Knowing that the discovery of the scroll would soon be made news to the enemy the heroes quickly departed for the nearest city on their way to Canterlot; Stormpike City.

It was a city named after the mountain it was built upon and was home to the equestrian armies most loyal allies the Gryphons.

Though known to be prideful and ignorant towards other races the gryphons joined in the fight against the warg clans after hearing the many exploits of their soldiers including Stormwinds mother and father who helped establish relations between the two nations. Charm Caster was in charge of navigation while the others took a standard guard formation around her and Melody.

"Charm Caster. How long till we reach the city?"

Her brother asked sounding annoyed as she crumbled the ends of the map growling at him as he suddenly grew nervous and turning around keeping quiet while the others laughed Melody however seemed shy despite the friendly mood among them, Charm Caster noticed this and decided to break the silence with a little conversation.

"So Melody. How long have you been in the army?"

"Oh! Uh just a few months actually...I volunteered for the medic division so as not to worry my mom."

"That's nice."

The two became fast friends and were enjoying each others company when Storm Wind suddenly gave the signal to halt when the came upon a frightful sight; A caravan that had been recently attacked and among the bodies were fellow soldiers from Canterlot, it was clear that there were no survivors and much of the cargo was stolen save for a few crates of food scattered on the ground.

"let's salvage what we can."

Storm Wind turned to the others who nodded in agreement as they gathered the supplies before burying the dead on a nearby hill and returning to their journey, for a while things went silent again with the friends staying silent with some of their heads looking down at the dirt road in sadness after seeing more of their fellow ponies slain in battle.

"Let's make camp for the night."

"Where?"

"There."

Storm Wind pointed out an abandoned watch tower covered in vines and moss with much of the interior collapsed but despite its appearance it made for a perfect shelter as the sun began to set on the horizon.

No fire was lit that night as there was barely a breeze in the night air and the risk of exposure on the open road was too great after seeing the recent attack.

Archer was the first on the night watch since he was able to scale the fallen debris with ease reaching the top of the tower, he wore a hooded cloak to blend in with the towers shadows keeping his bow hidden with an arrow at the ready and while keeping watch his sister used her magic to bring him some food and drink which brought a smile to his face when suddenly a chilling howl was heard rousing the others from their sleep.

Storm Wind and Iron Forge took positions on different sections of the towers wall keeping their heads low as they looked around while Charm Caster prepared an invisibility spell for them in case they were spotted while Archer slowly drew his arrow back looking in the direction the howl came from and after a long watch a large pack of timber wolves appeared allowing them to give a sigh of relief as the first glimpse of dawn pierced the horizon.

Charm Caster rechecked the map to get a clear idea of were they were on the map and found a nearby stream along the road where they could refill their water supply while the girls took a refreshing bath, as the morning went on the boys refilled their flasks and the girls were surrounded by a shining barrier created by Charm Caster who was in a shallow part of the river bathing with Melody.

"Ahh...this is nice."

Sighed Melody as she stroked her cheek feeling the cool water caress her skin while across from her Charm Caster couldn't help but stare at her surprisingly large chest halfway in the water.

"Hey Melody can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"....Are those real?"

"W-WHAT?!?"

Her face turned to shock as she covered her chest, turning away from embarrassment while her friend covered her mouth laughing at her reaction.

"What? It's an honest question."

"I can't believe you'd ask that!!! the boys might hear us!"

"no they won't. This barrier is soundproof on the inside, we can hear them but they can't hear us so it's just us girls here."

Giving a friendly wink Melody started to let her guard down a little with the previous question still fresh in her mind while outside Storm Wind flew high up scouting for any signs of the enemy or another passing caravan they could use to make their journey to Canterlot faster but as he looked on he saw nothing but open plains and a clear sky.

Meanwhile The girls had finished bathing and were headed back to join the others while still having a friendly conversation.

"So Melody. How come you joined the army? I mean you probably have a special somepony waiting for you right?"

"I....I don't have a special somepony, at least not yet."

The statement surprised Charm Caster as Melody explained how most stallions only wished to romance her to gain a rank in their social status or to simply claim her as a prize, it seemed that Melodies love life was a sad one until she told her friend that one day an elite stallion of the Cloudsdale guard tried to force himself on her before she was saved by a young pegasus who took down the guard with nothing but his bare hands. That pegasus was Storm Wind.

Then a look of joy overcame Charm Caster as she grabbed Melody looking her straight in the eye with determination.

"That settles it! we're going to make Storm Wind your man!"

Holding her close Charm Caster pointed to Storm Wind with a devilish grin on her face before Melody pushed her away protesting.

"Are you crazy?!?"

"Melody think about it! You were separated from him all these years only to be reunited with him again, This is true love!"

Needless to say Charm Caster was a fanatic about romance and had been a long time fan of fictional romance but before they could proceed any further with their discussion a howl was heard as Storm Wind flew up for another look this time seeing a large warg pack hot on their heels.

"MOVE!! RUUUN!!!"

The group scrambled for their gear and ran as fast as they could through the plains hearing the sound of snarling and barking behind them as Archer turned around to fire off an occasional shot trying to slow their advance but it seemed to make them angrier as their pace quickened.

"Don't waste your arrows! keep moving!"

Storm Wind yelled as they came upon the edge of a forest.

Pausing for a moment Charm Caster had taken a good look at the forest before them and instantly recognized it before running in telling the others to follow.

"We have to separate! it's the only way to loose them!"

"Alright! Iron Forge you're with me! We'll be the bait! Archer you go with your sister and Melody!"

The group did as they were told and took separate directions while Iron Forge and Storm Wind made their stand on a small hill with weapons drawn.

While the fighting was taking place Archer and the others found themselves being pursued by a small number of wargs that broke off from the rest of the pack, using what arrows he had left Archer joined his sister in one last attempt to slow them down but their numbers proved too great and were soon surrounded.

Snarls and growls were heard all around as Melody cringed with fear while Charm Caster readied another magic blast when out of nowhere a series of lightning bolts followed other forms of magical attacks began to bombard the enemy forces causing them to scatter in fear while Storm Wind and Iron Forge saw the smoke and grew concerned as they ran over their fallen foes.

"Well that was exhilarating."

Said an elderly voice coming from the smoke as Iron Forge arrived first on the scene to see the others staring in shock with Storm Wind right behind him.

"Guys what are you...staring...at..."

"Hello there!"

The group was standing in disbelief, before their very eyes stood one of the greatest unicorn mages in history; Star Swirl The bearded himself.

The End.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD0J4GfQeGY

A little something to go along with the story.