The Beckoning of Nature (Re-Written)

by Dragonborne Fox

Rating: mature
Tags: Sex, Adventure, Crossover, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Comedy, Other
Length: 22864

Rumors that flooded the land in ten years drive a few ponies to search for the fabled 'Steel-Horned Alicorn.' What could possibly go wrong? Nothing...right?

Slight spoilers in comments. Avoid those until after reading the story, please. The original version can be found here.

Ten years had passed, and much has changed since then. A mysterious cloaked entity leads two unsuspecting stallions to Ponyville--these two just so happening to be searching for the 'Steel-Horned Alicorn,' a being said to have unimaginable power. The rumors of this 'Steel-Horned Alicorn' are plentiful in number, yet nopony knows which are true and which are fabricated nonsense.

Perhaps it's best that it remains that way--yet curiosity will get the better of some irregardless. There are those that seek power; those who seek fame and fortune, and those who seek completely farfetched things that, as rumor goes, only the 'Steel-Horned Alicorn' is able to grant with her supposedly unimaginable power. Only the truly foolish and desperate will dare traverse the trodden dirt path that has failed countless others time and time again, and this causes truths that come to light, whether some like it or not.

And what if at least one of these truths was something absolutely nopony was prepared for?

----

Darker, crossover, the occasional side-order of mature, and comedic themes will play out heavily in later chapters. Once more, a collab with Syeekoh and Leapingriver. Both are awesome. :D Coverart will probably be done by me in the future, I dunno yet.

Published 2014-11-07 15:40:06 UTC
Last updated 2015-01-09 15:07:56 UTC

Intro

The Beckoning of Nature, Re-written
Written by Syeekoh, Leapingriver, and Dragonborne Fox

Ten years had passed since that fateful day where two stallions were banished to a dark, hellish place during a public trial, and all sorts of rumors sprang up during that time. Ponies began searching for the fabled ‘Steel-Horned Alicorn’ as a response to one of the many rumors.

The problem was, where was this fabled ‘Steel-Horned Alicorn’ at? Some rumors proposed that she had locked herself away, waiting for one to claim her immense, unimaginable power or something. Another hefty bunches of gossip suggested she traversed constantly, making her exact location difficult to pinpoint at any one time. Still more even went so far as to propose that the 'Steel-Horned Alicorn' was in fact not within Equestria at all, but hiding herself in the boundaries of a different nation altogether. The even bigger problem: which rumor out of the endlessly-growing list was true?

Two stallions, both pegasi, trotted in the bright streets of Manehatten. The night sky above was cloudy, bits of light from the concealed full moon shining through and making the sky appear brighter. There were other ponies out and about as well, but the two pegasi were only concerned with themselves. Both were chatting with one another.

“So, Swift Wing,” Started one, brown pelt, blond mane, and teal eyes, “how was work today?”

Swift Wing, white pelt with red mane and blue-violet eyes, scoffed. “Shit, as usual. Boss made me work overtime because all my files were wrong.”

“Ouch.” Stated the other pegasus, eyes wide. “How much overtime?”

“Yeah. I have to work on weekends too, and my salary got cut in half too!!” Swift answered, eyes narrowing. “One of these days, I’ll show him overtime!”

“But you can’t do that without getting in trouble!” Complained the other, blinking.

“Maybe not alone. I’ve a plan.” Swift replied, a dark grin spreading across his muzzle.

“What kind of plan?” Asked the other, brow arched.

“You’ve heard of the ‘Steel-Horned Alicorn,’ right?” Swift inquired, his smile widening. "Plan on using her power, which I hear rivals that of the celestial sisters, to show my boss what for and make me a damned monopoly!"

“Yeah, I’ve heard of her.” Replied the other, blinking. “But how the hell are we supposed to find her? You didn’t think that through, did ya?”

Swift deadpanned almost immediately. “No...not really.” He answered, shaking his head.

“I thought so!” Hissed the other.

“Damn, Cloudy Sky, ya got me there.” Swift sighed as he and Cloudy turned into an alley. Just then, a door opened, and a pony covered head to hoof in black garments emerged from it. Attached to its midsection were saddlebags, and a scabbard with a blue hilt jutting out from its frame. The pony trotted deeper into the alley, away from the streetlights and the two stallions who just arrived.

“Who are you?” Cloudy asked. The pony stopped for a moment before it resumed trotting away without answering. The two pegasi exchanged glances before following after the pony, who seemed to have quickened its pace. Taking a few turns into the alleys, the duo found the pursued trotting in an abandoned street that was barely illuminated by the concealed full moon alone.

The two kept a distance from the pony, who sat on its rump and reached into its saddlebag before producing a piece of paper. “Tomatoes...apples...yep, I’ve just about everything.” The pony spoke, the voice distinctly masculine in tone. “Just about time to head back to the others.” It said, putting the piece of paper in its saddlebag. It then used its hooves to push its saddlebags back a bit, though not enough to let them fall to the ground.

“Who are you?” Cloudy asked again, once more not getting an answer from the cloaked pony. The moon, now free from its veil, shone its light much brighter just as wings spread out from the pony, a deep emerald green in hue. The pony rose onto its hooves, wings a-flappin’, and it took off into the sky.

“Let’s follow ‘im.” Swift murmured, spreading his own wings wide. Cloudy nodded, mimicking his companion. Both took to the skies after the cloaked pony, who seemed to have been flying away from the city for some reason. Swift Wing, true to his name, was a fast pegasus, but he was wide-eyed at the pony he followed--namely, the fact it was still ahead of him despite having saddlebags and a scabbard with a weapon in it weighing it down on the midsection.

Hell, how was a cloaked pony even flying like this to begin with? Practice? Patience? What was it that enabled it to fly as if unhindered?

“Where’s he going?” Cloudy asked as they pursued the pony outside the city. He looked down, then back to the pony, seeing that they were going along a path; one which followed the train tracks connecting towns.

“Fuck if I know.” Swift replied, shrugging his shoulders just before kicking his wings into overdrive. His companion did the same, and the pursued looked over its shoulder so it could accurately mimick the pursuers.

“Hey!” Cloudy called out to the pony. “Do you know about the Steel-Horned Alicorn?”

The pursued stopped its course entirely, still flapping emerald wings, then turned to its followers. “I have no clue what you’re on about!” It replied before resuming its course, flapping its wings as though panicked.

“Where are you going?” Swift called out.

“To home--what’s it to you?!” The cloaked pony called back, positioning its wings just in time to catch a current of wind. It rode on the breeze, moving further and further away from those who still kept following.

“Damn!” Swift groaned, doing the same with his wings a moment too late. He quickly had to began flapping again, lest he plummet to his certain death.

“Hey!” Cloudy called out, stopping altogether.

“What is it?” Swift asked, the only answer he had received was a hoof pointing in the direction they would’ve kept going. The moon, still unveiled, lit up a mountain and a castle in its grandeur of silver light, and near the very base of this mountain was a small town with a crystalline-tree structure.

“Ponyville?” Asked Swift, brow arched.

“Yep.” Cloudy nodded.

“Who’s nuttier than a rabid Ursa Major to go there with saddlebags, a weapon of some kind, and black clothes decking them out head to hoof?” Swift groaned.

“Beats me. Let’s head there and rest up, we’ll find the cloaked pony tomorrow.” Cloudy sighed, going off towards the town. His companion did the same, but neither saw any sign of the cloaked pony they had followed.

Chapter I- Rumors Aside...

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter II, Part I- Pursuit

The two pegasi agreed to wait until the unicorn left the house, but that sadly didn’t happen until well into the dead of night. As a result, they had to do other activities during that time simply to avoid invoking that white-pelted mare’s ire again. The way she glared at them could kill a veteran soldier who was still in his prime--they figured that, had they stayed longer, she wouldn’t refrain herself from mopping the deck with them.

“Hey, Swift, you forgetting something?” Cloudy asked, dusting off a small bookshelf.

“No, why?” Swift replied, wiping sweat off his brow with a hoof.

“The unicorn.” Cloudy answered, sighing. He stopped dusting the small bookshelf, inspecting it to make sure it was clean as he liked it.

Swift processed his companion’s words for a moment or two before they registered in his head. “Dammit!” He pouted.

“Hey, at least we just finished the house cleaning. Let’s go visit her.” Cloudy replied, inspecting the house he was currently in a final time. Everything was organized neatly, the floor had been mopped to the point a reflection could be seen, no cobwebs hung from the ceiling; the place was spic and span down to the last inch.

They began trotting to the door of the house, only to be stopped by a brown earth pony with a darker, spiked mane and ocean blue eyes. “Where are you going?” He asked.

“We’re on a tight schedule.” Cloudy lied quickly. “We’ll come back later, though.”

“Alright then.” The brown earth pony sighed, letting the two pegasi trot out of his home. As soon as the door closed behind them, they bounded off towards the house where the unicorn was, just in time to see her trot out the door with her plethora of fabrics once more obscuring her face. She jumped, seeing the two pegasi waiting for her in the nearby alley, and quickly galloped away from the town as if her hooves were ablaze. The pegasi took to the skies and followed her just as she passed an apple orchard and carrot farm.

“We just want to know about the Steel-Horned Alicorn!” Cloudy yelled, descending dangerously close to the unicorn.

“I said I know nothing!” She shrieked, yanking a shape bent at an obtuse angle from her saddlebag via magic. “Leave me alone already!”

Cloudy got a closer look at the bent object--as purple as purple could be, with the bend rounded, and four blue teeth lining the sides in pairs.

“Go away! I have a boomerang here, and I’m not afraid to use it!” The unicorn cried, galloping well beyond the vastness of the Everfree Forest. She too was following a train track--dangerously close at that. Taking a sharp left, she and her pursuers came across a bridge that was placed just above a riverbed.

“How is she not exhausted yet?!” Swift cried out, eyes wide at the anomaly. He was right--the cloaked unicorn should’ve collapsed by now, especially considering her garments of choice and the fact that they retained all generated heat like a snake.

And, for a few moments, she did indeed collapse as soon as she crossed the bridge.

“Go...away…” She pleaded, her voice dry and ragged. Her body shook with pain from heavily abusing adrenalin and oxygen much more than she should have, and even her magic gave out, letting the boomerang fall just inches from her hooves. Sweat clung to her body, and in turn caused her garments to do the same. “Just...leave me alone…”

“We just want you to answer our question.” Swift replied as he and his friend landed next to the exhausted mare.

“I...don’t know....anything…” She gasped, her voice cracking. Her breathing was still ragged.

“Let’s get those blankets off your face. You need some fresh air.” Cloudy stated, raising a hoof to begin the cloth-removal process.

Just then, something hit him right on that hoof, and he howled in pain before retracting it. The moonlight revealed a new, sizable bruise on that hoof. “Leave her alone!” Cried another feminine voice, this one sounding as if it belonged on a tomboy at best. Swift and Cloudy turned their heads beyond the bridge and unicorn, finding another cloaked figure approaching the scene with dark purple wings spread in a threatening manner. Strapped to one hoof was a grey and purple yoyo.

“Thank...you…” The unicorn wheezed, just barely putting her boomerang into her saddlebag before passing out.

“Leave her alone.” The second figure hissed, approaching even closer to the trio. “I’m not afraid to fucking bury you two alive with both of my bare hooves.”

“And you say this with a toy on one hoof?” Swift asked, cocking a brow before bursting out in a fit of laughter. He too found himself howling in pain, covering his muzzle with a hoof just seconds after the yoyo connected with it.

“LEAVE HER ALONE.” The second figure growled, taking on a position to pounce. “I AM NOT REPEATING MYSELF.”

“Swift, I think we should do as she says…” Cloudy murmured, taking to the skies again. Swift agreed with a silent nod, also taking wing. The figure didn’t give chase, choosing instead to relax before approaching the unicorn who was still passed out. The pony was carefully loaded onto its back before it turned around and ran off towards a gorge that was at least fifty feet deep. It jumped, descending down a bit with the unicorn on its back, before spreading its wings and flying along the wide rocky passageway.

“That one was more aggressive than the unicorn…” Swift murmured, his muzzle now marred with dried rivers of blood and a fresh bruise.

“Yeah.” Cloudy agreed. “But they went to Ghastly Gorge.”

“Why?” Swift asked. Cloudy shrugged.

“Perhaps we should follow.” Cloudy suggested. “Something really seemed off about those two.”

Swift nodded, and both flew to the gorge posthaste. By the time they reached the wide rocky corridor, though, they noticed that the cloaked figures were gone. The moonlight shone through the open air, but that didn’t help matters much. The two darted their heads around, still not finding a sign the figures had existed, apart from their recent injuries.

“I’ll take one side, you take the other. Holler if you find something.” Swift said, taking the side that had the dense woodland above. Cloudy nodded, and took the other. A good hour passed as the two searched, and this didn’t include rest periods. After that, at the very heart of the gorge, Cloudy found something.

“Hey! Check this out!” He cried, causing his companion to fly to him. A strange gemstone jutted out from the rocky surface, its color hard to make out in the shadow of the pony hovering in front of it.

“That’s it? A stupid sparkly rock?” Swift groaned, a hoof connecting with his face. He then punched the rock, feeling it shift within its boring grey prison.

Cloudy turned around, finding rocks part on the other side. “Swift, I think that was a switch.” He remarked flying towards the open rocks which gave way into a cavern of some kind. Swift turned around, seeing the anomaly. As soon as his hoof parted from the gemstone, the rocks slammed shut in a second’s notice.

“I’ll stay here and keep the gate open for you. Get out as soon as you can.” Swift called out, pushing in the gemstone with his hoof again. Cloudy nodded, flying towards the cavern that beckoned him inside.

Chapter II, Part II- You Should Not Have Come Here

Cloudy set hoof into the cavern, noticing torches light the corridor beyond. Said torches were sparse in number, though, and spaced just wide enough from one another to mark the way. Hooves and voices faintly echoed beyond, any words produced just barely audible as a result. The pegasus cringed before pressing forward slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible.

What was in this place, anyway? Hidden treasures, maybe a trap or two? He didn’t know--this cave was not explored by him before, so he didn’t know what to expect. Slowly, he came upon a split in the cavern, both halves also marked with torches.

He glanced between the two paths before taking in a silent deep breath and cautiously going left.

The pegasus met with a dead end after two minutes. He turned around, his body shuddering, the feeling of being a rat in a maze beginning to take root.

And froze on the spot just as the torches nearest to him extinguished on their own, bathing him in darkness. Where he had trotted from was the same cloaked pony he met the first time, albeit lacking the facial garments. All he could make out was an emerald green tuft of hair making up the back part of the mane, and ears a much lighter green in hue--somewhere around a lime green, in fact. The pony’s back was turned, so Cloudy couldn’t see its face from his darkened hiding spot.

“Strange,” The pony murmured, turning around and trotting along the other path with such haste the pegasus could not make out his facial features, “I thought I heard something here.” Hooves echoed as they hit the stone floor, loudly at first, before becoming a mere afterthought of the night.

Cloudy was stiff as a board for a few moments more, wanting to be absolutely certain the pony had gone away. Slowly, he moved to the split again and took the right path. After trotting silently down that hall for a good thirty minutes, a T-intersection marked with more torches greeted him. Both paths had five openings each, marked in crude door-framed shapes.

Yep. He was definitely a rat in a maze now. He glanced frantically, sweat already adorning his face, as hooves echoed yet again--loudly. Without having a second thought, he sped down the left side of the intersection, taking the first right shortly thereafter.

Another darkened dead end cradled him. In the torchlight, he saw another pony who insisted on the black garments enter just in front of his exit, this one also a unicorn but much taller. A mare whose face was also exposed, an almost-white pelt and a light blue mane with eyes to match framed upon a pretty face. She looked around, a scowl on her muzzle and brow twitching.

Good thing she failed to check all of the entrances, though.

“Alright, I heard something here. If you are a pony, then show yourself!” She barked, eyes narrowing low as she glanced around.

Only the crackling of the still-lit torches greeted her. All else was deathly silent.

The unicorn cocked a brow. “Am I hearing things now?” She asked, glancing once more whilst blinking. Again, the crackling torches and otherwise-deathly quiet answered her. She scoffed and trotted away, miraculously oblivious to the pegasus so close to her.

His heart pounding in his chest at this point, Cloudy waited for twice as long as he had the first time to calm down and steel himself. Were these cloaked ponies patrolling this place? If so, then what the hell was that unicorn mare doing in Ponyville, and that green-winged pony in Manehatten?

He recalled that winged pony mumbling something about tomatoes and apples. Cloudy almost immediately thought that pony had gone grocery shopping.

But, why do that in Manehatten, when a random mugger could jump you and steal your bits before you even bought one miniscule snack? It didn’t make sense to the pegasus, unless the thing in the scabbard was…

The pegasus shook his head as if trying to rid himself of these thoughts. He didn’t need to give himself another reason to make more of a mess than he was in now.

Slowly, he left the darkness that seemed to have blessed him twice in a row, flying low. Flapping wings were harder to hear than hooves hitting stone, after all. He scanned through the other entrances, and out of all of them, only one on the right side of the intersection, second door on the left wasn’t a dead end that was met after five minutes or less.

“I need to stop panicking…” Cloudy whispered low enough only he could hear himself, “that was a dangerously close call.”

After thirty minutes of flying the first half down this hallway and trotting the second, three paths forming a cross, each with their own assortment of erratically placed doors, greeted him. Fucking brilliant. Had this been a cavern, or a complex, one-floor pyramid scheme?

“Oh, hello there.” Spoke a voice, Cloudy glanced around hastily, only to find two more ponies in black garments with exposed heads on either side of him, and they just so happened to have narrowed eyes. One was an earth pony, tan pelt with trimmed brown mane and eyes, a crossbow shimmering like gold strapped to one foreleg. He had glasses on his face, which barely reflected the torchlight on the frames of their lens.

The other pony, an orange-pelted unicorn with scarlet horntip, unkempt bangs brushed to the sides for the part of the mane not buried in black garments, and equally fiery eyes, frowned. Upon his foreleg was a big clunky hunk of metal.

“Why the hell are you here?” The unicorn hissed, eyes flickering with a flame much like that of the nearest torch. “In fact, how did you get here?”

Cloudy shook, eyes widening. His wings twitched. Should he lie, or should he tell the truth?

“Cat got your tongue?” The earth pony asked, grabbing a wing in his hooves and pulling it all the way open. Cloudy looked at him in an instant.

“How did you get here, and why?” The unicorn repeated, horn lighting up with a scarlet aura. The magic pried the other wing open all the way.

Cloudy’s pupils shrank, and he closed his eyes tight. “I-I just came here! I wanted to see the Steel-Horned Alicorn with my friend, and we found a switch, and here I am!” He shrieked at the top of his lungs.

Both who lacked wings arched brows. “Why the Steel-Horned Alicorn?” They asked in eerie unison.

“My friend...my friend wanted revenge on his boss for making him work overtime because he screwed up on files or something! I was only dragged along!” Cloudy answered, tears beginning to trickle from his eyes. The two ponies on either side of him exchanged glances with one another.

The earth pony looked back to the pegasus. “Against your will, or did you tag along because he was your friend?”

Cloudy opened his tear-clouded eyes and shook. “C-Come again?” He stammered.

“Were you forced along the ride?” The unicorn translated, groaning soon afterwards. A hoof connected with his face. “Or did you come willingly?”

“W-Willingly…” Cloudy answered, shaking. Magic grasped his head and forced him to look at the unicorn dead in the eye.

“And...did you chase my girlfriend to the point she fainted?” He asked, crimson eyes narrowing dangerously low.

“Yes...but I had no--” Cloudy was cut off by a hoof sent straight into his face. He howled, only for his cry to be cut short with another punch to his gut. The magic let him go, and so did the earth pony, allowing him to collapse to the ground in pain.

He looked to the path in front of him, the purple-winged pony just trotting down the path towards the scene. Another face was revealed: a purple for the pelt, and a darker purple making up the eyes and wild long mane, short spiked bangs splayed like a messy coat of down.

The unicorn glanced at the pegasus. “This one of the two who hounded her, Yuuki?” He asked.

“Yep. He was just about to remove her face-mask, too.” Yuuki answered, eyes narrowing as she approached Cloudy. She cracked her neck--not a good sign. “Looked like they were about to gangrape her.”

Another shrouded hoof connected with the hapless pegasus, this time between the wings and from the earth pony.

“Gangrape, you say?” Asked another voice. Cloudy rose onto wobbly legs, seeing the white-pelted unicorn show up. Her horn was glowing in faint light blue. “Are you serious?”

“Wish I wasn’t. Speaking of which, was that your intention?” Yuuki asked, looking right into Cloudy's soul with her glare.

“N-No...we thought she was l-lying about not knowing anything regarding the Steel-Horned Alicorn…” He answered.

Another hoof connected with his face. “Yeah, sorry pal, but that first impression told me otherwise.” Yuuki replied.

“And before you ask, we don’t know anything about the Steel-Horned Alicorn either, so don’t get your hopes up.” The red-maned unicorn hissed, hoisting Cloudy up in his magical grasp. He turned to the other two. “Make sure Koto’s still alright while I take out the trash.” He said, and the white unicorn and earth pony nodded. Yuuki took off to the right-hand hallway, with the other two trotting after her.

As the pegasus was dragged quite literally back to square one, he shook with guilt. Only now did he start regretting his decision to come here, and the subsequent chase that led him to this rat maze of rocks.

“You shouldn’t have come here.” The unicorn hissed as he and his cargo drew nearer and nearer to the sealed entrance. Like the pegasus needed to be reminded thrice. Only when the unicorn stopped before the rocky entrance did Cloudy notice another gemstone poke out right beside a torch. A red aura pushed it in, causing the rocks to part. “Leave--and never come back. Oh, and be sure to tell your friend to not come here either.” With that, Cloudy was shoved out the cavern and sent straight to the gorge.

The pegasus flapped his wings, though they failed to lift him. He fell and fell, getting closer and closer to the bottom of the gorge. By some miracle, just inches away from the bottom, his wings finally worked and held him aloft. He had very narrowly avoided a gruesome demise, and thanked his lucky stars for this. He looked around, seeing no sign of Swift Wing anywhere. “Swift?” He called out.

Only his echoing voice served as an answer. The lone pony began looking for his companion, unaware of five flying figures approaching him from above.

Chapter III- Rest

“Halt! You are under arrest!” Cried one of the figures. Cloudy’s eyes went wide with panic, and he looked up. Five pegasi decked out head to hoof in golden armor were descending towards him as if heralding a unified bum rush.

Kicking his wings into gear, the lone pegasus began flying away from the lot as fast as he could. He was flying out of the gorge without even realizing it, the armored ponies hot on pursuit. Swerving around, he rushed back to Ponyville towards the crystalline castle at the far edge.

Only to meet with even more armored ponies, this bunch unicorns, as soon as he landed. Magic gripped his wings, and spears were pointed mere inches from his face. Those who flew after him landed a few feet behind, and they approached him like prowling, hungry lions who wanted to feed their cubs.

“You and Swift Wing are under arrest.” Both unicorn and pegasus in armor alike repeated in eerie unison, almost as if it were a chant. Cloudy panicked and struggled to no avail, having chains adorn his hooves and wings before he was tossed in a carriage next to his equally bound friend.

“You just had to get caught, didn’t you?” Swift scorned, eyes narrowed low as he looked at Cloudy.

“I-I was ambushed!” Cloudy replied, once more telling the truth. “B-By four ponies at once!”

The armored pegasi put the harnesses on themselves, wings a-flappin’ like no tomorrow. The vehicle soon found itself lifted into the air, the ponies propelling it dragged it straight towards Canterlot Castle.

“Did they know anything about the...what we were looking for?” Swift asked, still glaring at Cloudy.

“No. They weren’t too friendly--one even accused me of plotting to rape someone else’s girlfriend with you.” Cloudy replied, cringing.

Swift cocked a brow. “What?” He inquired.

“Exactly.” Cloudy agreed with a hasty nod. As he and his friend were dragged closer to the castle, he looked back at Ponyville, seeing a few more guards fly above it.

The guards that flew over Ponyville quickly turned to Ghastly Gorge, wings propelling them towards said gorge as if they were in a hurry. They kept going, one eventually having to stay behind to push in the gemstone that revealed the parting rocks of the cavern. Awaiting the bunch was the red-maned unicorn, face exposed and an irritated expression plastered upon thereof.

“We came here to check on one of your own via Princess Celestia’s orders.” Spoke one of the guards. The unicorn’s irritated look faded away, and he sighed.

“Follow me.” He replied, turning around and trotting into the bleak, barely-lit cavern. It took a good while, but the lot eventually reached the four-way hall again. The unicorn took a left, pegasi in tow, trotting down yet another hallway--this one marked with actual wooden doors. He stopped before one door, opened it, and trotted inside what was beyond. The pegasi followed once more, and were greeted by the white-pelted unicorn helping the blue one eat some warm soup. A wet cloth was on her forehead, and another still wrapped around her horn.

“What….are the guards...doing here?” The blue-coated mare asked, eyelids threatening to close. Her mane was even messier now, and so was her coat.

“Celestia told them to get here, Koto, and that’s just what they did.” Answered the red-maned unicorn, a look of worry on his face as he trotted up next to her.

“I...see.” Koto groaned with a weak nod, blinking a few times. Another spoonful of soup was placed in her mouth.

“How bad is it?” Asked a guard.

“Can’t even hold her own hoof up without her bladder failing because of pain.” Answered the red-maned unicorn, sighing once more.

The guard nodded, blinking a few times.

“Can I...go back to sleep now…?” Koto asked, yawning.

“Alright.” The white-pelted unicorn replied, putting the bowl of soup on a tray and holding that in her magic. “Just yodel if you need anything.”

The lot trotted out of the room and blew out the torches within, letting Koto slowly nod off to la-la land.

The red-maned unicorn looked at the guards. “Anything else the princess told you to do?” He asked, voice in a whisper.

The guards shook their heads. They then trotted all the way back to the entrance of the cavern, and they promptly left.

The two unicorns sighed, and the white-pelted one traversed the caverns while the red-maned one stayed put to keep an eye on Koto. After an hour or two, the white-pelted one came upon Yuuki, who stood like a vigilant guard right down to the stoic expression on her face. Behind her was a door, this one crafted of metal.

A ghastly shriek filled the air, the door was soon being pounded on from the inside after that. Yuuki quickly stepped aside, letting the white-pelted unicorn open the door, barge in, and close it shut in seconds.

A quiet sobbing then filled the air. Yuuki opened the door slowly, poking her head inside the room to find the unicorn soothing a greyish-blue-coated mare with a long, untamed blond mane. Bronze eyes were squinted but not quite shut, and a good portion of her entire body was modified with metal welding, entire right foreleg included. Her feathered wings, as unkempt as her mane, were folded at her sides, and wires of red and green made up her tail. A horn of steel was on her forehead, and she was trying to pry it off with the aforementioned metal foreleg, which ended in three sharp claws.

“Calm down.” The white-pelted unicorn sighed, using both of her forelegs to hold the metal one down.

“But it hurts…” The mare pouted, eyes still leaking tears.

“I know it does. Just go back to sleep, and the pain will go away.” The unicorn sighed, embracing the mare in a hug. “All you have to do is rest.”

Author's Note

A rather short one. Hopefully more short ones won't pop up in the future. :(

~Dragon

Chapter IV- Slowly, Surely

The red-maned unicorn opened the door and peeked in, finding Koto sound asleep. He crept up to her silently, horn glowing crimson. As soon as he was next to her, he removed the wet cloths from her forehead and horn, dipping them in a nearby kettle filled with very warm water sitting atop a small fire. Wringing out the excess water, he was about to place the cloths back on their proper places when he noticed that the blue unicorn was looking right at him with open eyes.

Koto smiled weakly, letting the cloths be wrapped around her horn and forehead.

“You still feel overheated?” Asked the red-maned unicorn.

“A little bit.” Koto answered, closing her eyes in contentment. “Maybe I can move my legs soon.”

“I know the feel. Being bedridden sucks.” The stallion replied. “I’m just glad your legs aren’t broken.”

“Technically, they are, Rekka. I still can’t move them without feeling pain.” Koto replied, eyes opening again.

Rekka thought her words over for a moment. “The muscles, I can see why you’d say that. The bones, there’s no way they can be broken.” He replied, blinking.

“True.” Koto sighed, nodding her head a bit. Her eyes narrowed a little bit. “But what I can’t understand is why so many ponies want Yoneko’s power. She’s not a plaything.”

“I can agree there.” Rekka stated, nodding his head. “I’m just glad we only had to toss out one bloke since we came here to guard her.”

“You know Las Pegasus?” Koto asked.

“Yeah. Why?” Rekka inquired, brow arched.

“I recall Yuuki saying about how she went there once for the hell of it. She said something about the movie celebrities there just yakkin’ on and on about garnering Yoneko’s favor to make themselves more popular.” Koto sighed, blinking. “Ever since the rumors started the day after the trial...we’ve just been seeing more and more selfish ponies, y’know?”

“Yeah. I guess that’s what fame, power, or some other thing does to a pony. Like those two who chased you. One wanted revenge on his boss and the other just tagged along.” Rekka replied, sitting down on his rear. “What bothers me is how did they even get here.”

“You can blame me for that. They chased me all the way to Ponyville.” Spoke another voice. The two unicorns turned to the source which stood just beyond the door: a lime green stallion with an emerald mane covering the right side of his face, which was wild and unkempt. Eyes the same color blinked once.

“From where, Nagare?” Rekka asked, brow arched.

“Bloody Manehatten.” Nagare answered, sighing. “And they kept asking me over and over about you-know-who.” He added, eyelids slanting and a slight frown on his face.

“Yikes.” Rekka stated, cringing at the thought.

“Indeed.” Nagare replied with a hesitant nod of his head. “Oh, I went and checked the weather today. The sun should set soon.”

“That reminds me...when’s Tenmei coming back?” Rekka asked, briefly glancing back at Koto.

“Soon, hopefully.” Nagare replied, a faint smile adorning his lips. “We all know how little Sekitan gets.

“He told me about his school day yesterday.” Koto remarked, also smiling faintly. “He dared some of his classmates to translate his Japanese, from what I hear.”

“I suspect that baffled the classmates.” Nagare replied, chuckling at the prospect.

“He said they all looked at him like he grew a horn then and there.” Koto sighed, also chuckling.

“I remember when you two sprouted horns. You held me like a damn pinata, Koto.” Nagare stated, still grinning.

“And you tried cutting off your wings.” Rekka remarked, a frown on his muzzle.

“Yeah. Overreacting like that was...uncalled for, on my part.” Nagare sighed, frowning again. He turned away from the room. “I’m going to take a bath and then sleep.” With that, he closed the door and trotted away, leaving the two unicorns alone.

“Perhaps we should avoid wearing the garments inside the cavern so often…” Koto sighed, eyes wandering off to the ceiling.

“Considering it’s June, I can see why you’d say that.” Rekka remarked, his horn lighting up. His garments were enveloped in a crimson aura which then pried said garments off his body. After that, he took a third cloth and quickly wiped away the sweat he had accumulated this day before drying off and putting them back on.

Koto winced, a foreleg slowly shifting under the covers. A hoof of scarlet covered in black stopped it.

“Hey, don’t move. You’re still not quite ready for that.” Rekka scorned, eyes narrowing a little bit.

“How am I supposed to grin and bear the pain if I don’t learn first?” Koto groaned, shifting her other foreleg slowly. “I can’t stay in bed forever.”

“You are right about that. Just...don’t push it too much.” Rekka sighed, retracting his hoof. He watched with worry as the mare shifted her limbs slowly, wincing and gritting her teeth the whole time, a necklace adorned with a topaz shifting around her neck as slow as her legs.

As time passed and the limbs weakly moved at a snail’s pace, the unicorn eventually got used to the pain. Hesitantly, she moved off of the bed in an attempt to stand on her numbed legs. Rekka stood idly by, ready to catch her when and if she collapsed.

“I’ve never envisioned walking being this cumbersome ever since my foreleg was broken all those years ago…” Koto complained, her legs wobbling like jelly regardless of whether she moved them or not. Slowly, with the stallion at her side, she made her way to the door of the room.

"Aside from trying to get used to the pain, why do you want to walk?" The stallion asked, eyes flashing with worry. "You want to go somewhere?"

"Yeah." The mare answered with a nod of her head as the two emerged into the hall. "I want to use the bathroom...without soiling the sheets again."

"I understand. But still...don't push it too much. You could still leak just walking, and that would be worse than wetting the bed." Rekka pointed out, eyelids slanting in worry.

Author's Note

Sekitan is Japanese for Coal, unless I'm very much mistaken; just wanted to throw that out there. :)

~Dragon

Chapter V- Tavern Shenanigans

A few hours passed, and the remaining five were gathered before the entrance of the pyramid scheme cavern.

“Where is Tenmei?” Rekka asked, eyes narrowing.

“I’ve no idea. I’ll go search for him.” Nagare sighed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He watched as Yuuki pushed in the gemstone next to the torch with her hoof, causing the cavern walls to part and enable leave.

“I’m going too.” Rekka stated, clambering onto the pegasus’s back as he began flapping his wings.

“Just don’t choke me, and we should be fine.” Nagare said, flapping his wings harder to accommodate the fact that he now had a passenger on board. Within moments the two were flying in the gorge, and another few moments passed before the two were safely on land. Night had graced the sky, the light of the moon illuminating all else below. The two stallions quickly donned their head garments before making their way to the bridge.

“Seriously, where is he?” Rekka asked yet again, glancing around.

“We won’t know by just standing around here.” Nagare pointed out, folding his wings. “We should scour Las Pegasus first.”

“Joy…” Rekka murmured, sighing. He clambered onto the pegasus again, “the city of greedy celebrities.”

Nagare rolled his eyes and spread his wings again, turning to a series of pillars surrounded by clouds in the distance. Flapping hard, he was airborne and heading towards that series of pillars. As they got closer and closer, more buildings and flashy lights came into view. Closer and closer still, until at last, the two were within the bare boundaries of Las Pegasus. Sitting on one nearby cloud was a tavern, which was practically screaming ‘Come Inside!’ with its vibrant and flashy signs.

The two exchanged glances and then approached the tavern. Peering in a window, Nagare groaned and shook his head. Inside drinking his fool head off was Tenmei, his face exposed as he chugged down a whole mug of beer. “Of all the places he could’ve wound up...it had had to be here…” The pegasus murmured, maneuvering himself so he could open the door and waltz right in.

As soon as the door was closed, the drunk earth pony shakily turned to the duo who just entered. His face was flushed in red, and he was giggling nonstop. “Hi, guys…” He cooed, standing up to start trotting to them and immediately falling on his face.

Rekka got off of Nagare’s back and onto his own hooves, one of them connecting with his face shortly thereafter. “You just HAD to get drunk because why?”

“My sentiments exactly. Come on, we need to get you home.” Nagare mumbled, trotting to the earth pony who was trying to stand on wobbly legs.

“Home can waait.” Tenmei moaned, falling down again.

“How many mugs of beer did you slam?!” Rekka asked, eye twitching under his garment.

“Home mustn’t wait, you drunk ninny!” Nagare half-shouted, a wing connecting with his face because of the earth pony's remark. His eyes had narrowed beneath his shroud.

Just then, both were grasped in an aura of magic which then removed the facial shrouds and promptly held beer mugs full of frothy nectar to their lips.

Rekka tried turning away, but the magic held him firmly in place. “I don’t want a drink, thank you.” He said before his mouth was forced open and the alcoholic cocktail right into his gob. Some splashed and got on his garments and the floor, but most was forcefully downed. The same happened to Nagare, although he couldn’t utter another word. A unicorn who was forcing the two to drink grinned warmly, equally as buzzed as Tenmei.

Once the mugs parted from the duo, they shared a brief coughing fit before their faces too became flushed in red. When the magic let go of them, they trotted up to the bartender and looked at him. The unicorn who got them drunk sat next to them, helping Tenmei to his seat in the process.

“I’ve never seen two ponies get hammered after one glass!” The unicorn remarked.

Though he was indeed a little buzzed, Rekka had enough sense left in his mind to punch the unicorn in the chest and knock him to the floor. “I said I didn’t want a drink, you whorsefucker.” He growled, eyes narrowing low. “Didn’t you hear me the first time?”

“And of course we’re drunk after one glass, you creep.” Nagare added, eyes also narrowing as he looked at the unicorn who forced the mug onto his muzzle. “Me and my two friends went our entire lives without alcohol until this unfortunate night!”

“It gets better after the second drink. Just chill, guys.” Tenmei murmured, wrapping the two in both of his forelegs. Either what they gave him and his friends was very potent stuff, drugged up, or something.

“We’re--” Nagare was cut off by more magic holding him and Rekka. Another set of mugs came their way and most of their contents forcefully downed in moments. A third set of mugs followed suit, and by the time they were emptied, the two were equally as drunk as Tenmei was.

And all three of them were giggling like the buzzed ninnies they were.

“What do you want to do?” Nagare asked, head resting on the counter before him.

“I dunno.” Rekka replied, laying on the ground with his eyes spinning in their sockets.

“Someone promised he’d fuck me…” Tenmei mumbled, giggling a bit.

“Huh?” Nagare asked, brow arched as he looked at the earth pony.

Tenmei chuckled and threw his forelegs in the air. “Damned if I know!” He exclaimed.

Shakily, Rekka rose onto his legs and looked at the earth pony. “Who did what?” He asked.

“He has no clue, and neither do I.” Nagare answered for Tenmei, scrunching his eyes shut for a moment. His wings spread wide, then closed in seconds.

“Bah!” Rekka scoffed, waving a hoof dismissively at Nagare’s answer.

“Excuse you?” Nagare asked, getting up from his seat and very quickly getting straight into the unicorn’s face, narrowed eyes and twitching grin plastered upon his own. “EXCUSE YOU?”

“You wanna fight, huh?” Rekka asked, a smug grin adorning his muzzle.

“Of course I wanna fight, red lobster!” Nagare replied, eyes narrowing lower.

Tenmei got up and wrapped them in his forelegs again. “C’mon, don’t fight!” He protested, a chuckle escaping his lips soon after.

“I’m not a lobster, weed-whacker.” Rekka hissed, still smiling smugly at the pegasus.

“And I’m not a weed-whacker.” Nagare replied, the corners of his mouth twitching once more.

“Quit fighting, guys.” Tenmei repeated, pulling the two closer to him and unintentionally causing them to shut up as soon as their lips met. The two pushed away from each other and the earth pony, landing on their backs whilst everybody else in the tavern glanced at them with puzzled looks.

“What the hell just happened?” Rekka and Nagare asked in confusion, both now blushing furiously. They exchanged glances with Tenmei, who was somehow oblivious to what he had accidentally caused to happen.

Author's Note

Oh Jesus Christ it begins.

~Dragon

Chapter VI, Part I- You Serious...?

“Hey!” Cried a unicorn, accusing hooves pointing at Nagare and Rekka. “Get a room, you two!”

“Wha?” The two asked, looking at the bloke who made the remark with arched brows.

“Get a room!” The unicorn repeated, marching up to the trio as if he were a veteran.

“Us? Get a room?” Rekka asked, the corners of his mouth twitching. “What kind of crack are you on?”

“YES!” The unicorn answered, waving a hoof frantically. Literally all attention in the tavern was directed at the confused trio at this point. “You coltcuddlers kissed!”

“Did not.” Nagare replied, a brow twitching.

“I saw you! Don’t lie to me!” The unicorn shrieked, eyes of orange narrowing. “You kissed on the lips!”

“We did?” The two asked, blinking.

The unicorn groaned, a hoof connecting with his face. “YES.” He growled. His horn lit up, grasping the trio in its magic, and he stumbled his way to the stairs whilst the stallions he was indirectly manhandling looked at him confused. The stairs that led to the second floor beheld a hallway adorned with many doors on either side. He trotted to the nearest one and opened it, finding a bed, a dresser drawer, and simple table inside. The unicorn then threw the trio in the room, slammed the door, and promptly left.

“Who rustled his jimmies?” Nagare asked, standing up and trotting awkwardly to the table.

“I think we did.” Rekka answered, also standing up. He took a glance around the room and found nothing of interest, apart from the bed.

“Nah. He was cranky before you two came here.” Tenmei replied, a sleepy smile on his face. He too stood up, glasses lopsided on his face, and he chuckled.

“I’m amazed he didn’t get thrown out, then.” Rekka sighed, horn lighting up in scarlet. He removed his garments, long red mane hanging well past the elbows of his front legs. A quarter of his tail had touched the floor, and he shivered as cold air hit his body.

“Perhaps he hasn’t crossed the line yet.” Nagare stated, eyes fixated on the wall beyond the table he was in front of.

Tenmei also took off his garments, though he did this by hoof. By the time he was done undressing, he too was shivering, necklace adorned with a zircon shimmering faintly. He glanced at the unicorn, who was blowing a raspberry as he hogged the only available blanket to the entire lot. “HEY!” The earth pony cried, a vein appearing on his cheek.

“You were too slow!” Rekka taunted, still sticking his tongue out childishly.

“Don’t make me leave this table.” Nagare hissed, also looking at the unicorn. He too began undressing as he watched Rekka look at him whilst jeering.

“Or you’ll do what, ya praying mantis?” Rekka teased, once more blowing the pegasus a raspberry.

Nagare winced. Drunk as he was, he didn’t even think of formulating a decent threat up until now. “I’ll...do things…” He murmured.

“What kind of things?” Rekka taunted some more, smug grin once more adorning his face.

Nagare winced once more, and a brow was twitching. “Just...don’t make me get up from this table.” He repeated, now fully undressed himself.

“Like you’ll do anything.” Rekka replied, smug grin widening. He then proceeded to point and laugh at the pegasus as if he just failed doing a flying trick on epic proportions.

Nagare slammed his front hooves onto the table, spread his wings wide, and rose on his back legs, his resulting scream sounding more like a roar as he glared daggers at the unicorn who kept teasing him.

Like that was enough to stop Rekka’s charade. The unicorn, undeterred by the display of the pegasus, continued to laugh mockingly. “You’re not gonna do anything!” He jeered, at this point crying because of how hard he was laughing his ass off.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Nagare shouted at the top of his lungs, storming straight to the unicorn on his rear legs and grabbing him by the shoulders with his front hooves.

“Aha...aha!” Rekka began to calm down now, looking at the pegasus with that damned grin still on his muzzle. He frowned for a moment. “You’re serious…?”

Nagare nodded, eyes narrowing lower.

Rekka broke out into another fit of laughter. “Then let me laugh harder!” He cried, using his magic to push the pegasus away before he rolled onto his back, holding his stomach with his front hooves.

Nagare was fuming at this point, still standing up on his hind legs. Steam billowed out from his earholes like he had been a teapot filled with boiling water. He was about to charge again when that damned magic aura held him still.

“D’awww, baby want his bottle?” Rekka taunted, still very much laughing his ass off.

Nagare screamed in anger, struggling against the magic. It was in vain, for he could move no more than a few centimeters at best.

Tenmei was watching this entire mess unfold the whole time, sitting down with a bowl of popcorn in front of him. It was nearly empty, with only a few morsels left. He was clapping his front hooves madly, chanting “I want to see more!” like a foal.

“Why don’t you fucking can it, you spiny leaf insect?!” Nagare shouted, his voice silencing the earth pony instantly. “Besides, it’s between me and Rekka, and I don’t need a fucking peanut gallery!”

“Yeah you do!” Rekka said, the pegasus shooting another glare of daggers as soon as he spoke. “Besides, ya can’t do shit.”

For the third time, the raging pegasus winced.

“What were we doing again?” Tenmei asked, causing the other two drunks to look at him.

Rekka shrugged.

“Want some more booze?” The earth pony asked, chuckling.

“Hell yeah!” The unicorn cried, smile widening.

“Okay. I’ll get some more.” Tenmei replied, getting up and awkwardly trotting to the door. He opened it and left, soft thuds beyond indicating he was still tripping left and right.

The two waited for some moments as the hallway beyond fell silent. Thuds and hooves hitting the wood hit their ears again, and they watched as the earth pony stumbled in laughing as if tripping were a child’s game, the bartender trotting in shortly after with three fresh mugs of beer. The two stallions who were arguing promptly downed their drinks, as did their friend, and the bartender left in short order with the emptied mugs.

“Who wants to play a game of truth or dare?” Tenmei asked with another chuckle, causing the other two to look at him before they could argue some more.

Chapter VI, Part II- Argument

“Sure. Why not?” Rekka jeered, crawling off the bed and landing on the floor face-first. The green pegasus began to laugh as the stallion who still held him pinned in magic started a series of attempts to walk in a straight line without tripping or running into things a hefty few times. Eventually, the red-maned unicorn fell in front of Tenmei, who was also giggling nonstop.

“Hey, take a breather, man!” The earth pony chuckled, flashing a warm smile at his friend.

Rekka’s horn sputtered, and his crimson magic literally sizzled before fading. Nagare landed on the floor sprawled out, his legs having gone numb from how long he was held in place. He glared at the unicorn as blood rushed through his veins, wings barely twitching.

The earth pony looked at the pegasus. “Chill, bro.” He said, still smiling.

“Until I can move my legs, that’s a no-go.” Nagare replied curtly, an eyelid twitching.

Tenmei got up and made his way to the only dresser drawer in the room, stumbling and tumbling on the path. As soon as he was in front of the damn thing, he opened the drawers with a hoof.

His eyes widened as he saw the contents. There was a bottle, some hoofcuffs...the rest reeking of and covered in mildew and rot. He shut the drawers posthaste. “Sweet Celestia, they need to clean up around here!” He exclaimed, backing away from it quickly.

“I’ll take you word for that.” Rekka murmured, rising onto his hooves just in time to watch his companion backpedal away.

Nagare also rose, circulation having returned. He smiled darkly. “Remember when I said ‘don’t make me leave this table?’” He asked, causing the unicorn to glance at him.

“No?” The red-maned stallion replied, blinking. He noticed the pegasus approaching him with wings spread wide.

“You should.” The green one stated, still smiling.

“Quit shaking your feathers at me, ya belligerent peacock.” The unicorn hissed, horn flaring up for round two.

“Listen here, fire ant,” Nagare began, his smile widening. He spread his wings wider, still approaching his companion, “I am not tolerating anymore charades. We’re settling this tonight!”

“How?” Rekka asked, his single-word question stopping the pegasus in his tracks immediately.

Tenmei stumbled to the stallions whose argument was once more igniting, using the silence hanging between them as a distraction. As soon as he was within range, he grasped Rekka by the neck with his front legs, just tight enough to yank him into a hug. “Quit fighting, guys.” He said, shaking the unicorn in his grasp for a moment or two.

“He started it!” Nagare yelled, pointing the accusing wing at the unicorn.

“Did not!” Rekka hollered back, pointing the accusing hoof at the pegasus.

“Guys, what about our truth-or-dare game?” Tenmei asked with a now-visible frown on his muzzle, causing the other two to look at him. “Couldn’t we sort this out without hooves flying everywhere?”

“Fiiiiine.” Both would-be combatants groaned in annoyance, one closing his wings and the other lowering his hoof. With that, Tenmei released his grip on the unicorn, sighing in relief as they finally relented for the time being.

The three positioned themselves around the table shortly thereafter, a tense silence holding the entire room for a few moments.

At least, until Nagare spoke up. “Who goes first?”

“I ‘unno.” Rekka answered, shrugging. “All I know is it was Tenmei’s idea.”

“Then he goes first.” Nagare replied, looking at the earth pony. He eyed his zircon necklace for a moment, then wandered off to the chained topaz adorning the unicorn’s neck. Green eyes moving to his own body, he spotted an opal also hanging by small chains around his neck.

Another tense silence. Tenmei looked at the two stallions and he cleared his throat. “Rekka, truth or dare?” He asked.

“Truth.” The unicorn replied, smiling smugly.

“Why’s the tip of your horn red?” Tenmei asked, a smug smile of his own adorning his muzzle.

The unicorn jumped, instantly breaking a sweat. One of his eyes twitched, and he cringed. “I...I have no clue.” He said.

Tenmei rose onto his rear legs, using the table to support himself in the process. “That means you have to do a dare!” He cried, eyes glinting with excitement.

Rekka leaned back, his horn flashing for a moment. “W...what?” He asked, cringing.

Before the earth pony could answer, the door swung open violently. “They’re in here?” Asked a feminine voice--one belonging to that of a tomboy.

“Yeah, I chucked them in here after the red one kissed the greenie.” Answered an irritated masculine voice.

“THEY WHAT?” Shrieked the first in shock. A cloaked pony with visible purple wings trotted into the room, and all three stallions froze upon seeing the figure.

“Oh fuck.” Nagare murmured, eyes wide as he cringed.

“‘Oh fuck’ is right! We were worried sick about you!” The figure replied, removing the facial garments to reveal a purple face framed with narrowed eyes and a scowl. “Come with me, I am personally wrangling you three back home!”

“Is there a taxi?” Tenmei asked, somehow oblivious to the fact Yuuki was now present and more than irate. He was so drunk he honestly thought he was talking to someone else.

“Yes, there’s a taxi! And I brought it myself!” Yuuki answered, a hoof connecting with her face.

Another stallion with light blue eyes, white pelt, and sleek grey mane trotted into the room, and the first thing he did as soon as he entered was let one of his front hooves wander until it just barely touched the hip of the agitated mare. It didn’t go unnoticed--Yuuki quickly snapped her head towards him, eyes narrowing even lower. “And what are you trying to do?” She asked, a brow twitching.

“What am I doing?” The bloke asked, just as oblivious to the building rage as Tenmei. He chuckled drunkenly. “Just checking out your goods is all. You’re so sexy I could fuck you for weeks!”

Before any could react, Nagare spread his wings and ascended into the air. Flying with drunken rage and inexplicable grace, he rushed right at the stallion and knocked him flat on the floor with his hooves. Yuuki quickly backed away, sensing trouble brewing.

“She’s not interested.” Nagare hissed, his muzzle right in the face of the one he toppled. He noticed that he had a horn on his head, and something seemed to click into his mind. “You got us drunk, didn’t you?” He asked, appearing to sober up somewhat.

“Yeah. You guys missed out!” The pinned unicorn replied, smiling darkly. “A sexy mare’s always interested in hot, dirty sex!”

That earned him a punch to the mouth, sending some teeth flying out in the process. “She isn’t!” Nagare yelled at the top of his lungs, blood rushing through his veins. Rage was building up within him now, and coupled with the fact that he was drunk, it only made matters worse.

“Should I get him off the blabbermouth, or should I sit tight and watch?” Rekka asked, brow arched. The unicorn pushed Nagare away with surprising ease, eyes narrowing since he just had some teeth knocked out. He rose to his hooves and tackled his attacker, trying to deliver some punishing punches of his own. Each attack was blocked by a foreleg before it was returned in kind.

A few royal guards showed up with one of the unicorn variety. He broke the fight up before it could get any uglier than it already was, and the bloke who was hitting on Yuuki was spitting out slurred remarks that hardly made any sense.

Until, that is, one that did make sense caused another few guards to hold Nagare down because of how angry it made him. “I will take that bitch right over there, and I will knock her ass up!” The bloke screamed.

“You will do no such thing, you sickly twat!” The pegasus shouted back, eyes turning red from his rage alone. He struggled and kicked and flapped his wings, but with so many guards holding him down, the effort was futile.

Another few guards escorted Tenmei and Rekka out of the tavern and into a waiting carriage outside.

“What’s your name, son?” Asked the horned guard who kept the drunken unicorn at bay.

“My name’s Brilliant Star.” He replied. Only now did the guards put him in cuffs. “What did I do?!” The unicorn cried, eyes wide in surprise.

“Brilliant Star, you are under arrest for attempted assault, child rape, public indecency, assault with a deadly weapon, the rape and murder of a barmaid in Appleloosa, and partaking in the kidnapping of a total of ten foals.” Answered the guard as he dragged Brilliant out of the room. As soon as the bloke was out of his line of sight and immediate earshot, Nagare calmed down.

The guards let the pegasus go when they felt he wouldn’t tail after the unicorn and leave a trail of fire in the process, and he hung his head in shame.

“Escort him to the…?” One guard asked, looking at Yuuki as he spoke.

“Yeah...I’m not gonna reprimand him or the others. Starting to think Tenmei was kidnapped, to be perfectly honest with you. Go ahead and load him in the taxi.” Yuuki replied, sighing in relief. Even so, worry did flash in her eyes for a single moment.

Author's Note

Well, that escalated quickly.

~Dragon

Chapter VII- Silence

The trio of drunks were escorted home that night, making nary a peep during the trip. Yuuki was also silent, her mind going over the earlier events which had transpired. As soon as they got in the cavern, the three ninnies were escorted to bed without so much as a fuss from any one of them. The purple pegasus then trotted through the vast maze of cavern hallways until she found the metal door that had the white unicorn mare looking at her with worry.

“Did you find them?” She asked.

“Yeah. They were at a tavern in Las Pegasus. Some idiot kidnapped Tenmei and made him drink up a storm, and did the same to Rekka and Nagare when they went to fetch him...from what I heard, at any rate.” Yuuki replied, sighing despondently. “They’re gonna gripe in the afternoon tomorrow, I just know it.”

“And who was it that got them drunk off their asses?” The unicorn asked, brow arched.

“Some unicorn stallion named Brilliant Star.” Yuuki answered, pausing briefly. “Now that I think about it, you kinda look like him, Raki...apart from the mane and bloodshot eyes of a drunk loon, that is.”

Raki turned away. “I...see.” She muttered. “What happened to him?”

“Got detained by the guards for a whole list of charges, including--and I am not making this up--the kidnapping of a total of ten foals.” Yuuki replied, noticing the unicorn wasn’t looking at her. “Something wrong?”

Raki turned back to Yuuki. “It’s nothing. Just thought I heard a peep from Yoneko’s room.” She answered, an ear twitching.

“Alright. She asleep?” The purple pegasus inquired.

“Yep. Asleep like a baby.” Raki answered. “You off to bed?”

“Yeah. I’m just tired.” Yuuki replied, turning tail and going down the maze of hallways once more. When she reached the hall of wooden doors, she took one that was open, the shape of a yo-yo crudely carved into the frame. She disrobed and soon plopped on the bed, exhaustion quickly washing over her. Slowly, her eyes closed, and she was adrift in the land of sleep.

Raki, meanwhile, stood diligent in front of the door. As far as she knew and was concerned, the others were out like lights. Her horn flared in soft light blue, and from nowhere came a strange hybrid between a lightpost and a pony. Next to that was a trashcan with a pony’s face and front legs positioned at the sides. “Guard Yoneko while I rest. Do not disturb her, and tend to her needs as she requests them--unless it’s suicide.” She said, curtly.

The duo nodded, and they took her place in front of the door as she sauntered her way to the hall of doors. She entered a room whose door had the image of a pentagram carved in, closed said door behind her, and plopped on the bed as well. Before she went to sleep, she turned to the ceiling and narrowed her eyes as if it offended her. “Brilliant Star…” She mumbled to herself, “I can’t believe he’s still alive and kicking.”

A laugh that held not a hint of happiness escaped her lips. “In a tavern of all places...that explains everything.” She murmured, covering up and falling asleep shortly thereafter.

A few hours passed after that, night waning into dawn, and the first one to stir awake was Koto. She languidly crept out of bed, almost falling off it in the process, and proceeded to yawn as she steadied herself. Sauntering to the door, her hooves less wobbly than yesterday, she picked up the pace a bit as the door opened and she entered the hall.

Other than the crackle of the torch flames, she noticed the hall was silent. “Whose day is it to pay Kaguya and the others a visit?” She murmured, going back to her room. Hanging on one wall was a calendar, a series of x’s that were varying colors marking the boxes, save for the very last one. It was nearly if not the end of June, if the x’s on the calendar were anything to go by. Looking at the x’s, she noticed a pattern.

“Green…blue...gold...there’s no purple.” Koto murmured, taking a moment to sigh. “Guess it’s Yuuki’s day.” Her ears moved, catching the sound of another door creaking open in the hall. A faint groaning of discomfort hit her ears next, and the blue unicorn ventured out into the hallway to detect its source. In front of her open door stood Yuuki, mane frazzled and eyes bloodshot. She was swaying back and forth like a leaf in a breeze, and her wings hung at her sides as if broken.

Yuuki groaned again, collapsing within moments. She looked towards the unicorn as she approached. “Before you ask, no, I didn’t sleep good last night.” She said, her voice raspy and dry.

“What happened?” Koto asked, brow arched. “You look banged up.”

“I...just had a dream. That’s all.” Yuuki replied, shifting so she could get onto her hooves. “I’ll take a bath, not wear the garments, and head to town. Hopefully there won’t be trouble today.”

“Can I bathe with you?” Koto inquired, blinking as the pegasus rose to stand.

“Sure, just don’t try anything funny. Something went on last night, and hell nearly broke loose.” Yuuki answered, sauntering down the hallway. The blue-pelted pony followed her, worry flashing for a moment in her eyes. She was concerned for her friend, half of her hoping it was just a bad night’s sleep and nothing more. The other half wanted to know what exactly the pegasus meant by hell nearly breaking loose.

“What...happened last night?” Koto asked, finally.

“Quite a lot. I’ll explain it after the hot bath jolts me awake...maybe.” Yuuki answered, sighing afterwards. The two continued on their way throughout the maze of stone corridors, neither exchanging so much as a glance during the rest of the trip. Eventually, they came into a room that held simple bathroom utilities, albeit with the added decor of a great big portion lined with several shower heads, not unlike that found within a prison, considering its structure. The bathtub was also large, able to house up to ten ponies at most.

The two clambered in, turning the faucet knobs and watching water, chilling at first, drop down the spigot. The plug was put in, and soon the bottom of the tub was covered by a paper-thin layer of steaming hot water. Slowly, it filled up, but given the size of the tub, it would take a good while.

Chapter VIII- Surprise Visit

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.

Chapter IX- You Said...

Imura released her grip on the pegasus and hopped back over to her group, smiling as if she just won the lottery.

“You have no idea?” Asked the unicorn.

“Nope.” Kaguya replied, shaking her head. She glanced back at Reina, who had taken her sweet time to shut the door.

“So, these past ten years...you were here, yes?” Reina asked as she turned back around to look at her fellow earth pony.

“I have been here indeed. First few months, shit hit the fan every other week, but after that, it eased up.” Kaguya answered, ears twitching.

“I’m a witness...ow.” Yuuki sighed as she rose onto her hooves and reclaimed her seat. She glared at Imura. “If you broke my wings, you’re paying the hospital bill.”

A mare with a really light blue pelt trotted up to Kaguya. The back part of her sky blue mane was held back in tight pink ribbons, letting just enough hair alone to look like fluffy rabbit tails. “Do you know where my big sis is at?” She inquired, her blue eyes shimmering in wonder.

“She’s a big mare, and so is Imura’s sister. She and the others have their own place--which is not here.” Kaguya answered, crossing her forelegs awkwardly. “Though, they still visit.”

“You’ve brought your bunch up well, I see.” Reina remarked, smiling at her fellow earth pony.

“And I see you have a bit of trouble with yours, as usual.” Kaguya stated, smiling back.

A stallion with a green pelt arched a brow, really light-colored and fluffy green mane shifting as if in a breeze. On his head, shifting with the mane, was a red beret. “Aoi, you think we could find your sister’s place?” He asked.

Aoi turned to the stallion. “We could, Kaze, but we don’t know where.” She replied.

Kaze sighed and shook his head. The mare did have a valid point.

“Hey, what’s that necklace for?” Asked another stallion, black mane with brown eyes and golden orange pelt with an x-shaped scar between said eyes. He was looking at Yuuki.

“I...well…” The pegasus stammered, cringing for a moment as sweat adorned her face, “I...uh...have just grown attached to it after all these years.”

Another with a brown, fluffy mane and matching eyes sighed. He had a reddish-brown pelt, and he was looking at the one who asked Yuuki about her necklace. “Kasai, she doesn’t look too comfortable talking about it.” He said.

Kasai glanced at the one who was looking at him. “You got me there, Kurei.” He sighed, shaking his head.

“Hey, what’s this soccer ball doing on my hip?” Imura asked, using a hoof to point at her hip. Indeed, her cutie mark was a soccer ball.

“That simply represents your talent around these parts. If you don’t have one, you simply haven’t found it yet.” Kaguya answered, taking a moment to sigh.

Kaze looked at his hip, a frisbee leaving a trail of light green wind adorning it. “I guess that explains something. Speaking of which, where’d my frisbee go?” He asked, glancing back at Kaguya.

“I don’t have all the answers. I just work here.” The white-pelted pony moaned, a hoof connecting with her face.

“Well, we could always find some other objects that represent our butt tattoos and go with that.” Kasai proposed, raising a hoof with a smile on his face after he looked at his cutie mark, which was a simple baseball bat.

“The term you’re looking for is ‘cutie mark.’” Yuuki corrected, shaking her head sadly.

Aoi looked at her mark, a hammer-esque object in terms of shape with a long handle, a pike’s point, and a red ball attached to it via string. “But what about my weapon?” She complained, eyes beginning to water.

The unicorn’s horn glowed, and from thin air came the hammer and ball, as well as the frisbee and soccer ball. In addition, a baseball bat was in the fray, and they all floated in the air.

“Yeeeeah...can’t see one of those getting a scabbard anytime soon.” Yuuki remarked, looking at the hammer-and-ball in particular.

“I can work around that.” The unicorn replied, a thick strand of fabric appearing from nowhere. Both ends of this long, thick strand wrapped around two separate points of the hammer’s elongated handle, secured in place by metal clasps and tightening mechanisms. Carefully, he wrapped it around the midsection of its owner, and he even gave the strap a button to the side should she need to use it at some point in time. As for the others, Kasai got a scabbard to store his bat and the other two got saddlebags for their objects, leaving Kurei out.

Reina trotted to the table and sat down on an available seat. She looked at Kaguya and sighed. “For the past ten years, woman, I’ve been looking for you. Tell me, aside from your bunch of kids, who else was brought along for the ride?” She asked, now frowning, though it was faint.

“01--who now goes by Takashi, and that’s a long story--Mimi, and Mimu. Disregarding the Quartet, it’s nothing more and nothing less.” Kaguya answered, blinking.

“And you said two of them were dead?” Reina inquired, brow arched.

“Let’s just say those two fucked up on grand proportions and enraged the head honchos of this place.” Kaguya answered swiftly, ears twitching. “And I am not lying when I say this, but one controls the sun and one controls the moon!”

Now, it was Reina’s turn to blink and go wide-eyed. “One...controls the sun and the other does the moon?” She asked.

“If you want, we can waltz right up to Canterlot simply so I can prove my point.” The white-pelted pony replied, sighing again.

“And...where is that?” The mossy green mare asked, blinking.

“You’ve surely seen that mountain with a building lodged in one side?” Kaguya groaned, a brow twitching.

“Yes.” Reina replied with a nod. “Who wouldn’t in this town?”

“That’s Canterlot.” The white-pelted mare replied.

Author's Note

Names are as follows:

Aoi = Japanese word for 'blue'
Kaze = Japanese word for 'wind'
Kasai = Japanese word for 'flame'
Kurei = Japanese pronunciation for 'Clay'

~Dragon

Chapter X- On Cue

“How come you have wings and I don’t?!” Imura complained, glaring at Yuuki with her icy eyes as she stomped a hoof.

The pegasus turned to the table and proceeded to slam her face onto its wooden frame, following this with an annoyed, muffled groan thereafter.

Kaguya shook her head and rolled her eyes at the display. She then looked at the pink-coated mare with one brow arched and the other lowered. “Today’s not a good day to be pestering her.” She remarked rather coldly.

Imura proceeded to mimic the elder’s expression, albeit with an annoyed smile and sweat dotting her face. “I know that. Does that stop me from asking?” She retorted, ears twitching.

Reina turned to the youngster and quickly donned a mask that betrayed no discernable expression; a stoic stare, if you will. “That may not, but I will if this keeps up.” She said, just as coldly as her fellow earth pony.

Imura cringed. “Y-yes m-ma’am…” She murmured, ears flattening on her skull.

“Good.” Reina sighed, turning back to her friend. “Mind if me and my bunch stay here for at least a few months? We only arrived days ago.”

“Sure. Why would I not help a friend I haven’t seen in a long time?” Kaguya replied with a nod of her head, and she was smiling. “Besides, I have extra rooms, and they haven’t been used since my bunch moved out.”

“How many?” Reina inquired, now smiling herself.

“A total of six.” The white-pelted mare answered. “And that is including the attic. Seven, counting the one in which we’re sitting, since we have a couch.”

“Most excellent.” The mossy mare remarked, her smile widening just a little bit.

Yuuki removed her face from the table. “What time is it?” She inquired, wings shifting a bit.

Kaguya glanced at a clock hanging above the couch in the corner and blinked. The hour hand rested, its thin finger pointing at the three, and the minute hand shadowed over the nine. “It’s three-forty-five.” She answered as she turned back to the pegasus. As if on cue, the door opened, and a white-coated colt with brown eyes and black mane bolted through, almost bumping right into Kaze’s back leg and spilling the contents of his saddlebags in the process.

The colt dashed around the group and homed right in on Kaguya. “Mommy, mommy!” He exclaimed, his comment causing Reina to look at her humble friend with her jaw dropped open and eyes wide. “Princess Celestia visited the school today!”

“She did?” Kaguya asked, blinking as she looked at the colt whilst somehow remaining oblivious to Reina’s shock. “That’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. What’d she do, Sekitan?”

“She took us to Canterlot on a field trip!” Sekitan exclaimed, smiling as wide as he could manage.

“Really? Was it fun?” The white mare inquired, faintly smiling herself.

“Yeah!” Sekitan replied, hopping on the seat next to the mare and directly opposite of Yuuki. “And she told me to tell you she said hello!”

“That’s wonderful!” Kaguya remarked, her own grin widening. “Alright, go upstairs and do your homework. After that, you can play.” She said, and with that, the colt dashed up the nearby stairs as if filled with unlimited energy or something. The mare looked towards her friend and only now did she notice her silence and shocked expression.

“You...had a child?” Reina squeaked, her mind on lockdown from what she had seen and heard.

“Like I said--it’s a long story.” Kaguya replied with a nod of her head. “And it’s a good thing that I’ve acquired parenting skills when I first brought in my now-grown-up bunch into the Task Force--makes it a whole lot easier, if I do say so myself.” She added, still smiling.

Reina smiled, trembling as if on the verge of tears. “I...I don’t know what to say.” She sighed, finally swallowing her shock.

“If you were here when he was born, your heart would’ve melted at the first glance.” Kaguya replied, still smiling. “Hell, a week after he was born, I still had trouble giving him a good name, and ponies just kept coming up to me with their suggestions!”

The mossy mare sighed contently. “I’d imagine.” She remarked, blinking. “Has school been a hassle for him?”

Kaguya shook her head. “Aside from the occasional bully.” She answered.

Just then, a stallion with a white pelt descended down the stairs, black hooves clip-clopping loudly and causing all in the living room to look at him. He had a messy and somewhat fluffy black mane, dark grey eyes fogged with sleep and shielded by lopsided, uncleaned glasses. He paused, yawning loudly and scratching the back of his head with a hoof before looking at the lot present. “What’s all the commotion about?” He inquired.

“Takashi, we have a visit all the way from Area Two of the Task Force.” Kaguya answered swiftly.

Five seconds of silence flew by. Ten. Fifteen, then twenty. Another full minute passed before the mare’s words registered in his tired mind. His eyes widened, nearly bulging out of their sockets. “Wait, what?!” He cried, only now noticing the features that defined each member of the surprise group.

Kaguya pointed a hoof at the unicorn. “And the last member of the Quartet, whose powers supposedly went out of whack and brought them onto the outskirts of Ponyville.” She added without stall.

Another few moments passed before Takashi spoke up. “You serious?”

“Yes. He’s right here, complete with horn on the forehead, if you don’t believe me.” The mare answered yet again, sighing this time.

The pegasus looked at the unicorn. “We never got your name.” She pointed out.

“I like to call myself Tori.” The unicorn replied, smiling as he looked at Yuuki.

“Seems legit.” The pegasus remarked, her wings twitching.

“I’ll admit, that little guy was cute.” Kurei stated, sitting on his rump. “Wonder if he’ll wield a weapon someday.”

“Most probably not.” Kaguya replied, her gaze almost immediately directed at the reddish-brown stallion as if she were going to glare at him. “Not unless he so asks for the required training.”

“A bit stingy, aren’t we?” Reina sighed, causing the mare to look at her.

“Yes. And this very continent in which we’re standing is so peaceful there’s almost no need for such a thing. The royal guard acts as a very efficient police force, and I’ve seen some of their arrests first-hand on the other side of town.” The white mare answered, blinking.

“How peaceful are we talking?” The mossy mare asked, brow arched.

“Put it like this: serial killers are almost nonexistent around here.” Kaguya answered once more, taking a moment to sigh. “And where they are existent, they’re stopped before they can tally twenty-five victims--perhaps even fewer than that.”

Reina slowly nodded, as though she were skeptical. “I see.” She said nonchalantly.

“How did you find my house, though?” Kaguya asked.

“I asked for directions. A mare named Twilight Sparkle gave them to me, and was honestly surprised I knew your name, so I had to explain to her that I was your friend.” Reina answered, smiling again.

“Ah.” Kaguya nodded quickly.

Takashi took a seat right next to Yuuki, and he did so rather quickly. “What did little Sekitan do today?” He asked, causing the two mares to look at him as he scratched his head with a hoof.

“Long story short: Princess Celestia herself paid a visit to the school, gave the class a field trip through Canterlot’s walls, and told him to tell us she said hello.” Kaguya answered, smiling.

“That’s about as lucky as Mimu landing in the Wonderbolts!” The stallion replied, eyes wide.

Right on cue yet again, and this time it was a mare in a blue and yellow jumpsuit and goggles who strode through the open door, and she actually closed it behind her as soon as she was inside. Raising a hoof, she lifted the goggles to her forehead, her frazzled raven-cut mane shifting as she did. Red-pink eyes blinked, and magenta, tufted ears twitched. Her fairy-esque wings fluttered briefly. “Now, what kind of party do we have here?” She asked.

“Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear!” Yuuki cried as if she were in a cathedral calling out a pastor’s poorly-hidden sin, pointing rather accusingly at the mare as she said this. She then smiled warmly, lowering her hoof. “How’d it go?”

“My wings kinda hurt, but it was worth it.” Mimu replied triumphantly, holding a hoof to her chest as if about to show off a first-place medal. “I’m surprised they’re not making fun of my wings yet, and I know a real bulky fellow with itty bitty wings!”

“Bulk Biceps, I assume?” Yuuki inquired, brow arched.

“Yeah, him.” Mimu replied with a nod of her head. “He’s a real good pal.”

Chapter XI- Cold Touch

The hours passed by, the day waning into night. Yuuki had since returned back to the caverns (and, as she predicted, listened to the constant moanings of the stallions who she thought were forced to get hammered in the process). After another few hours of watching Yoneko, all save the lightpost and trashcan were sound asleep.

Soon, however, the purple pegasus was tossing and turning in her bed. The dream world decided it was a fine idea to kick things off by sending a monster after her--one she was practically alone against. Having no other alternative, the pegasus hid in a dark alley with the monster just seconds behind her heels. It was a towering beast, a black jailhouse with legs on the underside and a unicorn’s head on the top. Its outer walls proved impenetrable, and its barbed wires formed wicked, five-fingered claws.

The behemoth roared and looked around, noticing its prey had vanished from its line of sight. Yuuki watched, holding her breath in her mouth, hoping to go unnoticed. To the thing, she was merely a colored speck in the dull greys and blacks of the dreamworld city, all alone and far too discernable for her own good. If there was a moment she hated being completely purple, then this was the precipice of that moment. She was also still, hoping the darkened alley could provide some cover from the monstrosity.

The thing did something completely unexpected: it grabbed its head with its claw and yanked it off like it was the goddamned headless horseman. The claw swiveled, enabling the head to glance round in all of the little nooks and crannies it couldn’t before.

And it found her. The pegasus held back a shriek, turning around and galloping away before quickly skidding to a halt.

A dead end greeted her.

“Alone, are we?” Taunted a masculine voice from behind. Yuuki froze on the spot, feeling time freeze with her. Before she could regain control of her muscles and react, the claw grabbed her and yanked her out of the alley, stabbing her with its multiple twisted ends as a result. She was hoisted high into the air with no trouble, clenched in a tight fist of wires.

The lone pegasus whimpered, feeling something cold and unearthly touch her exposed shoulder. Whatever it was, it didn’t belong to a pony or the jailhouse that held her hostage. When she looked at her shoulder, though, she saw nothing apart from what was keeping her in the air.

“Drop her.” The voice spoke menacingly, and in an instant, the jailhouse obeyed. Down and down the pegasus fell, her limbs flailing wildly about during the descent. The ground cracked open, revealing a blackest abyss waiting for her. By this point, she was screaming, and no matter how hard and how fast she flapped her wings, she could not fly back up for whatever reason.

Next thing she knew, her rear end landed smack-dab on a hard surface of some kind, one obscured by blackest shadow. Using a hoof and taking in some deep breaths, she felt her entire body.

No damage was done, as far as she knew. That rose a red flag in her still-panicked mind, considering what had just transpired moments ago.

“I’m sorry, was that too much for you?” Teased the voice once more, a sinister chuckle soon escaping from the unseeable owner.

“After we’re done with you, we’re gonna fill the damned castle with kitchenware and call it Counterlot.” Spoke another voice, this one also masculine but raspier.

“Trash cans make more sense, you dolt!” Hissed the first voice accusingly. “Think about it for two seconds!”

Aside from Yuuki’s steadying breathing and her heart pounding like a drum in her chest, all was silent for a few moments.

The second voice broke out in hysterical laughter. “That’s an even better idea!” It said.

Yuuki scrambled to her hooves, only to feel the cold touch on her shoulder again. This time, it snaked its way to her hip slowly, feeling her curves and chilling her to the core in the process. Whatever it was, it certainly was not welcome. “Stop touching me, I-I already have someone…” She complained, cringing.

“He’s not here to save you. Do you see a green stallion around here? I sure don’t!” Remarked the voice coldly, and Yuuki yelped in pain as an invisible force sent her sprawling to the ground. The purple mare felt her heart stop for an entire moment as she heard the tell-tale sound of chains clamping shut around her legs.

“This is all a dream!” The pegasus declared, opening her eyes to find that she had tumbled out of her bed and onto the floor. In front of her was a set of four green hooves. She jumped and looked up, seeing Nagare looking down at her with worry in his eyes.

“Want me to help you get back in bed?” The stallion asked, his voice riddled with concern. He moved a hoof towards the mare, and she clasped it with one of her own hooves posthaste. Carefully, she was lifted onto her legs, the blanket somehow not falling off of her form.

Yuuki took in some deep breaths, calming herself down substantially. Without a second thought, she wrapped her front legs around her green companion and rested her forehead on his chest. He didn’t mind--in fact, he hugged back without hesitating. It lasted only for a moment before they broke away.

“Has your headache gone away?” The mare asked, blinking.

“Not quite, but it’s a dull throb now.” Nagare replied, smiling faintly.

Yuuki nodded and clambered back onto the bed. She covered up, only to jump upon feeling a hoof touch her shoulder. The stallion who was currently in the room with her also climbed in, quickly reassuring her by stroking her mane tenderly. The mare turned over so she could face him, and she arched a brow. “You wanna sleep with me?” She asked.

“Why else would I clamber into bed with you?” Nagare retorted, flashing her a friendly smirk. “Though, not in the way you’re probably thinking.”

“Ah.” The mare sighed, pulling him in for a hug and snuggling close to him.

“Now I feel like an overgrown teddy bear.” Nagare remarked, still smiling as his fellow pegasus fell asleep before he too went out like a light.

And he could’ve sworn he heard those two voices that had been taunting Yuuki in her sleep, but he didn't see their owners in his slumber.

Chapter XI- Wolves

As morning rose, ponies in Ponyville felt an unnatural cold wind pass by them as they got up out of their houses to start their day. Some began swearing left, right, and bloody sideways that they felt hooves poke them on the shoulders or thighs, disturbingly enough. Yet none could even detect the source for this phenomenon, nor why it had transpired. Other than that, the day carried on as normal.

Past the outskirts of town, deep in the Everfree Forest, however, the same winds blew past the treetops and foliage, only stopping upon reaching a clearing just barely graced by the waking dawn. Then, inexplicably, nearby fallen logs were floating, and twigs began to fly up and circle the decaying husks of wood.

More and more pieces of dead wood flew into the anomaly as if the forest was answering to a heralding call, some leaves also joining in the fray. Still more and more pieces came in until, at last, two beasts resembling wolves were formed. They fell to the ground, landing on their stomachs with the grace of birds hit with bullets.

One slowly opened its eyes, a glowing crimson in hue. The other did the same, a glowing navy prominent on its face. Both languidly rose to stand and glanced at one another.

“I can’t believe this just worked…” Murmured the one with crimson eyes, the voice distinctly masculine, smiling as best it could for an amalgamation of wood.

“Then again, timberwolves are really dead ponies possessing piles of logs.” Replied the other, also bearing a toothy grin and distinct masculine voice. “And we’re no exception.”

“Spending a good seven years as a ghost after escaping Tartarus really does things to you.” Spoke the first, chuckling darkly before frowning. “Damn that pristine white alicorn for having our horns severed before our death! Only thing we could do was become talking piles of wood!”

“We’ll get back at her eventually, Maki. Hold your horses.” Stated the other nonchalantly. “We may yet find new strength elsewhere.”

“True…” Maki murmured, eyes dimming for a moment. He sat down on his rump and looked to the sky. “What do we do, though, since we’re now wooden carnivores?”

The other frowned. “Good point.” He said, shaking his head sadly.

The two stopped, hearing bushes a-rustling nearby. Both cautiously glanced around as the rustling persisted. Then, the source made itself known: a cute little white rabbit.

Maki looked at the rabbit, translucent green drool dribbling down his muzzle. “So...hungry…” He murmured, his jaw jittering.

“But not enough for both of us. Spare it.” The other timberwolf remarked, shaking his head again.

Maki glared at his fellow timberwolf, a vein of red appearing on his forehead. “Baki, we’ve spent ten years not eating a damn morsel, meat or otherwise!” He snapped, his stomach rumbling as if on cue.

“I know that, you nitwit!” Baki growled, bearing his teeth. “I’m starving just as bad as you are, but that rabbit isn’t even enough to fill us a sixteenth up!”

The red-eyed timberwolf whimpered and nodded, laying down in a submissive manner. The rabbit fled in panic, and the bushes rustled as it went. Strangely, they continued to rustle even after the critter had gone with the wind, and before long, an entirely new creature came forth into the clearing: it had a chicken’s head, the body of a wyvern, and the elongated tail of a rattlesnake lined with spines. Its eyes appeared to have been clawed out at some point in time, indicated by scars lining that general area.

“A blind cockatrice?” Baki asked, looking at the beast like it was cross-eyed.

“One less cockatrice that can petrify.” Maki remarked, standing up on all fours again. “I wonder if they’re edible.”

“They’re the top predators of their food chain, under normal circumstances.” Baki replied, blinking. “Even blind, I suspect this one will put up a fight.”

“Much like a honey badger?” The crimson-eyed wolf asked, arching a wooden brow.

“Something like that.” Stated the other, shrugging to the best of his ability.

The cockatrice blindly dawdled its way closer to the timberwolves, one of which inched towards it silently, body kept low in a position to pounce. Closer and closer the two went towards the other, one unable to see and the other drooling nonstop. A tense silence gripped the makeshift trio as the two moving entities stopped for a few moments.

Then, it happened. Maki made the lunge, and the cockatrice didn’t even know what hit it as its neck was gripped firmly in a slick, wooden maw filled with daggers, a sickening snap resounding in the air as its life came to an abrupt halt. Blood oozed from the neck in small rivers, and the timberwolf trotted back to his fellow before depositing the fresh carcass on the ground in front of him.

“So, who gets what half?” Asked the creature’s murderer.

“Let me test the waters, first.” Baki replied, leaning over and licking at the small bleeding holes with his tongue. A sort of strange taste, one tinged in iron and some other flavor he couldn’t identify, greeting his taste appendage. He leaned back, trying to make out the taste that was in his mouth.

“It’s...odd?” Maki asked, again arching a brow.

“Yes...but I like it.” Baki answered with a nod

“I like the taste too.” The crimson-eyed wolf replied, licking his lips hungrily. Without warning, the two dug into their catch of the day and plucked the flesh clean from its bones. Not even the organs were spared from their hunger, as were the bones when said organs were finished off.

“Even for raw meat, that was splendid!” Baki cheered as he finished cleaning himself up.

“Indeed, it was!” The crimson-eyed wolf agreed, scratching his ear with a back leg. “But, I do have one gripe!” He added as he set his back leg down.

“That being?” The blue-eyed wolf asked, brow arched.

“I want--no, NEED--to eat some more! My stomach’s not yet full; I feel like the big bad wolf in the Three Little Pigs, for crying out loud!” Maki answered, waving a front paw frantically.

“Huff, puff, and I’ll blow your house in? If only we could do that…” The other murmured, shaking his head. “Though, I’m in the same pickle as you. How does a hunt for more fresh meat sound?”

“Brilliant!” The red-eyed wolf replied, grinning most horribly.

Chapter XII- Namecalling

“Wait, what?” Rekka asked, brow arched. He and the other five were at a table in the caverns eating breakfast. “My lil’ bro’s here?”

“Yeah, and so’s Reina and the others.” Yuuki answered with a nod before shoveling some cereal into her mouth with a spoon. She chewed her load before swallowing and continuing. “They’re also staying at Kaguya’s place--same rooms we all occupied during our first few months here.”

“Fuck me over a railing.” Nagare hissed, flinging a foreleg in the air. “How are we gonna explain...well, everything to them?”

“We kinda don’t.” Yuuki replied, taking in another spoonful of cereal.

“She’s right.” Tenmei agreed with a nod of his head. “Though, these past ten years...I was getting kinda worried about them.”

“Same here. But they’re alive and well?” Koto inquired, brow arched.

“Yep, just wondering where the hell we trotted off to all this time.” Yuuki answered with another nod. “So, whose day is it to pay a visit?”

“That would be mine, if my memory’s anything to go by.” Rekka answered, sighing.

“I checked the calendar. It’s your day.” Koto confirmed with a nod, the thing levitating next to her. Indeed, there had yet to be a red x on the currently-empty box that read ‘first of July.’

“Any status on the rains?” Raki asked, finishing up her bowl afterwards.

“Should be here this Wednesday.” Yuuki answered, also cleaning what little she had left of her meal.

Nagare slammed a hoof on the table. “The storm should be here sooner!” He cried, eyes narrowing low.

“They’re working on it. I know, not fast enough, and soon it’ll skyrocket to oven heat, but cut Cloudsdale some slack. They bake quicker than we do down here, since they're closer to the sun, if my memory of how the atmosphere works is anything to go by.” Yuuki moaned, shaking her head.

The green pegasus calmed himself, breathing in and out. He retracted his hoof as this was done.

“Are you okay, Nagare?” Tenmei asked, looking at his fellow stallion. “You haven’t been yourself since this morning.”

“Just...I don’t know at this point.” The pegasus replied, frowning and shaking his head. “Maybe it’ll go away, whatever it is.”

“True, but…” Tenmei trailed off, eyes briefly flashing with worry.

All paused, hearing hooves hitting stone--as well as something akin to a metal weight hitting the same thing--permeated the area. In sauntered Yoneko, bags under her somewhat-dimmed eyes.

“I...I don’t feel so good…” She moaned, collapsing onto the floor in an instant. Her wings twitched just slightly, yet some feathers loosened from their frames.

Raki sighed, her horn flashing for a brief moment in magic. From nowhere came a strange mix between a gurney and a pony, the legs dangling uselessly from the sides and the face where a pillow would be if it were laid to one side. The face also had a horn, and it used its own magic to lift the cyborg off her stone nap and onto its frame before wheeling itself away. “I’m gonna run a temperature check on her now and make sure she doesn’t have a fever.” She said, getting up and galloping after the gurney.

“Hey, Nagare, if you need anything, I’m here for you.” Yuuki stated, giving her fellow pegasus a weak smile. The stallion nodded and smiled back.

“In more ways than one.” Rekka jeered, a smug grin adorning his muzzle.

Yuuki glared at the unicorn, her smile twitching now. “Can it, ya shiny fire hydrant.” She replied.

Rekka rudely rolled his eyes, his smile widening. “Make me, purple shamrock.” He stated.

The pegasus slammed her front hooves on the table, her wings spreading wide as she rose onto her back legs. “Excuse me?!” She cried, ears twitching as a red vein appeared on her forehead. In that instant, red-tinted magic gripped her firmly, keeping her entire body still.

The red-maned unicorn blew a raspberry at the pegasus, the smug look not leaving his face for a second.

“Guys, chill.” Tenmei murmured, finishing up his bowl afterwards.

Koto also finished her bowl in short order. She glared at her fellow unicorn, then directed her gaze to the pegasus. “Do I have to get out my boomerang again?” She asked.

In that instant, Rekka’s horn ceased glowing, and Yuuki sat back down in short order.

“Thought so.” The blue unicorn scoffed, shaking her head sadly.

Nagare also finished his bowl posthaste. “Are we all set?” He asked, shooting quick glances at everyone present.

Rekka finished what was in his bowl. “Yep.” He replied with a nod.

“May as well pay a second visit this week. If Kurei’s here…” Tenmei murmured, ear twitching. He moved a hoof to adjust his glasses a bit.

“Ditto.” Koto agreed with a nod of her head.

“I’ll prep the carriage, then. Someone tell Raki we’ll be gone a while.” Yuuki murmured, getting up and trotting away from the table.

The three wingless ponies, making sure to have their weapons with them, sat in the seats of the carriage as the two pegasi pulled it in the sky with all their strength. The wind blew in their manes, the mid-dawn sunlight lighting the way to town. The carriage descended onto the ground in a smooth halt on the outskirts of Ponyville. The pegasi undid the harnesses before donning their weapons in scabbard and saddlebag and trotting with the other three towards town.

The quintuplet said not a word to one another up until they reached their destination--Kaguya’s house.

“Who knocks?” Tenmei asked, brow arched.

“I’ll do it.” Rekka answered, going up to the door and knocking with a hoof. He paused, hearing something gallop inside.

“Who is it?” Called a young, masculine voice.

The unicorn looked at the others, brow arched. They nodded back before he glanced at the door again. “Hey, uh, it’s Rekka, and I brought my friends.” He said, biting his lip.

The door opened, and looking back at the group was Kaze. His fluffy mane was more ruffled than it was yesterday, he was lacking his red beret, and he flashed the group a warm smile. “Come on in!” He chimed, moving out of the way to let the visitors do just that. As soon as they were inside and the door was closed, the pegasus stallion found himself getting a neck-hug from the younger, lighter green pony.

“I think I’m suffocating…!” Nagare squeaked as the grip around his neck tightened. He began to flail his forelegs about to no avail for a moment before his hooves found the younger pony and tried to shove him off. Kaze let go, a cheeky grin on his face as the pegasus stumbled backwards onto his rump whilst he caught his breath.

The younger green pony looked at Rekka. “Hey there, ladybug! What’s going on today?” He asked.

The unicorn grimaced as his hoof connected with his face. “I am not a ladybug…” He grumbled.

Chapter XIII - You Know What's Strange?

“So, what’s been going on here all this time?” Kaze asked, still beaming with his cheeky grin.

“So much has happened my face would turn blue just trying to explain a quarter of it to you.” Nagare replied, sighing. His wings shifted uncomfortably for a moment.

“Like what?” Kaze inquired, brow arched.

The pegasus winced, biting his lip as his emerald eyes darted left and right for a moment or so. He cringed, sweat dotting his face already.

“Did you score a hot chick?” Kaze asked, his words eliciting a yelp from the stallion. A raging red blush overcame the green on the nervous bloke’s face, and he cringed again.

Rekka saw the look on his friend’s face, and he couldn’t help but hold a hoof to his muzzle as he snickered.

The younger green earth pony continued to grin. “So, who did you woo?” He asked.

“K-Kaze...who I t-take to bed i-is none of your b-business…” Nagare stammered, sitting on his rump to avoid falling over from how much he was shaking and making an even bigger fool of himself.

“Yes it is.” The earth pony jeered.

“No, it’s n-not…” The pegasus replied, ears flat on his skull.

“Yes it is.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Just tell me who you scored with!” Kaze stated finally, grin still plastered onto his muzzle as if frozen there.

“No!” Nagare shouted, eyes narrowing at the earth pony. He spread his wings menacingly wide, his raging blush still remaining on his face.

The green earth pony opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, he fell to the floor as something rushed up to him in a purple-and-blue blur and whacked him on the back of the head. He groaned, rubbing the wounded area with a hoof as his eyes wandered off of Nagare and onto Koto, whose boomerang was floating next to her in a magical grip.

“Quit egging him on. He’s been royally cranky this morning.” Koto stated in a very cold tone of voice, eyes narrowing dangerously low.

“Okay, okay…” Kaze murmured, setting his hoof down and getting up. He was frowning now.

“What’s going on?” Asked a feminine voice. All eyes glanced to the stairs as hooves hammered on them noisily. Kaguya was making her descent, her mane also somewhat frazzled.

“An argument between my and my brother.” Nagare answered, the blush finally receding from his face. He wiped the sweat away with a hoof, taking in some deep breaths to calm himself after.

“Oh. One of those…” The elder murmured, shaking her head as she finished the flight of stairs and turning to the kitchen. “What day is it?”

“Saturday.” Koto answered quickly.

“Ah. I’d best make everyone breakfast.” Kaguya replied with a tired nod, sauntering to the kitchen whilst yawning. As soon as the lot began hearing the sound of a sizzling skillet, Kurei came down the stairs, his mane an absolute mess and bags under his eyes.

“Tenmei,” Began the reddish earth pony, “I’d never envisioned us becoming horses.”

“When I first came here, I was in a scorching desert. Took me a while to realize I was one myself, and that I surrounded by them.” The tan pony replied with a faint smile. “That reminds me...I think I should pay another visit to Appleloosa next week.”

“Appleloosa?” Kurei asked, brow arched.

“The desert town I landed in. The ponies there were real nice folks. A bit rustic, but their kindness made up for that.” Tenmei replied, his grin widening.

“Oh.” The reddish pony nodded, rubbing his tired eyes with a hoof.

“Excuse me.” Imura sighed, stopping herself before she could collide into Kurei’s rear end during her descent.

“I’ll move, I’ll move…” The stallion murmured, finishing the flight and taking a seat at the table.

Imura’s mane looked brushed through, unlike the manes of the other three who just woke up. She descended the stairs in haste and flashed a smile at Yuuki. “Say, sis, could you show me around town later?” She asked, eyes brimming in wonder.

“Hell, I’ll take ya up to Cloudsdale!” The purple mare replied with a cheeky grin adorning her face.

“Cloudsdale?” The pink mare inquired, immediately arching a brow.

“Cloud city. It doubles as the Wonderbolt training grounds. The group Mimu landed in.” Yuuki answered, wings shifting.

“There’s a cloud city?” Kaze asked, looking at the purple pegasus as if she turned the hues of red and black.

“Yeah.” Nagare answered with a nod. “Me and Yuuki were taught the basics of flying up there. The pegasi over yonder control the weather nationwide.” He added, wings spreading for a moment. “Aside from the occasional asshat, it’s a real nice place.”

The younger, green earth pony blinked. “Riiiiight.” He said.

“So, how were you doing for the past ten years?” Imura asked, eyes once more brimming in curiosity.

“Eh...good.” Yuuki sighed, her smile fading a bit. “Aside from the nightmares I have at night.”

“Nightmares?” The pink mare inquired, blinking.

“You...don’t wanna know.” The pegasus replied, her smile finally turning into a frown.

Reina trotted down the stairs next, ears perked to attention. “About what?” She asked, blinking.

“About my bad dreams.” Yuuki answered swiftly, wings shifting in haste.

The mossy mare blinked, violet eyes swirling with concern. “We’ve not heard from you for ten years. Could you tell me and your sister about them?” She inquired, ears twitching.

“You...wouldn’t understand.” The pegasus answered, shuddering. “I...just don’t like speaking about my bad dreams.”

“How about this: we’ll talk about that subject in a few months’ time.” Nagare cut in sternly, looking down at the floor with narrowed eyes.

“I agree.” Tenmei stated, raising a hoof.

“Ditto.” Rekka concurred, mimicking the earth pony.

“Here, here.” Koto sighed, doing the same thing.

Reina blinked for a moment. “Very well.” She stated, trotting to the table and claiming a seat. “It’s been so long I envision a lot had happened during the last few years or so. It’d be quite a tale.”

“You’re right about that.” The red unicorn spoke, now smiling.

Koto sat on her rump and stretched her forelegs. “Has anything been happening back in Japan?” She asked.

“Ever since the Quartet vanished, the Task Force has...well, been doing other things. Headquarters said it was to keep the workers from getting lazy.” Reina answered. “Oh, and Tori insisted on bringing your possessions with him, as well as ours for some reason. What’s even weirder was that, since you all went and straight-up vanished, nothing was touched after.”

“Did he clean the dust off?” Nagare asked, brow arched.

“Yes he did. Made sure everything was spotless and working.” The mossy mare answered with a nod.

“And in boxes, right?” Tenmei asked, his brow also arched.

“Yep. Labeled, too.” The elder mare answered with another nod.

“Who wants what?” Kaguya called from the kitchen. “I’ve made sausage, bacon, and rolls so far!”

“Eggs!” Imura called back.

“Toast!” Kaze hollered.

“Orange juice!” Kurei answered.

Reina sighed. “Want to know what’s even stranger?” She asked, still looking at the visitors.

“Yes?” They asked in unison.

“When you vanished, practically everyone outside the Task Force seemed to have...forgotten you guys and the Frontier Quartet even existed.” The mossy mare answered, frowning. “And since it was so sudden, we...didn’t get answers as to why.”

Author's Note

I find this music fitting. I don't know why. Sorry I haven't been tending to this story as much as the redo of Arcane Shadow, kinda hit a roadblock again.

~Dragon

Chapter XIV- I'm Not Sure

The visitors exchanged worried glances with one another.

“Why is that?” Kurei asked, brow arched.

“I’m not sure.” Reina answered, shaking her head.

Kaguya trotted from the kitchen, balancing a big platter with plates and glasses on it. All sorts of breakfast items were on it, so much it looked like it would tip over any second. Koto trotted up to her and lifted the entire thing with her magic, placing it with care upon the table thereafter. “Thank you.” The white earth pony said, smiling.

“You’re welcome.” Koto replied, also smiling. The earth mare then trotted back to the kitchen, probably to arrange even more breakfast platters and drinks. Reina and Kaze and the other two dug in immediately, being careful to save some for the other sleeping ponies upstairs.

“I can smell the chow all the way from here!” Mimu chimed as she descended down the stairs, her mane frazzled a bit. She quickly made her way to the table and took a seat and plate before stuffing her muzzle full of food. “It’s good!” The pixie-winged mare remarked after downing a piece of toast with bits of egg on it.

“Indeed!” Kaze agreed with a nod, scarfing down a piece of sausage afterwards.

“So,” Imura started after rending a piece of toast asunder and swallowing it, “is this town a nice place?”

“Yeah. Very nice. I was lucky to land here in my first days.” Koto remarked, smiling faintly. “Had Nurse Redheart and Doctor Stable not helped me, I may not be here.”

“Why is that?” Aoi asked as she came down the stairs.

“Long story short...someone, and I don’t know who, decided to stab me in my left foreleg. Bone was fractured and poking out of the skin, and I was bleeding badly, from what the nurse told me.” The unicorn answered, grimacing at the thought.

Aoi cringed, the image of her sister’s wounded foreleg running through her mind. Her eyelids slanted in worry, and she looked like she was going to cry. “Did it hurt?!” She shrieked, her legs shaking.

“For a little while.” Koto answered, sighing. “But I got better.”

“But I thought Kaguya said something about this land being peaceful.” Reina remarked, turning to the unicorn with a brow arched.

“For all I know, I could’ve just landed badly. I remember falling from the sky before blacking out.” The unicorn replied, blinking.

“If that was the case, the crash should’ve killed you on impact.” Reina sighed, worry flashing in her eyes.

“For all five of us, I agree that should’ve been the case.” The green pegasus began, eyelids slanting. “But I wonder if something saved us before we could die.”

“Whatever the reason, I’m sure we wouldn’t be here had the miracle not happened.” The tan pony stated, ears twitching. “We just haven’t found the why yet.”

“I think it was absurd luck on our side.” The red-maned unicorn said, blinking. “I mean, it couldn’t have been anything else--Reina said so herself, we should all be dead by now; yet we aren’t.”

“But not even luck can explain such a circumstance, Rekka. We all know that.” The purple pegasus pointed out, wings twitching. “I’d like to think it was divine intervention.”

“You’re saying Celestia and Luna helped us land in a non-fatal manner?” Rekka asked, turning to the pegasus with a brow arched. “How could they have done that, with the royal duties piling on them day by day?” He retorted, frowning.

Yuuki winced. She fell silent as her mind worked out the words of the unicorn.

“He does have a point.” Tenmei agreed with a slow nod of his head, glasses glinting for a moment as he looked at the red unicorn. “Perhaps it was a few passerby who saw us descend?”

“Maybe.” Koto sighed, blinking as she exchanged a glance with the other visitors. “Nurse Redheart told me a few ponies toted me to the hospital while I was out cold.”

“Perhaps.” Nagare began again, raising a hoof for a moment. “But...even if passerby didn’t stop our fall, then what did?”

“Who knows? I certainly don’t.” Yuuki replied with a shrug as she glanced at her fellow pegasus. “Let’s just be glad we’re alive and we can see our siblings again. Not all ponies are as lucky as we are…” She trailed off, looking at Imura with worry flashing in her eyes.

“In that case, we should also be glad the Quartet isn’t running around fucking up everything in sight anymore.” The blue unicorn said rather harshly, eyes narrowing for the briefest of moments. “Think of the countless live they could’ve hurt had we not been there to stop all of their messes-in-the-making.”

“Heard they also threatened Celestia and Luna. If they had won…” Tenmei trailed off, cringing and closing his eyes, “ugh, I don’t even WANT to think about that.”

“I can’t blame ya. I swear, they got worse and worse until the princesses gave them the boot to Tartarus.” Rekka agreed, nodding his head as he turned to the earth pony.

“How much worse?” Reina asked, blinking.

“Let’s just say they began to resort to...violence.” The purple pegasus sighed, avoiding eye contact with the mossy mare.

Kaguya trotted into the room again, with more platters on her back. These were again removed by Koto and placed on the table. The white-pelted mare noticed the looks on the visitors’ faces, and she blinked. “Did we have a change in topic?” She asked.

“Into a rather...unsettling topic, yes.” The green pegasus answered with a hesitant nod of his head. “I was going to ask if we could change it, actually.”

“I’ll...go turn off the stove and wake everyone else up, then.” Kaguya sighed, once more trotting into the kitchen. The stovetop was still burning hot, and it was on. She trotted over to it and turned the switch for one of the eyes that was currently on.

The red of the eye faded, signalling that it was turned off. Another eye was shut off in short order, and for a moment, the mare’s ears had flattened.

“Should I tell Reina about what happened all those years ago?” She thought, turning off another eye. The mare inspected the stove, and sighed as she found all of the eyes successfully switched off. “Hell, would she even believe me at this point? Considering she’s still in her beginning weeks of being in Equestria and simply getting used to the laws which don’t apply to Japan?”

For a moment, all was quiet in the kitchen, save for the echoes of the bickering bunch at the table. And for a few moments more, Kaguya stood there, her mind scrambling every which-way it could, all the while her eyelids slanted and her ears flattened once more against her skull.

Chapter XV- Fabulous!

Author's Note

What kinda crack am I smoking? I discussed this with a collaborator who said I should go through with this chapter, so I went and did it. :pinkiecrazy:

~Dragon

Chapter XV- Fabulous!

Kaguya jumped upon hearing the silence of the kitchen broken with what sounded like a mare and a stallion shrieking in horror as an explosion shook the house briefly. She rushed to the living room and the sight the world threw at her made her mouth drop open, her eyes go wide, and her mind scramble more than it had been scrambled prior.

Thick smoke was clearing out from where Rekka and the other visitors stood, and everyone inside was coughing up a storm. As the smoke cleared, the forms of the visitors became clearer--the catch was, Yuuki and Koto were now stallions with shorter manes and Nagare, Rekka, and Tenmei were all mares with longer manes. As well as damn near hacking up lungs, the five choked out “Fuck!” and “Dammit!” every now and again until the smog finished clearing.

“What happened?!” Kaguya blurted out, her jaw twitching.

“I...I think I fucked up a spell!” Rekka gasped, coughing into his--no, her--hoof.

“My sister is now my brother…” Imura murmured, an irritated smile on her face and her eyes narrowed. One brow was arched more so than the other, and that corresponding eye was twitching.

“And my brother is now my sister…” Kaze agreed with more or less the same expression on his face.

“What...makes you say that?” Nagare choked, eyes watering despite the smog being gone with a rather high-pitched voice. Her eyes widened and a hoof quickly covered her mouth, wings shifting uncomfortably.

“You have a squeaky voice?” Tenmei asked with a smirk before covering her own mouth with a hoof, her face also complete with wide eyes.

“I...don’t recall magic making explosions…” Koto began, cringing and tucking his tail between his legs, “or changing genders…”

“What spell did you fuck up, fire ant?!” Yuuki barked, his eyes narrowing low as he glared at the red-maned-stallion-turned-mare.

The mare backed away, crimson eyes shrinking. “I-Illumination?” She squeaked, ears on her skull.

“That doesn’t explain the explosion, you spiced-up cheese puff!” The pegasus screamed, wings spreading menacingly wide.

Reina turned to her friend, a hoof pointed at the lot of visitors with her mouth hanging ajar. The white mare shrugged, ears twitching.

Nagare lowered her hoof, blinking. She took in some deep breaths to calm herself down, her still-reeling mind trying to assess the situation. “Let’s hope it wears off tomorrow.” She said, finally. The green pegasus was avoiding eye contact with everyone else.

“What if it’s permanent, pine tree?!” The purple stallion yelled at the top of his lungs, eyes turning red in anger as he turned to the emerald mare.

“I’m just not gonna take sides.” The tan mare mumbled under her breath, polishing her glasses in her hooves.

Nagare turned to her fellow pegasus, a smirk adorning her muzzle. A dark, smug smirk at that. Slowly, she rose a hoof, pointing it at the purple pony, clearing her throat for a moment. Quick as a whip she then moved to the purple pony and wrapped the same raised hoof around his neck.

“Ya have something to say?” Yuuki asked, a vein appearing on his forehead. “Spit it out already.”

“Someone’s FABULOUS!” The emerald mare jeered at the highest possible pitch of voice she could muster before she kissed his cheek and broke out into hysterical laughter. She moved away in haste as her giggle fit rocked her to the core, wings flapping madly and dislodging some feathers loose in the process.

Yuuki’s face began to turn crimson, steam blowing out his ears. “Alright, c’mere so I can kick your sorry ass, lawnmower!” He yelled.

“But I’m a mare, and you’re a stallion--you can’t hit me, Violet.” Nagare teased, easing up from her laughter.

“Not right yet I can’t.” The purple pegasus retorted, a dark smile adorning his own muzzle. “But just you wait until dusk falls…”

“Even so, you still lack something!” The green pegasus teased, her smug smile turning into a cheeky grin.

At that point, both were whacked upside the heads with Koto’s boomerang. “Both of you, can it.” He said, an eye twitching. “Right now. It’s bad enough as it is!”

“She--no, he’s--right, guys.” Rekka agreed, nodding her head up and down.

“What just happened?” Reina asked, turning back to the visitors whilst blinking.

“I have no damn clue! I just work here!” Kaguya answered, waving a hoof dismissively.

“What in the blazes is going on?” Takashi asked as he came down the stairs with Mimi, Kasai, and Tori in tow.

“I...botched a spell…” Rekka murmured, her legs shaking.

“You...botched a spell?” Takashi inquired, brow arched as he scratched his head with a hoof. Then, the fact the unicorn now had a high-pitched girly voice hit him like a brick, and his eyes went wide instantly. “WHAT SPELL DID YOU BOTCH TO BECOME A MARE?!” He cried, jaw hanging ajar afterwards.

“I-I just botched it, okay?!” The red-maned mare cried back, hanging her head in shame afterwards.

“Let’s hope it’s temporary.” Tenmei remarked, her forelegs crossed. “Otherwise...eugh…”

The blue unicorn groaned, a hoof connecting with his face. “I feel violated in so many ways thanks to the magical mishap…” He murmured, ears flat on his skull.

“As do I.” The purple pegasus agreed, wings shifting uncomfortably.

Nagare stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at Yuuki, who then promptly turned to look at her whilst growling like an angry dog defending a bowl of food. She held a green hoof to her muzzle and giggled back in a teasing manner, retracting her tongue in the process.

“I don’t know what to make of this anymore…” Kasai mumbled, shaking his head at the display he had just witnessed.

“I’m gonna take that mane of yours, and I’m gonna style the shit out of it!” The green pegasus mocked, sticking her tongue out once again.

“To what?” The purple stallion snarled, raising the hoof with the yo-yo strapped to it in a threatening manner.

“I’ll make it into an afro, and then it’ll be hot pink!” The mare replied, once more bursting out in frantic laughter.

Chapter XVI- Cold Wind

The group of gender-swapped five since went home in haste, given that so much arguing was sparked since one amongst them supposedly botched a spell of some sort. The hours passed, day gave way to night, and everyone went to bed.

Except for Aoi, who heard something between knocking and scratching coming from downstairs. The blue earth pony carefully crept around, silently cursing the lack of light as she felt her way towards the stairs. The sounds persisted as she descended the flight, and she paused to make sure her pike-hammer was secured to her body with a hoof.

The strap was strong and tight as ever.

For a moment, the scratch-knocking ceased, and the young mare winced. A shiver ran up and down her spine and her gut began to twist. Something was telling her to not approach the unseen source of the noise any further, to not open that front door from which the sound came. Slowly, though, her legs brought her closer and closer to the door.

And the door opened by itself as soon as she was in front of it, revealing a world of darks illuminated by an almost-full moon. Aside from houses and streets, she saw nothing of interest. The lone mare trotted outside into the street before pausing again, moving a hoof to check on her weapon.

It wasn’t strapped to her side. She glanced around frantically before spotting it discarded onto the floor of the house she just left. Before she could react, the door slammed shut, and something was blocking it.

Something with glowing red eyes. Next thing the mare knew, something slammed onto the back of her head and knocked her to the ground, a short-lived yelp of pain escaping her mouth as she passed out.

When she woke up, the mare found herself in a clearing of some kind. She glanced around, her head still throbbing in pain, finding trees upon trees surrounding said clearing. Foliage was thick, and the grass was just as dense beneath her.

She hastily rose, ears flat on her skull. “Where am I?” She squeaked, once more glancing around.

The forest failed to answer her.

Aoi cringed, her mind screaming at her to get the hell out of here. But how was she to do that, when she didn’t know where to go? For all she knew, she was stuck in an endless woodland of sorts, with only this one clearing and the deep navy skies above.

Her ears perked upon hearing the tell-tale sound of rustling bushes. An unusually cold wind blew past, agitating the bushes some more--as well as the rest of the forest. The mare’s eyes widened, her irises shrank, and she hastily glanced around. Her mind was scrambling, her legs were shaking, her breathing becoming more rapid and frantic by the second.

Then, the howling laughter sounded, two separate voices masculine and sinister. Another cold gust came and went with this laughter, once more stirring the canopy in its wake. The bushes ceased rustling as this second breeze weaved its way through the woodland, but it didn’t make the mare’s panic stop.

“W-Who’s there?!” Aoi cried, her jaw jittering as the forest once more kept quiet. That was when she saw something move in the darkness, but she could not for the life of her put her hoof on what it was. Somehow, the thing’s movements were silent, which should not have been possible with all of the thick shrubs that sprouted like weeds.

Another cold gust. Another set of voices laughing darkly. The mare’s heart was pounding like a jackhammer in her chest at this point, and she glanced around again. She held back a shriek as something towered over her.

Something shaped like a pony. A pony that had glowing red eyes.

“You remind me of someone…” It hissed as the young earth pony began to backpedal away quickly. It took a step towards her as yet another fleeting gale passed by, grass and fallen debris crunching under its hooves. “Someone I loathe…” The creature added as it took another step. “...And yet can’t help but admire for her natural beauty.” The thing finished, its eyes glowing a bit brighter now.

Aoi backed up into a tree, looking around frantically to try and find a way out. The forest offered her none, as if it hated her solely for existing. Another creature appeared, this one sporting glowing navy eyes.

“Well, now. Fresh prey. Should we tear the flesh from her bones?” The blue-eyed thing asked menacingly.

“That wouldn’t do. She’s so ripe for the picking, so to speak.” Answered the red-eyed being, glancing at its fellow creature.

The frantic mare swiveled her head around yet again, and this time, her legs finally acted. She bolted off into the dark woodland, branches swatting at her and thorns just barely cutting her as she went. The creatures hounded after her like wolves, hot on her heels as she fled. The darkness was what she hoped to have been both a saving grace and a curse: she couldn’t see, but she was also praying that the things couldn’t see her just the same.

How wrong she was to make that assumption. The things pounced on her as soon as they were within range, one set of hooves that she could’ve sworn was made of wood pinning her down. The other was pawing at her body, eventually prodding at her back legs and what was in between.

The set of hooves that was poking at her then grabbed her firmly by the tied locks of mane and tugged, forcing her to raise her head and earning a yelp from the hapless victim in the process. The other pair kept her pinned on the forest floor, unmoving even as she tried using her own front hooves to desperately shove them away.

Then she felt it--the feeling of something prodding at her young folds before entering the hole they concealed. Another feeling of being torn apart from within came with, and before long, the mare was crying out “Stop!” to no avail. Tears leaked from her eyes as the intruding object tore her up as it was shoved in all its entirety. Whatever it was, it was thick, splintery, and all-around agonizing.

The pair of hooves pinning her finally lifted as the ones grasping her by the mane moved in their place. She tried to cry out once more, but was stopped as a thick vine was wrapped tight around her muzzle by the other creature. Her front hooves were pinned firmly by the same set that held her in the first place, effectively rendering her attempts to call for help futile.

The creature behind her was spurred on by her pitiful attempts, laughing once more as it began to thrust its hips at a steady pace. The victim tried kicking her back legs, her vision beginning to blur from the onslaught of tears and pain.

No luck.

“As persistent as your sister, are we?” The red-eyed creature taunted, thrusting faster now. The mare instantly stopped squirming and gave her tormentor a frightened gaze. It looked back at her, and it chuckled. “Oh, yes, I had my fun with her too.” It stated coldly, and in that instant, Aoi began to writhe once again in an attempt to get away.

Her panicked mind was scrambling, her heart was racing, her rear legs fruitlessly pushing aside dirt and foliage like there was no tomorrow. She then felt hooves lash out upon her backside, a muffled cry resounding from her clamped muzzle with each strike. As the hooves connected again and again, as she was internally ripped to shreds, her struggles grew feebler and feebler.

Before too long, she finally fell unconscious, and so stopped moving as she was violated and thrashed relentlessly.