Band of Five Attributes (Re-Written)

Yuuki winced, then sat on her rump to further inspect her recent injury. The wound, still plastered alongside a small portion of her chest in crimson, had scabbed over already. She’d need to get cleaned up later, and so sighed. She looked back at the guards, only to find the vast majority of them scattered about trotting and flying every which-way they could. They seemed to have been inspecting every single inch of the city, and that included the buildings whose owners politely let them inside after they knocked and gave them the scoop.

Spitfire, who was reasonably still dumbstruck and wide-eyed, trotted to the duo. The bucket on her back was now mumbling something along the lines of gibberish, forelegs still crossed under its head awkwardly. She tapped the two with the tips of her wings, causing them to look at her with arched brows.

“Yeah...even we kind of run into problems sometimes. I honestly didn’t expect getting swarmed in three seconds.” Nagare sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He quickly sheathed his sword in its saddlebag, then stretched his wings briefly.

“Neither did I.” Yuuki agreed with a hearty nod. She too stretched her wings briefly.

“So...who created the grumpy bucket on my back?” Spitfire asked, sighing.

“In a nutshell,” Nagare started, sitting on his rump and holding his front hooves very close together, but not so close they could touch, “the Frontier Quartet is a supposed four-member group that are unicorns. Their horns grant them the ability to turn objects into sentient beings, like Mr. Grumpy Pants on your back, and all they need is a pre-existing object to do so.”

“I’m not grumpy, I just hate everybody!” The bucket protested, standing on Spitfire’s back via two legs and pointing a hoof accusingly at the green pegasus who only scoffed back afterwards. “And that goes for you too, weed whacker!” He added, his little legs and face turning from grey to blue.

“Whatever you say, you small metallic dwarf.” Nagare taunted, crudely smiling and rolling his eyes at the bucket.

“Actually, no, you meant a metallic smurf.” Yuuki pointed out, putting a hoof to her muzzle in an attempt to mask a snicker.

The bucket turned around to face the mare who made the remark, its face reddening from fury. The accusing hoof was pointing in her direction now. “I AM NOT A SMURF!” It cried, veins appearing on its body rather than its face. Yuuki only continued to sneer at it, covering her muzzle and snickering into it.

“Anyway, why’d you say ‘supposed’?” Spitfire asked, a brow arching.

“Well, one of the supposed members was a child that I’ve never seen in person. That, and from what I heard yesterday, one of the members kinda left.” Nagare answered, his grin fading into a small frown.

“So...more like the Frontier Duet?” Spitfire sighed, eyes wide again.

“As ridiculous as that sounds, that seems to be the case.” Nagare replied, nodding his head.

A single royal guard who held his spear in his wing trotted to the group of four, eyes looking directly at Spitfire. “I commend you for reporting the rumors to us yesterday. Had we not arrived to investigate when that swarm hit, Cloudsdale would’ve been finished.” He said, turning his head to exchange glances with Yuuki, then Nagare. “Hey...weren’t you the stallion who battled that mutant carriage?” He asked.

“It’s been a while since we last talked.” Nagare replied, nodding.

“And...why do you have wings?” The guard asked, arching a brow.

“Some freak magic’s been messing with me. I heard it came from a thing called Discord.” Nagare answered, sighing and twitching his wings. “How else would I be here?”

“Eugh. We’re gonna have to find Discord now, and bring him before the princesses. Did his magic affect anypony else?” The guard asked, sighing afterwards.

“Yeah...it kinda gave me wings too.” Yuuki answered, looking down at her injury again. She sighed as she looked back to the guard. “And also gave two of our friends horns.”

“Oh? How are they holding up?” The guard inquired, tilting his head slightly.

“They’re doing fine.” Yuuki answered, a small grin on her face.

“Alright. I’ll ask my fellow guards if they found anything else.” The current guard said, ears perking as he heard the faint sound of wings beating. But the sound didn’t come from the three ponies he’d just spoken to; aside from the occasional twitch, their wings remained folded at their sides. Could it have been some other pegasus guard, or perhaps a city occupant? He looked around, only to see that nothing else was flying in such a way to produce that distinct sound; so what, then, was responsible?

The sound grew louder, though it still seemed far-off. Perhaps it was just his imagination? “Um...do you guys hear that?” He asked, eyelids slanted a bit and a frown on his face.

“Now that you mention it, I thought I was just hearing things too.” Nagare replied, ears twitching as he tried to catch that faint sound.

“What is it?” Yuuki inquired, her ears also moving to zero in on that sound. It grew louder still, just enough to feel as if very close to the city. But where was it coming from, and who or what made the noise to begin with?

“I’m not sure.” Spitfire remarked, her eyes narrowing. A feeling of unease began stirring in her gut, and her wings spread in response. “But, whatever it is, I don’t like it.”

The four looked beyond the boundary of the street, and their eyes widened at the sight the world threw at them. A carriage about half the size of the academy alone was fast approaching, a pony’s head adorned with a horn at the front, complete with harnesses on its neck and face. Its legs, bearing golden armor, hung from the underside of the flat, and from the eyes of the wheels grand white wings sprouted, holding the entire thing aloft. In place of the passenger’s seat sat a great violet orb, streaks of navy and crimson flowing and swirling about like fickle winds. Encasing the orb, though, was a barrier brought to life thanks to the monster’s horn.

In the instant the beast roared, its cry sounding like that of a fearsome dragon, the rest of the guards instantly stopped what they had been doing and rushed towards the source of the cry. Nagare and Yuuki brandished their weapons again and began to flap their own wings to take off.

“What is that thing?!” Cried one guard, brandishing the spear which had caused Yuuki’s recent wound. It was tipped with some of her blood.

“I don’t know, but it’s charging something through its horn!” Shouted another who held a sword. He was right, the beast roared once more as its horn flared up brighter, crimson and navy streaks dancing round it in small ribbons.

“Sayonara!” Cried a masculine voice not belonging to any present. All heads that didn’t belong to the monster turned to the academy, and standing on its roof were two unicorn stallions held aloft in their own magic. In a bright flash of light, they vanished instantly before any could get a good look at them.

Nagare grit his teeth, clutching his sword in his hooves tightly. He turned his head to face the beast before the city, the ribbons of blue and red highlights glowing even brighter around its horn.

Yuuki turned behind her to face the guards. “Could some of you bring unicorns please? We kinda need help!” She cried.

“But what about you guys!?” Yelled one in response.

“We’ll hold it off, just get the backup!” Yuuki replied, taking flight and positioning herself so she was above everyone else. She held her weapon in one hoof, the string coiled around the other. The monster instantly turned its head to face her, and it roared again. This time, the air reverberated around its head violently, and it sent her back a bit. Then, it channeled scorching flames and vibrant electricity rushing in unison towards her.

The mare’s eyes widened, and her pupils shrunk at the sight of flame and shock rushing towards her, threatening to consume her and send her to the bleak darkness that was death. She maneuvered herself beneath the blast, only to rise higher in the air as it arced and homed in on her like a madman’s boomerang.

Nagare took to the air immediately, his sword glinting in the sunlight. He rushed right towards the magical energy that Yuuki just barely managed to evade, readying himself to attack the energy. It then turned to him and lunged like a snake with such speed he could do nothing but block with his sword and avoid harm.

The guards who stayed behind took to the air as well, pointing their blades right at the beast as they rushed towards it like a living, breathing tsunami of white and gold. They went right at the head of the beast, only for an even bigger barrier to surround it and deflect them as though it were nothing. Nagare and Yuuki saw the barrier, and they noticed something odd about the beast: the orb had turned stark red, no longer its original violet hue.