Wrath of My Righteous Little Ponies

Once sleep had finally come to the unicorns they slept so long, deeply, and dreamlessly that their bodies ached with stiffness when they finally roused themselves. The mayor wouldn’t let anyone wake them, but once the sound of their stiff movement and long, loud yawning groans could be heard through the floorboards she and Granite who had been waiting over an hour made their way upstairs and greeted Gold and Twilight a pleasant awakening.

Gold still found herself surprised by the unique forms the mongrel ponies came in. Granite was a pony who looked like they were made entirely of stone, with a thick rough furless hide with cracks spread across every inch of their body. Half-moon shaped tumors protruded from the top and bottom of Granite’s spine taking the place of a mane and tail and looked just as much like stone as the rest of them. Neither of the unicorns could guess the healer’s gender. Even their voice was neutral both in tone and indication of sex. Like Granite’s voice, their face remained set in a neutral expression, thought compassion could be seen behind the neutral stare of Granite’s eyes.

Granite repeated the mayor’s sentiment that there was little they could do for Gold’s leg, but noted also that given the makeshift nature of the splint it was very well done. Granite replaced it regardless, taking care to cut the wood used to make the splint down to fit the length of her leg perfectly. To Gold, it didn’t feel any different, holding her just as well as the one Cranky had made, but it itched less.

Examining Twilight next, Granite noted that the bandages were less than ideally clean for wrapping wounds, but once they had them all removed Granite could see that it hadn’t mattered. The healing potions had done their job perfectly and beneath the bandages was little more than scar tissue with a slight irritation.

Gold had turned away before Granite had finished taking off the bandages, she still couldn’t bring herself to look at her friend’s horribly scarred face. The mayor gave her a reassuring smile; she was sure that if Twilight could see the discomfort on Gold’s face she wouldn’t have held her discomfort against her.

“I can give you some ointment for the rash, but I don’t think bandaged will be necessary.” Granite explained pulling a bottle from their medical saddle bag.

“I’d like it re-wrapped if that’s alright,” Twilight said softly her voice lined with pain. Catching herself Twilight tried to perk up and added with a weak laugh, “I’m probably not much to look at with… this across my face.”

“Very well,” Granite easily relented and pulled a roll of bandages from their bag. Granite applied the ointment and rewrapped the scar giving Twilight another application of the ointment and advising her to reapply it when she next wakes up if the rash persisted.

Gold pulled on the last of her barding tugging at it in places trying to get it to settle into a comfortable position. She could sleep in her barding if necessary, but it was never truly comfortable. She turned to see the Mayor helping Twilight put her robes back on, a much more troublesome task for the blind mare than taking them off had been. “Is Cranky awake yet?”

“I don’t know dear, he came back barely an hour before you woke up, I’m not even sure he’s asleep.” Ivory Scroll answered with the annoyed grunts of mother trying to dress an unruly child.

Gold gave a low groan and shook her head, “I’ll go check on him, we’re not going to wait just because he couldn’t be bothered to sleep.”

“Shall I examine him as well?” Granite asked stepping out of the room ahead of Gold.

Gold shook her head, “No he’s fine, thank you, Granite, for everything.”

“I wish I could have done more,” Granite said without a hint of remorse in their tone and retreated down the stairs without another word.

Gold went the opposite direction, a few steps down the hall the other direction coming to the door that the Mayor had indicated was Cranky’s. Despite her earlier annoyance, she knocked rather gently on the door and gave a soft call, “Cranky are you awake?”

“Ya I’m awake, get in here, the door doesn’t lock,” The donkey’s gruff voice snapped through the door smashing Gold gentleness and causing the unicorn’s ears to fall and a frown to spread across her face. Still, she did as he asked pushing open the door and stepping into the room.

Gold’s shot wide and she shook her head and looked again feeling as though the sight had been a trick. When she looked again, however, Cranky still stood there, his fancy clothes replaced by the fine chain shirt he’d taken from the cultist. His hoof blades had been joined now by a buckler strapped to his other leg. Cranky paused fiddling with his collar and turned to look at Gold, “Are you mares finally ready to go.”

“Ahh, ya.” Gold nodded then shook herself out of her stunned expression and shot back. “Did you get any sleep?”

“Yer not my mother, so don’t worry about how much I sleep I get. Let me worry about you, speaking of which.” Cranky marched back over to his bed, which had obviously not been slept in, and grabbed a bundle of arrows. He marched over to Gold and shoved them into her chest, releasing them, and forcing her to take them in her magic. “Here, they’re enchanted so save them for something with a real thick hide.”

Gold examined the eight arrows in her magic’s grip noting their fine craftsmanship and the faint glow each exuded marking their magical nature. As she slid them into her quiver Gold gave Cranky a smile, “Thank you Cranky, I-”

“Look kid, where that mayor is sending us… things are going to get bad.” Cranky seemed to be looking everywhere but at Gold and the unicorn gave a deep frown at the behavior concern playing through her eyes. Despite his efforts, Cranky jaw quivered as he spoke and his words grew less steady. “If it, if you have to run. I want you to… to…” Cracky almost growled in frustration at his own inability to speak.

Gold stepped up to the old stammering donkey and gently touched a hoof to her shoulder, “Cranky… No matter what I promise I won’t leave you behind. We’re going to get through this, I promise.”

Cranky clenched his jaw had setting it steady and gave a snort. “Well you better, and if comes down to it, you better save me. I’m far more important than some blind mare.” Cranky snapped without a hint of hesitation in his voice.

Gold smiled, “Of course Cranky anything you say.”

Cranky snorted and roughly pushed past Gold stepping out into the hallway, Twilight and Ivory Scroll paused coming out of the unicorns’ room. Twilight’s ears twitched curiously at the unfamiliar sound of Cranky’s movement as he marched down the hall towards them. “Good morning Cranky,” The mayor greeted her eye moving to Twilight when she spoke seeing the unicorn’s ears perk up.

Cranky snorted at her greeting and moved up to Twilight. With his shield hoof, he pulled something from under his barding and shoved it gently to Twilight's chest. With a curious twitch of her ears, Twilight’s horn glowed and she took the item, an amber gem, in her magic. She felt the cut of the gem and held it up to her ear giving a small gasp, “This is a- Cranky where did you find this?”

“Never mind that,” He snorted hotly, “Just remember to use it if you get in trouble.”

“Cranky I- Thank you.” Twilight tucked the gem under her robes where it would be safe and secure even if they had to run, as Gold finally stepped up to join them again.

“Come now let’s not stand around any longer, you three need some breakfast before your journey.” Ivory Scroll said in a slightly strained cheerful tone and gently guided Twilight down the stairs. They ate little of the assortment of fungus and moss that was grown by the mongrels for food. The food was not bad though it’s foreign muddy taste was a poor substitute for the fresh dewy grass and sweet flowers that they craved and even their stomachs seem concerned with worries beyond food. Conversation was much the same, what small talk would be appropriate at such a table on such a morning?

Afterward, they made a solemn march through the town, once more rode across the lake, to another large door simply marked exit. Ivory Scroll commented absently that there were a dozen such doors around Ponyville, beyond the light of their horns.

“You’re not going to leave without saying goodbye are you,” A familiar voice called out and from the darkness stepped Leafie and Snakebite. Leafie had a great wide smile across his green muzzle and is unusual eyes seemed to sparkle with delight, Cranky snorted upon seeing him. Snakebite had a softer more subdued grin and worry played through his eyes.

Twilight’s ears twitched curiously at the unfamiliar, but not totally forgotten voice. “Snakebite I thought you would be gone already.” Gold said stepping up to the half-reptilian pony, Cranky grinned smugly at the way Leafie’s ears curled like dry leaves rather than folding, in disappointment.

“We’ll be leaving as soon as you are gone,” Snakebite nodded to Leafie who perked up when Gold glanced over at him for the first time. “I just wanted to say goodbye and thank you again for helping Spiller… and apologize for not being able to help you in return.

Gold shook her head, “We would have gotten lost in the spore-cougher’s den if it were for you, that was more than enough.” Gold smiled gently giving him a soft look, but Snakebite’s eyes just fell downcast and she could see him chewing his lip.

Silence filled the air for several second as both failed to find a way to reassure the other. The mayor broke the silence, at last, presenting a small sack that jingled and clanked as she held it out to Gold. “Here, to aid you as we agreed.”

Gold took hold of the bag in her magic and opened it. Nine vials of potions flew out in a line by her magic each with a tag wrapped tightly around their necks marked with neat script. With barely a glance at the labels, Gold flipped open her saddle bags and the vial split apart into rows of five and four which deposited themselves in separate bags. The now empty bag folded itself and flew back to the mayor to took in and tucked it away before offering a simple, “Good luck,” no more able to find a reassuring word than Gold and Sankebite had been.

Leafie and Snakebite pushed the door open as Gold distributed the potions in her bags and with more muttered goodbyes and grumbling from Cranky they left disappearing into the dark of the tunnel. When they were beyond even the mongrel’s thermal sensitive vision Snakebite finally spoke, hissing through clenched teeth, “You should have let me go with them.”

“You are already derelicting your duty by waiting so long for them to leave, which delays the entire war effort.” The mayor answered rather coldly but her eye softened when it turned to look at him. “You have to have faith, Gold and Twilight are strong and Cranky will protect them.”

“I’m as worried about what he’ll do as I am about the traitors. You should have seen that donkey conduct business, he was vicious. I thought he was going to convince Moss Star to pay him for those arrows and have you even known Amethyst to accept an IOU from any from anyone. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that donkey sold them out at the first opportunity for safe passage to the surface.”

“He wouldn’t live to regret it,” Leafie interjected in a sage tone, but his darkly narrowed eyes suggested it was more than a passing observation.

Ivory Scroll looked down the pitch blackness of the tunnel again for a long moment before saying, “Have faith, and attend to your duties!” she added sharply before turning away to make her way back to her town.

Snakebite and Leafie exchanged a defiant, hopeful, but ultimately questioning look, before reluctantly closing the massive doors sealing their new friends' path.

After ten minutes of trotting down the new tunnel, Cranky was still lagging behind Gold and Twilight, his head hung limply and his breathing labored though he kept it quiet. Cranky’s efforts did little to hide his panting from Twilight sharpened ears. Finally, she stopped, her body turning with her ears to face Cranky, “Cranky are you going to be all right? Our schedule isn’t so tight we can’t stop for a while so you can rest.”

Cranky snorted, “I’m fine!”

“No, you’re not,” Gold cut in looking the heaving form of the donkey over with a frown. After a moment one of the flaps of her saddle bag lifted open and one of the potions flew out, the tag wrapped around it marked it as ‘Lesser Restoration’. “Drink this, it should help.”

Cranky started to object, “Just do it!” Gold snapped cutting him off. With a grumble, Cranky took the vial in hoof, pulled the stopper out with his teeth, spitting it on the ground not caring to preserve it, and gulped down the medicine-like liquid and tossed the vial which also smashed to the ground. Cranky gave a shiver and shook his head, but when he looked back up at the mares the heavy bags under his eyes had been wiped away completely.

“Great that’s one less of that mayor’s potions to get us through this damn suicide mission,” He spat angrily with renewed vigor.

“Come on Cranky, don’t talk like that, we can make it. We just need a plan.” Twilight assured, though there was little optimism in her tone.

“How can we make a plan when we can’t even get inside their base?”

“We’ll get in with this,” Gold said at last and pulled one of the emerald scales she had pulled from the collapsed wall from her pack. “It can disguise us as mongrel ponies, we’ll slip in as fellow traitors and once we know what we’re up again we’ll take them out.”

“How are we supposed to convince them we’re traitors, we can’t ever speak that gibberish they call a language.” Cranky snapped back shaking his head.

Gold remained relaxed and smiled slyly at the donkey, “Come on Cranky that can’t be the hardest sale you’ve made today.”

Cranky turned back to her with a frown, but though it twitched in protest his mouth curled up slightly in a shared grin.