Baa-Ram-Ewe!

-Overlooking Earth, Dogstar Patrol Headquarters, Mammoth Mutt-

We had finally left the pocket dimension, lots of really nice people in there. I stared at the place where chaos was routine around this one planet.

“I wonder if they will take my lecture to heart…” It was hard to talk about losing my boyfriend, but any loss should never easy as it picks away at parts of us who cared. Dealing with the aftermath of said loss wasn’t any easier and the one named Shanty seemed to be very keen on talking about the loss of the changeling, a shape shifter like Ocellus, which used to take care of her and the subsequent burning down of her home when said changeling was found out.

Tusky had recently lost a girl he liked, because she was very much attached to her partner, Dolly was a very interesting Dalmatian. The opposable digits was definitely not a normal evolution of most canines, but it was on the planet Dolly came from which shared a name. She was as alien as the rest of us to the planet below, if dimensionally a bit to the left.

All the things we’ve lost is something I tried not to think about too hard, but I still talked about it with Pom’s traveling group before they headed off into a terrible situation. I wonder how well they will take those lessons to heart, about the things we’ll regret never saying and holding onto the precious memories we had.

To the original Mammoth Mutt, I hope I’ve carried you’re legacy well my beloved. You stuck by me even when there was something wrong with me biologically in my inability to use the full scopes of what I should be capable of.

I have never forgotten… and never will.

-Equus, Canterlot, portal room, Gallus-

We watched as Sergeant Slim Shady, along with a bunch of ponies of various races, charge into Tambelon. Their mission… to try and detain the populace of ponies on the other side while fighting off and capturing the troggles as well.

I didn’t have any personal or selfish reason to want to jump into Tambelon. Wasn’t being paid nearly enough to do something this crazy and I doubt anyone could. I was still going to do it.

I was doing this for the future of Equus, we already had Smolder and Ocellus back, yet they still wanted to go back for Pom and her family. Being the good friend I am, I’m going to make sure all my training wasn’t for nothing. Sandbar, Yona and Stream even agreed that this was going to be bad, but we’re still all for doing it and nobody was stopping us.

I watched as the Foenum group finally go in, Foenum Pom, Foenum Tianhuo, Foenum Arizona, Foenum Velvet and finally Foenum Paprika who stopped to give me a hug and words of encouragement… now if only I could understand what two tongue clicks and a bunch of gibberish meant. The only foenum hero missing was Foenum Oleander, that and the possible Foenum version of Shanty that might or might not exist as Foenum had a lot of copies of those who lived here on Equus.

After all the trouble with Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis with Grogar’s bell, we were kind of going in after Grogar himself and will see what he was really like when Discord wasn’t doing an impersonation of the demon goat. Hopefully we could avoid meeting him personally.

“We’re going to see horrifying stuff aren’t we, but I think we’ve got this.” I said while adjusting my armor. My friends and I were going to hold hooves, claws and whatever else in the hopes that we all ended up in the same place or generally the same area if a bit scattered.

“I’m scared about going back in, but…” Ocellus received a group hug from all sides and smiled. She was loved and loved us back. The sweetest among us who’s been in dangerous positions for the past year.

“Yona get to smash… a lot, I see it as a great opportunity!” Yona stated cheerfully. As we watched Flamberge, Fortitude ‘The Fantastically Fragrant!’ along with several others and the Pillars of what built Equestria to what it is today go in.

Starswirl was still making up for his polluting an entire world with magic, apparently someone named Sunset Shimmer was working as a one unicorn cleanup crew for that. Yona was happy to see Rockhoof and waved as he was the last to enter behind Flash Magnus, Rockhoof acknowledged her with a nod and then bravely strode forth into Tambelon with a stone shovel over his shoulder that doubled as a hammer.

One would wonder if we were overdoing it with the people we were sending in for this, but this was a demon we were dealing with… we needed absolutely all the help we could get. A number of storm creatures had already gone in and knew what Fizzy wanted them to do.

My big adoptive sister, as annoying as she could be, gave us a set of fireworks that would alert Pom to our presence once we got over there. Apparently the fireworks were specifically geared to grab her and Tianhuo’s attention, given it was the signal they would both recognize as Huoshan signal fireworks.

Don’t know what Jade was going to be up to, but Celestia came in with a cake and Twilight made a declaration that they were, ridiculously enough, disavowing any knowledge that Jade was sent into Tambelon with it. Also what was very concerning was that it was stated quite loudly by Twilight Sparkle that the Ge-neigh-va Convention wasn’t recognized in Tambelon to anyone who was listening and everyone seemed to find many other things quite interesting.

Those were two particularly specific things that sent chills down my back as Jaded sent me a worried look and then nodded to Fizzlepop before charging through with one of Daring Do’s many lost whips in claw.

Fizzlepop followed soon after, as queen of the Storm Creatures, she had to be on the ground to command them.

“Are you sure about this Gallus?” Twilight asked as she saw my group was next, she and her friends were the last line of defense behind Celestia and Luna. We couldn’t afford to send any of the princesses or alicorns into Tambelon on an offensive, since this was no longer a rescue operation, this also might be my last chance to say something.

“My big sister and Fizzlepop just went in there.” I stated blithely while pointing at the daunting portal with an index talon, noting that two of my family members gave me a loose reason to care about going in. “Also the friends of my friends who can be my friends are in there along with said family. I joined the Royal Guard not just to earn a paycheck or be a citizen of Equestria, though it’s really quite nice to be paid for my efforts, I joined to help people. Also to prove that the Royal Guard is not a joke to all other factions of the world and that it is worthy of the definition of being called a ‘guard’, one that I’m going to be proud to be a member of and this will give griffons some credit! Not all of us are money grubbing jerks.”

This was the first time, in a very long time, that the Royal Guard were being highly proactive about a threat. We would have to succeed, failure wasn’t exactly an option here.

“Let’s go bro!” Sandbar backed me up and the six of us charged into Tartarus. Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, Sandbar, Stream and I all at once passed through the portal as one… the best friends I could ever have asked for. That I really needed when I was living on the streets like Shanty, who was riding Dodo in after us.

There were several things we had to do as soon as we entered.

First get oriented, know you’re position and that of the surrounding danger, if you let disorientation get to you… well death is least that could happen here. At least I wasn’t a unicorn and what fate being captured might imply, yet a number of unicorn stallions and mares with a lot of stones and grit came in here knowing that. They had something to prove, that the guard was not a complete and utter joke like it has been for the last ten years or so.

I hit the ground rolling and then brought up my spear, to deflect a stabbing spear in an instant. My reaction times were brought up by a Sekhmet trained Jaded La Perm who came at me with lethal intent with a clone of herself, Sekky was an awesome trainer and coach who helped me get up as close to demigod in reaction times as she could.

Even if the blow sent me skidding backwards I stayed upright, I got a look at the Troggle. Big, pig faced, all muscles upper body, weaker lower half and very resistant to injury. That blow had almost toppled me, if he didn’t outright kill me just by skewering me within seconds into coming through.

I was on the outskirts of a city, the once fabled City of Bells. There was the sound of fighting going on all over, Storm Creatures were actually a fair match for the Troggles. Multiple mares and stallions being sent flying by bullish pigs in the chaos, but they got up and kept going and showed that the training the royal guard has been getting hasn’t entirely put them on the back hoof.

Bringing my attention back to the Troggle charging me, I had to think about how to deal with him.

A massive hoof of sand slammed down right on top of him, it was unfortunate that that at best dazed him slightly and made him stumble a bit. Sandbar was right behind me then, good to know.

Emotionally, Sandbar was a wuss, guy cried about a Hearth’s Warming toy being out of place on a fireplace… he’s not the one that had to sleep under a pile of leaves that were half on fire to get through a winter and he cried for an hour about hearing of my living conditions for the last few years before being adopted by a witch.

At least Kuril specialized in cooking good magical food that bucked malnutrition in the groin… some of which can have bizarre effects as turning you invisible when she wasn’t keeping her potions and food preparation areas separated. Worms didn’t taste too bad, but surviving the cold was hard when you didn’t know how to make a good fire.

His ability in a fight, a different thing entirely and glad he was here for me as he deflected several spears with a wall of sand. I flapped my wings and got above the spear thrust and slammed my rear legs into the Troggles face knocking them over.

I brought the butt of my spear high and the back flapped to send myself plummeting it into the Troggle’s skull, they were out. One down and… that’s a lot more to go. I’m the one here that’s a trained guard, my friends were a bit more to be worried about. Thankfully we all seemed to have appeared in a loosely patrolled area.

Once oriented, seek out friends and allies to group up with. Easy enough… I could see Yona doing her Shield Maiden thing by plowing through a few Troggles like only a yak could. With a happy shout and yell that she didn’t have to hold back on her ridiculous strength with anyone trying to hurt us.

Stream was firing a stream of ice and sticky arrows that were disabling Troggles and trying to avoid the numerous thrown spears coming at her. She wasn’t as good at flying as she was swimming, but my helping her with flying lessons really made her soar. She looked beautiful up there and was using my lessons of aerial awareness that all Pegasus and Griffons went through.

I saw Smolder making a Troggle punch themselves using a ribbon. Smolder was always tough, despite her hiding her love of cute and silly things, which Ocellus rated as being one of the most adorable things ever.

After taking out a few more ankles and attacking low constantly, because attacking the upper half of a Troggle was just asking for retaliation according to Jaded. And… whoa… look at her go.

Ocellus didn’t use to be nearly that brave… or violent. I was seeing some of the things she tried to use to get back into Tambelon. I’m surprised Twilight even let Smolder and Ocellus come back here. Further inspection had me noticing that Ocellus wasn’t transforming into one thing, she was mixing and matching traits of various creatures… changelings could do that? Well I mean I knew Ocellus could grow gills like a sea pony to stay underwater indefinitely without fully turning into a sea pony, though said gills weren’t very efficient and didn’t have to be, they just had to work.

I focused up and readied my spear, there were plenty of the guard already dug into the fighting and they were actually holding their own even if some weren’t doing as great without Storm Creature muscle in support of our efforts. I dove in myself with my friends all nearby.

“Can I be getting those fireworks, please?!” Shanty stated as she slashed her way through several Troggles, her magical cutting attacks were vicious and almost unblockable for the Troggles. She wasn’t killing any of them, but I wouldn’t want to be in her way.

Shanty was an odd one, having only met and known her for a day, she was like me in so many ways that it hurt.

“Can you help me clear the area up a bit first?” I know is was a bit much to ask, She seemed desperate to see Pom again. I would be desperate too if I had a positive figure in my life that got into as much danger as Pom was said to have been, nearly dying numerous times that cared about me more than her own life.

“Then it will be being done!” Shanty stated as she and Dodo started to tear into the Troggles, it wouldn’t take five minutes of us working together to set up a staging and rallying point outside the City of Bells for a number of lost Royal Guard, Storm Creatures and everyone else involved who didn’t know where to go that were fighting for their very lives.

It wasn’t long afterwards that we set up the fireworks and Shanty showed off the campfire lighting technique with a clap of her hooves.

The flash of pink, white, green and orange in the sky was pretty, but I wonder what it meant in Huoshan.

-Somewhere outside of the City of Bells, Tianhuo-

I stirred when I heard the noise, it sounded like Huoshan fireworks? They were very specific and I saw Pom stiffen under me. Hollow Heart had battered me quite badly, but we had found a supply crate, which had enough food for us for a few days.

I simply could not harm the shadow beast in any permanent manner. I didn’t know how a fight with Grogar would go if he could command such a terror as that shadow of what was once a mortal bat pony and Pom had been right in that Dolly couldn’t figure out how to replicate the feat to send him away.

Pushing the massive boulder to the side, one would think my strength spent, but sleep and food made up for how little sleep we’ve gotten over the last twenty four hours. Hollow Heart had been relentless and really wanted Pom dead, I would not allow that under any circumstance.

I looked in the direction of the City of Bells and saw it. A Huoshan signal, Pom got up and looked up at the sky. The golden wool wringing around her neck was giving off an ill omen of how long she had left to live and be at my side, we have cuddled and were barely on five hours sleep. It took burying ourselves alive to avoid Hollow Heart… but now Hollow Heart would be after whoever launched those fireworks.

“Why did they come back for us?” Pom stated with a whine knowing exactly what those particular fireworks meant.

“They would, they did, but that is not the problem. Where do you think Hollow Heart is going to be soon?” I was here to witness a look of horror in Pom’s eyes as they widened. “Also I believe I can see the reason why they would come back. What are the chances that Grogar would pose a threat to Equus eventually should he be capable of escaping his prison eventually even without the power of his bell?”

“Pretty good and wouldn’t that catch future generations flat hoofed like Nightmare Moon did with the whole world, except that situation had been somewhat planned for over the course of a thousand years by Celestia apparently. Are you okay to actually fight Tian, Hollow Heart really roughed you up badly the last few times he found us.” Pom was wary of the shadow beast and had wanted to fight him alongside me, but I was letting Pom get rest and her canine companions agreed she need some more. I was still somewhat fresh if hurting. “I can fight too you know.”

“You don’t want to though and I endeavor to heed those wishes.” She deserved some peace at least.

“I hate wishing for things for a variety of reasons as you already know.” Pom started to trot in the direction the fireworks went off. “Come on Tianhuo, Dolly, Dormarch, Puff, Tuft, Ruff and Woof, it looks like there’s a huge fight going on in Tambelon and we’re missing quite a party. Really don’t know how you can still love a scarred mess like me Tianhuo.”

“How can I not?” I snorted at the idea that Pom thought she wasn’t worth the effort. “Do not put any words in my mouth or thoughts in my head that are not my own Pom. I already knew Lambkin were odd or difficult, mentally, physically, spiritually and socially, but I still put a bell on you. I sang a heart song in my devotion to my partner. Have I not allayed your worried enough by cuddling you as you rested from all the running we’ve done?”

“That you did…” Pom mumbled while looking at her golden wool, as pretty as it was, filled me with a certain dread. The only white wool left was on her head. “As long as I avoid the threshold I should survive this… really don’t want to have gold wool for the rest of my life though.”

“Only if you grow wings?” I asked.

“I hope you’re ready to say goodbye if I do.” Pom… I would never be ready for that, no matter how many years or days until it inevitably happens. “I just stay at the edge of the precipice, in the end stepping over it is my decision. It will inevitably kill me once I’ve grown wings and nobody, not even gods, would be able to prevent what happens next.”

Did Pom not realize we were running towards danger? The likeliest thing to cause her to grow the wings she wants, if not for the price of her life? She has dreamed of flying with me so much before, now she’s terrified. Yet I stayed on the ground as we both galloped towards the City of the Bells, I was not taking to the air unless it was necessary to attack or defend us.

When we arrive we saw the fighting, vicious and all over the place, but one thing stood out among all of it. Above some of the buildings with in the city was a familiar brown figure that had lassoed the terror that would not stop coming at us.

“Why won’t you go down?!” Arizona screamed as slammed a shadowy mass into the ground with a rope after several spiraling flips, send up a pillar of dust and debris from within the city.

“We should probably tell Arizona that there’s not much point in fighting Hollow Heart.” Pom said in my side as she gazed around at the Troggles engaged in battles all over the place, most of them were winning, some were losing.

I recognized a number of ponies as being from the Equestrian Royal Guard, the stallions were definitely having a better time of it than the mares.

-Inside the City of Bells, Arizona Arid (Equus)-

Hollow Heart got up and lunged at me and attempted to stab me with his wings, how absurdly sharp are those thing?!

I avoided that, but I didn’t avoid the hard left hoof to the face that almost broke my jaw and bloodied my face. I went tumbling through two buildings before I righted and managed to slam my hooves into the broken streets to get standing. The Tambelon native Ponies and donkeys scattered in fright and curiosity as to what was going on, I wonder if it seemed like we were battling gods at the level we refighting at?

Jumping up a second later, I broke an offending Troggle’s face for trying to stab me in mine with a rear legged flying power buck and put him through a building. I quickly hopped back to avoid Hollow Heart slamming into the street like a meteor.

Troggles I could handle, this guy… this guy was relentless. His toothy grin was constant reminder about how little I’ve done to him despite pulling out some of my best moves, even a Mach-it Launcher explosive hoof bullet did nothing but knock him back.

Hollow Heart seemed to smile gleefully in causing me pain. Was this guy invincible? It’s like he no longer cared about bones or internal organs. I’m glad I’m the one fighting him and not someone else, they wouldn’t have lasted nearly as long against this thing. He was definitely no longer a pony despite sharing something of a familiar appearance with one.

“Arizona, are you okay!” I heard a familiar voice ask as the growling shadow beast pony thing lunged and a golden blur with a bit of white landed a hoof directly into his face. His entire rear half bending forward from the impact. “Buster Wolf Triple!”

Three consecutive explosion came from the point of where Pom’s hoof connected with the smiling monster and sent him blasting away from her. The attack somehow catching Hollow Heart in each blast with incredible precision, what in the world was that technique she just did? Also where can I get some of the craziness?

I looked down the street and saw something curious as Tianhuo, Pom’s god Puppies and two new dogs joined up with me.

The grinning shadow beast was no long grinning, he was bleeding from claw like wounds on his body as if he was just clawed up by a wolf. He looked down at himself and now he was frowning and he sent a glare directly at Pom.

“Yeah, I’m fine, but I don’t think Hollow Heart likes you.” I said, also he actually looked to be in pain, nothing I did worked… but Pom hits him with an attack and suddenly she did damage that seemed to make him pause?

“Well the feeling’s mutual after he’s been on our backsides for… how long has it been?! What’s going on Arizona?” Pom asked as she watched as Hollow Heart spread his wings and glared at us.

“It’s been a day and a half Pom, the Royal Guard, alongside the Storm Creatures and a few others, are invading Tambelon. If you can’t leave until Grogar is dusted, then I’ll be sure to be here to try to make sure that happens. Grogar presents too big a threat after already somehow getting in contact with Ponies on Equus earlier in the year, we can’t exactly leave him to fester or return to his true strength and then get back his lost strength from his bell on top of that.” I informed them as to the reason why the streets were currently being flooded with fighting figures all over the place. The shadow beast that once was Hollow Heart started stalking towards us. “Also how did you even hurt the guy, nothing anyone has done to him works! I’ve put him through fifteen buildings and collapsed three on top of him, he just doesn’t feel pain… well up until you hit him that is. That’s the first time I think I’ve actually seem him feel or even react to an injury in some way. Even the royal guards and the storm creatures who’ve tried to help me didn’t do a single thing to him, magic, lightning, basically nothing works.”

“I don’t know, but I really don’t like the implication that I’m the only one that can defeat him.” After a moment of thought, Pom shuddered violently at the implications. “Well I wasn’t exactly in the greatest of health when I last fought him, that and I had expended most of my strength fighting shadow monster copies of Tianuo, Oleander, Fred, Paprika, Velvet, you and myself… maybe I can actually take him this time?”

“That is somewhat worrying, but I believe you can do it if you are the only one capable.” Of course Tianhuo would support Pom, but I was supportive too… something seemed different about the lambkin and I don’t mean the obvious gold colored wool covering most of her body. Did she finally get some of the potential I saw in her a long time ago? “While we cannot harm him directly, can we give Pom opportunities to deal with him somehow?”

“Sounds like a team up, are your new companions up for it like your god puppies?” I asked as I looked at the two Dalmatians, black and white spots, looked like those kind of dogs… though the one with the three spotted fish tails and the large goofy claws was a little odd.

“Yeah, I’m not leaving my mom to fight that thing by herself.” The goofy looking Dalmatian stated.

The other Dalmatian pointed at the shadow beast and then the ground while hefting her skateboard and standing on her hind legs.

“Right, the three of us, plus your canine menagerie. We’ve got this!” I said as I moved in front of Pom. “Just call me meat shield!”

“Hopefully not dead meat.” Pom moved behind me as her canines spread out. “Can you cover our backs Tianhuo?”

“Of course.” Tianhuo flared and her flaming wings, mane and tail. Lighting up the entire gloomy area.

“Thanks for lighting things up, I was getting tired of the gloomy red skies here.” I grinned flexed some muscles causing pops all along my body as I stretched out. “How about round two Hollow Heart with some fairness thrown in!”

“Please don’t taunt the functionally immortal unstoppable bat monster Arizona.” Whined Pom like old times, but she still looked ready to throw down and that was a small difference right there. She’d usually be too nervous to defend herself previously, she has come a long way.

“Oh and five of our Foenum Friends are out there helping out, so expect to see other Paprika… she’s still as affectionate as our Paprika usually is.” Why did me saying that cause Tianhuo and Pom to shiver. Paprika, whether it was the friendly Foenum version or not, wasn’t that bad!

Hollow Heart roared and started glowing with darkness and the shadows coalesced around him.

Why was Pom the only one that could hurt him? Hasn’t she been through enough at this point?

-Royal Guard and Storm Creatures rallying point, Shanty-

“They saw Pom and Tianhuo enter the City of Bells, apparently they were going towards that shadowy bat monster the cow was fighting. She’s just holding it off, not actually winning that fight.” A Royal Guard stated to me. When I asked him if they saw Tianhuo or Pom, the only longma and lambkin that should be around here. “That thing looks like a bat pony, but it acts like how a living nightmare feels.”

“Thanks, come on Dodo!” My buddy be kicking Troggles in the head and they be denting and scratching up his body with their spears and strength. He quickly broke away and dodged the thrown spears and came over to me.

“Wait, are you sure you want to go after that thing so many have been wounded by it already with nothing to show for it?!” The royal guard didn’t need to be worrying about me.

“Yes, I’ll be being fine!” I shouted back as I leapt up into Dodo’s scooping back and readied my cane scythe.

“Well if you’re sure you can do something to that thing, just remember that this is our rallying point for any chaos crates you find if you need food, help or medical supplies!” The guard didn’t give chase he instead blocked a number of spear that are being thrown at him with a magical barrier. “You’re not alone, names Just Cause by the way!”

“I am being Shanty and I be needed by what is being my family!” Yes, I be knowing that I’m not alone in this world, but I do not want to continue being without a family.

I rode off for an entrance into the city, Dodo expertly avoiding trouble with Troggles along the way. Big fluffy white creatures in black armor be fighting them on an even level, so they be friendly at least, I should be seeing about getting a Storm Creature on my crew.

The royal guard ponies required at least three or more to take down a single Troggle and that was when they were working together in a concerted effort. There were some that were better than the rest and needed two or three Troggles to give them a rough time, I just be knowing it is a bad idea to try and fight that kind of muscle directly. It’s like there were a hundred Lu Bu’s on the battlefield, but they are not being nearly as skilled as he in a fight.

It is probably being a long time since the Troggles have had anyone give them a real battle if the Royal Guard of Equestria is actually giving them trouble. That or the Royal Guard has become incredibly competent over the year since this adventure started. There are being a lot of wonders that have amazed me, but nothing more than the fact that someone would actually care about me... there was no way I wasn't going to be caring back!