Lyra’s aerial journey was spent drawing up a very detailed design. A design she memorized thousands of years ago of a certain stone mask. Finding the stone mason was a surprisingly easy task. The Badlands was home mostly to wild beasts and Diamond dogs that dwelled beneath the surface. Only a single, small equine settlement exists here. Finding the workplace of a hermit pony in such a barren landscape from up above is a fairly easy task. Diamond Dogs tend to avoid contact with surface dwellers. Only on rare occasions will they attempt to capture an equine they deem useful and only if they are more than certain that they can overpower the equine. Because of their reluctance to engage stronger beings in combat unless absolutely necessary, only two Minotaurs on the planet have ever encountered a Diamond Dog through random chance. These encounters, however, were completely unremarkable.

Having reached her destination late in the night, Lyra drained her host of fluids and left the dried husk in the hot air balloon. She leapt off the balloon and let it continue its lonely journey while she plummeted to the ground. Dusting herself off, she approached what she assumed to be the stone mason’s workplace. A small, humble building. A single hole in the wall next to the door served as the only window to the concrete abode. Lyra prepared to knock at the door, only to hear the sound of footsteps approaching from inside. The door opened, revealing a tall, muscular unicorn stallion wielding a bulky hammer in his right hand. Despite his intimidating appearance, the light blue stallion did not appear to be aggressive. He locked eyes with the naked buxom mare holding a piece of paper in front of him. He looked around and raised an eyebrow.

“Tell me young mare. Am I dreaming?”

“No. You are awake.”

The stallion rubbed his eyes and shook his head, steadying his gaze on the mare again, “Well this is new. Care to explain yourself?”

Lyra offered the piece of paper to the stallion, “You are a stone mason, correct? I’d like you to make something for me.”

The stallion lazily grabbed the paper and squinted at the paper, “Give me a moment, would you?”

He went back into his house, closing the door behind him and leaving Lyra outside. A light sprang to life from inside. After a moment, he emerged back outside still holding the paper.

“Well little lady, this may be one of the strangest requests I have ever received in my lifetime.”

“Can you do it?”

The stallion nodded, “Obsidian Henge, at your service. I’ve seen something like this in a book before. It was some kind of mask used in some kind of old, ancient ritual long long ago.”

“You’ve seen this before?”

Obsidian nodded, “Yes indeed. Researching old ancient stonework is a hobby of mine. Archaeologists all over Equestria make the job of finding these much easier for me as well. I make the journey every year to Canterlot to see what new wonders they’ve found. But enough about that. I believe can have this done for you in two days. And just for the honor of recreating one of these beauties, I’ll do it for free.”

Lyra practically beamed with happiness, “Thank you so much, sir.”

“Yes, yes, now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to sleep for the night. I’m sorry, but I’m not equipped to house guests.” He yawned and put a hand on the door knob, “Come back in two days and it will be done.”

“Will do. Have a good night, Obsidian.” Lyra walked off after the unicorn had retreated back into his house. She observed the rocky terrain surrounding her. She was giddy with anticipation. She only had wait two more days.

Daring sat at a table with a glass of water, eyeing the patrons of the bar and the door like a hawk. Topaz was a small village in the Badlands, mainly a mining settlement. Ponies shared a sizable portion of land with a cooperative community of Diamond Dogs that shared their mines and labor, splitting their gains equally in exchange. While Diamond Dogs were built for digging, they had no real way to locate gems underground. On the other hand, ponies had magic and other tools that allowed them to do just that. Through the combination of their efforts, the settlement Topaz was formed.

Daring had no interest in simple gems. Glass Case had sent for a friend to assist her in defeating the ancient mare. He was also, to her knowledge, pulling strings to provide more aid. It had been a day since she had arrived. She had recently learned the location of the stone mason that Lyra would most likely be seeking out. She sighed and went to the restroom. Upon her return, she found most of the ponies in the bar were huddled around the windows and door, focused on some commotion going on outside. Daring approached the three ponies near the door, peering over them to see what the fuss was about.

“There’s a good ol’ fashion fight a’brewin.” One of the stallions told her.

“Figures. Quake is always looking for a fight, ornery bastard. My money’s on him.” Said another.

“Ha! I’ll drop thirty bits on the new guy! He looks like he’s got somethin’ up his sleeve!” Yelled a stallion from the left window.

The ponies in the bar started chattering some more and betting on who would win. Another pony was already working on collecting everyone’s bets into two hats.

One of the ponies outside, a red earth pony stallion wearing an exotic face mask, held his palms out in front of him, “I don’t want any trouble and I really don’t want to hurt you.”

The other pony, a gruff, brown earth pony stallion, raised his clenched fists, “You think you’re tough too, eh? Alright then. Let’s see if you can hurt me. Come ‘ere ya punk!”

The angry stallion charged in with a raw haymaker. The masked stallion dodged, grabbing his opponent’s arm and shoving him further ahead. The angry stallion stumbled a bit but regained his footing, turning around to face the masked stallion.

“Oy, calm down! All I said was you should really wash your clothes. Just look at them. How can you walk around with so much dirt on them? It’s like you have entire ant hills on your pants.” The masked stallion pointed at the angry stallion’s dirt covered shirt and jeans.

This only angered him further. He charged blindly forward again, aiming to grab the masked stallion. The masked stallion took a deep breath and charged forward as well, ducking down just before his opponent could make a move, grabbing at the angry stallion’s waist and throwing him over his shoulders and onto his back. The angry stallion growled and pulled himself back to his feet. The masked stallion was dancing back and forth on his feet, finally dropping all thoughts of ending the conflict peacefully. The enraged pony charged him a third time. The masked stallion ran towards the bar, leaping towards a wooden post. He took a deep breath as he soared through the air, energy suddenly crackling in his feet.

As he landed on the wooden post, the energy began surging through it causing it to bend almost like rubber. The post bent back to its original position, flinging the masked stallion towards his opponent. He landed on the angry stallion’s shoulders and locked his legs around his neck. He thrust a finger towards the sky for a brief moment, then thrust his body back, forcibly yanking his opponent’s forward. Using the momentum, he planted his hands on the ground and swung his opponent up and over with his legs, slamming him into the ground. The masked stallion ran towards the bar one more time, determined to knock out his opponent before he got up and made a fool of himself again. He leapt at the wooden railing outside the window and channeled Ripple energy, causing the wood to bend again. Flinging himself in the air with a spectacular backflip, he spun around body slammed the angry stallion, knocking the wind out of him and knocking him out cold. He stood up and thrust his hands up, pointing up at the sun.

Daring stepped outside as everyone in the bar erupted into cheers and jeers, the sound of bits clattering on wood and metal could be heard amongst the chaos.

“So, you’re the friend that Glass called in?”

The masked stallion dropped his arms examining at Daring for a moment. “That I am, young lady.” He proudly pounded his chest, “I am, La Herradura Voladora! Wrestling hero of Mexicolt! I aim to bring the glory and honor of the ring to all of Equestria!”

Daring nodded slowly, a bit taken aback her new, loud companion. Daring took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. With no warning, Daring launched a punch aimed at the luchador’s stomach. He puffed out his chest and curled his arms out to the side, flexing as he exhaled as well. Ripple energy surged from Daring’s fist and the luchador’s stomach.

“You’re control is good. But you’re lacking a bit in potency. But from what I was told about you, you have definitely improved within the last few days. I actually have to put in a little bit of effort to keep you at bay.” Daring relaxed and pulled her arm back, “It’s a shame you don’t have time to hone your technique.”

Daring shrugged and extended her hand to the luchador, “The name’s Daring Do. Your name’s a bit of a mouthful. What’s your real name?”

The luchador gave Daring’s hand a firm shake, “Were we to meet under other circumstances, senorita. A true wrestler of Mexicolt never removes his mask or reveals his identity.”

“For the sake of keeping things simple, I’m just going to call you, Sparky.” She released his hand and slowly started walking down the road with him in tow, “What do you know about this?”

“We are to kill a very dangerous mare. I was told she is capable of impossible feats and can only be killed by sunlight or the Ripple.”

Daring nodded, “That’s the basic gist of it alright. She’s stolen a precious jewel and is now looking for a stone mason. I have no clue what she’s trying to accomplish and I don’t think I want to find out.”

Sparky held out a hand and pounded it with his fist, “Right. Do we know where she is?”

Daring led the luchador to a small inn, “Not exactly. We have a few ideas right now and we have a few Diamond Dog scouts keeping watch. If they catch sight of anything odd, they’ll let us know as soon as possible. And in the event they die before they can report back to us, the Griffons have lent us something. They each have a little magic resonator crystal attached to their chests. It monitors their heart beat. It sends a signal back to a receiver I have in my room here. If their hearts stop beating or for whatever reason the crystal is removed or destroyed, the other crystal it resonates with stops sending a signal.”

“Ah. And that will lead us to her.”

“Yes.” Daring said as she closed the door to her room. She went over to the nightstand where a small metal machine with three small bulbs rhythmically blinking red. Under each blinking bulb was a label with coordinates. “That’s the easy part. Once we know where she is, we have to deal with her alone. We would have more of us here but we can’t get ahold of them or they just didn’t believe us.”

“Let us get some food then. She cannot move during the day. Until we find her, we eat and I will help you practice.”

The previous night had been painfully boring in the Badlands. A lone Diamond Dog, peeked his head out from the side of a cliff overlooking the barren landscape and lone house. The paint on his face made him near impossible to see unless one was already aware he was there, especially in the dark of night. On the outside, he was but a head sticking out of the rock. On the inside, he was just lying flat on his stomach. No matter how capable Diamond Dogs were at staying up for long periods of time, doing so while laying down with almost no activity for hours on end made one very sleepy. He had a beverage in his tunnel that he occasionally drank to perk him up for awhile, but it was starting to lose its effect. Yet another night of nothing.

Until someone finally appeared. A naked, well-endowed mare came out from behind the house he was observing and knocked on the door. The mare’s appearance was just as described.

“Oh shit.” The Diamond Dog muttered under his breath. He watched her speak with someone. The pony in the house handed the mare something. A minute passed and the man retreated back into his house. The mare spun around, holding the mask up above her, marveling at its design.

“Oh shit. I need to signal them.” The Diamond Dog muttered again. His hands, somewhat limited in movement due to his current position, reached into his pockets to retrieve something. Once the device was in his hand, his body went limp. The rock that had just pierced his skull killed him instantly.

Lyra glared up at the cliffside. After hearing the Diamond Dog’s desire to signal presumably Daring Do and more Ripple users, she pushed aside her desire to toy with him. She had less than an hour before the sun started to rise. They were the last thing she needed right now.

Using a Griffonian jeep, Daring and Sparky ventured further into the Badlands. Unable to locate or contact the Diamond Dog in the area, Daring could only assume he had been killed. Daring took to the sky while Sparky continued on in the jeep. Daring flew above the dilapidated ruins of a small shrine, once dedicated to the worship of a dragon. The shrine now consisted of old dusty marble flooring with pillars lining the edges. Each pillar had spikes littered on the sides of the pillar facing inside the shrine. On one end of the roofless rectangular ruins was a broken statue. The original shape of the statue could no longer be determined. Atop a broken pillar, sat the minty green mare. Lyra looked up, to her dismay, to find Daring Do circling the ruins from high above. The sounds of an engine soon followed.

Lyra glared up at the pegasus, “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

Daring Do landed on the ground while Sparky came to a stop beside her, “I don’t know what you’re planning, but knowing you, it can’t be good. We either stop you here or die trying.”

Lyra smirked at the burly luchador, “Cute speech. And you brought another snack for me. Just how many of these do you intend to throw at me?”

The luchador pounded his chest, “I am La Herradura Voladora! Wrestling hero of Mexicolt! Tonight, the only thing you will have is the bitter taste of defeat!”

“My goodness, this one is beyond eccentric.” Lyra commented, genuinely taken aback, “At least the zebra could control the volume of his voice.”

The luchador leapt from his spot next to Daring, landing within the ring of pillars. Daring removed a long rope hanging from her waist and flew around the shrine, looping the rope all around it and tying it together. She took a deep breath and grasped the rope. Surging a Ripple through the rope, she started lifting the entire loop of rope up along the pillars.

“These ruins will be our ring!” Sparky gestured to rope looping around the pillars, now forming a makeshift wrestling ring. Daring watched from the outside, holding onto the rope and keeping a steady surge of Ripple energy flowing through the rope. Lyra seemed irritated by this.

Sparky backflipped onto the rope behind him, balancing on it and pointing at the mare, “¡Vengan a coger estas manos!” He bounced up on the rope, causing only the section of rope beneath his feet to temporarily dip down, and catapulted himself up. He crossed his arms together and dove at Lyra, charging his arms with Ripple energy. Lyra rolled under to dodge the attack. The luchador immediately rolled to his feet upon landing and backed up into the rope, using Ripple energy to cause it to pull further back. The rope snapped back, thrusting him towards the green mare with his arm out to clothesline, an attack she leapt away from. Lyra looked over at Daring Do, holding the rope from the outside and keeping a steady stream of Ripple energy flowing through it as well as keeping a hand ready at her waist. Daring seemed to have a plan ready in case of an escape attempt. With the luchador cautiously approaching, Lyra took one last moment to look at the horizon behind her. The sun would be rising very soon.

“I’d say you have mere minutes before the sun rises and erases you from this land. You might want to find a place to hide.” He pointed out as he slowly closed in on her.

Lyra grit her teeth and faced the masked threat. For the first time since her transformation, she started to fear a little for her life. The Luchador took a deep breath and rushed towards the mare, sliding at her feet. Lyra leapt over the attack. Sparky immediately rose to his feet and jumped onto the rope in front of him, catapulting him towards her location and spread his limbs out to body splash her. Lyra continued to run and keep her distance. Failing to hit, he quickly sprung to his feet again and charged towards her. Rather than go for another flashy attack, he opted to stay in close range and lashed out at her with quick chops and punches. Lyra was backed against a pillar. With limited options and still fearing a potential attack from Daring Do, Lyra reached behind her, ripping one of the spikes off the marble pillar behind her and slashed at the luchador’s neck. He backflipped away in the nick of time and quickly lurched to the side just in time to see the same spike whizz right past his eye.

Lyra took a chance and charged at him, reading a punch aimed at his stomach. Daring lashed out from behind the rope with her whip, aiming for her arm. Lyra stumbled back, quickly pulling her arm away and backing away from the whip. Sparky, having regained his footing, dashed forward with a series of deadly chops. Lyra was forced to back towards the statues and rubble. Daring pulled two knives from a pouch on her waist, filled them with Ripple energy and loosed them at Lyra’s back. Lyra panicked, stopping her movement and pushing her upper body forwards a bit to avoid the knives. Sparky leapt forward, spinning his body a bit and pulling his legs back and thrust out with a might dropkick. Lyra had no choice but to raise her left arm to block the brunt of the attack. She was blown back into the statue. She crashed through, dislodging the broken down statue from the ground and crashing into the rubble. Her body was impaled on the many spikes adorning the statue’s form, her face twisted in pain. Ripple energy surged through her left arm, quickly burning through and melting the flesh. The remaining bones crumbled and fell to her side.

Sparky cracked his knuckles and approached, ready to deliver the final blow when something caught his attention. He turned around and notice the light of the sun rapidly creeping up. The sun was rising. He thrust his arm to the sky, celebrating their victory. He and Daring turned back to face the defeated mare. Lyra still laid impaled upon the statue, now wearing a stone mask with the Aja embedded in an indent in the forehead. The two noticed a disturbance in the rubble around her near her right arm. She had hidden the mask in the rubble.

As the sunlight washed over her body, her skin started to sizzle a little. Once the sunlight struck the Aja in the mask, a blinding light erupted from the stone. Thick spikes erupted out from the sides of the mask, wrapping all around her head and piercing into the back of her skull. Lyra’s upper body lurched forward slightly as the spikes dug into her. The light continued to shine brilliantly from the Aja for a minute before finally dying out. Lyra’s body sunk back against the statue and much to the added concern of Daring and Sparky, her skin no longer seemed to be sizzling.

Daring grit her teeth and readied another knife, muttering an obscenity under her breath. Sparky carefully watched the spectacle, unsure of what to expect next. Lyra slowly rose up, the spikes breaking off from the statue and remaining lodged in her body. The mask broke into pieces that fell to the ground along with the Aja. She appeared somewhat dazed and had a look of pure ecstasy on her face as she seemed to gaze off into the distance...

Author's Note

So! Why did this take so long? Well, early on it was general procrastination because of Smash 4 practice, Breath of the Wild, Super Bomberman R and other video games. But then I hit CEO Dreamland and shortly after that, I moved out. Sure, there was some time settling into to my new place, but to be fair to you guys, I took a ridiculously long time doing that. Either way, huzzah, it's here... and it's a cliffhanger... and not particularly cloppy at all... Here's hoping I don't take so damn long with the next one. ...I'll try my damndest to not do so...

In unrelated news, bruh, fight me in Super Bomberman R, ah fuckin dare you! (Can't wait for Vic Viper and Simon Belmont!) I'll also fight people in Smash 4.