding on to him for dear life.
"Ah...i...inside! Please inside...it's...a safe day today!...you can cum in me...remind me how it feels to have your womb filled!" She pleads and Mark nods doubling his efforts and pounding her even harder until eventually it was too much and he unload another shot as she clamps down on his road like a vice while cumming as well, but unlike the other times this seemed different as sparks start to fly all over her body and her skin was turning black for some reason. Before Mark could realize what was going on. Her moan became distorted and opening her eyes her pupils were enveloped in a purple light as her entire body simply combusted into an intense pink flames.
From the shock he tried to back away but her walls had a strong grip on him, and he could only hope for the best as she kept cumming strongly, fortunately after a couple of seconds he found solace in noticing how the flames weren't burning him or the bed for that matter.
What the...? So it's not only provoked by anger? Oh boy dating for a kirin is harder than I thought, and wait, since when was I fireproof? Unless...CADENCE you could have warned me about this!"
He growled in anger, piecing together what was going on as he waited for Rain to calm down, while something completely different was happening in the crystal empire, as with a feral growl Shining eyes seemed to have turned white and he started to ram at the current mare inside her with complete abandon, a pink flame igniting on his form, surprising the mares and licking their lips thinking the Prince found his second wind.
The moment her vice grip lessened enough Mark was able to release himself from her, confusing the poor Kirin who looked back, only to discover the state of her body and scream in horror.
"No! Mark don't come closer! I'm gonna burn you!" She screams, crawling away from the human as fast as she can, grabbing the blankets in an attempt to put out the flames on her body.
"Rain! Rain! It's ok!" Mark goes to her and tries to calm her down.
"No it is not! I ignited even for this! My race is doomed! We are just living firecrackers..."
"Rain, look! I'm ok!" He grabs her shoulders and makes her look at him showing his arm before pressing it against the center of her chest. "Look, it's not burning me." He demonstrates shocking the Nirik as she looks at the extremity being licked by the flames, some even lingering but not burning his flesh. Not even his hair was burned.
"They are not hurting you." She whispers in astonishment, grabbing the hand and pulling it closer to admire the flames "They are pink and they are not hurting you! It's not burning, you are fine!" She chuckles with a teary eye nuzzling his hand "I'm not hurting you, you are fine." Mark shares her laugh until realizing she starts kissing and then sucking each finger, her vision turning sultry.
"You are fine, they are fine...I feel...fine." She stops to look at him once more still with his middle finger in between her big, full, lush lips.
Slowly pulling the finger away with a wet pop, they keep staring at one another, before Mark tackles her into bed kissing her more aggressively as she caresses his back with her tail before turning around and breaking the kiss "I want to taste it! I want to taste that glorious dick of yours!" She yells slightly deranged before turning around giving him a front row view of her ignited pussy as she goes to work and puts her mouth on his dick starting to suckle with abandon, making him feel like if two tiny pillows were smashed on his dick as in curiosity he grab hold of her massive ass and guide it down so he could give her new marehood another kiss discovering the glazed bread has been added a small heat to it, making it taste like it just came out of the oven.
His treatment only serves to encourage her to suck harder as he goes and bring his hand down hard on one of her buttchecks causing it to ripple and raise the flames briefly. Surprised by the discovery Mark turns mischievous and starts to use her ass as a drum making her moan on his dick and keep raising the flames up and down like he was throwing wood into a campfire.
"Keep it steady!" Cadence orders her guards as she focuses on Shining's necklace as he tries to break free from the magic bubble she and the other unicorn guards were doing all that they could to hold the beast. Scattered around the squad were the victims of the mad prince who were knocked out from their session and could only say giggling incoherence as they try to recover the sensation in their legs.
Shining since then becoming more muscular and lustful chasing after any mare he could find until eventually Cadence stops him in his tracks.
'Ok so Nirik's can also appear if very aroused? Oh Celestia and this is just the sensation of feeling the flames, what did I unleash on Mark. He is probably blind in lust and pain right now!'
She ponders in worry, wanting to help but unable to do so, as at the time all of her staff and herself had to put their whole attention on Shining to prevent him from escaping and leaving every mare in the Empire in wheelchairs!
Growling like an animal Rain grins as Mark has her against the wall of the bed as he grins and growls holding and spreading her legs apart as he thrusts over and over against her cervix as fast as he could while she puts his face between her breast and caresses the back of his head as he sucks with gusto the warm, straight of the oven pastry that was her glorious milk, pulling with his teeth at the nipple on occasion before resuming his work.
"Drink...Drink! Let us drink from each other!" Rain kept exclaiming in euphoria, as her pussy too was milking Mark's dick for everything that it was worth as their session kept growing in intensity, as they kept changing positions, as her flames kept going up and down.
Grabbing hold of her ass he lifts them both into the air as he start to fuck her sitting down. "Oh...oh! You are strong! You weren't lying! Yeah, you are so strong! I wouldn't be able to stop you even if I wanted! Ah...if you wished you could grab me and gobble me up! Couldn't you!" Rain keeps screaming/singing, her gasps and moans making sweet music for Mark to enjoy and he licks her neck and barely holds himself from biting down. As much as he was in trance she wasn't his kitten, and didn't think she would like so much primal affection. Nonetheless the image of Fluttershy kept him going and renewed his vigor as he kept drilling his dick into her increasingly wet pussy. As yet another orgams arrived. Neither of them seem to want to slow down.
"God I love your ass." Mark confesses admiring the two big orbs while taking her doggy style with his hands on her hips.
"You like my flanks?"
"Yes."
"You really adore them don't you? You can't take your eyes off of my beautiful huge ass can you?!"
"Yes!"
"Ah...ah touch them...grab them! Give them a good slap!" Complying he does just that, getting more adventurous and playing with her tail a little before using a finger, and inserts, while continued pounding her like there was no tomorrow, finally stopping briefly to claim her final hole once he releases yet another load in her, long ago both of them lost count by the fifth or sixth orgasm and just decided to keep going since their energy didn't seem to be slowing down in the slightest.
Lining his road to his final prize he didn't meet too much resistance and soon finally peaked in time for her to exclaim an opera worthy glass shattering moan with her tongue loose. "By all the heavens YEAH! Fuck me! Fuck my ass, just keep fucking me like the dirty naughty Kirin Queen that I am! Make me remember! Ensure I never forget the sensation of your glorious dick! Lets keep fucking for all eternity Mark! You beast! You glorious king of the sheets! Ah...Ah...You...You are the royal Lover!" She keep screaming as he grab her hair and pull it so he could hold her chin and take her for one aggressive kiss as their tongues fight for dominance, as he use his free hand to grope and play with her left breast.
With growls and yells they keep fucking the night away enjoying each others flesh as the room was bathed in a strong pink flame which created an unusual yet beautiful contrast in the hallway as the pink light could be seen by any employed walking by.
Finally covered in their sweat and juice both human and kirin lay on the bed hugging each other for dear life, with Rain coming back to normal acting as the big spoon due to her being as tall as Celestia and cuddling Mark who rests his head comfortably between her soft boobs.
The next morning
With a groan Shining Armor weakly lifts his arm trying to block the morning light.
"Princess, he is awake." Someone shouts, and before he could get what happened, Cadence appeared beside him.
"Shining, talk to me, how are you feeling?"
"Cadence" He groaned again "I feel like I wrestled a yak with my hip." He answered in pain slowly sitting down "What happened?"
"Oh Shining I'm so sorry I really underestimated what a Kirin could have been capable of."
"Capable off? Cadence, really what happened last night?"
"Well." She turns so he could see how they both were in the kitchen and Shining was laying on a mattress on the floor but what was more surprising was how the place was utterly destroyed.
"Let's just say we are gonna need to do some remodeling in the castle."
"Did I do that?"
"And would have done much worse if we hadn't stopped you." She giggles, hugging him again. "There is a beast in you like no other, sweetie."
Her praises only manage to confuse him even more.
"What in the name of Celestia's bush did I do last night?!"
"A better question would be WHO you didn't do sweetie." Cadence replies, kissing his nose. "Don't worry I will explain everything once the doctor checks that there is no injured pelvis or anything similar."
"What?" |
Equestria Handyman | Handyman Extraordinare Incorporate (Edited By Naga Shark) | "You want to be...?"
"An honorable member, yeah." Rain Shine repeats herself with a smile while she and Milky share a cup of tea in Trottingham.
"Ok, that sounds like wanting to be friends with benefits and I don't have issues with that, Marky and I decided to keep things casual sometime ago. Honestly you didn't have to go this far to visit me Queen Rain"
"Oh but I do, Ms. Way, you see, I understand the concept pretty well, and as much as it hurts me, my circumstances and position as Queen present a problem, so I'm afraid I can't join your herd, but I don't want to lose contact with either Mark..." She grabs Milky's hand "...Or the beautiful herd he is a part of, and manages to captivate his heart. Especially thanking you for sharing such an incredible stallion such as himself with the rest of the world. If allowed I would like to become friends with his whole herd, which is why I wanted to speak with his alpha directly."
"Well I'm certainly flattered, but also a bit lost on words, this is the first I heard of friends with benefits with the whole herd."
"If you prefer we can just leave it as merely friends." Rain Shine offers. "No need to add any unnecessary pressure to things right?"
"Right." Milky nods in agreement "Ah what the heck, I don't mind making new friends."
"Excellent, thank you so much Milky, know that all of you will always be more than welcome in our humble town. We might be small and still trying to get more attention from the rest of the world but we still have our charms."
The comment gains the attention of Milky, who hums and places her hand under her chin. "Say Queen Rain Shine, since we are talking about friendship and wanting to keep contact with us. Would you like some help getting more attention for you and your citizens?"
"But of course!"
"Then my friend, do I have a proposition for you."
A month later
Stretching a little and holding a yawn. Mark continued to read an instruction manual on how to start your own business while waiting at the front desk for any potential work coming his way.
Hearing his front door open he saw Twilight walking in with a muffin basket. "Hi Mark"
"Hi Twilight, what brings you here?"
"I mostly wanted to bring you this." She offered the basket of muffins "And ask how you been doing?"
"Well as you can see, things have been a bit slow as of late. So far I have been keeping myself busy, offering an extra hand for clients visiting the hardware store" He points at a phone nearby on his counter "But even that has been going slow as if of late. I suppose ponyville doesn't need anything fixed, constructed or removed at the moment."
"Considering how each week there is a disaster that needs to be fixed, I find that hard to believe." Twilight responded with a roll of her eyes "Maybe you just need to promote yourself better, tell me how exactly have you published your business so far?"
"Well I'm still having difficulties on knowing exactly how a freelancer office should even look like. I mean, my focus is mostly in manual labour but how do you promote, 'I can help with almost any job?'
"So you haven't even worked on a flier or something to promote yourself?"
"Oh I did work on some prototypes." He passed her a yellow flyer he had under the counter that only read, "Mark Stars, manual labour expert."
"Oh wow, Mark this is..." Twilight looks at the flyer nervously trying to come up with the right words until he shrugs.
"Don't worry, I know it sucks and believe it, the best so far." He showed her a pile of other fliers, with different words all missing the mark espectacular.
'Can do any job' 'need help?' 'Force of a Bull, hands of a painter' 'The hand master' and others.
The Princess could only flinch and recoil at what she was reading "Yep, my thoughts exactly. That is why I haven't posted any flyers yet, I really don't want to give the wrong impression on what I'm doing." He picks up the one with the hands. "I mean look at this one...it sounds like I'm offering a brand new type of massage at ponyville spa, how much further from the point could I be right."
He says with a chuckle as he crumbles the flyer and tosses it away before taking back the book once more "That is why I thought of standing back and trying to do some research, see if I could come up with a better idea."
"Yeah that might be for the best." Twilight agreed and helped him toss the other bad examples into a nearby trash can. "And what did Milky have to say about this?"
"Yeah right, as if I would just dump my problems on her like that."
"Mark, you should really consider telling her how you have been having troubles starting your own company."
"I understand what you are saying, but Twilight I'm JUST beginning to get on my feet, of course at first things will be nothing short of a disaster. That is part of the learning process, I can't just go and seek help for each and every single issue that happens along the way. If this continues then I would tell her, and of course I will not lie if she asks me how things are starting but this is my career Twilight, not Milky's pet project."
"I still think you should at least tell her how you are having issues getting off the ground" She pressed in concern.
He hums and thinks about it before coming with an idea. "Tell you what, I will after I give this two more days, if this book and I can't come up with anything then I will tell her."
She sighs in defeat. "Well at least it's not you being stubborn, that is a legitimate point you are saying there, but at the very least do you have an idea?"
"Not right now, though the book might help." He confesses embarrassment, making her sigh and look down "You are gonna need more help than I thought then." She turns and walks away.
"You might as well close early, no one is gonna a come for how things are at the moment I will go clear my schedule to see if I can help you out with a slogan"
"Wow, wait what? Twilight no! You don't need to go out of your way too..."
"I insist, please I understand what you are trying to do, but wouldn't you like at least one small push in the right direction?" She looked back at him over her shoulders.
"Well ok, but just that one push this isn't your pet project either Twilight."
"Of course, this is always YOUR career, you always will have the final word"
"That is right, and you better not forget it." He nods in determination as Twilight rolls her eyes as she leaves.
'Stallions!'
That night just as promised Twilight came back with a mountain of books for the two to read and come up with ideas on how to promote himself better with a better slogan, something that soon Milky joined in to when she gave Mark a call, and after telling how things have been going, and how Twilight volunteer to help. She virtually demanded to join, putting herself on speaker.
"Ok I think I have the perfect slogan for you dear." Milky replies after a pause for thought. "' From attics to basements, and everything in between. Mark Stars handyman extraordinaire at your service, day or night!'
"Not bad, a good rhyme and jingle to go with it, will help it remember faster"
"Yeah I also liked it, let's go with that." Mark wrote it down after asking her to repeat again to make sure he got it.
"Perfect, then now we just need to make the posters and spread the word."
"That is a start but I think I might have had a better idea Twilight." Milky suggested earning the attention of both. "Marky dear, do you remember Queen Rain?"
"Oh yeah the leader of the Kirin, a very nice lady, has an incredible set of lungs."
"I bet." She replies sarcastically as Twilight smirks and looks at Mark with a knowing smile making him blush. "W...well yeah I remember her, why do you bring her up?"
"Well you see, some time ago dear Rain was telling me how much she would love to bring her people more into the spotlight and into society, wanting nothing more than to end the exile they all had to endure for so long."
"Yeah we briefly talked about the subject."
"So, I came up with an idea to help her and you!" She says holding her excitement.
"Really? How?"
"Easy, just promoting their town as a tourist attraction and then help them improve their homes"
"Wait what? How exactly?"
"Surprise is already there looking at the place and seeing what they could do. She and her company actually have been working real hard this past month preparing everything, up. They just need someone to promote the place."
"Ah ok I think I'm following but I'm not sure how a simple handyman can do much to spread the word honey."
"True, a handyman couldn't, but a model?"
"A model? What do you mean? I'm not a...oh no." He realized what she was implying.
"Please dear! It will be a huge help and Photo Finish herself said you had what it takes."
"But that is different! Milky back then I was mostly a glorified mannequin for Rarity, her clothes were the stars of the show not me."
"...do you actually believe that?" Milky asks sarcastically.
"No." Mark replies dejectevely before sighing in defeat. "Fine for Rain Shine and you I will do it."
"Yay! Sweetie, thank you so much! You will see,, after that session you will be swimming in work, The Human Handyman Extraordinaire will be placed on the map."
"But I'm putting my foot down with this, no swimsuits."
"Aww but Marky your fans..."
"Sorry but I have to draw the line there."
"Fine, no swimsuits section."
"Thanks." He pulls the card Photo Finish gave him and starts to memorize the number. "Honey I have to call Finish now talk to you later"
"Sure! You can tell me after you are done." Mark ends the call, and goes to another room to call Photo Finish while Milky calls Twilight. "There is gonna be a swimsuit."
"What?" Twilight tells holding her excitement
"Don't worry I have a friend that might convince him, consider it a gift. For helping us out Twily."
"Oh Milky, thank you so much!" Twilight whispers as to not alert Mark.
"Don't mention it oh and Twilight, I'm not gonna say don't do it, but just remember what happened to Cadence if you try."
The comment froze the Princess in place. "S-she told you?"
"She offered me the necklace after explaining what happened. Have to say I was a bit unsure on how to react to him screwing 2 mares literally at the same time. But will not deny the pride that came from it. So I'm just gonna warn you. It's not worth it."
"Milky...do YOU actually believe that too?"
"Not really, but isn't Flash Sentry enough?"
"Oh yeah he is, but that doesn't mean we don't like to explore, and we kind of have a special arrangement." She giggled with a blush. "One pass per birthday."
Milky sighs dejectedly. "Such is the curse of being a royal lover then. Ok just know you were warned oh and Twilight, My Marky is the king of stamina so Flash better have a dozen vitality potions on hand."
"Oh don't worry Flashy has stamina to spare too!" Twilight says in confidence before whispering again. "Me and Moondancer are kind of horn squirters. He has so much infused magic he can last as long as a dragon!"
"How long is that?"
"4 hours"
"Yeah that will not be enough, my Marky can last double or even more, especially if someone makes the mistake of taunting him. I'm telling you Twilight you are tangling with an ursa major here."
She is shocked at the revelation and starts to piece together why Fluttershy was unable to stop giggling the day of her new fashion choice.
"H-how hard can he get?"
"Twilight let me tell you a story of a certain dragoness called Blue Nova that thought Mark was easy prey."
"Ok everything ready, Photo Finish says she can squish me in for the next session in Las Pegasus and..." Mark returns to the room only to find Twilight now turned beet red and her wings stretched out.
"Ah...Twilight?"
"H-H-Havetogo Good luck Mark bye!" She yelps at the speed of light and virtually bolts out of the house.
"How far did you say her tongue reached?"
"It pierced the cervix." Milky continued as she entered her castle. "Flash! Moondancer!"
8 hours later
Both pegasus and unicorn were staring at the wall in complete shock and blushes on their faces as Twilight kept hugging their naked forms with a content smile plastered on her face.
"Twilly...what was that?" Flash asks her, still trying to recover from their session.
"A preview." Twilight tells, kissing his nose. "My birthday is coming up soon, and I needed to test something."
"What exactly? And can it be repeated?" Moondancer asks equally confused and surprised about what happened.
"In that order, an extrasensorial experience, and yes. But we might need the clone casting, stamina boost, a safeword, and a dull sensation spell ready just in case." |
Equestria Handyman | Thousand Words Worth...For Love! (Edited By Naga Shark) | Looking up Mark admired the elegant and highly fashionable model agency owned by Photo Finish, before sighing. Some dread creeping up the back of his skull as he started to have some second thoughts.
"First time?" Startled, Mark looks to his right to spot a cheerful kirin not as tall as Rain and with a ginger mane smiling at him "Don't worry, it's my first time too, so you will not be alone, and this probably won't be so bad. I mean, it will be like playing dress up, wait do you like playing dress up? Not that there is nothing wrong with that, I just don't know if stallions like to do so and..."
She stopped once she noticed him only blinking at how fast she was speaking. "Sorry, for that hi! My name is Autumn Blaze, are you here to pose as a model too?"
"Ah yeah." Mark shakes her hand. "And my name is Mark. Nice to meet you Autumn."
"Hey you don't need to be so stiff, just smile a little. And if it helps a little you are probably not having it as hard as me. I'm driving the face of my town, race and family walking there. Hah talk about pressure right?"
"Yeah that sounds huge, how are you so cheerful?"
"Oh it's one huge boring story you don't want to hear." She dismissed it then guided him inside before realizing something. "You don't seem all that surprised by my appearance, have you encountered other Kirins before?"
"One actually, a pretty nice lady to tell the truth." He confesses with a smile in reminiscence of his encounter with Rain before chuckling. "Looks like all Kirin really love to chat eh?"
"Oh Marky, can I call you that right? Right? Oh Marky, if only you knew the half of it." She kept giggling as they made their way to the front desk, where a receptionist was waiting for them.
Once there Autumn rings the bell to get the attention of a mare currently working on a large enchanted scroll presumamble typing as faces of different models move up and down according to her moments "Name?" She asks without looking at either Mark or Autumn.
"Autumn Blaze, hi nice to meet you, are we late? Are we early? Is Photo Finish..." She stops her by raising her hand and then snaps her finger before pointing at Mark, still refusing to make eye contact "Name?"
"Mark Star." He responded sharply, understanding the receptionist wasn't there to make small talk as she nodded and types something on her scroll, for a moment before conjuring two hall passes and turning to look at both. "Third Floor, 5th door to the left, party clothing line. Wardrobes on the back" She instructs, giving Autumn her pass, "I suggest you don't waste time."
"Uh, a party clothing line? Sounds like fun let go Mark..."
"Ah!" The reception interrupts them again and passes the human his hall pass.
"Second floor, 3th door to the right, stallion empowerment line." She instructed before resuming her work.
"Aww so that means we need to split up from here?" Autumn says in disappointment.
"Don't worry Autumn we can chat later, let's meet here once you're done."
"Yay!" She surprised him with a hug, giving him a closer look at her silky mane and sniffing her shampoo.
Dear god, did all the kirins fur become this soft?
"Oh! Oh! Pass me your scroll number! That way we can chat while we are on breaks, I will send you a message to tell you I'm free and you do the same, ok?"
He couldn't help but laugh at her bubbling personality, who half reminds him of Pinkie Pie as he nods and they exchange numbers, before going their separate ways.
Entering the room, he was meet by the sight of Photo Finish guiding one of her models, a fairly bulky black stallion with an exaggerated long slightly messy straight mane, in a cowboy suit before taking pictures, as next to him were two make up artist as she hums in thought "Too much blush." One quickly removed the excess makeup from his face. "Not enough." Another application of powder on his check.
"Hmm...too much blush" She repeated, and the process continued much to Mark's surprise as he got closer to what he thought were other male actors.
"How long has she been doing that?" He asks a white furred Diamond Dog with patterns that give him the appearance of a Husky, with a towel, and a water bottle as he seems ready to take a dip in a pool by how he was wearing sandals and a set of swimsuit trunks that allowed a view of his well defined six pack.
"Close to half an hour I think." The diamond dog responded before looking at Mark, "and what are you supposed to be? Some sort of shaved monkey?"
"Ha shaved monkey, it has been years since someone used that analogy." He chuckled in reminiscence. "And no, I'm not that, I'm what is called a human, although alien could be a better description. Long story short I'm from another universe that due to some circumstances ended up here. My name is Mark, nice to meet you."
"Ha! So you are the new face Photo Finish got her hands on." Another model, this one a huge minotaur wearing a slightly ripped gym shirt, with a pair of white shorts hugging tightly to his body, and a golden ring in his nose, exclaimed startling both human and diamond dog, as he appeared from the changing room. "Well this sure will get the attention in the magazine, name is Atlas Maximus." He points at himself. "Swimsuit over there is Nordic, and Photo's latest victim is Racer."
"Making friends again Atlas?" A Thestral stallion wearing a 15 century ensemble with silver hair appears, while combing said mane, making him look like an equine version of Dracula.
"Just chatting with the new kid Jugular," Atlas says, sitting on his own chair to wait for his turn.
"So you are the new model then." Jugular questions inspecting Mark up and down. "Honestly I'm not seeing much of the appeal, overall your look is kind of bland compared to us." He shrugs and even makes his point, by showing how his wings were actually red and wasn't wearing a cape as Mark originally thought, not only that but he could see what he was talking about.
Nordic's fur pattern was a lot cleaner and slimmer than what a regular diamond dog would look like, Jugular had his wings, Racer was easily as tall as Celestia and Atlas was actually an albino Minotaur. "As you can see Photo Finish didn't just pick us because of our pretty faces, her way of seeing things is far different than what a normal pony could. She saw some sort of latent magic that needed to be expressed and shown. And she has never been wrong before, if she picks you, then that means there is something special, which now makes me wonder. What exactly did she see?"
He shrugs and takes a seat "I suppose we will have to wait and see, in the meantime I suggest you go talk to her and let her know you are here before she finishes with Racer and then chews your ear off for not being 'in theme' yet." He chuckles briefly before pulling out a small book and starts reading as he likes, the rest waiting for their turn. Nodding, Mark looks in their direction.
Knowing how the mare had her eccentricities and deciding to play things safe he complied and approached the photographer in question as she kept humming in thought about the level of how much makeup was on Racer.
"Ah, Miss Photo Finish?"
"What?" She asks before turning around and then smiles once she lays eyes on Mark. "Ah my star boy! Yes, yes, yes I was waiting for you." Her demeanour turned unusually friendly as she came closer and grabbed his face to kiss both of his checks "Yes, you will do nicely, as the final piece in my masterpiece!" She exclaimed, raising her right arm in the air in an overly exaggerated manner.
"But first!" Snapping her fingers she points to an assistant that gives her a folded set of clothes "A change, disrobe and turn into my character...AT ONCE!" She points at the changing booths while keeping her head high up.
"Ah...ok?"
"Now! Now! Now! Go before my assistant changes you herself." She lightly pushed and he could see judging by the smirk on both of her two assistants behind her that Photo Finish wasn't kidding, as he slowly backed away, Mark went to get changed.
"And now in the name of Celestia can somepony PLEASE put some blush on this stallion!" She demands turning around to look at Racer once more and continue with her ritual."
After he was done, Mark came out wearing a pale blue full jean ensemble of denim, slightly ripped pants, jean sweater, white shoes, a white t-shirt and sunglasses and patiently waited for his turn, only for Photo Finish to appear next to him "What is this?" She asks, pointing at his shirt.
"Ah the shirt I came with?"
"Did I give you a shirt?"
"No but I..."
"Off! That shirt is off, off, off! Now..." She snapped her fingers and their assistants took his shirt away and re-buttoned him, as they were about to take the necklace too. "Wait!" Photo stops them and examines the jewelry before nodding. "That! It can stay, but the shirt is off! Now my star, I'm over the moon that you took my offer, but if you are gonna stay here, you are gonna follow a rule about what clothes I give you, and EXACTLY, just those, are we clear?"
He nods briefly, trying to assimilate her eccentricities. "Good!" She smiles again and moves to the center of the room before turning around and addressing everyone present. "Now that all my models are present and we are done with the warm ups we can begin the real shooting!" She announced in excitement.
"As you have noticed, for this session I will seek to bring to light the absolute best of your qualities, and show the world the grace and magnificence that is the male body in all of their forms!" She dramatically pointed at each of them. "Each and every single one of you will become part of my male empowerment catalog!"
"The grace of movements in dirt as it is in water of the Diamond Dog!" She points at Nordic "The absolute titanic raw strength of the Minotaurs!" She lifts one of Atlas arms before moving to the earth pony "The wild grace of the earth ponies.'' She plays with Racer's face. "The excitement, fear and mystery of the Thestrals!" She tickles Jugular's chin.
"And you!" She finally pointed at Mark "Hmm yes you, you will be the mystery for me to unravel, I, Photo Finish will discover. I'm gonna expose your soul and capture the raw virile essence of all of you, and to do that, I want you to go out there pose and picture me naked!"
"What did she just say!?" Mark asks in shock yet the others only smirk and seem to be doing just that as they lick their lips
"Yes! Yes! Let your instinct guide you! Try to woo me! Make love to the camera and remember I AM THE CAMERA! " She announced and got into position. "Now...we begin! Nordic come here and give me your predatory side, show me what you are made of!"
She points to a pool set, complete with a small section of a pool almost realistic where the diamond dog doesn't waste time and dives in, just to grab an edge and slowly make his way out as Photo Finish takes rapid fire shots. "Yes! That is the stuff, the camera is looking at you, she is interested! Conquer her with your eyes!"
As the time passes, one by one the models get into their roles and start dramatizing different settings that, like Photo Finish said, seems to exploit their best qualities. Atlas in a gym flexing his muscles while lifting dumbbells while looking at the camera with a smirk and a wink. Racer actually lassoing Photo Finish and in the process of drawing her over to him as she just remains quiet and kept taking pictures, Jugular descending a set of castle stairs holding a set of candles, like an elegant vampire, who looks down at his next victim, and finally Mark who after warming up the idea and remembering how this session was meant to help the Kirin, got into his role and after the warm up shots changed into a hunter gear complete with a red scarf, a face guard a bandana, a rubber machete, leather vest and boots and white pants as he appears to be poking his body from some bushes and about to pounce the camera as well as other shots where he seems to be on the prowl inspecting what he assumed to be Rain Shine's town judging by the painted kirins. Like he just discovered the place and was observing.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! I have discovered it! Your magic, you my boy are the HUNTER! He who explores and prowls! The unknown being who seeks what he wants! That is the role you were born to play!"
Photo exclaims in excitement as their session ends, and the assistant cleans the sweat from her brow with a towel. "Oh, Let us take a break! We will continue with the shoot...after ten!" She announces before her crew and her leave somewhere, leaving the actors alone.
"So...what is this like a coffee break or...?"
Nordic chuckles and passes him a water bottle. "Don't worry you get used to it pretty fast. And yes basically."
"So the hunter eh? Huh, granted I wouldn't picture you as one and I always thought that was more, for like Abyssinian or Griffins. But have to admit after your photoshoot, I can see what she meant, like a sort of hunter of legend, something never seen before. That certainly will turn heads."
"Welcome aboard Mark." Nordic pats his back. "You are officially one of us."
"Yeah you really managed to handle yourself under the lens!" Atlas added with a chuckle. "And if you think it was fun now, just you wait, the next session is a mixed photoshoot, they are pairing us with Ladies!"
"And Photo Finish always loves to spoil us, starting with the swimsuit catalog." Racer comments in anticipation.
"Oh yeah, about that, I think I'm gonna skip that part." Mark says with some embarrassment. "As much as I would just love to be surrounded by beautiful women in bikinis. I'm not sure I would be comfortable with the idea of modeling like that, no offense Nordic."
"Eh none taken" He simply shrugs.
"Are you sure? I know you're nervous, but come on dude, we are talking about a bunch of women in swimsuits! I heard Photo Finish got her hands on a Kirin this year!"
"I heard Ivory and Ebony will be present for this one" Racer mentions, making them all smile and nod. "Oh those two are huggers."
"I even heard one of them brought a very good looking friend with her too." Atlas says. "Come on Mark, I know it might be scary but I'm telling you, the swimsuit shooting is something you don't want to miss..."
"Thanks but no, believe me, it's enticing but I don't think there is a force in Equestria that would change my mind."
"Ah, excuse me?" The unmistakable voice of Daisy caught his attention and looking over his shoulder he saw the Holstaur in question holding a very scandalous bikini while talking with one of Photo Finish's assistants. "Is this really the right size for me? This set looks a bit...small." She questioned with a little blush as the assistant inspected it. "Hmmm...maybe it is, tell you what, would you be willing to try it briefly with one of the male models and see if you can move around?"
"I...suppose I could try." She says with a nod before they both walk away.
With wide eyes Mark's mind pictured Daisy in said ensemble, and turned to look at the rest of the group. "I stand correctly, let's do it!"
"Ha! Knew you would come around." Atlas laughed and soon the rest joined in cheering at their incoming next session.
After the ten minute break was over, Mark and the rest of the models were given a new change of clothes, these ones being different types of swimsuits as the assistant brought them to an olympic size swimming pool next to a smaller regular pool at the back of the agency where Photo Finish was checking the lens of her camera, before turning to look at them. "Ah! My stars have arrived, good good!" She points to five white tents for them to change clothes. "Go change into your water gear, and get in the pool. We will begin with a classic pool party!" She instructs and soon they all were changed again, minus Nordic who instead was placed on a pool bed and given a glass of juice and sunglasses to get into position.
Returning to their tents, the rest of the models return with different versions and types of swimming trunks, and Photo Finish's assistants place them in their respective positions as she hums. Mark and Jugular had tight blue and red shorts, Racer like Nordic was wearing a longer version with horseshoes and bones imprinted on them and Atlas was wearing an almost underwear looking type of swimsuit and swimming glasses to give the athlete look to his figure.
"Aha, Racer and Nordic you will be playful and watch, in the small pool, Atlas I need you training for the gold in the olympic pool, and Jugular and Mark." Photo smirks and approaches the two with anticipation. "You will be my shock and exciting view, I want my two carnivores dealing with the grill!" She points to an actual grill on the corner of the party pool.
"You eat meat?" They ask each other in complete surprise.
"Of course I do, these aren't for fashion you know." Jugular tells, pointing to his prominent fangs.
"Yeah the same could be said about this?" Mark points at his smaller fangs surprising the Thestral even more. "Ok now I'm seeing the hunter angle."
"Ah Photo Finish are you sure this will be ok? Will your readers have no issue with us well...holding or eating actual meat?" Mark was concerned by her choice.
"Nonsense! I said I will capture the beauty of male in ALL races and I mean it, I will not exclude anything! If mares can't take the sight of a male enjoying the work of his hunt, then she has no business reading my magazine!" She says with finality.
"You really haven't picked up a single issue of her magazine have you?" Jugular questions as he goes to the grill. "This is exactly what Photo Finish is so well known for, she's abhorrent of the idea of censorship of beauty and seeks to express the light of anyone no matter what. As long as it is nothing monstrous or grotesque she will seek a shot of it, for everyone to enjoy, be they male, female, pony, griffin, herbivorous, carnivorous she doesn't discriminate whatsoever."
He gave him a pat on the back. "So relax and enjoy, this could even be a small snack for us."
Mark looks a bit unsure but ultimately decides to nod and follow his example as they prepare the grill and the prop meats for them to pretend to 'cook' already decorated and ready to be shot once everything starts.
"Aha yeah things are taking shape my playful my athletic AND my carnivorous, and now my boys! Your dear Photo Finish has a present for you...BRING in... the ladies!" She instructs, and from the studios all the models look up in surprise and happiness, as from their point of view, eight beautiful women walk outside, among them Autumn Breeze, who upon seeing Mark waves eagerly at him with a huge smile, while wearing a floral vibrant yellow two piece suit that combined well with her fur and had a small window of cleave giving a view her modest bust.
Next to her was Daisy and surprisingly enough also Aspen Delight but wearing a surprisingly more modest swimsuit that Mark could have anticipated since instead of a two piece ensemble they appear to be wearing a one piece athletic suit with differing cuts, much to the surprise and slight disappointment of the human, from been deprived of the view of Daisy in a two piece and how she had to go to the olympic pool. As they pass them, both seem to remember him as they wave and smile, Aspen in a more flirty form as Daisy was flustered and with a small smile, waves shyly as the two enter the pool with a griffin with a combination of an Osprey and White Tiger, with a very similar suit to them.
Atlas you lucky bastard! Mark holds his breath trying not to get jealous of the Minotaur as he chats with the 3 ladies and instead looks back at Autumn being guided and given pool toys for her to play with. A unicorn and a Doe, Mark has never seen before, unable to stop himself from admiring their double D size breasts, before shaking his head and paying more attention to their features.
The doe has a vibrant brown, almost honey like color fur with white fur on her stomach going all the way from her hips to her jaw with a diamond shape in white fur on her snout, she was wearing a green colorful two piece swimsuit with some ruffles on the bottoms, while the unicorn was has light pink fur, and a long purple mane and short tail that gave way to her darker blue swimming suit with a silver ring in the front section of her bra, and sunglasses.
All 3 giggling like school fillies bouncing in place giving Racer and Nordic a small show at their jiggling assets, making them drool a bit before getting snapped to attention when one of the assistants cleared her throat and issued the three mares to get into position.
"Enjoying the show Star?" Snapping back with a startle Mark looks in front of him to see Umbral smirking at him with her hands on her hips and wearing a smokey scarlett red bikini with a semi-transparent sarong wrap skirt.
"So glad to see you took the offer." She gets closer to him so she can whisper in his ear "I was dying to pay you back for last time" He physically shivers when he feels her blow a little wind on his ear as she slowly backs away.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Umbral." Another voice calls and looking to his right Mark was surprise how Jugular seems to be entertaining two Abyssinians who were giggling sultrily at him, while rubbing against his body like a cat would normally do before setting their attention to Mark.
"We would also like to say hi to the new model" The tigress replied while licking her lips as the cougar was circling around the human, Umbral deciding to take the chance to chat with Jugular while the cats had their fun.
"Hmm what do we have here? A cute lost puppy?" The cougar asks sarcastically, rubbing her tail against his back, making him flinch. "Ah someone is jumpy, don't worry little puppy, I don't bite." She hugs him from behind giving him a feel of her breast against his back while whispering. "Much."
"Come on Ebony, don't work the poor stallion up too much, we still need him conscious." The tigress chastises but she doesn't seem to make things any better as she hugs his front to remove Ebony from him. "I'm Ivory by the by, nice to meet you." She sultrily replies growling a little at him, only to be responded with a growl of his own catching her by surprise "Oh wow, someone is getting excited." She backs away in surprise. "Am I that distracting?" She asks sarcastically while posing in front of him so Mark could have a good look at the tigress. She was wearing a pale red, almost a salmon pink bikini with matching sarong wrap. The cut was slightly different to add flavor to the eyes.
"Or perhaps your mind is...someplace else?" Ebony questions getting in front of Mark and playfully asks as she leans down to show more of her cleavage, and lets him drink in the view of her. Like Umbral and Ivory her bikini was also a shade of red. Closer to the flesh of a blood orange with frills of lace lining her suit and her sarong wrap was made completely of lace in the same shade, yet semi-transparent due to being made of lace.
"Oh don't worry, I'm laser focused right now on what is in front of me." Mark replies with a calm smile before smirking, and grabbing Ebony by the shoulders he surprises her by pulling her forward and putting their faces together so their noses touch. "And I suggest you do not tease me too much." He pretends to kiss her before pushing her away, and growling goes to Ivory who flinches at his sudden forwardness as he spins her around and hugs her from behind so he could whisper in her ear. "I might pounce, if provoked...and I bite." He makes his point by lightly nibbling her ear for a second making her shiver before letting her go leaving both Abyssinians surprised and flustered before smirking and starting to chuckle.
"You are a predator aren't you? Now THAT is a surprise, and here I thought they paired us with a hot head thinking he can rumble in the tiger's den." Ivory comments with a nod.
"What is your name sweetie?" Ebony asks.
"Mark...Mark Star, nice to meet you."
"Well Mr. Star, I hope we three can become very good friends." Ebony nods a couple of times as her eyes turn sultry. "Very good and close friends." She winks at him making him flustered, resulting in her giggling a bit. "He still gets flustered? I love it!" She says in excitement while Ivory only keeps smiling at him, growling occasionally and licking her lips in equal anticipation.
Oh boy these two cats are in heat.
Mark worried slightly concerned on how overly friendly Ebony and Ivory seem to be acting.
"Ok everypony! We are all in position?" Photo calls for everyone's attention. "Good! This is how it's gonna be! Ladies you are my boys targets this is a party, a training session, a feast." She pointed at each area. "Get into the situation, embrace the theme of the party! Relax and enjoy yourself. Prove me that you are worth being chased. Boys, on the prowl! These are my gifts to you, show me how much you love them. Make these ladies wish to be embraced by you!"
She exclaimed in an overly dramatic tune before getting back to her camera and focusing on the pool party.
"Show time ladies." Jugular points out, and approaches the grill "Have you worked with props before Star?" He asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"Not that I remember"
"Then follow my lead, think of this as experience, you can figure out what." He pinches and pulls out a hot dog weiner before placing it on a bun, closer to Umbral as she smiles and licks her lips. "Always point the food at the camera, think of them as euphemisms!" He instructs, as he and Umbral keep playing and pretend to enjoy their snacks in a provocative manner.
"You heard the expert Mark." Ebony tells him with curiosity. "Woo me, let's see how you make me want you in front of the lens."
Mark is surprised but smirks and nods once he sees Jugular. He picks another long fork and raises a piece of steak. "Here kitty, kitty" Mark taunts her to come closer, signaling her with his finger.
Soon after Photo Finish set to work capturing each moment when the models were interacting worth saving. The playful area by far being the easiest as everyone was literally just playing around like children, with faces of joy, their assistant only having to interrupt occasionally for how it looked more like the ladies were leading, instead of the other way around as Photo insists. 'You are on the prowl, not at a family reunion! Are these your relatives? Does this look like a diamond dog?! Now, prove that. They want to play with something else!'
Mark was still confused on how she kept giving weird orders like those, but couldn't question much, as at times Ivory taking the chance to surprise him by going forward and taking a bite of a sausage he was holding in the air, looking back at him with a smirk and capture the moment he look back at her in shock. Jugular fared better with Ebony as he continued to pretend to feed her or play around with her.
"Better not get distracted Star." Umbral warns him. "This is called the lion's dens for a reason, you lose focus and you become the prey." She warns him, snapping him back to attention and irking him by the implication. "That is better, something was telling me you aren't the push around type."
He nods and gets more focused on the job at hand as Photo Finish continues her work, the athletic area looking more like a competition or show of strength as everyone just swimming around with force or performing athletic prowers including diving and jumping. Mark stopped briefly to admire how good Aspen looked, but almost at the same time getting blasted by the sight of Daisy, especially when she decided to stretch...right in front of him. Her legs spread wide and her upper body leaning towards the floor to touch it between her hooves facing away from Mark. Letting him see not just her booty but also a glimpse of her knockers as well.
'Ok I'm done playing games!' He mentally screams as the force from the view made him bend the fork he was holding. 'They want a hunter?'
He surprised Umbral by grabbing her chin and made her come closer to him as he smiled.
'They got him.'
The Hunter, now awake, gave Umbral a teasing kiss on her lips and a lick of her nose before lifting a prong fork with a cut strip of steak and placing it between his teeth and leaning closer to offer it to her, and steal a kiss. A spine tingling, fur standing on end, panty soaking kiss. Before stepping back with eyes that screamed. 'I am going to destroy your pussy later' look. As he stepped back, his eyes stayed locked with Umbral's own as he trailed his index finger along the bottom of her chin till it flicked off into a come hither motion, Umbral's head lifting with the motion.
The Abyssians noticing that, were starting to get excited as Ebony approaches wanting a turn as Umbral realizing how he seems to be controlling her, start to get mad but unable to think straight at the moment decided to back away and change tactics by teasing, using Jugular to incite jealousy as she and Ivory work on him. The Thestral was slightly startled, but realizing what was happening smirks and nods, playing along too.
Mark silently taking on the challenge grabs the hand of Ebony and pulls her closer as she giggles.
Meantime Photo Finish was left speechless as some heat was forming in her checks for a brief second before her camera came to life, zooming in and out, she was working like crazy trying to capture every second possible, as all the models appear to get in the mood and follow the carnivores example.
Autumn and her companions with more prolonged hugs, Aspen and Daisy using their knowledge to keep teasing Atlas and entice him to chase after them and Umbral making sure Mark watches as she steals some kisses from Jugular. With Ebony, The Hunter chose a different method to tease her. He stalked her. Walking slowly, around her making her feel hunted. As he got behind her his right index finger trailed up her back, right along the spine from the base of her tail, all the way to the base of her skull. But the final tease came in the form of The Hunter raking his nails down her back slowly, and with just enough force to leave lines down her back on the skin as he growls in her ear before Biting her on the scruff of the neck as he holds her hips from behind.
For her response, he elicits a few small gasps, and she looks at him with curiosity before giggling with a flustered face, growling in approval, and leaning closer to him and extending her neck to give him more access to it as they both look at their companions with a smirk, Mark at Umbral, and Ebony at Ivory, as they both seem a bit mad and not wanting to be outmatched, as they too start to have some small nibbles and bites, the hunter even gotten surprised when both ladies lean down and share a sausage near Jugular hip while winking at them and almost kissing before breaking apart.
"Yes! Pretty good, keep going boys tame these ladies, invade their minds, become their only thoughts!" Photo exclaims in excitement cleaning some small drool from the show in front of her, pleased as the session continues for a good hour, until she signals everyone to stop. "Ok now...switch!" She commands and her assistance get to work moving the models around and making some retouches to their makeup.
"And now! We will go for...a day at the beach!" she announces and soon two unicorns toss and teleport tons of sand onto the floor. "Mark your role will be the sunscreen." She points at the doe model and one of the assistants gives him a sunscreen bottle "ok boy! I see your sensual side, let see if you can pull a caring one too. I want passion and caring , think you can find the correct places to caress her body while avoiding the obvious targets?"
"Get your camera ready." Mark tells Photo Finish with a smirk while applying the sunscreen to his hands.
"Ah! Confidence! Good, show me your assertiveness, Ena Faline! To position, prepare to show me devotion! Tell the camera how much you trust this hunter!"
Looking at him with a smile the Doe nods briefly at Mark.
"Hi my name is Ena, pleased to meet you." She then lays down on a towel showing him her back and untying the back of her bikini top. "Please go slow with me, I can be a bit ticklish." She requests closing her eyes and getting comfortable as Mark goes behind her and kneels over her as he rubs his hands together to warm the sunscreen.
"Don't worry Miss Ena, I'll be careful, just relax and let me help you, I'm sort of an expert in this."
He starts with a light tease by rubbing his index fingers along her spine making her shiver before getting to work as his hands slowly rub the sunscreen with delicacy, almost like he was applying oil and massaging the poor doe that could only humm and moan in happiness at the treatment.
Photo Finish and her crew went crazy at the way he was slowly turning Ena's body into a mass for him to sculpt as the sound of the camera captured moment after moment of the poor model's complete bliss.
"N-Next!" With a cracked voice Photo call for the session and everyone keep rotating in different scenarios to give them a chance to play and interact with every other model, from a view at the stars next to a bonfire, to surfing and limbo competition, to a stalking session, to a chasing scenario in the water in which Mark was swimming after Autumn while she 'tried' to swim away from him before he catches her and they share a laugh. And then grabbing her legs and pulling her out of the water bridal style with one jump, much to everyponies surprise, and even a peeping Tom tease where ironically Mark had to pretend to hide and see if he can take a peek at Aspen Delight as she looked embarrassed and confused.
The human had to grant it to Ena with the shots as the doe seems to be an almost an actress in how she performs each role they put her and Mark together, the most surprising by far be the pretend drowning victim and life guard where Mark performs mouth to mouth to 'revive' her and she looks genuinely mortified and then grateful while looking at him and placing her hand over his chest.
Did she use her tongue? Boy, all these models are really frisky!
Mark couldn't help but smirk a little when she winks at him before anyone could notice and goes back to work in other poses. Alongside regular ones to promote clothing, beverages and food lines for the magazine.
As time went by and seeing how he had a turn with every single model Mark couldn't help but wait for the opportunity to have a crack with Daisy, but before that could happen Photo Finish surprised him once more.
"Ok everypony that is a wrap!" Photo Finish calls circling the air with her fingers
"What?"
"What?"
Mark and Umbral question in slight anger much to the subsequent confusion of the human who took a glance at the Thestral.
"You were all magnificent, I will show you the copies the second it's done, trust me I will make you shine like never before." Photo seems to ignore them as they pack their stuff.
"Ah Miss Finish." Mark goes to her and she in turn only smiles and goes to him. "Ah and here is my new star. How are you feeling boy? Excited? Nervous? Realized? Ecstatic?" She tells with a giant grin on her face.
"I suppose mostly tired but pleased." He nods and couldn't help but keep staring at the female bodies still in their bikinis happily chatting. "This is definitely a day I will not soon forget"
"Yes, yes I see you have been enchanted by THE Magic! So glad you decided to take my offer and want to show the world what you could be!"
"Only part time Photo Finish, remember that this is not a permanent gig either."
"Oh of course! Of course! Baby steps then."
"What?"
"Nothing, just know your face will be the face that will inspire thousands of ponies! And as promised I will make sure the Kirin will be very well known throughout the entire world!" Once more she grabs his face and kisses both of his checks. "And now...I GO!" And just like that she once more runs away with the rest of her camera crew.
"Well ok...wait! Now there was something I..." He try to say but she was already gone by the time he notices what had happen "...needed to talk about"
"She is gone Star" Umbral tells him equally disappointed "It sucks doesn't it? Just when you are all worked up everything is done"
He can only nod looking down dejectevely. "There are days I wonder if she does it on purpose, like she keeps wanting us to come back for more." She sighs and puts her hand on his shoulders "Not gonna tell you to go full time Star but if you like. It could be fun having you around." She offers him a sympathetic smile which he returns before noticing Daisy and Aspen leaving behind Umbral.
"Ah Umbral, could you excuse me for just a minute?"
"What is it?"
"There is...something I need to do." He says apologetically before going to meet the two dancers, when Ebony gets in his way. "Oh hey sweetie think you could help me with..." She turned around and leaned on a post but before she could finish Mark just walked past her and using his fingers like a hook unhooks her bra in one yank, surprising the Abyssinian who looked at him with surprise and delight.
He just kept going not wanting to lose the chance to talk to her again, finally reaching the Holstaur, yet unfortunately by the time he reached them she and Aspen were already talking with Atlas, and Daisy in particular seems very infatuated with him for how she keeps giggling like crazy with a flushed face.
"...no I mean it, it was an incredible surprise seeing a Holstaur wanting to be a model, I thought I was the only of our species that wasn't all about fighting and weapons."
"Well I don't know, they can work as good props sometimes." They all share a laugh at that. "But honestly I have no words, you two were more than spectacular. So about that offer, What do you say? One cup of coffee, just you and me."
Mark didn't need to hear anymore as he slowly backed away and turned around. Feeling a pit forming in his stomach, but trying to ignore it and simply smile.
She is happy, Atlas looks like a nice bull...I...I'm just a pervert fan, if I say anything she might just think of me as some sort of creep.
He shakes his head and clears away a small tear, before going to the dressing rooms to change.
"So did you get what you were looking for?" Umbral asks, appearing behind him.
"Uh?"
"You said you needed to do something real fast, did you get it?"
"Y-yeah, I did." Mark replies with a smile yet the Thestral doesn't buy the act for a second and simply smiles.
"Who was it?"
"What?"
"Oh don't give me that crap Star! You don't kiss someone out of the blue like that. Unless something riled you up, yeah the horny cats sure sparked it but something turned it into an inferno, there were 8 models out there, so out with it. Which one put you in the mood and then rejected you?"
"She didn't reject me!" He defended himself. Before looking down. "I didn't even get the chance to say hi. I simply saw someone else get her attention."
"Ouch that is harsh."
"No it isn't, I'm just a pervert fan, what right do I have? She made her choice and is happy so that is that."
"Yeah I don't buy it, let's try it again." Umbral demands getting in front of him with a glare. "The truth this time?"
"What do you want me to say?"
She doesn't reply and only keeps glaring at him.
"What? That I feel bad? That I feel my heart cracking? That I just saw a gorgeous lady just walk away!"
"Getting there." She smiles with a nod.
"Is this a sick joke for you! You want to see me crawl? Then go ahead! Have your laugh al..." She shocks him by bringing him into a hug. "Just shut up idiot, just shut up and let it happen." She caressed his head and let him weep openly as he hugged her back.
"I...I only wanted to get closer to her."
"This place can do that to us. I also wanted to get close to someone." Umbral confesses with a smile and a blush.
Surprised, Mark looks her in the eyes. "Listen, I'm not some rebound model! So this is not charity! You had your choice and that is fine, I know you mostly just want to picture the model instead of my face but..." Mark silenced her by a kiss, a more calm one, but passionate that widened her eyes but eventually let go and enjoyed it while it lasted.
"You are not a rebound model, and you are wrong! Yes that model raised it, and yes the cat started it." He kissed her again. "But you...kept it going, I NEVER saw someone else."
Caught off guard she can't help but look away "Y-yeah right you are only sparing my feelings, GASP!"
She flinched when Mark grabbed hold of both of her asscheeks and glared at her. "Don't make me prove it."
She only smirks and repays him with the same. "Star, you don't know with who you are messing with"
"Maybe I am."
"Maybe I'm leading you in."
"Maybe I'm dragging you into a trap."
"Maybe I want to step on it."
They keep teasing each other for a moment before anything else could be said, and just go at it kissing with ferocity, as Umbral lifts her legs and starts to dry hump him in the heat of the moment.
"W-wait, wait!" She broke the kiss with a flushed face. "What are we doing?!...These are the lockers! Anyone can walk in!" She smiles and grabs his hand. "Come with me"
She guides him into another room, this one a smaller photo set for one person where she promptly locks the door. "There! Now no one will interrupt us! So where were we? Oh yeah." She pretends to forget before pouncing on him while he grabs hold of her, as they walk backwards towards a wall.
"You better finish what you started Star! I'm not letting you go until I have at least 3 orgasms!" She warns him with a glare.
"Just 3? What is the matter Umbral, tired?"
"Oh you are so ON now!" They keep kissing, getting into the heat of the moment, as they hit one of the walls, and knock one of the iron poles holding up a black curtain, that causes an exclamation of a femenine yelp of surprise once it falls to the ground. Confused, the two look back and discover not only Photo Finish's head poking out of the other side of the curtain, equally confused, frozen in place and in the middle of pleasuring herself judging by how one of her hands was hidden inside her skirt.
"Wh...what were you two doing here?" Photo Finish managed to say standing up, and taking her hand away from inside her skirt.
Realizing their position, Umbral broke apart from Mark. "Ah we were just looking for some privacy, What are YOU doing here?" She asks her back with a raised eyebrow
"Ah...I...I was doing the same!" Photo argues back with confidence. "And I was here first so I suggest you two leave this instant and don't speak a word of what you saw!" She tells with an enormous blush.
Mark notices that her fingers were sticky at the moment and something else was poking from the curtain, curious he pulls the fabric and sees various pictures of herself in compromising positions and her camera with a fresh one captures the moment the curtain fell.
"Ah, stay away from that!" Photo calls picking up the picture and camera as fast as possible but not before Mark took one for Umbral to see.
"The hell is this? Were you masturbating with a picture of yourself?" She questions looking at Photo Finish.
"Of course not! And I don't need to answer anything to you, even if I tell you, you wouldn't understand the machination of an..."
"Make love to the camera" Mark interrupts her, making the photographer stop and look at him with curiosity.
"That is what you told us, you weren't just giving an instruction" He smirks at her and shows the picture. "It was more than a metaphor! You truly want to be the camera don't you?"
"Ah...eh."
"Oh this is rich, have to admit I never have seen this type of kink before." Umbral confesses to being impressed by the revelation. "But kind of a relief actually."
"What do you mean?" Photo looks at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Photo come on, this place can be like a box full of bunnies sometimes, heck we half thought you encourage hook ups, but not even once anyone has seen you with a mare, a stallion or anything for that matter. We thought you simply weren't interested."
"Turns out you really love your job then."
"I only do what I'm passionate about! I have nothing to hide." She defends herself, still blushing and frustrated from being caught in the middle of her session.
"Indeed." Mark nods once and shocks her again by taking her glasses a second time. "You didn't hear what I said about showing that lovely face of yours?"
"I'm right here" Umbral calls getting jealous of another mare getting the attention, but Mark wasn't concerned as he chuckles and looks at her. "Consider it payback for playing with Jugular in front of me."
"Oh so that is how it is? Lets see who can irk the other..." Mark silences her by placing a finger on her lips. "Don't be jealous, Umbral."
He brings her into a kiss that shocks her for a moment, before she closes her eyes and hugs him enjoying the attention. "You know how I feel."
"Not fair, I'm supposed to be mad." She looks down trying to get mad but can't help but to smile. A flash of the camera grabs their attention and they saw how Photo Finish couldn't help herself and took another picture.
"Well, Umbral looks like we are having some company." He smirks at her leaving the Thestral confused at his actions. "Not very wise getting into the carnivore's den, don't you think?"
Getting the idea she smirks too. "Not in the slightest."
They break apart and approach Finish who looks at them confused. "What are you doing?"
"Us? Nothing yet" They start circling around the poor mare.
"Consider it a warning, you are right, we have no right to judge, and you can play with yourself in whatever way you want."
"But leaving? Oh no." Mark chuckles and gets behind her. "We are not going anywhere."
"So consider this your way out, leave us alone." Umbral grabs her bow. "Or join the fun."
"Tell me Photo Finish I'm having some trouble with that instruction of picturing you naked, care for a visual example?" Mark whispers into her ear. "You can keep the camera and take as many shots as possible...don't you want to see what MAGIC we can make here?"
Photo Finish was shaking like crazy, getting nervous at the predatory gaze they were giving her.
"W-will be kept between us?"
"Sure! It will be our small little secret."
"Then..." She grabs Umbral's hand and takes it away as she unrobe her scarf "...show me the might of the predators."
Smiling wide they go to work and Mark grabs hold of her chest as Umbral goes to work with an aggressive kiss as she looks at Mark with a smirk and uses her tongue to tease him some more.
Smiling too he uses his hands and serpentines his way around Photo's hips, and Umbral's ass before getting inside their clothes as he explores his targets.
"Where is that hand going?" Umbral asks with a smirk as he nibbles Photo's neck. "Don't worry about it."
They chuckle and share a kiss. "That one doesn't count by the way, it will start once that dick gets to work."
"Fine by me." Mark says as he watches them squirm under his administration as Umbral rubs herself against the mare and Photo rubs her hips against Mark to feel his bulge. Shivering with a smile at the sensation as both mares were increasingly getting more sensitive and feeling their climax fast approaching
Once they both were properly moist, he stops, and starts to undress Photo Finish. Removing her shirt slowly and teasingly. As Umbral works on her skirt taking a long lick at the fabric of her panties before taking a step back to admire them and see Mark playing with her breast under her bra. An overall fairly simple white cotton panty and bra combo.
"Damn Photo Finish, you have a nice pair of knockers! Why hide the girls like that? What are those? D? Double D?"
"D-Doubles yes, now please...take the picture." Photo beg pointing at the camera
"Huh? Wait, you want me to take your picture while Mark is fondling your..."
"Y...yes! It will be my private collection, now please! Let me experience, let me feel the camera loving me!"
With a shrug Umbral does that and Photo shivers once the shot is taken, making Mark chuckle.
"So you partake in a bit of voyeurism eh Photo?"
"Ye...yeah"
"No wonder you weren't afraid of things getting heated while in sessions, it really works up an appetite doesn't it? Watching others so close and passionate. But it is not just that right? You like being watched too don't you?"
"Yes!" She admits with stars in her eyes as Mark continues to work on her breast.
"Don't torture the poor mare Star" Umbral chuckle and grabs her hips and lifts her up so her legs rest over her shoulders. "We are supposed to enjoy ourselves here."
"Right my mistake." Mark chuckles and adjusts the photographer so she is more comfortable as he brings her into a deep kiss while Umbral moves her panties to the side and starts eating her out.
While all that was happening Twilight and her herd were waiting painterly in their underwear as they keep checking the clock and then to Flash Sentry
"So anything?" Twilight wonder "Remember try to be as lose as possible, that necklace can manipulate your body as a puppet if you don't offer to much resistance the moment a sexual activity starts. So are you sure nothing is happening yet?"
"Twily you and Moondancer are in front of me in your underwear, I'm blue balls here! How exactly would it feel different? Can't we just do the normal stuff and...wow." His eyes widen and his mouth gets tingly.
"Hmm minty? Ok I...think it is starting...wow...ah yeah it is starting!" He says in excitement. "He is fondling something round and soft, wait so the reason my fingers felt wet was...oh!" He nods and smirks at them
"Ok now I'm ready."
"Excellent! Then we can start the experiment right away, remember Flash, try to react to what you feel, I'm gonna be the first dummy while Moondancer takes notes and..." Twilight is tackled into the bed as he gets to work.
"Y-yeah like that! Oh what are you doing with your tongue? Ah...Moondancer!"
"Taking notes Twily." Moondancer says writing furiously, as Flash goes to town on the alicorn.
Going back to Mark, Photo Finish's eyes were starting to roll back due to the double administration of pleasure she was receiving, forcing her to break the kiss "Wait, wait! I'm...I'm about to cuuum!" Rather than slow down, Umbral takes the shot with gusto and laps at her for everything that she was worth until there was nothing left and they let her down gently to allow her to ride her afterglow.
Looking at Umbra, Mark sees her raising her eyebrows inviting him over, as he smiles and takes the offer so they could share a sloppy kiss to enjoy their orgasm, as Photo take the chance of taking another shot at their kiss that just keeps escalating, as Mark starts to clean her face up while Umbral snakes her way toward his shorts.
"Enough games, now let's see the pack..." She yanks down his swim trunks and is face to face with his dick, making her pause momentarily.
"Huh it's...smooth." She was so focused she didn't care about the other photo being taken, as she closes her eyes and smelled it.
"Smells nice." She then proceeds to give it a lick. "It tastes nice, but how well will it feel? '' She questions before smirking and then brings it down to start giving a blowjob. The human pointing at the Photographer to come to him as she nods and stands up, hugging his frame to let her take a picture of Umbral from another position before being surprised when Mark took the camera and takes a picture of himself helping himself to a serving of Finish's milk while hugging the poor mare caught off guard.
"Hmm a cookie...made of rice crispy, with gummy bears. Delicious!" Loving the flavour he starts to suckle harder and gives her nipple a light nibble making Photo Finish to gasp in delight and then gasp when Umbral used her fingers to get inside the poor mare and play with her inner walls.
The mare had to take the camera again to take even more photos of how she was being ravished.
15 minutes later Mark's orgasm arrived and once more Umbral took it with gusto, as Photo cums like a geyser by the combined force of Mark and Umbral who let her go and let the poor mare lean on the wall for support.
"Oh by all heavens I..." Umbral shocks her one final time with another kiss letting Finish taste Mark' seed, and gives her a micro orgasm in the process causing her to sit down, to recover.
"Not bad Stars, not bad but think you can keep up?" Umbral was still giving him her back that allows Mark to hug her from behind and pulling away the panty part of the bikini rubs his hard dick against the walls of her pussy.
"Ha, shaved, so thoughtful" Mark starts licking her check. "I must have you, now!" He growls as The Hunter was more than ready, making her shiver and even wetter as Mark turns her around getting rid of the upper half of her bikini as she kisses and lifts her up, with Umbral hugging his hips with her legs in an aggressive kiss that stumbles them onto the ground and after some adjusting, manages to insert his dick inside of her.
"Oh yeah that is the stuff!" Umbral bites her lower lip before looking at Mark. "I'm gonna dry you up Star."
He grabs her mane and pulls it back. "You are leaving without feeling your legs." He promised back as their session got more intense.
"Oh Celestia! Oh heaves! I just ahgishte" Twilight can't come up with words any longer, as Flash seems to be acting like a stallion possessed as he keeps ramming her from behind, doggy style while using her wings to pull and get deeper.
Moondancer by now, tried to stop, and take her place. But Flash grabs her and using one hand starts playing with her pussy somehow finding her G-Spot and leaving her at his total mercy while he drinks her milk with gusto and then feeds it to her with sloppy wet kisses.
With a grunt both Umbral and Mark reach their peak as he cums inside her hard, while she reaches her orgasm, as he holds her from behind with his hands firmly pressed on her breast while she holds his hand leaving him panting and chuckling. "Ok...that's one, two more to go."
"Just you wait" They both smirk for a moment before sharing a more compassionate gaze and bring themselves closer for a kiss interrupted only by another shot from Photo Finish who clears her eyes from a tear for the display.
"You know Photo, Umbral is right, you are an incredibly gorgeous mare with a beautiful set of eyes."
"Ja! Yeah 'eyes'" Umbral rolls her eyes.
"I mean it, you have very beautiful eyes, did you never honestly get curious about being on the other side of the lens?"
"I would be lying if I say no but AT last! It is the way of things, that my call is to capture the magic and never be a part of it! If my shyness wouldn't be in my way...my proclivities sure would." She confessed in a dramatic pose and even went as far as arching her back and spreading her legs and pussy apart, giving Umbral a small poke.
"Did you just get bigger?" She asks impressed.
"A mare just flashed me Umbral, I'm not made of rock, and don't think I didn't feel how you got wetter just now?"
"Fine you got me."
Sharing a laugh everyone takes a moment to calm down as Mark sees some of the props on the set and comes up with an idea.
"Say Photo Finish, would you like to try making love as the camera?" Mark tells with a smirk
"Mark, what do you have in store?" Umbral smirk feeling his rod poking her cervix and licking her lips in anticipation.
Half an hour, a wig and some makeup later, Mark and Umbral stand back to see their work and whistle
"Wow, had my doubts but this has potential" Umbral comment while they look at Photo Finish only this time she had a small layer of glitter on her, had some purple eyeshadow, and blue lipstick and with a white wig with a long half braided hair into a ponytail, she almost looks like a completely different mare.
"H...how do I look?" Photo Finish asks nervously, as they both smile and help her stand up
"Like a beautiful model ready to make her debut" Mark calls with a compassionate smile before their eyes turn sultry "So Feinschliff ready to be a model?"
She nodded eagerly, "Let's do it!"
Now more eager, Photo takes initiative as she pounces and kisses Mark passionately, as he hugs her and plays with her ears.
"Wow! You go girl, ride that dick!" Umbral encouraged her as Photo thrust her hips over and over against him, more excited as her pictures were taken.
"Oh yes, yes, devour me!" Photo calls out as Mark and Umbral eat her out, and exchange between their breasts taking turns in kissing her like two predators enjoying their meal, the camera now becoming a timer to shoot after a time, as the human and Thestral hold hands occasionally.
"Oh sweet heavens that is hot." Mark can't help but drool when Photo and Umbral place his dick between their breasts and give him a double boob job, his length even allowing them to give the tip of his dick amorous kisses and licks between the two.
"And now for the mating of the predators, dominate your partner! Drive her into a world of overjoy!" Finish plays with herself as Mark takes Umbral doggy style pulling on her hair increasing the sensation as she reaches her second orgam. "T...that's...TWO!"
Smirking he doesn't seem to stop and instead just goes even faster, making her tongue loll out just to be captured by another kiss as he brings her up and against his chest so he can play with her beautiful breasts, pulling her nipples as a third one occurs.
"Say it." He asks in victory, making her grumble. "Say it dear, I will make it worth it."
"That's...three." She finally relents.
"There, was that hard?"
"No, but this will be for you!" She smirks and lets him go with a wet pop. "Time for your show sweetie." She grabs Photo Finish and brings her for a kiss; she smooshes their chests together before bringing her down and then scissors their legs.
"Ah...what...no! Umbral that...that is cheating!" Mark says,feeling his dick throbbing by the image alone.
"What is the matter dear? Too hot for you?" She put them to the side and spread Photo pussy at him "Right here, in between come join us if you think you can hold it."
With a growl, he can't resist himself and does just that, starting to fuck each of them making Photo Finish gasp and look forward.
"Oh that is right, he just entered you once right? Brace yourself" she warns her before gasping too, as Mark keeps exchanging between holes with no intentions to slow down making their moans increase in volume.
Someone outside might have been hearing it if it wasn't for the fact that various other rooms were in similar positions and for the purpose of photo shootings, and not getting the attention of fans the rooms were soundproof.
After hours of that happening Moondancer and Twilight finally manage to have a moment to breathe as Flash stood back to recover his breath. The two mares were too tired and sensitive to even move from one another leaving Moondancer pressing against Twilight with their pulsating nedens at hair distance from the other.
"Oh wow, that was...intense. Mark is more than remarkable isn't he Twilight?"
"Y-Yeah...yeah he is, I suppose I should've expected it more considering he tamed a dragoness."
"Think it over?" Moondancer wonders with a raised eyebrow as Twilight looks behind her and sees Flash standing up once more with a full mast still ready. Teleporting two vials of vitality potions, Twilight drinks one and helps Moondancer drink the other before hugging her. "It's not"
"Oh...is it wrong that a part of me is happy to hear it?"
"No sweetie." Flash appears looming over the two. "I'm happy too." He confesses as he lines up his dick.
"Oh sweeet Merciful CELESTIA!" Umbral yells in complete euphoria as Mark keeps ramming her cervix over and over again as he takes her standing up, leaving scratch marks on her back as Photo Finish takes her second air.
"No wonder Milky is so in love with you, this dick is just so good!"
"Milky tells you about this?" Mark asks, confused.
"It's only fair I used to pound that pussy before you came Star." Umbral mentions with a smirk and is surprised when feeling his dick throbbing getting an idea. "Yeah we were wild back then, I ate her out, sucked on those delicious knockers, or when we showered together." she shivers at the thought. "Wouldn't you just love to join us next time?" She sultrily asks nibbling his earlobe.
Something in his mind snaps and his eyes turn white as The Hunter takes over and rams her with all his might, completely drunk in lust, and making sure she remembers. Photo getting both excited and frightened for how Mark has turned, as orgasm after orgasm he keeps pounding her into a knockout, leaving her alone to take the other half.
Nervously she turns around and gives her ass a little shake and flagging her tail making sure she was facing the camera before turning to look at Mark. "Anal?" She requests with a nervous smile, and the human smirks as he grabs hold of her buttcheeks and spreads them apart.
"SWWEEEET GLORIOUS NIIIIIIGHT!" Photo screamed out.
Later
Finding some robes the 3 leave the room laughing a little and completely spent. "Oh wow, talk about a pounding!" Umbral comments as one of her arms were resting on Mark's shoulders.
"Told you, I could give it to you."
"Hell yeah you can! Now I can't wait for round two" She tells with sultry eyes as they share a small kiss while approaching the changing rooms.
"Ahephm." Photo Finish calls for their attention. "I hope neither have forgotten our arrangement."
"Don't worry, we promise no one will know."
"Good, as for the pictures..."
"Keep them, consider them a keepsake from our session."
She smiles and nods. "Will do, but I will give a copy as a matter of thanking you."
"Don't mention it, I mean this is the first time I shared a spotlight with another dominant like Umbral, so if anything I think you let us come closer and understand each other."
"Aww that's so sweet." Umbral leans her head against him. "Speaking of, how long are you planning to make my stallion carry you like a princess!?" Umbral question Photo irked at their position.
"It can't be helped! My legs have yet to recover sensation!" Photo argues back.
"Aha, it better be, the moment I see you pretending I'm gonna..."
Mark silences her with another passionate kiss that melts her anger away. "Don't be jealous sweetie, I promised to carry you too as soon as Photo Finish is fine."
She can only giggle with hearts in her eyes at the display. "Ok." She simply replied, completely happy.
They keep advancing and enter the changing room only to find Autumn waiting for him.
"Mark!" She rushes toward him with tears in her eyes. "Where were you?! I looked everywhere for you, I left you a thousand messages! I thought something bad happened! Why weren't you answering my calls?!"
"Autumn! Oh I am so sorry I completely forgot! I promise I will make it up to you. So, so sorry for leaving you stood up the way I did, something happened and..."
"What? What happened! Why didn't you say anything and..." she finally notices the position he was with the other two mares.
"And why are you carrying Photo Finish?"
They look at one another before Mark smiles and comes up with an excuse. "It's a bit of a long story, we were helping Photo Finish with some equipment and then she fell."
"Oh, so that is why, and did you also take a shower?" She asks, pointing at their robes
"That is another long story" Umbral reply
"That's ok. We can talk over coffee then? What do you say, my treat?" She smiles widely at the three.
"I mean...I kind of stood her up so it's the least I could do, would you like to come?"
"I could grab something." Photo answers.
"Yeah I don't trust her alone with you, I'm coming too,'' Umbral adds.
"Huh?" Autumn looks at Umbral confused as they go change.
As that happens, Twilight and her herd finally manage to ride their afterglow. Flash leans back in bed panting to catch his breath. "Oh wow, that was intense, I think I saw the pearly gates at some point." Flash chuckles before looking at his mares. "How are you fairing Twilight?"
Neither of them is capable of answering, their manes were completely straight up and they were sporting giant grins on their faces as their legs kept twitching.
"Twily? Moony?" Flash asks again, looking at both mares confused and slightly scared by their lack of response. |
Equestria Handyman | Informing The Herd (Edited By Naga Shark) | Milky can only smirk with a big smile while looking at Mark who keep his head down, a copy of Photo Finish latest magazine in her hands, as she was reading a particular article.
"Don't say it."
"Say what sweetie?"
"Don't say it." Mark repeats.
"Oh you mean this?" She turn the magazine to show a picture of him on his underwear playing with Autumn
"Don't worry I'm not, one single picture is worth more than a thousand words."
He sighs and looks down, still grumbling a bit on how he decided to break his one rule but happy to see a small little section of a certain Feinschliff mare posing for a few curtain ads with her back turned and showing her naked back.
You did it Photo Finish, you got a small taste.
He smiles at the Photographer that picks one of the many pictures taken, and yet manages to find a space in her magazine to add it without anyone knowing it was her.
"I think you look good." Umbral replies with a smirk sitting next to him. "Maybe Photo Finish lets us have the next one together." She gets closer to his ear. "Ever heard of the micro bikini?"
"What?!" He is startled, and looks at her in shock making every mare in the room chuckle. "That's enough Umbral don't tease the poor stud." Milky chastises with a smile.
"You mean our stud? Don't worry, I'm just messing with him a bit." Umbral defends herself. "He knows it's all in good fun. And Photo Finish doesn't deal with THAT type of shots."
"Thank goodness for that" Fluttershy mentions as she comes into the room holding a plate full of cookies for everyone. "I-I wouldn't know if I would have been able to pose with something like that." She confesses with an enormous blush on her face as she sits next to Milky.
"Wait, you are ALSO a model?" Umbral question Fluttershy.
"Was...for a bit it's kind of a long story."
"Wow so counting me, that is 3 models you have banged in total Stars, did I find a type dude?"
"Well of course I have a type, we all have." He tells with confidence. "But they're not models."
"Ha ha ok now I'm interested, what is it?"
Rather than answer he surprises her with a kiss that lasts a couple of seconds startling her as she is left with dreamy eyes. "A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell honey"
She sighs in happiness before realizing what is going on. "Wait what?"
They all share a laugh, much to her annoyance. "You tease"
She then looks at Fluttershy. "So Fluttershy, I'm the new girl in the herd and I'm happy you are not so jumpy but are you really ok with well...this?" She points at her fangs "You know what I eat right?"
She nods with a smile "It's really ok with me, Mark also eats meat and I love him for it, this is nothing new for me. I hope we all can become really good friends."
She smirks at the comment. "Oh we can become something alright, but I wouldn't call it friends." She goes to her presumably to give her a kiss but Fluttershy only retracts in fear, getting behind Milky.
"Huh?"
"Sorry for not telling you Umbral, Fluttershy is...still a bit skittish about the idea of intimacy with other mares."
"It's N-No, because I can only be with a stallion!" Fluttershy quickly adds.. "I simply... I'm a bit shy. My sweet hunter so far is the only one I have been more than happy to be comfortable around, but even that took sometime." She confesses in shame. "I'm so sorry, please don't think this is because I'm afraid I'm just, nervous."
Milky smiles and brings her closer to her in a hug, rubbing her shoulder. "It's ok Fluttershy, baby steps. Will it be ok if I kiss your forehead?"
She was still trembling a little but nodded and with her permission Milky did that to help her relax.
"Huh, well that is the first for me." Umbral says still a bit unsure on how to take the news. "Hey wait a minute, how did you know the stage name of Star was 'The Hunter'?"
"He has a stage name?" Fluttershy questions leaving her speechless as she can only stare at her confused.
"Anyway, moving on. I'm extremely happy you decided to join our herd Umbral. We always supported each other and now having a close friend with us...well it makes me feel more at peace."
"Ha yeah sames, now the only one remaining is Surprise." She smirks and looks at Mark. "Think you can handle her? She can get a bit crazy."
"If it makes my mares happy, I would give it a try. But so far I think we can get along, she's funny."
"You don't know the half of it."
"You don't know the half of it."
Both Umbral and Milky tell with a roll of their eyes.
"Unfortunately she is in Saddle Arabia at the moment, and will not return until later."
"Shame, but oh well looks like it's back to blind dates for a while, eh Star." Umbral mentions crossing her arms. "Or do you think you have what it takes to go out there and try your luck alone?"
"Actually, I think I will try to slow down in that regard, I can't just keep forming my herd based on blind dates right? Fluttershy and her friends are helping me learn how to try to get a date on my own and well I'm not sure I would like to have 13 mares in my herd before I try to find one myself."
"Eh, I think you can handle it." Milky confesses with a shrug, and the other 2 nod in agreement.
"Anyway, the point is, for now I will try to keep things casual and see how everything develops. I mean that is how I found an incredibly gorgeous, kind, and a beast in the sheets of a Thestral didn't I?"
Umbral look away completely flustered by the comment. "And Y-you haven't seen my best yet either."
They share a laugh before Fluttershy remembers something. "Milky, shouldn't we tell her?"
She nods in agreement "We should, I've known Umbral all my life, she can keep a secret."
"What secret?" She asks them both with curiosity. They all exchange looks before nodding.
"Well Umbri, since you are now a part of our little herd, we can tell you something Milky and I decided to reserve to only the rest of the herd. A little secret we hope you can keep too."
"Mark is a royal lover!" Fluttershy tells with a big grin.
"What?" Umbral asks, confused.
"Oh for the love of...did you talk with Bella, Fluttershy?"
"Who is Bella?"
It was Mark's turn to look at Fluttershy confused.
"Ok you are pulling my tail here, right? I mean sure he is awesome in bed and sure he really knows how to find, and play your body like an instrument like a maestro, but come on that doesn't that sound a bit like an exaggeration? Next you are gonna say he has fucked Princesses on a daily basis."
They all exchange worried looks and turn away. "Actually..."
"Wait, what?!"
"I have her on speed dial if you want a small bit of proof" Mark suggests, and Umbral takes his offer and calls Celestia who confirms it.
"P-Princess Celestia!? You...her...wh...what?!" Umbral asks incredulously.
"And the Dragon Lord Ember,
"And Queen Rain Shine." Fluttershy and Milky list. "You can know but we all swore to keep silent. You see why it's important right Umbral?"
"The leader of the dragons and, who is Queen Rain?"
"The Queen of the Kirins."
"The Queen of the Kirins?!"
"Umbral just breathe, calm down." Mark offers to console and rub her back
"Oh boy this...this is huge. I, and any of them."
"No, we all keep it casual, just friends with benefits. We agreed it would just complicate things if they join."
"Wow my stallion, a royal lover" She says, starting to recover.
"Ok seriously, why do you keep calling me that?"
"You have sex with Princesses." They all tell him in a matter of fact way.
"Fair point."
"Ok I have so many questions, how did it happen? Is it still happening? And is it an only you deal, or can we have fun too?"
"I...I'm not so sure if that is such a good..."
"We can yeah." Fluttershy and Milky nods with a big smile "Princess Celestia told me I can participate once I can overcome my fear." Fluttershy adds.
"Ember offered it as a deal to keep quiet." Milky mentions. "She didn't have too but I kept it just in case." Milky tells with a malevolent smirk.
"Good then I call dibs on the Kirin Queen."
"What?" Mark looked at her in surprise.
"What? Autumn's mane looks really soft. I bet the Queen is even better. Oh and also call second dibs with the next Princess, after Milky!" She adds excitedly.
"Hey, hey wait a minute, one we need to ask Rain she is..."
"She is a sweetie, don't worry." Milky interrupts Mark. "She came to Trottingham the other day and we had a chat over coffee. She really wants to have a special friendship with all of us."
"...we will circle that later, but ok, and second of all, what makes you think this will happen again?"
They all look at him with a neutral expression. "What? Rain could have been the last one. It's not like I'm some sort of royalty magnet."
They all raised an eyebrow at him "I'm not!"
"Do you even believe that yourself dude?" Umbral questions him.
"I'm friends with Cadence and Twilight and I haven't screwed them have I? I bet they aren't even the slightest bit interested."
At that moment at Twilight castle
"So Cadence, if I could ask, do you by chance know how long the...imprint lasts?" Twilight asks over the scroll with a giant blush on her face while holding Photo Finish Magazine with the picture of Mark on it.
"I thought it would leave after a week but I feel I had some phantom sensations." Cadence confesses. "Be strong Twily, I'm sure it will leave...eventually."
Back to Mark and his herd
"Yep, not the slightest interest whatsoever." Mark repeats with confidence.
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure dear" Milky mentions "Fluttershy's moan certainly awoke something in Twilight at the very least."
"W-what?!"
"Don't worry we talked about it like calmed mares, and she would never do something behind Flash Sentry back but well we are not made of stones here dear. Leaving a mare THAT happy? Of course at least one Princess would be interested."
Fluttershy was by that point a red tomato as she hid behind her mane.
"Oh ho ho now THAT I need to hear the story of." Umbral says with interest.
"...I'm gonna have a talk with Twilight later, but in the meantime, glad to hear you can keep the secret Umbral, the Princess is a really nice pers...pony...ah species. And sure if Rain is ok then I'm ok too, but I feel like I should warn you all about something. Do you know what a Nirik is?"
"Oh I do, it's when a Kirin gets angry and as a result they ignite into their fire counterpart." Fluttershy explains before getting worried. "Did...Rain Shine get angry at you Mark?"
"Not exactly, let just say, she and I discovered that not only anger can ignite their form."
"Oh?" Umbral mentions with curiosity. "Do tell."
"Oh Umbral do you still have that wax fetish of yours?" Milky mentions with a raised eyebrow.
"Wait, wax fetish?" Mark looked at the Thestral in surprise.
"Told you, I didn't show the best of me back then haha. So out with it, how hot does she turn?"
Blinking a couple of times, Mark and the rest keep talking and getting to know each other until it is late at night and they go to bed. Just to sleep together without any issue of things turning heated in consideration for Fluttershy.
The next day Mark marched to Twilight castle and started looking for the Princess in question "Twilight! Twilight we need to talk where the hell are you. Twil...AH!" Mark opens a door only to find Twilight and Flash Sentry in a compromising position with Twilight riding his cock facing the door giving him a good view of her big breast and erect dark purple nipple while Flash has been blindfolded, and had swim trunks like the one in the magazine.
"For pit sake! Again?!" Mark turned around and slammed the door behind him "That is it! Twilight I'm getting you a lock for your birthday!" He announced in anger as he marched away from the castle.
"Mark, wait!" Twilight once more gives chase with the same pink robe only this time it was clear she wasn't wearing anything judging for how fast she put it on some skin was showing. "I'm sorry, I know I told you before but I just keep forgetting to lock the door, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
"Forget it, it can wait." He shakes his head.
"Please." She grabs his wrist and looks at him with pleading eyes, making him sigh and relent. "Milky told me you got...curious after the incident of Fluttershy"
"O-oh?"
"Look I'm not here to judge, I would be hypocritical if I say I wouldn't do it or have done it before, heck before coming to Equestria. I pretty much just had my imagination and the good situation you had. I just hope Flash isn't a replacement for your hand."
"N-no! Of course he isn't!"
"Good, I might feel a bit uncomfortable about it, but as long as we are honest here, I will do my best and try to understand"
"Ok Twilight I'm ready" Moondancer walks in wearing a micro bikini and a beach ball while reading a spell book. "I think I found the perfect spell for a beach setting and..." She notices Mark in front of him and slowly covers herself, noticing the scandalous wardrobe she was wearing, something hard to tell considering her bra size is slightly bigger than Twilight so the bikini looks like it could rip any second now.
"Mark..." Twilight tried to say anything
"I'm leaving" He tells with finality "Know that I will plow my mares now and it will be for YOUR material see if you like it."
He tells in anger as he storms off.
"Did he just say he is gonna plow his mares because of us?" Moon questions, as Twilight hangs her head down and nods.
In the meantime Umbral and Milky get ready to depart back to Trottingham. "Take good care of Star for us ok?" Umbral asks Fluttershy, as she nods and they share a hug. "I just hope one day you don't have to leave."
"Eh I say it more than fair, Mark is more than cool with us being as free as we want without worrying too much and doing what we love. We are ok with him fucking any mare he fancies."
"We are a very open herd aren't we?" Milky tells in realization as they share a laugh.
"Heck yeah, and that only makes everything all the hotter." Umbral laughed before turning around. "Speaking of that Daisy dancer you told me about. By chance was she a Holstaur?"
"Yeah why?" Fluttershy ask with curiosity, as Umbral smirk
"Ladies, I think I just came up with a little something we can do for Mark, tell me, when is his birthday?"
They exchange glances and answer before Umbral asks them to get closer and share her plan.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy gets flustered by the idea.
"What do you say? The poor guy has been pining about the one that got away, I say as good herds mares we help him out a bit."
"I would be lying if I said I don't see how much happiness it will give him. But we should also consider her feelings too. For now the best would be to start small."
"Sure! Works for me" Umbral nods and they all part ways but not before Milky looks at Fluttershy with concern. "Are you sure you will be fine?"
She nods and holds a pamphlet "I'm sure I don't want you to start walking on eggshells around me, or feel like I'm holding the herd back. So I will try my best to be more comfortable around mares." She tells with determination.
"Well in that case." Milky steals a small peck on the lips. "Consider this your small boost, I believe in you Fluttershy. I know you can do it"
She can't talk, but with a blush, nods rapidly. Soon the train leaves and Fluttershy waves at it before turning around and goes to her cottage holding the pamphlet closer, titled 'you and your mares, a trip to get closer'"
Unknown to her, in a bench pretending to read some newspaper, a certain mare with black fur and green mane was taking the chance to eat some of the love lingering in the air.
My my, what do we have here? This is definitely a curious new taste, hmm sweeter and saltier. What stallion provoked this?
The mare licks her lips in anticipation before starting to follow Fluttershy bursting into flames when no one was looking to become a simple robin perched in a tree. |
Equestria Handyman | Herding Crash Lessons (Edited By Naga Shark) | Taking a deep breath Fluttershy looks at the pamphlet in her hands for a moment before looking up at Mark's house.
It's for the herd, it's for the herd. I know he will support me.
Stealing her resolve she knocks on the door only to find it unlocked, confusing the mare.
"Mark?" She pokes her head to look after him, finding the place oddly quiet and dark to be so late at night.
"I'm coming in" She closes the door behind her and hears some grunts in the distance that make her worry. "Mark? Where are you?"
Suddenly the grunts stop and she hears a door open and close fast revealing a spotlight which she follows but is confused when she finds only the bathroom and Mark's pants.
"Huh?"
Hearing a growl behind her Fluttershy shivers before feeling a hand turning her around and kissing her as Mark pins her to the wall in need as his mouth invades hers, claiming her tongue.
Moaning in approval she hugs him back and closes her eyes.
"W-Wait! This is wrong." Mark stops and breaks the kiss. "I...I just got worked up and was so horny. Fluttershy, I'm sorry I shouldn't...!" He can't say anything else as she launches at him too and resumes the kiss as they growl and she dry humps his hips while he desperately starts to rip her clothes off.
From the window a raven was looking at everything unfold with a shocked face.
'By the ancient hive, is he intending to eat her?!'
She wanted to look away but the lust had left her drunk and the love froze her in place as those two continued to hump like wild animals, for well over an hour.
"...And then after discovering that Moondancer has a triple D size breast in a micro bikini I was virtually starving. I almost went to your house and just ram you right in the open." Mark confesses in shame as Fluttershy coos and circles her hand over his chest. "Thank god I managed to control myself and instead went home to try to calm down. Managed to rub a couple more and try to sleep it off, but the image simply lingered."
He smiles and looks lovingly at Fluttershy. "Until I saw you and remembered something far, more incredible." He gives her a good slap, making her gasp in delight and kisses her passionately.
"Sorry for the cloths"
"It's ok, I already prepared spares just for that." Fluttershy says not the slightly angry for what happened and gives him an esquimo kiss "I will always be ready for my sweet little hunter" She giggles and places her head against his chest, the heart beating almost a lullaby to her. "I might have to thank Twilight now, perhaps even hope you walk in on her more often"
He chuckled and shook his head. "God I hope not, things are more than awkward as they are, I could sure have lived not knowing where she had concealed beauty marks."
They share another laugh as they hold hands and stare at the ceiling. "So not that I don't love having my kitty here, because I really love you here, like this." He emphasizes his point by rubbing her hips as she rubs her pussy against one of his legs. "But what brings you here? Did you want to tell me something?"
"Oh yeah I wanted to show you something." She stands up and looks at the ragged clothes on the floor. "Where is it, I'm sure I dropped it near here." She kept looking, giving Mark a pleasant view of her ass as she kept bending over to look around "Aha! Here it is." She finds the pamphlet and returns to bed, where she gets in her usual position and shows him the paper in question.
'You and your mares, a trip to grow closer.'" Mark read out loud the title. "I think it's too late for that fluttershy I don't know how much closer we can get than this." He chuckles and hugs her closer to his frame as she giggles and nods.
"It is not that silly, it is a special kind of retreat. One to help mares like me get comfortable with intimacy with their stallions and other mares." She explains.
"Oh, Fluttershy are you sure about this?" Mark asks her in concern as she nods "I already told Milky and Umbral and they were ok with it too. Mark, you know how much I love you, right?"
"Of course, and I love you too with all my heart."
"Then you understand, being nervous and afraid of sharing you, fearing another kitty will come around and try to take my place. I'm the primal kitty." she tells with finality. "And you are my hunter, and need to hunt. I want to be a part of it, and I want to help you. Maybe even help you create a Pride but to do so I need to be able to stand my ground" She looked up at him.
"But I can't do it alone, so please Mark, would you join me?"
He smiles and grabs her hand. "As long as this is What you really want, I will gladly help in whatever manner possible."
"Thank you!" She kisses him with tearful eyes. "And don't worry it still 2 weeks away, there is plenty of time."
"Ha good to know." He opens the pamphlet and starts to read the program. "I'm sure Molly would love to hear this news too, it will be fun having some couples activities, I mean mountain climbing, kayaks, water trust exercise, camping, organized orgies, what?!" He asks in shock at the last part.
"Don't worry it's full mares on one stallion, I asked." Fluttershy calms him down and leans on his head. "I know you will be spectacular, my sweet beautiful hunter." She praises him one last time before falling asleep as Mark only looks at the ceiling.
"What did I just agree to?" He whispers to himself in slight fear at the last activity.
Outside the window a raven rubs her large belly before changing back into a long black pony with holes in her hoof, wearing a green kimono and having long damp green hair as she leans on a tree and burps occasionally.
I can't believe it, that hairless monkey managed to fill me up just by proximity alone. His love is just as strong as Shining Armor's!' She chuckled to herself. 'I must have him, with him as my battery, Equestria would be... '
She has to stop and rush to a nearby bush to throw up the effects of the lust finally catching on to her. "Ah sweet heavens my head is killing me!"
The following days, things return to relatively ease, as Mark starts to get more customers and job offers for his services as a handyman. With Queen Rain and her request to help build some houses for her town being the first on the list.
Gradually his popularity started to grow and even if still limited to Ponyville his name and mark was getting more recognized, giving him a boost of confidence as he continued his lessons of how to herd ponies.
"Ok loyalty of course is more than important for any stallion, a good stallion would never ever, ever cheat on his herd."
"Ok but how exactly would he be cheating?"
"Well duh, by dating a mare outside his herd."
"Ah but isn't that how he increases his herd?"
"Well yeah of course that is how it works."
"Ok then how is that cheating then?"
"Are you even listening? I said just by going behind his herd's back."
"But you just said..."
"What do I have to draw a picture for you?" She asks, getting annoyed.
"Ok I was fearing this might happen." Starlight intervenes, entering the room. "Dash, have you ever dated before?"
"Of course I have!" she says defiantly.
"Have you ever entered a herd before?"
"I..." She can't reply.
"Yep, I thought so." She sighs and approaches the human. "Look Mark, what Dash is trying to say is the key of a healthy loyal herd is communication and understanding, loyalty comes from establishing rules and talking when you wish to pursue any mare whatsoever. Going and inviting a mare without commenting at the very least your alpha IS what is considered cheating.
"Oh I get it now."
"Of course not all herds work like that. It all depends on the arrangement you have come up with, Twilight told me you and Milky develop a fairly casual and open herd relationship, correct?"
"Yep, we both can look and date any mare we want as long as we tell the other about our exploits and then we discuss if we let the candidate join or not our herds."
Starlight nods "And did she add another rule? Like a particular mare or group of mares you can't see?"
"Well she requested me for one thing. Making babies that are exclusively just in the herd."
"There you go! You stay loyal, as long as that rule isn't broken."
"I got it"
"That is what I was saying" Dash complained and both of them looked at her with neutrality.
"What?"
The next day
"The key for a happy herd is sharing laughter and hobbies." Pinkie tells while juggling with Cheese Sandwich.
"Talking about what you like and dislike can help you find a middle ground and even maybe find something you love too." Cheese continued.
"Before looking at other mares, think about what you both like to do and what hobbies you have." They toss their props and start to perform an athletic act in front of him and Rose who clap in happiness.
"Even if there is no common ground, sharing what you like shows trust and understanding, and caring for your significant other, and add weight when they go out of the way to be a part of what you enjoy and vice versa." Then end up the act by kneeling in front of Rose and show them a boutique of roses that light her mood as she hug her presents.
"When you understand your partners, your herd will always be a happy herd." Rose finishes and they come for a group hug giggling at the display.
"Sharing common ground, and telling about hobbies" Mark wrote everything down. "And what happens if the partner doesn't like it?"
"Then it compromises time! If they like you and you like them, I'm sure you both will be willing to find a way to make it click, like your long distance relationship. That is hard but you made it work!" Pinkie mentions.
"Yeah not everypony can keep their mares happy knowing they are so far away all the time, but you make it work and sacrifice for them. And they are for you right?"
"Right."
"Then there is nothing to worry about, silly! You got this." Pinkie gave them a thumbs up.
He chuckles and nods as the rest of the day he enjoys the rest of the performance as they entertain a growing audience.
The very next day, Twilight wanted to impart a little wisdom as well.
Tapping his feet in front of the castle Mark waits patiently until Spike opens the door. "Ah Mark, the door is unlocked, you could walk in." He asks, confused into why he simply didn't enter.
"Thanks Spike, but I'm not taking chances now." Mark replies and greets the dragon. "How is Gabby by the way?"
"She is fine, thanks for asking. Twilight is waiting for you at the studio."
"And Flash Sentry and Moondancer?"
"Friendship problem, the map called for them, they are in Appleloosa."
"Good." He nods and walks in. "That means for once I will be able to walk into a room while she still has her bra on."
"Right" Spike nods, before getting confused and looks at him. "Wait what?"
Approaching the studio Mark was about to open the door but before he did he decided to play it safe and knock first. "Twilight?"
"In here, you can come in." Twilight calls from the other side, and walking inside Mark found her with some books scattered everywhere and a chalkboard with what look like the 7 days and arrows pointing down on each of them
"So glad you came, Mark, listen about what happened two days ago..."
"It's ok Twilight, I should have been a little bit more reasonable. I mean, it was still shocking, sure. I'm just happy you and your herd are very happy together, and aren't afraid to show your affection...a little too much but I can get past it."
"Thanks for understanding," Twilight replied with a small blush of embarrassment. "I promise we will be extra careful and make sure to lock the doors from now on." She promises, which brightens his day a little, and he sits down.
"That is all I ask...I'm sure Fluttershy would be a tinsy bit disappointed but I bet she will understand."
"Wait, why would Fluttershy...? Mark you didn't."
"Trust me when I say, I tried not to do anything, I really tried, but when she just gave me that 'fuck me' stare." He shakes his head. "I can only think of how much I need to mark her as mine."
He confesses and smiles when he sees Twilight with a giant blush and her wings outstretched. "If it helps, just think of that as a way for us to be even."
"O-Ok" Twilight nods with a cracked voice before clearing her throat and starting their lesson. "Anyway, for our lesson I thought I could teach you about important dates, setting one and what are the most important days a stallion should always remember."
"You mean like anniversaries and birthdays?"
"Well yeah for the first one as for the second date, is kind of redundant don't you think? Of course that is celebrated but it is a more general term. Now for an anniversary, I should clarify something, no you don't celebrate every single one for each mare. We had a holiday for that. It is called Herd day. It's february 24, so keep it in mind."
"Got it, and what type of present should I have ready for that?"
"We will discuss it later for now let's start with the most important. "Anniversary, a day dedicated for you and your alpha"
"Wait, I don't need to do something for my herd on the anniversary?"
"Well I suppose some stallions do, but it is not that frequent. I mean birthdays, and herd day got that covered for mares, and the anniversaries are mostly for the stallion. How exactly does it work on Earth?"
"Something tells me it is similar to herd day." Mark inquires as Twilight continues their lesson, until Sunset arrives and they decide to call it a day.
"And remember the order for the year is wood, glass, plastic, chocolate, roses, and trips. After that point it mainly is up to the herd. Some repeat some plan, some do something spontaneous." Twilight says, guiding him to the front door, and giving him a book to help him out.
"Thanks Twilight I will keep it in mind."
He was about to leave, when Twilight grabbed his shoulder. "Mark before you go, I just wanted to say, about the silly deal me and my friends made. You know me and Pinkie aren't part of it...right?"
"Well of course not! And if you were, I would put my foot down immediately I draw the line with happy couples. I'm not a homewrecker." He tells with finality.
"Good I'm so glad to hear, b-but just out of curiosity if permission was granted, would you be willing to...?"
"What are you getting at Twilight?"
"Nothing, nothing! I'm just saying, all herds are different, and considering how open you and Milky decided to make your herd I was mainly curious about if that arrangement is included."
He kept looking at her suspiciously.
"I suppose hypothetically if the stallion is really ok. I might be able to consider it." He confesses remembering Bon Bon and Lyra situation and convincing himself that THAT is what Twilight was mainly asking, "BUT I will still not do anything unless my herd is well informed, and agrees as well. We do not keep secrets from one another."
"Good, that is a very healthy thing to do." Twilight nods satisfied at the answer. "You really are a very considerate stallion aren't you Mark?"
"Well, I try." He chuckles before waving goodbye.
"Night Twilight."
"Night Mark until next time"
She closes the door and immediately lets go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Thanks Celestia, crisis averted"
"What exactly happened with you two?" Spike startles her when he appears in front of her "Spike! I mean!....Nothing."
"Really? Then what is that comment about you not wearing a bra. Twilight are you still forgetting to lock the doors?!" Spike accuses her with his hands on his hips as Twilight can only giggle and look away with an embarrassed smile.
From the window Chrysalis hums in thought as she starts to come up with a plan.
'This Mark character really seems capable of rumbling some hearts. He might be useful to bait some of my enemies into a trap.'
Chrysalis chuckled malevolently before flying away. |
Equestria Handyman | Harsh Inspection (Edited By NagaShark) | Humming a little tune in her head, Milky prepares herself for another day on the job, filling some bottles of milk and placing them in the corner only to be received by a glaring face of a orange earth pony mare, with a short slightly spiky blond mane and tail wearing a full purple business suit and white round earrings. The infamous Ms. Harshwhinny which almost startles her into dropping the bottles.
"Ms. Harshwhinny, hi" She greets her with a practiced smile. "What brings you here? The annual healthy inspections aren't due until next month." She kept smiling, holding her grumbling at the stiff mare in front of her.
"I'm here to collect a debt your friend made."
"A debt?" Milky looks at her confused until her scroll comes to life. "Ah that must be your friend Surprise, I suggest you answer so the pegasus can explain the details of the arrangement."
"O...k?" Milky excuses herself and goes to the back door to answer her scroll.
"Hello?"
"Milky don't ask questions and follow my instructions, close your store, say you are sick and go to Ponyville for the next 3 days."
"Ms. Harshwhinny is already here, Surprise." Milky tells her with a sigh.
"Oh...eh...well haha surprise?"
"Surprise what deal did you make with that grump!?"
"It was a slip of the tongue I swear!" She defends herself.
"What. Did. You. Promise?"
"Well, remember that time where she seemed bent on finding any reason to close your store for good and was basically breathing down your neck waiting for you to make any sort of slip?"
"Like it was last night's nightmare, yeah." Milky recalls not being particularly fond of the memory.
"Well I was worried and confused as to why she hates you so much so using my natural talents I convinced her to join me in a pub, where she opened up after the second bottle and we talked. Turns out she was mainly venting frustration because her last coltfriend broke up with her...And he did it because allegedly he found a much more beautiful mare with bigger boobs than hers."
"Are you kidding me! She was on my flank just because she got dumped!?"
"I know I know but please understand she was a bit fragile and...emotional and well maybe was a tad jealous of how easy it was for you to get the attention of other stallions."
"Surprise, please tell me there is a point in this story."
"Getting there, anyway, after her rant I told what any other mare would have said. That she was beautiful, that it was her ex-coltfriend loss and so on. And then I mentioned how any herd would be more than happy to have her. Thought it would work...it didn't."
"Of course that hydra would just be self centered. So you somehow set me up on a date with her?"
"Close, the conversation kind of got a bit blurry after the fourth beer and I jokingly ask if it will make her feel better if she got a date with your coltfriend, so you get green from jealousy."
"Surprise...please tell me you didn't."
"I said I was joking, but...she kind of liked the idea and apparently we made a deal out of it, if you ever find a stallion. Which she found out in Saddle Arabia, I might have accidentally mentioned it?"
"Surprise!"
"Ok, ok hear me out, in my defence I really didn't think she would actually follow through with it!"
"And Tartarus will freeze before I let that harpy even close to my Marky. I'm telling her the deal is off right now!"
"Wait Milky! It's Ms. Harshwhinny we are talking here! You saw how she got just because she was projecting. Do you really want to give her a reason to actually be on top of you all your life?"
"Surprise I'm not setting my stallion on a blind date with HER!"
"Why not? You say how kind and sweet he can be, m-maybe he can change her for the better."
"Surprise, I don't think he can be THAT good."
"Please I mean it's just one small date, I...I would make it up to you two I swear! Just please I'm also feeling pretty bad for Harshwhinny, she could really use a little boost in confidence."
"You realize Mark is the one losing here the most right?"
"I know and I will make it up to him, promise if I can I will help him out, just please. Just one tinsy bitty date?"
Milky stays silent as she considers her options. "May Celestia forgive me, fine! ONE date, and you better be prepared Surprise. I will make sure Marky doesn't go easy on you."
"D-Duly noted." She tells with some nervousness as Milky hangs up.
Walking to the counter again Milky sees the mare in question now smirking at her. "So I imagine your friend informed you of our little arrangement then?"
"I can hardly consider it that, since I was never aware of it and as far as I know was intended as a joke." She tells the now visibly angry mare.
"It still holds water, and mares like you could really be put down a peg or two. Or what is the matter? Afraid your stallion will find me more enticing than you and your flaccid breast?"
Milky had to break part of the counter, not to scream at her for that comment "I...Isn't there any other way we can settle this?"
"Sure you can close this farce of a store and I will call the deal off."
'Ok that is it! This mare is going down!'
She smiles all of the sudden. "T-there is no reason to go that far Ms. Harshwhinny. I will talk with my coltfriend and see what we can do."
"Excellent, I will ask him to pick me up at 6 tonight where does he live."
"He doesn't live here, his house is in Ponyville?"
"What, you keep your coltfriend so far away? Ms Way, I was questioning how you make business but now I'm fearing you don't know much about herding either."
"We make long term relationships work."
"Aha, we will see. Fair enough then I would board the next train to ponyville at once and will make some arrangements, I will give the poor stallion a day to prepare himself for me."
She tells with confidence as she turns to leave. "Don't worry Ms. Way, I will try to go easy on the poor stallion."
"Thank you." She waves with a practiced smile until she leaves the store, and then goes to her scroll again. "Mark?"
"Oh hey sweetie how is it going?"
"Not good, unfortunately, listen there is something I need to tell you and a huge favor to ask."
"Sure, what is it?"
"There is a certain...blind date I promised an acquaintance of mine, one I'm not particularly fond of. Marky dear, would you take care of her for me?"
"Well...I trust you Milky if you choose her, I will gladly give her a chance"
"Thank you so much sweetie, you are the best. Oh and Marky while on the date please do me one little favor. Take that little bitch! And break her in half!" She practically yells at him, shocking the human to no end, especially in how Milky has never used that kind of language. "Think you can do that for me sweetie? Just pretend it's Fluttershy, no...pretend she hurt Fluttershy, and use that anger on her, do not hold ANYTHING! Back"
"Ah Milky, are you actually asking me to kill her?"
"Is that an option?"
"Milky!"
"Kidding, kidding but yeah...you will understand once you see her, just please. Forgive me and...if possible teach her a lesson like only I know you can. She is the health inspector and if the date turns horrible she will seek a way to close me down."
"Oh." Mark suddenly understands what is happening. "I see so...if I want to teach her a lesson I will have to get...creative. Don't worry sweetie, I will do everything in my power."
"Love you and...good luck" She sighs and ends the call.
'By Celestia I hope I did the right thing, please Mark don't hate me for this.'
She worries, fearing what that grumpy mare might have in store for the human.
The next day
Wearing an ensemble of formal black pants, and shoes, white button shirt and a blue blazer Mark waited patiently for his date in Ponyville's most elegant restaurant. Early that day he got a message with very specific instructions on where to meet her, what to wear and what to order. After calling Milky and finding out Harswhinny was serious. He decided to simply play along and try to get the best of it. And adding some small box of chocolate into the mix.
"You are early." Startled Mark looking behind him to see the mare in question glaring at him inspecting his appearance. "Oh I remember you are that human, right?"
"Y-yeah, have we met before?"
"Back when I was inspecting the flag competition for the Equestria Games Ms. Dash mentioned you in passing and I saw you once building a playground for the children." She explains "And like I said you are early."
"Yeah, I didn't want to risk getting here late so I came a bit..."
"That is not what was agreed on." She keeps glaring. "Early or late you are still not on time."
"O...k?" He then offers the box. "For you thought you might enjoy it."
"I didn't ask for preview snacks, and they have dessert in the restaurant." She takes the box and puts it in her purse. "There is an order for things Mr. Human, I expect you to follow it as such."
'Jesus and I thought Twilight was obsessed with organizing!'
"My mistake, I just thought to give you a little something as a present. I like to show small shows of affection to my dates. My name is Mark by the way, Mark Star, and you are...?"
"Ms. Harshwhinny that's the only name you will need to remember or will need when addressing me."
She doesn't wait for a reply as she advances toward the restaurant. "Now come along Mr. Star, let us not waste time"
"Right...Harsh..."
"MS. Harshwhinny! I would appreciate it if you used the full title."
"Right, Ms. Harshwhinny." Mark holds a breath to calm down as he follows behind.
'Now I see why Milky was apologising, this is gonna be one long date.'
After taking their seats and ordering their food Harshwhinny didn't waste time in order for her and was about to order for him when he interrupted.
"I can order for myself Ms. Harshwhinny I will appreciate it if you please allow me that much at least." He says with a small glare which she returns in kind before huffing and pushing her nose up. "Fair enough if that's what you prefer, I will allow it."
"Thank but I don't need your permission." Mark continues as he intensifies his glare. "I can think for myself, I EAT what I so choose and as courtesy to your request I would suggest you repay in KIND, are we clear Ms. Harshwhinny?" He half warns her, shocking her at his insolence but the glare making it clear she was stepping in thin ice now.
"Fair enough" She plays it cool and tries, a small gulp forming.
Not wanting to stay any longer with the tension, the waitress takes the order and leaves the two so they can have some small talk. "So Milky told me you are also in charge of health inspection, is that like a second job or is it more like a hobby?"
"Making sure everything is functional and properly working is something I take particular pride in performing, the food industry is just one of many of my duties, as it stands I have flawlessly done my job in 7 areas just this year."
"Wait, wait, wait, you have seven jobs? Do you really need all that money?"
"Is not about the money, Mr. Star is about the passion and joy of doing what you love, and what says you. How exactly do you earn a living?"
"I'm a handyman actually, I...kind of don't have a set job, today I'm a plumber, tomorrow a carpenter, a pastry chef, mailman you name it, if there is a job that needs a hand well...I'm there."
"Interesting, but of course you realize that is far exceeding what your job description entitles right?"
"What can I say, I like moving around, something I'm sure we share."
"It's a satisfying sensation, yes" Harswhinny nods and smiles at the notion.
"Ah there it is." Mark exclaims.
"What...what is it?" She asks, confused.
"A smile, next I may get a full giggle out of you." He tells with confidence making her go stiff and look away with a scowl but having a small blush on her face. "I would appreciate it if you would not make such a big deal out of an expression."
"Make as many excuses as you want. I got a smile out of you and that is quite the victory." He chuckles a little at how she was acting. "Or you can keep that scowl too, you are still pretty."
She humphs once more. "Cheap praises will not get you anywhere, you will have to work harder if you really intend to please me." She points, getting back into her usual grumpy self.
Soon after that, their food arrived and they engaged in some minor conversation as Harshwhinny puts it where they keep talking, for him it was more like an interview with generic questions. 'How long have you stayed in a relationship', 'how you meet your special ponies' , 'how many mares are you intending to court,' She kept asking question after question his way, barely giving him room to ask anything back.
"...and that is basically how seven is a well rounded number to have inside a herd." She finally finished explaining what was essentially a report to Mark.
"Seems like you really had everything planned and neatly organized if you ever become part of a herd don't you Ms. Harshwhinny?"
"But of course, I never leave any single detail to chance, it is best to have a solid foundation when organizing something big and life changing."
"Agreed, don't get me wrong, it's very impressive indeed, too bad it is also completely wrong."
"W-what?!" She had to fight not to shout, as to not make a scene, as Mark smirks.
"Of course you can choose not to believe, but then again if you walk now, it will be the same as granting me the victory, and I know now you want to hear my counter proposal."
"You seem confident aren't you Mr. Star, ok let's hear it, how exactly am I supposedly wrong?"
"For starters you are treating this like a project not a date." He looks around and then points at an old couple. "Look at them Ms. Harshwhinny, years of experience, passionate about one another, calm and collected, now look at them." He points at a young couple probably 16 or 17, barely holding the impulse to make out right there in public, perhaps even going further.
"See those two couples, and tell me...what is the difference besides the obvious. You know what the difference is?"
"Easy, one is collected, the other is impulsive."
Mark shakes his head and chuckles, "If that's your answer, you are more hopelessly lost than I thought." He lifts his finger. "Harshwhinny there ISN'T a difference, they both are completely in love. Age, impulse, race, gender, love is love, it's chaotic, it's unpredictable, and it's ever changing. You are trying to paint a picture inside a twister. That is why you are so wrong, and maybe scared."
"Of what would I be scared?"
"Showing vulnerability, which only takes more power from you."
She flinches at the comment, but Mark wasn't done there.
"Don't believe me? Then tell me your name, show me you are not afraid, prove that you can get control back."
He encourages her and grabs her hands much to her surprise as she couldn't keep her eyes away from him. "What is your name?" He whispers almost like a command.
"It's...Victoria." She replies almost in a trance, before blinking and taking her hand away from him.
"Victoria, such a beautiful name, a crime really. You shouldn't hide it from others." Mark nods with a smile yet Victoria can't help but feel a touch of anger building, feeling as if she somehow lost and didn't even know the game she was playing.
They hear a quartet of strings starting to play, and some couples rise up. "May I have this dance?" Mark offers his hand to her.
"Dancing was not projected on this date." She harshly whispered.
"It's ok Victoria, I would gladly lead."
That comment made her madder, as she grabbed his hand and virtually dragged him to the dance floor. "I'm the one that leads."
The dance starts and she does just that forcing Mark to keep the pace.
"Not bad, you are a really nice dancer Vicky." Mark smiles calmly at her.
"I didn't give you permission for nick...whoa!" Caught off guard he dips her and then gives her a small spin before he takes the lead now. "But I prefer to lead, just enjoy."
The rest of the dance Harshwhinny just keeps grumbling as the whole action looks like some sort of play for Mark as he keeps taunting her, no matter her warnings and each time she thinks she got control again he simply catches her off guard once more inverting the roles.
This human is NOT gonna lead this dance...dance...dance that I didn't allow...HE tricked me!
Her anger keeps on boiling, as he keeps getting daring and his hands keep swaying back and forth on her side just barely gracing her hips ending in him lifting her into the air by the great finale for everyone to see, resulting on another loss as she was even letting out a femenine gasps and when getting down, everyone was applauding at them, her minds now in turmoil fighting to keep her anger and convince herself she didn't enjoy the attention.
'That is it! This human has disrespected me for the last time, I will show him who is in command once and for all.'
She smiles at him and Mark nods thinking he finally got her to relax, as the rest of the evening gets a bit calmer until they arrive at the apartment she was renting.
"Well thank you so much for this lovely evening Vicky I had a really good time." Mark was preparing to leave but was blindsided when she surprises him with an aggressive kiss and pins him against the door. "Why end here? You said it yourself right Mark? Love can be unpredictable."
She rubs her hands against his chest.
"M...Miss Har...Vi...Victoria, wait." Mark stops her from going further, still recovering from the shock. "I...isn't this moving a bit too fast?"
"What is the matter? Are you getting scared now? You are right Mark, why put everything on a list, let's go wild!" She says while kissing his neck as he hugs her back, mentally cheering thinking she finally got him exactly where she wants. Only to hear a low growl that somehow made her body shiver and feel her nethers get wetter.
What was that? N-never mind, time to teach a human a lesson.
"Fair warning Vicky." Mark whispered. "If I start I can't stop."
"I will take my chances" She replies and opens the door, almost dropping him on the floor as she pushes him onto the bed. "Wait here and undress , I need to prepare myself" Victoria says approaching the bathroom and blowing him a kiss to entice him a bit more as he patiently awaits her return.
Deciding to play along, Mark takes off his blazer and shirt, before realizing something unusual on the bed, as when he looks back he sees a cuff and chain attached to the bedpost. Invisible in plain sight as it is camouflage with the bed sheet, but not to Mark, who was more than familiar with the design.
'I know those cuffs? These are Celestia's favourite ones, but why would she...?oh ho."
Hearing the crack of a whip Mark was surprised to find Victoria clad in a black leather dominatrix strap harness that left very little to the imagination. Covering just the bare minimum. And so tight it looked almost painted on.
"Well what a surprise, I said undress and you still have your pants on." She cracks her whip once more. "I said UNDRESS!" She virtually commands startling the poor human as he stands up.
"Did I say you can stand up?"
"Ok Vicky I have had enough. I have been trying to be very patient with you but now you are REALLy pushing your..." She doesn't let him finish cracking the whip near him.
"Still defiant! I will have to teach you a lesson."
"Vicky, use that whip on me and I swear, it will be the last thing you try."
"Cute last words." She circles her whip and is ready to strike only for Mark to extend his arm to wrap it and then grab it with the other hand. "Let it be known."
With one powerful yank he brings her to him lifting her in the air letting him grab her neck and suspend her fully in the air. "You. Were. WARNED!" With a growl he tosses her into the bed where the cuff machinations come to life and trap both of her wrists, and ankles.
"What is happening?" She asks, completely shocked at the sudden turn of events.
"You know Vicky" Mark chuckles and shakes his head as he starts to unbutton his pants, licking his lips at the image of her immobilized in front of him. "You are really fucking bad at being the dominant."
He declared, removing his pants and boxers and showing her his now erect dick. "But who knows maybe you can become one incredible submissive."
Shivering in fear Victoria can only watch as he climbs into bed and using his index and middle finger he takes hold grabbing the strap hiding her pussy. "The safe word is "Toucan", say it and this ends." He instructs and her eyes widen, never imagining in all of her life she would be on the other side of the cuff and definitely not expecting that he expertly lifts her legs with just his finger before breaking the dominatrix piece in one yank to grant him access to her hidden treasure. A perfectly shaved pussy with some small hairs starting to grow, where a very exposed and wet pussy greets him with an unexpected gift Mark couldn't imagine finding. What appears to be a cyan part of a cylinder sticking out.
"What is this?" He questions her with a touch of anger as he grabs the head of the cylinder making her gasp
"W...wait! Wait! Don't...don't pull it so faaaaaasst" Complying to her request he starts to slowly pull the invasive object out, until a vibrating dildo pops out.
"How long did you have this with you?" He questioned her like a parent who caught their kids red handed. Victoria can only look away in shame.
"How long?!" He repeats with more severity.
"Since this morning in...in case the night would have been a disaster." She confesses as he notices a ring sticking out of her anus
"And this?" He questions with a raised eyebrow as he grabs said ring and pulls a bit more forcefully this time revealing a string of spheres on it. "Are you saying all this time you have LITERALLY been walking with a stick up your ass?"
"And what if I did? Not like it would matter, I thought of giving you a small advantage, not really thinking you could be any good in bed."
Growling in anger Mark tosses the object away. "Really now." He spreads her pussy apart. "Then I suppose I better prove you wrong."
Grabbing her ass he drives in with all his force and rams her all the way to her cervix making her gasp. "What the...?"
Not letting her off easy he starts to thrust harder and faster almost right away making her moan louder each time.
"Still think I'm not good? Think I can't take you eh? Say it Victoria. Say I'm bad in bed!" He taunts her, increasing the speed and power of his thrusts. Driving into her hitting each and every weak point with surgical precision driving her towards a violent and quick orgasm.
Removing himself he allows her a moment to ride the afterglow as he starts to explore her body, while his face was hovering over her panting one "Don't you ever question me again."
"A...ha" She replied, unable to speak at the moment.
"Good now then, let's see here." Closing his eyes he start to kiss her neck slowly while his hands get to work and find each erogenous zone on her body lingering just long enough to entice a gasp or moan as he maps her body and how to manipulate it ending with her breast as he lick his lips once more and is getting ready to rip that piece of her outfit to, but rather than using his hands he decided to play with her and used his teeth to rip a whole in the leather surprising the mare in the process.
Spitting the piece away he smiles in victory seeing how erect her dark orange nipples became at the sight.
"Now let's have a taste." He dives in and bites again at the bare nipple sucking with force as one of his hands play with the other breast while the other treats her pulsating pussy and gets to work on her G-Spot and clit after teasing the outer lips and entrance a few times to build her desire. When her moans got loud enough, and needy enough, he struck with all the skill and precision he could muster.
Once he gathers a good portion of milk he stops momentarily and made her look as he swallows before he goes to work and takes another handful of milk only this time he looms over her with a smile, just enough for her to realize what would happen before he gives her a kiss and shares her milk while his hand works faster on her clit making her cross eyed and unable to stop herself from drinking her own milk.
"Delicious butterscotch, don't you agree?" He questions her as she was still recovering from the assault with a mouth full of milk and a dripping wet pussy.
"And for your training." He smirks and turns her around and raises her ass as he lines his dick up to her pussy inserting it once more but stopping once inside, and leaning forward. To speak into her ear.
"I will teach you how to be a caring dominant." He grabs hold of one of her boobs. "Don't cum until I say so and I will give you a reward." He starts playing with her nipple. "Do so and..." He demonstrates his example with a strong pinch. "Are we clear?"
She only nods, earning a kiss on the cheek. "Good girl."
Standing back Mark grabs hold of both of her asses and gets to work, just as before he starts to pound her pussy yet this time he was considerate enough to go slower, than before yet not enough to let her get used to it. As soon as she thinks she finds a rhythm he switches tempo, or swaying their hips together, making her moan.
"Oh yes, oh yes! Oh thank you, my King! My King, please teach me! Teach this humble peasant! Show me how to love!" Victoria exclaims all of the bravado and grumpiness of her old self officially gone and replaced with this willing submissive mare awaiting to please her 'king.'
'Why does that keep happening?'
Mark questioned but decided to allow it and give her a small reward appreciating the vocal approval by lifting her leg to let him pound even deeper. With one thrust going deeper as it pierces her cervix. Every thrust following went just as deep. Yet never once yet kissing the back wall.
"Ah please, My king, my king I...I don't think I can hold it much...much longer." Victoria manages to squeak out in between pants.
"Just a bit longer, I'm getting closer myself, I...I will allow it after I cum." Mark orders as he speeds up, his own orgasm fast approaching too.
Closing her eyes Victoria tring to hold it in as much as possible, a losing battle as her mind was going numb yet her prayers seems to be answered with final thrust Mark finally reached his climax and unload a deep charge inside her was seconds before her, and honoring their deal he thrust even deeper, as to allow the tip just to kiss her back wall sending her into a mind shattering orgasm that caused her eyes to roll back, her tongue to flop out of her mouth as her brain basically melted at the sheer power of it. A massive squirt joined in the melody her body was singing in pleasure.
Panting slightly Mark pulls out and sees to the now twitching mare in front of him with care. "Good girl, you held it until I told you otherwise."
"Th-thank you my...king" Victoria says even more exhausted than him at the moment.
"Such a good girl deserves a reward." Mark smiles and takes off the cuffs as he lifts her up. "Let me clean you, so I can properly give you, your present" He carried her to the bathroom and as promised used warm water to clean her body slowly and meticulously lingering in each and every part of her most erogenous zone and using the head of the shower putting special attention to her pussy as he remove any excess cum and vaginal fluids until she was left relatively clean, and wet with her now ripped clothes.
"Good, and now," putting a towel on the ground, he laid her down gently before lifting her legs "For your reward, let me give you a kiss." He breathes on her pussy making her flinch before delivering one long slow lick followed by another and then another until her walls were quivering wet and then dove in to perform a big sloppy kiss, making her gasp and hold her breath as she clenched the towel.
"Oh my sweet merciful king! Yes!" She exclaimed in euphoria. "Kiss me my king! Claim me! Eat me! I'm...I'm yours! I'm but a humble treat! Serve yourself! I am not worth such a...gifft!" She starts to scream at the administration as her walls clench his tongue not wanting him to get away, as he doesn't show signs of slowing down. Treating himself to her muff as it was a sweet treat of caramelized butterscotch, writing, fingering, sucking, and licking constantly exchanging to give Victoria a worthy prize for following instructions, his hands occasionally even going to the side of her hips and massaging her cutie mark to add more to the sensation as her tongue is left hanging and hre unable to utter words for each moan, until finally her third orgams arrived.
Lapping with gusto, Mark drinks as much of her juices as possible as long as they last before stepping away and letting the poor mare recover her breath. At the point Victoria was just watching stars and was having a hard time thinking of anything else.
After a couple of minutes pass and he sees how she recovers her breathing Mark goes and looms over her once more. "My king?" She questioned, slightly frightened, but excited too.
"My subject, I'm not letting you go yet." He starts to get into character and lovingly caresses her cheek. "Not until I teach you the joy of the submissive, to not be so strict and to always remember to show love and appreciation to your significant other." He gives her another kiss, this one more caring and passionate as their tongue plays a little before he breaks it apart.
"Enjoy my parting gift." He grabs her legs at the ankles and wraps his arms around her thighs for grip, lifts her bottom up till her back is almost straight. Curling over and staring her right in the eyes. All her weight rests on her shoulders and neck, as he lines his dick one final time, and teases her pussy before inserting once more, drilling straight down into her core with power and speed. Setting to jackhammering her down into the bed so hard that the bed was complaining and protesting by threatening to break.
Everything goes white for Victoria and for a second sounds seems to escape her mind as she needs a moment to comprehend before releasing an earth shattering scream as Mark keep working as fast as he can, ensuring she would never be able to forget him or dare question his skills, no tool would ever be able to act as a substitute and silently she swore to never being a dominatrix as the role of the submissive fills her with a joy she couldn't fathom, to even begin to imagine.
Soon she hears her mind starting to crack some more before being pushed down by gravity and understanding that it was the bed that actually cracked, Mark just keeps pounding her a couple more minutes before realizing what he did until his second orgasm arrives, once he fished filling her womb, he needs time to breathe.
Drenched in sweat he looks around in surprise, finding a perfect imprint hole where the bed was and underneath him was Victoria twitching and foaming from her mouth with a giant grin on her face.
"Oh god! Vicky!" Mark releases her and lets her marejuice flow as he tends to her and helps her relax and calm down, cleaning her up once more and placing her on a couch so she can sleep more comfortably.
Once that was done he looked at the bed with some worry. "Ok how do I fix this?" He tells himself before sighing and gets to work using some wood, nails, spring, and other material he thought he might need from Nail's and Plank's that he gathered thanks to still having a copy of the store keys and leaving a bag of bits on the corner.
The next day
Walking out of the hotel and apologising for the noise they made. Mark and Victoria walk to the train station, to tie one final loose end that needed to be addressed, her wearing a purple trench coat instead of her normal attired for some reason. And carried the rest of her baggage on a suitcase, along the way they find Rainbow Dash on her usual patrol.
"Hey Mark, hey...ah Ms. Harshwhinny?" Dash looked at them confused. "What are you doing here?"
"Mark and I were just finishing a blind date that Milky Way fixed for us." Victoria respond returning to relatively normal although she seems more tired than grumpy
"Wait, wait, wait" Milky set you up with her?" Dash asks, pointing at Victoria.
"Yeah pretty much."
She laughed a little at the thought. "Oh please please tell me you bumped uglies, tell me how was he?" Dash asks Victoria with expectation
"It not of your business Ms. Dash but he was...adequate" She finally respond looking away with a blush making Dash laugh hysterically
"Ha! I knew it, I knew I was right!" She keeps laughing as they keep advancing.
"Adequated?" Mark whispered to her.
"Forgiveness my king but no words could give you justice. Besides that mare would have just kept pestering us if I had not given her the answer she wanted. Do not fret." She smiled at him. "I'm sure if she continue to dought you will be able to teach her manners just like you did me." She exclaim in complete adoration
"Will you stop calling me king?"
"No." She replies without skipping a beat. "That is also the only way I could refer to you now."
He sighs and rolls his eyes as they make their way to the train station, and to meet Milky once more.
"Hello, welcome to Orbit Milk, how can I..." Milky stops and looks confused when in front of her walks both Mark and Victoria to the counter. "Say it." Mark orders and Victoria takes a step forward.
"I'm sorry for everything that I said...as well as trying so hard to close your shop."
Milky's jaw hit the floor not believing what she was hearing.
"Everything Vicky." Mark orders giving her a slap on the ass
"A...and sorry for saying your breasts are saggy, I know, I realized I was mostly jealous, and I put you in a very difficult position. I promise I will never do it again."
"Ah...wha...how?" Milky kept looking between her and Mark trying to understand what was happening.
"You were right sweetie, Vicky here needed to be taught a small lesson in humility, and just as you asked me, I rammed some of that into her."
Opening her trench coat. She shows Milky how now she was wearing a rope in a diamond shape underneath it and nothing else and a vibrator was sticking out of her pussy as she smiled in pleasure.
"She really learned her lesson."
"Mark, I didn't ask you to do THIS to her!"
"She...request me to do it, for some reason she wanted to come here like this." Mark confesses looking at Victoria slightly afraid and confused.
"I have learned of a new world of possibilities, and I loved it!" She exclaims putting her clothes back on. "Thank you so much Milky now I know why I never was able to hold a relationship for so long, this is a new start for both of us, no more harsh treatment I will be more relaxed and be more calm while doing my job." She promises, holding Milky's hands before turning away.
"Look out world! Victoria Harshwhinny has been reborn and is looking for love!" She proclaims in excitement, as she leaves the store.
"Well...that just happened." Milky slowly nods, before turning to Mark.
"Yep it did, sweetie maybe we should think of another rule, avoid dominatrix. I'm a bit afraid of how well I...flip the script so to speak, on them."
Milky looks outside the store and is surprised when she sees Victoria flirting with a couple of one pegasus and 3 Earth ponies as everyone looks at her with blushes and seems to invite her over.
"Agree, not sure if Equestria is ready for the Dom slayer." Milky says with a smirk looking at Mark.
"Ah come on please don't name it now." |
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