Chapter 28

– Arid Blaze –

Just when things were looking up for us, shit hit the fan again. Limos was more terrifying than either of her sisters, more monstrous, more crazy. She killed an entire town filled with children just to sate her thirst for blood. I had to get my friends as far away from her as possible. She would recover, and she would be furious.

I stood there on the railing of the ship, the wind blowing through my mane as Ratchet sailed across the wasteland at full speed. We had gone off course due to a sandstorm and found ourselves closer to the mountain range. Canyons soon turned to ridges, following a large river that hugged the cliffside. Ratchet said it was the Kelpie River, legends from before the war claimed that it was home to a species called the Kelpies who had a lair in a large cave somewhere on the river. But no pony had ever proven that.

I moved into the wheelhouse of the ship, Ratchet’s focus was on the terrain, determined to keep the ship steady.

“How far is Fort Trough?” I asked him.

“Too far. I can’t keep this speed up Shadow. I’m gonna burn through the last of our spark batteries. We were supposed to resupply in Orphanage.” He said, grunting.

“I know. This is so messed up. There’s no other settlement we can try?”

“There’s nothing out this way. No pony in their right mind would set up around here. Too close to the mountains, bad things supposedly live up there.” He said, looking up at the peaks.

I sighed, “Shit. Hopefully we’ve made enough ground that Limos can’t catch up.”

“With our luck lately, I wouldn’t get my hopes up, partner.” Ratchet said.

I sighed and left him alone, heading down the hatch into the lower section of the ship. Stormy was up, having recovered a little from her brief cardiac arrest. I had attempted to ask her about how she made that bolt of lightning, but everytime she either avoided the question or told me to drop it.

I didn’t have the heart to push her for information. I had many questions for a lot of my friends, but only when we were safe. I had to get everyone to safety. Fort Trough was our only hope.

“Stormy, how you holding up?” I asked, walking up next to her.

“I’m alright. Nothing can keep me down too long.” She said, trying to sound tough.
“Well, try and relax. We still have a long way ahead of us.” I said, starting to move past her.

As I got around her, she stopped me, “Shadow.”

I turned back, “Yeah?”

“What you saw, back at Orphanage. I know you probably have a lot of questions.” Stormy said.

“I do have questions. I have no idea what you did, but it saved our lives. And for now, that’s good enough for me. We can discuss everything when we’re safe, and when you’re ready. I need your help to get everyone to Fort Trough. Can I count on you Stormy?”

She looked at me, shocked at first but her usual smile returned soon after, “I got your back Shadow.”

I smiled at her and turned to move further into the ship. She was a strong fighter, and she held her own against Limos, even showing she was a better flier. We needed her in case Limos caught up.

I moved past the curtain that led into the cabins. Sitting on the closest bed was Meadow, her face a look of melancholy and depression. I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to her since she froze when we arrived at Orphanage. What had caused her to freeze like that?

I sat down next to her bed, “Meadow.”

She jumped a little, apparently she hadn’t noticed that I had sat down next to her.

“Yes?” She asked quietly.

“Are you ok?” I asked.

She looked away, “Not really.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

She hesitated for a moment, “It’s nothing.”

I sighed, “Meadow, you froze back there. I know you’ve never ventured outside the swamp, but that wasn’t just fear of the unknown. What happened to you?”

She turned away, “I just… froze. I’m sorry.”

I thought for a moment about what to say, and then a memory popped into my head. Back at the stable.
“Meadow, back at the stable, you froze when we had to leap through the fire to escape the giant spider. Just like you did at Orphanage.” I explained.

She shuddered but didn’t respond.

And that reaction confirmed my suspicion, “You’re afraid of fire.”

And with that, I could hear small sobs coming from her, her body shaking. She held herself in her hooves, tears starting to fall onto the mattress.

“Pyrophobia. Now I understand. Why you wouldn’t leap through the flames, why you refused to come into Orphanage with the rest of us.”

She sobbed more.

“What I don’t understand is how a Kirin can be afraid of fire. I’ve read about your kind, don’t you have another…”

She immediately turned to look at me, her eyes bright white, fangs visible in her mouth, “Don’t say it!”

I backed up, “Meadow.”

She gasped and immediately hid under her blanket, “Just go.”

I reached out to her, “Meadow, please.”

Her tail whipped my hoof away, “Just leave me alone!”

It didn’t hurt physically, but it shocked me. I didn’t expect her to react so violently. Perhaps I had pushed too much. I fell silent and left her alone. I really wasn’t good at this friend thing. Makes me wonder how Keira put up with me for so long.

“Do not be discouraged, Shadow.” Saskia said, snapping me out of my self pity.

I turned to look at her, she was sitting in her own bed reading a book. Her neck was covered in bandages, the bite from Limos had to still sting. Though this time, she had let Moonlight tend to her wound. It was too deep for her own magic to mend.

“Discouraged?” I asked.

“She has a lot of pain hidden deep inside. And shame, she's drowning in it right now. Like an ocean whose currents are dragging her under.” Saskia said solemnly as she read her book.

I looked back at Meadow, who was still sobbing. Where did she get all this pain? Artemis took her to the jungle when she was so young. Was it the loss of her father? No, this is something else. I looked back at Saskia. I wished I had her innate ability with emotions.

Then memories of the battle with Limos in the burning building resurfaced. The bite, the green blood, what Limos had said.

“Shadow, are you alright?” Saskia said, once again catching my attention. Her horn was glowing as she sat her book down.

“Saskia, how is the wound treating you?” I asked.

She rubbed the bandage a little, “Still stings a bit, but I’ve had worse. I do hope it doesn’t leave a scar.”

“It shouldn’t leave a scar with Moonlight’s help. But I wanted to talk to you.” I said.

Her horn glowed brighter as she looked at me with curiosity, “About what?”

“About…” I started to say, before my mind drew a blank.

What was I going to ask? Something about blood? Or something about her book?

“What are you reading there?” I asked.

“Oh this, it’s a little thing I found in my travels. Apparently Ministry Mare Rarity was a big fashionista before the war. She had so many lovely designs. What I would give for a Rarity original.” She giggled.

“Oh I see. Well I’ll leave you to your fantasies.” I said, rolling my eyes.

Well at least she was in high spirits. Don’t know what I was worried about. She didn’t lose that much blood.

And then I made it to my final destination. Moonlight had made a curtain to give Rose a little more privacy in the back of the cabin. I moved next to it and peeked my head inside.

“Moonlight, how’s Rose doing?” I asked.

Moonlight turned her head to look at me as she held her stethoscope to Rose’s belly. She smiled and took the equipment out of her ears. Rose was lying on the bed, leaning up to look at me as well. Tumbleweed sat next to his mother, noticing my arrival as well.

“The baby sounds healthy. Heartbeat is normal, temperature is stable. Though I am concerned about the rocking of the ship.” Moonlight said.

“Moonlight, I told you I’m fine. I do appreciate your care, but I don’t need you worrying yourself dear. You’ll get wrinkles.” Rose joked.

Moonlight gasped and put a hoof to her face, “What!?”

Rose laughed, as did Tumbleweed. Moonlight realized that they were teasing her and pouted. I myself chuckled, just a little though. This earned me a little glare from the thestral.

“So, how much longer to Fort Trough?” Tumbleweed asked.

I looked at him, “Ratchet says we’ll lose power before we make it there. That means we will have to rely on the winds to move the ship.”

“Ponyfeathers! We gotta get Mom home.” Tumbleweed grunted.

“You all need to stop worrying. I’ll be fine. We will get to the fort as soon as we can sweetie.” Rose said, giving her son a pat on the head.

I sighed, “Losing power isn’t what’s worrying me though.”

Moonlight looked at me with her ears flattened against her head, “It’s that fury isn’t it?”

I nodded, “Limos was already healing when we left. I don’t know how long she will need to be back at full strength. But I’d feel a lot better if we had an army of rangers to help drive her off.”

Tumbleweed nodded, “The General would have her running for the hills. No tougher mare exists in the wastes. Not to mention all our officers.”

I looked at him, “Officers?”

“Yeah, they’re all ranked under the General, and command different branches of the Rangers.”

“How many branches do you have?” I asked, generally curious.

“Well there’s the heavy troopers under Commander Tarkus. Then there’s the special forces under Commander Wrath. The sniper corps under Commander Crackshot. And the medic corps under Command Lilac.”

Moonlight perked up, “You have a corps dedicated to medics?”

“Sure do. Commander Lilac is one of the best field medics in the wasteland. She’s also my aunt.” Tumbleweed said proudly.

“Your aunt is a commander?” I asked.

Rose chimed in, “Yes, my older sister. She’ll be quite cross with us when she finds out what we did.”

Moonlight and I shared a look, that wouldn’t be a pleasant exchange.

“So it sounds like the Desert Rangers are well organized. I look forward to meeting them.” I said.

“So do I. I bet I can learn a lot from this Commander Lilac. I can only imagine the wealth of medical books she must have.” Moonlight said, excitement filling her voice.

“Aww, I haven’t seen that look on your face since you got tangerines in Sandpit.” I chuckled.

She blushed and glared at me, “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“That it’s cute when you get all excited like that.” I chuckled.

Her face turned red and she pouted at me more.

“Alright alright you two. No need to get all worked u-” Rose started to say before she closed her eyes tight.

She laid her head on the pillow and started to groan loudly.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Tumbleweed asked, holding her hoof.

“The baby, it’s moving!” She said, her voice getting louder.

Another groan, almost leading to a scream, escaped her muzzle as she closed her eyes in pain. The bed suddenly grew a large wet spot.

Moonlight saw this, “Oh no!”

I stepped closer to her, “Moonlight, what’s happening?”

“I think her water just broke!” Moonlight said loudly.

“Water broke, what does that mean?” I asked, not really understanding what was going on.

“She’s going into labor Shadow! The baby is coming!” Moonlight shouted at me.

“What, now!?” I asked in shock.

“Yes now!”

Moonlight scrambled to get a wet wash cloth and place it on Rose’s forehead.

She then turned to me, “Tell Ratchet he needs to land! The turbulence could hurt her or the baby!”

I scrambled out of the curtain and nearly tripped as Saskia, Meadow, and Stormy all rushed past me. I nearly fell flat on my face before I caught myself and ran up the hatch.

I bolted into the wheelhouse, “Ratchet, find a place to land now!”

“What in tarnation do you mean land!? We still got plenty of daylight left before we gotta step up camp!” He yelled back at me.

“Rose is in labor! The baby is coming!” I shouted.

His eyes grew wide, “Sweet Mother of Celestia! Find me somewhere to land, quick!”

I nodded and ran to the side of the ship. I looked out across the landscape, the river was large, on one side was dense trees, on the other side was a rocky cliff. As my eyes scanned the rocky cliff I found a clearing that was barren. No trees, no shrubs, a perfect landing pad.

“Ratchet, 9 o’clock!” I yelled out to my friend.

He turned the ship as smoothly as he could. As the engines slowed down, he began to descend and landed the ship perfectly. At that moment, Stormy flew out of the hatch and landed next to me.

“Rose can’t be moved! Moonlight needs all of us downstairs!” She shouted to me and Ratchet.

All three of us went down the hatch and moved to where Rose was still screaming. Moonlight and Saskia were moving back and forth around her bed.

“Moonlight, how could we help?” I said.

“There are towels underneath my bed. We need water, is that river outside pure?” Moonlight asked.

“Yeah, it comes from the peaks in the mountains. No radiation. The water merchants get water from it all the time.” Ratchet answered.

“Then we need as much as you can carry. There should be some buckets up top.” Moonlight said.

As I looked towards Rose again, my nose suddenly picked up on all the smells she was giving off. My enhanced sense of smell could pick up on the blood and hormones she was giving off. And that thought brought a sense of dread to the front of my mind. If I could smell it, then…

“We need to get the water and set up a defensive line!” I shouted.

Everyone looked at me funny.

“When she starts giving birth, the smell of blood and afterbirth will attract every predator within several miles!” I stated.

Ratchet’s eyes grew wide, “He’s right! Everything from mountain lions to manticores will think it’s an all you can eat buffet!”

“Then let’s get moving! Meadow, set up on the roof of the wheelhouse with that bow of yours! Shadow, you and me will get the water and afterwords we’ll take the front line! Ratchet, you set up on the deck of the ship!” Stormy shouted.

Ratchet suddenly got a look like he had an idea, “Hold up! I got something special I’ve been meaning to try out. Give me some time to set it up on the deck!”

Ratchet disappeared into the engine room.

“Alright, you’ve got your assignments! Let’s move!” Stormy ordered as she flew out the hatch.

I moved to follow her as Meadow came up behind me with her bow. She immediately jumped on top of the wheelhouse and steadied herself. I found the buckets in the storage behind the wheelhouse and passed one to Stormy. She flew toward the river as I ran. By the time we made it back with the water, Rose’s screaming could be heard from the top deck.

And seconds later, I saw movement in the forest surrounding the clearing. And emerging from the trees were three large felines. They were bigger than I was, though not as big as the panther back in Stable 59. And when they saw us, they started running our way.

“Mountain lions, 2 o’clock!” I said, pulling out my shotgun.

As I jumped down from the ship, Meadow had fired an arrow at the lions. She managed to hit one in the shoulder, making it trip and tumble to the ground. The other two were still heading our way.

I ran forward to take them on, running straight for them with my shotgun ready. As they came into range, I skidded to a halt and fired. My shot hit one square in the chest, making it stumble and eventually fall dead on the ground. The last lion tried to jump on me, but I quickly ducked out of the way. The cat turned around to try again, but was met with a flying kick to the back of the head by Stormy. This stunned the animal, leaving me a perfect opportunity to cleave it’s head off with Venta.

“Dang, these are some pretty big house cats.” Stormy joked.

I gave a sarcastic chuckle, “Funny. Stay alert. No telling what else will come around.”

As we made our way back closer to the ship, Rose’s scent hit me again, not as strong as it was inside the cabin, but enough that I could notice. Rose was still making a lot of noise.

“Shadow, something’s coming from the river!” Meadow shouted.

I looked toward the river and sure enough, a large reptilian creature was pulling itself from the water and onto the shoreline. It was huge, scales thick as steel, jaws large enough to eat a pony in one bite. I’d seen creatures like it in books, but I didn’t think they’d be this big.

“Radgator! And a damn big one!” Meadow shouted as she took a shot at it.

The arrow bounced off its hide, making it growl and rush forward. Stormy tried to jump back into the air, but only made it a few feet before she collapsed to the ground. She held a hoof to her chest and was panting loudly.

“Stormy!” I shouted, standing in front of her as the gator drew closer.

But before the beast could even make it within striking distance, an explosion hit it straight on. Guts flew through the air, as well as the smell of burnt flesh. Where did that come from?

I looked to the deck of the ship and saw Ratchet had come up from the cabin. In front of him was the rocket launcher that Mako had used against us. It was hooked to some kind of makeshift harness that was attached to the railing of the ship.

“When did you pick that up?” I asked him.

“Before we took off after Ruby left. I couldn’t leave a sweet weapon like this behind.” Ratchet said, patting the weapon like it was a pet.

Before I could ask more about our new armament, I heard Stormy try to get up again. I quickly leaned down to check on her. Meadow had noticed the pegasus as well, having leaped down from the wheelhouse and joined me next to her.

“Stormy, what’s wrong?” Meadow asked.

“I’m fine, just got a little lightheaded is all.” Stormy said, her voice shaky.

“You are not fine Stormy! You look like you’re having a heart attack!” I shouted at her.

More growls came from the direction of the river, and sure enough, more radgators had emerged. Three of them crawled their way towards us, earning them another rocket blast from Ratchet. The blast didn’t quite hit its mark this time, but it was close enough to blow the legs off one gator. The other two were still coming.

“Meadow, help Stormy back onto the ship. I’ll handle them.” I said, running towards the gators, sword up.

I yelled as I ran to get their attention, both gators noticed me immediately and let out loud growls. As I came in range of the first gator, it tried to lunge at me. I quickly jumped over it and landed on its back, readying my sword to stab it in the head.

Unfortunately, the gator had other plans. It spun its body around in an attempt to knock me off. While I didn’t fall, it did give it the opportunity to swat at me with its tail. The thick tail slammed into me, sending me skidding across the dirt. I recovered just in time for it to try and bite down on my hind leg. Quickly spinning myself on my front hooves, my rear legs dodged the bite and came down with the force of my spin, landing square on its head, enough to stun it. My sword then stabbed through the soft scales just behind the head. The beast roared and then fell silent.

The other beast came in after that, managing to grab hold of my saddlebags. It ripped them off me and tossed them aside. That action gave me just enough time to get my shotgun up and blast the gator right in the mouth. It didn’t kill it, but it stunned it just long enough for a magical arrow to pierce through its head. I looked up and saw Meadow grinning down at me.

Collecting my saddlebags, I took a few steps back towards the ship before a familiar sensation came over me. My fur began to stand on end on the back of my neck.

“Hey Shadow, miss me?” A feminine voice whispered in my ear.

I jumped back and slashed at whatever it was, a spray of blood shooting across my face. When my body fully turned, I nearly lost my lunch at what I saw.

My sword had only partially cut through her neck, leaving it dangling off a few strands of flesh attached to her neck. Even as she was nearly decapitated, she still wore that smile. Those eyes never stopped staring at me.

The mare grabbed her head and pushed it back up in place, a loud squishing sound and crackling of bones followed. The flesh then started to piece itself back together as she just stared at me with those monstrous eyes.

“Limos…” I said softly.

“It’s so nice you remember my name. Most ponies just call me a monster, well of course they are right. But most don’t get the rare opportunity of seeing me more than once in their miserable lifetimes. They usually end up as empty sacks of meat on the ground. Food for the buzzards.” Limos said, licking her hoof.

“But you and your little merry band strolled in and ruined my feast. Do you have any idea how much food you took from me? Everything burned while I was piecing myself back together. They were nothing but char by the time I could move again. I hate that awful taste, like eating rancid radhog meat that had been left on the rotisserie too long!”

“You killed children! Innocents who did nothing to you!” I shouted back at her.

“Oh spare me the hypocrisy Shadow. I know about your little incident in that stupid stable.”

My eyes widened, “You what?”

“Oh yeah. Saber told us all the fun stuff about your little trials. Tell me, how did it feel hearing those poor little colts and fillies scream?”

Memories of that day came flooding back, my mind couldn’t take it. I gripped my head and dropped my weapons. As I stood there in pain, Limos had walked over to me.

She ran a hoof across my cheek, making me look at her, “Don’t feel bad Shadow. Killing is in your blood.”

I swatted her hoof away from me, “The hell does that mean?”

She laughed, “All in good time Shadow. Now, I believe I owe you… This!”

She brought her foreleg across my face, so fast I didn’t have time to react. I was sent flying into the ship, making a small dent in it. My side was on fire and only the shoulder plate in my armor saved me from a dislocated limb.

Before I could get back on my hooves, Limos was on me again. She pushed me against the ship and bit into my shoulder. I screamed as she drank from my wound. My strength faltered and I couldn’t move to stop her.

Suddenly, she was the one who screamed as she pulled back. I fell to the ground again, but looked up to see a magical arrow in her wing joint. I watched her turn to her left and glare at the perpetrator.

Following her gaze, I saw Meadow with her bow raised, “Get away from him!”

She fired another arrow at Limos, but the bat fury dodged it this time. I heard her wing snap and crack back into place and she took off towards my friend. Meadow dodged to the side, firing another arrow as Limos passed. The arrow missed the fury, making Meadow grunt in frustration. Limos swung back around and tried to tackle the kirin. Meadow blocked her with her bow, the wood holding long enough for Meadow to throw the bat fury away from her.

Limos stood up again, smiling that demonic smile, “A kirin. You’re a rare sight around here. Where have you been hiding?”

“None of your business monster. Now leave us alone.” Meadow said, readying another arrow.

Limos frowned, “Now that’s rude. We’ve only just met. You shouldn’t judge ponies based on appearances.”

Limos screeched and after a minute or so, Hemorrhage appeared and landed in her wing claws. She then threw them towards Meadow, making the Kirin duck to avoid the flying blades. The blades flew upward and cut a bit of the railing off our ship.

Ratchet saw this and glared down at the fury, “Hey! Watch the ship freak!”

Limos turned to look at him and smiled gleefully. Ratchet saw this and immediately went to aim the rocket launcher at the fury. Limos looked unconcerned as the rocket flew towards her. She screeched again and I saw her chakrams cut the rocket in half before it even reached her.

“Oh horseapples…” Ratchet muttered.

Limos leapt onto the ship, tackling Ratchet onto the deck. Before he could throw her off, she bit into his neck. He screamed and tried to punch her to make her let go. Limos didn’t even flinch as she enjoyed her meal.

“No free meals on this ship Bitch!” Stormy shouted, bashing Limos in the back of the head with a piece of the broken railing.

Limos let Ratchet go and held the back of her head. She turned and glared at the pegasus.

“Do you mind? I’m trying to eat here.”

Stormy punched her again, sending her off the ship. When she hit the ground, I took the opportunity to move in with Venta. I slashed at her again and again, her flesh was no match for my steel. After a while, she recovered enough to block me with her wing talon and jumped away to get some distance.

Stormy wasn’t about to let her go though. The pegasus appeared above her and drop kicked her in the head. The fury was pushed into the dirt by the impact. Stormy continued to wail on her with her forelegs, punching her head again and again.

But suddenly, Stormy stopped and held her chest again. She collapsed next to Limos, panting loudly.

Limos pulled her head out of the mound of dirt that it had been beat into and looked to see the pegasus was immobile.

“Aww, what’s wrong little pegasus? Feeling a little under the weather?” She giggled.

“Here, let me kiss it and make it better!” Limos shouted as she pounced on top of Stormy and bit into her neck.

As Stormy screamed, I was about to run in and help her when Meadow charged past me.

“Get off her!” Meadow shouted, her bow absent for once.

She ran over and pulled out a hunting knife, burying it in Limos’ neck. The fury pulled back and Meadow twisted the knife, causing more blood to spew from the bat fury’s neck.

Limos jumped back, Meadow’s knife still in her neck. Though Meadow was more concerned with Stormy, who looked even worse than she had before.

As Limos pulled the knife out of her neck, she growled in frustration and threw the knife back at Meadow. I was not about to let that happen, so I quickly ran in front of the kirin, catching the knife in my magic.

Limos licked her lips, “That pegasus, her blood is like a surge of electricity coursing down my throat, my whole body is crackling with energy. She’s not normal either. You certainly have a habit for finding strange ponies for your merry group, don’t you Shadow?”

“Shut up! I won’t let this continue. You want more blood, then you go through me! And I know whoever you work for won’t let you kill me. So piss off!” I shouted at her.

She frowned at me, “Yeah, I can’t kill you. But no one said I couldn’t have fun with your traveling companions. You lot are a smorgasbord of flavors!”

I pulled out my shotgun, “Then come at me!”

She flew towards me, screeching to call her weapons. I fired the shotgun, blasting half of her face off but she did not stop. Hemorrhage came from above this time. I blocked them with Venta, sending them to the side, making them slice a tree. As the tree fell, I turned back just in time for Limos to tackle me again, taking me into the air with her. The impact made me drop my weapons onto the deck of the ship as we flew over. She used this to her advantage and tried to bite me again. I blocked her teeth with my pipbuck, the casing of the device was sturdy enough to protect my leg.

As she pulled back to bite again, I punched her in the face and we began to roll through the air. This struggle continued for a while, her trying to bite me and me dealing blow after blow with what little leverage I had in the air. We had started to lose altitude as the struggle went on, eventually causing us to land with me grabbing her in a headlock.

Her wings flapped in another attempt to take us into the air, but I threw her to the ground, pinning her with my forelegs around her neck. I pulled with all my might and I heard her neck snap. I let go and saw that I had put so much strength into it that her head was nearly turned completely around.

I panted, trying to get my breathing back under control. I knew she wasn’t dead, but this gave me a few moments of reprieve. I laid down a few feet away, my head becoming dizzy from the blood loss and the tumble through the air I had just experienced.

The sound of bones cracking back in place alerted me to Limos, who had recovered and twisted her head back around.

“Well that was fun. Wanna go again?” She joked.

“What are you?” I asked.

“Something far more than any of you could possibly understand. Now get up, I want to have more fun.” Limos demanded.

I got up on shaky legs, “Bring it on.”

She moved even faster than before, shoulder tackling me and sending us both flying into the side of the ship. This time, my armor didn’t protect me. My shoulder dislocated and sent a wave of immense pain through my body. Goddesses this hurt more than when Keira accidently broke one of my ribs!

“Aww, what’s wrong Shadow? Did I hurt your shoulder?” Limos asked.

“Fuck you…” I said defiantly.

She stomped on my dislocated shoulder, making me scream in agony.

“That wasn’t very nice.”

I screamed more as she pressed her hoof harder. Her claws digging through my armor and into my flesh. I tried to kick at her, but the pain made it so hard to move.

“All this screaming sure makes a girl thirsty. You don’t mind, do you Shadow?” Limos said, lowering her head.

I could see her fangs glistening with saliva as they drew closer to my neck. I tried to move away, but she still had her hoof on my shoulder. It hurt so much.

But before she could bite my neck, she effortlessly batted a magical arrow away with her wing talon. Her expression changed to an annoyed glance over to where Meadow was standing. She was a good 40 feet from us, her bow already ready with another arrow.

“Get off him!” Meadow shouted, firing another arrow.

Limos looked uninterested as she swatted the arrow away again.

“Wow, you are so boring. Lyssa is so much more fun than you.”

She screeched and sent her chakrams flying at Meadow again, this time the flying blades hit their mark. Meadow’s bow was cut clean in half, the string and wood falling in front of her. While the other blade had cut into the kirins shoulder, sending her on her knees in pain.

“See, boring. Now, where were we, Shadow?” Limos smiled down at me.

She went to try and bite me again, but was interrupted by a new sound.

A cry pierced the air of the clearing, making everyone in the area stop cold. The cry was one of a creature that was taking its first breath into the world. Rose’s foal, it had arrived.

Limos’ ears twitched as she slowly looked towards the ship. The foal’s cries continued as she stood over me.

She sniffed, “Is that a newborn?”

She took her leg off my shoulder, giving me relief from the agonizing pain. But that wasn’t my concern right now. Limos had slowly started towards the ship.

“No! You leave them alone!” I shouted at her.

She stopped and slowly turned her head towards me, her demonic smile had returned.

“A newborn. So pure, untainted by the wastes. A truly rare delicacy. What a thoughtful gift Shadow.” She said, licking her lips.

I tried to roll over back onto my hooves but my shoulder wouldn’t allow it. The pain almost made me pass out.

“Limos, don’t touch them!” I yelled with all my might.

She cackled and spread her wings wide to take flight onto the deck. There was nothing I could do, I couldn’t stop her. She would kill Saskia, Rose, Tumbleweed… Moonlight. I had to get up, I had to stop her!

“NOOOOOOOOO!” A feminine voice yelled, the voice changing to a darker pitch as they yelled.

Limos was suddenly engulfed in bluish flames, pushing her into the forest outside the clearing. The trees she crashed against soon caught fire themselves, the bluish flames spreading across the ring of trees.

I looked to where the flames had come from and saw something I had only ever seen in books. A pony like figure stood there, where green fur had been now was black as char. Her horn had turned black as well, then taking a pale color as it traveled to the tip. Fire flowed from her mane and around her hooves and tail. Even her eyebrows had caught fire. Her eyes were pure white, no pupils or iris whatsoever.

Was that truly Meadow?

Meadow roared in a voice that didn’t sound like her at all. It hurt my ears so bad I had to cover them with my hooves.

Limos recovered enough to get on her hooves before Meadow crashed into her. The Kirin, or should I say, Nirik scorched the very ground as she attempted to burn the bat fury to nothing. Limos’ fur was burnt off, leaving the skin underneath blistered and charred. The bat fury tried to bite into Meadow’s neck, but the Nirik only intensified the flames in her mane. Limos’ face was burnt, half of it already unrecognizable.

The fire was so intense she couldn’t heal fast enough to keep up with Meadow’s attacks. The Nirik then shoved the bat fury against a large boulder in the clearing, a path of fire marking their path from the treeline. The rock started to turn red with the heat that Meadow was giving off. My friend kept breathing fire all over Limos’ body. The bat fury couldn’t escape the flames.

Limos then tried to screech and summon her weapons, but the moment Herrophage came close to the Nirik, she simply took the cut, not even flinching. The wounds on Meadow’s shoulders where the blades had cut her cauterized immediately. She didn’t even flinch.

Before the fury could screech again, Meadow’s horn glowed with flames and created a magical aura around her head. Limos’ jaw was forced open, wider and wider until I knew it had been dislocated.

As the fury laid there in front of Meadow, my friend stood over her and breathed a torrent of flames straight down her throat. The fire caused her flesh to blister and crack as flames broke through the cracks. Limos’ eyes burst and her entire body went limp as she burned to death from the inside out. Would this finally kill her?

When Meadow noticed that Limos had stopped moving, she bit down on the fury’s foreleg and threw her into the river. What a toss.

Meadow just stood there, flames dancing across her body. Her breathing slowed but the flames didn’t dissipate. If anything, they seemed to be getting stronger.

I hobbled my way over to her, my shoulder still dislocated, but I was managing.

“Nice work Meadow. I didn’t know you had it in you.” I said.

She turned around sharply, and before I could even blink, a wave of flames shot towards me. I rolled to avoid them, earning me more pain from my shoulder. Well it was better than being roasted.

“Meadow, it’s me!” I shouted at her.

“STOP CALLING ME THAT.” She roared at me.

Another wave of fire shot towards me, but before it could reach me, Stormy appeared and pulled me out of the way. We both looked at Meadow with looks of confusion and worry.

“Meadow, the fuck is wrong with you?” Stormy asked.

“MY NAME IS NOT MEADOW!” She roared again.

She charged at us now, leaving a trail of flames in her wake. Stormy jumped into the air and flew towards her, getting her attention. She then veered to the left, making the Nirik chase after her. I tried to stand on my own, but quickly fell due to my aching shoulder.

Ratchet appeared next to me out of nowhere, “Hang on partner.”

He shoved a piece of wood in my mouth and I immediately knew what he was going to do. Oh merciful Luna this was gonna hurt. He reset my shoulder as easily as hammering in a bolt on a machine. I would have been impressed if I wasn’t trying not to cry.

When I got back to my feet, my vision was a little blurry. But I had to tough it out. We weren’t out of the woods yet.

“What the hell has gotten into Meadow? Or is that even Meadow?” Ratchet asked.

“It’s Meadow alright. But I don’t know why she’s acting like this. Nothing I read about their transformations mentions anything like this.” I said.

“Transformations?” He asked.

“I’ll explain later. Right now we have to help Stormy calm her down.”

We both ran to catch up with Stormy, who had led Meadow over to the other side of the clearing, far away from the ship, thank Luna. Stormy was dodging fireballs from the Nirik, not seeming to have much trouble.

“STAY STILL!” Meadow roared at her.

“You gotta work harder, Hot stuff. Come on, let’s just chill out. You got the bitch.” Stormy said, hovering in the air.

“Meadow! She’s right. Limos is gone. You can stop.” I said, running up behind her.

She turned to look at me and Ratchet as we approached.

“How many times do I have to say it? STOP CALLING ME BY THAT WEAKLINGS NAME!” She screamed.

I looked curiously at her, “If not Meadow, then who am I speaking to?”

She grinned, that smile looking wrong on Meadow’s face, “I AM FIRE INCARNTE. I AM THE FLAMES OF TARTARUS. I AM ARID BLAZE!”

She roared again, releasing a shockwave of bluish flames, forcing me to pull Ratchet back behind another boulder. Stormy had flown upward to avoid it.

“The hell is she on about?” Ratchet asked as we hid.

“Something about her transformation must be affecting her mind. We need to get her to change back.” I said.

“And how in tarnation are we supposed to do that?” Ratchet yelled at me.

I thought about all the books that I read about Kirins. Their transformation into Nirik was usually triggered by anger, but this seemed deeper than that. It’s almost like a whole new personality has taken over Meadow. If that was the case, trying to talk to her wasn’t going to work. We needed to find another way. Then it clicked in my mind. I looked around the boulder, past Arid Blaze towards the far end of the clearing.

“The river.” I said softly.

“What? What about it?” Ratchet asked.

I looked to the sky, “STORMY! WE NEED TO GET HER IN THE RIVER! DOUSE HER FLAMES!”

Stormy looked at me with confusion and then to the river, “Ooooooooh gotcha!”

Stormy flew down in front of Arid, “Hey babe, come get some of this.”

She made kissy faces in front of the Nirik, Arid’s expression changing to something between annoyance and confusion. Stormy took off towards the river, Arid following in close pursuit. I took the opportunity to go towards the treeline.

“Shadow, where are you going? The river is that way!” Ratchet said, pointing a hoof towards the river.

“I know that! Just need something to shove into her so I don’t get burnt to a crisp!” I yelled back at him.

Reaching the treeline, I could see that most of the trees had caught fire, but I had found a thicker log that was only slightly charred. Taking out Venta I cut the log into a more manageable size, picking it up in my magic.

“Ratchet, go back to the ship and see if Rose can be moved yet. Once we get Meadow back to normal, we need to leave. I don’t know if she killed Limos, and I’m not taking any more chances.” I instructed.

“Big 10-4 on that partner.” Ratchet said, giving me a salute before rushing off.

With the tree in my magical aura, I levitated it as fast as I could over to where Stormy was distracting Arid. Arid was starting to pant a little, her flames still burning but not quite as intense as they were before. Maybe she was running out of steam. This might be our best chance.

“Come on hot stuff, Meadow had much better aim than that. Plus she’s a helluva lot cuter.” Stormy mocked her in the air.

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU PEST!” Arid roared.

She was distracted and weakened, this was my chance! I broke into the fastest sprint I could do while carrying that huge log. As Arid shot another fireball at Stormy, I took my chance.

“Give her back!” I yelled.

Arid turned, but it was too late to get out of the way. The tree slammed into her and sent her right into the river. I quickly threw the log away and jumped into the river after her. The currents were strong but I wasn’t going to let them stop me. I swam in the rushing waters and looked for my friend. After a few seconds, I saw Meadow’s unmoving body in the water. She wasn’t struggling, the force must have knocked her unconscious.

I quickly swam to catch up with her, grabbing her around the barrel and pulling her to the surface. I gasped as I reached the top, the current still pulling us away from the ship.

“Stormy!” I yelled out for my pegasus friend.

“Gotcha covered Shadow.” Stormy said, lowering a vine she must have gotten from the forest.

I bit down on the vine and she pulled us towards the shore. When my hooves reached dry land, I collapsed. I pulled Meadow out of the water with my magic, she was still unconscious.

Stormy landed next to me, “How ya feeling Shadow?”

“Like I’ve just survived the pits of Tartarus. We need to get back to the ship. Can you carry her?” I asked.

“A chance to carry a hot damsel in distress? You think I’d pass that up?” Stormy joked.

She picked up the kirin and flew towards the ship. My gosh that mare was almost as big a flirt as Ivory. Actually scratch that, I shouldn’t compare my friend to that whore.

I pulled myself to my hooves and moved at a quick trot back to the ship. I made it just in time to be hugged tightly by a certain thestral friend of mine. Moonlight had flown down from the ship and embraced me before I could even step onto the walk plank.

“Shadow! Oh thank goodness. Stormy came by with Meadow and I was so scared. Are you ok?” She said, pulling out of the hug and looking me over like a mother to her child.

“Moonlight, I’m fine. A little banged up and my shoulder is killing me, but I’ll live.” I said.

She looked at me and blushed a little when she saw how close we were. She stepped back and fidgeted with her braid.

“Yes well. I’m glad you’re ok. What happened out here?” She asked.

“A lot, I’ll explain later. Right now we need to get as far away from here as possible. And what about Rose? I heard the baby, is she ok?” I asked.

Moonlight smiled brightly, “Come see for yourself.”

She led me to the hatch and we went down into the cabin. As I made my way inside, I could see everyone was here. Stormy had laid Meadow on her bed, and was standing amongst everyone else around Rose’s bed. I made my way through the crowd, getting smiles from Saskia, Ratchet, Stormy, Tumbleweed and Moonlight.

Rose laid there in the bed, smiling down at the small bundle in her forelegs. When she heard me approach, she smiled at me.

“Shadow.” Rose addressed me.

“Are you ok?” I asked.

“I’ve never been better.” She said, unwrapping the bundle.

A small little earth pony filly was wrapped up in the bundle, her coat was the same as her mothers, light green but her mane was yellow. When she opened her eyes, they were brown. She giggled at me, making my heart feel warm. I reached out to her, and she reached out with her little forelegs to grab onto my leg.

“Aww, I think she likes you, Shadow.” Moonlight said.

I chuckled, “What’s her name?”

Rose looked down at her daughter for a moment, “Sage had told me if it was a girl, he wanted to name her. He told me one I think is perfect for her. Everyone, say hello to Desert Lily.”

Desert Lily, a beautiful name. Finally, something good came out of this hellish Wasteland.

Stormy poked her head near the filly, “Hiya Lily, you’re gonna be the biggest cutie I betcha.”

Lily giggled and then yawned. Rose bundled her up again and the filly went right to sleep.

Rose looked at all of us, “Thank you all. I never would have gotten to see my Lily without your help.”

Moonlight smiled, “It was worth every second to see this little miracle. She’s so beautiful Rose. And absolutely precious.”

Moonlight continued to gush over the filly, Rose and her giggling together.

Saskia chimed in, “A truly beautiful bundle of joy. There is nothing more lovely than seeing the miracle of birth.”

Ratchet wiped a tear away, “In the wasteland, things can be pretty unfair. But not this time, this time we beat it. And now, I’m gonna make sure little Lily gets back to Fort Trough without so much as a scuff on her face.”

Saskia smiled at him, “Indeed. Our job is not yet done. You fought bravely from what Stormy told me.”

Ratchet blushed, “Aww shucks. I just blew up a few gators. Couldn’t really do much when that fury showed up.”

“Nevertheless, Lily was safe to come into this world thanks to all of you. Don’t sell yourself short Ratchet.” Saskia said, giving him a small peck on the cheek.

Ratchet then turned bright red and almost fell over before righting himself, “I.. I.. I better go get the ship moving. Yeah, gotta go get going. Yep yep.”

Ratchet took one step and tripped over himself, and again and again, all the way to the hatch. He scurried up the ladder, still bright red.

Saskia giggled in her hoof and went to pet the little filly on the head.

“Man, you got him going.” Stormy said to her.

“He’s adorable. And quite handsome wouldn’t you say?” Saskia asked.

“Pfft. I wouldn’t know anything about that. Not my type. So, what are you doing later?” Stormy smiled, leaning close to her.

Saskia just smiled, “Watching the baby.”

“Hey that’s cool. I like babies, babies are cool.” Stormy said, sitting next to her.

“Hey, I did a lot of fighting and saving lives out there. Don’t I get a peck on the cheek?” Stormy said, pointing a hoof at her cheek.

Saskia looked at her with a raised eyebrow and then giggled, “Maybe next time if you are good girl.”

Stormy slumped a little at that, “Dang it.”

Moonlight shook her head and looked at me, “We have such strange friends.”

I chuckled, “We’re pretty strange ourselves. But I’m just happy everyone is safe.”

The ship’s engine started up and we began lifting into the air. As the momentum hit, I accidentally lost my balance and ended up leaning against Moonlight. She looked at me, right in the eyes and we both got a hot blush on our faces.

“Kiss kiss kiss kiss!” We heard Stormy shouting.

Our blushes intensified and we both separated, quickly finding the planks on the ground more interesting than each other.

Stormy threw her forelegs in the air, “OH COME ON!”

Author's Note

Hey guys, Hades here.

Another chapter finally. And this one is a dosey XD

Let's see Limos come back from that right XD

See you all next time