Chapter 30

– Home Stretch –

The winds of the desert pushed us along the sands, the ship was moving at top speeds without the engines. The slavers didn’t have any spark batteries to replenish our supplies, so we had to rely on the sails to push us towards Fort Trough. Ratchet told us we should arrive today, making me sigh in relief. The children needed a safe place, Rose and her baby needed safety. I promised to get them there and that’s exactly what I was going to do.

I felt something stir at my side, and turned my head to the little zebra filly laying against me, fast asleep in peaceful bliss. Asteria had clung to me ever since we took off. She never left my side, probably wanting to stay close to another zebra. The other children seemed to keep their distance from her, no idea why. She was so cute and kind.

“She seems to have taken quite a liking to you, Shadow?” Moonlight said, coming up to my other side.

“I guess so. I don’t mind, she deserves to relax after all she’s been through.” I said.

“I feel so bad for her, for all of Orphanage, they didn’t do anything wrong. Limos destroyed their town for no reason. Monster.” Moonlight said, spitting some venom with her words.

“Monster indeed. Where did she come from? Surely she wasn’t born like that. I could swear I saw stitches on her wings. And her body, it wasn’t natural.” I pondered.

“I heard about it from Saskia and Stormy. Much as I don’t want to see such an abomination again, I would like to see her for myself. I was preoccupied the last two times she showed up.” Moonlight said.

I looked at Moonlight, “From what I know about Thestral culture, your kind is more closely related to fruit bats. But there was an old tome back home that talked about rare breeds of vampire bat thestrals.”

Moonlight nodded, “There were, a long time ago. But they were hunted to the brink of extinction by my ancestors and Princess Luna. Their bloodlust and disregard for the lives of others made them too dangerous.”

“Oh, that I didn’t know. Must have missed that book.” I said, holding a hoof to my chin.

“I never pegged you for a bookworm Shadow.” Moonlight giggled.

“Hey, when you’re not getting your butt kicked in training, you need something to pass the time. What was I supposed to do, knit a sweater?” I joked.

That got Moonlight to burst out in laughter, “You knitting? You’d probably stick your hoof every few minutes.”

“That is the truth my dear Moonlight. I would have been horrible, and the abominations I would create would be a blight upon this world.” I said dramatically.

Moonlight fell over in laughter, accidentally pressing against my side. When she realized this, she quickly blushed and composed herself.

“Well, yes. The world is safe from your blasphemous attempts at making a sweater. So, much longer till we get to Fort Trough?”

“Ratchet said we’d be there before dark, so hopefully we can see it soon.” I said, blushing a little myself.

“You two seem to be getting cozy. Am I interrupting something?” Saskia said as she approached us.

We both blushed and looked away from each other, saying in unison, “Nothing!”

Saskia giggled, “You two are adorable. Almost as much as the children.”

“How are they? The little dears must be scared out of their minds.” Moonlight said, looking over at the other children.

They had all piled on Saskia’s bed, most looking sound asleep. It was a little crowded down here, what with the children and Rose and her family. But it wouldn’t be long now before Fort Trough.

“They seem to be calming down. With the slavers gone, their fears have diminished. Though I fear for their long term trauma. I hope to get in touch with the Responders once we get to the fort.” Saskia said.

“Oh? How well do you know the Responders?” Moonlight asked.

“I knew most that went through Orphanage, none of the higher ups though. I volunteered a lot in Orphanage, the children could be quite the handful for newer members.” Saskia said.

“You really love kids huh? Surprised you don’t have any of your own running around.” I said.

Saskia got a pained look on her face, “Well, I just haven’t found the right stallion I suppose.”

She shook her head, “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you Shadow. About her.”

She pointed at Asteria, making me look at the filly. She was surprisingly still asleep, even with all the talking and laughing that went on. A deep sleeper.

“What about her?” I asked.

“I’ve spoken to the children, wondering if she had any friends, and they all told me that she isn’t from Orphanage.”

My eyes widened, “What?”

“Then she was…” Moonlight said, holding her hoof to her mouth.

“She was already with the slavers when they captured the other children.” Saskia said solemnly.

I looked at Asteria with worried eyes, she was never in Orphanage. Where did she come from?

The little zebra filly started to stir, I quickly composed myself and smiled down at her. Her eyes opened and she looked up at me and smiled. Then she saw Moonlight and Saskia, making her “eep” and hide behind me.

I chuckled, “My friends aren’t going to hurt you, Asteria. Moonlight wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Moonlight came around and sat next to the filly, “There’s no need to be afraid. You’re safe now. We won’t let anypony hurt you ever again.”

Asteria looked at Moonlight, fear dissipating from her eyes, “You’re really pretty.”

Moonlight blushed, “Aww thank you. You're quite pretty too. I love your necklace.”

Asteria looked down, “I’m not pretty. My mane is all messy and ugly.”

“Nonsense. Come here, I’ll help you fix it.” Moonlight said, gesturing Asteria to come closer.

Asteria hesitated and looked to me. I gave her a nod and a little nudge with my hoof. Asteria moved over to Moonlight and sat in front of her. Moonlight stood behind the filly and started to straighten out all the stray strands of hair in her mane.

“Saskia, do you have a brush?” Moonlight asked.

Saskia levitated a brush out of her bag, “There you are dear.”

Moonlight took the brush in her mouth and continued with Asteria’s mane. Asteria winced a little when Moonlight found some knots, but the thestral was gentle. As the strands fell back into place, Moonlight pulled out a hair tie, and dressed the filly’s mane into a ponytail.

“Voila, what do you think?” Moonlight said, giving Asteria a mirror.

Asteria gasped, “I love it! Thank you Miss Moonlight.”

The filly hugged the thestral, Moonlight gladly returning the hug.

“It looks good on you.” I said.

Asteria giggled and swayed her head back and forth, making her new ponytail swish side to side.

Suddenly, the ship lurched to the side, making everyone down below scream and try to keep themselves from falling over.

“What was that!?” I yelled.

“Did something hit the ship?” Moonlight asked.

“All of you stay down. I’m going up top.” I said.

Asteria grabbed my leg, “Don’t go!”

I leaned down and picked her up, handing her to Moonlight, “Stay with Moonlight, she’ll keep you safe. I’ll be back I promise.”

Asteria hesitated but eventually relented and held onto Moonlight. I quickly made my way upstairs to the top deck.

“Ratchet, what the hell is going on up here!?” I yelled out.

“We got big problems, partner!” Ratchet yelled out from the wheelhouse.

Before I could ask what he was talking about, another jolt to the side of the ship nearly knocked me off. I held onto the railing and pushed myself to my hooves. I ran to the side where the ship was hit and my face went pale.

“Hi Shadow.” A familiar voice said as they flew beside our ship.

Leathery wings and a white bloodstained mane greeted me as the creature of our nightmares had returned.

“Limos.” I said with a shaky breath.

I quickly got my shotgun out and tried firing at her, which she dodged with ease by rolling away from the ship. More shots rang out as I tried to hit the fury, with no luck. I cursed under my breath. I was gonna need back up.

I ran back to the hatch and stuck just my head down below, “Stormy! Stormy I need you up here!”

Stormy appeared at the hatch, “What the heck is going on up there?”

“Limos is back! I need air support!” I shouted.

Stormy’s eyes went wide and then changed to a glare, “That bitch doesn’t quit. Time for Round 3!”

Stormy climbed the hatch, making me duck out of the way. Soon as she was top side, she flew into the air.

Tumbleweed came up after her, his father’s revolver in his magical grip, “I wanna help too.”

“You should stay down there with your mother and sister.” I said.

“No! That thing isn’t gonna leave us alone. I’m not sitting on the sidelines anymore while you and the others risk your lives for us.” He said with determination.

I nodded, “Ok. Talk to Ratchet about getting that rocket launcher set up again. Might be enough to slow her down.”

“On it.” He said, taking off towards the wheelhouse.

I poked my head inside, “Saskia, Moonlight, get all the children against the left side of the ship. Move the beds around them and try to keep them calm. Meadow, keep Rose and her baby safe.

I closed the hatch and moved towards the right side of the ship, looking around for Stormy or Limos. How could she have tracked us down so soon? Did she memorize our scent? She recovered faster than I thought she would.

A blue blur zoomed past me as Stormy rammed into Limos, who had been coming for another ram. My pegasus friend delivered several kicks to the fury, causing her opponent to lose focus and crash into a passing rock formation.

Stormy flew to the side where I was, “Got any more ideas on putting her down?”

“I don’t know. All we can do is keep her away from the ship. If she rips the sails, we’re sitting ducks out here.” I said to her.
“Right, keep her away from the sails. Then what?” Stormy asked.

“All we can do is hope to reach the fort. Once we get there, I’m sure the Desert Rangers can get her off our backs.”

I looked past the pegasus, “Stormy behind you!”

The pegasus nimbly dodged a bite from Limos, delivering a good kick to the fury’s head. They fell out of sight under the ship. I couldn’t see them anymore. I looked over to the wheelhouse and saw that Tumbleweed was finishing setting up the rocket launcher.

I ran over to him, “How many rockets do we have left?”

“Three. And it’s gonna be hard to hit a moving target.” He said.

“Not to mention avoid hitting Stormy too. I’ll signal to her, you get ready to fire.” I said.

He nodded, and I moved back to the side of the ship. Stormy was currently avoiding Limos, showing once again that she was the superior flier. The fury lunged at her in the air, but got another kick to the back for her efforts. Stormy flew back towards the ship, allowing me to get her attention and point at the rocket launcher. She nodded and flew closer to the ship, the fury hot on her tail.

Stormy then changed direction, giving Tumbleweed a shot at the oncoming fury. The rocket fired and flew towards Limos. But she saw it coming and quickly moved out of the way, making it hit a rock formation.

Tumbleweed fired again, but this time Limos didn’t dodge to the side. My eyes widened as she bit down on the rocket and swung her head around to redirect the rocket back towards us. How strong was she!?

I quickly took out my shotgun and went into SATS, targeting the rocket and putting in three shots. I couldn't afford to miss. Two shots missed it, but the third hit home and detonated the rocket before it reached the ship.

“Ok, hold the last rocket. We can’t afford to have her redirect it again.” I said.

Tumbleweed nodded and joined me at the railing, holding his revolver.

Stormy was keeping Limos at bay, but I had no idea how long she could hold out. We couldn’t kill Limos, and we were all out of tricks to severely wound her.

“Shadow, the fort! I can see it!” Ratchet yelled out.

I looked towards the front of the ship and sure enough, there it was. I was still a long way off, but we would vaguely see it. It was big, walls and structures spreading out across a vast amount of land. Fort Trough, our salvation was in our sights.

Though my hopes were short lived, as Limos landed on the front of the ship, taking our attention off the fort.

“So that’s where you’ve been heading. I can’t have you getting to Fort Trough, oh no. You’ve caused me way too much trouble to just let you scurry on towards the Desert Rangers for help. You’ll never reach that fort alive!” Limos screamed.

I yelled out and tried to fire my shotgun, only to hear an empty click sound. Shit, I forgot to reload! I quickly scrambled for my shells as Limos ran towards us. Tumbleweed fired three shots into the fury, but she didn’t stop. Then Stormy appeared, tackling the fury to the deck.

“No one invited you freak. So get the hell off our ship!” Stormy said, rolling with the Fury.

She used the momentum of the roll to throw the fury off our ship. That should buy us a little time. I fully reloaded and went back towards the side where the fury had fallen. Looking over the side was a bad idea, cause as soon as I did I was met with a pair of fangs.

Limos knocked me to the ground and bit into my shoulder, I screamed in pain as she started to drink from my shoulder. Stormy appeared and punched her in the face, making her let go. I held my shoulder and hissed in pain.

“Oooooooh, that rush. Guardian blood is sooo tasty. I wonder if everyone in your stable tastes like this.” Limos said, licking her lips.

“Shut up!” I yelled.

I fired my shotgun and hit her right in the chest. I fired again, and again, pushing her back against the railing of the ship. Stormy then kicked her in the head and pushed her off the ship. She ran over to me, “Shadow you ok?”

I didn’t get a chance to answer before Limos was on us again. She wouldn’t stop. She knocked Stormy in the head, making her skid across the deck and hit her head on the railing. Stormy seemed to lose consciousness with that blow as she laid there unmoving. Tumbleweed ran in and fired three rounds into the bat monster, only to receive a backhoof to the jaw. Tumbleweed fell to the deck unconscious. I expected Limos to go after one of them but she still grinned wickedly at me.

“I know I’m not supposed to kill you, Shadow. But you and your friends are really getting on my nerves. No one has ever met me more than once, my reputation is on the line here! I’ll never hear the end of it from Avarice or Achlys. So the one way to keep my dignity is to end you.” Limos said, her eyes getting brighter.

She stepped closer to me, panic starting to seep into my being as the bat creature advanced. I fired my shotgun again, only for her to bat it away with her wing. It skidded across the deck, I tried to grab it with my magic but I wasn’t fast enough. I tried to pull Venta from its sheath but Limos punched me in the horn.

I screamed in pain as she continued her assault, ripping at my barding and tearing through the reinforced plating with ease. Venta and Umbra were thrown aside, thankfully hitting the railing of the ship and not plummeting to the desert below.

I laid there, no barding, no weapons, scared out of my mind as Limos leered down at me. Her eyes glowing bright red with the pink pupil in the middle giving off an even brighter glow. She licked her lips and raised her clawed hoof high, no doubt to slash at me for the killing blow.

This is it, this is where I die..

But my death did not come, as a rock hit Limos square in the back of the head. Both me and her were stunned at this, I watched the rock that hit her fall against the deck.

Limos turned around, “Who’s the dead pony that did that?”

But it wasn’t a pony behind her, it was a small zebra filly.

Asteria’s face was one of pure terror, she had thrown the rock without thinking. She just wanted to help me. But as the bat fury’s gaze focused in on her, she felt her blood freeze in her veins.

“I haven’t had zebra in a while. And just for that, I’ll take more than just a sip.” Limos said, turning her body towards the filly.

“Limos, don’t you touch her!” I shouted.

“I’ll be back for you in a second, Shadow. My sweet tooth is calling.”

I pushed myself to my hooves and charged her, “I said stop!”

She kicked me in the chest, sending me skidding across the deck. It knocked the wind out of me, but I didn’t care. Asteria tried to run, but she didn’t have anywhere to go. She ran away from the hatch and towards the front of the ship. But when she hit the front railing, she pressed her back against it as the fury advanced on her.

I used every ounce of my will to push myself forward, tackling Limos and latching onto her back. She thrashed underneath me, the claws on her wings scraping against me as she tried to throw me off.

“Will you just piss off for a second!? Stallions really, you can’t take a hint!” Limos shouted.

With one last throw, she knocked me off and as I hit the railing at the front of the ship, it broke. I felt gravity pulling at me as I fell overboard. But that wasn’t my concern, as Asteria screamed to my right. She was falling too. I lit up my horn to grab her with my magic, pulling her close to me. She clung to my chest as we fell further away from the ship. The canyon below swallowed us whole, and everything faded into blackness.

I groaned, pain coursed through my body like a wave of agony. I didn’t know that death would be so painful. Doctors made it sound so peaceful, if a little morbid. Why was I in pain? I was dead, right?

“Shadow, wake up.” A small female voice said next to me.

I felt someone pushing against me and groaned some more. My eyes opened and through my blurry vision, a striped face was leaning down to look at me.

“Asteria?” I asked.

“It’s me. Are you ok, Shadow?” Asteria asked.

My head pounded as I rose to sit on my haunches, the dizziness subsided and I was able to scan my surroundings. We were in some kind of cavern, judging from the dark stone around us and the luminescent algae giving off a green glow.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“I don’t know, I woke up a little bit ago.” Asteria said.

Memories of what happened on the ship flooded back into my mind, “What about Limos? We fell off the ship…”

“How did we survive? Did you use your magic?” Asteria asked.

“I’m horrible at magic, and I blacked out as we fell. How is this possible?” I asked.

Suddenly a rock shifted behind us, making me immediately jump to my hooves and stand above Asteria to protect her, “Who’s there?”

I saw no one, no movement, no sign of any other living being around us. But I knew something was out there. That feeling in the back of my mind, like something was watching us.

Then, right in front of us, a tiny ball of light appeared. It glowed with a violet light, just hovering in the air about 20 feet from us. Then it slowly moved further away, lighting up the room and revealing a tunnel on the far wall.

“Should we follow it?” Asteria asked.

“We don’t have much of a choice.” I said.

Asteria looked scared as her whole body shook, I leaned down, “Wanna ride on my back?”

She nodded and climbed up onto my back. Sure it kinda hurt with all the bruising I probably got from Limos, but if it made her feel safe, it was the least I could do. She wouldn’t be down here if it wasn’t for me.

The tunnel was long, it felt like we had been walking for a while. Thankfully the orb kept a slow pace and kept in sight. What was this orb? Was someone casting a spell? Saskia? No, I don’t think even Saskia could do something like this.

Asteria was shivering on my back, I could feel her body tremble. But not from fear, I could tell she was cold. It was pretty damp down here.

“I’m sorry Asteria. I wish I had a blanket for you.” I said.

“It’s ok. It’s not your fault. You’ll find a way out. I just know it.” Asteria said.

“You have so much faith in me, yet we’ve only known each other for about a day.” I smiled.

“You’re the nicest zebra I’ve ever met. You saved me, you saved all of us from slavers. You even saved me when we fell.”

I thought back to the ship, the rock, “Why did you hit Limos with that rock?”

“She was gonna hurt you. I didn’t want you to get hurt, I just… did it.” She said, turning her head away.

“That was a very brave thing you did.”

She blushed, “Not really, it didn’t even hurt her.”

“It hurt her pride, that's for sure. Did you see the look on her face?” I laughed.

She giggled, “Yeah, it was pretty funny.”

We laughed a little, filling the tunnel with our sounds of joy. She was such a sweet filly. Thoughts of what Saskia said came to the front of my mind.

“Asteria, how did you end up with those slavers?” I asked.

She immediately lost her smile, her eyes going wide, she started to sniffle, “I was sold to them.”

“Sold? Someone actually sold you? Who?” I asked.

She shook her head, “I don’t wanna talk about it. I don’t wanna go back!”

“Go back?”

“Don’t make me go back! I wanna stay with you!” Asteria said, now crying into the back of my neck.

“Shh, shh, Asteria it’s ok. You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to. I promise you, whoever sold you will never hurt you again.” I said.

She started to calm down, little by little. The back of my neck was wet with tears, making it a little chilly, but I didn’t care. I hit a sensitive topic, I should have known better.

“Aww, isn’t that sweet?” Another feminine voice rang out from the tunnel, this one more malevolent.

My heart grew cold as I looked further down the tunnel, two red and pink eyes stared at me from the darkness.

“How did you find us?” I said, trying to stand my ground.

“Not even falling into a ravine can keep me away from my prey. Though I am curious how you survived. Maybe you’re not as much of a wimp as I thought.” Limos said, coming into the light.

Asteria whimpered on my back, her body trembling again.

“Oh and how nice, you saved my little snack for me. Shadow, you’re such a dear. Now, why don’t you just let me eat you both and I’ll forgive you for all the bullshit you’ve caused me these past few days? Sound fair?” She said, teeth gleaming in the light of the orb.

“Counter offer, how about you let us go and never bother me or my friends again, or we will continue to our bullshit to you until you drop dead?” I asked.

She gave me a deadpan look, “Now why would I do that? It’s not like you can fight back anymore. No guns, no sword, no friends. Just do the right thing and die.”

I looked around for some kind of weapon, anything that could help us in this situation. But there wasn’t anything. Not even a rock to distract her.

She was right in front of us, teeth bared and wings outstretched, “Say bye-bye, Shadow.”

Before she could lunge at us, a large stalactite fell from the ceiling out of nowhere and miraculously landed right on Limos, impaling her through the back and pinning her to the floor.

“AHH! What the hell?” She screamed, fidgeting under the rock, trying to get out.

What was that? No way I’m that lucky. But I couldn’t wait and contemplate the likelihood of that happening. I had to get Asteria away from her. I ran around the fury, jumping to avoid a bite from her.

“Shadow, get back here!” She yelled.

I heard wet ripping noises, probably Limos just trying to pull herself free so she could heal and come after us. I couldn’t slow down, I had to keep going. The end of the tunnel was in sight, making me increase my pace. As I moved through the exit, I found myself in another cavern. It was even larger than the last one, with a lot more tunnels connected to it. There must have been a dozen, which one should I take?

“Shadow, I’m gonna rip your heart out and eat it like a snack cake!” Limos shouted from the tunnel we just got out of.

I could see her eyes getting closer, what should I do?

Before Limos could reach us, the tunnel suddenly collapsed, trapping Limos under some rocks, with only her head remaining in sight.

“Ok, who’s doing that? I know Shadow is shit with magic, who else is in here!?” Limos shouted.

More rocks suddenly levitated right between me and Limos, surging towards her and smashing against her face. The rocks kept coming, building around Limos as she struggled to free herself. The rocks that were on top of her started to move as her anger grew.

“Shadow, we gotta run!” Asteria said, pulling me out of my daze.

“Right.” I said, running further into the room.

I looked around and tried to figure out which one of the tunnels led out of here? Which one should I take?

North Wall, climb the rocks and take the tunnel at the highest point.

A voice in my head spoke to me, a familiar voice that I couldn’t quite remember. No time to worry about that. I had a path, and I needed to hurry.

I followed the voice’s instructions and sure enough, that orb from before was floating right in front of the tunnel the voice told me to take. I didn’t hesitate and ran right into the tunnel. Asteria held onto my neck and I ran as fast as I could down the tunnel.

A rumble came from behind me, Limos must have broken free.

“I know somepony is helping you, Shadow! I can smell them!” Limos shout echoed through the tunnel.

So somepony was here!

“Who are you? Why are you helping me? I asked, not knowing to whom I was talking.

Just keep running. I’ll keep her at bay for as long as I can.

The voice kept speaking to me in my mind, were they using telepathy? That’s a pretty rare type of magic, only for advanced unicorns. Who was this pony?

“Why should I trust you? What if you’re leading me into a trap?” I asked.

Ugh! Why are you always so stubborn? Just keep going.

Stubborn? Wait, why did that sound like this voice knew me or something?

A light broke out in the tunnel, breaking me out of my thoughts as I looked ahead. This wasn’t light from the algae, this was daylight! I kept running, hearing the flapping of wings as Limos had taken to the air to catch up to us.

“Oh no you don’t!” Limos shouted, sounding closer.

Then, the whole tunnel started to shake, rocks fell from the ceiling. They started small but soon I was dodging boulders as the exit drew closer.

“I don’t know what you are, but if you don’t quit dropping rocks on me, I’m gonna filet you and eat you with garlic!” Limos shouted.

I jumped at the last minute and skidded out into the desert landscape of the Wasteland. I turned to see the tunnel I was just in started to collapse in on itself. Large boulders blocked the entrance. Limos wasn’t getting out that way.

One of the large boulders jolted violently, as if something had rammed into it. There’s no freaking way! How strong was this mare!?

Stop gawking and move! The Fort!

The voice screamed at me, getting me back to my hooves and looking around. I saw the Fort, it wasn’t that far! I couldn't believe it! I checked on Asteria, who looked very confused at the situation and also terrified at the same time. I couldn’t blame her.

I ran towards the fort, running as fast as I could. I wish I had my pack with me, I could really go for some White Wood Sap. My chest heaved as my stamina was running low. But I couldn’t stop, I had to get to the fort. I could only hope my friends had made it there.

A loud noise came from behind us and from the cave entrance, we both saw rubble flying everywhere. Limos was in the air, most likely looking for us. I turned back to look at the fort, and noticed a stream in front of it. A bridge connected the desert to the front of the fort. As we came up to the bridge, I was suddenly knocked off my hooves, Asteria flying off my back and onto the bridge. I landed at the edge of the stream, my brain rattled from the blow.

Limos landed in front of me, her eyes almost feral now, “I am done with this cat and mouse game!”

She pierced my shoulder with her claws, pinning me to the ground. I grunted in pain, not giving her the satisfaction of hearing me scream.

“I’m gonna drain you dry. Then I’m gonna drink that little zebra over there. Then that pegasus bitch, that Kirin who burned me! I’ll drink them all!” She shouted.

I punched her in the face, only for her to take it and raise her head, smiling down at me, “What a sissy little punch? Come on, try a little harder.”

“As you wish, Miss.” A deep voice spoke.

Limos didn’t get a chance to turn her head before a large hammer struck her in the face, the force of the blow was so intense, it pushed her off her hooves, ripped her claws out of my shoulder and sent her flying into a nearby boulder.

I grit my teeth through the pain in my shoulder and looked to my rescuer, only to see the most awesome and coolest pony I have ever seen.

A large stallion, covered in black steel power armor, almost exactly like the old world pictures I saw in the stable. A large hammer with what seemed to be thrusters at the backside of it was leaned on one side of him, and a minigun strapped to the other side. This guy was so cool!

He turned to look at me, “Guardian, are you well?”

“You know who I am?” I asked.

“Yes, your friends and Tumbleweed told me you needed some assistance. I am Tarkus, of the Desert Rangers.” He said.

“Tarkus? You’re one of the commanders Tumbleweed told us about. That was a nice hit on Limos.” I said, looking at his hammer in awe.

“Indeed, but Furies don’t stay down.” Tarkus said, turning towards Limos.

The bat fury had recovered and was glaring at us with pure rage, “I know you. Tarkus right? This doesn’t concern the Desert Rangers, buzz off.”

“You are on our land, Fury. And Tumbleweed told me what you did to Orphanage and more. The Guardian is under our protection. Leave now.” Tarkus stomped his hooves, and I swear the ground shook a little.

“You, giving my orders?” Limos cackled.

“I don’t take orders from weak little mortals like you!” Limos screeched.

As she charged us, the ground beneath her crumbled and from the earth itself, a large creature emerged and grabbed Limos by the throat. It was tall, even taller than Mercer! And while it wasn’t as bulky as Mercer, it was certainly toned. And what really stuck out were its claws, long and sharp, and the teeth inside its long snout.

“LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, FREAKY BAT FURY LADY, WRATH IS KICKING YOUR BUTT, THEN KICKING IT AGAIN AS YOU COME DOWN FROM THE SKY!” The canine creature bellowed.

“Let go of me you mutt!” Limos struggled.

Limos got her wish as the large dog threw her violently across the desert. She dug her claws into the ground and skidded to a halt.

“Commander Tarkus, Commander Wrath!” Tumbleweed’s voice came from behind us.

I saw Tumbleweed, Ratchet, Saskia, Meadow, Stormy, and Moonlight all surround me. Asteria was also with them, riding on Moonlight’s back.

“You’re all ok. Thank Luna.” I said, holding my shoulder.

Moonlight immediately came to my side and placed a medical rag against my shoulder to stop the bleeding, “Thank goodness Stormy saw you all approach, after you fell we were so worried.”

“You all made it to the fort? What about the kids, Rose and Lily?” I asked.

Moonlight smiled at me, “They are all fine. Commander Tarkus left a group of rangers with them and the ship at the fort entrance. We were lucky the Commanders were patrolling the perimeter.”

Tarkus and Wrath stood in front of all of us, weapons were primed and tension was rising. Limos looked between the two commanders and growled.

“Out of my way!” She screamed, lunging for us.

Out of nowhere, something slammed into Limos, driving her into the ground, and standing on top of her. When the dust cleared, I couldn’t believe my eyes. A black mare with a gray mane stood over the bat fury, pressing her hoof into Limo’s head.

“Commanders, I must express my deepest apologies for my sister’s behavior. She knows better than to mess with the Desert Rangers.” Algea said, pressing her hoof harder.

“Algea, what the hell are you going here?” I asked.

She looked at me, “Oh Shadow, Hi there! I didn’t see you.”

Another black figure landed next to Algea, dusting off her cloak. Achlys leaned down to grin at Limos, whose head was buried in the dirt, “Hey Sis, you are soooo busted.”

“Achlys too!? Why are you both here?” I asked.

She looked at me, “Duh, we gotta rein this filly in. She’s gotten way too carefree.”

Tumbleweed tried to move up to the front, but Commander Tarkus put himself in front of him, “Furies, you have a lot to answer for.”

Algea looked to the Commander, “As I said, you have our apologies on behalf of my sisters and me. Limos just got a little too carried away.”

“Destroying a town filled with children and hunting us down was just getting carried away?” Saskia yelled.
Algea gave her a blank look, “Look, we said we were sorry.”

“And that’s supposed to make it ok? What are you, twelve?” Stormy said.

Achlys stuck her tongue out, “Don’t you know not to ask a lady her age?”

“Enough!” Tarkus bellowed.

He pointed his minigun at the furies, “Leave this area.”

Algea yawned, “Look, I’m not in the mood for a fight. Don’t waste your bullets.”

Tumbleweed finally pushed past Tarkus to confront the furies, “Achlys, that’s you right?”

The pegasus fury raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, who are you supposed to be?”

“You killed my father didn’t you!?” He shouted.

Achlys tilted her head, “Who? I kill a lot of ponies, you gotta be more specific.”

“Sergeant Sage Brush, Shadow said you killed him.”

Achlys tapped her chin and then got a look of realization, “Oooooh, the ranger in that old building. Yeah, I played with him for a while. He was a Sergeant? He wasn’t all that tough, I only broke his leg in seven places. Total wuss.”

Tumbleweed pulled out his father’s revolver and shot at Achlys, hitting her clean in the head. Though she recovered quickly, Algea was glaring at her sister.

“You killed a Sergeant?” She said darkly.

Achlys looked at her sister with fear, “I didn’t know he was a Sergeant. So what if he was?”

Algea summoned her scythe and smacked Achlys with the back of the shaft, “Because it breaks the rules! Do you have any idea what trouble this will cause us?”

“I didn’t think-” Achlys said, rubbing her cheek.

“No you didn’t, cause apparently neither of you two have any brains whatsoever!” Algea shouted.

Algea pulled Achlys closer to her with her scythe and slammed her head into the ground next to Limos, “Once again I apologize for my sister’s actions. They will be severely punished.”

Achyls pushed back against Algea, “Punished? You’re not gonna tell Nemesis are you?”
“I have to. And all three of us are gonna get our asses kicked. Not to mention hearing all the sass from Avarice.” Algea groaned.

“Noooo.” Achlys cried.

I stepped forward, “Whose Nemesis?”

Algea looked at me and smiled, “Oh, someone you so don’t wanna meet, Shadow.”

Algea pulled out a crystal and threw it on the ground beneath her, a portal appearing and sucked up her and the two sisters underneath her.

“Wait!” Tumbleweed and I shouted as they disappeared.

“They got away.” He grumbled.

“Don’t worry, they will pay.” I said.

Tumbleweed screamed as he was picked up by the wolf beast from earlier, “Commander Wrath, what the heck?”

Wrath turned the kid to face him, “LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING TUMBLEWEED, COLT THATS GONNA SO GET IT WHEN THE GENERAL FINDS YOU. YOU’RE TOTALLY GONNA GET IT WHEN THE GENERAL FINDS YOU!”

Wrath carried him back towards the fort, making me cringe a little. It didn’t look comfortable being carried like that. Tarkus then stepped towards me, “The General will want to see you as well, Guardian.”

I sighed, “Very well then.”

As we all walked towards the fort, I turned my head back towards the cavern that Limos had chased us out of. Who helped us out of there? That voice seemed so familiar but I just couldn’t remember.

“Shadow, come on.” Moonlight shouted at me.

I turned and ran to catch up with the others.

Not far from our position, a shimmer could be seen, “Could it be? Have I found the both of you at last?”

Wings could be heard flapping as the invisible figure took flight, “My dearest friends, I pray that I have truly found you.”

Author's Note

Hey guys, Hades here

So, we finally made it to Fort Trough. Lots of stuff in this chapter. Least the Furies won't bother them here. What's next for our group of heroes?