Badlands

The faint green glow of Whisper's magic gave the dark forest an even creepier atmosphere as the four heroes walked through the underbrush.

"Why didn't we wait until morning?" Bevel asked.

Marduk shrugged, though in the dim light, nopony else could see, "woulda been just as dark. The trees are thick along here. Plus, cockatrice are nocturnal."

"Relax," Whisper added, "I've been to the Everfree Forest plenty of times. Just keep your eyes and ears open."

"Easy for you to say," the pegasus replied, "you have magic, and a talent for staying unseen," there was a moment when nopony spoke. They just walked. Sticks and leaves crunched under their hooves. The crow of cockatrice could be heard farther in, "how much longer will we be here?"

Pot Pie fell back a pace to walk beside Bevel, "they sound like they're pretty close. Maybe ten minutes more to get to them," he readjusted the hammer on his back, "so, what did you learn about that machine... what did you call it?"

His attempt at distracting her worked, "let's call it a... motorbike?" she shrugged. Again, nopony could tell in the dark, "and it's pretty ingenious, though poorly constructed. It draws power from a magically infused crystal to move the wheels. A system of regulators allows the driver to adjust the power output to change the speed. It even had a way to overload the crystal for a shot time for a massive speed boost. I wouldn't recommend it, though. The crystals they used were cheap and weak. Probably would break after just a couple boosts."

"Do you think you can rebuild it?"

She scoffed, "if I take something apart, I can rebuild it. The problem is the design. It's built for a bipedal creature, like those pigs, or Capper. A pony would find them very uncomfortable, and unsteerable with hooves," she held up her hooves as she flew, as if fumbling with the handlebars, "Marduk might manage with his claws, or me with my wingtips, but it would still be awkward."

"Why not redesign it?" Pot suggested, "like a powered chariot or sand-skiff?"

Bevel was quiet a moment as she rebuilt the vehicle in her mind, "possibly. We might need a larger crystal, though, for the extra wheels and weight. Unless..." her eyes wandered to Whisper's horn.

The unicorn took notice as her magic reflected in the pegasus' eyes, giving them a literal gleam, "my eyes are down here, Bevel."

"We could power the vehicle with your magic, directly. Do you think you could handle that?"

Whisper shrugged. None of them had realized yet how useless that motion was, "probably, but let's worry about that when we get back. Right now I'd rather focus on not being turned to stone by a cockatrice."

Another silence fell a moment before Bevel spoke again, "do we really have to kill them?"

Marduk sighed, "think of it this way, Bevel. If we kill a cockatrice, that cockatrice can't turn anything else to stone, right? So we are saving the lives of those things."

Bevel didn't seem too convinced, so Pot Pie tried distracting her again, "what do you think that griffon is going to do with them?"

Whisper spoke up to fill in her friend on the conversation she missed, "he said he was making weapons from them. Somehow."

This piqued the gearhead's interest, and her eyes unfocused in thought as they walked. The call of cockatrice and other animals was growing louder, and the density of twittermites and fireflies grew thicker, lighting the woods in eerie yellow and blue glows, alongside Whisper's green, "well," she said after a few long moments, "I remember as I discussed the trip with Princess Twilight, she mentioned a spell or potion or something used by Tempest."

"Right," Whisper replied, "I remember that. The stories I heard from Ditzy Do said it was a glass orb that turned the Princesses to stone!"

Bevel nodded. That was a large enough motion to be slightly visible in the dark, especially as the air was lighted by insects, "I would assume whatever allows the cockatrices to turn things to stone can be extracted for those things. I'll have to ask when we're done."

They now came to a small clearing. The crows were louder now, and across the field they saw the cabal of six creatures milling around a rabbit warren. One such rabbit sat outside, solid as, well, stone. Because it was. Whisper and Bevel both let out gasps. Pot Pie winced. Marduk sighed and muttered, "see? We can keep this from happening to the other rabbits."

A look of determination hardened on Whisper's face, "don't kill them all," she said, "they can turn that bunny back, and we're going to make sure they do."

Bevel nodded and drew her crossbow.

Marduk smiled to himself, "good. Glad you're getting the picture. Keep that fire going. Time to teach you three how to hunt. Whisper, turn off the light and follow me around behind. When we give the signal, I want Bevel to fly up and dive from above. Pot, charge straight at them. Be loud. Careful not to crush their heads, and don't look them in the eyes," the others nodded and the unicorn and griffon skirted the edge of the clearing, just inside the tree row. Whisper's talent and Marduk's experience meant the cockatrice showed no signs of noticing them, "okay," he whispered, "you are going to flash your horn when I say, then step out and block their path," they took up position exactly opposite their companions. Marduk tapped Whisper's shoulder and motioned to her horn. She nodded and pulsed the green light once.

The griffon took silently to the air and Bevel did the same on the other side. The cockatrice squawked and panicked as the large red form of Pot Pie bellowed and plowed out of the tree row, swinging his hammer around to grip in his teeth and swinging it back and forth wildly. The monsters tried to stare him down, but he had his eyes squeezed shut as he ran blindly toward them. Realizing they were at a disadvantage, the cockatrice turned to run away, but stopped as a unicorn, eyes downcast, just enough to avoid eye contact, stood in their path, brandishing her crossbow. They started to scatter to either side, but Bevel and Marduk landed on top of three on either side. The griffon held one in each talon, already impaled and dead. Bevel had another under her hooves as it struggled and wailed. The remaining three looked from one attacker to the next, but the ponies all looked away at the last moment, just far enough they could still see the cockatrice in their peripheral vision.

"Nice work, ponies," Marduk said, "Whisper, you're up. Pick one and shoot it."

"Me?"

He nodded, "you'll have to learn sooner or later. I want to know you can do it."

The small crossbow rose shakily in her magic. She aimed it hesitantly at one of the cockatrice. For too long she sat there, staring. It didn't take that long for the bird to realize this, and stared back. Slowly, the unicorn began to change. Her hooves hardened. Then the tip of her tail. The effect inched its way up her legs.

"Damn it, Whisper!" Marduk moved to draw his bow, but Pot Pie's hammer came down on top of the cockatrice's head, flattening it like a pancake. The remaining two free monsters stopped their complaining in shock, and stared at the massive chunk of metal where their friend had just been.

Whisper took a step back as the stone around her shattered away. Her whole body shook and she fell to her haunches. Marduk put a claw to his face and turned to Bevel, "you see what happens when you hesitate? Anyway, your turn. You already have it, just snap its neck."

Bevel looked down briefly, but the cockatrice twisted its head around to gaze back. Instinct took over immediately and with a sharp crack the monster was dead under the weight of the pegasus' hooves. Marduk grunted in satisfaction and turned to the remaining two cockatrice.

"Now, you two. We need four of you. Intact. We have three," he smirked at Pot Pie's handiwork, "also, these ponies really like rabbits. So, whichever of you turns that rabbit back," he motioned to the stone rabbit, "will get to leave here alive," as he finished speaking, Marduk pulled his bow from around his neck and knocked an arrow, "decide quickly."

There was a moment's hesitation. The creatures looked at each other, then at their dead friends. One of them looked as Pot moved his hammer away from what was left of the crushed cockatrice and made up its mind. With a flutter of its wings, it dashed to the rabbit warren and returned the rabbit to the land of the living. In rapid succession, two arrows flew from the griffon's bow and skewered both cockatrice in the chest.

Bevel gasped, "you told him he could leave!"

"You want him coming back in an hour to turn the rabbit back to stone?"

Silence. The rabbit was looking around in a panic until another, along with a dozen kits, emerged tentatively from the burrow and squealed in glee at their father being alive. Bevel let out a breath and nodded, "you're right. Thank you, Marduk," he nodded back and turned to Whisper.

"You see?" he said, putting a talon on her shoulder, "it's kill or be killed out here. This isn't Equestria. There are no Princesses, or rainbows, or songs of friendship and fun. If you hesitate, you die. Or worse" he motioned to the rabbits as they waved and scampered back into their hole, "like getting turned to stone."

Whisper didn't look up. She simply stood and walked to the edge of the clearing they came in on. Without a word, she disappeared into the trees.

"Wait-" Marduk was interrupted by Pot Pie's hoof on his shoulder. He turned and the large pony shook his head.

"She will be fine. She goes unnoticed, remember? Let's head back, and she'll meet us there by morning."

The griffon sighed, but nodded, "let's get these fleatherballs packed up. I'm getting tired."

They stowed the cockatrice corpses away in their saddlebags, with Marduk and Pot each taking two, and Bevel taking one. The trip back was a bit more difficult, as it had not only gotten darker, but they didn't have the glow of Whisper's horn. As they walked, Pot Pie sidled up to Bevel, "you okay?"

A short pause, then she spoke, "I don't know," she confessed, "it hasn't really fully sunk in, you know? That I've taken a life? It doesn't seem real."

He nodded, though it was now too dark for her to see, "I know how you feel. It was just reaction when I smashed that one. It was to save Whisper."

"I did it without really thinking," she agreed, "my body knew it was me or it, and just acted."

Marduk walked a few paces back, listening to their conversation. For their sake, he wouldn't admit it out loud, but he understood. His first hunting trip with his dad and uncle wasn't too different. The three had gone out, high into the mountains, in search of a herd of goats. It was a passage into adulthood in his family. Kill a goat and it proved you were capable of fending for yourself and a family of your own.

They had flown for hours in the icy wind until they finally spotted a few on the side of a cliff. Prime targets, his father told him he couldn't wait. Without hesitation the two adults swooped in and knocked their targets down into the ravine. Marduk had hesitated, giving the remaining goats time to scamper up to the safety of the plateau. It was a full month before his father would speak to him again.

He sighed to himself. So much had changed since then. Now he was one of the best hunters in Griffonstone. Then again, was his last hunting trip with his father so different than his first?

His thoughts were interrupted by their emergence from the forest into the dark night of the desert. The faint glows of the train depot and Devon Rex greeted them like a warm fire in the hearth.

"No sign of Whisper," Bevel muttered.

"You two go on ahead," there was a somber tone to Marduk's voice, a far cry from his usually casual demeanor, "I'll scout around quick, then meet you at Tyr's," they nodded and walked away as he lifted into the air. There wasn't much he could see in the darkness of the new moon, but he hoped to see the telltale green glow of Whisper's magic. The blues and yellows of insects flickered in and out of the trees, but no other colors caught his eyes for many long minutes. Finally, just as he turned toward town, he saw it. A faint green glow from inside the train station. Softly, slowly, he descended to the wooden deck and peered into the window.

The little black and white unicorn was inside, writing in her journal by the light of her magic. Marduk couldn't see it, but tears streamed down her face and quiet sobs left her short of breath. She jumped as the door creaked open and Marduk leaned his head inside.

"Hey, kid," he said softly, "can I come in?" she didn't answer, so he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The two stayed in silence a long time before he walked over and sat beside her, "what're you writing?"

Whisper slammed the book shut before he could read it, "what do you want?"

He sighed, then sighed again when he realized how much he had been sighing today. Confound these ponies, they were going to drive him to drink! After a moment, he had gathered his thoughts, "I get it," she looked up at him with a puzzled look on her face, so he elaborated, "you think I was born with a dead animal in my talons? I had to learn to hunt, too. It wasn't easy. It never is, taking a life. I still have trouble sleeping, sometimes. It really is the way of nature, though. We're cursed, us sapient creatures. Tigers, cockatrice, bears; they don't feel guilt. To them, it's just food. No different than you eating a daisy. Us? We know we're ending a life just like ours. We have to live with whether it's right or wrong. In the end, though, it's necessary, sometimes. We gave that rabbit's family its father, again. Probably saved the family, too."

Marduk gently put a claw under Whisper's chin and lifted her head to look him in the eye. She flinched a bit, but didn't look away, "that's what we need to remember, Whisper. The good outweighs the bad. The guilt never truly leaves, but in knowing you did right, it will get better."

She choked back another sob and nodded.

"Let's get back to the others and get rid of these things before they start smelling," the two stood and Whisper put her book back into her saddlebags. Marduk stood in the doorway, holding open the door for her, and the two walked into the cool night air and back to the town's gate. As they approached, they saw Bevel and Pot Pie were still outside, and shouting became audible. They quickened their pace and could soon make out their friends' voices.

"He what?!" Pot Pie bellowed, "why in Celestia's name would the little idiot do that?"

They now saw Capper was leaning against the wall by the open gate, head in his paw, "like you said, he's a little idiot. Got impatient and went looking for you. I told him not to go, but I think he wants to prove something to me."

"What's goin' on?" Marduk asked as they approached.

Pot Pie turned and motioned back toward the woods, "Grubber went into the forest to look for us."

Marduk shrugged, "I didn't like him, anyway."

"I don't either," Capper replied, "but..." he put the paw behind his head and chuckled slightly, "you see. The airship isn't exactly mine. It's the Storm King's. Or, rather, the remnants of his army. We could only borrow it because Grubber was part of that army. If we return without him..." he shrugged. All three ponies and griffon put forelimbs to their faces.

"So we need to go find him," Pot Pie clarified.

"Preferably in one piece," Capper added, "and not turned to stone. Or ash. Or any other unusual state."

"I swear," Marduk grumbled, "if he got himself killed, I will find a way to bring him back just so I can kill him, again."

"Better get going. The longer you wait, the more likely that becomes."

"Aren't you coming?" Bevel asked.

"I need to stay with the airship."

"Of course you do," Marduk scoffed, "come on, gang. I guess you get hunting lesson, part two: tracking."

All four were grumbling in their own ways as they turned back toward the forest. Whisper took point beside Marduk to light the way, with Bevel and Pot Pie a few steps behind. As they went, the griffon pointed out the distinct footprints left by their wayward hedgehog, with the unicorn leaning low to properly light them.

"You can further tell it's him by the spacing. A rabbit or other creature would have wider steps. He's short and fat, so his waddles shorten his stride quite a bit."

There was a pause before Whisper replied, "do you think we're too hard on him?"

"Who? Oh, you mean Grubber?"

"Yeah. I mean, yes, he's annoying, but he's still trying to help, right?"

Marduk thought a moment, "I'm not sure. He still seems awful loyal to the Storm King. You heard how he was talking when we arrived. Made fun of all of us, still spoke highly of his former boss, seems to dislike Capper quite a bit."

They entered the forest again, and Whisper lowered her voice reflexively, "I feel like being nice to him might push him the rest of the way to our side, like Tempest, or Starlight, or Trixie."

"I only recognize one of those names. Was Starlight a bad pony, at one point?"

"You could say that."

"What did she do, steal forty cakes? Sing off key?"

"Enslaved and brainwashed a whole town, and stole their talents. Then changed history to get back at Princess Twilight, resulting in multiple alternate timelines where all of Equestria was at war or destroyed."

Marduk stared, then laughed, "I didn't think you such a joker!"

"No," Bevel stepped forward into the conversation, "she's being serious."

The griffon looked at Pot Pie, who nodded, "eeyup."

Marduk's laugh slowed and grew uneasy, "you ponies can be terrifying. One minute you're crying over cockatrice, the next you're telling me you've ended the world."

Bevel smirked, "remember that day seven years ago where the sun never came up?" Marduk nodded, "that was Princess Luna. Well, Nightmare Moon. It's complicated," she shrugged, "she refused to lower the moon until she was defeated."

"Could the other princess do that with the sun?"

"Probably, if she wanted to. sounds like a bad idea, though."

Marduk shook his head, "remind me to never piss them off. Or any of you, really. No wonder the Storm King lost. It's amazing he lasted as long as he did."

"He got the drop on us during a holiday," Bevel replied, "none of us even knew he existed before then, and he just rolled up with a fleet of airships and an army of satyrs, turning ponies to stone."

"So, terrifying and sheltered. Wonderful," Marduk muttered to himself, "hold up," he held up a talon, "the tracks get farther apart. He started running. Anyone see other tracks?"

"Um..." Pot Pie was a few meters away and pointed to the ground with his hoof.

"Timberwolves," Whisper breathed.

"Fuck," Marduk replied.

"Yup," Bevel facehoofed, "he's dead."

Pot Pie shook his head, "these prints are awful small. I think it's a small pack of younger wolves."

"Either way," Whisper replied, "we had better hurry."

Conversation ended as they galloped deeper into the woods, following the tracks. Before long, they could hear the panting of the wolves and their prey. Three timbers, their wood and leaf bodies rattling, growled at the easy meal they had cornered at a small cliff face. Without hesitation, all three ponies swung around and planted firm bucks into the three canines heads, shattering them to splinters.

"Woah woah woah," Marduk said, "you won't kill a cockatrice, but you-"

"No talk!" Bevel yelled as she scooped up a shocked and trembling Grubber in her hooves, "more run!" she struggled to lift the chubby little creature, until Pot Pie trotted up underneath her. She dropped Grubber onto Pot Pie's back and the three ponies backtracked toward town, following the glow of Whisper's horn.

Marduk glanced back in the fading light to see the dark piles of twigs and bark reforming into the timerwolves' bodies, "oh. That explains a lot. Running sounds good," he turned tail and took to the air close behind Bevel and the others. With a howl, the three timberwolves made chase, "how have you ponies survived so long? Killer chickens, immortal wood dogs, bugs that eat everything. No wonder you're so terrifying, when the wildlife is ten times worse! Griffonstone has nothing on this continent!"

"Less talk," Bevel repeated, "more run! They won't follow us far out of the woods."

"Shut up!" they turned to Pot Pie, yelling at Grubber, who was muttering, "we're gonna die," repeatedly.

As he flew, Marduk did a survey of the shadowy terrain, "Bevel! Two-o'clock!" he pointed at a a tree so gnarly and rotten, it looked ready to fall down in the next windstorm. With the other talon he plucked a long dangling vine and tossed one end to Bevel, "take an end," they stretched the vine taut and hooked the tree at its weakest point, tugging and straining a brief moment before the soft wood crumbled, bringing the tree down on top of the wolves. The two flyers tumbled through the air from the sudden jerk, but quickly righted themselves and hoof-talon-bumped, "nicely done, Gearhead."

"Nice call, Hawkeye."

They turned to see the other three had disappeared, still running for town, only the green glow showing where they were in the trees, "shall we?" the griffon gestured, "ladies first."

Bevel giggled, "and leave me to hit all the trees in the dark? Nuh-uh. You first," they laughed and the two soared slowly and carefully through the dark woods, through the clouds of blue and yellow insects that provided their only light. As they emerged from the trees, they saw the others, now walking calmly across the sandy plain toward the town gate.

"I don't want to hear it," Whisper was saying, as they approached, "nopony asked you to look for us. It's your fault. You're lucky we found you when we did."

Pot Pie grunted an affirmation. Grubber was now walking beside them, apparently complaining, still, "only a complete idiot goes into the woods after dark alone," the large pony added.

"Well," the annoying hedgehog whined, "see if I ever stick my neck out for you ponies again."

Marduk landed softly beside Whisper, "that would require having a neck to stick out."

Bevel landed to Marduk's other side, "would a 'thank you' be so hard?"

"Fine," Grubber grumbled, "thanks. But you should thank me for caring enough to come look for you!"

The other four laughed, "right," Marduk said, "caring. That's what you were doing. Certainly not trying to show off."

They reached the gate and Grubber squeezed his way into a small gap to let them in, again. Capper was nowhere to be found; probably back at the airship. The gate ground open and closed behind them. As Grubber scampered back to the ship, the ponies and griffon stopped at Tyr's to knock on his door.

"Eh? Who is it?" the gruff griffon opened the door just enough to look outside. Upon seeing who it was, he closed the door, unlatched the lock, and opened it fully a moment later, "ah, my friends. You're not dead!"

"No thanks to that stupid little hedgehog," Bevel grumbled.

"We have five cockatrice," Marduk told Tyr, "we would have six, but it became a fleather pancake," he motioned to Pot Pie and his hammer, eliciting a laugh from the other griffon.

"I knew that hammer would be perfect for you!" he punched Pot Pie's shoulder, making him blush slightly. Luckily for him, noone else could see it in the dark, "how about the other two? You liking your crossbow, little unicorn?"

"My bow is just fine," Marduk interjected. He left out that he hadn't even had to use it, yet, "the draw strength is a bit weak, but it's a good quality."

Tyr gave Whisper one last glance and turned back to Marduk, "so you say you got five of those varmints, eh?" the five corpses were removed from the saddlebags that housed them. The large griffon took them all by the neck in one claw, "very good, very good. I think I have a little something extra, since you brought me one more than I asked for. Wait right here," he turned and closed the door. They could hear rustling and him talking to himself. Marduk, Bevel, and Pot Pie exchanged looks, while Whisper kept her eyes on her hooves. Finally, after a couple minutes, the door opened again and Tyr stood in the doorway. He held out his talon and offered a small glass ball. The ball itself was cloudy white, but the core was a roiling green gas, "potion orb," he explained, "there are many kinds. Each one has a primary effect, and some have a secondary effect. When they break, they release the potion inside. This one turns creatures to stone. It doesn't have a secondary effect, though."

Tyr now had Whisper's and Bevel's full attention, "like the ones Tempest used on the Princesses," the unicorn breathed.

Bevel carefully took the orb, "but those were green and black."

"Ah, yes," the giffon replied, "black secondary. Very rare, very useful. Anti-magic. Hard for unicorns to hold with TK, so they can't throw them back, and they will short out most magic shields, as well as magic vehicles."

"So is the potion inside made from the cockatrice?" Bevel asked.

Tyr nodded, "made from their eyes, among other things. You gave me enough for my client to make a nice sized batch. After he does, I'll sell you some at a nice discount. Moderate discount. Eh... small discount."

Marduk rolled his eyes, "thanks, Tyr. It's late, though. We need to get back to the ship."

"We'll come get you when we're ready to leave," Bevel added, "can I ask questions about your tech while we're traveling?"

"Of course, little one. I'm always happy to pass on knowledge. I have a few good stories, too, if you want to hear them. Until then, farewell, and good luck with the Whole Hog Gang," with that, he turned, waved, and closed the door with a kick of his back leg.

"Well," Pot Pie said, "guess it's time to finally call it a night."

"What a first day, huh?" Whisper muttered as they all turned down the road.

"It's only been a day," Bevel said back, mostly to make it feel more real to herself, "how long do you think we'll be here?"

Marduk shrugged. The faint lights of the road made it possible to see the action, "who knows. Really, though, does it matter? We learned tonight we make a good team. Whatever we are here for, we've got it. Together."

At this, the other three smiled. He was right. It had been a rough day, probably one of many. It was doubtful any of them would sleep well, tonight. But they had each other. If Princess Twilight had ingrained anything into them in the few days before they left Ponyville, it was the power of their friendship.