What Does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 2: A Dire Need of Heroes

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Battle Begins, Again
Chapter 2: The Lightning Revenant
Chapter 3: The Sand King
Chapter 4: The Invoker
Chapter 5: The Geomancer

Chapter 1: The Battle Begins, Again

What does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 2

Original Idea and Story By: Zelkova48

Current Story By: Deverer

Chapter 1: The Battle Begins, Again

The sound of metal clashing against other metals filled the air. As time passed on, these sounds seemed to either die off, only to come back; or even simply move around in the world.

Such is the war of the Ancients, supposed great beings that have their powers limited by opposing Ancients. It is said, and proven on these fields, that they give great reward to those that fight for their cause. Among these rewards: mana for attunement to the world and energy, resources to expand and thrive, but most of all; life.

As time has passed on, these Ancients have been given names, which have evolved to factions: the Radiant, and the Dire. What started out as the fight between the supposed good forces of the Radiant, due to the lush forests that sprang around these base; and the supposed evil of the Dire, due the magma that devastated the land, has also shown that balance is never set in stone.

For because the world is always changing, so too has the warriors that fight for these forces, otherwise known as heroes. It started out simple enough, Radiant heroes fought for the Radiant Ancient, and Dire heroes fought for the Dire Ancient. With the passage of time, this has changed considerably. It is on these fields, these battlegrounds, where long lived foes can put their differences aside for the same cause. Where those that claim to fight for the light, will turn against those that do the same. There are also those there for the sake of themselves, who want to benefit from the endless power and the endless conflict that never seems to end. Brought upon by the destruction of the Mad Moon.

Alliances and pacts come and go, trusts are created and destroyed instantly in these conflicts. No matter how long the fighting has gone on, all these heroes know that this battle may continue forever; and that they may be in that fight forever given the longevity that is speculated to be given.

It goes to show that anyone can be good, or be evil; it all depends on where you are.

“There's no escape!” an ethereal voice called out, the echo and crackle of it filling the air. A storm raged overhead as Lanaya the Templar Assassin ran up one of the stone steps out of the river of the battlefield's river. She clutched her hip in pain while simultaneously making sure to keep her balance, while also making sure to not shred her being with her own psi blades. She took a quick glance back at her pursuer, of whom she dared to not stop for a split second to allow him to finish her off; Razor, the Lightning Revenant.

Armed with electricity, both in hand and in cast, the Lightning Revenant is one of the rulers of the Underscape; the realm of the deceased. He is the primary watcher, or at least one of the most well known watchers of the Narrow Maze, where souls use their life's knowledge to determine their final fate. It is his job to make sure the souls do not dally toward their long awaited end to their living life. Through force, or through sheer amusement to remind all of his power, he is the one that makes sure that souls eventually pass through the Maze.

His 'body' if it were be classified as such, is clad with black and blue armor plating, and seemingly glass like casing around the upper parts of his only two limbs. Throughout his whole being, his own electricity flows onward in its plasma like vibe, only to crackle outward seemingly violently when it exits; calm and collective on the inside, but not afraid to lash out when the times comes. All of this is topped off with his helmet, which seems to serve also as a reminder that he is the jailor of the new arrivals. Many vertical bars and openings run down the length of it to form his 'mouth' and 'eyes,' but they could very well be interpreted easily as the bars of a jail cell. On top of this helmet rest three spikes, two in the back which could be seen to make him to be a demon, and a single on that stands alone in the center.

“Not even the Temple hides from the Underscape, Templar!” Razor taunted outward. Lanaya ignored his words, forcing herself up another set of stairs and to a fork in the forest; either down another set of stairs, or veer off to the left. Her thoughts were cut short as Razor's voice became present again, this time in a sadistic roar of satisfaction of sorts. As she turned her head to look again, she found a ring of his electricity flowing across the ground and surging toward her. She only closed her eyes and wished to be able to hide from his onslaught at this very moment.

The next thing she felt however, was the feeling of being unwound, along with hearing a chime in the air. She looked to the source and found Io, the Guardian Wisp, tethered to her with its magic. Razor's Plasma Field of energy swept by Lanaya, but the field found no target as both the assassin and the wisp disappeared, leaving behind only a whirlpool of unwinding pure matter where Io once was.

“Souls may run, but at the end of your current of life, you will come to me,” Razor commented, as he positioned himself near Io's departure spot. He readied his lightning whip, his signature tool and weapon, for the eventual return of Io; the Fundamental of Matter and Form, who must always repair the tears it makes in the planes for the sake of all.

Suddenly, a rush of wind blew past Razor, who turned to see an ethereal spirit nearby. He barely had time to react as a wave of magic washed over him as the magical structure of the surrounding area ruptured for but a split second. As he floated in frozen stasis, Io reappeared back to its spot, and tethered itself to the being who sent the spirit: Elder Titan, the Worldsmith.

The supposed shaper of this world, the shaper that put the pieces already there in place at the beginning, stomped his way up to Razor's frozen form. As he readied his in hand weapon, a flap of wings caught his attention. Looking upward, he found a winged creature with glowing golden eyes rapidly descending to the ground. Both he and Io braced themselves as the creature struck the ground, sending out a shockwave of force. Another shockwave followed soon after as a second creature slammed down on the ground, the magical force enough to give even them pause.

“You may both play a part in keeping this world together, but that does not mean you are immune to death,” a ghostly voice called outward. With a gust a wind, the owner of the voice presented himself to the group: Visage, the Bound Form of Necro'lic.

A mixture of physical stone and magical energies come together to form the shape of a ghastly gargoyle. If Razor patrols and jails the dead, Visage by comparison is the warden of the whole ordeal. It is said that Necro'lic is the spirit of death, all pain that living things feel is because of him. Without Necro'lic, there could be no death, and therefore no life. As time has gone on, souls that have died have rejected their lives after death, and thus fled back to the living realm. It was from this continued practice that Visage was formed, the guardian of the Narrow Maze and one of the rulers of the Underscape as well. If a soul denies death, it is Visage that is sent to reclaim them through any means necessary.

It is not Visage though that reaps the souls of the living himself, he is but a peacekeeper in the cycle of life and death; as such, he himself wields these powers so that balance may be preserved. As all are given life and guided to begin that life, it is he that watches the souls pass on as they enter his veil and enter the Maze.

He is not alone in his duty to preserve balance outside the Maze and the Underscape, along with Razor, it is also his Familiars that guard the Maze; beings such as Visage that hold Necro'lic's powers to watch over the infinite number of new arrivals that come to them. The two winged creatures before the group are such Familiars, pulled through the very veil of death to serve Visage by means of the chains he wields in his claws.

“There are souls that do not deserve to be here and as such, we must bring them back!” Visage yelled outward, as he drew his wings backward. Energy ripped upward from the ground as various ghostly appendages from many different beings began to grasp under Elder Titan's form. Meanwhile, Razor shook off the effects of the Worldsmith's Echo Stomp, and reached his free hand outward toward his foe being assaulted.

“I don't appreciate being thrown into shock, but allow me to complete the current of conflict you started.” A stream of electricity began to shoot outward from Elder Titan and connected to Razor. The Worldsmith and the Guardian Wisp immediately began their retreat away from the beings of the Underscape, with Elder titan struggling against the grasp of Visage's magic.

Meanwhile, across the forest, another hero of the Radiant ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He adjusted the grip of his pike as he crossed over the lane and pass some of the creeps battling it out. This hero is known as Azwraith, The Phantom Lancer; known as being a one being army of illusions and light. Each strike and ability of his is known for the manifestation of more of himself, if it is even his actual self you are fighting.

As he slipped into the forest, his journey to to the aid of his friends was interrupted as a golden net landed on top of him, trapping him in place.

“Ey! I wrangled up one of them!” a slightly high pitched voice yelled. Azwraith looked around him and saw four individuals who all looked the same. Bipedal rodents with blue hoods, a pack of supplies, a red nose, a piece of wheat being chewed upon, and a shovel with an engraving on the head.

They are known as Meepo, Meepo, Meepo, and last but not least, Meepo. More specifically: Meepo, The Geomancer. Little is known about this rat pack, but Meepo always speaks of the skill and tools needed to survive the Riftshadow Ruins, and tales of rituals that he claims to have survived. He has spoken of one such ritual where one's soul is stored in a crystal and then shattered; whether this is the source of his (or their) divided nature is unknown. Nonetheless, the four Meepos work as a well oiled machine, when they're not bickering with each other. It's also sometimes five depending on if the fifth can even find where the heck they are, as they always seem to forget about Five and/or vice versa. Recently, only when Meepo holds the Aghanim's Scepter can the fifth track them down to the battlefield, even clones need awareness. Outside the battlefield he is often late to the party in some way most of the time anyway, according to their own tales.

“Hey, One, what should we do with this guy?” one of the Meepos asked.

“Hey, he's not just one guy, it's an army versus and army with us, Three!” another spoke.

“Eh, shut up, Two! You and Four need ta work on your wrangling skills anyway!” yet another spoke, his voice the deepest in pitch out of all of them, yet still high pitched.

“It's not my fault that we forgot to wake up Five though!”

“I said shut it! Ah-tack!” the Meepo called One yelled aloud, and with that, all of them began to rush the Azwraith in the net. As they brought down their respective shovels down onto the Phantom Lancer, he immediately dissolved into light. “See what happens when you stop and talk?”

“You did it too!” Four countered.

“And now we're surrounded on top of that!” Three added. The rest of the pack looked up from where the one Azwraith was, only to see another five standing at the ready.

“Hmm... that was quick, any ideas?” Two asked.

“We follow the golden rule: Smash and Bash!” One shouted, raising his shovel up into the air with one arm. The rest of them began to follow suit, with the exception of Four, who reached over to his pack to grab one of the gems sticking out of it.

As the other Meepos ran off to fight the other Lancers, Four took the sky blue gem in his left paw and raised his shovel upward, grasping the tool with both hands and the gem between his paw and the handle.

“Ba-dum da bum, bum, bum!” he sang aloud, while shuffling his feet and kicking dirt up around himself. Suddenly, the crystal shattered and the kicked up dirt shot all around himself, the Phantom Lancer clones disappearing into mists of light. “Well that was easy, and anticlimatic, the real one was never here!” Four commented, the other Meepos all turned their heads and looked around at the trees.

“Split up! Find someone and cave their head in!” One yelled, while also turning to run out of the clearing. “And if you're the one who gets us killed, you're buying us all lunch!” he yelled over his shoulder.

“Ya know, I don't wanna waste my time chasing that Lancer guy,” Two said. “I think Imma head back to our forest and cave in some skulls that aren't nearly as annoying,” he said, while waddling off.

“Yeah, I think I'll push the middle lane here,” Three added, also walking off.

“I think I'll go back to base, in case One wants to waste our gold some more; I still don't know why that damn Ancient gives only him the gold,” he muttered to his now lone self as he stalked off.

As all the Meepos wandered off on their own ways, a bend in the light appeared in a nearby bush, and soon fully materialized into another Azwraith. He breathed a sigh of relief and grasped his pike with both hands as he continued on his interrupted journey. His short sigh of relief was interrupted as the ground below him erupted into a fountain of spikes.

“Light beams down onto sand, and the sand absorbs into its being, and you are no different to me,” a calm, and somewhat projecting voice called. As Azwraith landed back onto the the now ruptured ground where he stood, he caught a glance at his assailant: Crixalis, the Sand King.

One might mistake Crixalis as being just a giant scorpion with powers over the earth, but there is more to him than meets the eye, just like the mirages of the desert that he calls home: The Scintillant Waste. Wastelands though, it is not, it is a desert that is alive and like many living beings, it seeks to survive. The Djinn of Qaldin is the supposed leader of the land, and has thus created armor so that the desert may see the world beyond its land; by augmentation of part of its being into this very armor, Crixalis was born.

He is the ambassador of the Waste, he represents its will and its interests, and he named himself 'Crixalis' to show that he is the 'Soul of the Sand,' while others refer to him as 'King' of the Sand. It is unknown if Crixalis' actions are through his own experience, or the Waste's word communicating his next move. Nonetheless, despite his forged nature, he is alive and is just as sentient as any other living being.

“It is my duty today to ensure victory, a shame that I have to do this again to you and the others I have worked along side before, but time must flow like sand in an hourglass,” Crixalis commented, as he raised one of his claws at Azwraith.

Elsewhere still, another being behind a line of trees watched the two, along with holding his staff outward and light gathering from it. The being is known as Ezalor, the Keeper of the Light. One of the four fundamentals, just like Io; it is because of him that order and good exists in the universe. It is he that gives all beings a reason to cherish what they desire, for he himself runs from chaos, representing the will to keep the light alive.

“Deafening Blast!” a booming voice yelled outward. Suddenly, Ezalor became victim of a wave of blue of magic hitting both him and the horse he rides upon, the magic in his staff shooting outward while he was pushed perpendicular to where the light went.

“Agh! Er... wait, what happened?” Ezalor mumbled.

“Fundamental of Light and Order, face me!” the voice yelled. Ezalor and his horse turned to the source of the voice, a man dressed in a white and red cape with gold at the edges. His robe colored mostly a dark purple along with various golden linens such as his cuffs and at the end of his sleeves.

It was none other than the Invoker, once called the Arsenal Magus, and for good reason. It is said that Invoker alone has said to have learned everything of the past, because he was there to see and study everything. While not truly immortal, Invoker has in fact lived for possibly eons, which he is not afraid to boast about. Invoker is also not afraid to hide his sheer magical talent, as everywhere he walks he seeks a challenge in the field of arcanery, or any challenge at all.

His beginnings are shrouded in mystery as to where they began, but how they began is another story. In times past, it was unheard of for a mage to learn more than one spell, learn through sheer memory and will without the aid of today's wands and books. Invoker learned and mastered every spell he could get his hands on with the power of his own mind.

Some would say that a quasi-immortal state would drive one mad, drive them to insanity with the amount of knowledge of so many years in a single mind. They say the individual would destroy themselves; this is not the case for Invoker, as while you may think he's insane with how he treats his enemies, every moment of his time he diverts to concentration that a normal being strives for.

Over his years, he has made his marks on history through his talents and achievements alone, and has made his own stamp with his unique form of spell casting, even in this day in age. The title of 'Invoker,' while unknown of when it came to be, represents this very form of spell casting. Along those years, after he has learned spells, he has also felt the need to purge spells that he deems insignificant from his mind forever; there are also rumors that he has purged the very spell that gave him his long life from his mind. In magic terms, to 'Invoke' is to ready and create on the fly, to cast without delay. This is what made him such a prodigy in his time, and still holds up today.

You can easily recognize The Invoker from his three orbs that revolve around him, for these are the sources of the ten spells that he claims still 'entertain' him to this very day, because these are the ten spells that he uses in battle and these ten alone. Whether this is because he does not see the flaw of limiting his arsenal, or him purposefully doing this to better flaunt his own image, is not known. Regardless, the fact that he can have such potent spells ready in an instant is what makes him both revered and feared. His sheer devotion alone has, and makes him, a true presence on the battlefield.

“Your light shines, but my magic shines brighter! Face me in battle if you dare! Or die running away from my superior mind!” Invoker yelled aloud to Ezalor. The Keeper of the Light looked over to Invoker, and back to the area where he shot his wave of light.

“Oh, dear...” Ezalor murmured. He grabbed the reigns of his steed with his free hand and beckoned it to sprint away.

“Yes, run from my rays of superiority! All fall before me in the end!” Invoker exclaimed aloud, as he ran after the fundamental.

Meepo One continued to rub his whole face violently at their failure to apprehend Azwraith, lost in his rantings, he failed to notice the environment around him.

“Those dang imbeciles, sometimes I wonder if it would be better for me to have complete control of all of em, instead of them thinking for themselves most of the time,” he grumbled, waddling up some stairs. “I mean, when we actually coordinate together and watch each others' back like we fundamentally have to, we're a menace! But, of course, there have to be those days where they all stand around doin' nothing or are blindly following me around,” he leaned back and looked skyward. “Look at all these other heroes, they don't have any idea what kind of stuff I've had to go through, what kind of-” he was cut off as something bopped him square in the nose. “Ey!” he yelled, staggering backward slightly. He looked and realized what it was that hit him; one of the legs of Elder Titan, who was still running from Razor and Visage. “Oh, fun!” One exclaimed, lifting his shovel over his head. A second later, he was suddenly blinded by a light and a massive wind sent him flying.

Invoker continued to throw bolts of his magic at Ezalor, while Ezalor himself continued to flee.

“My elements of ice, storm, and fire snuff out any opposition! Including light!” Invoker yelled.

“That boy needs to have his head checked...” Ezalor whispered to himself. He raised his staff upward, and his horse began to whinny aloud, as their whole beings became illuminated. He brought his staff downward onto the ground, cracks of light surging beneath it. Ezalor then paused for a moment and swept his staff toward a line of trees, a rush of wind emerging from behind it. Finally, his pointed his staff forward for a moment, and an image of himself with a growing ball of light in its 'staff' appeared.

“I care not for your tricks, my magics are as practical as they get! That's why none stand before me!” Invoker exclaimed. “Remember me, for I will forget you, once I am done wasting the effort it takes to acknowledge you!” Invoker ran past the image that Ezalor left behind, focusing only on the true Ezalor.

The very moment Crixalis raised his claw at Azwraith, a light surged right between the two and blinded the living armor. The light was accompanied by a rush of wind that sent the Sand King flying. As he landed, Crixalis took note of a sudden shudder in the earth. Despite the blindness in his multiple eyes, he could make out a fissure forming just underneath himself. He looked upward next to himself and saw the form of one the Meepos next to him, splayed outward on the ground. Turning his head, he found Elder Titan sheathing the tool he carries on his back, with Io next to him.

“Flee! We must all flee now!” the voice of Visage call outward.

“Yes, you must flee from my wrath!” came the voice of Invoker. The blindness faded from the affected heroes' eyes and they all saw what was happening: all of the heroes of the Dire were standing on top of a fissure made by the Worldsmith. Crixalis laid right next to Elder Titan and Io, followed very closely by Meepo One. Razor and Visage were both in the center of the chaos, while Invoker was at the far end, seemingly still oblivious to what was happening.

“As I created, so too, can I break,” Elder Titan bellowed.

“Now you will all see the light,” Ezalor called outward, standing on the opposite end of the fissure. Suddenly, in another flash of light, Lanaya appeared next to him.

“Know now, all mysteries of the world,” the assassin whispered.

“All of ours lights, shall burn you all away this day!” a multitude of voices called out, belonging to a new army of Phantom Lancers. Razor turned his head to observe the surrounding situation.

“This is not-” he was cut off suddenly, as the tether from Io was broken from Elder Titan and was connected to Ezalor, which ran through each hero of the Dire. Suddenly, in three puffs of smoke and dirt, the other Meepos appeared next to One, and also next to Io. Everyone who could turned their heads to the spectacle, as Io's formed flickered slightly and some of the Phantom Lancer clones vanishing into golden mist.

“Kill the ball of light!” Two yelled.

“Out of my way!” Four added.

“Beat down time!” Three commented. The standing rat pack began to all mercilessly bring their shovels down onto the fundamental. Invoker looked over the sight of all the was happening, and time slowed down for him as he took the time to archive this moment. He turned his head and saw the image that Ezalor had left behind fire off its orb of light, and formed five ethereal horses which were charging at them.

“Methinks... this is not good...” Invoker commented, as the Meepos succeeded in finishing off Io with its tether still going through the whole of the Dire team. The newly formed fissure exploded underneath all of them as well, along with a stampede of horses made of light running right through them with Lanaya's psi blades piercing through them and the fabric of matter.

An explosion, across the sky of all of Equestria. One that rocked the ground, shook the air, and fizzled the very fabric of magic itself. The magnitude of it made the idea of any living thing claiming they did not feel it, or hear it, laughable. Inside the confines of Canterlot Castle, the two diarchs of the land gazed upward toward the sky despite the walls. Instantly the two beings, the princesses Celestia and Luna, flared their magic and disappeared in a flash.

On Canterlot Castle's highest tower, both rulers reappeared on the accompanying balcony, each one looked to the sky and saw a beige hole in the sky, lightning arcing out of it. For what may be a few seconds in reality, felt like hours as the two of them observed the specticle, and as fast it happened, the singularity disappeared.

“Luna? Did you yourself pick up on the kind of explosion that was?” Celestia asked. The receiver of the question looked away from the sky as to her sister.

“I did sister... and it feels so familiar.” Luna looked to the sky, “This is just like what happened last time, correct? When they first arrived here?”

“When they appeared, it was before the wedding. They did their part for us, but now it seems like history may be repeating itself; perhaps a new event is coming to Equestria, one that requires more heroes.”

“It is both a blessing and a curse, for while we may get help, it is help that comes with a catastrophe. This time however, we must not make mistakes; they taught us that well last time.”

“Indeed. This time, let us make a greater effort to intercept the heroes; if there are any coming through this time.”

“I will scramble the guards, we will be prepared this time,” Luna declared. She splayed her wings outward and took off from the balcony, down toward the main body of the castle. Celestia trotted up toward the telescope and looked into it and to where the singularity appeared.

“Five... lights, lining up like last time,” she noted. “All are branching off, but... they appear to be more skyward.” She stepped backward from the telescope. “My student, I hope you are prepared as well,” she said aloud, as she looked to the sky with her own eyes. Celestia inhaled deeply, taking in the spectacle and sight. Her building awe was interrupted suddenly as a bolt of lightning from where the singularity was struck downward onto the ground, and into the Everfree forest. Celestia flinched at the sight, and nearly ran back up to the telescope to look inside, she saw that one of the lights had disappeared. “This... complicates things now...” she muttered, as the resulting thunder reached her ears.

Moments earlier, in the town of Ponyville, inside the library. The residents Twilight Sparkle and Spike, stood in the main area of the library.

“Alright, Spike, it's that time again, time for re-shelving!” Twilight Sparkle declared aloud.

“Okay, Twilight, I'm clear from the impact site!” Spike called outward, a helmet on his head as well.

“Okay, commence scattering of books in five, four, three-” she did not get to finish as the whole library, and by extension the rest of Ponyville, began to quake from the explosion in the sky. Both them, and all the books on the shelves, dropped to the floor in the first second. Twilight however, sprang back up and flared her magic and disappeared in a purple flash.

“Hey! I wanna see it too!” Spike called outward. He picked himself off the floor and stumbled his way out the door.

All around Ponyville, the residents gathered and looked to the sky, seeing the singularity that caused the disturbance. Twilight herself looked her eyes onto the sight, so much so that you could see its reflection in her eyes. Spike himself slowly walked up next to next, his eyes on the sight as well.

“Twilight? Does this mean...” Spike trailed off. Twilight gave a slow nod, her eyes never losing sight of the singularity, before it disappeared into the ether.

“I believe so, Spike, the only difference this time was the color of it,” she answered. She looked down to one of her fore-hooves, and made a quick motion upward with it. “We need to get ready,” she declared.

“I'm all set to go, but what about-”

“The books can wait, and... well, I just need a moment, if this is really happening again...” she trailed off for a moment, before a smile appeared on her face. “Ohmygosh! I know what happened last time, but this time, we got-” she was cut of as a bolt of lightning cracked through the air, both Twilight and Spike ducked down and covered their respective set of ears. “Oh, Celestia!” Twilight yelled outward.

“What the hay?!” Spike yelled as well. “What was that about?” Both of them picked themselves up off the ground, and looked toward the direction of the Everfree forest.

“I don't know, Spike; this time it's going to be different,” she answered.

“Hey! Twilight!” a voice called, both dragon and unicorn looked to the source and saw a cerulean blur flying toward them.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight acknowledged, as the pegasus landed near both of them.

“You guys know what this means, right?!” she yelled. “We gotta spread out and look-”

“Why are you yelling?” Twilight interrupted.

“What? I can't hear you! Don't you hear the thunder still going on?!” she yelled outward.

“There is no-” Twilight stopped and sighed a bit. “I guess she didn't have time to cover her ears from that,” she commented.

“Look, whatever the case, I'm gonna scramble some pegasi! That struck down in the Everfree, and we gotta step up to contain any fire that might have been made! I need to also make sure that Fluttershy is okay since she lives so close to the forest!” Rainbow ducked downward and then quickly took off into the air when she finished, leaving the two behind.

“Well, at least that takes of some of the problems,” Spike said.

“Indeed, Spike, why don't we follow up on that? I'll go get Pinkie, and you can go fetch Rarity; we can then meet up at Sweet Apple Acres,” Twilight instructed.

“You got it, Twilight!” Spike answered along with a salute. The baby dragon turned and began to run out into the town.

“If you happen to get a letter from the princess, wait until you and I are together again before we read it!” Twilight called outward.

“Gotcha!” Spike called back. Twilight nodded her head to herself and turned to run the opposite direction.

Far outside the border of Ponyville, Trixie stared upward to the sky, lost in awe at the sight of the singularity when it was around, and stoic in her position despite the bolt of lightning catching her off guard.

“Ms. Lulamoon?” a voice called out. Trixie immediately snapped out of her gaze and looked to the source, an earth pony stallion with a gray beard.

“Uh, Mr. Rock! I... I was just-”

“It's okay now, dear; I'd probably have a chair and a cold glass by now if I were in your position,” the earth pony farmer commented. “Listen, why don't you come inside? I think this warrants an early lunch and family consultation, one day missed of work this time of year won't matter that much.”

“Oh, uh... yeah, I think I would like that,” she replied sheepishly.

“Just grab your tools, I'll help y'all with the cart here/ Lime, Marble, and Quartz are already packing up as well,” he added

“Yes sir.” She levitated her pickaxe and chisel into the air and sheathed them onto her work belt.

“Do you happen to have any idea what that was? In terms of magic? I never got around to figuring out was that last one was.” Trixie tiled her head slightly towards the ground, her eyes glancing around as she moved.

“If I were to hypothesize... a lot of magic was mixed together at one moment, both conflicting and working together at the same time. Even beneficial magic can reach a... 'too much' state, let's say. If we were to ignore the limitations of our own stamina, we still have to watch out for the limits of how much we can put out at once, and these 'too much' states could be reached easily. However, I don't think princess Celestia or even princess Luna has ever reached that point,” she answered.

“So basically, y'all are saying that something, or perhaps somethings even, were so powerful, more powerful than the princesses even, that those holes in the sky were made? By possibly an accident?” he asked. “Shoot, if that don't make somepony's hair stand up at all, then my name ain't Igneous Rock." Trixie looked over to her boss with a confirming nod, before turning her head back to the sky

“You got that right, alright,” Trixie replied.

Inside the building of Carousel Boutique, Spike watched in both awe and worry as the owner of the establishment paced back and forth across the room, as she rambled to herself out loud

“Oh dear me, the things we've seen and heard the last time this happened. I think this time we should perhaps bring along some of the hospital staff; do you think Twilight would object to that, Spike dear?” she asked the dragon.

“I... uh, well... she said she wanted to us meet up at AJ's orchid; I think maybe if we ask her there, she would agree. I think if we take the initiative, she may freak out first that we didn't stick right with the plan, then be cool with the idea,” Spike answered, one of his claws scratching the back of his head. “Maybe if we... I dunno, Rarity, ever since the wedding... Twilight's been more double check-y and more plan strict than ever,” he let out a sigh and leaned downward, letting his arms hang. “So many... things, so much at once, I'm surprised she manages to keep it contained and-” Spike stopped as one of Rarity's fore-hooves found itself under his chin. The hoof pulled his head up and his gaze met Rarity's eyes and smile.

“Calm down now, Spikey Wikey,” Rarity soothed, Spike's face immediately blushed at mention of the deviation of his name. “Twilight is our friend through and through, we know how strong she is, she'll get through this.” Spike himself continued to stare into Rarity's eyes, Rarity flared her magic and surrounded Spike with it. “Let's get going now, we'll go to Twilight directly, then we can break off and head to get any help we need to get,” she said, as she placed Spike on her back. Spike himself just stared forward, along with his jaw snapped open, despite the change in position.

Twilight groaned outward as she stood in Sugarcube Corner, listening to her friend Pinkie talk aloud.

“...and the emergency disaster blockers that I put around all of our standing confectioneries and supplies worked like a charmy charm, charm!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, placing a clipboard down onto the main counter of the store lobby. “Everything is checked and accounted for! So, what was it you wanted?” Pinkie asked Twilight, the latter of which rubbed her forehead as Pinkie finished talking.

“Well, Pinkie, we need to-”

“Oh! Silly me! I know why you're here! You and I and the rest of the gang need to all get together because of the very familiar event that had me doing an emergency inventory check approximately thirteen seconds ago! Well, I'm ready now, so let's go!” Pinkie then proceeded to bounce out of the store, Twilight stared forward into space. She merely shook her head back and forth rapidly before turning to step out of the store.

“It's just Pinkie, Twilight, and it's that cheerfulness that's helped us so much before,” she said to herself, a small smile formed as she stepped outside.

“T-thank you so much for helping me, Rainbow Dash... everyone here wasn't even prepared for the lightning and thunder...”

“I'll always be there for you, Fluttershy. Is every animal accounted for now?” Rainbow asked, as she gave a mouse a slice of a cheese wedge.

“Yes, everyone is calmed down now, and all the ones who were sleeping are now back asleep. Now, you... you wanted me to help patrol the Everfree? R-right?” Fluttershy asked, as she stepped down the stairs.

“Yeah... we need every available pegasus ready to move rainclouds in case there's a fire out there, and I'm glad my hearing's back now for this.”

“I'll... I'll do it, I know I can do this...” Fluttershy replied quietly. “The rain delivery was one thing, but this time, I know I really need to do this. Even the animals in the Everfree, no matter how ferocious looking, don't deserve what may be happening out there.” Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide at Fluttershy's statement.

“Whoa... alright then, ready to fly then?”

“Y-yeah... but... do you think... that... maybe, there's some... one out there?” as she asked, Fluttershy turned her head away, Rainbow Dash herself looked away with a turn of her eyes.

“Well...” she started, but shook her head almost immediately after. “No way! This was just the randomness of the Everfree!” she said aloud. "I think..." she whispered.

“O... okay then...” Fluttershy inhaled deeply, and turned her head back to Rainbow, exhaling as she finished the motion. “Then, let's.... f-fly!” she attempted to yell, Rainbow smiling slightly at the gesture.

“We're all in this together, Fluttershy. Us, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Twilight; we're all a team. Twilight's made it very clear that we're strongest when we're together, just like a true team is, no matter what that team is. No matter where that team comes from, we've learned first hoof that harmony reigns supreme everywhere.”

Chapter 2: The Lightning Revenant

What does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 2

Original Idea and Story By: Zelkova48

Current Story By: Deverer

Chapter 2: The Lightning Revenant

The light in Razor's vision faded soon after the sensation of wind overpowered his senses. He Craned his neck to look above himself, and was greeted with a vast landscape approaching him, along with clouds rushing past him. As the moments passed on, the clouds seem to darken and become more sporadic in their formation. He relaxed his head slightly and subjected himself to the mercy of the wind.

“I was having so much... fun... too...” he groaned to himself. “I guess I can take a trip back home... rest my head... somehow we're not on the battlegrounds anymore...” he conceded. As he relaxed his whole energy held being, he caught a glimpse of himself. “Wrrrr- huh? What matter of magical input is this?” he asked aloud. Razor looked back up toward the ground, and then to the skies around. “Hmmm, I'm not sure if Visage and the others are with me, but this rewiring of my own familiarity deserves observations; perhaps a new plane or world that even the Underscape has not discovered...” He raised his arms above his head, both pointed toward the ground. “One battle lost only delays their inevitable recollection, let's investigate this place; though it's unfortunate I'll have to brownout myself,” he declared aloud, as electricity began to shoot outward from himself. All around him, electricity began to build up around his entire being, and like a machine in flux it generated it at an alarming rate.

Moments after he made his decision, the the surrounding airspace soon became engulfed in in this very electricity, and then it arced all the way toward the ground below. In that very instant, the space that contained Razor no longer held him. What was left in his wake was a slight vapor trail of energy. On the way down, clouds that were unfortunate to be in the way were dispersed and broken. The biggest tragedy of the ordeal would belong to the grass clearing that Razor was now laying in, the ground charred and his whole being in he very center of it.

“Grounded... oh...” Razor moaned again, looking around at his surroundings. “Damn these... mortal world... insulators...” he trailed off, letting his whole self succumb to an unwanted rest.

Just off of Fluttershy's property, but on the opposite end of where normal visitors would come onto the state, a crowd of pegasi stood facing toward the forest. Rainbow stood at the front of the crowd, facing away from the forest with Fluttershy by her side. Multiple clouds were stationed above, but close enough for one to metaphorically jump up and touch one of them.

“Alright, listen up and listen good!” Rainbow called outward. “We've got ten rainclouds on hand already to help deal with any possible fires. However, just because you don't get a raincloud, doesn't mean you get to slack off! While we are definitely looking for fires, our priorities after that are finding the impact site of the bolt, Only then can we begin to branch off to do what it takes to contain the situation! That includes helping any innocent animals, even though this is the Everfree, and finding anyone that's been injured if there are any. I want every last one of you to also make sure you're with someone else the entire time! Watch each others' backs! Any questions?” The pegasi all either shook their heads in declination or simply remained silent.

“Rainbow...” Fluttershy whispered. “Is... that the royal guard flying in?” She pointed her hoof upward as she asked. Rainbow diverted her attention from the crowd to see a platoon of pegasi royal guards flying inward.

“Yeah... it is,” Rainbow mumbled to herself. As the guards touched down onto the ground, the crowd of civilian pegasi all stepped back to allow the platoon room to stand. A single guard walked up to Rainbow, who gave a salute in response.

“At ease, citizen, are you the one who organized this team?” the guard asked. Rainbow dropped her hoof back onto the ground, and took a short breath before speaking.

“Yeah, I am; I'm captain of the weather team and took it upon myself to organize this operation in dealing with possible fires. We're also going to be on the lookout for any signs of injured.... well, anything; ponies, animals...” She looked down toward the ground as she trailed off. “A zebra... I hope not...” she whispered, before looking back up to the guard. “It's part of my duty to oversee any accidents that happen in the Everfree. My duties also include leading the pegasi during Winter Wrap Up, and helping to keep track of wind patterns in the area.”

“We're here under orders from the princesses to help oversee any and all civilian movements, since you are in fact doing what your regulations call for, we will not interfere. Has Cloudsdale been contacted about the situation?”

“They've been notified.”

“Very good,” he replied, before turning back to his guards. “All troops! Stand ready!” he yelled outward. “Alpha team, head off to the town! Beta team, you're going to help me make sure this weather operation has no hitches!”

“Yes sir!” the platoon yelled backward in sync.

“You have your orders, disperse!” The moment he gave the order, half the standing guards all immediately took flight into the air. The leader guard turned back to Rainbow. “How long until you are moving out?” Rainbow flinched for a moment when he asked.

“Oh! Uh... I think we're just about ready,” she nervously replied, while she stroked one hoof with the other.

“I have an earth pony and unicorn squad on the way as well, but for now; I want you to begin this operation. I'll split off my guards as you are sending off the pegasi. Is this group a mixture of the weather team and volunteers?”

“Yeah, I got as many as I could.”

“My troops should be able to help where needed, we'll be at the ready.” The leader gave a nod and turned to walk back to his troops. Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief as he left.

“Sheesh, this just went from hectic to high alert in less than a minute!” she commented.

“I think the princesses are taking the 'never can be too prepared' route this time...” Fluttershy added, Rainbow turned to look to her friend, with a half closed eye and a tilted head. “With all that's happened, I'm surprised that there haven't been royal guardsponies assigned to Ponyville. We've been shown that anyone can commit heinous crimes, but I'm not saying that they're not right! The princesses!” she quickly added. Rainbow looked back to the crowd, and then back to Fluttershy. She stepped toward her friend and wrapped a wing around her.

“You make a good point, Fluttershy,” Rainbow replied, looking into her friend's eyes. “Part of me is hoping that there's nothing out there, a few months ago I would probably being begging for some awesome to show up!” she raised her voice, a smiled and a semi glare following. “But...” She shook her head quickly and removed her wing from around Fluttershy. “Things have changed.”

“They have,” Fluttershy agreed. She hung her head down slightly, her mane falling slightly over her face. “I just hope the best for everyone in the end...” she whispered, before bringing her head back up to Rainbow's level.

“Same here... same here.” Rainbow took a few steps forward toward the crowd. “Alright everyone! Let's get moving! I want you all to either help move those clouds, or get into a search formation! And remember, no one goes off alone! No excuses!” she yelled outward. A roar of cheers followed as the civilian pegasi all began to fly up into the air. Rainbow turned back toward Fluttershy and nodded to her. Fluttershy inhaled quickly and gave a nod back. Both friends primed their wings and lifted off into the air, Rainbow immediately went toward the treeline while Fluttershy followed.

“Beta squad, you have your orders!” the leader called outward.

“Sir!” the guard platoon called outward, followed by them taking off into the sky. Some heading for the clouds, others joining the area where Rainbow and Fluttershy were stationed. The two pegasi looked around at the situation, Fluttershy turned to look back to the forest.

“I hope the lack of smoke so far means there aren't any fires...” Fluttershy said.

“The trees are pretty thick in some areas, and for all we know, the wind could be thinning it out if there is any fire,” Rainbow replied. “That's the only thing consistent about this place, the wind in there is the same as the wind out here. That's the only reason while it's even remotely safe for us to fly over.” Fluttershy gulped at Rainbow 's explanation, but Rainbow herself did not respond to the action, instead she turned back to the crowd.

“Alright, let's move out! Spread out, and alert anyone and everyone if you find anything!” Rainbow yelled aloud. The crowd roared back to her, Rainbow turned to Fluttershy, who nodded back. An individual pair of wings flapping caught Rainbow's attention, as she turned toward it, she found the leader guard flying up toward them.

“We're all in position, lead the team, and I'll lead my guards,” he said.

“Right!” Rainbow answered back. Both her and Fluttershy turned to the Everfree forest, and with a flap of their wings, they began their journey inside.

The Everfree forest, considered to be one of the most dangerous places in Equestria. It's name represents how all aspects of this place run on their own accord, forever broken from tradition from the rest of Equestria.

Many stories have manifested of the origins of this place, but all are just head born stories for the residents of Equestria to try to justify the existence of this area. Some have said this was an uncurable taint left behind by Discord, to make sure he left a literal mark on the world. In that same vain, some have argued maybe perhaps the Everfree was and is a natural prison for the most dangerous beings in Equestria, they argue that the beings have to be put somewhere.

No matter the reason though, the Everfree continues to live on throughout Equestria's history, and has, and probably will keep terrifying Equestria for all time. If it's not the weather doing what it wants, perhaps it will be the animals who have seemingly adopted their own society if they are able to sustain themselves, sometimes that substance is the societal beings of Equestria.

Many have blamed the Everfree itself for many of the disasters of the world, some have called it the birthplace of Nightmare Moon; which is not without merit as it once was the home of the royal sisters, whose reasons for being there in the first place are unknown.

As Rainbow and Fluttershy looked down and around throughout this forest, the fear that they both held for this place chilled them to their cores, neither one spoke as they focused their eyes on their task. The occasional inhalation of air or the sound of wings being broken away from its white noised nature was the only sounds they, and the rest of the pegasi heard. If any of them spoke, it was most likely unheard by ones not in close proximity. The only actions any of the pegasi took was turning their heads back and forth to look around, Rainbow taking the occasional glance backward at the crowd, always staying a variable distance close to them and the clouds.

“Once we find this site, I'm going to break off some of my troops to make a trace backward to where we began, so I can get the rest of the incoming guards with us,” the leader guard spoke aloud, the cold silence being broken. Rainbow turned her head back to acknowledge his words. She began to turn her head back, but quickly retorted the action and turned again to face him.

“Why so many guards though?” she asked. “Seems like we got enough already.”

“I think you've experienced first hand how dangerous Equestria, and by extension the rest of the world can be. Nightmare Moon or Discord by themselves should be proof enough of that,” the guard replied. Rainbow only nodded in response, she looked to Fluttershy and leaned her head toward her.

“I really hope that the guards don't have to get involved...” Rainbow whispered, Fluttershy nodded in response, before her eyes suddenly went wide. “Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked.

“Smoke...” Rainbow's own eyes went wide at her friend's response.

“I smell it too...” They both looked outward, each one darting their heads back and forth. “There!” Rainbow exclaimed, a hoof being pointed outward toward a translucent trail of the offending gas. She turned around, but still continued to fly in the same direction. “Everyone! We've found fire! Let's go!” she yelled back. She looked back to their target, and all pegasi followed suit as they descended toward the treeline.

“There's more... ohmygosh!” Fluttershy pointed a worried hoof all around, more spouts of smoke being the receiving party. Rainbow grunted in frustration.

“Spread out, and take it to them!” Rainbow yelled outward. The pegasi all roared back in response, Rainbow and Fluttershy both slowed down and watched pegasi break off from their formation. Clouds being distributed among each of the newly discovered disasters in motion.

“Do you see any pattern to them? Any circular formation you can make out?” the leader guard asked.

“Not yet, once we take out some of the fires, we can begin ground surveillance,” Rainbow replied, watching as some clouds already delivering the precious water down onto the ground below. “I can see the glow of them now... we'll check out down there once the smoke's cleared.”

“Right,” the guard responded. “I'm going to branch off two of my troops to send for the others,” he added, before flying away from the duo.

“Do you think we'll have enough clouds?” Fluttershy asked. “I know Cloudsdale will have more for us if we need, but I really don't want to it spread anymore while we go to get them.”

“If we get lucky, we may find a stream or something; we could whip up a tornado to funnel the water up no problem!”

“I'd be more than happy to help with that.” A small smile formed as she made the offer, Rainbow shot a toothy smile of her own back.

“Well, let's have a look then.” Rainbow turned back to the other pegasi, and pointed a hoof downward. “Everyone! We're heading down to ground level! If you're not doing anything, then this is something to do! Let's move, and watch out for each other, we're diving right into a smoke filled area!” Rainbow turned back to Fluttershy and gave a nod, the latter of which nodded back. Both of them arced themselves downward into the treeline, along with multiple other pegasi, both civilian and guard following them in.

As Rainbow became the first to touch down onto the ground, she was also the first to bear witness to the damage that had just been dealt to the land. The scars torn into the trees stood out even more than the seemingly unnatural look to even the most misshapen of what has been seen in the Everfree. Blacken trunks, piled up and washed away ash were the main decorations for this welcoming party and first experience of this disaster.

“Ugh... the air here is still awful!” Rainbow groaned.

“I think we'll be fine though,” Fluttershy replied, as she touched down onto the ground. Rainbow turned to acknowledge her. “The worse has passed for this area, as long as we keep our heads relatively low to the ground.” Both of them turned toward the sound of a pegasus landing near them, seeing the leader guard next to them.

“We'll need to keep our heads high in terms of scouting the area, I've also sent for some of the local medical staff from Ponyville,” he said to both of them. “I took the liberty of scanning each of those fires, they seemed to intensify in cluster and size in about the area in front of us.” He pointed forward toward a row of charred trees.

“So... that's where the bolt hit?” Rainbow asked, tilting her head as she did.

“Affirmative, it should be clear now to enter from the ground. The area above is still covered in smoke due to the cross wind. We'll be fine regardless, the smoke is rising well over the treeline, and not really sticking around down here.”

“Alright then!” Rainbow exclaimed, digging one of her back hooves into the ground. “Let's head to the impact site everyone! On the double!” she yelled outward, a fore-hoof of hers pointed out as well. After she made the call, Rainbow broke into a sprint forward, leading the charge. Fluttershy sighed and then inhaled slightly before breaking off into her own sprint, as well as the leader guard.

Rainbow came up to a line of trees, a cut in the line being made by the absence of a tree with the exception of a burnt stump. She looked backward to the other pegasi, and then back to the entrance. A careful hoof was placed onto the stump, and she pushed onto it slightly, with no result. She nodded to herself as she stepped up onto the stump, and saw on the other side the rest of the tree fallen inward toward the other side.

As she hopped over the stump and walked around the tree, she saw that the new area was a clearing, with an irregular star made of ash spread across the whole of it. On the other side of the area, she saw the only fire in the area suddenly become snuffed out. As the light from the fire died out, her attention was immediately set on the marked center of the clearing.

In the center of the clearing, sat something blue in the distance. She turned her head around and saw pegasi filing into the area, the leader guard stepping up to her.

“Hey, do you see that?” she asked. The guard stopped his trot and squinted his eyes, leaning forward as he did so.

“I do... and this warrants investigation,” he responded. “I would suggest keeping your team at a wide berth, we don't know what that is,” he suggested.

“Alright.” Rainbow turned back to the growing crowd of pegasi. “Everyone, spread out and search the area! Leave the center of this place for the guards!” she called outward, before turning back to the leader guard. “I'm checking this out too.”

“I... wouldn't exactly suggest that, but this could possibly be a weather based phenomenon.”

“Alright, cool,” she turned her head again, this time toward Fluttershy as she stepped into the area. “Hey, Fluttershy! Over here!” she called, the yellow pegasus flinching in response.

“Oh! Coming!” Fluttershy called back.

“You're going to bring her along too?” the guard asked. “I really don't want to endanger-”

“No one on my team goes alone, not even me,” Rainbow interrupted.

“Y-you wanted me, Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked, now next to the two. Rainbow turned her head to her friend.

“Yeah, see that in the center of the clearing? We need to check it out, and I want you to come with me,”

“Oh... uh, I don't-” Fluttershy shook her head quickly. “I mean, I'll come with you, sure,” she finished. Rainbow turned her to face the guard again.

“Fine, but I want you two to keep your distance, this is officially a high alert situation unless I say otherwise, got it?” he declared.

“Got it,” Rainbow said right back.

“Troops! Fall in! Proceed with caution!” he yelled outward, one of his fore-hooves going up and over his head to be pointed forward. A moment later, he began to trot forward, Rainbow and Fluttershy following a few steps behind.

“Can you make out what it is yet?” Fluttershy whispered.

“Not yet,” Rainbow whispered back. “It's... unusually bright... blue though, and it's sitting right in the middle of all this,” she commented.

“What in Tartarus is this thing?” the leader guard questioned out loud. “It's... armor?”

“Armor?” Rainbow asked back.

“It's... yeah. Troops! Form a perimeter!” he called outward.

“He's... right, look,” Fluttershy pointed out. Rainbow quickened her pace slightly, nearly passing the leader guard.

“Whoa... that... looks so awesome,” Rainbow commented. The object bore metallic platings ranging from blue to black, the whole piece shaped like a pony.

“Looks like an old Canterlot design of some kind, the helmet has that traditional face guard,” the leader guard added.

“Wait... is it, pulsing?” Rainbow asked, pointed toward the legs of the object. The legs were the lightest of blue shading of the whole piece, but inside moved waves of what looked like energy.

“What the Tartarus...” the leader guard whispered. “Did that bolt deliver this thing? Or did the bolt hit this thing and it absorbed the bolt?” He shook his head, and looked back down at the armor. “The legs look like some kind of clear case that holds that... pulsing stuff. That 'case' part though ends at the hoof pieces and near the shoulders and flanks.”

“If you ask me, the ear pieces look kinda... weird, they're like, bent inward. Plus, that horn is like curled backward, maybe it got bent or something,” Rainbow brought a hoof to her chin. “Do you think one of the princesses made this?” Rainbow asked.

“It could be a possibility, but they were the ones who ordered us to investigate this; I don't think they know about what the lightning was exactly, or what this is. I think though, judging from the size, this could probably fit princess Luna, but not princess Celestia,” he walked around the armor, on the opposite side of Rainbow and Fluttershy. “I see two holes here for what look like possible wings. The tail piece here is weird though... it looks like a torch that's carried for the Equestria Games has been built on.” He leaned in closer toward the armor. “What the?” He stepped over toward the front of the armor, leaning in toward the head piece. “I see more of that energy... stuff, inside the head piece! What kind of armor is this?”

“It's my armor and body, thank you very much.” All beings in the area immediately jumped in fright upon hearing a new voice in the area. All the guards immediately tensed up, the leader guard stepped back slightly and darted his head back and forth.

“Who's there? This is a royal guard operation by order of the princesses themselves! Identify and show yourself!” he yelled outward.

“You're already looking at me, but you're only looking at my discharged self.” The leader guard turned back to the armor, and flinched as he saw the head piece off the ground and 'looking' at him.

“W-what in the-”

“So, there is an explanation for my body being forcefully conducted into an equine body. I can think it over later." The armor shook its head and neck slightly, before looking back to the leader guard. "And since you asked, in a hilariously paranoid fashion that I haven't seen in a while, I am known as Razor.”

“R-Razor?”

“In the plasma,” Razor commented, standing up onto all four legs, and taller than the guard interrogating him. “Hmmm, so this is what it's like to be able to walk, I must say that I still prefer to be on a different level than everyone else in the Underscape.” Razor twirled a hoof in front of himself.

“Underscape?!” Rainbow yelled outward. “Who the heck are you?!” she yelled. Razor turned his head to Rainbow.

“Oh, how I love the excitable ones, they always seem to be so attracted to my whip,” Razor said back.

“Whip? What whip, and who are you?!” Razor only gave a sigh in response.

“The problem with your type is that you're so resistant to new ideas, always lashing out on impulses and trying to attack it in some form.” Razor rolled his head slightly. “I believe a proper introduction is in order then.” Razor ducked downward slightly, spreading his legs a bit. “I am Razor... the Lightning Revenant!” he yelled outward. A second later, everyone flinched as a bright blue light shot outward from Razor. Jaws dropped and eyes widened as two electric, crackling wings sprouted from Razor, and a whip-like tail snaked outward. Razor's whole being lifted into the air, his wings unmoving, and his 'tail' coiled back and forth near him. “Hmmm, now that's more like it,” Razor commented.

“'L-Lightning Revenent?' Wait! You were that bolt of lightning?!” the guard yelled outward.

“Guilty as charged,” Razor replied back, seemingly nonchalantly.

“You've caused damage and chaos to both the land of Equestria and its citizens! By order of the princesses I am officially plac-”

“Yes, yes, yes; my entrances always seem to have trouble integrated into them,” Razor interrupted. “Tell me though, did I actually hurt anyone yet? Judging from the configuration in the air, it seems like I've not even snuffed out a little critter from my light show.”

“W-what? What are you talking about?”

“Hmmm, these introductions always seem to be conducted in the same manner: I show up, everyone freaks out, I explain who I am; what will make this different I wonder?”

“Wait! I got a question!” Rainbow called outward, causing Razor to turned his head toward her. Rainbow flinched for a split second and stepped backward, she turned her head as she bumped into something, seeing that something being Fluttershy ducking behind her.

“A question? To this thing?!” the leader guard protested.

“Cool off your wings for a sec! Something just clicked in my head here, let me see if that 'click' is about this guy here,” she said back.

“Well?” Razor said. “I'm waiting, and I must say that I haven't got all day; I'm here for a reason you know. Well, actually I do have all day, and all of time, but time doesn't keep the Underscape in check.” Rainbow inhaled slightly, and let out a sigh as she took a step forward.

“Are you an Alicorn?” she asked out loud. Silence filled the air aside from the occasional crack in electricity from Razor, who only tilted his head in what looked like thought.

“The short answer? No. However... that term does ring a bell... ah!” he exclaimed. “So this is where those winged and horned equines come from! It's been a short while since I saw them go through the Underscape. Perhaps maybe about three or four thousand years ago.”

“Thousands of years?” the leader guard asked. “Just what are you?”

“Wait, hold up a second!” Rainbow called out to the guard, before turning back to Razor.

“My next question, does the term: 'Mad Moon' mean anything to you?”

“Oh, that thing that's both interrupted and helped my job at the same time? It was such a fireworks show when that thing fell, hehehehe!” he laughed.

“Ma'am? What are you talking about?” the leader guard asked Rainbow, who turned her head to him.

“First off, don't ever call me 'ma'am!' It's Rainbow Dash! Secondly, I think I know who this guy is, I learned a little bit from a friend a while ago. It's just on the tip of my tongue,” she turned her head back to Razor.

“Alright then, do you know who Sven is?” she asked, with a smile and scowl.

Razor chuckled slightly in response, his fore-legs being crossed over his chest. “So, this isn't exactly a new plane or world," he commented. "At any rate, yes, I do know Sven. He always gives me such a good laugh. It's always funny how I turn his own anger fueled strength against him, and it just makes him even angrier! Ahaha! In fact, I remember the last battle with him, he declared that he was going to get a Black King Bar to try to stop me from doing that very thing!” he yelled outward, followed by a series of low chuckles. The leader guard's ears dropped and his head was tilted in confusion in response Razor's answer. “Come to think of it though, I remember him and the rest of his team flying right into two black holes and disappearing. I wonder if I somehow missed them passing through the Narrow Maze...” he trailed off, an armored hoof being placed under his head. "Come to think of it, now I have a reason to prod at those other equines I've seen throughout the years, apparently they've all been scared out of their minds in the maze!"

“Now I know who you are, you're Razor of the Underscape; you're the one who literally whips souls toward their final fate!” she called outward. Multiple murmurs and gasps emancipated from the crowd of pegasi, both guard and civilian. “If you really want to know what did happen to Sven and the others, they ended up here!” Rainbow answered for Razor. Razor himself leaned himself upright, back legs dangled downward, and began to clap his fore-hooves.

“Bravo, well done indeed, you've made this introduction not be a complete bore to me,” he declared. "Now I've really taken interest in your land and world." As he clapped his hooves, the leader guard looked up to the sound of two pairs of wings flapping toward him. The source was two pegasi guards landing next to him.

“Sir! What's-”

“I'm trying to figure that out, get these civilians out of here!” the leader guard interrupted, he leaned in to whisper to the new arrival. “Are the other teams here?" The guard gave only a nod, and then ran a hoof across his chest in a diagonal motion, the leader guard giving a nod in response. The two pegasi guards flared their wings and took off toward the perimeter of the area. As the two guards flew away, Razor's act of clapping died down, followed by him pointing one of his fore-hooves outward toward Rainbow.

“So tell me then, what did happen to good old Sven and his little group?” Razor asked.

“Well,” Rainbow started. “You should know that-”

“Alright, I've heard enough!” the leader guard interrupted. “In fact, based on our intel and your confession, we're cleared to follow through with our operation. You're being placed under arrest and will be brought to Canterlot for questioning!”

“...And now it's back to being boring, and on what grounds exactly? You know, I could of taken care of that little old fire by myself anyway.” Razor turned back to the leader guard, his fore-hooves crossed.

“Precedents have been set long after that first group from your world set their feet in Equestria, and those precedents are in relation to you being from that world!”

“So you're transmitting a criminal nature of sorts onto me just because I know of Sven? And I supposed you're prepared to use force?” Razor asked outward.

“Charlie team: ready!” the leader guard yelled outward, which was followed by a ring of unicorn guards appearing all around Razor in flashes of magic.

“Oh, that's new,” Razor commented. “I've never seen a stealth attack before,” he added, while a faux yawn emancipated from his being.

“Detain him!” the leader guard ordered, a hoof being pointed forward toward Razor. From the unicorn guards, chains of magic shot outward from their horns; all of them wrapped around Razor and formed rings of magic around him. The rings of magic then shrunk in size and pressed themselves against him, binding his upper limbs and causing his wings to snap against his body. As the chains of magic reeled backward and removed any slack from them, purple beams of lightning shot off of Razor and directly toward the unicorns. As the bolts connect to the unicorns, each one dropped their spell and began to stumble around, some clutching their heads. “What the Tartarus?”

“Ahahahahaha!” Razor laughed outward, his chest being clutched by one of his fore-hooves. “Special offer today: receive free shock therapy whenever you foolishly try to cast a spell, or even specialized technique at me!” he declared. “You're lucky my mood is stable at the moment, or the voltage would have been turned up on that. If you give electricity a way to travel, it will go down it,” he added, receiving only groans in response. “Oh, I'm sorry, was that too much for you? Perhaps you equines are not on the same wavelengths as the average soul,” he said mockingly.

“We're ponies!” Rainbow yelled to Razor. “And what's the big idea, huh?”

“You seem to know of me, I'm here on self appointed duty in the name of the Underscape; it seems we've somehow never been able to find your world. I wonder if this is some undiscovered eighth plane?” Razor shook his head, and re-crossed his fore-hooves. “Regardless, you should know that the limitations of the Ancients doesn't apply to me here, unless you're a true hero, I think you very well know that you can't fight me.” Rainbow snorted in frustration, and felt something on her leg suddenly.

“Rainbow... d-don't,” Fluttershy pleaded. Rainbow turned and found Fluttershy's hoof wrapped around her back leg. “H-h-he's r-right, r-remember what Sven and G-Gondar were able to d-do in their bodies?” she asked quietly. Rainbow sighed in response, and solemnly turned back to face Razor.

“What is it you're here for then?” Rainbow asked Razor.

“What are you doing? He's an enemy of Equestria! Don't try to appease him!” the leader guard protested.

“Oh hush now, you're the ones who jumped straight into conflict,” Razor dismissed to the guard. “I've somewhat already collected enough information already; you seem to know of Tartarus, and that's one of the many, many exits of the Maze. For now, it seems I have to see if my good friend Visage is here with me. Oh, and perhaps see if those others on my team ended up here with us, though I may see them again when I return to the Underscape, hehehehe...” he trailed off in laughter.

“You're a maniac!” the leader guard called outward. “You're also literally a-a demon! You're a spawn of Tartarus!”

“No, I'm simply one who refers you to your permanent stay in your post death experience. At this rate, I'm looking extra forward to seeing you there,” Razor said to the guard, turning to him and raising his tail over his head.

“W-what?!”

“STOP!” Razor looked upward at the voice, and found also his vision being blocked by a pair of blue eyes. “I don't care if he attacked you! Or... ordered the attack! Everyone deserves a chance and some kindness! I won't stand back while you hurt him!” Fluttershy yelled straight to Razor, her eyes narrowing slightly. “If... that makes any sense...” she whimpered a bit, her eyes darting away for a moment. Razor himself floated in silence, looking directly at Fluttershy.

“Sorry, but not even cuteness is enough to damper me,” Razor replied back.

“Huh? EEP!” Fluttershy squeaked, as one of Razor's hooves began to brush against her cheek.

“I will give you credit though, you're in my top ten easily,” he added.

“Keep your hooves off of her!” Rainbow yelled outward, Razor looked over to where she was yelling from, and found one of her hooves strike his own- it didn't move an inch. “Uh...”

“I'll let you off with a warning, since so far you're keeping me entertained, you could have easily done that without trying to use force,” Razor said directly to Rainbow, pulling his hoof away from Fluttershy.

“Both of you are out of line and out of your minds!” the leader guard called out. “We're not going to let him go! Delta team!” on queue, a team of earth pony guards appeared from behind the tree lines. “The injured and civilians are out of the way now! Charge!” he ordered. All the earth pony guards roared with valor as they all broke out into a sprint toward Razor. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked to each other for a split second, and each flew away from Razor. Razor himself looked around at all the approaching guards.

“Oh, noooo! You have me completely surrounded by your strength based forces and not your intellectual forces, whatever shall I do?” Razor commented aloud, his voice radiating sarcasm.

“Quit your taunting, no matter what, you're coming with us!”

“No, in the end, you all come come to me in the Narrow Maze,” Razor commented. He looked and saw the earth ponies now within a few meters of him. “SHAAA!” Razor yelled out loud, followed by a ring of his plasma dropping down off of him and expanding on the ground. All the earth ponies had only a split second to try to stop before the ring passed through each one of them, all of them spazzing out in reaction.

“What the-”

“Wait for it...” Razor interrupted, as the ring began to compress itself back toward Razor. The earth ponies guards who were still semi-conscious all turned to see the ring coming back for them, some backed up toward Razor while others stood their ground, out of acceptance or inability or even bravery depended on the guard. As the ring passed through each of them a second time, all the ones who were standing found themselves now splayed out on the ground. The ring itself practically jumped back up into Razor's being, and assimilated itself back into his form.

“Sweet Celestia...” the leader guard whispered.

“That was probably a shocking twist on your plan, wasn't it?” Razor taunted. “I could do this all day, I'm having some fun here.”

“What fun is there in hurting other ponies?!”

“I'm not the one arcing out in rabidness, do you think I'm one who goes around abusing my powers for no reason? I always have reasons, the one here is to put you in your place, which is my job.”

“It's my job to oversee the safety of all of Equestria! Beta team!” Upon making the call, the remaining pegasi guards in the area all soared to the sky. In moments, they positioned themselves at a point around Razor in the air.

“Hmm... the cycle is coming full circle now, first your intellectual forces, then your strength forces, and now your agility forces,” Razor said aloud.

“Team! Don't let him intimidate you! That ring can't touch us, and his magic defense doesn't apply to you! He can't strike us all down as a team!” the leader guard called out.

“Actually, I could have expanded my plasma field up toward our heights if I wanted to. I could strike you down all easily, none can escape from my lightning,” Razor retorted, his tail lashing downward and cracking against the ground below. “I've acted in self-defense so far, even though this has been such a one-sided event. You can either let me go, or be humiliated a third time and I'll be on my merry way,” Razor declared. Rainbow and Flutershy looked toward the scene from the edge of the clearing, Razor's illuminated being contrasting harshly with all the shapes of the guards.

“This guy is... I'd hate to admit it, awesome!” Rainbow commented, causing Fluttershy to shoot a look of confusion to her friend. “I mean yeah, I know he's hurting all those guards, but look at what he can do! Imagine if he could-” Rainbow stopped as she saw Razor raise a hind hoof into the air, and a cloud with lightning cracking out of it began to form. “Whoa...” Rainbow's ears fell back onto her head and her mouth hung open at the sight. The gesture was interrupted as a noticeable rumble shook the trees below them. Both Rainbow and Fluttershy looked down to see the trees shake at another rumble. “What the hay?”

“Ursa minor!” a guard yelled outward, with all the remaining guards turning their heads toward the source. Razor himself dropped his hind-hoof to his side and looked as well, the cloud above him disappearing.

“What?!” the leader guard questioned. “Where's it coming from? How far away?”

“I-it's, it's here like right now! We still have the injured nearby!”

“Celestia dammit! Beta team, forget this guy! Everypony focus on getting the injured out of here!” he yelled outward. “Now!” upon his declaration, every pegasi guard broke away from their position. Some swooped downward to grab one of their earth pony comrades, while others flew down toward the tree line of the clearing. The leader guard looked to Razor with a crossed expression. “Fine, it looks like I'm forced to let you go, but I will haul your flank in eventually.”

“And I look forward to hauling yours through the Narrow Maze,” Razor replied back. “I'm actually now interested in this 'ursa minor' you speak of, this one must be pretty clap happy to make such disturbances, though I must give it credit to be doing this much for a youngling.” As Razor finished his sentence, he turned his head as a tree was pushed over and forced into the ground. Razor tilted his head back slightly as he saw the cause being the aforementioned ursa minor stomping into the clearing. “Oh, that's why,” he added. As the ursa minor stepped fully into the clearing, it lowered its head down toward Razor, followed by a snort from its gargantuan snout. “Ahahahahaha!” Razor laughed aloud. “This is your version of an ursa? This thing is less threatening than Ulfsaur missing all of his limbs and teeth!”

“Are you crazy?!” the leader guard yelled. “This thing's just a baby and you don't find it threatening?! Wait until it grows up and it's at least five times it's current size!”

“Then it would probably be only less threatening than Ulfsaur with only one arm,” Razor added. As he finished speaking, the ursa minor began to growl and raised one its paws up over Razor, who just trained his sight onto it.

“Oh, he's so dead...” he whispered. With a swing, the ursa minor brought its paw down onto Razor, and subsequently down onto the ground below. The sound of metal being struck against was followed by a resulting shockwave into the ground, dirt and dust was kick up as well. To those that could see, Razor's body showed a pancaked image through the ursa's paw, his glow still present.

Rainbow looked away as the ursa did its deed to Razor, somewhat blocking Fluttershy's view of the scene in the process.

“You know... I kind of take back what I said about him... he's kinda an idiot,” Rainbow said.

“W-why didn't he run?” Fluttershy nearly cried.

“I believe you somehow managed hurt yourself more than me with the effort that went into that little tantrum attack,” Razor's voice echoed outward. All the respective ears of every witness in the area shot upward upon hearing his voice. Those same witnesses' jaws all dropped open as well as they saw Razor push up against the paw of the ursa. The ursa itself formed a face of fear in confusion as Razor floated back up to his original position, holding back the ursa's paw with one fore-hoof. “Okay, I lied somewhat, that actually did hurt. I should have actually said that the pain you're about to feel however, is going to make that seem like an experience of static electricity. At least maybe in the humiliation department, since I'm still in a bright mood,” Razor said to the ursa, who only roared back in response. A crackle of energy followed next as suddenly an electrical beam, purple in color, bore outward from the ursa's chest and straight into Razor's horn.

Both Rainbow and Fluttershy stared in awe at the action, even the leader guard had the action being reflected in his eyes. After only but a second, dark orbs of electrical energy began to emit from the ursa's paws, the ursa pulled itself back a step and glanced to each paw. Razor himself just floated in place unmoving as the link did its job. Around each of his own fore-hooves, a bright blue orb of that same electrical energy was forming. As the seconds dragged on, each pair of respective orbs intensified in their contrast to each other. As quickly as the stream appeared, it disappeared streaming into Razor's form, and both beings looked squarely at each other.

“Hmph, I get more out of draining even Lina than you, but I suppose it will do. I guess your size played the biggest part in that action.” As he finished speaking, the ursa roared again and brought its paw off to the side. The paw was then swung forward directly toward Razor, who still did not move, both Rainbow and Fluttershy averted their gaze. As the paw was swung forward, the only resulting sound was the metal of his armor being hit against. Silence fell across the whole area, with Razor unmoved from his position, with only his fore-hooves crossed. The ursa stood frozen, and tentatively pulled its paw back away from Razor.

“What... the... hay...” Rainbow whispered.

“Let's see what happens if I actually put effort into this,” Razor said. His tail was then raised upward, and was brought down toward the area underneath the ursa's head and onto the ground. After it connected, the ground below suddenly exploded in a small shower of dirt, leaving behind a crater the side of an adult pony. The ursa itself reeled backward with another roar, going so far as to standing up on its hind legs. “Quick question, has anyone here ever seen a dancing bear? No? Well, allow me to give you a show then! Although, it probably won't be as entertaining as watching Sylla and his bear dance around!” Razor brought his tail down again toward one of the ursa's back legs, hitting the ground right next to it. As the feedback from the strike sunk in, the ursa picked up its leg and stepped back. Razor's tail reeled backward, and then flailed out and struck next to the ursa's other leg.

“Hehe...” Rainbow chuckled a bit, Fluttershy turning to her in confustion. “Ehehehe... ahahaha!” Rainbow started to loud outward, clutching her chest with a fore-hoof. Rainbow wiped away a tear as Razor continued the process of cracking his tail downward and causing the ursa to backpedal away. “Oh, Celestia! I'm sorry, but I'd never thought I'd see... that!” she cried. Fluttershy looked back toward the scene watching the ursa slowly reach the treeline.

“At least he isn't hurting the ursa...” Fluttershy whispered, tapping her fore-hooves together. Razor stopped his onslaught of whippings as the ursa bumped into the tree line. He looked up to the standing form of the ursa, and then flew up toward the ursa's face, which was reeled back as it visibly struggled to keep balance.

“I've always wanted to do this gag,” Razor said aloud, as he brought a fore-hoof forward. He paused for a moment as he was but inches from the ursa, and then pushed forward the rest of the way, applying force to the celestial bear. The ursa roared and time slowed as it began to fall backward. As it fell onto its back, many trees and the ground that was unfortunate enough to be in the way, were crushed. Dirt, dust, and birds far away in the distance flew upward as a result of the ursa's fall, every being in the area looked in awe at Razor's accomplishment.

After what seemed like minutes that each lasted an eternity, the ursa began to stir from its position. Everyone looked in intrigued as the ursa turned to turn itself back upright, but it struggled to even move itself with its own paws. As the ursa visibly strained to push itself up, the orbs of energy surrounding its paws, and Razor's hooves, dissipated, and the ursa shot upward in force suddenly. The ursa rolled onto all fours paws for a split second, but then suddenly spun onto the opposing side of where it was pushing itself up, causing another chuckle from Rainbow. The ursa corrected itself shortly after, and then began to trudge away from the area, following a path through the trees, but knocking over any that got in its way.

All eyes turned to Razor as the electrical being merely watched the ursa walk away in defeat, fore-hooves crossed and tail curled and coiled up once again near his being.

“Well, that was nice distraction, but I believe it's time now to see I can rendezvous with Visage,” he said, breaking the silence in the air. “If I were Visage, I believe he would immediately try to find any leader of this land, he was literally made for the diplomacy.” Razor turned his whole being around the area in a scanning motion. “I think if I were a leader... in this case a princess...” Razor began. “I think that I would be in a castle, and I just so happen to see a castle conveniently embedded into a mountain.”

“The princesses!” the leader guard called outward. “I'm not letting you-”

“You already said I was free to go, and I took care of your minor problem, and that pun was on purpose for the record,” Razor said aloud, without turning around. “It's my duty to not instigate conflict out of my own desires, and I'm upholding that by taking my leave, you are in fact the one who started it,” he said aloud, before leaning forward and flying away from the area. Rainbow and Fluttershy watched as Razor began to leave.

“Fluttershy, I need to follow him,” Rainbow said.

“W-what?!” Fluttershy retorted. “R-Rainbow! I-I don't think-”

“I know it's not a good idea,” Rainbow interrupted, her eyes closed and head hanging as she said that. “But I'm upholding my dedication to never leave anyone hanging, in this case, I feel that it's my duty to make sure the princesses will be okay,” Rainbow opened her eyes and turned to face Fluttershy, with a small smile on her face. “Besides, he already said he doesn't hurt anyone on purpose, and he's even said he has no reason to hurt me! I'll be fine, I promise, Fluttershy. Make that a Pinkie promise even, ten times over!” she declared. Fluttershy looked to her friend, her mouth hanging open slightly and her eyes wide. Her mouth slowly closed and formed a smile of her own after a few silent moments. Fluttershy nodded her head slowly, and placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder.

“Okay, Rainbow, good luck,” she said softly.

“Thanks, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said. “Oh, and tell everyone else on the weather team that they did an excellent job today!” she added.

“But... what about you going off alone... here?” Fluttershy asked. Rainbow paused for a moment, her eyes going wide at Fluttershy's question.

“Um... oh! I only told them not to go alone for this operation, and the operation's pretty much over and done with now!” she said, with a blush.

“Um... okay,” Fluttershy responded quietly.

“Remember, Fluttershy: I promised,” Rainbow said, before taking off away from Fluttershy.

Razor looked down over the land below him, keeping his fore-hooves crossed and his new hind legs lazily hanging down behind.

“Aside from the equine population, this land, and possibly world, don't seem all that special,” he said to himself. “It's very intriguing how just the act of arriving here has changed myself, I wonder if Visage was affected as well... if he's even here. I think we'd both like to know how we've never seen this place, perhaps it's actually a place where souls have never decided to run back to.” Razor broke away from his surveillance as the sound of wings flapping rapidly became present. “I do believe I have company once again.” Razor turned himself over, flying with his back down, and seeing a certain cerulean pegasus catching up to him. “It's just like I said before, the excitable ones are really attracted to my whip, but I suppose that's not the case for you,” Razor said aloud to Rainbow. Rainbow herself simply flew herself closer to Razor, albeit a short distance away, with Razor himself simply turning his head to keep her in his sight.

“It's like I told Fluttershy, I believe that it's my duty to not leave people hanging, and in this case it's the princesses,” Rainbow replied.

“Do they happen to be these... what was it called, Alicorns?” he asked.

“Y-yeah... they are,” Rainbow answered. “I'm making sure that you're not gonna try any funny business with them.”

“Despite the fact that you've seen first hand what I'm capable of?” Razor asked, causing Rainbow to flinch slightly.

“Well... I-”

“Ehehehe!” Razor laughed suddenly. “I already told you, I don't go around zapping souls on purpose. It's all part of the job, and you've claimed to know about me, what did they say about me exactly?”

“Well... not much exactly, just enough to know about where you come from, they didn't exactly go into your job description. It's 'cause of all the drama that they weren't able to give us full introductions to all the people from your world.” Rainbow flashed a nervous smile as she finished.

“Hmm... fair enough. My interests do include looking into Sven and the others' fates.” Razor flipped himself back over, going back to his previous flight position. “So should I expect another welcoming party when I reach this castle in the distance?” Rainbow's eyes shot open suddenly, followed by a small smile and scowl.

“Actually... you could consider me a free pass inside, if you let me lead you in,” Rainbow tempted. Razor looked away from Rainbow, looking forward into the direction that they were both flying.

“Hmm... so you do have some connections to your rulers, eh?” he asked aloud. He hung his head downward, and paused for a moment. “Very well then, I will take up your offer, as I'm sure you would not want any more... ponies, to get hurt now, huh?” he asked, with a hint of smugness leaking out.

“No I don't, plus I don't think maybe you could take on the entire royal guard, not after what we've been through.”

“Do you forget who I am already?” he asked, turning his head back to her.

“Apparently, you can still get hurt, and I know a friend as well who can subdue an ursa minor by herself,” she shot a scowl to Razor.

“Perhaps she'd qualify as mega creep material then,” he commented.

“What was that?!” Rainbow barked.

“Just a little humor that you probably wouldn't understand, unless they told you about the war with the Ancients as well, but there will be time for that later.”

“Oh... kay then...” she trailed off, her ears drooping. “Try to keep up!” Rainbow declared, her flared wings reflecting her sudden enthusiasm.

“You really have forgotten who I am, have you?” Razor added, Rainbow immediately turned her head back to Razor. “I'm not exactly putting much effort into flying, especially considering I've literally been flying from the very second I first arose.”

“Oh... right, lightning... you can travel as fast as light...” Rainbow whispered. “Well... I can travel faster than sound if I put enough effort into it!” she replied, thumping her chest with a fore-hoof.

“Once again, 'time for that stuff later,'” Razor reminded. “You certainly are one of those diamonds in the rough, along with your yellow friend, it gets tiring after a while how predictable foreign encounters get,” Razor commented. Rainbow looked to Canterlot, slowly but surely getting closer to them as they both flew.

“You're lucky we're not taking a train, it takes like hours by train compared the minutes it takes a pegasi to fly to and from there,” she started. “You have to go through such a long, twisting array of tunnels to get up the mountain; that's only really half the trip! Well, from Ponyville anyway.”

“I was never a fan of mountains, they tend to not have energy that I can conduct," he flipped himself over in the air, his electrical wings now facing to the ground. He placed both of his fore-legs on the back of his neck. "Speaking of which, if my allies have ended up here, you should be on the lookout for one who has such an affinity for the earth below us. Though I wonder if the other one who loves to run his mouth shares the same passion...” he said, a fore-hoof being placed on his chin.

“Who's this... friend of yours?” she asked. "The first one?" Razor looked to Rainbow, who flinched as his forever static face locked onto her.

“If you must know, jolly old Crixalis," he stated, his voice monotone despite the ethereal filter he always had. "Oh, sorry: 'King' Crixalis,” he added. Rainbow's eyes shot open, and her ears shot upward as well.

“K-king... Crixalis?!” she practically yelled.

Chapter 3: The Sand King

What does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 2

Original Idea and Story By: Zelkova48

Current Story By: Deverer

Chapter 3: The Sand King

Crixalis' eyes shot open upon the realization that he wasn't on any sort of ground anymore. His eyes were immediately met with the plane that he was just on, now approaching him at a ludicrous speed. He flinched as a lone cloud swept past him, but immediately jerked the opposite direction to keep his form stable.

I've always mentioned to Lyralei that the wind deserves to carry sand more than anything else, but this definitely qualifies as one of the time that passes the point of ridiculousness. That attack should have killed us all, yet here I fly down seemingly to my death, a death perhaps that will not have the net of the ancient to bring me back.

Down below in Crixalis' immediate vision, the ground's colors were of a gradient. From the center appeared a gray path, while turning into various greens as the distance from that path became greater. Each second that passed served as a reminder that an end was upon Crixalis, and his grave would be wherever the mercy of the wind would place him.

Yet Crixalis emphasizes the nature of survival through tactical thinking. For while sand sits and waits, it always fulfills a purpose, whether or not an action interacts with it. To be blown away, or to give structure to a land, each grain will always do something while not doing anything. Yet the Scintillant Waste has learned that sitting by is not always the best option, and in this case, he can definitely not afford to do nothing.

Crixalis closed his eyes, and he began to chant outward, a chant that many of his heroes are familiar with. Crixalis before has been subjugated to tornadoes, magics that make the ground work against him, even the barbaric act of being thrown. This time, the difference is he has exponentially more time to assess the situation.

Applejack looked to the skies of Equestria, her eyes squinted, and her moving stance stable. Her focus was set on the barely visible specks of light in the sky, light that conflicted with the barely afternoon sun. A harness was set around herself, the harness connected to a wagon full of filled bins of apples. On all sides of her sat her family's pride trees, only her immediate front and back has no lines of trees, just a beaten path through the orchid.

Her gaze seemed to only narrow more and more with each passing second, while her eyes didn't move themselves, the sight they projected only seemed to intensify. Each step she took looked automated, no variance in distance, and each stride looked like the last. The lights in the sky slowly made their way across and downward, whether time was slowed or not, Applejack watched in awe at their momentum.

Can you imagine falling from a height so high up, that it makes Cloudsdale pegasi cringe in fear? Falling through the air for literally minutes on end?

“Applejack!” a voice called. The orange mare shattered her stone gaze upon hearing her name. She refocused that very same gaze to the source of the call. In the distance, a blur of yellow topped with specks of red and pink was approaching her.

“Applebloom, what in Celestia's name are you doing out here?” Applejack called outward.

“The hole in the sky!” the younger sibling called back. “It's come back! Ah wanna head to Ponyville to-”

“Not even for a whole field of trees that can grow during the winter, Applebloom,” Applejack interrupted, also stopping her pace as she arrived right in front of her sister.

“But-”

“Now is not the time for arguing, you got that? The last time this happened, so many dangerous things happened soon after. We're lucky that huge bolt didn't come anywhere close to us, and that quake when that hole first appeared knocked over a good amount of apples in the southern field.” She tilted her head downward, her eyes closed. “Ah need you to stay here with Big Mac and Granny, Ah just know Twilight and the others are probably coming to fetch me.”

“It could be Rhasta though, Applejack!” she pleaded back. “Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and I had so much fun with him!”

“We don't even know where they've been for the past few months, we don't even know if anyone is coming through this time. If anyone has come through, we don't know if they're going to be friendly. Heck, it could be Rhasta again, but who knows iffin' he'll be the same?”

“But Ah can see lights in the sky! It has to be somepony up there!” Applejack raised her head back up and met her sister's gaze as Applebloom finished her statement, a small smile now present on her own face.

“Dang, Applebloom, maybe yer mark's in farsight. Wait, that may not be the right word...” She shook her head. “Listen, come with me back to the house, Big Mac will probably want you to help him collect the fallen apples before they get soil spoiled.”

“Alright...” the filly conceded, her ears falling against her head.

“Oh, and Applebloom? What did Ah say about using 'somepony?'” Applejack asked, a small scowl and smile being presented. Applebloom sighed, and rolled her eyes before speaking.

“That Ah shouldn't always assume that it will be ponies Ah'm referring to, and that it could be anyone,” she replied, annoyed. “Ah should only use 'somepony' or any other kind of variation of that if Ah know Ah'm referring to a pony.”

“Darn, tootin'. Now come on, Ah gotta get myself ready.” Applebloom stepped to the side of Applejack, and they both began to walk together.

“Applejack?” The older sibling looked to her sister.

“Hmm?”

“Is... that light coming to us?” the younger sibling asked, pointing a hoof up to the sky. Applejack's eyes flared out and ears shot upward. She snapped her gaze back to the sky and saw one of the lights in the sky significantly larger in size. Applejack immediately threw one of fore-legs outward and pulled Applebloom toward herself. She pushed the filly down onto the ground and threw herself over her. Applejack looked to the sky again, and saw the light suddenly move past her diagonally across the horizon in the sky.

It was the equivalent of a comet of pure white that seemed to carry a trail of warm fire. Applejack watched it sail well past Sweet Apple Acres, past the south fields and out of her sight. A few seconds of heavy breathing from Applejack and small whimpers from Applebloom passed by, before a small tremor was felt in the earth.

Applejack dropped her head downward, resting it against Applebloom's body, and hugged the filly with her fore-legs. Applebloom looked into her sister's eyes with her own tear filled ones, and hugged her back with one of her own fore-legs. Both sisters turned their heads to where the 'comet' flew, and each one established a new gaze to the sight.

Crixalis continued to hum his chant outward, and sand was flying and orbiting around his body. He opened his eyes and watched as the sand around him began to gather around his body.

“The sand is my life blood, it is also my armor, it will be my savior as well,” he said aloud. “A fissure... it seems coincidental, or perhaps ironic that I'm going to be landing... near it. A crack in space and light brought me here, and a crack in this earth wants to be my grave, but I will not allow it. Let the air that plans to kill me, behold my mastery of its opposite element.”

He began to hum his chant again, and more sand began to emit from his form, The sand surrounded him in a casing of sorts, leaving his whole being concealed and covered like a dune in a storm. Crixalis' eyes narrows as the individual pebbles down below became boulders, and the flakes of green became trees. His gaze straighten to one side of the crack in the earth below him.

A second before he hit the ground, he shot two limbs forward, and burrowed directly into the ground. The sand in front of Crixalis was swept away as the rock of the earth bombarded him. He grunted outward as he willed himself forward through the matter.

Suddenly, the rock surrounding him disappeared, and he found himself in a free fall again. Crixalis' eyes shot open as a stalactite flew by his head, and he found his body now tumbling through the air. Crixalis' gaze found itself in the opposite direction of his momentum as his whole body collided with solid matter once again. His gaze when then blackened as he rolled down the offending structure of earth, and slid along a new found floor.

He breathed inward and then outward, his eyes refusing to open. All around him, he felt echos in the earth, and ringing in his hearing. The blackness of his eyes soon spread to his hearing, to his touch, and then finally to his thoughts.

Twilight and Pinkie looked upon the property of Sweet Apple Acres in the distance, Twilight herself kept her gaze on the sky, while Pinkie bounced along with her eyes straight. Twilight would once in a while divert her gaze downward and update her frontal peripheral perception, before looking back up to the sky.

“So... Twilight!” Pinkie asked aloud. “You've been pretty quiet this whole time! Is there something rattling your head like Pound's own rattler?” Twilight turned her head to Pinkie, and gave a small sigh before speaking.

“It's... complicated, Pinkie. I'm excited, but not in the 'anticipating something you want' way, not even in the 'surprise' way. I'm just... excited,” she answered.

“'Just' excited? I don't think anyone can be 'just' excited!” Pinkie said back. “I mean, you have to be one way or the other, right? Or maybe even both! Or perhaps some ways that we can't think off the top of our heads and-”

“I'm well aware of that, Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted quietly, turning her head forward and hanging her head slightly. “It's just... say I'm so many different ways of excited, that they all cancel each other out. I want to make sure that everything goes right this time, you weren't there when Applejack, Rainbow, and I made a really big mistake that involved making an assumption.” She looked back to Pinkie, a small smile present. “I think you're well aware of not assuming,” Twilight joked.

“Don't assume or accuse without just cause or evidence! Or you make the accused uncomfortable, and/or you look kooky!” Pinkie replied back, a wide, toothy smile appearing with it.

“Well, you know we did assume off of evidence, but then... stronger evidence was brought against us.” Twilight looked back forward again, her eyes off center and her head tilted. “That was the start of something, huh?” she asked aloud.

“Mmmhmm!” Pinkie agreed. Both mares went silent afterword, and soon each one went back to their previous routine. Pinkie's head would occasionally turn to observe the environment on the ground, and each step and hop brought them closer to their friend's property. Twilight soon found her vision locked on completely, her eyes narrowing with each passing moment.

In the sky, four tiny lights were present. One of them was diverged away from the other three, the single one off to the left of their center point, and the others on the opposite side. Twilight looked to single one, then toward Canterlot Castle, and then back to the three that were relatively closer to each other. She stopped her trot and turned her whole body toward the sight. Pinkie stopped her own forward progress and turned to face Twilight, and then followed Twilight's line of sight upward.

Both of them widened their eyes as they looked back and forth between Canterlot and the cluster of lights. Twilight herself began to breath heavily, her fore-legs began to buckle, and sweat began to drop. Pinkie herself had her hoof to her mouth, she looked over to Twilight to a split second, before locking her eyes on one specific light in the trio cluster.

A light that was heading for Canterlot.

Both began to emit their own noises with their new actions; Pinkie was chewing her hoof, and Twilight began to whimper and stutter at the sight. Both of them quickened their pace as the light neared the city.

As the light itself passed over the base of the mountain, both mares stopped suddenly as a golden light flashed emerged, and a translucent shield of magic of the same color appeared around the whole city. Both of them looked to each other again, and each one held their breath and watched as the light in the sky connected with the shield.

A moment of silent passed.

Both of them dropped their jaws suddenly as the barrier then shattered, starting from the impact point and spreading all around. The barrier crumbled and faded away as the light continued downward into the city, and toward the high tower of Canterlot castle.

Twilight herself looked away, her eyes shut, and teeth clenched. She whimpered some more as time went on.

“Uh... what happened?” Pinkie asked aloud. “Nothing... happened?” Twilight slowly forced her eyes open, along with forcing herself to look back up to the city. As she looked upward again, her jaw dropped in both awe and confusion as Canterlot was exactly the same as she last saw it. None of the visible structures were gone, and no additions to those very buildings had been made.

“What...” Twilight whispered. “How can- it has to be a hero,” Twilight declared, as she stood back up fully. “It could be possible the princesses intercepted it, but if it was able to break through Celestia's barrier...” Twilight put her a fore-hoof to her head, grimacing in thought. “It was able to both break through, and supposedly stop itself from causing damage to the city...” She shook her head, and dropped her fore-hoof back onto the ground. “Pinkie, we should pick up the pace and get to Applejack, I want to get a full understanding of the situation.”

“But if we know they're heroes, Twilight, doesn't that mean they can take care of themselves?” Pinkie asked back. “I mean, wouldn't we want to take it easy and wait for-” Pinkie stopped suddenly, and looked down to the ground.

“Pinkie?”

“Did... did you feel that just now?” Pinkie looked back up to Twilight. “I think I felt a shudder in the ground...”

“What?”

“It was... really, really, really, reeeeally faint. But I know I felt it... it felt like it came from-” she stopped, and her eyes widened. “Sweet Apple Acres!” Pinkie then turned and ran off. Twilight followed Pinkie with her eyes, and then looked up to the sky.

“They're all gone... oh no!” Twilight flared her magic, and then disappeared in a flash.

Applejack and Applebloom both walked away from the cart filled with apples, which now resided in one of their secondary barns. The mare and filly remained silent, with the elder looking over toward the southern portion of the property, while the younger hung her head and ears.

Both of them walked to the front door of the main barn that also doubled as their home, they looked to each other for a moment, Applejack giving a small nod while Applebloom stepped into the building. Applejack let out a small sigh and turned herself around and began to walk out of the area. She nearly stopped her pace as she found two blurs in the distance approaching rapidly, one pink and one purple. Applejack herself accelerated into a small run to meet up with the approaching blurs.

“Ah knew Ah was right to expect company, do y'all know what's going on here?” she called outward. Applejack slowed her pace as she passed under the archway entrance to her farm, and gave a look of acknowledgment to both Pinkie and Twilight, who both nearly skidded to a stop.

“Well... what is it you don't know?” Twilight asked with a breath. “I'm sure that you know just as much as we do just from looking up into the sky!” Applejack tensed her lips, and looked down and away from the duo.

“Yeah.... Ah guess that was a given,” she whispered, before looking back up to the two. “Do you have a plan of action then?” she asked back.

“Well... I don't know...” Twilight admitted, her head mimicking her sentence's level of confidence. “I mean, I desperately want to investigate Canterlot, but I also feel the need to make sure everything around Ponyville stays stable.”

“Canterlot?” Applejack asked with a turned head. “Ah didn't get a chance to see that, Ah was too busy being spooked by one of them lights flying practically over me an' Applebloom's heads to see that.” She raised one of her fore-hooves upward and pointed it behind herself. “It felt real close too! Ah could bet mah whole dang farm on that thing landing in Ghastly Gorge!”

“Huh?” Twilight replied.

“I knew it!” Pinkie exclaimed, the other two turning to see her pump one of her fore-hooves in the air. “I knew I felt a small tremor!” she said with a satisfying smile. “Even though...” She suddenly dropped her smile. “That might mean someone got hurt from that...” She turned her gaze over to Applejack.

“You really could feel that all the way from Ghastly Gorge?” Twilight asked back.

“It's an earth pony thing, Twi,” Applejack answered. “Part of having spiritual strength and a strong heart is feeling the world around you,” she said with a proud smile.

“Some of the many traits I've envied of you two for so long.” Twilight looked up to the sky. “At any rate, I'd say our best course of action would be to investigate Ghastly Gorge, who knows what kind of chaos that impact alone has caused?”

“Then what are we waiting for then?”

“Rarity and Spike. They should be here any moment now, then we can make our way there,”

“Speaking of which,” Applejack said, pointing her fore-hoof past Twilight. All eyes looked down the path to see a white and purple blur approaching them. Then all eyes saw more blurs appear behind all of them, all the new blurs golden in color.

“The royal guard is here already?” Twilight asked aloud. The three mares all watched as the two awaited members of their group came within earshot, and soon in hooves reach of each other. Rarity gave a small smile and nod to the present company, while Spike had his arms crossed. Rarity had two saddlebags on her sides, while Spike wore a bag that wrapped around one of his shoulders.

“I'm afraid I ran into... complications...” Rarity said quietly. “Our guests is one of them.... but, there is another very important complication I'm sure you're not going to like.”

“Two, actually,” Spike added. He leaned forward slightly, bracing his arms against Rarity's back. “Rarity and I need to investigate Ponyville's small mountain range to the north, and Twilight here is gonna lead part of this guard troop to wherever you guys were gonna go,” he said aloud, with an annoyed undertone.

“What?!” Twilight yelped, immediately darting her eyes over the crowd of guards. “M-me l-lead a platoon of guards? I-I don't know how to command- er, lead, the royal guard! That's my brother's job! He's the captain, he should be able to-”

“Twilight!” Spike interrupted, causing the lavender mare to flinch. “When I said 'lead,' I mean just direct them to where they need to investigate. They're here for our safety, you're not gonna command them to do synchronized dancing or anything like that,” he said, with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh... hehe...” Twilight laughed, her cheeks flushed with red as she did so.

“Spike and I saw one of those lights flash a bit in the sky, I believe four times,” Rarity said, placing a fore-hoof to her chin. “After the fourth one, it disappeared out of the sky, but I deduced that it would land in the mountain range if it didn't disappear.”

“I'm not sure if it's ironic or coincidental that it's where you go to mine gems,” Spike whispered with a smile on his face.

“An omen or not, Spikey-Wikey, the harsh reality is that we must duo-head our own regime of guards.” She turned back to Twilight, a frown on her face.

“Oh! Nearly forgot! Before we saw the light do its little act in the sky, I got this!” Spike said, reaching into his bag. “Hang on.... aha!” he exclaimed, pulling out a scroll.

“Oh! From the princesses!” Twilight said, while reaching out to grab the scroll with her magic. The scroll opened up, and Twilight brought it in front of her face. “To my faithful student and her friends. I'm sure you're very aware of the situation that all of Equestria has been presented with. Time is of the essence, so I must make this brief by skipping proper introductions and speech. My sister and I are sending guards to watch over Ponyville and yourselves, I ask that you do what you can to help them help yourselves with this predicament. I urge you to divide and conquer as well, I do not want to let any opportunities of chaos fester and spread. Princess Celestia,” Twilight read aloud.

“Yeah, these guys kinda told us already when they showed up, but I remembered what you said.”

“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight gave a sigh. “Okay, since we have to divide and conquer, I suppose it's for the best that you two are going together. You know that place better than any of us, plus given how potentially dangerous the gorge could be, I think the rest of us going there would be best,” Twilight said aloud.

“Very well then,” Rarity agreed, tuning herself away from the three other mares. “I wish you all good luck on your... adventure,” Rarity said, walking away, with a good portion of the group of guards following her.

“You too, take care of each other you two!”

“Don't worry about us! Worry about your own hide!” Spike called back. “Ow! What was that for?” he added aloud. Twilight giggled slightly as the duo disappeared from her view, but her giggles died down shortly as she looked upon the sight before her. All the guards had their respective eyes on her and her friends, Twilight figuratively and literally gulped as she returned the gaze. “A-alright... we're... going to be...” she paused, taking a quick breath. “Going to G-Ghastly Gorge!” she yelped quickly, quickly snapping her her eyes shut in preparation for their reaction.

“Twilight? You alright there?” Applejack whispered. Twilight snapped her eyes open half way and looked to see her friend next to her.

“N-not exactly. I mean, how am I supposed to address them? They're part of the royal guard! Do I address them like a captain or leader of the guard should? What if I can't do that properly? What If I end up belittling them? What if they get mad at me for trying to talk to them and tell them what to do in the first place? What-”

“Twi,” Applejack interrupted, also placing a fore-hoof on her friend's shoulder. “Ahm sure they're well aware that you're not... properly trained.” She flashed a sheepish smile. “We're all people here, we make mistakes, and making a mistake on your first try is practically expected.”

“Plus, you got us here to back you up!” Pinkie chimed in. Twilight gave a little sigh, but followed up with a small smile after.

“Okay... I'll try again,” Twilight inhaled deeply, and looked back over to the remaining guards. “Okay, our destination is Ghastly Gorge. We need to head out of Ponyville and walk along the edge of the Everfree forest to do so, for those who are not aware,” her eyes widened suddenly. “Not that I'm implying that you wouldn't be aware! Hehe...” she trailed off. “We... need to head south, and I believe the princesses wanted us to do that now, are we all ready to move?” she asked aloud. All the guards in response showed their varying confirmations; nods, grunts, or quelled sentences. Twilight herself let out yet another sigh and turned back to Applejack and Pinkie.

Her two friends gave their own nods of confirmation, and each of them turned toward the south, and also toward the general direction of Ghastly Gorge. Twilight began to take her first steps toward the Gorge in a slow trot. As Twilight inched away from her position, Applejack and Pinkie both took their positions at her six, with the guards filing behind all of them.

Twilight turned her head and observed all the various ponies following her, all of them staring at either her, or the space she was heading toward. She snapped her head forward again and looked off well into the distance. Her eyes furrowed, and her head nodded quickly, followed by her pace increasing. The rhythm of every pony's steps increased in response as well, and suddenly a stampede comprised of three adventure familiar mares and a platoon of royal guards was made.

Crixalis stirred from his brush with death, and slowly began to peel his eyes open. The area in front of him was blurred like a mirage, but he could make out an overwhelming theme of gray. He groaned slightly and push himself off the ground and set his upper body perpendicular with the ground below him. He unhinged his mouth in breathed inward, and held the breath inside. With a violent cough, he released that very breath and let out another moan. He felt the consequences of the actions by him and of his earlier predicament course through him. He blinked his eyes, and shook his whole being slowly, taking in the results of the whole endeavor. When the Djinn of Qaldin created the armor that Crixalis would become, it was built to be as indestructible as trying to remove an entire desert. It may shift and break underneath in key parts, but your efforts overall don't stop the desert from existing, unless it is rid of in one fell swoop. He looked upward at focused, as much as he could, on where he was.

Blink away the illusions of pain, let no outer influence deter your mind, focus on the situation at hand. You're not alone in this, and you're not out of danger still. He opened his eyes and looked forward. All around him in every direction he looked, he found the foundations of a cave. He slowly aligned himself upward and stretched out his limbs despite the pain and lack of feeling that overwhelmed him. He brought his arms upward and began to use his back legs to walk forward, only for him to immediately find his upper body falling back down to the ground. A growl escaped his being as he craned his head behind him, as he looked behind him, his jaw and eyes opened up in shock. He picked up his head off the ground, and took a quick glance around the cave. Off to his left, he saw a shiny red-like substance spread out near an indent in the left. He once again pushed himself off the ground, and began to stagger over to the substance, which he could see his reflection in it. As he neared it, his jaw opened even more in shock as he looked upon his full form.

“What means of manipulation is this?” He looked at the being staring back at him. He looked around and outward from his position, but could not see anything else in the area. “If this is truly me, then this also truly complicates things...” He focused his gaze back on his reflection. “My stingers are gone, I have fangs now, and I've lost four of my legs and two eyes! Are these actual lips and... malleable skin? It seems I'm now a mix of an invertebrate and a mammal!” he looked downward at himself, and raised one of his reformed arms upward to his head. “And holes in my very being? What kind of incomplete craftsmanship is this?” he looked upward toward the ceiling, and then spoke his next words aloud. “Unless this is the work of the Djinn, whom I know would not do this, I am obligated even as just a living being to know what all of this is!” he shouted aloud, his voice echoing down the cave.

No response came, and Crixalis himself responded with a huff of frustration before turning back to the substance. He looked at the details of his new form. He was equine in shape, but it seemed his armored exterior and other spots on him betrayed the idea of him being all mammal. His eyes were the same as his previous body; bright green with a circular gradient shine of white to represent a 'pupil' of his. On top of his his head, two spikes not unlike the ones from his signature 'Burrow Strike' ability were sprouted outward, giving him an actual pair of ears. Yet he was an arachnid before, so was he part insect now as well?

His armored exterior still retained all the same colors, but some aspects seemed to have been moved around. His once darkened underside near his arms was now wrapped specifically around his 'stomach' area in terms of the equine shape. His back now held a layer of the bright crimson that was spread out across his scorpion body. His tail was retained in all form, yet Crixalis observed that it seemed to be able to now be curled downward and to his sides now.

Crixalis jumped away from his position as a small tremor echoed across the cave. He curled himself around and began to scan the walls, crouching downward as well. He cautiously began to step away from the way, alternating between looking down at his steps and up around the cave with each step he took. As he walked, a slow rumble began to echo around him. He looked to various point on the walls and the floor, before shooting his gaze directly downward.

As he did, the ground below him exploded around him and a set of teeth surrounded and threatened to clamp down on him. He immediately extended his legs outward fully and slipped out one side of the creature's mouth, feeling one of his back legs grace one of the razor sharp teeth. As he landed and tumbled across the ground, he turned to face his aggressor; a giant eel that was coming out of the ground, colored the same red as the substance he found. He gritted his teeth and got back up onto all fours, facing his opponent. The moment did not last as he turned to the wall closest to him, as he did, another eel penetrated the rock and surged toward him. He repeated his previous action and jumped out of the way, putting both of the creatures in his sight.

“A kingdom of land eels... fishes in rock,” he commented outward, darting his eyes between the two, both of whom were looking to him. He gazed downward to the ground, tremors still all around him. “Challenge accepted then,” he declared, raising his head back up, a smile now across his face. “Let's see which kingdom of the earth is better.” As he said this, more eels began to burst out of all sides of the cave, some near and some far from his position. The two that were present suddenly retreated back into the holes that they made, Crixalis merely turned and continued to move down the direction of the cave he was moving before. With each step, his rhythm gradually began to become more consistent, while the rhythm of eels coming and going increased.

As he passed by a pillar of rock that extended to the floor and ceiling, a group of eels emerged in front of him in a cluster. As he neared them, he leaped into the air, and dove front legs first into the ground in front of them. As he connected, goldenrod spikes surrounded his form and he disappeared beneath them. As the spikes surged forward, the eels caught in the wave were all uprooted from the ground and flew into the air. As the spikes passed by the cluster, Crixalis' form emerged from the row of spikes and landed back onto the ground. As he turned to observe his work, he saw the fully bodies of some of the eels sprawled outward before him. The length and radial size varied greatly between the various victims.

Before he could take a moment to inhale, Crixalis crouched slightly and took a step to his right as an eel burrowed upward near him. After the eel fully emerged, more eels began to surround and encircle him across the ground. He shifted his whole body around to observe them all, but stopped as one eel that was nearly twice the size as the rest of them emerged in front him. All of them reeled backward suddenly, all of their jaws wide open, and began to lurch forward.

Sand suddenly began to blow outward from the holes in Crixalis' legs. As if on instinct, Crixalis threw his front legs upward, and sat himself down onto the ground. He began to hum outward, his front legs being waved through the air. All the eels suddenly stopped as the newly introduced sand began to whip at their forms, some screeching outward in pain before burrowing away.

Inside the newly created sandstorm, Crixalis waved his fore-hooves around him, the sand following those very movements. He watched in satisfaction with a wide smile on his face as his assailants all reeled back in response. While he was missing his stingers, he did not have to always resort to physical means to win his battles, so to speak. As he channeled and chanted, he looked directly at the larger eel in front of him, and merely smiled it metaphorically stood its ground. It visibly struggled against the storm, yet it wasn't enough to knock it over.

Crixalis thoughts, but not chanting, stopped for a moment as he felt a liquid fall downward onto himself. Through the sand, he found a green substance sliding down his underside. He looked upward and found nothing above him, yet he felt another drip of the substance drop down onto him again. He moved one of his fore-legs across his form and felt around his lower chin, looking for any wounds of sorts. As he passed under his muzzle, he felt the substance drip again, and found that it was coming from his fangs.

“So... that's where my stingers went then...” he said quietly, picking himself off the ground. The sand around him began to slow down, and even began to fly back into his form. Still under the cover of the sand, he walked up to the eel, and looked to its long body. “A tad barbaric, but to live is to adapt,” he commented, opening his mouth wide.

The eel itself scanned downward for where Crixalis was in the sand storm, and suddenly froze as a pain erupted outward across its whole frame. For a split second, it resisted the urge to scream outward, but it was only when the assaulting objects left her form did it submit to the action. The eel collapsed downward, falling across the ground in front of itself. Crixalis merely stood near its head, looking down at it and one of his own fore-hooves wiping his mouth.

“Stings... doesn't it?” Crixalis commented. “I may have struck a critical point on your body, but I just wanted to give you a taste of my venom. You may not see the... after effects, but I think the passive nature of it is enough. Most heroes can fight off the dryness and crippling nature of it; you on the other hand, don't seem to have that strength,” he said down to the earth fish. He snapped his gaze down next to him as an eel burst forward and clamped down on his other front leg. A hiss of pain came off the Sand King as the eel's teeth wrapped around him limb. Crixalis placed his other front leg back down onto the ground, and reeled his head backward. As shot his head downward toward the lone eel, drops of venom sailed through the air. As he sunk his own teeth into the eel, it too cried out in pain, freeing his leg. As he pulled away, the eel immediately burrows itself back underground, and Crixalis looked up to observe more and more eels emerging around him.

“I think I shall do the Waste a favor, and by extension this land too.” Crixalis' scorpion tail raised upward, and suddenly struck the ground. As it landed, the whole cave began to vibrate at a new frequency, all eels in the area stopped staring toward Crixalis and began to look around. “Run... if you can,” he yelled outward, in a menacingly calm tone. His tail was raised back upward before he spoke again. “I don't need much strength in this regard, but I don't think I'm prepared to fight an entire army directly.” He brought his tail down again, and raised himself onto his hind legs. “Know now, why I am the Waste's king, and its army.” He brought his fore-legs down onto the ground, and the whole cave shook again. His tail whipped up and down, bringing up rocks, and causing quakes with each strike. Eels all around began to screech and roar, some already retreating as rocks from the ceiling began to fall downward.

Crixalis merely continued to smile outward, and watched around him as stalactites began to fall, and various eels all fled. He gave one last glare to the eel that was the first victim to his venom, before turning to walk to a wall of the cave. He placed a fore-hoof to it, and tapped it a few times. He nodded to himself, bringing it backward, and striking against the wall. He picked up his whole body and burrowed himself into the wall, leaving the eels to the mercy of the quake.

“What in Celestia and Luna's manes was that?” Twilight asked aloud, her voice steady and worried, and one of her lower eyes tensed upward.

“It... felt like an earthquake... well, underground,” Applejack answered. “You think there was a massive rock slide there?”

“It could be possible, it's not like we haven't had our fair share of rock slides happen to us.” She looked back to the guards, seeing them all looking around the area. Trees surrounded them, but not ones of the Everfree. In the distance, and in the direction they were all facing, the treeline ended.

“We're definitely close, Ah just hope Pinkie's okay, she desperately wanted to check up on her fam-”

“Wait!” Twilight interrupted. “I feel something...” she said, looking out in front of her. Applejack's looked to the ground, her eyes widening as she inspected it.

“Sweet Celestia,” the farmpony whispered. “Something's coming... something big!” she yelled outward.

“We need to get to the gorge, now!” Twilight declared, breaking back into a sprint, her friend and the guards following. Both mares looked to each other, and then out into the distance as they passed by the exit of the woods. All of the ponies were greeted with the Equestrian wonder that was Ghastly gorge. Stretching to both their left and right, the great chasm was only proceeded by a large plane of pure rock.

“Stop!” Applejack yelled, coming to a halt immediately. She looked over to Twilight who nearly tripped at her friend's order. “It's... so close,” both mares looked to the ground, and found the ground shaking and pebbles jumping around. They and the guards all looked to their right as the rumbling converged closer to the surface. The guards themselves ran past the mares and began to form along the rock bed, all crouched and ready at the possible incoming threat.

“Applejack...” Twilight whispered, stepping over to he friend. “Do you think... it's possible that maybe we could-” Twilight stopped as an explosion of rock appeared in front of all of them. Twilight herself ducked onto the ground and covered her neck, while Applejack stood her ground. The unicorn peeked her gaze upward from the ground, and both of them in turn look through the crowd of guards to the origin point of the eruption. Both of their respective eyes shot outward in shock as they saw a hoof shoot out of the ground, but the hoof was full of holes.

“No way...” the orange mare whispered, stepping forward through the guards. Twilight looked to Applejack, and then picked herself off the ground and began to run to the front of platoon of guards. Along the way, they each ushered their own set of remarks to give them room, all the meanwhile watching the figure emerge from the ground. As they both reached the front, Twilight's horn flared with magic, while Applejack began to paw at the ground with a single fore-hoof. All eyes were dead set on the figure emerge from the ground, and all either collectively gulped or gasped upon seeing a goldenrod changeling step onto the still solid rock.

Crixalis grunted outward as he forced the rest of his body out from the earth, landing on all fours and stretching all his limbs. Barely seconds into doing so, he found that an entire platoon of guards and two mares were staring at him with varying scowls.

“Well, well... so it seems I now meet residents of yet another kingdom,” he spoke outward. “I suppose that you are all both in awe and mortified at my presence, no?” he asked, brushing a fore-hoof against his chest.

“'Mortified?' Not exactly the right word,” Twilight said back. “If anything, the only 'awe' is how you're a different type of changeling than what we've seen. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“A 'changeling' now?” he said back, stretching out his hoof and inspecting it.

“What do you mean by that?” Applejack spoke back. “Y'all sure do meet the physical description for one, 'cept for the fact you ain't got wings or a horn there, or the colors y'all got on ya.”

“Hmm... very interesting,” he muttered, lowering his head and closing his eyes in thought. “I may not fully understand the full situation here, but it seems my very body is a changeling in it of itself.” Twilight and Applejack each looked to one another upon hearing his words, Twilight's magic fading away. Some of the guardsponies broke away from their gaze forward and began to look at each other as well for a few moments. “Before I fell out of the sky, my body was merely a piece of armor brought to life, shaped as a scorpion.” He placed his fore-hoof back onto the ground, while at the observers of him snapped their gaze back forward. “Now you claim my body to be a... changeling, yet the very fact that it was morphed when I arrived here makes it also a changeling in the metaphorical sense. That is to say, my body is the changed aspect that is causing conflict here,” he explained, retaining his smile throughout his speech. Twilight shot a quick glance to Applejack, who merely shot back a shrug of her shoulders. Twilight took a breath inward and a step forward toward Crixalis.

“So... you've never heard of the changeling species?” she asked aloud.

“Of the many races I've encountered, I have not,” he answered. “I've seen many people show of their mastery of transfiguration; but by the Ancients or perhaps some other means, they have never lasted this long or have given me this shape.”

“'Ancients?'” Twilight looked back to Applejack, a smile slowly forming on the unicorn's face. “H-he is from their world!” Applejack turned her eyes, but not her head to Crixalis.

“So he was that light that flew near my farm,” Applejack whispered, not adverting her gaze from Crixalis. “I can't remember all the names they gave us.” She turned her eyes back to Twilight. “Do you happen to remember which hero he is?” She looked back to the guards. “And be quick about it, they all look ready to jump at him,” she warned. Twilight looked back to the guards, her toothy smile snapping into a frown as she saw many of them keeping hardened stares at Crixalis.

“I can't think straight at the moment... I'm already getting a headache processing all this,” she shook her head, and turned herself back to Crixalis. “Who are you then... if I might ask?” she called over to the former arachnid.

“Hmm, now we get to the formalities; though part of me just knows how you're going to react already.” He bowed downward slightly, closing his eyes. “I am known as Crixalis, the Sand King,” he said aloud. Applejack and Twilight looked to each other with wide eyes and mouths hung open, each one pointing a fore-hoof forward to Crixalis. “From where I am from, I am in fact of royalty,” he added, as he raised himself back up to full height, which was easily a full pony head above most of the guards. Twilight looked back to the guards, some of them looking to her in response. She looked to Applejack, who only shot back a look of concern to her friend.

“That... that has to be a coincidence...” Twilight said, breaking the awkward silence. She turned to Crixalis, and pointed a fore-hoof to him. “I remember your hero title now; but how can you be a king, and have such a similar name to her?!” she yelled toward Crixalis, who tilted his head to one side.

“What are you-”

“It has to be a sheer coincidence!” Twilight interrupted, her eyes closed tight. “I mean, one might think you're the long last... partner, of Chrysalis! You could be the ruler of another hive of changelings, and you and her just had a spectacular union to helping bring harmony to changelings! You-”

“Twi!” Applejack yelled to her friend. Twilight snapped her eyes open, breathing heavily inward. Her cheeks flushed red as she look to Crixalis, and then to Applejack.

“Uh...”

“Take it easy now, Twi, maybe we let him speak?” the farmpony suggested, waving a fore-hoof over toward Crixalis.

“O-okay... I-I mean, I know we didn't get all of their names; but this is-”

“Ah know, Twi,” Applejack interrupted. “Mah own head here is performing a square dance solo over that connection, but we can worry about that later.” She looked back to the guards, a nervous frown following. “And Ah don't mean to make you more nervous, but seeing as how you're the one leading all of em...” she trailed off, looking back to Twilight.

“A-alright, alright... focus...” she whispered, looking back to Crixalis.

“Before you ask me a question,” Crixalis spoke up, causing Twilight to flinch. “What is this business if similar names, if I may ask?”

“Oh... uh...” Twilight looked down to the ground. “You see...”

“There's a queen here named Chrysalis, and you're a king named Crixalis,” Applejack spoke up, Twilight snapped her gaze over to her friend. “She's queen of the changelings, you're king of the... sand, and you happen to look like a changeling.” Crixalis' eyes widened, and a fore-hoof was placed on his head.

“You're right, that is a sheer coincidence,” he replied. “I would not be surprised if that caliber of coincidence was on Zeus' strikes of incompetence.” He shook his head, planting his fore-hoof back on the ground. “I won't let that distract me, I believe that you had a question?”

“Y-yeah,” Twilight said. “I believe it's best to assume that you're not from here, correct?” she asked the king.

“Your assumption would be correct,” Crixalis replied back, stroking one of his fore-hooves on the ground. “Probably not even more than an hour ago, I and four others were banded together in conflict, one space and time shattering flash of light later I'm falling out of the sky,” he commented, also kicking away a rock. Twilight gasped slightly and looked back to the guards, all of them starting to move forward, which did not go unnoticed by Crixalis. “Do I happen to be trespassing in your domain? Your troops seem ready to declare war against me.” He bent downward, his back and tail arching upward.

“T-troops? Uh... I mean, they're not-” Twilight looked back and forward between the guards and Crixalis. She gulped slightly as she broke into a sprint away from the guards and toward Crixalis. As she neared the halfway point between the them, she skidded herself to a stop and turned back to the guards. “Everyone, stand down!” she declared outward, all the guards stopping immediately afterword, some of them looking to each other in confusion. “I'll admit I don't know what guard procedures you're about to... uh, follow through with. But if he truly is where I, and maybe the rest of you are thinking, then I know that he is in fact a king! Therefore, he's an ambassador on Equestrian soil; we owe ourselves and the princesses to give him the respect he deserves!” Twilight began to breath heavily after her speech, watching all the guards to see their next move. She looked over to Applejack and saw her slowly moving out of the way of all of them, and then to Crixalis who retained his stance.

Soon though, the guards all began to stand straight upward, collectively relaxing their forms. Twilight herself breathed out a noticeable sigh of relief. Twilight glanced over to Applejack, who was walking over to meet her. She looked over to Crixalis, who stood back up straight, his tail falling downward as well.

“You honor me well, and I shall honor you by following in your steps,” he replied, giving another bow downward. Twilight blushed in response the gesture, shaking her head and turning to meet Applejack.

“Good going there, Twi, but what now?” Applejack asked, also taking a glance to Crixalis.

“It's quite a walk back to Ponyville, and then there's the matter of transporting... Crixalis, to Canterlot,” she said, wiping her forehead. “We also need to rendezvous with Pinkie, and make sure she's okay. Right now, do you think you can tell the guards that we're heading back?” she asked.

“No problem, just get... the king there to follow us.” She leaned toward Twilight's ear. “Ah reckon though to distance him from the rest of them,” she whispered. Twilight gave a small nod, Applejack turning to walk back to the guards. Twilight turned back to Crixalis, and nearly jumped as she saw him walking up to her.

“O-oh my, a-are you ready to go then?” she asked, her legs buckling slightly.

“As much as a proper explorer to the Waste is,” he replied back. Twilight's ears perked up at his remark.

“T-the Waste? Is that where you're from? Er, I mean, your kingdom?” she asked, excitement in her voice.

“All in due time, young one,” he said back. Twilight's ears dropped downward, a sigh escaping from her. She looked back over to the group of guards, with Applejack looking back to them.

“Very well. Then I, Twilight Sparkle, will be your escort to the rulers of our land,” she said, placing a fore-hoof on her chest.

“I am honored, please lead on,” he said back, one of his own fore-hooves stretched outward. Twilight nodded, and turned to walk back to the others. As she neared, the guards all began to walk as well, back toward the forest. As Twilight neared Applejack, the farmpony began to walk as Twilight passed by her.

“Ah sure hope you know what you're doing, Twi.” she whispered.

“I don't unfortunately,” she said back immediately, dropping her head and ears. “All those lights in the sky were heroes, we got lucky last time with whom we've met, but now we have new ones on our hooves. With what we've been told, how can we stand up to heroes of this caliber? For all we know, the king there could have caused that earthquake we felt,”

“Be better heroes, by being stronger together,” Applejack said back, placing a fore-hoof on Twilight's shoulder. “Just because one link in the chain is mighty strong, doesn't mean the whole dang thing is as strong as it. We all know how powerful our friendship is, we've seen it first hoof.” Twilight gave a smile back to her friend.

“Thanks, Applejack.” She looked forward, back to the forest that lead back home. “Even when we've been literally altered, we've still managed to pull through. This time, we've got experience, we'll see this through,” she declared. She looked back Crixalis, who was gazing around at the scenery. “Why don't you lead on? I'll tend to our... ambassador,” she whispered. Applejack nodded, increasing her pace, while Twilight slowed her pace to be in line with the Sand King. “So... King... Crixalis, what do you need to know of Equestria?”

Chapter 4: The Invoker

What does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 2

Original Idea and Story By: Zelkova48

Current Story By: Deverer

Chapter 4: The Invoker

“The cosmos has conspired against me once again!” Invoker yelled aloud, despite the fact he was rapidly falling down to the ground, thousands upon thousands of feet away from it. “It was not enough to inhibit my spells at the start of every fight, now they seek to try to outright kill me through and through!” He gritted his teeth, and locked his gaze onto the ground below. “My knowledge surpasses all! This is a fact! I preserve all of the universe in my mind, past and present, yet it wants to snuff me out? Nay I say!” He narrowed his gaze and looked to the point at which his body was heading, seeing an open field with various specks of gray all around.

The orbs encircling Invoker followed his figure despite the terminal velocity he had achieved, at the moment, each one was of the three reagents he was known for. In an eternal dance of their own fruition or of Invoker's will, the orbs bring about the raw magical preparation needed for the spells he considers the best of time. While a magic user could wave a wand and cause magic to happen, the wand itself carries materials that help make the spell happen. It is Invoker's mastery and innovation away from external materials that has made him one of the best minds to walk the earth.

The Quas reagent, blue in color, preserves his ice elements. This included ice itself, as well as water and earth; the strength of the world and its foundations. Invoker's spells that related to this element bring about the disruption of his enemies. When Invoker chooses to focus on these particular spells, he seeks to control the battlefield through tactical planning and seeking advantage by enduring.

The pink reagent, Wex, held his storm elements. Wind and lightening were the primary inhabitants in this case; the agility of the world and it's speedy harshness at his fingertips. Spells of this nature contained manipulation the speed of the battle itself, slowing or even speeding it up depending on the application. Invoker, if his will allows it, will ensure that time goes into his favor with these spells.

Exort, the final reagent in his arsenal, was orange in color. It holds fire itself, and a subtle induction of space is also present here. Pure destruction is the name of this game, spells bring that about the pure essence of magical power are cast from this reagent. All must beware of his ability to snuff matter out existence, including the matter of your very being, if he chooses to go down this route.

Even if the Invoker has chosen a specific path to follow in a specific battle, all must remember why he got his namesake and reputation. Many tactics and strategies have been absorbed into his mind, his focus can and will shift over the course of a battle. The longer the Invoker fights, the more he learns, and knowledge has and always will be the source of his power.

“Even when my magic is silenced can I think out of situations worse than this! Even when I am cast out of existence or trapped in time I can prevail! You think dropping me out the air will kill me?!” He shot his arm forward toward the ground, but let out a sudden grunt as he observed it. “What kind of transfiguration is this?!” he yelled outward, looking at the appendage. What he observed was a leg of an equine. At the end it was golden where his hoof poked out of his new fur, the fur itself was white with a hint of peach. The whole limb was coming out of what he perceived to be his robe. “You dare alter my form against my will?! Once I get onto solid ground, I will search my massive collection of knowledge to find a petty transfiguration spell!” He snapped his angered gaze back to the ground. “You also dare to distract me mere seconds before I hit the ground?! Wex Quas Wex!” he yelled, his whole body spinning and flashing a combined colored light of his three reagents.

Trixie stepped up to the door of the farmhouse, stopping to look back at Igneous. The earth pony was with his wife and two daughters, all of them closing up the door to the storage silo that was across from the house. He and Cloudy Quartz both gave each other a small hug and a nod to the Pie sisters before they began to walk over to Trixie. She turned to the door of the house, and opened it with her magic, stepping aside to let the earth pony family walk inside. Cloudy, Limestone, and Marble each gave a smile to Trixie before they trotted inside.

“You sure do take a lot of initiative, Miss Lulamoon,” Igneous spoke. Trixie turned to him, letting her magic fade away.

“Just... well,” she started, a small tint of red on her cheeks. “You really have to step it up sometimes, take your work to the next level... eheh...” She ran a fore-hoof along the back of her neck, Igneous letting out a small chuckle of his own.

“Quartz is already heading to the kitchen, why don't you head on upstairs and wash up?” He gestured his own fore-hoof to the door. “Fillies first,” he said, Trixie giving a small nod back, and she herself then trotted into the house. As she stepped into the foyer, she headed off to the left side and began to ascend the stairs. She tilted her head over as she walked up, and saw both Limestone and Marble further down the hall, both of them standing outside the open entrance that led to the kitchen. She gave a small sigh and walked up the rest of the stairs.

As she reached the top, she walked towards the turn in the landing and began to follow the path down. She passed by one room before stopping at the second door in the hall. She flared her magic and opened the door inward and stepped inside, subsequently closing it behind her. She gave another sigh and looked around the room. Inside was a carpet in the middle of the room, a spring mattress bed with a blanket, sheet, and pillow. She walked past the bed and over to a simple dresser, two drawers in height, coming up just under her head. On top was an oil lantern along with an ink well and quill, a stack of papers present as well.

Trixie flared her magic, the top drawer becoming surrounded by it and was pulled outward. Another sigh escaped from her as she levitated the contents of the drawer upward: her performing hat and cape. Both of them floated aimlessly in the air, and they each had a few flakes of dust come off of them as she swiveled them around to observe them fully. Finally, both of them lost the magical aura around them and fell back into the drawer, which was closed almost immediately after. Trixie ran a fore-hoof across one of her eyes, before opening the lower drawer with her magic.

As she peered inside, she saw nothing in it. She quickly looked over to a corner of the room, seeing a few discarded towels piled up along side some other dirtied pieces of clothing. She grunted slightly as she slammed the drawer shut, and turned to trot out of the room. She turned to walk back down the hall from where she came, the door being practically slammed behind her. She walked pass the stairs and toward a single door at the end of the hall.

When she entered, her eyes glanced around the room. A bathtub was on one side of the room, while on the other side was a sink. She closed the door behind her, and turned her attention to the curtains of the window and grasped them with her magic, covering the window fully with them. She trotted herself halfway over to the sink, and checked the floor below her, shuffling her back hooves. She inhaled before standing up on her hind legs, horn glowing bright, and fore-hooves curled close to herself. She gritted her teeth, and sweat began to trickle down her head. She gasped and threw her fore-legs out, a pink cloud exploding in front of her suddenly. As she dropped back down onto all four legs panting, she looked up to observe the fruits of her endeavor. In front of her floated a small towel, beige in color. It floated over to her, and it was draped across her back. She then walked up to the sink, and grasped the knobs with her magic.

The moment she did though, she yelped as the window suddenly shattered, and a fierce wind entered the room. Trixie immediately fell to the floor and looked behind her, seeing a rock now inside the room. The wall that held the window started to break and crack all around, some parts having more rocks fly straight through. She tensed herself up as the room, and by extension the house, was being destroyed.

An eye of hers popped open as she heard screaming from downstairs. She looked down, as if she could see through the floor, as each member the farmer family was giving off their own yells. She took a quick breath, and turned to the door of the bathroom. She flared her magic, and immediately blinked away from her spot, appearing outside the door. She flinched as more rocks continued to assault the entire house. She looked to the top of the stairs, and took another quick breath as she blinked to them.

“Get down! Get down, now!” Trixie heard Igneous yell. She quickly ran down a few steps, and turned her head to see the family all huddled up in the hallway, away from any windows.

“Dad! What's going on?!” Marble yelled.

“It's a twister! Just stay down, all of you!” Igneous yelled over them. Trixie took in another breath, wiping her forehead. She flared her magic again, visibly straining as she did so. The farmer family all yelped as Trixie blinked in next to all of them. Before any of them could respond, Trixie grunted as shot her head upward. A stream of her magic went upward, and then a pink bubble appeared around all of them. As soon it touched down onto the floor, a rock immediately impacted against it, shaking the shield around them. Trixie grunted and crouched downward, her eyes closed and teeth clenched. The whole family remained quiet and stared at Trixie, all them flinching slightly as another rock hit the shield.

Trixie's back legs buckled downward, and her head hung downward, but she continued to flare her magic. She shot another beam upward to the shield, which glowed outward as it made contact. The tenseness in her face disappeared, and her eyes opened and her pupils rolled up slightly as she collapsed onto the floor. Limestone and Marble both reached out their respective set of fore-hooves to Trixie, both of them dragging the exhausted mare to them. Igneous and Cloudy both stared at the shield around them, an occasional rock hitting against it.

As the moments dragged on, the flow of rocks against the foundation began to die down as well. As the constant bangs and pops around stopped completely, Igneous began to rise up from the huddle, stepping toward the edge of the shield.

“Is everypony alright?” he asked, turning his head. All the mares nodded back silently, their eyes all on Trixie, who was breathing heavily.

“Miss Lulamoon?” Cloudy asked, her voice quiet. “Are you okay? Do we need to get you to a hospital?” Trixie craned her neck upward slightly, Limestone and Marble both shuffling back slightly.

“N-no... just... takes a lot out of you... to... do so much,” Trixie rasped.

“I'll go get some water, if it still works. Otherwise, I'll have to get the flares to signal Ponyville,” Igneous said to all of them. He turned to the shield, raising a fore-hoof up to it. As he pushed it forward, it broke into shards that disappeared as the fell downward. He gave a sigh before trotting out fully. “Miss Lulamoon, you deserve more than just a raise or a nice lunch after this... much more,” he commented. Trixie herself gave a weak smile, before letting out a violent cough.

“Limey, Mary, give her some space now,” their mother ordered, both of the sisters standing up and walking back in response. Cloudy placed a fore-hoof on Trixie's head. “Oh dear... she's burning up, it may not be a fever but...” she looked to the towel draped around Trixie's frame. “Limestone, can you give that towel to me? She's sweating fiercely,” the purple-gray mare gave a nod, before removing the towel off of Trixie. As Limestone reached the towel over to her mother, it suddenly vanished into a pink cloud of dust.

“What the-” Limestone yelped, darting her eyes back and forth. “It wasn't me!” she added.

“Conjuration magic...” Trixie whispered, earning the attention of the mares. “Never... lasts forever... takes a good bit out of you... eheh...”

“Dear, just rest now, save your strength,” Cloudy reassured, as she did so, Igneous trotted back to them with a glass of water.

“Water still works... can't say much for the rest of the kitchen, and possibly the rest of the house,” said Igneous, as he passed the glass over to Cloudy. “Do we need to get her to a hospital?” he asked, pointing to Trixie.

“She said she doesn't need it... but...” she looked to Trixie, who was pushing herself up to a sitting position. Cloudy tilted the glass toward Trixie's face, who accepted the water without hesitation.

“That's a good sign, though, I may have to signal somepony anyway for this freak disaster. You think this came from the Everfree?”

Trixie moved the glass away from her mouth, which was now empty. “That was made by somepony,” she spoke, her rasp gone. She wiped her mouth, coughing slightly for a moment. “If it was a twister like you said, it came and went too fast for it to have been from the Everfree. It was either a team of pegasi, or unicorns performing that specific weather spell,” she inhaled quietly, Cloudy looked to Igneous in shock. He gritted his teeth, also scowling his eyes.

“Sonuva-” he started, but stopped to pull his hat downward over his head slightly. “I'm getting the flares, after I inspect the damage to the farm, specifically where the twister touched down,” he declared, stomping away from the mares. The sound of the front door being slammed reached all of their ears, all of them flinching slightly at the sound.

“Miss Lulamoon?” Marble asked. The unicorn turned to the gray mare, who also had an even grayer mane. “I... just wanted to say thanks... you know, for saving us?” she whispered, her eyes trailing off toward the ground as she spoke.

“It's...” Trixie began. “It's... ergh...” she slumped downward, and began to breath heavily.

“Easy now, dear,” Cloudy said to the unicorn. “Limestone, go get a blanket and pillow, she needs to lie down,” the gray sister gave a nod. She stood up onto all fours and ran away from the group, the sound of her steps going away, and then toward them as she ascended the stairs. “Marble, can you go refill the glass? Can you also see if we have a bendable straw for her?”

“Yes, mom,” the other sister replied. She trotted around the two, stopping in order to take the empty glass with her.

“Some water should put me back on track,” Trixie spoke. “You would be amazed what water can do for your magical reserves as a frequent spell caster,” she added, a weak smile on her face, her eyes slightly lazy. “Yeah... I think I'm going to take that rest now...” she laid herself down onto the floor, on her stomach.

“They'll be back in a bit, then you rest to your heart's content, we'll pick up the slack from here,” Cloudy looked toward the direction of the fields. “I hope Rocky is okay.”

As Igneous looked over the destruction to the farm as a whole, he found it difficult to not have his mouth open in shock. All around him, rocks were scattered along the ground, the ground itself being torn up by their landings.

Despite that, the curious part was that most of the large boulders that were scattered throughout were surprisingly unmoved, like they weren't touched. Yet as he walked along though, the various boulders seemed to be more askew than the last, and the grass was flattened more so. He looked back toward the farm house and the silo, both of them now supporting a polka-dotted pattern of rocks, holes, and dents. A sigh escaped from him as he trudged forward, and continued to survey the area.

“Useless counter spell!” a voice yelled, causing Igneous to jump.

“What the hay?” he whispered.

“Useless polymorphic chant!” the voice called again, Igneous squinted forward, seeing various lights in the distance.

“What in Equestria is that?” Igneous scuffled forward, crouching down slightly. As he got closer, the lights in the distance became more precise, and he could make out a pony standing alone and facing away from him. That pony stood in the very center of a almost complete circle of ravaged land, the very spot where the pony was standing was devoid of grass.

“Useless transfiguration curse!” the voice came again, coming from where the mysterious pony stood. “All useless! The Scythe of Vyse is a more potent transfiguration, yet none of these spells can fix this?!” the pony yelled aloud again. “There's a reason I choose to forget these spells and leave but a smidgen! For knowledge's sake! Most fools don't even know the name of the scythe, lost to time and changes!” He raised his fore-hoof upward. “But not me! Tis only me who can carry such knowledge!"

“Sounds like his voice is stuck on the 'Royal Canterlot' setting...” Igneous murmured, creeping closer. As he got closer, he noticed the pony snapping his fore-hooves outward at varying times. Each time he did so, a frustrated grunt escaped from him.

“No matter...” the pony growled. “If it is a new challenge of knowledge, then I shall best it once again! I best all before me! Me, the Invoker!”

“Invoker?” Igneous immediately threw a fore-hoof over his mouth, backing up slightly. Igneous witnessed the pony, Invoker as he just said, turn his head slightly toward him.

“It would be wise of you to state your business, to see if my attention is worthy of acknowledging you,” Invoker growled. Igneous backed up a few more steps, his legs trembling slightly. As Invoker turned around fully to face Igneous, the earth pony froze in shock.

It wasn't the three orbs encircling Invoker, nor was the it the intimidating mixture of white, red, gold, and purple on his robes. It wasn't his authoritative golden mane that caressed a sharpened unicorn horn either. No, it was the fact that the Invoker's eyes were missing pupils and irises, leaving a scowl and gaze that pierced right through Igneous' being.

“You are of the transfiguration image that I now possess!” Invoker yelled to Igneous, the former shooting a fore-hoof out at the latter.

“I-I... er...”

“Do not waste my time! Disclose any information that has even a possibility of being relevant to my interests, or be gone! I have no desire to waste my superior mind on distractions!” Invoker took a step forward, one hoof only. “The equine anatomy that I share with you is most distorted as well! Yet it is no challenge to me to walk in this new body!”

“N-new body?” Igneous stammered. “What in Equestria are you-”

“Equestria?!” Invoker interrupted. “What land is this? That land has never been archived in the history of the world!”

“Maybe not whatever world your mind is at the moment...” Igneous replied, stepping back further.

“World...” Invoker started. “World!” He yelled after, his scowl suddenly softened. “A whole new world... means a whole new bounty of knowledge...” Invoker looked skyward slightly. “Your land alone has already gotten a pittance of my attention by altering my form, and preventing even me from changing it!” He looked back down to Igneous, an unsettling smile now on his face, causing Igneous to back up even further. “The spells that I can learn, but can they match up even to that diminished Claws of Tornarus?”

“Claws of what now?” Igneous asked, adjusting his hat slightly away from his eyes. “You should know that you're also trespassing on my-”

“The tornado invocation! The best of its kind, because I have mandated it so!” he interrupted yet again. “For your sake, your mind better have the ability to process that you are now in the act of wasting my time.”

“T-tornado?” Igneous stammered, gritting his teeth afterword. “You!” he yelled outward, pointing a fore-hoof at Invoker. “You're the one who destroyed my farm! Miss Lulamoon was right!” Igneous turned himself around. “I'm summoning the royal guards! You're going to rot in Tartarus for destroying my rock farm! Believe me, they've improved dramatically in the last few months!” Igneous then began to sprint away, leaving Invoker standing alone. Invoker himself glanced around himself, noting the surrounding area.

“Rock... farm?” Invoker asked, his tone not holding interest. Suddenly, two of the orbs, one Wex and one Quas, vanished out of the air. From the horn on his head, two Exort orbs suddenly materialized, replacing and continuing the orbital dance around Invoker. “You waste your mind on useless pebbles! I'll show you and this world a true rock that you should focus on!” He raised himself onto his back legs, his whole body flashing a light. He threw both of his fore-hooves forward, and a harsh wind immediately followed.

Quite a distance away from Invoker, Igneous continued to sprint back to the farm, his sights set on the storage silo. He took a quick glance behind him, seeing the silhouette of Invoker gradually growing smaller. As he looked though, his mouth formed downward to an open frown as he saw another silhouette descend down from the sky. The sky tinted orange and the temperature around him was raised slightly as it came down to the ground.

“Sweet Celestia... help us all...” he whispered.

“Pinkie?” Twilight asked her friend. “What's wrong?”

“T-twitchy tail...” the pink earth pony whispered. Twilight and Applejack both shot their respective eyes open, and looked above themselves.

“That means something's going to fall...” Twilight glanced toward the trees around her. “But... there's no wind, a sinkhole?” She snapped her head downward. Twilight looked back up as she felt something tap her shoulder. She looked to who was tapping her, and found Applejack doing it. Twilight looked around and found all the guards and Pinkie looking up in the same direction in the sky. Twilight joined them in looking upward, and her ears fell backward upon doing so.

In the sky, a red ball with visible flames trailing behind it descended downward.

“A... meteor?” Applejack asked aloud, taking a step backward.

“I...” Twilight started, but trailed off. “If we weren't in this current situation... this could be...” she wiped her forehead with a hoof, shaking her head afterword. “Is... is this maybe the light we missed from the sky?” She asked, as it disappeared from their view. She began to rub a fore-hoof on her chin, a concerned frown present on her face. All of them flinched slightly as a small quake wad felt under all their hooves.

“Wait a second!” Pinkie yelled outward, causing Twilight, Applejack, and some of the guards to snap their gaze downward. “If I know where I think we are, and that's the right direction to look,” she gasped inward. “That came down onto my family's farm! Dad! Mom!” Pinkie began to run away from the group, some of the guards stepping forward as she took her first steps, fore-hooves extended out.

“Pinkie! Wait!” Twilight yelled after her. Pinkie however, did not stop her sprint, disappearing into the tree line. “The plan! What about the plan?! What about-” she began to rap a fore-hoof against the ground. “I didn't plan for this! We're a mare down now! Where do we go now? Do we split off? Do we follow her? Do we-”

“Twi!” Applejack interrupted. “Look, this is her family in potential trouble; what if this were your... Ah dunno, your family's house that this thing fell near?” the farm pony suggested.

“I... I guess, but-”

“If you're worried about the plan, it's just a rock we saw, it's probably nothing more. A very... very, big, flaming... rock..” Applejack turned to the guards. “Ah suggest though, if it's not nothing more, we send some of the guards here to help her.” She titled her head, and half closed her eyes. “Though, while we're on the topic of plans and others things, Twilight,” she added, a frown now on her face. “Ever since... you know what, and when we all went our separate ways after that, you seem to be real twitchy when it comes to plans. Ah remember last week how you freaked out when you saw Applebloom taking up some applebucking, and you thought-”

“I know, I know,” Twilight conceded, her head being lowered down. “The incidents at the wedding alone really shook our heads, I mean, we never expected...” she sighed. “Look, AJ, can we talk about this later? A lot later? When we have this new portal drama under control?” she asked, raising her head back up. “You're right though, Pinkie shouldn't go alone in this.” Twilight trotted past Applejack slightly looking over the guards. “Listen! I know we were heading to Ghastly Gorge, but we need to make sure our friend is okay! We need a few volunteers to follow her, that... meteor, may have caused some damage on that I think warrants investigating!” she yelled outward. The guards all looked to each other, some talking to each other. Twilight gulped slightly, a bead of sweat trailing down between her eyes. A third of the guards stepped off toward the forest where Pinkie went, facing their comrades. The smaller platoon gave a salute to the larger, before they all turned to the forest, the Pegasi taking to the air, over the top of the trees.

“And off they go...” Applejack spoke out, Twilight turning to her. “Ah hope they'll be safe,” she pulled her hat down slightly. “We got own our worries though.”

“Right, the gorge,” Twilight turned her whole being around, back down the path they were all taking. She turned her head toward the forest, a concerned frown on her face. “Be safe, Pinkie,” she said under her breath.

Trixie jerked her whole being upward from her makeshift bed upon feeling the ground shake. She looked to the glass of water next to her, the liquid giving off ripples still. She glanced around, Cloud was in the hall next to the stairs, while the Pie sisters were in the kitchen. All of them glanced out toward the fields as if there were no walls blocking their line of sight.

All the mares turned their heads toward the direction of the front door, as it was slammed open and then immediately slammed shut. Igneous half trotted and half stumbled down the hall, stepping up the stairs slightly.

“Rocky?” Cloudy asked her husband. “What's going on? What was that?”

“A madpony...” he whispered, stopping in his tracks up the stairs. He looked over all the others, his eyes twitching slightly. “Just one... unicorn, made that twister...” he continued. Everyone's jaw suddenly fell open, Igneous himself breathed inward heavily. “And then... he... he, oh Celestia I can't describe it. It's like... he pulled a piece of the sun out of the sky! I felt the heat of that thing before it even hit the ground! I wasn't even halfway back to the house!” Trixie looked over toward the kitchen, leaning herself to try to look out the window, which was perpendicular to the main hallway.

“Why? How?” Trixie asked, turning her head back to Igneous. Marble and Limestone began to step past her, toward their parents.

“He's crazy... and... I guess crazy with power,” he answered, shaking his head. “The scary part was, I didn't see a single sparkle of magic from his horn, well there was those orb things. It's like he didn't even need his horn, it's not like unicorn magic we've seen from you, Miss Lulamoon. I'm not saying you're not a bad caster, no offense.”

“None taken... I...” she looked back to the kitchen. “I think I get what you're saying.”

“The bottom line is though, I'm signaling the guards, I want you all to be ready to hunker down in the cellar.” He resumed his trek up the stairs, his steps being heard through the ceiling.

“Limestone, Marble, can you go check the cellar? I haven't inspected it myself yet. I need to see if the silo is alright on the inside,” Cloudy spoke to her children.

“Yes, mom,” they both replied. They turned to walk down the hall, Trixie looked over to them. They both walked to a door near the stairs, opening it and disappearing into it.

“Will you be okay for a moment, Miss Lulamoon?” Cloudy asked, the unicorn turned her head to the earth pony.

“I will, yes,” she replied quickly. “Just... the way your husband described this... this-”

“I know, I know,” Cloudy gave a sigh. “Just try to keep your head now, okay?” She gave a weak smile, before turning toward the front door. As she opened and subsequently closed the door behind her, she gave off another sigh as she surveyed the damage. She glanced up and down the height of the silo, seeing dents and rocks embedded along the whole of the structure. The entrance to the silo was knocked clean off, and was resting inside.

She looked to her immediate right, the windmill next to their house was the only structure without a scratch on it. She hung her head slightly, and began to trot to the silo itself. Stepping past the fence that surrounded the house, she looked out into the fields. The various trees had most of their leaves blown off, some of the ones in the surrounding forest had theirs blown off as well. As she neared the entrance to the silo, she heard a set of rapid hoofsteps approaching. She perked her ears up and looked around, yet saw no one. Her ears twitched as a slightly high pitched voice came along with the steps.

She looked past the silo and to the forest behind it, hearing the echoing of the footsteps coming from it. A gasp escaped from her as a pink figure burst forth from the foliage- Pinkie Pie. The pink party pony snapped her gaze over to her perplexed parent. A smile appeared on both of their faces as they registered who the other was, Cloudy parted one fore-hoof outward, while Pinkie sprinted toward her. As Pinkie neared Cloudy, she slowed her pace, yet despite that she still still slammed into her mother. Both mares hugged each other in a vice-like grip, though Pinkie seemed to have the stronger of the two.

“Oh, it's good to see you, dear,” Cloudy whispered.

“You're okay...” Pinkie whispered back, pulling away slightly. “I-I thought something bad happen I-”

“Something bad did happen,” Cloudy interrupted. She turned herself back to the farm. “I'm glad you're here to give us a smile again, we kind of need it right now.” Cloudy began to trot back toward the farm, Pinkie stood still with her head tilted in confusion.

“Huh? What's wrong?” Pinkie began to trot after her mother. “Did that big huge flaming rock... oh...” As Pinkie rounded around the silo, she caught a full on glimpse of the damage to the farm. “Ohmygosh!” she screamed in response. “Did I miss an entire meteor shower?! Did my Pinkie sense lie to me?!” She turned to her mother. “Is... is everyone else okay?” she asked, a worried frown plastered on her face.

“Everyone is fine, Pinkie,” Cloudy answered, Pinkie giving a sigh of relief. “Though... we still have problems. Actually, not all of us may be fine. Miss Lulamoon is exhausted and there's still-”

“Miss Lulamoon?”

“Oh yes, sorry,” Cloudy blushed slightly. “We hired her a while ago to help on the farm. I'm guessing you've never heard of her?” Pinkie placed a fore-hoof on her chin.

“Lulamoon... Lulamoon...” she squinted her eyes. “Nope, nothing,” she gave a shrug of her shoulders.

“I really wish you were here on better terms, but we have a situation on our hooves. It was a madpony that caused all of this.”

“Madpony? Oh no! Then that means we have heroes on our hooves!” Pinkie exclaimed, Cloudy's ears fell flat against her head in response.

“'Hero?' I don't think that this pony is a 'hero' after what he's done.”

“I'll have to explain it later, but where are dad, Limey, and Marby?” she asked, Cloudy gave a small smile.

“Your father just went upstairs to get flares to signal the royal guard, he should be down at any moment. Your sisters are downstairs inspecting the cellar.” Both of them perked their ears up as the door to the house was opened, and Igneous stepped out with a lockbox in his mouth. “Well, speak of Discord.”

“Dad!” Pinkie yelled, breaking off to run to her father.

“Pinkie?” He looked to see the aforementioned mare charging right to him. “Pinkie!” He set the lockbox down at his side, just in time for Pinkie to slam into him, and become trapped in her hug. “Oh, it's been a while hasn't it?” He wrapped his own fore-hooves around her, a large smile on his face. Both of them backed away, staring at each other as they did so.

“Mom?” Marble's voice came, from outside the house. All eyes turned to the left side of the house, right side facing away from the door.

“The cellar is all set!” Limestone's voice followed. Pinkie tapped her fore-hooves together, and started a small jig on her back legs as she did so. She dropped back onto all fours as both sisters rounded the corner of the house, both of their eyes fell upon Pinkie and they both stopped in their tracks. Pinkie raised fore-hoof upward and gave a wave to both of them, who just stared at her with open mouths and wide eyes.

“Pinkie!” they both yelled together.

“Hey sises! How have you-oof!” Pinkie grunted, as they both tackled her into a laughing pile. Igneous looked down at the sight, but his smile from earlier faded as he looked up out to the farm. He leaned down to the lockbox, flipping open the latch and then the box itself. All the sisters stopped their laughing as Igneous did so, unlatching themselves from each other.

“Right... the guards,” Pinkie spoke up, her smile fading as well.

“Pinkie, I don't think it's coincidence that you're here though. Maybe cause you saw that meteor, but it takes a while for even Limestone to run to Ponyville quickly.” The purple-gray mare gave a blush in response.

“Oh!” Pinkie jumped up onto her feet. “Yeah, I was actually on business from princess Celestia... and I left my friends behind!” She turned her head back to the forest near the silo.”Oh... if there's a hero right here on the farm, and if they're not here...”

“I am about to signal some guards, Pinkie dear,” Igneous reassured. “I think that this is business for them, I don't want anypony to get hurt now.”

“The irony is that we did have guards with us.” Her ears fell down, and she sat herself down, pouting. Limestone and Marble both picked themselves off the ground, and each of them placed a hoof on one of Pinkie's shoulders. “I just wanted to make sure you were all okay, I was thinking way too fast and I-”

“Don't beat yourself up sweetie,” Cloudy interrupted. “Even if we don't catch that madpony, we're still safe, and that's what matters. You can actually thank Miss Lulamoon for that, which is why she's resting.”

“And it looks like your friends thought ahead as well,” Igneous said, pointing a fore-hoof past them all. They all turned to see royal guardponies filing out of the forest, some pegasi landing on the ground near them. “We may actually catch this guy.” He looked back to his family. “Listen, I want you all to go inside, let me talk to them.”

“Wait,” Pinkie spoke. “Let me talk to them too, I need to-”

“Pinkie, please,” he interrupted. “I don't want anypony getting hurt, especially when this reunion is soured by the circumstances surrounding it.” He glared to Pinkie, a stern frown on his face. “If you do have to go, since you mentioned princess Celestia, then at least promise me to wait first.” Pinkie looked to her father, staring silently. She slowly nodded, standing up.

“I'll wait, but I have to be with them,” she replied, stepping toward the door. Cloudy and her sisters watched silently as she opened the door and entered, all of bar Igneous followed her in silently shortly after. Inside, Pinkie was gazing around the the damage that could be seen, she silently kicked a rock away and gave a sigh. “Did dad mention what this... pony, looked like?”

“He... did mention orbs, and how he made a tornado by himself, and that meteor that fell down,” Marble answered. Pinkie's ears snapped upward and her eyes widened.

“What?!” she turned around, breathing heavily. “Oh my, oh my, that's a problem!”

“Do you know this pony?” Cloudy asked.

“No... well, yes! But I don't know him like a friend, I've heard stories of him. He's... well, it's kind of hard to describe.”

“Wait, where's Miss Lulamoon?” Limestone asked, stepping past Pinkie. All of them looked down the hall, seeing the makeshift bed empty.

“Did she excuse herself to the bathroom?” Marble asked, walking to the stairs. Pinkie looked back to the door, and then to the rock on the floor. After a few seconds gave a sigh, and stepped pass her mother and other sister to the door.

“Pinkie, where are you going?” Cloudy asked. Pinkie opened the front door, Igneous was currently walking toward her, the guards no where to be seen. He looked to her for a moment and gave a sigh. Both of them looked off toward the fields.

“I guess I can't stop you, but promise me this,” he reached up and tilted his hat back slightly. Both earth ponies then looked back to each other. “Please be safe, don't get involved unless you have to,” Pinkie stared at him, silent. She gave a nod, and trotted up to him to give a quick hug.

“Pinkie promise,” she declared. She broke away from the hug, and then began to run off into the fields. Igneous turned to see Cloudy walking up to him. They both gave a sigh, and each wrapped a fore-leg around each other.

Invoker surveyed the trail of fire and scorched earth that had just fully set in front of him moments earlier. He had a neutral expression on his face, looking neither satisfied or upset.

“What is the point of a transfiguration if you do not try to hinder my skills? Or it may be perhaps my mind is able to work around it?” He began to trot over to one side of the trail, switching between looking over his work and his own steps. “Like crawling like an infant once more, even then I conquered that task and walking soon after,” he spoke aloud. As he neared the center of the trail, he looked over to the other end to observe a crumbled stone that marked the end of it. “Barely any power put forth, yet it only concludes that I am no longer on the battlegrounds. I'm on an inferior plane of matter that seems to surprisingly hold some magical properties, despite the amount of damage done here.”

The lone Wex reagent and one of the Exorts vanished into thin air, and two Quas reagents were conjured soon after, coming out of his horn like the reagents before it.

“My ways of casting seems to have be shuffled around, perhaps this cosmic power that caused this had the proper mindset of compensation. I'm able to keep my arms free for movement when calling upon my orbs, but damn my inability to not be upright constantly! An equine body was not made for the superior battle stance of upright combat!” He stomped a hoof into the ground. “Best to not leave my demonstration to this world a mess as is. Then I must find a reliable source of information other than an inferior being who can't make complete sentences.” He lifted a fore-hoof upward, but stopped as he felt a rumble in the ground. “What dares now to try to interrupt my train of thought?!” he yelled outward, taking a few steps back away from the wall of flames in front of him. “You're lucky that this new world warrants me to pause to take in this new information!”

As he stepped backward, he looked over the flames and saw a large figure approaching him, blue in color. A large bear with a celestial paint job to him, an ursa minor to any resident of Equestria. The ursa was giving off a continuous growl and scowl, both directed down toward Invoker. As it stepped up to the flames, one of its paws stepped onto part of the path and snuffed out the flames below it.

“Now that I have observed you, I already feel the need to move along,” he spoke to the ursa minor, “Not that I fear you, why would I?” he asked aloud, his expression remaining unchanged.”You are already becoming a nuisance that I do not wish to spend time with,” the ursa reeled its head backward for a moment, and then lashed forward, roaring directly onto him. He did not move an inch, nor did his eyes struggle against the newly presented wind. As the ursa ceased its roared outward, Invoker brought a fore-hoof upward, and wiped of one of his cheeks. “You seem to present some ability of cognitive thought, you would be wise to use what little sentience you have to take your leave.” He placed his hoof back onto ground. “Especially when all you seem to present is useless spittle, noise, and an inconsistent translucent body in regards to your facial features.”

The ursa brought one of its paws forward, which was clenched shut. Inside the paw was a blackened shape held in the grip of its claws. The ursa hovered the paw over Invoker, though not directly over him, and opened it up. Out fell the shape, a small boulder half the height of Invoker. The ursa then reeled its paw back. It extended a single claw outward and pointed to the rock, to its head, and then to Invoker; who merely stood stone faced. The ursa let out another threatening growl, yet Invoker did not move any muscle on his body.

“Despite your ability to do these actions of mystery solving and mechanical motion... you bore me.” Invoker raised himself back onto his hind legs, glowing again with the light of his signature Invoke ability. The flash of light alone caused the ursa to reel back slightly, one of its paws going off the blazed trail and over its eyes. From the trail in front of both of them, shards of ice suddenly erupted upward. The ursa roared once again and the ice formed over the paw that was grounded, and the biting chill began to seep outward. Invoker himself merely dropped back down onto the ground, watching as the ursa struggled to free its paw.

As time passed, the flames of the trail licked the wall of ice shards, and slowly the began to deform. Soon, with a roar, the ursa's paw rocketed upward. The celestial bear roared and began to stomp away, limping as it kept its iced over paw off the ground. Invoker only turned his head to watch the ursa flee into a tree line, knocking some out of the way. He turned back to shards of ice, which by now had melted into a pile of wet snow, with the fires underneath now extinguished.

“A waste of time and mana, now to find an actual civilized race, perhaps one that I do not take the image of now,” he turned himself parallel to the pile of snow, his head still looking toward it. “Even I must admit the interesting application of the land's magic; enough to morph my frame and keep it so, but not enough to degenerate my conjurations as fast as the battlegrounds,” he snapped his head back forward, and began to walk away.

“Stop!” a voice called, causing Invoker to practically screech to a halt.

“The cosmos continues to annoy me and waste my time!” he yelled, turning to the source of the voice, seeing a blue blur in the distance. “I have no time to waste on useless distractions!” he yelled to the approaching figure. “State your business and anything that could be useful for me!” he added, as Trixie slowed her sprint, to observe the aftermath of his spells.

“I...uh... I-” she shook her head, and turned to Invoker. As she locked eyes with him, she flinched at his imposing figure, but took in a breath before speaking. “My name is Trixie, and...” she paused, as Invoker's scowl was furrowed further. “I believe I can help you, I-I'm a magic user as well and-”

“You? A mage?” he interrupted. “Are you here to challenge me?!” he yelled.

“N-No! I-I'm a traveling mag...” she started, but quickly stopped and blinked. “I used to be a traveling magician, performing great feats of magic, I've been all over Equestria and I-”

“Possess geographical knowledge?” Invoker finished, his scowl being lightened. “You have my interest now.” Trixie's head began to trickle sweat downward.

“L-listen, I don't know what's going on, but Igneous said that you created that tornado and-”

“Claws of Tornarus!” he interrupted again, causing Trixie to flinch again.

“Y-yes... and...” she inhaled deeply. “How did you do that?” she asked. “Please, I'll tell you whatever you want to know; but tell me how you able to do that? The best I've been able to do was a simple storm cloud,” she hung her head downward. “Please, I haven't been able to truly practice my magic in so long,”

“A practitioner of magic?” Invoker asked. “What are the magical means of your land?” Trixie lifted her head up, wiping her forehead with one of her fore-hooves.

“Uh... right, um...” she inhaled deeply. “There's unicorn magic-”

“You yourself are one, and the cosmos has turned me into one here.” Trixie flinched again, his voice carrying the same tone of intimidation from the beginning.

“...pegasi, and earth pony magic as well,” Trixie continued. “Usually-” she paused, Invoker was unmoving, despite giving him what he wanted. “In terms of unicorns, their magical talent is mostly spent on one specific field of magic. All unicorns can learn any spell if they put their mind to it, it's all about memorization and magical power.”

“What?” he asked, his eyes opening wide. “Your whole land, your unicorns, practice magic through memory and skill?” He turned his head away from Trixie. “This land embraces the olden ways? Not the shortcuts of wands and books?” A disturbing smile began to form on his face, Trixie took a step backward, her legs shaking slightly. “An entire race that's grown past the ignorance of tools, and is bred to use their minds?” He snapped his gaze back to Trixie. “You have certainly garnered my interest,” he brought a fore-hoof upward, placing it on his chest. “As for how I manage my own magic, my orbs provide me the reserves I need. My mind produces the orbs, and I will the magic outward.”

“Teach me,” Trixie pleaded, causing Invoker to lose his smile.

“What?” he asked, his fore-hoof being dropped back onto the ground.

“Please... teach me, I've never seen magic that powerful,” she sat downward, and looked over to the wet snow and scorched earth. “Look at what you've done here, I've never seen a unicorn perform at this level, and at this efficiency,” she looked back to him. “You've done all this, and you don't look tired at all.”

“Because I am the most efficient, and the most powerful,” he replied back. “As for teaching you, our mutual deal was the exchange of information, and we've both held our side of it.” He tilted his head downward slightly, emphasizing his scowl. “So simply, no,” he declared.

“What?!”

“I have no time for distractions, all I seek is the knowledge of this land, and the means to return from whence I came. Hither forth, I will leave my mark on this land how I please, not like the one you see before you.”He turned himself away from Trixie slightly. “Seek knowledge for yourself, perhaps you will become a fraction as powerful as me.” He began to trot away, Trixie herself felt a tear fall from her eye.

“It's not fair!” she yelled, punching the ground with one of her fore-hooves. “Twilight Sparkle gets the princess to teach her, and she was even taught by that Grand Magus pony! She gets all the shortcuts!” Invoker stopped in his path immediately, his ears flat against his head.

“Relay the title of that... 'pony,' back to me, so that I can be sure my own mind is not playing tricks on me,” he growled. Trixie looked back up toward Invoker, chills running down her spine.

“Uh...”

“Now!” he yelled, his eyes being fixated on Trixie again.

“G-Grand M-Magus!” she blurted out, cringing backward, her eyes clenched shut. “A-according to the stories I've heard, h-his name is... is uh... Rubick!” she answered, silence following after. Trixie could hear her own whimpers as she awaited a response.

“My equal... has been here?” he seethed, Trixie popped an eye open, seeing him staring at the ground. His teeth were clenched, and one of his fore-hooves was scrapping against the ground. “The one being who can stand up to my amazing talents?” He snapped his head upward, staring into the sky. “No one is better than me, but he has matched my skill. He though, has not embraced the true way of learning, he has but a gimmick and crutch compared to me,” he brought a fore-hoof upward, pointing it forward. “You seem have to have a rival that has gotten shortcuts as well, and my rival has managed to be first in something before me?!” he yelled aloud. He turned his fore-leg, and bent to point his hoof toward himself. “If you truly are a traveler of one who shows their talents, perhaps you are a spitting image of me, as this student is to Rubick.” He placed his hoof back onto the ground, and turned back to Trixie. “If he seeks to pass on-” he stopped, seeing that Trixie was no longer alone.

She was surrounded by ponies of the royal guard, and were now in the process of surrounding him,. Trixie remained frozen in place, three unicorns surrounding her. Invoker glanced around with his eyes only, observing that the ones trotting around him was a mixture of unicorns and non unicorns. No pegasi were present, but all of them regardless had their eyes dead set on him.

As they all began to complete the full encircling of him, all the unicorns' respective horns began to flare with magic, all of them leaning their horns toward him. He looked over to Trixie, who continued to stay still. The sound of metal being drawn caught his attention, he looked over the earth pony guards and found them all drawing out metal rods that were latched onto the side of their armor. Each of them seemed to magnetically hold the rod in their hooves, causing Invoker himself to glance down to his own.

All of them, though not in complete sync, snapped their rods outward. All of them immediately tripled in length, and a spearhead emerged from the mechanism. The earth pony guards reeled their spears back toward themselves, and pointed it to the Invoker, ready to charge.

“You are boring me already,” he spoke outward, breaking the silence. This only seemed to deepen the scowls of all the guards, and Trixie herself silently gulped. The Exort reagent above Invoker disappeared. and a Wex reagent was conjured right after. The moment this happened though, a unicorn in front of invoker shot his magic outward. In a split second, a tether of magic latched onto Invoker's horn, the 'line' of it snapping securely and pulling him forward somewhat. Invoker grunted in frustration as he was dragged slightly, his teeth bared.

“You dare fight me?” he growled, Trixie herself felt her spine freeze over upon hearing those words. “An honor that will be short lived for you.” He shuffled his hooves slightly, and snapped his head back slightly. The guards all snapped a small motion of their own, yet nothing happened. Invoker snapped his head again, and glanced upward. “What? My orbs fail me?!” he yelled. More unicorns suddenly began to shoot their magic forward, one of them grasped his left fore-leg, another his neck. “A challenge it is then, for you!” he yelled, his whole body flashing with his Invoke spell once again. The rest of guards, except the ones directly next to Trixie, all reacted. The rest of the unicorns shot their spells outward, while the earth ponies all began to charge forward, spears pointed forward and down slightly. “Ignorant like flies to a fire,” he deadpanned. Suddenly, a wind of white mist washed over him, and his body faded away. The tethers of magic on him fell downward and subsequently vanished, the ones in the air flying past him and disappearing as well. All of the guards' expressions turned to shock; at first to one of fear, and then to discomfort.

“I-Is this a winter spell?!” Trixie yelled, her fore-legs wrapped around herself. The guards and her were all shivering, and had a strange white film on their figures, with small white bolts arcing off of them. Some of the guards struggled to take steps, a white hoofprint being left where they lifted their legs. Trixie's teeth began to chatter slightly, albeit very slowly, as if time was slowed down for her but could still comprehend time going at a normal rate around.

“See now how your ignorance makes you fall to me!” Invoker's voice came. The air around them suddenly reverted to the previous status quo, and Invoker appeared back in the very spot he disappeared from. Around him, there were now three Wex reagents, and his whole being once again showed his Invoke spell. He stomped one of his fore-hooves into the ground, and as he pulled it back up, a static like noise filled the air. Trixie watched in fear as a ball of pink energy formed from the spot he stomped his hoof. The ball and the noise grew outward with each passing split second. The electricity soon began to lick her, but she felt nothing. She quickly turned her head, spotting a nearby boulder.

With the pink electric-like energy in air, one couldn't see Trixie flare her own pink colored magic. One could also say that energy took Trixie with it; as when it suddenly exploded outward, she was gone. In reality, Trixie was behind the boulder she was looking at, on her back and sweating furiously. She pushed herself upward, and leaned herself against the cold stone, closing her eyes and taking a breath.

“You!” Trixie snapped her eyes open at the voice, seeing yet more pink, but in the shape of a pony. “Now I remember! I never got your last name!” Pinkie said to the former showmare. Trixie herself stared back with confusion.

“Do I... know you?” she asked, her voice out of breath.

“No... but that's a problem! I never got to properly meet you! Though, I somewhat didn't want to after you were mean to my friends on your stage.” Pinkie pouted somewhat, turning her head away from Trixie slightly.

“Friends? Wait a second...” Trixie pointed a shaking fore-hoof toward Pinkie. “Y-you're one of Twilight Sparkle's friends... aren't you? Haven't you caused me enough trouble?!” she barked, throwing that very fore-hoof toward the ground. “I somewhat remember your colors from the crowd.”

“I remember that you also brought that mean old- er, I mean young, ursa minor to Ponyville,” Pinkie whispered slightly. As if someone stepped on a twig that represented Trixie's psyche, she snapped. She immediately pushed herself off the rock, and stepped right up to Pinkie, causing the pink mare to back away in fright.

“That wasn't me!” she yelled outward. “It was those colts' bright idea to bring it! Though 'bright' isn't really a proper word for them,” she stomped her hoof against the ground. “How was I supposed to know that somepony would be that stupid to bring an actual ursa to a populated town?!”

“Then maybe you shouldn't have been such a... boasty pants?” Pinkie whispered, her ears against her head.

“Aside from the fact that I did live up to my name by using my magic to best the very ones who wanted to step up?” Trixie sneered. “Have you've never seen a show before in your life? Have you never hyped something up to make it more special or enticing?!” Trixie turned her back to Pinkie, her head hanging downward.

“I... know what it's like to hype things up,” Pinkie replied back, causing Trixie to turn her head back. “Once, I thought my friends didn't like me because I thought they didn't like my parties. I put out so much for making them. I thought that for whatever reason, for them not being satisfied as an example, they didn't want me for parties anymore.” Trixie stared toward Pinkie, a genuine frown on the latter's face.

“Well... I-”

“Your magic reserves must be so pitiful if you all still draw consciousness!” Invoker interrupted from a distance, causing both mares to turn back to the scene. They both silently trotted up the the boulder, and poked their respective heads up over it.

All of the unicorns were in a daze, many of them on the ground breathing heavily. The earth ponies by comparison were struggling to stand, but all of them as a whole seemed to be drained of their stamina.

“I've had enough of these measly diversions from lesser beings, especially beings that I take the form of! You should be taking my superior form because of my superior being! You all should- what avian dares interrupt me?!” He looked to the sky, hearing the flapping of wings. “Do you truly wish for me to put more concentration and effort forth to go about my business?! This tedium has gone on for-” he stopped, as a metal cable wrapped around one of his hooves. The cable pulled him into the air, and Invoker looked up to the pegasus guard wielding it. Invoker looked to the cable for a second, and then back to the pegasus. “All of your various forms are forgettable to me! Your only notable accomplishment is your magical field manipulation of stationary objects! Your- argh!” he yelled, his whole body shaking with electricity.

Invoker looked back down, seeing a unicorn standing with its horn pointed to him. The unicorn fell back down to the ground, while the others were slowly starting to stand back up. All of the Wex reagents around Invoker were replaced with a Quas and two Exort reagents shortly after.

“Let me show you my own friends,” he growled, his body flashing with another Invoke. He threw his free hoof toward the ground, and two orange circles appeared down below. The guards that were able to backed away from the sight, as stones and lava surged upward. The rocks crushed and molded together into a monstrous face, with two eyes alight by the lava underneath it. The rocks also molded to form to give the conjuration a neck and spine.

The lava snaked outward below the rocky top, and two arms were formed with claws similar to a dragon's. The lava disconnected from the ground, which singed away to ash. The two beings, known as Forged Spirits, began to gaze around at the surrounding guard ponies on their own. One of them looked skyward, and its mouth became alight.

“Now see true magic! See how... ergh...” Invoker groaned, and looked to the cable. “My mana... what metal is this?!” he yelled, as another cable was whipped around one of his back legs. The spirit that had its mouth glowing reeled backward, and spat a fireball upward toward one of the pegasi holding Invoker. The pegasi immediately began evasive action, the two holding Invoker dropping him back down to the ground.

The other spirit began its own assault on the earth ponies and unicorns, spitting its own fireballs outward. One of those shots struck an earth pony guard charging forward, who immediately began to scream and swat at his armor. The guard dropped the spear it was holding and dropped to the ground, struggling to remove its armor.

Invoker smiled at the sight, standing up onto all fours. He watched at the guards both on the ground and in the air began to scatter away from the barrage that his spirits were making.

“See where your ignorance has landed you all! You dare to be the aggressor against me?!” he yelled. “I am the epitome of knowledge and skill! I show the world and the cosmos what knowledge can do! I-” he stopped, as a unicorn shot off another spell, which grasped his horn once again. “You dare try to repeat history?! After you've failed miserably? Perhaps I do feel the need to stop giving demonstrations and instead- ARGH!” he screamed, falling to the ground. He glanced toward the binding on his fore-leg, seeing a unicorn holding the cable, his horn smoking.

Invoker raised his head up from the ground, his spirits suddenly surrounded by the earth pony guards, their forms being chipped away by their spears. He felt another metal binding wrap around his other fore-leg, and he was lifted into the air again. Down below, he witnessed his spirits suddenly dissolve away, as both of them had spears impaled through them.

“You think some anti-magical cables will stop my spells?!” he looked downward, seeing a group of unicorns charging their magic. “My sorcery is superior to all! You will not-” he stopped, as the unicorns fired their spells forward. Invoker flinched as the bolts sailed past his head, and to his orbs. As the orbs were struck, they immediately disappeared from existence, and the magical binding on his horn was tightened further. “This damnable body holds me back! It's the only reason why- ARGH!” he screamed. The unicorns around charged the bindings again with their magic, both magical and physical, causing his whole body shaking. He hung his head downward, the guards all converging on him. “Ergh... I will not... be defea...” he trailed off, his eyes closing. The guards all gave collective sighs. Invoker's body became engulfed in magic, and was then lifted further into the air. The pegasi then began to wrap the cables around him, binding his fore-legs to his body. The binding on his horn was also replaced with a physical one and also wrapped around his body, his back legs were then bounded together.

Pinkie and Trixie looked over the scene, both hanging their mouths open at different levels.

“Those spells...” Trixie whispered. “He's the most powerful unicorn I've ever seen.”

“Actually... he's not a unicorn,” Pinkie replied, causing Trixie to turn her head.

“What do you mean? Are you saying he's an Alicorn then? That he's hiding wings under those magnificent robes of his?” she asked in succession.

“No, he's from another world and the magic of our world changed his body to something of familiarity to our own,” Pinkie answered, almost as if she practiced that line in her head. Trixie's eyes went wide, and looked back to the guards and Invoker.

“He... he's...” she stammered.

“He's also one of many heroes that we've learned about. In fact, Rubick said that... wait,” she placed a fore-hoof on her chin, looking skyward. “What was- Invoker! That's his name, or at least his title. Anyway, Ruby say that Invoky there is one of the most powerful magi ever in terms of sheer ability.” Trixie looked to Pinkie, her face puzzled at the speed Pinkie spouted information. She turned back to the scene, and saw the guards moving back toward the farm. Trixie breathed a small sigh.

'I need to find out, was he going to teach me?' she thought. She pushed herself off the boulder, and began to walk to the farmhouse. “You and I, and possibly by extension, your friends,” she gave a small shudder. “Need to have a frank discussion. This is going to be a long day, and probably week at this rate.”

“We should count ourselves lucky, actually,” Pinkie said back, Trixie looked to the pink earth pony, seeing her walking up to her. “Imagine if we had multiple heroes at once here, the chaos!” She widened her eyes and showed a toothy frown. Her pupils and irises shrank as she did so, causing Trixie to cringe back ever so slightly. Pinkie turned away, her facial features relaxing as she did. “By the way, Trixie,” Pinkie turned her head back to Trixie. “Why don't you tell me what's happened? Between when the ursa came... and now? I mean... maybe looking back... maybe...” She put on another frown.

“You, want to listen to me? After what you thought I did was so horrible?” the unicorn asked, a scowl going along with it.

“You protected my family,” Pinkie replied quickly and flatly. “The least I can do is hear your side of the deal.” She smiled slightly, causing Trixie to lessen her scowl.

“You're the third Pie sister?” Trixie shook her head slightly. “Should have guess, pink and more pink.” she huffed and looked forward. “How I should start? How about how everypony treated me like a complete fraud and joke despite all my past performances? How about them vandalizing my various trailers? Perhaps I should state the obvious in that my career and passion for magic was ruined?!” she yelled, snapping her gaze back to Pinkie, whose face was neutral. “'The Great and Pathetic Trixie' is the new title I garnered everywhere, eventually I had to resort to train hopping to find jobs and I eventually ended up here/” She kicked away a rock near herself. “That's just scratching the surface. I hope you plan to tell me what the hay is going on here, because now I'm in your business once again.”

Chapter 5: The Geomancer

What does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 2

Original Idea and Story By: Zelkova48

Current Story By: Deverer

Chapter 5: The Geomancer

Meepo, One to be precise, was contemplating his current situation. Of all the things that he was prepared for, falling out of the sky thousands of feet in the air was not one of them. This wouldn't be such a problem if it were just him, or even a few of him, but all of him? That was certain doom for him.

He knew very well he was not alone because aside from the air rushing past his ears, he heard the constant and bitter arguing of his other selves around him. He tried to ignore them, and try to find some peace in his anti-climatic death, but he just couldn't. Along with the arguing from his other selves, he got to take a look at new forms that they all took, which they seemed to just ignore.

He crossed his reformed arms, his shovel still being held by him, and just looked to the ground. “This is taking a freakin' long time, did I fall from the dang stratosphere or something?” he thought, as the landscape below seemed to slowly creep up on him. He wasn't a stranger to circumstances beyond his control, it's why he claims to be the most prepared hero among the entire battlegrounds. His years of hardship and toil have strengthen both his mind and body, and that experience has passed on to his other selves.

Meepo has self proclaimed himself to be the hero whose looks deceive his actions. Just a tunnel rat to the rest of the world, but there's more to him than meets the eye; especially when that eye has been buried along with the rest of the body. People take one glance at him and feel that he's not a problem, but then he and his other selves show you strength in numbers, and the strength of those numbers.

He glanced to his shovel, taking a quick chew out of what might be his last stalk. The tool that also doubled as his trusty weapon of choice, one might laugh at a hero using what might be dubbed an oversized spoon. Yet it is actually a feared weapon thanks to the experience Meepo has gone through. The engraving on the head was put their to both have him make caves, and to make it easier to cave in heads of those that oppose him. One strike against the ground, or someone's body; and it begins to crumble away to make it easier to get through. The enchanted nature of it is only exemplified with the subtle cyan glow the head gives off.

He turned his head to look toward the Riftshadow Crystals sticking out of his pack, unmoving from the winds that were assaulting them. The prize that Meepo always seeks to collect during his adventures to those very ruins. Wanted by many, Meepo included for himself, and for good reason. Of all heroes, only Meepo seems to completely understand their nature, if at all. He has shown time and again the volatile nature of the crystal itself, but he didn't earn his namesake for just being a gem seeker. It is not just the dirt of the ground he conquers, but it's how he uses the element of earth itself to accomplish his goals. Mages have always craved these crystals for good reason, and Meepo gladly shows you why.

It is made more apparent by the nets he carries in the opposing side of his pack. Any hero could testify of the bounding nature they possess, forcing any unfortunate victim they touch to temporally become one with the ground. A simple net may not be threatening to a team, but like a rock under pressure, it splits and spreads when it has made proper contact.

All tools aside, his very divided nature has always been what other heroes fear. Imagine: all the experience, power, and resourcefulness of one individual; multiplied and coordinated against you. 'Clones' that they have been dubbed, that can think on their own, and defend themselves nearly as best as the original. Meepo has constructed himself, and his other selves, to be an entire system of production. The production thus far has been whatever is in his interests, and he's had to manage up to five lives at the same time on top of all that.

Sadly, this seemed to be the end of all that: all because he fell. An anti-climatic end to a hero who has literally worked himself over multiple times. Who got problems done by his own strength and cunning, rather than letting some kind of magic do the dirty work for him.

He gave what he thought would be his last sigh of discontent, and closed his eyes. Yet, with his eyes closed, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was a fourth squeaky voice of his in the air. He snapped his eyes open, yet kept them in a squinted state as he looked towards the bottom of a mountain chain that he appeared to be flying toward.

“The heck is that?” he took a glance behind himself, seeing his other selves still continuing to argue, even attempting to pummel each other. “Will you guys, shut up?!” he yelled aloud, all of them ceased their actions and looked to him. “What are you? Grown rats, or human children?”

Two spoke up among them. “But we're not exactly rats at the-”

“Shut up!” One interrupted. “You know what I mean, take a listen now. Do ya hear that?”

“The wind?” Three asked with sarcasm.

“Not that!”

“Our heartbeats since we're about to die the second one of us hits the ground?” Four added.

“Shut. It!” One seethed. All the others rolled their respective eyes and leaned their respective ears toward the ground. “Sounds like I hear... idiots... forgot me... poof to the ground...” One's eyes went wide. “Holy heck, that's Five!”

“Who?” Four asked, which was quickly followed up with Two's shovel being connected to the back of his head. “Ey!” he yelled, along with descending down slightly

“The one you forgot to wake up, you idiot!” Two explained.

“If Five is here, then that means he's our ticket out of this mess!” One declared, reaching back to pull a Riftshadow Crystal from his pack. “If he's yellin' up to us, then that means he's on solid ground!” he began to grind the crystal against the shaft of his shovel, causing it to crack and glow slightly. “So, you know what to do!” he pulled back his shovel, and then swung it forward, hitting the crystal with the head. In a flash, One disappeared from their clustered free fall.

“Ey! Wait for us!” Three called, reaching for a crystal of his own, the other two repeating the motion.

One felt the momentum of his free fall disappear like the flash he himself disappeared into, hearing a familiar voice next to him.

“Do you hear me you dang idiots?! I said: 'poof to me so that-' oh, there you are,” One looked over to the voice, seeing the last of their rat pack standing near them. “Now do you mind explaining why I was woken up with a bright flash of light instead of you guys, and why I'm part horse now?!” One stared at Five, getting a fully detailed look of their new bodies.

What he saw was what could be best described as a cross between a rat such as himself, and a horse five sizes too small. All over he held gray fur, with the exception his ears and his newly developed snout which were tinted red. The area around his eyes especially held a great deal of red. His new hooves were as darkened as the claws he once had, and his tail appeared to be elongated.

His clothes all appeared to be in tact, his blue hood and gray gauntlets that were on his 'arms' still present. Yet his equipment, while in tact, seemed to be shift around. On each side of his, a pouch that held his vital equipment was in place; the crystals still on his left and the nets on his right. There was also another pouch right behind those that had nothing sticking out of them, and the rolled up sleeping equipment strapped over his new flanks.

Both One and Five turned their gaze away from each other as three small eruptions of dirt exploded next to them, the rest of themselves appearing in there place. The new arrivals all looked to each other, before setting their gaze on Five.

“Do we know you?” Four asked, pointing his shovel toward him. Three rolled his eyes and brought his shovel down on Four's head. “Ow! What was that for?”

“For being an idiot!” Three yelled.

“You're all idiots!” Five yelled, his voice the highest pitched out of all of them. “How can you forget to wake me up, again?! It's not like I'm literally a part of all of you!” he growled.

“All of you be quiet!” One yelled, stomping the handle of his own shovel on the ground. “Line up, emergency meeting! Ten hut!” His other selves all snapped their legs straight and held their necks high. All of them except Five stood up onto their back legs. One flinched as they all fell backward, their limbs splayed out at different angles. “And this is why I'm the original,” he rolled his eyes and smacked his hoof against his face. “Five, can you tell us anything about this place while they all pick themselves and their brains back up?” he asked, glancing around the rocky area.

“Well, a few things,” the newest Meepo said, as he relaxed his form. “We're not on any battlegrounds, 'cause I can hold pieces of gold,” he reached into his rear right side pouch, and pulled out some gold coins. “Found 'em half buried in the ground. Oh, and this is probably obvious at this point; but we can somehow pick stuff up like we still got claws and paws. You can even twirl around your shovel there if ya think hard enough. Also, the sun is somehow even brighter than before. ”Oh! I almost forgot!” He turned back to a row of rocks near them, and then he jumped away from all of them, hoisting himself over the rocks. One and the rest of the pack all followed Five's lead, landing on the other side where he held a bag. “This place is loaded with gems!” he said with a smile, throwing the bag to the ground and gems splashing outward.

“Money!” all of the other Meepos except One yelled.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on a second!” Five yelled, hitting his shovel near the bag onto a rock, which disintegrated to dirt in a few seconds. “Keep your crystals away from them, they turn these gems into crystals themselves,”

“What? Then why wouldn't we turn em all into crystals and make a killing?” Two asked.

“He's got a point, you know,” Three added.

“I don't know the exact value of these things yet, I haven't had time to inspect them yet,” Five explained.

“And why's that?” One asked. As he finished asking, the ground below them began to shake, and various yells could be heard.

“That's why,” Five said. “Who wants to go first while we make a killing in the money department?”

Rarity, with Spike on her back, trotted out of her boutique. She grasped the door with her magic and closed it behind her. She gave a slight nod and began to stroll down the streets toward Sweet Apple Acres. Spike meanwhile had significantly calmed down from the shock of Rarity's actions before. He was darting his head back and forth, surveying the area like a guardian on the lookout for threats.

“So... Rarity?” Spike asked, the unicorn turning her head slightly to look at him at the corner of her eye.

“Yes?”

“Out of complete and utter curiosity, if these are new heroes arriving here; do you have any ones you want to meet?”

“Heroes I would want to... that actually hasn't crossed my mind. I'm still wondering if it will be our friends from before.” Her ears dropped against her head. “Wherever they are, I hope they're okay. It would be nice to converse with them again, after all they've done.” A smile formed on her face, and her ears perked back up. “Do you, by chance?” she asked, turning her head back forward.

“Oh, do I ever! Twilight managed to jot down a complete list of all of them, and I've been reading up on it whenever I get the chance! I even have a copy of it in my pack here!” He thumped his chest with one of his claws, a proud smile on his face. “Though...” his smile turned sheepish. “I can't always remember them exactly, if at all. There's so many,” he scratched the back of his head, chuckling a bit. “I do know that I would want to meet Davion or Jakiro.” Rarity giggled slightly. “What?”

“I do remember that those are the dragon related heroes,” she turned her head, flashing a smile to him. Spike blushed slightly in response.

“Well... er... not if you don't count Dragonus, though that's only by his name. Still though; I want to see the actual dragon heroes themselves!”

“If I do recall correctly, Spike dear; one of them is a twin headed dragon, and the other is technically half a dragon.”

“And you would remember correctly. I've listened to the rumors about Jakiro... he's considered a freak even by magical standards, or is it they?” he placed a claw on his chin, looking up to the sky. “Also, you weren't there when Rubick actually turned-”

“Spikey? If I may?” Rarity interrupted, Spike looking back down to her. “Pardon me for ruining your fantasy, but lately, things are... rarely as they seem,” Spike sighed slightly, lowering his arms.

“So it goes,” he replied, with a small shrug. Spike leaned his arms down onto Rarity's upper back, and began to scan Ponyville once more.

Ponies everywhere were running to and fro. Some were stockpiling broken furniture outside their homes while others pulled carts or other containers full of the debris. He glanced over Rarity's head and toward the city hall in the distance, where the density of ponies was greatest. The river of them flooded out half the radius of the center area of Ponyville. Rarity herself turned her head to the spectacle, watching with concern as the mob had ponies both entering and leaving the building.

As they looked at the sight, both of them failed to notice the dark blue spark of magic and the sound it produced from in front of them immediately. Both of them turned their heads back forward seconds later, just as Rarity collided with a dark blue shield. Spike jerked forward at change of momentum, nearly falling off of her.

“Hey what's- wait, is that princess Luna?” Spike asked, pointing inside and seeing the aforementioned princess inside the shield. The princess glanced around inside, her horn glowing bright. She gave a nod to herself, and then disappeared in a flash. Rarity stepped back from the shield, observing how its size on the ground was about the same as a small house.

“That was odd,” Rarity spoke up. “She places this shield, which no one can seem to pass through,” she pointed her hoof out, seeing other ponies prod at the shield. “Then she leaves? Doesn't seem to be something that-” she stopped as another intense light appeared, both of them bringing their respective limbs up to their eyes. As they lowered those limbs, they saw princess Luna inside with dozens of royal guards. Luna pointed her hoof up into the air, and then her magic shot up toward the shield, which vanished as it made contact. A second later, Luna vanished once again, and the guards all began to disperse.

The sound of multiple flapping wings at once caught the duo's attention; which when they looked upward to see what it was- a group of pegasi guards. Some guards began to trot around random directions from where they appeared. However, quite a few earth and unicorn guards turned and ran a full on sprint into the direction of the newly arrived pegasi guards.

As they both looked to the sky, Spike glanced his eye off to the side and to a light in the sky. He tapped Rarity's neck slightly, who looked back to him, and then to where he was looking. Both of them watched as like a meteor all alone in a shower, it swam downward slowly as if to take in as much attention as it could. The duos' mouths began to slide open at the sight, drowning out the commotion around them. Then their mouths snapped open fully as the light flashed in air and still continued its course. They shook their heads when it repeated the action, then looked to each other when it did it again, and took up a look of bewilderment when it flashed again and disappeared from the sky.

“Did you see that, Rarity?” Spike asked, pointing a claw of his up to the sky.

“The light... it... did that, and disappeared,” the white unicorn responded, turning her head toward the ground. “If I had to take a guess... I would say that it was going to land at our gem digging grounds. It seemed to be heading that way, we were looking East towards it, right?” she asked, turning her head to look to the baby dragon. “Oh if I'm right, then it would seem history is repeating itself,” she added. “It's where I found... well...” she shuddered slightly.

“I couldn't tell ya, but if you think that... that...” his eyes opened wide, and he gagged along with them doing so. “Oh, hang on there!” he turned his head away from Rarity, who ducked her head down at what was about to happen. Spike turned his head upward, and released a fiery belch, the resulting flames and smoke materializing into a scroll. Spike groaned slightly, clutching his stomach. Rarity summoned her magic and grasped the scroll with it, bring it toward him. “Thanks,” he muttered, rubbing his stomach with one claw while taking the scroll with the other.

“It is my pleasure, Spikey, but may I ask what's on this scroll here?” he turned back to Rarity, and moved his arm to put himself between the scroll and her.

“Sorry, Rarity, I promised Twilight that any letters I get would be read when we're all together. The 'all' being every one of us, with the obvious exception of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash since they're heading off to the Everfree.”

“Oh!” she quickly responded, a small blush appearing. “Pardon my curiosity then.”

“Excuse me?” a voice called, the duo turned their heads to see a group guards approaching them, a lone guard in front of them. “We're here on orders from the princesses, they've requested that the element bearers help guide us in intercepting the crash sites of the lights in the sky,” the guard said to them.

“Oh, she did now?” Rarity asked. “Well, Spike and I were on our way to our friends just now, or the 'element bearers' as you just said,” The guard gave a nod, looking back to the group behind him.

“Did you all hear that? Everypony fall in behind the Element of Generosity!” he called back, the rest of the guards snapping up at attention. Rarity's ears fell backward upon the not so small revelation that she was now their leader.

“Oh dear... um... perhaps maybe-”

“Rarity?” Spike whispered, the fashionista turning her head back slightly to look at him. “Look, you may not like it, but if you want I could-”

“It's quite alright, Spike,” she let out a small huff. “But being that they are of the royal guards, I can't slow them down. I just ask that you be gentle with those claws of yours,” she turned back forward, crouching down slightly.

“What do you mean- whoa!” he yelled throwing an arm around Rarity's neck as she began to sprint off, guards in tow.

“Knock-out spree!” Three yelled out loud, as he stood triumphant over a Diamond Dog whose eyes were currently spinning. One rolled his eyes and ripped the jewel encrusted collar off of the dog's neck, tossing it into one his rear packs.

“How long were you digging before these guys showed up?”

“Less than a minute,” Five replied nonchalantly.

“Is that an under exaggeration or something?”

“Nah, I literally found these gems when I ripped my shovel out of the ground after I woke up; then I had to run from them to secure the loot,” Five brought his shovel forward slightly, holding it in front of him as they all trotted forward. “Why couldn't we turn into one of those things?”

“Not everything can go in our favor, least these damn hooves of ours can grip things,” One glanced forward, seeing Two and Four standing still up ahead. “You guys find something?” he called forward.

“Quite a bit! Say hello to our dig site!” Two called back, Four turning to face them as well. As they did, two Diamond Dogs erupted from the ground and began to lunge at them. As quickly as they appeared, Three appeared at the same speed in a flash of dirt and light, one hind leg standing on Two and Four. The two dogs shielded their eyes as they went flying backward, sliding along the ground.

“I've got a double KO! La la-la, la!” Three sang aloud, hoisting his shovel skyward in triumph. The rest of the rat pack blankly stared at him as he held his pose, and Three himself slowly looked back down to the rest of them. “Screw you, that was funny!”

“For the position you're in currently,” Four deadpanned.

“Speaking of 'position,' get off!” Two added, jumping up and causing Three to fall off next to Four.

“Ow,” the fallen Meepo blurted out. One and Five trotted up to the rest of them, surveying the area in front of them. In the distance, there was what appeared to be a mining cart, as well as a few small craters that have been filled.

“Away we go!” Two yelled, running off from the group, dragging his shovel along the ground.

“Ey!” One called out. “We to organize and-” he stopped, as the path that the shovel was creating began to show gems at differing points. “Whoa... that was too easy,” he commented.

“I'll start rounding them up,” Five said, walking to the path.

“I wanna see the value of these things,” Four added, also going to the path. As he passed by, he grabbed a single gem and sat himself down on a clear patch of the area.

“Well,” One started, looking over to Three. “I guess that leaves you and-” he flinched as Three's shovel smacked against another Diamond Dog, this one wearing armor of sorts.

“Meepwnage!” Three yelled aloud, running toward the center of the clearing, his shovel at the ready. One stood there staring off into space, seeing his other selves already in full force. He sighed and waddled himself toward a jagged rock that could oversee everything. He hoisted himself onto the rock, letting his legs hang with his shovel draped over them. He glanced over his other selves once again, and turned to look out toward the horizon.

“What the heck is going on here?” he asked himself.

“Don't worry about us! Worry about your own hide!” Spike called over to Twilight and the others.

“Spike!” Rarity whispered aloud, a small spark being sent from her horn to his tail.

“Ow! What was that for?” he threw a claw of his mouth, as he realized he said that out loud. “Great... Twilight is going to chew me out on that later,” he groaned, sitting himself back forward.

“I'm sorry, Spike, but I think Twilight is under enough pressure as is.” She began to quicken her pace. “If I'm nervous enough as is leading actual people of the royal guard; imagine how she must feel.” The baby dragon's temperature dropped at her words, and clutched his arm with one of his claws.

“Yeah... forgot about that, kinda got lost in the excitement,” he blushed slightly.

“Well, how about this then?” she turned her head forward, reaching a full sprint. “I've been thinking about what I remember; let's talk about the heroes some more,” Spike's eyes widened.

“Oh, who do you have on your mind?” he asked.

“Well... skipping over the more... barbarous ones, how about their Luna?”

“Wait, was she the...” he trailed off. “You know, how come I'm around the list everyday; but you seem to remember more than I?”

“You need a good memory like mine to keep track of all your supplies. Of course, as stated earlier, my memory is not perfect.” She gave a quick breath, a bead of sweat dropping off her.

“Do you want me to get off? I've been working on my running you know,” he proposed.

“It's... it's quite alright, darling,” she flashed a nervous smile back to him, her eyes somewhat closed. “I'm the one who could use the exercise anyway.” She turned back forward. “Anyway, their Luna is most similar by name; because she serves another moon princess: Mirana.” Spike snapped his claws.

“That's it! The Moon Rider, and the Princess of the Moon!”

“Precisely. Yet both of them serve Selemene, I wonder what would happen if they met our Luna? Do you think they would label our Luna as Selemene given the influence she's had here?”

“One thing's for sure, the names would get confusing really fast,” he deadpanned. “Anyway, who else did you have on your mind?”

“A few, like maybe the Omniknight or maybe the Stormcrafter. Perhaps even the Crystal Maiden, but not her sister, oh no.”

“The Slayer?”

“Just her name sends shivers down my spine, but that's complete irony right there,” she shook her head. “Yet, there is one I had especially in mind, even since I heard of him. He may not sound like the best person, but it's his trade I'm most interested in,” her eyes lulled slightly.

“Who? Cmon! Don't leave me in suspense!” Spike prodded.

“Sorry, Spike dear. Think of it like making a wish at a birthday party; it won't come true if you tell everyone else,” she turned and winked back to him.

Spike grunted in frustration, crossing his arms over his chest. “I guess it's fair since you didn't keep asking about the scroll.”

“At any rate, Spike,” she added. “We have to focus on the task at hand... claw? Er, we need to be ready for what's coming. I do hope we don't have to travel far.”

“I wonder what's going on over there, if anything? What if that was a illusion in the sky and not a hero?”

“Better safe than sorry,” she glanced back to the group of guards following. “I hope the hero, or even heroes, are safe. I certainly hope that anyone who meets them is safe as well, whether or not they mean well.”

One sighed as he looked at a ruby he found in the rock he was sitting on. He brought it to his mouth and bit into it.

“Huh.” He glanced at it for another second and tossed it behind him where most of the activity in the area was currently. He grasped his shovel, and held it out with one hoof. “Let's try this,” he squinted his eyes and pointed his hoof upward, the shovel laying flat on it. He gritted his teeth, and the shovel began to turn in his hoof. “There we go, there's the frequency,” he threw the shovel upward, turning his upper body back to catch it behind him. “Still got it,” he turned back forward, looking out into the landscape. In the distance, he could make out houses that seemed to have straw roofs and wooden foundations.

His thoughts were interrupted at another metallic clang of Three's shovel.

“Hey, One, how many is that now?” Three called, another Diamond Dog falling over with its head clutched. One turned his head to him, the same constant disinterest on his face still present despite the situation they were all in.

“Look, I said I lost count!” he called over. He gazed over to Two and his small work area. He had gems of every color lined up next to one of the Riftshadow Crystals. One watched as his other self picked up the Riftshadow Crystal and began to tap each color gem with it, all of them turning the same cerulean color as the crystal. He turned around further to look at Four, who was throwing dirt and gems out of a hole like there was no tomorrow. Five meanwhile was tossing those gems into the conveniently placed cart which would be hauled over to Two.

He gave another sigh, and began to tap his hoof against his head, trying to make sense of the situation. He should be happy, getting so many gems that he could and would be set for life at this rate. Yet a disturbing feeling still lingered in his head, and many strange questions he was still trying to make sense over. How did he get here, and why hasn't this happened before in battle with all the Fundamentals? Why is his body changed and yet not changed at the same time? Aside from having to walk on all fours, but he could easily carry his shovel while walking on three; and its not like he couldn't walk on four paws before.

One flinched as another Diamond Dog decided to face check Three's shovel, the ringing interrupting his thought process again.

“Uh... how many is that-”

“Seriously, I lost count!” he interrupted. One slid off the rock he was sitting on, and turned back to the others. “Look, I'm gonna find out where the heck we are, maybe catch us all some dinner,” he called over to all of them.

“Aw, we can't eat one of these guys?” Three called, while holding back an armored Diamond Dog with one fore-leg.

“They can speak, we don't eat things that can speak unless we're desperate. I heard 'em yapping before when I met 'em,” Five called. One placed his shovel over his shoulder, and began to walk down the path that they traveled up before.

“We can't even take one them home as a trophy? Fill 'em up with fluff 'n stuff?” he brought his other fore-hoof forward, sending the Diamond Dog flying back into a few other.

“You guys are doing just fine,” One mumbled to himself. “Maybe I'll see where we can finally settle down at the rate we're raking in gems,” he muttered, as he left his other selves to their own antics

Four poked his head out of the hole he was digging. “It's like this isn't a mountain holding gems, it's like a pile of gems with dirt on top of it. Seriously, we're freaking rich already! I bet we can pay a mage twenty times over to give us bodies back with one haul alone!” Four glanced over to the one sided brawl that Three was taking place in. “Maybe we can find their home and their stockpile of gems, we saw the collars they've made!”

“Just keep your crystals away from the gems, I dunno if the locals here know the actual value of them,” Two commented over his shoulder. “Speakin' of which, think I should start separating them all for when we start sellin' em?”

“Couldn't hurt, it'd be easier if we had more of these carts here. Or we just wait for One to find a place to stay then we can bucket brigade them over,” Five added.

“You all just take your time,” Three called, holding a hoof over his eyes as he started to punch a dog with the other. “I'm having fun here! Getting used to standing on two legs with this body!”

One grumbled slightly as the noise from his other selves died down slowly. He glanced down to the ground, and stabbed his shovel into a random spot on it. Scooping it up, he tossed the dirt upward toward his front and caught it in the shovel's head. He shifted the shovel slightly, sifting the dirt through the triangular hole and revealing two gems in the head.

“This is just too easy, that means something ain't right. There's gotta be a catch for all of this.” He flipped his shovel upward, and watched as the gems flew upward and landed in his left rear pouch. He glanced up the mountain next to him, and looked forward seeing more mountains that made up a chain. As he neared the end of the chain, his eyes widened as he found a true mountain; complete with an ice cap and a castle embedded into the side. “That's something you don't see everyday. Wonder if they were lazy and used magic to keep it stable.”

Meanwhile, not so far down the path, Rarity, Spike, and the guards continued their trek. All of them had their gaze forward, and soon found Meepo One's silhouette in the distance.

“Wait, stop!” Rarity called, slowing down her sprint. The guards did so as well, some of them stepping up to meet her lead.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Meepo called out. Rarity and Spike glanced at each other, Spike pointing a claw to him with a questioning look. “I've seem some strange things in my days, but you gaggle of horses take the cake! Hnya!” He smiled wide, trotting up toward them.

“Yep, he's our guy,” Spike commented. “Do you know which one, Rarity?”

“I... I'm not sure yet. All I know is that those gems look... so alluring.”

“They're crystals for the record!” One yelled over to them, causing Rarity to double take.

“W-what? He heard that? He must have amazing hearing.”

“Ya need to have awareness where I grew up, sister.”

Spike leaned in close to Rarity's ear, speaking a soft whisper. “What do we do? Do we talk to him? What are the guards gonna do?”

“Not quite sure, Spike. I didn't think this far ahead unfortunately. We didn't have to go nearly as far as to where I found Gondar,” she shivered slightly. “Still don't want to remember those... details.” They both looked back to Meepo, who had closed the distance between all of them. All the ponies looked to the Geomancer, seeing him in full detail. When Rarity and Spike looked at his face, both of them struggled to hold back a gag at the composition he possessed.

“We went from a cat... to a mouse?” Spike asked.

“Ey! I'm a rat!” he snapped, pointing his shovel toward them. “Get your names right, and tell your boys in the gold metal there to stay back!” Rarity looked over her sides, seeing the guards all tensed up as if ready to pounce onto Meepo. Spike looked up for a split second and saw some pegasi guards already in the air. “For the record, I was a rat; now I'm some kinda cross between me and you guys!” He stepped closer to Rarity, and swiveled his wheat stalk to the other side of his mouth. “So who wants to tell me what's going on here?” Both of them looked at his figure, Rarity struggling to maintain her composure. He was shorter than all of them except for Spike; the top of his head coming up to the bottom of Rarity's eyes. Proportionally to the guards, his physique was noticeably thinner than them.

Rarity felt sweat trickle down her forehead as she observed the situation. “Erm... uh-”

“Who are you? I'm Spike, dragon. This is Rarity, unicorn and Fashionista,” Spike said aloud. Meepo looked up to the dragon, staring at him for a moment, his face unchanging in emotion.

“Name's Meepo, Geomancer,” he answered back. Rarity's jaw fell open, and her eyes snapped open fully.

“Oh... dear me...” she whispered.

“What? What's wrong?” Spike whispered to her. He looked back to Meepo, and then back to Rarity. “Wait... you mean that... oh, I get it,” he let out a small chuckle. “We did mention things not being what they seem.”

“Ey! You still haven't told me anything!” Meepo yelled to them. “What the heck is going on here? Why are these other horse fellows looking at me like they think they can take me?” All the scowls of the guards tightened. “Listen, I'm on a busy agenda. So why don't you just step outta the way then if you're not gonna do anything productive?” Rarity and Spike felt their whole world begin to freeze over as the guards began to step past them. Rarity began to back herself up, flinching slightly as the earth pony guards began to draw spears.

“Oh, so we gotta do it the hard way, eh?”

“Spike? Have you ever gotten the feeling that you're forgetting something that's so important and obvious at the same time?” she asked, backing away to the mountain wall as the guards continued to converge on Meepo.

“I'm actually more worried that we've lost control of the situation,” he said, leaning up to watch the situation itself unfold.

“Doesn't seem like a fair fight here, maybe I should fight with my eyes closed,” Meepo commented, while scraping the ground with a back hoof. “Tell you what, I'll let you guys make the first move,” he lifted his fore-leg that held his shovel, holding it out to his side. One of the pegasi guards threw a cable out toward Meepo, who merely stepped to the side. The cable sailed past his head, but then wrapped around and secured itself to his shovel. “Ey! That's mine!” Meepo yelled, yanking it backward. The guard screamed and dropped the cable as he came flying toward Meepo, who stood up onto his back legs and grasped his shovel with both hooves. “Batter up!” He swung the shovel, connecting squarely with the side of the guard's helmet. Everyone in the area watched as the unfortunate guard sailed straight into the mountain side, a small avalanche of dust and rocks following him down. “Oh... foul ball. Looks like you gotta serve me another one,” he looked to the cable on his shovel, bringing it closer to his eyes. “Wow, this has got to be the worse anti-magic metal I have ever seen,” he commented. “I'll give ya credit for make it somehow sturdy enough, but you ain't gonna do much with this.” He unwound the cable around his shovel, and dropped it onto the ground. He took the cable into both hooves, and pulled it slightly with both hooves. “Seriously, it would take like fifty of these things to stop someone like Invoker, or even Rubick from casting spells. Unless you maybe somehow conked them out first. For me...” he pulled both hooves apart, the cable promptly snapping in two. “Maybe a hundred just to keep me bounded,” he dropped the cable pieces to the ground, and picked his shovel back up.

“Did he just- is he stronger than Sven?” Spike asked, both he and Rarity looking on dumbfounded.

“Heck no I ain't as strong as Sve- wait, how do you know about him?” Meepo asked. The earth pony and unicorn guards all snapped out of their reverie and began to charge forward. “Oh, hold on a second,” he reached into his right front pouch, turning the upper half of his body to do so. As he turned it back, he threw one of his signature golden Earthbind nets toward the charging guards. The earth ponies turned their attention to the net, and some swung at it as it came down onto them. As the net made contact with a spear, it flashed a white light, and all of the ground guards found themselves in a golden net. “Hnya! You guys are more gullible than Aggron chasing after Nyx!” He watched them all struggle against the ropes, some of the earth pony guards trying to cut the ropes, while all the unicorn guards kept flashing with their own magic. He looked to the sky, seeing the Pegasi guard swarming around him, some of them holding more cables in their hooves.

They all began to dive downward toward Meepo. He stared up back them for a moment before he hit the bottom of his left front pouch, a single Riftshadow Crystal flying out which he caught on his shovel head. He dropped the crystal onto the ground, and began to grind into the dirt with his other fore-hoof. As a few cables were wrapped around him, with the guards who did so landing near him, he stomped onto the crystal. Rarity and Spike cringed backward at the resulting bright light that came about, as well as a small shower of dirt. Rarity shuddered for a moment, shaking off some of the dirt before looking back. The guards that were flying in the air were spiraling out of control, most of them with their eyes covered, but all of them heading to the ground. The guards on the ground were a few feet from where they were, the ground torn up leading up to where they were.

“That was too easy,” Meepo commented, throwing his shovel over his shoulder. He walked over to Rarity and Spike, ignoring the guards still covered by the nets and their grunts and yells of frustration. The duo looked to Meepo in both fear and awe as he just walked up to them with the same expression he held this whole time. “So now do either of you want to tell me what's going on?” his eyes darted back and forth between Rarity and Spike.

“Um... oh!” Rarity's eyes snapped with excitement. “Well... if you truly want to know,” she placed a hoof on her chest. “Well, if you weren't so snippy before, we could have escorted you without worry to our princesses.”

“Princesses? Of what? Wait, do you guys follow Mirana? Then who's the other princess?” he asked.

“Well... one of them is a moon princess...” Rarity started, a nervous smile on her face. “The other is commands the sun; but they both rule over Equestria, this land, together!”

“Wait...” his face scrunched up slightly. “'Commands the sun?' Oh great, did I end up in one of Rizzrack's fantasies?”

“Huh?”

“Uh... keep going,” he brought a fore-hoof up, waving it around for Rarity to continue.

“O...kay then. A-anyway, princess Celestia and Luna can tell you all you want to know. I... just don't think they'll take kindly to what you did to the guards here...” she leaned over slightly, looking past Meepo.

“Ey, they attacked me, self defense,” he replied quickly. “That was some order of theirs. Hey... do you think I could ask your sun princess turn down the brightness maybe? Since she wants to meet me apparently?”

“Wait, what?” Spike asked. “'Brightness?'”

“Yeah, the sun is too dang bright here.” Rarity looked back to Spike, he shrugged his shoulders, and she did as well. “Also, since she does wanna see me; how the heck can I get pardoned for this if she doesn't like this?” he pointed his shovel back to the guards. “Pretty sure she wouldn't take kindly to this no matter what.”

“Celestia and Luna are really understanding!”

“Right, have they had to deal with a guy like me walking all over their guards?” he asked, rolling his eyes.

“They have, actually,” Rarity answered, causing Meepo to snap his eyes back to her. “Gondar did the very same thing,” she smiled slightly.

“Gondar? How do you- oh, wait you mentioned Sven, so I guess he was here then too somehow,” he placed a fore-hoof on his chain. “How fast was I compared to him?”

“I don't think this is the time for that...” Rarity gestured her fore-hoof out. “Look, if you give me a moment to explain the situation to the guards, I'm sure we can reach a truce.”

“Ey, if I'm going anywhere, I wanna grab my loot,” he reached to grab another Riftshadow Crystal. “Wait here while I grab it, then we talk some more.” Spike stared at the crystal, his tongue licking his lips.

“Hey... can I... try one of those as a snack? I- I got quite a few gems I could trade you for it, if that's alright,” he asked, pointing a claw forward.

“You want your head to explode?” Meepo stepped backward from the duo. “Listen, why don't one of you calm them down, and the other of you meet me up ahead to deal with a little canine trouble?” Rarity and Spike's eyes widened.

“'Canine?!'” Rarity yelled. “Spike dear, talk to the guards, I'll go with Meepo here!” Spike gave a nod, then hopped off of Rarity's back.

“When I get back, if they promise to comply, I'll get them nets off of them.” He raised the crystal up. “Also, this why you don't wanna eat these. I'm doing this 'cause I know these things inside and out,” he tossed the crystal up, catching it between his teeth. Rarity and Spike both backed away as the crystal began to glow. Meepo opened his mouth for a split second, and brought his teeth down onto the crystal. In a familiar flash, Meepo disappeared, leaving them both awestruck.

“I sincerely hope the shower I take after this will help relieve this stress,” Rarity said. She flared her magic and opened up one of her saddlebags. A cloth was pulled out and began to wipe her face of dirt. “Wait, how can he be dealing with the Diamond Dogs now, if he's- oh I'm a foal,” she groaned, as she slid the cloth down to reveal her frustrated gaze.

“What?” Spike asked.

“He has four clones of himself, that are all exactly like him. That's the important and obvious detail I forgot,” she deadpanned, shaking her head. Spike's jaw snapped open. “Let's... worry about that later. I need to get up there.”

“Good luck... I think you'll need it,” Spike said. Rarity nodded, placing the cloth back into her bags. She began to continue up the path, running past the guards.

Spike sighed, walking up to the guards. “So... I'm not sure if any of you heard that at all...” he started, a blush on his face.

Rarity huffed and panted as she forced herself up the path. Her heart pounded as she began to hear yells of differing kinds, ones of the Diamond Dogs, and the others of Meepo's frequency. She gulped as she came to the apex of the path, and looked on in horror at the situation. She counted all fives Meepos, all spread out over the area. One was next to an extremely high and wide pile of gems, another two sitting next to a collection of holes, the other two near a horde of Diamond Dogs. She flared her magic, disappearing and reappearing next to the Diamond Dogs.

“Ey, there you are,” One said to Rarity.

“This the unicorn you talked about?” Three asked, looking her over. She shuddered slightly, seeing Meepo's other selves up close.

“Look, can you reason with them? Like your guards, they attacked first,” One asked Rarity. She sighed slightly, looking over the dogs. Many of them were on the ground, some clutching their heads, others their stomachs. Some others were standing up at the ready. She gulped and began to step forward toward the pack.

“You!” a sleazy voice called out. Rarity flinched as three familiar looking Diamond Dogs stepped their way past the others. “Did you bring these beasts here?! I thought we reached agreement!” he pointed a claw to Rarity.

“Rover... Fido... Spot..." she spoke with hesitation, turning her head to each of them.

"Real classy names there," Three commented. Rarity glanced over to him, swiping a fore-hoof across her throat rapidly.

She turned back to the primary trio. "Look, I had nothing to do with this!” she yelled outward. “Just... please tell me what is going on so we can stop this chaos?”

“One of them... things, take gems without permission! I thought we reached compromise long ago! It came from stories of that legendary dog! He was with you, no?” Rover spoke, pointing one of his claws to Rarity.

“I know exactly who you are talking about. Look, please understand: all of these... people, had no possible way of knowing. It is his... in their interest to find gems, like I do. It's part of our businesses.” One and Three's eyes livened up at the remark.

“Did you have any interest in causing pain?! There was one who found joy in hurting us!”

“Like I said, they had no way of knowing. Did you at least try to reason with them?" The trio of dogs looked to each other, and then to the other dogs around them. "Actually, hold that thought,” she turned to Meepo. “You are on their property, and these gems do belong to them. Unless they give you permission, you can't dig here,” One's jaw fell open, and turned to look at the pile of gems.

“Our money... is... is...”

“But,” Rarity spoke up. “I'm sure maybe we can reach a compromise. You both are at fault; assault and theft. Perhaps we can stop the fighting if maybe... cut the gem pile up?” she asked, a sheepish smile on her face.

“I'll do it,” One answered quickly. “There's no way I'm leaving empty handed after all of this. Seventy/thirty to them, that's fair, right?” Rarity's eyes widened, and looked to the dogs, who held a similar face.

“Uh... er...” Rover shook his head. “We'll take! Just keep them away from us!” Rarity looked between the two, dumbfounded at the speed of agreement.

“That was... easy,” she commented.

“Again with the 'too easy!'” One yelled aloud. “Seriously, when we get to your princesses, I want some answers! Three, go tell the others what's going on, I gotta secure our ride outta here,” Three looked to the dogs, and then over to the gems. He sighed and gave a silent nod to One, trotting over to the others afterward. “Let's just go, before they want more,” he whispered to Rarity. The unicorn watched as he began to trot away, she looked back to dogs, seeing them all backing away. She sighed slightly, and turned to follow One.

“Why are you so willing to give up so much of that pile?” she asked.

“Caution and fear of karma. I figured if we give back a lot of what we got too easily, we won't have another unexpected circumstance happen to us. 'Sides, if it's against the law here apparently, that'll be another strike against me for your princesses,” he looked back to her. “There's no law against tomb raiding the RiftShadow Ruins, that's why I do it there. I only be shady when I have to, and I don't have to here. I have a knack for finding gems anyway, I'll find plenty more later; it's like a seventh sense for me.”

“Seventh? What's the sixth?” she asked.

“My other selves,” he answered.

“I honestly don't know why I didn't guess that,” she said. “I myself integrate gems very often into my fashion designs,” One's ears perked up.

“That so? So that's your particular business? Think we can talk joint business 'bout them gems then?” he asked, a wide smile on his face.

“Later... much, much later,” she answered. Both of them walked in silence, Rarity taking the occasional glance towards him. Some time later, they spotted Spike in the distance, along with pegasi guards trying to free their grounded comrades.

“Hey... you're back,” Spike said, twiddling his claws.

“Well? What's it gonna be?” Meepo asked.

“Well... they've agreed to... a ceasefire,” he started. “So long as you agree to come straight to the princesses,” he smiled nervously.

“Seeing these two princesses is exactly what I want, I don't like not knowing the full situation. As long they stay away from me.” He walked pass Spike and over to the guards. All them looked to Meepo as he trotted to the center of the pile of nets. He stuck his shovel into the ground and pulled up a small clump of dirt. Rarity and Spike looked to each other questioningly as he began to sniff the clump of uprooted ground. “Oh... that feels weird,” he commented. Meepo overturned his shovel, and then struck the ground with the back of the head. Immediately after, all the nets around the guards disappeared, except for one at Meepo's feet. He reached down and picked up the net, stuffing it into the pouch it belonged to. All the guards groaned as they stood upward, stretching their limbs. Meepo observed all the earth pony guards retract and sheath their spears. They all began to walk down the path, while Rarity and Spike began to walk up to Meepo, who held up a fore-hoof to them. “Hang on,” he said. He brought his fore-hoof to his mouth, and let quick two quick whistles. The duo looked to each other, and flinched as another Meepo appeared next to the one they were with.

“Ey! What's up?” the new Meepo asked.

“Two, tell the others we're meeting royalty. Also, make sure you get our pack of gems ready to move after you're done cutting them up,” One said to his other self.

“Why do that? We could have been set for life!”

“I'm being smart, we don't want unnecessary trouble.” He pointed his shovel to his other self. “Also, take it easy with the crystals. Just do enough to zap to each other, let's not cause collateral damage here,” he tiled his head toward Rarity and Spike. Two looked over to them, Rarity smiling nervously, Spike with his jaw wide open.

“Ey there,” Two said to them. “Alright, I'll go be the messenger boy,” he grabbed a crystal from his own pack. “Think we'll be done in about fifteen minutes,” he leaned his head back, and brought it down onto the crystal. As it connected, Two disappeared in a flash of light, no explosion of dirt. The remaining Meepo turned his head back to Rarity and Spike.

“Well, that's that,” he said to them.

“Whoa...” Spike let out. “What's it like... having-”

“Spike?” Rarity interrupted. “There will be plenty of time for questions later. Let's focus on keeping the situation contained,” the dragon looked to her, seeing a concerned frown on her face.

“Oh... alright,” he conceded.

“If you two are ready, let's get a move on,” he turned and began to walk to the guards. Rarity and Spike looked back to each other. The former gave a small smile and held a fore-hoof outward. The latter returned the smile and wrapped his arms around her neck, her fore-hoof wrapping around him. They both pulled away, giving each other a nod. Rarity leaned her front down slightly, and Spike climbed onto her back. She began to walk forward, seeing Meepo paused and looking back to them. As they passed by him, he began to follow right behind them.