Band of Five Attributes (Re-Written)

“I don’t think they’re listening…” Tenmei grunted, loading another bolt into his crossbow. The unicorns were indeed fixed on the mare strapped to the pearl; fixed on her and nothing else.

“We have to disrupt them somehow, but I personally fear that the approach you’re about to take isn’t for the best interest of us all.” 01 commented rather dryly as he watched the teen slowly raise the foreleg with his weapon strapped to it.

“We can’t disrupt their magic. That’s just straight-out impossible.” Nagare hissed, brow furrowing as his scowl came into fruition.

“Yes we can.” Tenmei interjected, aiming his crossbow very carefully...towards the mare.

Nagare looked at his fellow stallion, and to whom the crossbow was directed at. “Seikō wa anata ga yatte iru! Anata mo kanojo o kizutsukeru kiken-sei ga arimasu! [The fuck are you doing?! You'll risk hurting her too!]" He shrieked.

01’s face darkened. “Right when I thought things couldn’t escalate on a bigger scale than they already are…” He murmured. “I do hope he knows what he’s doing….”

Tenmei’s eyes shifted to those of the unicorns who were charging their magic. Upon noticing the ever-growing aura the individual horns radiated, he very quickly realized that time was not on his side--the unicorns would fire sooner rather than later.

By instinct, he raised his other hoof and quickly pulled the lever with it, letting the bolt rush towards the mare at a very swift rate. The unicorns saw the bolt and almost immediately put their magic on hold, horns still glowing as shock grasped them.

The bolt landed square on one of the chains holding the mare’s left foreleg in place, effectively breaking one of its many links. The leg fell slack against the mare’s side as she stirred a little bit. Her head shakily rose, mane still obscuring her eyes, before she began to thrash about and scream once more.

The monster quickly used its iron claw to yank her back towards her confinement, but not before Tenmei fired another bolt aimed at her neck. The second bolt severed a hidden chain that clutched her by the throat, which in turn served for her to gain more lung power to scream efficiently.

“YOU DOLT! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HER WITH THAT THING?!” Nagare shrieked, smacking Tenmei upside the back of his head using the dull side of his sword. The fire in his eyes burned brighter, and his hair served to darken his face to make it appear that his irises were glowing.

Tenmei loaded another bolt in his weapon before rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. “If I was, I would’ve gone straight for the headshot.” He answered swiftly. “Since she’s our friend, and was strapped to that...great ball, I had to find an alternative.”

“This is going to hell much too fast. We need to do something now.” 01 murmured, ears flat on his skull. Then, something hit him harder than a brick as he watched the unicorns unleash their magic that was now aimed at the outermost wall. He then looked down and saw an open gate that seemed to beckon him inside.

“01, what are you looking at?! Don’t just sit there, we have to get Yuuki the everloving fuck out of there!” Nagare shrieked, waving a hoof accusingly in the direction of the monster.

01 cleared his throat, ear twitching in annoyance. His gaze now turned to the guards who were about to resume pulling the chariot he and the other two were parked in. “Could you two do me a favor?” He called out.

“Yes? Make it quick!” Replied one of the guards.

“Take us into the jailhouse!” 01 called out.

“Are you serious?! We could get killed!” The guard cut back.

“We have no alternative, I’m afraid! Just do it so we can end this now!” 01 replied.

The guard grunted and shook his head, his companion mimicking him in perfect tempo. Both then pulled the chariot towards the area behind the outermost wall, and as they got closer, they too noticed the open gate 01 had spotted from afar. The other chariots still wheeled around the beast, hopelessly firing magic bolts at the wall in a vain attempt to break it.

The guards kicked their wings into top gear, preparing their hooves for a landing as they approached. A rainbow trail whizzed past them in an instant, and the cyan mare who created said trail landed seconds before the guards and chariot could.

Nagare and the other two stooges immediately got out of their vehicle and galloped to the gate. The cyan mare with a mane of rainbow looked at them with an eyebrow raised.

“There’s no time to talk, Rainbow Dash! We have to get the mare out of here!” Nagare wailed as he, Tenmei and 01 rushed past the cyan mare as if hooves were ablaze. As the trio found themselves in a hallway lined with empty, and rather pristine cells galore, a horrific wail resounded from above and echoed in the hallway.

“Just what the hell’s being done to Yuuki to make her scream like that?” Tenmei asked, ears flat on his skull.

“Let’s see: she was chained up and held here. Frankly, I’m almost afraid to find out.” Nagare answered, an eyelid twitching as he spoke.

The building shook, and the beast roared as the iron claw reached into the gate and swiveled to the left, barely avoiding the stallions who had dared set hoof within the eerie walls.

Tenmei sat on his rump, raising a hoof so his crossbow was poised to be fired. The iron arm began to retract, shaking the building once more as it dragged the great dark pearl to which Yuuki was strapped.

Deciding not to waste another second, Tenmei fired the bolt. Upon impact with the backside of the pearl, the monster wailed as the bolt lodged itself right under the iron hand which tugged the amethyst orb that soon shattered as though it were nothing. This also caused the remaining chains to dislodge themselves from their hapless victim. 01 and Nagare, both of whom were still slack-jawed, rushed to the trembling mare and hoisted her onto the back of the elder stallion.

All three then rushed out as the monster let off another roar, this one diminishing from its throat as it dragged on. By the time the beast had collapsed and vanished from the world, the chariot with the three stallions and sole mare--as well as Rainbow Dash--had already flown away.

Yuuki was on the floor of the chariot, exposed eye frozen open in terror as her breathing slowed to a steady rate. In spite of this look on her face, as well as a vast assortment of bruises dotting her body, she had passed out into a world of darkness.