The Beckoning of Nature (Re-Written)

After the two cleaned themselves up, which took another few hours, Yuuki left the caverns without giving Koto so much as a single fragment of explanation. The unicorn thought the pegasus simply needed to be alone, so she didn’t tag along, lest some kind of unspoken wrath be invoked. Yuuki didn’t bother with the shrouds as she went to Ponyville, and for good reason: the temperature felt like it was somewhere in the hundreds mark.

The purple pegasus landed on the trail that led to town, and already sweat accumulated on her brow. She trotted down the trail and into town, causing a few ponies to glance at her in the process, before she bumped straight into Twilight Sparkle.

“Hey, why are you not shrouded?” Twilight asked, brow arched.

“I’d rather not become a roasted turkey.” Yuuki answered bluntly. “When will the rain clouds show up?”

“They should be here sometime around the coming Wednesday.” Twilight answered, frowning. She looked down towards the mare’s hoof and noticed that her yo-yo was absent.

The alicorn opened her mouth to speak, but Yuuki was quick to answer the oncoming question before it could even be asked. “Something happened last night. It’s a long story, and I don’t want to dawdle out here in the baking sun. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way.” With that, she trotted around the alicorn and went off into the busy streets of town, leaving Twilight completely dumbstruck.

The pegasus went to a house and knocked on the door a few times. Inside, hooves hitting a floor greeted her ears before the door opened. Peeking out was a brown-maned mare with a white pelt.

“Are you alright, Yuuki?” The mare asked, eyes wide. She noticed the pegasus’ mane clinging to her body.

“I’m baking out here, didn’t sleep good last night, and I had to...just let me inside, I’ll tell you at the table.” Yuuki sighed, the brown-maned mare obliging by the request. The inside of the house was very cool, and the pegasus shivered as the air hit her body. She trotted to the table and sat at one of the seats, the white mare closing the door and following suit.

“Pray tell, what exactly happened?” The earth pony asked, brow arched.

“Kaguya, I’ll be very blunt: Tenmei was kidnapped last night.” Yuuki answered, shaking her head.

“What?” Kaguya asked, eyes widening further. She could not believe what it was she’d just been told.

“Tenmei was kidnapped by some drunkard unicorn, dragged to a tavern, and given a motherload of alcohol. Nagare and Rekka went to fetch him, only to get the booze shoved down their throats...or, at least, that’s what I’m thinking.” Yuuki replied, her wings twitching. “That, and a unicorn named Brilliant Star began hitting on me, and his comments damn near sparked a brawl between himself and Nagare.”

“That...that was a disaster waiting to happen.” Kaguya remarked, blinking. Her ears twitched.

“Good thing I packed some royal guards for backup. Turned out Star was a felon.” Yuuki stated, sighing afterwards.

“How’s Koto doing?” Kaguya inquired.

“Much better.” Yuuki answered with a nod. “Sekitan’s in school, I take it?”

“As usual. I wonder what he’ll boast about today.” Kaguya replied, now smiling.

“And where are the other three stooges?” The pegasus inquired, spreading her wings for a moment.

“Takashi’s snoozing, Mimi’s out helping Pinkie Pie, and Mimu’s actually training for the bloody Wonderbolts.” Kaguya answered.

Yuuki shook her head, eyes wide. “Huh?” She asked. “Mimu’s...she got into the Wonderbolts?!”

“I was baffled myself when she told us the news yesterday. She told me they barely accepted her on account of performance.” Kaguya replied, blinking. “You should’ve seen the look on Tenmei’s face then.”

“I’ll be damned!” Yuuki exclaimed, eyes still wide. “How’d she manage that?!”

“I’m not sure, since I wasn’t there to see the performance.” Kaguya replied with a shrug. Her smile widened a bit. “But I am really proud of her nonetheless.”

“I just hope she can handle Spitfire going all drill sergeant on her.” Yuuki sighed, frowning for a moment.

“Other than that, I honestly don’t see many problems she could run into.” The earth pony remarked, also frowning.

“Yeah...let’s not talk about such things.” The pegasus cringed as she finished speaking, taking a moment thereafter to compose herself. Just then, the door opened, causing both mares to jump and glance towards the reason why. Seven ponies, three mares and four stallions, stood outside and just trotted right inside as if they owned the damn place. The jaws of both mares at the table dropped open at the sight.

The tallest of the bunch, a mare with glasses, stepped forward. She had deep violet eyes and a mossy green mane with a slightly lighter pelt to match. She stared intently at Kaguya and flashed a smile. “It’s been so long since I last heard from you, friend. About ten years, perhaps?” The mare said nonchalantly.

“How did...how did you find me, let alone get here, Reina?!” Kaguya shrieked, unable to keep her mouth shut afterwards.

Reina continued to smirk. She used a hoof to point at a unicorn stallion, one with a jade green coat and mushroom-trim deep, dark navy mane. “This one here found out he could make a dimensional portal, and it simply led to a road headed towards the town in which we stand. I’m not sure where he obtained such powers or if, indeed, he was merely born with them, but I decided not to ask.” She answered.

A pink-coated mare with a black mane and blue eyes rushed at the table like a speeding bullet, knocking Yuuki flat onto her back as she was hugged. “Big sis, I missed you!” She cried, smiling wide.

“Imura, could you lay off the bear hug?! I can feel my wings breaking!” Yuuki protested to no avail, flailing her legs helplessly.

“Hey, where are the other members of the Quartet?” Asked the unicorn as he took his place at the table. “My powers kinda went out of whack.”

Kaguya broke out of her stupor, and she looked at the unicorn. “The two stallions are dead, and I have no idea where the mare of the bunch went.” She said curtly.