Harmony: Heroes of Gimlé - Arc I: Rainstorm

Planet Gimlé, Equestria, Fort Jagged (The Drunkard's Garden), August 3rd, Year: 998, Solaris Era, 1:24 PM, (Four years earlier) -

Rainstorm sat at the bar of his favorite dive bar, The Drunkard's Garden, enjoying a pitcher of ice-cold beer as he watched a little, light-blue pegasus filly, with a short white mane, and unusually tiny wings, drawing on a piece of paper using a red crayon as she hummed happily to herself. "What I wouldn't give to be able to be as carefree as Morning Dew over there," said the bartender, a light-green, middle-aged mare with brown eyes, a long, mid-aquamarine mane, wearing a red short-sleeved blouse, dark-brown belt with brass buckle, and a long brown dress skirt with dark-brown cowboy boots.

"I know what you mean, Wallflower," Rainstorm agreed, before taking another drink of his beer, "All I want is for her to have a normal, happy childhood..." He said, his voice trailing off. Morning Dew continued to hum to herself as she got out a green crayon to use next, stopping for a second to look over at the two adults and beam at them, before she went back to drawing.

"That dress you got her is adorable," Wallflower said with a grin, "She absolutely adores it!" Morning was wearing a yellow, sleeveless dress covered in tiny, white flowers, short, white socks, and little, black dress slippers.

"Ahh, she'd adore just about anything I could give her," Rain said, pausing for a minute afterward before he spoke again, "What she really needs is a family."

"Well, I've been trying to legally adopt her for over a year now, but it's hard getting the go-ahead from the government if you're not married," Wallflower stated with a hint of irritation, "I doubt even a war hero like you would have an easy time of it. Unless, of course, you asked for a favor from a certain- ".

"Not gonna happen!" Rainstorm interrupted Wallflower, "I don't want Princess Celestia involved at all! Besides, if somepony like me started using my connections to royalty to circumvent the law, it would be a bad look for everypony involved," Rain said, dismissing the notion. "Besides...there is an easier way to please the bureaucrats and fast-track any adoption proceedings that would come afterward..." he said as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a small, gold ring, placing it in front of Wallflower.

"Is that a wedding ring? Who are you planning to settle down with? Hahaha!" she laughed a little before noticing Rain looking at her with a raised eyebrow and an unamused expression. "...Sweet, Celestia! You don't mean me do you!?" Wallflower exclaimed before quickly covering her mouth and looking to see if Morning Dew had heard her. The filly paid them no heed as she continued to work on her drawing, using a green crayon now, "Look, we're good friends, but we're not that good...are we?" Wallflower asked Rain in a whisper.

"True, but I don't have any better ideas, and I know neither of us would even entertain the idea of letting somepony else raise her, and it's not like either of us were ever gonna settle down with a special somepony anyway so, why not? It would just be a formality so we could both adopt Morning...and if I'm being honest..." Rain paused for a second, then continued, "I may not be 'in love with you' any more than you are with me, but...I do love you," Rain whispered as he blushed. Wallflower was quiet for a second before she started snickering, covering her mouth as she did so to try to keep from bursting out laughing, much to Rain's chagrin.

"Wow, no wonder your last relationship went down the crapper," Wallflower chuckled.

"Well, fuck you too!" Rain quietly snapped at Wallflower as he reached out to grab the ring off the table, but just before he could, Wallflower placed a hand over it, "...That wasn't a no..." she said, her face now turning red.

"But, if you think I'm just gonna hand over my bar-," Wallflower was stopped mid sentence by Rainstorm firmly shaking his head no.

"I was...thinking now would be a good time to...you know...get out of the mercenary life...stay put, and raise Morning Dew full time," Rain said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Wait, The Walking Maelstrom, The Wolf of Canterlot, The mighty Rainstorm himself, a stay-at-home dad!?" Wallflower asked, bewildered, "...You're really serious about this, aren't you?..." she asked.

"This next job is my last. I'll get it done, get my bits, get back here, and after that, no more mercenary work," Rain said with a determined look in his eyes, "Besides, I'm tired of getting dirty looks every time I cross paths with any of The Knightreavers. Feel like one of these days they may ask me for another pound of flesh...or more," he added as he rubbed a large spot on his upper-left arm through the sleeve of his jacket.

"Pity, I know a number of single mares in town that will be devastated when they find out you're off the market," Wallflower teased.

"Too bad," Rain stated, "I'm serious about this. I feel like... Like it's the right time, you know?" Rain asked her. Wallflower stood there silently for a few moments before finally answering.

"*sigh* And after I swore to myself that I'd never let another stallion hold me down when my second marriage went up in smoke..." she pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag on it before continuing, "Fine...let's do it - get married that is," she said as she stared Rainstorm in the eyes with a serious look.

"Really!?" Rain asked, not sure if he'd heard her correctly.

"Sure. Could be fun," she said before taking another puff on her cigarette, "And if you really impress me, I might even be a good wife and let you consummate our wedding," she teased him.

"I can't lie. A part of me has always wondered what you're like in bed," Rain teased back.

"A big part of you - I bet!" Wallflower chuckled as she gave Rain a playful punch in the arm, "You pervert, keep talking like that...and you might just find out..." she said slyly as she took the ring off the bar counter and pocketed it. "I'll hang on to this until you get back. After all, you don't want to end up in the doghouse for losing my ring before we even exchange vows, do you?" she asked Rain with a wink.

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Morning Dew - who had just walked up to the bar counter carrying the now completed picture to show them - as innocently as possible, and having not heard a single thing Rain or Wallflower had talked about.

"Ah, nothing, kiddo," Rain said dismissively, "We might have a surprise for you after I get back though..." he said as he exchanged a happy smile with Wallflower.

"So, what do you have there, kiddo?" Wallflower asked the filly, who giggled excitedly as she showed them her drawing. It was a crude children's crayon drawing of the three of them, holding hands and smiling.

"It's us, together forever!" Morning Dew beamed. That was something Rain could definitely live with, something he wanted more than anything else in the whole world...

Planet Gimlé, Equestria, Ponyville (The Southern Orchard - Just North of the Everfree Forest), April 22nd, year 2, Reformation era, 2:34 PM -

Rainstorm gave his head a violent shake as he rode onward as if trying to shake the memories of the past from his mind. "I don't have time to think about that right now!" he said out loud, "I have to find the girls, pronto!" Rain continued speeding down the dirt path into the Everfree Forest, pushing his poor morse as hard as he could, he felt bad for the creature, though it did seem in far better spirits now that it had put some considerable distance between itself and Acestream - or rather, who or whatever had been parading around as the colt. "You see anything yet, Huginn!?" Rain shouted out toward his feathered companion, who was some distance ahead of him.

"Not yet!" Huginn cawed back to him.

I can't...I can't let it happen again! Rain thought to himself as he came upon a patch of swamp and a giant crocodile-like creature, covered in jagged, stony growths emerged to block his path. He didn't slow down. He barely acknowledged the cragodile as he pulled the shotgun off his back, took aim at the beast, and as it opened its vast maw to let out a terrifying roar, he fired a massive slug. The projectile pierced the roof of the cragodile's mouth and tore through its brain, killing it instantly, "Sorry, but no time to go around you," Rain thought as he had his morse jump across the length of the carcass, to the end of the swampy patch. He sped onward, further and further into the forest, hoping against hope the CMC's would be safe, unable to shake the feeling someone, or something, was watching him.

Twilight wandered down one of the many hallways of her castle home, looking for Rarity and Applejack, all the while still mulling over Boris's words. "The Brick Orchard Conflicts, the slaughter at Fort Jagged, a third world, a human without magic, who's still considered the seventh deadliest warrior in the whole country... Rainstorm...there's so much I don't understand about you...so much I never tried to understand about you before...is it too late now? Have I already waited too long to get to know you? Is there any hope of us ever being friends?" Twilight thought to herself before speaking out loud, "What is your story, Rainstorm?..."

"Uh, Twilight?..."

"Geahh!" Twilight yelped, not having noticed Spike walking up behind her, "You scared the heck out of me!" she protested.

"Sorry," Spike apologized. Twilight could tell he had something on his mind by the concerned look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked him, hoping she hadn't upset the young dragon.

"Well...it's just that, I walked by one of the bathrooms a minute ago and...I think I heard Rarity crying. I tried asking her what was wrong, but I don't think she heard me. I didn't know what else to do..." his voice trailed off as he looked down at the floor.

“Why on Gimlé is she crying?" Twilight wondered before addressing Spike, "Let's go see what's up with Rarity!" she proclaimed as the two headed off in her direction. Meanwhile, Rarity had just left the bathroom, still wiping some residual tears from her face, when she - quite literally - bumped into Applejack.

"Oof! Sorry, darling -!" Rarity was taken aback by just how pale her usually sunbaked friend was, as she had already been deep in thought over Rainstorm's taboo handle of Grand Reaper, and hadn't paid enough attention to AJ's departure. "My word, Applejack! You look as if you've seen a ghost!" Rarity exclaimed.

"T-that there might be a pretty accurate choice of words," Applejack said, still shaken by the possibility of Rain's connection to the war that claimed the lives of her parents. It was then she noticed Rarity had been crying, "What's the matter there, sugar-cube?" she asked. Rarity shook her head slowly, hesitant to divulge her realization about Rainstorm to her.

"I-I shouldn't...it's personal..." she said.

"Oh, I see... you know you can trust me though?" AJ asked.

"Oh, no-no-no-no-no, darling!" Rarity rapidly explained, "I'm not talking about myself, it's...something about Rainstorm..." her voice trailed off. Applejack was about to inquire further when Twilight and Spike caught up to them.

"There you are," Twilight said, relieved she'd found both of her friends. Before anyone else could say another word, Spike let out an enormous belch, bringing with it a puff of emerald flames that almost instantly morphed into a piece of parchment paper with shaky handwriting on it, which Spike caught midair.

"A letter from Celestia?" Rarity asked as Spike quickly read through it.

"N-no, it's from Granny Smith!" Spike stated with panic, "There's trouble at Sweet Apple Acres - big trouble!" Spike shouted, stirring alarm in the three mares.

In a mass of old trees and roots, deep within the Northern section of the Everfree Forest the CMC's struggled to traverse the difficult terrain. They were in search of Applejack's dog, Winona, who they feared was in grave danger, "We really should have gotten help," Sweetie Belle said.

"I know, I know, but when...whatever that thing was, grabbed her, I just...panicked. I never seen her so scared before..." said Apple Bloom as her voice trailed off for a moment before she spoke again, "I'm sorry for draggin' y’all into this mess," she glumly apologized to her friends.

"That's alright," Sweetie Belle said, "It all happened so fast, we didn't really have time to get help, and we certainly weren't going to let you go after her yourself," Sweetie reasoned.

"Yeah, besides we wouldn't have had to look for help if that damn Jasper guy hadn't ditched us!" Scootaloo grumbled angrily as she struggled to free her leg from an old, dead vine that had gotten tangled around her ankle. "Grr, what the Hell is it with me and weeds today!?" she half growled as she finally extricated herself from the foliage. The three went on a little further before a clearing became visible just up ahead.

"This way, maybe Winona's somewhere over in that clearin' over there!" Apple Bloom instructed her friends as they marched forward. A few moments later, they were in a rather large, stony, clearing, about the size of a large sports stadium, several feet deep into the ground with trees dotting it here and there. Apple Bloom spotted what appeared to be a small cave, on the opposite end of the clearing from where they'd entered, "Let's try over there!" she exclaimed, pointing at the cave as she did so. As the CMC's made it halfway to the cave, they heard an ominous sound come from behind them, one that always having lived so close to the Everfree Forest, Apple Bloom was quite familiar with. "Oh, boy..." she said in a barely audible tone as she and her two friends whipped around to see the source of the noise. It was coming from what appeared to be a wolf made of wood and held together by vines, which stared at them with glowing green eyes while bearing its long, thick, splinter-like teeth at them.

The creature let out another howl, which drew more creatures like itself from the woods and into the clearing, resulting in more than twenty-sum of its kind in a large circle around the girls. "Timberwolves…" Apple Bloom said fearfully as the pack began to close the gap between them, growling and licking their chops with each step they took. Suddenly, as if drawn to something, the timberwolves all stared straight up into the sky, in time to be blinded by a flash of piercing-white light that had appeared above the clearing. Not too far away, Huginn, who had taken to the sky above the trees, in hopes of a better vantage point, spotted the light out of the corner of his eye.

"Rainstorm!" he cawed.

"I know, I'm on my way!" Rain shouted his reply as he turned his steed in the direction of the flash of light. The CMC's hadn't been quick enough to look into the sky and get blinded by the light, but being surrounded as they were, had been unable to take advantage of the timberwolves temporary blindness to escape their predicament.

"T-this sucks! They can't see us right now, but we can't even try to get away without running headfirst into one of these stupid things!" Scootaloo said angrily.

"Shhh! They can still hear us!" Apple Bloom frantically whispered to Scootaloo, though it did little good as the timberwolves had started to regain their sight, and were once again making their way ever closer to their prey. Then, just as an especially bold one charged at the girls from the side, something massive pounced it from its left, knocking it to the ground and crushing its skull in its powerful jaws. It was a morse, with Rainstorm riding on its back!

"Rainstorm!" the CMC's shouted excitedly as the merc pulled out his twin pistols and began culling the beasts in quick succession.

"Don't you brats get too excited, cause after I take care of these splintery bastards, I've got a few choice things to say to you, and after I drag your sorry asses back to the farm, you might just decide you prefer the timberwolves!" Rain snapped at the three fillies as he unloaded a few more rounds into another timberwolf, and then another. Rain sensed a timberwolf lunge at him from behind, but with one fluid motion, he dismounted the morse as he performed a backflip and gunned down the monster, landing on his feet several feet behind his steed. Then two more timberwolves attacked Rain's morse from the front and side, but with a swing of its powerful claws, the one in front of it was quickly dispatched, while a simultaneous swing from its tail took out the other one. Rain quickly positioned himself to defend the fillies as he fired shot after shot in different directions, partially to draw their attention to him, as he knew timberwolves always prioritize the most dangerous threat first when hunting. One by one, he and the morse whittled the creatures down till only three remained, who then fled the clearing, back to the trees beyond.

Finally, with the threat neutralized, Rain was able to catch his breath as Huginn perched himself on his shoulder for a quick rest of his own, and the CMC's felt a wave of relief. "What, in Jesus's name were you morons thinking!?" Rainstorm demanded, catching the CMC's off guard.

"I'm sorry, it was all my fault!" Apple Bloom hastily explained, "I saw somethin' wrap itself around Winona and drag her off into the orchard. I panicked and chased after her and we followed until we were in the Everfree Forest and then she disappeared, but by then we were already too far away to get help, and...we couldn't just leave her..." Apple Bloom said as tears started welling up in her eyes.

"And you didn't once stop and think to ask one of us for help!?" Rain barked at the girls, "Did you really think you'd be of any use to her out here all by yourselves!?"

"Hey, don't get mad at us!" objected Scootaloo, "Your dumb friend, Jasper ditched us, and we didn't have time to go get anyone else to come help!"

"You idiots!" Rain bellowed, quickly losing what little patience he had left, "My 'dumb friend' was lying in the bushes, bleeding from a cracked skull, after somebody - more likely than not, who, or whatever grabbed your dog - snuck up behind him and knocked him out!" he angrily explained.

"W-wait, somepony hurt Jasper!?" Sweetie asked, a mixture of shock, horror, and guilt plainly audible in her voice, as well as visible on her face. The other CMC's faces reflected their friend's. They had been fairly mad that Jasper had left without a word, ironically enough, just when they needed an adult the most, but the thought had never once crossed their minds someone may have hurt him, and the revelation made them feel terrible for having thought that way about him.

"Yes, and between that, that weird flash in the sky a bit ago, and the encounter I had earlier, I'd say this whole thing was a setup," Rain reasoned as he thought back to the meeting with the seemingly fake Acestream earlier, "Whoever's behind all of this is probably nearby - watching us as we speak so, we need to get the hell out of here - now!"

"B-but, we can't just leave without Winona!" Apple Bloom pleaded. Rain strongly considered telling her that her dog was in all likelihood, dead, but opted for another approach instead.

"Look, I'll come back and search for Winona - with a whole team of soldiers and even send word to Canterlot to see if they'll spare any search and rescue teams to help if need be, but only if you let me take you girls back right now!" Rain begged the kids' only for Apple Bloom to protest further.

"But, she's always taken care of me and my family! She is family! I can't just- !"

"Think about it!" Rain shouted at Apple Bloom, cutting her pleas short, "It's because Winona's always taken care of you and your family - because she's part of your family - that she wouldn't want you to risk your life searching for her out here! Not to mention, I left your Grandmother and my badly injured subordinate to come chase you three down while there's a maniac on the loose!" he continued shouting, all the while neither him, Huginn, nor the CMC's noticed the morse running off in fear from something just outside the clearing. "Either the person who attacked Jasper is here with us, and likely has plans on taking you three or myself hostage - or worse, or they just used this to lure me away from your farm and are still there, with similar plans for Granny Smith, Jasper, or both! In either case, you should be at home, protecting your Grandmother, like I'm sure Winona would want!" Rain finished, panting afterward as if he'd just run a marathon. The Cutie Mark Crusaders all stared at the ground, sadly mulling over Rain's words, but just as Apple Bloom raised her head and opened her mouth to say something, she saw something entering the clearing that caused her to turn as white as a sheet as all the blood drained from her face. The other two crusaders looked up and mirrored their friend's terrified expression as they all started pointing in the same direction, somewhere behind Rainstorm, who noticed their reaction, "...There's something really big and scary behind me and it's coming right for us, isn't there?" he asked, hoping against hope he was wrong.

Sadly for him, those hopes were dashed when the three nodded yes, prompting him and Huginn to slowly turn their heads to look behind them, "...Oh...figures..." he said glumly as he laid eyes on the source of the CMC's terror. Slowly stomping its way toward them was a massive timberwolf, almost taller than the trees it so easily knocked over with each step it took. This giant timberwolf seemed to be made of more than just wood and vines. It had claws and teeth made out of razor-sharp stone, rib-like stony protrusions along its chest, and all over it's back, were innumerable, long, vines covered in long, hard, razor-sharp, flattened out, leaves, giving them the appearance of razor wire.

"I-is that a dire timberwolf!?" Apple Bloom asked with a yelp, as the thing drew nearer. Applejack and Spike had told her once, about a trio of timberwolves that had merged into a dire timberwolf, and had attacked them, but from their description of the creature, it had sounded just ever so slightly bigger than a morse - a far cry from the behemoth steadily creeping toward them.

"That's no dire timberwolf!" Rain exclaimed, "It's an alpha timberwolf! That cave over there, run for it!" Rain commanded as he turned to make a beeline for the cave, snatching two of the CMC's, one under each of his arms, as Huginn flew ahead of him next to Apple Bloom. "Where the fuck is that damn morse!?" Rainstorm asked incredulously as this was especially poor luck, even for him, "Just when some form of transportation would really come in handy, my damn ride ditches us!"

"Can you really blame him!?" a panicked Apple Bloom asked Rain as the alpha timberwolf continued making its way towards them, slowly at first, but rapidly picking up speed, going faster and faster, until it was in a full bound in their direction. The five of them barely ducked into the cave before the monster reached them, jamming its right foreleg into the cave up to the knee, before slowly pulling out, dragging its massive blade-like claws across the stony cave floor, just missing Rain and the others.

"Holy shit, I do not get paid enough for this!..." Rain said, hunched over panting, as were the CMC's.

"That's it, we're done for!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed as she laid on her back across the cave floor.

"D-don't say that Sweetie!" Scootaloo said, trying to assure her friend, "I'm sure our sisters will find us soon, and they'll totally cream that ugly, wooden, mutt! Right Apple Bloom?... Apple Bloom?..." Scootaloo turned to see why her friend hadn't responded, only to find her hunched over a spot a little deeper in the cave. Before anyone could ask if she was alright, she whipped around and stared at them, tears in her eyes.

"Quick, over here!" she shouted. All of them rushed over to her and saw a small dog, curled up on the ground, barely moving at all. "Winona..." Apple Bloom said, fighting back her tears with all her will.

"Move back and let me take a look," Rainstorm instructed the filly, who did as she was told. Rain could see something had indeed been wrapped around the poor dog, with enough force to leave her badly bruised and with a few cracked ribs. He also noticed several dozen tiny puncture wounds across the bruises, still bleeding slightly and leaking some sort of clear liquid, "Huginn, you think you can analyze this substance here?" Rain asked the bird as he pointed to the liquid. Huginn nodded his head and walked over to the dog, who while completely unresponsive, was still very much alive, and sniffed at the wound a few times before lapping up some of the liquid, then smacking his beak before turning to address Rainstorm.

"It's some kind of organic toxin - fast-acting and long-lasting," he cawed at Rain, then violently jerked his head a few times before continuing, "Seems to cause almost complete paralysis, but without affecting either the mouth, vocal cords, or lungs. Could prove fatal in a few days by itself, but not likely," he surmised.

"So, is it some kind of... tranquilizer or something?" Rain asked, to which Huginn shook his head no.

"Far from it! Whatever this junk is, not only does it not dull the senses but as far as my analysis can tell, it actually amplifies pain. Just the slightest breeze on her skin must feel like having her flesh scraped off... If she weren't unconscious right now, she'd be yelping in agony..." Huginn cawed sadly.

"...Is there nothing we can do?" Rain asked.

"That's where we finally get some good news! Neither the toxin, nor her injuries are anywhere near severe enough to where giving her a little bit of health potion, and maybe applying some directly to her wounds for good measure, shouldn't be able to fix her up!" Huginn cawed happily.

"I-is she gonna be ok?" Apple Bloom asked, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"She's going to be just fine!" Rain said to her with a smile as he scooped the dog up into his arms with one hand, while pulling out a vial of health potion with the other, popping it open, pouring half of it into Winona's mouth and down her throat, then applying the rest to her wounds. "Now, we just have to give her a few minutes," he informed Apple Bloom, who fell to her knees, crying as the other CMC's rushed over to comfort her.

"*sniff* T-thank you Rain," Apple Bloom said, just managing to choke out her words through all her crying.

"Don't thank me just yet," Rain thought to himself, "There's still that to deal with," he thought as he stared towards the mouth of the cave again, the alpha timberwolf still standing watch over it, pacing only a few dozen feet or so away from it."Hold on... Why hasn't it used it's vines yet?..." he wondered to himself, as he laid Winona back down on the ground, and stood back up, beginning to slowly walk towards the mouth of the cave.

"W-what is it? What are you doin'?" asked Apple Bloom, as she wiped her tears away.

"You see all those vines on that thing's back?" Rain asked her, "I know for a fact they can extend to several times their normal length. What's more, higher-tier timberwolves like that one, can exorcise a high level of fine motor control over those vines - to the point where he could easily reach in here and either slice us to pieces or just pull one of us out one-by-one..." Rain explained.

"So, you're saying we're about to be eaten!?" Scootaloo asked, almost in hysterics.

"I'm saying, we should already have been eaten," Rain retorted, "...I think it's time to test something... Stay put, I swear I won't leave you!" he told them as he headed toward the mouth of the cave. As soon as he got there he tentatively pulled out a telescoping inspection mirror from a pocket on his duster and slowly stuck it out of the cave. Nothing happened. He then gave it a furious shake, but still, nothing happened. He then slowly stepped out of the cave, when the giant timberwolf remained still, he then began jumping up and down while wildly flailing his arms in all directions, screaming numerous taunts and swears at the creature the whole time. "Well, that's strange..." Rain said to himself as he stood just outside the cave's entrance.

"What's strange? You talking to yourself like a crazy pony, or you jumping up and down, acting like a dumbass?" asked Scootaloo, who - along with the other CMC's - had followed Rain to the cave's entrance.

"The alpha over there," Rain replied, absentmindedly, "That should have provoked some kind of res- What the Hell are you three doing up here!?" Rain demanded, the CMC's proximity having just registered in his mind. "Honest to God, don't you three stooges know how to follow even the simplest directions!? What part of 'stay-put', was so goddamn cryptic!?" he shouted at them furiously.

"I thought you might need some help," Apple Bloom explained.

"I wanted to see what you were up to," Sweetie Belle said.

"I just want to go home," Scootaloo stated dryly, having been somewhat impressed with Rainstorm's earlier actions against the timberwolves, beforehand, only to then be left quite mortified by his latest display just a second ago. "I thought you were gonna do something really cool, but here you are... Dancing? Or whatever... You've got a plan on how to get us out of this mess, right?"

"First off, can the attitude, kid!" Rain snapped at Scootaloo, "Secondly, there's one more thing I need to do before I know for sure that my hunch is right. Once that's out of the way, then I can figure out a way for us to get out of here, that is if you can do what I ask you for a change, and please stay put - as in, right here!... In this cave... Which we are currently standing in at this time... The current time being, April 22nd, second year of the Reformation era, at about- ".

"We get it already! We'll stay put! Celestia..." Scootaloo assured Rain as she facepalmed.

"Well, apparently I have to make extra sure you understand because it would seem that plain-damn-Ponish, might not be your first language!" Rain snapped at Scootaloo. With that, Rainstorm slowly started to walk out of the cave, then just as he got about three or four feet out, he made a sharp turn right and began running as fast as he could, much to the surprise of the CMC's. "If my hunch isn’t wrong, then hopefully it will let me by, and if it does, maybe it will let the kids go too," Rain thought as he ran, hoping the alpha timberwolf wasn't hungry and had attacked them because it thought they were a threat, losing interest in them once it had asserted its dominance over them. "At the very least, maybe I can draw it away from them, and Huginn can get them to safety," Rain thought, but just as he made it about twenty or so feet from the cave, with lightning speed, a large vine landed right in front of him with a deafening crack, cutting off his exit. Rain tried over and over again to get past the alpha timberwolf's tendrils, but to no avail, as he was slowly but surely forced back to the cave, where he was forced to roll into it to avoid being sliced into ribbons by the vines.

"...I'm still alive?..." Rain asked with a squeak, as he sat on the floor in the fetal position with his hands covering his head.

"Y-you weren't going to leave us here, were you?" Sweetie Belle asked fearfully.

"Quit goofing off you jerk!" Scootaloo snapped at Rain, "The only reason we're in this mess is that you left us alone to eat some stupid pie, even though we were at a restaurant earlier! And, I heard what Jasper said! You could have eaten breakfast this morning too, but you didn't because of some kind of stupid fight you had with Twilight! Because of that, Jasper got hurt, Winona got kidnaped and nearly killed, we almost got eaten by timberwolves, then you save us, only to get us trapped in some stupid cave, act like some kind of weirdo, and then you try to run off and leave us to die!" she yelled at Rain. Sweetie Belle raised her hand and interjected.

"Most of that's not really his faul- !" Sweetie was immediately silenced by Scootaloo with a glare.

"*sigh* I wasn't trying to leave; trust me. Besides, if I was gonna leave you, kids, I would have had you run out there with me to serve as a distraction," Rain stated rather matter-of-factly, "I figured that damn thing was probably being controlled by someone or something, but I had to be sure. All the jumping around and trying to get past it was to test that theory."

"Wait. So, yer sayin'- ?" Apple Bloom was interrupted by Rainstorm offering confirmation.

"Yep! Everything from Winona getting snatched, to the flash of light, and now this, was part of someone's plan to get us - most likely me specifically - stuck in this cave. Smart bits say someone either wants to kidnap me - maybe all of us - or, someone wants me dead, and in that case, you'll be next," Rain explained.

"Do you think it's whoever attacked our sisters?" Sweetie wondered.

"Being the Elements of Harmony, they've made all kinds of enemies, so I can't be a hundred percent sure, but it wouldn't surprise me. Though...if they have someone or something that can control something as powerful as an alpha timberwolf - especially this easily - it means waiting for reinforcements is off the table," Rain surmised, "I had Granny Smith send for reinforcements before I left so, everyone's probably looking for us already, but we just can't risk waiting here for them to find us, because if the one behind this gets here first, I doubt I'll be able to take both the alpha and its master at once."

"Grr! Like you can take on that alpha one-on-one!" Scootaloo snapped angrily at Rainstorm.

"What the hay's gotten into you, Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked, but just before Scootaloo could reply, Rain was already upon her, his hand reaching out. Before Scootaloo could react, Rain placed his hand on her, gently rubbing her head, before getting down on one knee, and pulling her in for a one-armed hug.

"It's ok to be scared. I am too," He said, just before Scootaloo pushed herself away from him and turned her back to him.

"I-I'm not scared!" Scootaloo asserted through gritted teeth.

"Everyone's afraid of getting hurt, or worse. It's natural and nothing to be ashamed of," Rain tried to assure her.

"That's not it!" she shouted at him, "...I-I promised my aunts I'd wait for them..." Scootaloo said, prompting the others to exchange confused looks. "My parents are animal researchers and monster annalists, that means they're usually away from home - sometimes for months at a time," she explained to the others, "I remember them being gone as long as six months once, but this time, something's different... T-they've been gone for over a year now! After the seventh month, my Aunt Holiday and Aunt Lofty started making trips to go look for them... I...I know they're not gonna find them... I know my parents are..." Scootaloo closed her eyes tight as she fought back her tears, unable to will herself to say the word they all were thinking.

"Oh, Scootaloo..." Apple Bloom said as she approached her friend to comfort her as she knew her pain all too well. Apple Bloom's earliest memory was of a partially bandaged soldier at the front door telling her grandmother her mother and father had died and seeing her grandmother fall to her knees in tears. However, as Apple Bloom approached Scootaloo, she exploded in a furious tirade.

"I promised my aunts that I'd wait for them to bring my parents back! If something happens to me, there won't be anypony waiting for them! They'll be all alone! I...I can't do that to them!" she shouted as she fell to her knees and began striking the ground with her fist, "And what if somehow they do find my Mom and Dad!? I know they'd never forgive themselves if something happened to me while they were gone! They would blame themselves for the rest of their lives, but now I'm about to die here because I...I can't... I can't do anything! I can't protect my friends, I can't keep my promise to my family, I can't even fly!" she couldn't form sentences anymore, she just laid there, her face against the cold floor of the cave, sobbing. Rain stood there quietly for a few minutes as the other CMC's tried to console her. Finally, she spoke again, "I'm just a burden to everypony, if I could fly and use pegasus magic, I could have flown to Rainbow and the others and helped them when the train blew up, or at least, made it to Starlight and the others faster! If I could fly and use magic, I would have been fast enough to rescue Winona from whatever it was that grabbed her and she wouldn't have been hurt so bad, and we wouldn't be here right now! If I could do all the things any other pegasus can do, I could at least go get help, but I can't! I'm worthless!"

"...Kid..." Rain addressed Scootaloo, "I know exactly how you feel."

"No, you don't! You don't know anything about what it's like to -!" Scootaloo fell silent as Rain pulled down his balaclava to reveal his facial scars, causing both her and the two other girls to stare in shock at the gruesome sight.

"Now that I have your undivided attention; yes, I do know how you feel. I come from a world where magic never existed, which means I don't have any magic whatsoever. As a result, the closest thing I could come to it, is witchcraft, so I studied it in school, but there was an accident during an important exam. Several people nearly got hurt - and could have easily gotten killed, a teacher I was good friends with lost his job and had to leave town, Princess Celestia had to bend over backwards to smooth things over with a number of important lawmakers, and I did this to my face," he explained as he pointed to his facial scars. "I then ran away, ended up becoming a mercenary, got into a relationship with someone I really cared about - only to screw it up when I went to fight in a major war and continued to make mistake after mistake...clear up until I met a certain little filly..."

"You mean the one you mentioned at the Hey Burger?" Sweetie asked.

"Yeah..." Rain responded, "...I failed her too. There was a raider attack on our village and...she didn't make it..." Rain's voice trailed off, a weary look in his eyes. "That's when I promised myself, Morning Dew, and everyone else, that I'd never make those mistakes ever again. That I would do everything in my power to protect everyone that I could! So, don't worry, because you're not dying here today, none of you are!" Rain assured the CMC's before reaching into a pouch and pulling out a vial filled with a substance the color and consistency of fresh blood. "Huginn, I'm going to use Red Rat!"

"Y-you don't mean formula eleven, do you!?" Huginn frantically squawked at Rain, "But you already used it recently back at Cedarhoof Manor! You need to wait a little longer before -!"

"We're out of options and out of time, Huginn!" Rain yelled at the bird, "If enemy reinforcements arrive and that thing's still able to put up a fight, we're done! Listen, once I go on the offensive I'll need you to take to the air and be my eye in the sky, but if something happens to me before I can bring the alpha down, you'll have to find the others and get back here ASAP! If I do manage to take it down, but I don't make it, lead the girls back to the farm, then find Twilight and bond yourself to her - and don't take ‘no’ for an answer!" he ordered Huginn before popping open the vial and downing its contents. He then pulled his balaclava back up, then drew his two swords, holding them so the blades pointed backward. The swords appeared to be wakizashis and were nearly identical to one another, save for one having a worn-looking dark-yellow grip, with a tiny lightning bolt engraved near the base of the blade, and the other had a worn-looking, dark-green grip, with a tiny cloud engraved at the base of its blade. He waited patiently for the potion to take effect, ready to strike the moment it did.

"Please...please don't get hurt..." Scootaloo pleaded with Rain, "You don't have to get hurt for us. I don't want that!"

"I have an oath to keep though..." he replied.

"An oath?…" Apple Bloom asked as Rainstorm felt the potion beginning to take effect. He stood there, waiting as his body began heating up and his heart started beating faster and faster until it started beating so fast, that if he hadn't known better, he would have been certain it had stopped beating altogether.

"Until my dying breath -'," he said as a vast amount of what appeared to be steam began escaping his body with a long hiss and he started emitting red, electrical sparks, "- I Shall not yield!" His eyes began to glow even brighter than normal and he charged out of the cave toward the alpha timberwolf with such speed that he was nothing more than a grey blur, Huginn following close behind him. Soon, he was right in front of the monster, which attacked him with its many razor-sharp vines but using the green-handled sword in his left hand, he quickly deflected every one of the vines.

Then Rain aimed the artifact on his right arm at the left foreleg of the creature and fired a thin cable of ash at it, latching on to it above its ankle. The alpha timberwolf let out a furious roar as it lifted its paw to try to remove the ashen construct. This was a mistake, however, as Rain took the opportunity to extend the cable even further and coil it in the air around the suspended limb, before tightening it. Next Rainstorm ran towards the alpha's right rear leg, dodging more piercing vines as he drew closer to his target, and the creature responded by trying to kick at Rain with said leg, once again providing a perfect opportunity for him to lengthen the cable of ash, then coil it around the rear leg as he dodged the kick. Then Rain charged to an area a dozen or so feet behind the alpha and quickly touched his right fist to the ground, severing the cable from his artifact, while simultaneously connecting it to the stone ground, at which point, the monster was already having difficulty turning around to face him. Then Rain focused, willing the cable to heat up and retract, causing the beast's legs to come together as the mildly warm construct began to reach a temperature hot enough to ignite the wood it had dug into while its length rapidly decreased, filling the air with the smell of burning oak.

The alpha timberwolf let out a pained, angry howl as it fell onto its stomach and legs, unable to move from its current location, though its vines remained unrestrained. More vines lunged toward Rain at blinding speed, but to him, it was as if they were moving in slow-motion, and he easily dodged, deflected, or severed each one that came his way. Rainstorm's eyes granted him vision rivaling that of any pegasus, gave him perfect night vision, and meshed quite nicely with his eidetic memory, but at times his mind had trouble processing all that raw data, while his body just couldn't keep up. Thanks to the potion, however, both his mind and his body were on par with his eyesight, allowing him to take full advantage of it. He quickly ran towards the alpha timberwolf's right foreleg, then leaped onto it, the enchantments in his greaves allowing him to defy gravity and stand vertically on the side of the limb.

He struck the beast's leg with the sword in his right hand - which had yellow, electrical sparks surging up and down the blade - leaving a deep cut that sent a surge of lightning-elemental magic through the monster's limb, disrupting the flow of magic within the afflicted area. Then using the sword in his left hand - which appeared to have some form of wind pocket tightly enveloping the blade - he slashed at the limb near the same place as before, swinging his arm inward, leaving another deep cut. Then he flipped the wind sword so that he was now holding the weapon normally, before swinging outward through the second cut, deepening it, then he flipped the sword over in his hand again and repeated the action, perfectly slicing into the same spot repeatedly. Repeatedly he slashed at it until he'd cut more than a third of the way through, then he sheathed the wind sword, replacing it with two, small capsules, each the length of his middle finger, and shoved both of then into the wound before dismounting - all of which happened in just a few seconds. A second later, a violent explosion tore the monster's wooden appendage off, reducing the severed limb to splinters and shattered rock.

"Wow..." Scootaloo said, her voice barely audible as she and the other CMC's watched in disbelief as Rainstorm steadily tore the creature apart.

"W-wait. If he had a potion that could let him do that, then why didn't he take it earlier?" Sweetie asked.

"I think I read about somethin' like this in one of my books," Apple Bloom replied, "I think he took what's called a 'battle supplement'. It gives a small, temporary enhancement to the fightin' abilities of anypony who takes one, but after you do, it'll be awhile before takin' one will have any effect on you again. My books always advise warriors to use 'em sparingly, cause you never know when you'll need another little boost in battle," Apple Bloom explained.

"You call that a 'little boost'!?" Scootaloo asked incredulously, pointing at Rainstorm, who by now had used his shotgun to empty several massive slugs into the left hinge of the alpha timberwolf's jaw, shattering the joint and leaving it barely hanging on by a few tendon-like vines.

"Well...I have read about specialized variants that are tailor made for a specific pony, and can't be used by anypony else. Those can amplify that pony's abilities even further than normal battle supplements ever could...but they're supposed to be really hard to brew. I heard only a master witchdoctor can brew anything like that..." Apple Bloom said in amazement as she watched the mercenary battle against the alpha timberwolf. Though it was starting to regenerate from the earlier damage inflicted upon its jaw, the alpha was still unable to close its mouth all the way and was madly thrashing about, trying to escape the ashen cable binding it's legs, or at least strike back at Rainstorm, but to no avail so far. Rain drew his three-bladed sky-cutter from the sheath on his back, and as he did several massive backflips to put some distance between him and his target, he placed a number of the same type of tiny, powerful explosives along the blades of his weapon. Then, once he was at a safe enough distance, threw it at an angle in order to compensate for the additional weight, causing it to fly in a wide arc through the air, before interring the alpha's mouth from the side, and hitting the remaining joint, causing the explosives to detonate all at once, tearing the monster's jaw completely off.

Rainstorm then caught the sky-cutter midair as he charged the dazed but still regenerating creature, latched onto the roof of its mouth using his artifact, and pulled himself up, till he was staring down its throat. "Finally!" Rain thought to himself as he gazed upon a massive glowing green bulb, with a pulsating orifice roughly the size of his hand, writhing within the creature. With his free hand, he immediately pulled out a large firebomb from his duster, and violently shoved it deep into the bulb until he was shoulder-deep, then he quickly pulled his arm out, leaving the explosive inside. With that, he quickly leaped away, doing more than a dozen backflips, until stopping just a few feet away from the cave's entrance, and merely standing there, putting his hands in his pockets as the creature's jaw finally reattached itself.

"Uh...he's still regenerating..." Sweetie Belle said to Rain as the ash construct subduing the alpha timberwolf disintegrated and it hobbled up, glaring at them.

"Yes, I noticed that!" Rain replied cheerfully as the sparks on his body ceased and his eyes dimmed to their usual luminosity.

"Ok...h-he's starting to get up now..." Sweetie said, rising concern evident in her voice.

"Nothing to worry about, kid!" Rain said smugly as he motioned to the beast to approach them, prompting it to snarl at them and start charging toward them as fast as possible given its missing right paw.

"Uh, why though!?" Sweetie asked as she and the other CMC's started to panic as the monster was nearly upon them.

"Because this S.O.B.'s already mulch. He just hasn't realized it yet," Rain said confidently as the alpha timberwolf lunged at him, likely planning to swallow him in one bite, but it never reached him. With a deafening boom, the monster's head, shoulders, and a bit of the top part of its torso vanished, leaving only a massive flame in their place as the lifeless remains of the creature hit the ground, slowly coming to a screeching halt in front of the merc. The CMC's simply stared at Rainstorm for a while with their mouths hanging open, as Winona, who had woken up just in time to witness the creature's demise as well, sat next to Apple Bloom, happily wagging her tail. He then turned to them, smiling underneath his balaclava and addressed them, "Let's head back now," he said as Huginn cawed to him.

"Get a load of this, Rain!" the bird cawed. As if on cue, Rain's morse came bounding up to them, happily wagging its tail and squeaking excitedly.

"What the hell!? Don't tell me you were over there, hiding behind the damn trees, weren't you, you oversized rat!?" Rain scolded the animal as it seemed to recoil in shame and fear. "Grr, whatever! Let's just go while the going's still good!" he ordered as he placed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on the morse's back then drew his shotgun, reloaded it, then leaned down to let Scootaloo ride on his back. "Come on, I ain't got all day," he said to her. Scootaloo, wanting to save face, backed away and tried dissuading him from the action.

"You don't have to do that. I can walk just fine on my-".

"Kiddo, did you not watch what I just did to that alpha timberwolf? Don't test my patience anymore today," Rain advised Scootaloo, who then just quietly did as she was told, and climbed onto his back. They then departed for the Apple farm with an almost fully healed Winona in tow, unaware they had had an audience the whole time.

"Your plan to shear off a few more branches of the Apple family tree may have failed thanks to that signal flair leading Rainstorm to those brats earlier than intended, but it still provided an excellent measure of his current progress!" exclaimed an amused Weiss, who had watched the fighting from the branches of a tree just at the edge of the clearing. "On behalf of my master and for my own entertainment, I'd like to thank you once again for lending us one of your minions for this little experiment," he thankfully addressed a pair of glowing green eyes, staring at him from the trunk of the tree next to him.

"How far has the monkey progressed, would you say?" asked a raspy voice that seemed to be coming from the pair of eyes.

"Hmm...he's making good progress, but I'd say he still has a long way to go before he's ready," Weiss answered while stroking his chin in contemplation.

"I see... Well then, let me know if you would like any further help with measuring his progression," the voice replied before falling silent, and the eyes slowly closed shut.

"Will do!" Weiss chimed happily in response before he disappeared in a blur.

"Nope!" Rainstorm said as he fired his shotgun at a timberwolf that had just leaped out in front of him and the others as they were walking up the path through the Southern Orchard, well on their way back to Sweet Apple Acres. Though the shot hadn't hit anything, it had been more than enough to scare the creature off, eliciting a few chuckles from the CMC's.

"Hey, I think they're starting to learn their lesson!" Scootaloo said smugly as Rain continued carrying her on his back.

"And just in time too..." Rain muttered under his breath.

"You say something?" Scootaloo asked.

"N-nothing. Hey Apple Bloom, remind me to return that morse to Acestream after I drop you off at the farm, ok?" Rain asked the filly as an excuse to change the subject. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were both still riding the morse, while Huginn sat perched on its head, as Winona followed next to the merc.

"Acestream?" Apple Bloom asked with confusion.

"Yeah, he's the one who lent me that morse," Rain explained, "He was riding near the Southern Orchard, and told me where you went and what you'd said to him about Winona."

"But, we didn't see Acestream anywhere near the Southern Orchard - let alone speak to him or anypony," explained a confused-looking Sweetie Belle.

"Besides -" Apple Bloom interjected, "- Acestream has a rodent allergy. He can't be within five feet of a morse without nearly chokin' to death," Apple Bloom explained.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Rain asked.

"Positive!" Scootaloo exclaimed, "There was one time Miss Cheerilee asked Fluttershy to bring in some of her animals for class - including some mice. Nopony knew at the time about Acestream's allergy and he was sitting right next to me when he started sneezing and coughing. It got so bad, that they had to take him to Ponyville General to get him treated. Luckily, it wasn't too bad of an allergic reaction, and he was back in class the next day. He said that the doctors ran a few tests and figured out that he was allergic to rodents - especially mice."

"And a morse is basically a giant mouse, so..." Rain stated out loud.

"..So, whoever lent you this morse..." Sweetie added.

"Couldn't have been Acestream," Rain finished as he cocked his shotgun. He had no idea who, or what may be waiting for them at the end of the dirt path they were on, but he was certain that if the imposter was still there, that he'd have another fight on his hands. One he wasn't sure he was up for. However as they marched forward, a sound from behind them caught them all by surprise. Rainstorm spun around, ready to fire on the source of the noise, only to see four familiar faces.

"Wow, wow, wow, it's us!" shouted Rainbow Dash, who was accompanied by both Rarity, Applejack, and Chitny.

"Rainbow Dash!" shouted an elated Scootaloo, who then leaped down from Rain's back, and attempted to run over to her before being stopped by the merc.

"Wait, they have to answer a question first," Rain said. Scootaloo was about to object when the topic of Acestream came back into her head and she slowly stepped backward, positioning herself behind him. "When demons howl, and monsters growl, how shall we proceed?" Rain asked, his shotgun still trained on Rainbow. This left everyone looking quite confused before Chitny calmly answered him.

"We do not cower! With shield in one hand and halberd in the other, we strike out at the enemy. We endure their assault and return the gesture sevenfold. We pierce through them and rend them in twine. That is how we proceed," she answered him, causing him to turn his gaze to her.

"Did they ever leave your sight, even once?" Rain asked, his weapon still aimed directly at Rainbow's head.

"Not for an instant! None of them, sir!" Chitny replied. With that, Rain lowered his shotgun and moved aside for Scootaloo to greet her big sister, as the other two CMC's followed suit, each one embracing their own sister. Rainbow cuddled against Scootaloo for a second, before turning her attention back to Rainstorm.

"What the fuck was all that all about!? she asked incredulously.

"I'll explain as soon as we get out of here," Rain informed Dash, and with that, the group made their way back to the farm where the other Elements of Harmony, their friends, and Taskforce Sigma were waiting for them, along with Granny Smith. Once they'd arrived, Rainstorm and the CMC's went about explaining everything that they'd experienced in the Everfree Forest to them.

"So...you thought we might not be who we appeared to be, so, that weird-assed question you asked Chitny was some kind of test or something?" Rainbow Dash asked Rain, making sure she'd understood everything.

"Yes," Rain confirmed, "It had occurred to me that during this we might end up going up against shapeshifters of one kind or another. So, before we went to bed last night, the task force and I had a meeting to discuss countermeasures. Each of us have a different code question and answer that we'll change every so often to confirm who's who. In the event any of us ask the wrong question or give the wrong answer, we are to assume the worst and subdue whoever it is that misspoke," he explained.

"That's...pretty smart of you," Twilight admitted to Rain, which caught him off-guard.

"Oh...uh, thanks..." he replied awkwardly.

"Why don't we get password question-thingies?" Trixie asked.

"*groan* Do you really think each of you could memorize all of that?" Jasper asked as he laid on the couch, nursing a throbbing headache with an ice pack, "Besides, you ladies have known each other and spent more time with each other longer than we task force members have. You don't need a passcode or anything of the like to know if something's up with one another. Besides, our enemies are more interested in killing you than replacing you," Jasper reasoned.

"Anyways, we need ta get ta the bottom of this," Boris said, "Me and a couple of the guards will find this Acestream kid and make sure he's alright - ask him a few questions while we're at it. He might have seen something that could help us. Fluttershy, I'd like ya ta talk ta that morse. Big fella was with this imposter for who knows how long. That makes 'em our best lead at the moment. Now, I suggest that ya ladies spend at least one more night at the castle -" Applejack opened her mouth to interject, but Boris continued before she could get a word out, "- while Balizna and a detachment of guards stick around here for tonight, to keep watch over your family. In the mornin', we'll get ta work on figuring the best approach ta take next. As for ya, Rain, head back ta the castle and get some rest. Y’all need it," Boris said to Rain, who turned to look at Twilight, who nodded.

"I hereby resend my previous order. I'm sorry, please return to the castle and rest," she said to Rain.

"...I'm sorry too, Twilight. I'm sorry to the rest of you too," Rain said as he addressed the others, before quickly getting up and heading back to the castle, with Huginn and two guards accompanying him. Several minutes later, they arrived at the castle and Rain headed for his room, with Huginn perched on his shoulder. He'd barely closed the door behind him when he fell to his knees.

"Rainstorm, are you alright!? Huginn asked as Rain started to cough. Rain pulled his balaclava down as he coughed, spitting up a decent amount of blood onto the floor. "Damn it, Rain! This is exactly what I was afraid of!" Huginn squawked at him.

"*cough-cough* S-shut up!" Rain demanded before coughing more, "I... couldn't let it happen again..." he said, as images of Morning Dew flashed within his mind. He then slowly climbed towards his bed, and once he managed to drag himself on top of it, he lost all consciousness with Huginn keeping watch over him.

"At this rate, he won't make it for another year..." Huginn thought to himself as he watched the unconscious mercenary sleep, fearing that this mission may prove to be his final one.

"Hmm... I didn't expect this..." Weiss said to himself as he stood in the middle of a large, snowy expanse as a blizzard began to take form. He was standing right where the entrance to the Geokin tomb had been, but there wasn't so much as a trace of the cave. It was almost as if it had never existed in the first place. He walked forward a bit and placed his hand down into the snow and focused, trying to determine what exactly had transpired, but the strange energies swirling around the area made it unbelievably difficult to get any kind of reading. "I could always try to dig down where it was. Just to make sure nothing funny happened, but it seems like it merely collapsed, and with this blizzard coming in, any holes I could dig will get filled with snow and freeze faster than I could dig, unless I use more power or a larger form. In either case though, I'd be putting out far too much energy to suppress and with everyone on high alert, there's no chance I would go unnoticed..." he thought to himself as the snow started to pick up.

The stone in the area was incredibly strong - possibly due to the strange energy permeating Wendigo Wastes - and the stone the tomb had been constructed from was stronger still. Though it wasn't impossible for the ancient ruin to have collapsed as the result of natural phenomenon or a boobytrap triggered by Sombra or Radiant Hope, it would prove extremely difficult to dig through unnoticed even considering the distance from civilization - and that was under ideal circumstances. This was as far from ideal circumstances as one could conceivably get. Weiss thought for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave, "Even if there is anything left in those ruins, they're completely sealed off and there's no way to teleport around here - with or without magic. On top of that, I'm certain those two had nothing from those ruins when they reached the Crystal Empire so, if there was something of use in there, it's still there and can't be reached!" he thought before a sinister grin began to spread across his face and he spoke aloud to himself. "I would give almost anything to see the look of heartbreak on poor little Chrysalis's face when she finds out that she missed out on getting to see the last remaining trace of the Geokin's legacy. I imagine it would be like losing her dear old mother all over again..." he chuckled as he disappeared into the blizzard.

Chapter 6: Finished