A Roegadyn in Equestria

A Roegadyn in Equestria.

Chapter 80: Journey Into Equestria’s Scar. Part 2.

*Point of view: Third Person*
*Location: Ghastly Gorge*
*Time: Ten forty-nine in the morning*

At the edge of a very deep gorge that strongly resembled the Grand Canyon in a roundabout way. The Yuna was currently parked close to half a kilometer away where there were some sparse trees here and there as to give some open area. This was for the airship to land properly after four sets of mechanical legs were produced and then extended to allow the vessel to rest on the ground. The large rotating wheel in the back to signify that the engines would be running, were now slowly moving at a fraction of its usual pace to signify that it was now switched over to its low power mode. The ramp was already stretched and the basket on the other side of the ship was laying on the ground.

The group of Brex, Rory, Zecora and the rest of his class just happen to all be on top of their Chocobo's and near the edge as they all silently took in the long view. From where they stood, it could easily be surmised that the very bottom was close to a mile and a half, to maybe two at a cursory glance. Pretty much every single piece of rock and dirt took on a darker shade of gray and black. Even the high walls themselves could have easily been confused with that of black obsidian. In other words, it would not have been out of the realm of possibility for anyone who was unaware as to its nature to believe that it was caused by either a volcanic eruption or a massive flame attack from a dragon that was as big as a mountain.

The sky itself and the surrounding area was perfectly clear and without a single cloud in the sky. Although, upon turning towards Ghastly Gorge. It was plain to see that there was a thick layer of purple mist that just barely went over the top and only seeped across the ground for several yards. This of course turned out to be the weather phenomenon known as the Gloom. It acted as a thick fog that reduced visibility down to the absolute zero once it passed the hundred-yard marker. It was thanks to this, that all anyone can make out was the large rocks and spiky terrain. Whereas creatures were very difficult to spot until one was practically on top of them.

At the very bottom, one could see a winding trail of water that would start from the northern tip and end at a small pond near the midway point. Fortunately enough, the water was from an underground source so it did not end up flooding the entire gorge. The erosion of the ground and walls even caused it to open up even wider when compared to its original formation and this gave way to an isolated ecosystem. As a result, there were many creatures that were primarily found only at that location in the middle of Equestria.

Lightning Elementals were the most common, with Plasmoids being the second. As the first can easily be identified thanks to the lightning bolt shaped body and core. The Plasmoids were mostly a spherical object that would discharge what would be close to purple electrical impulses. However, this was in fact plasma, as the name of the creature implied. Instead of showing aggression in the same way as a regular Elemental with the tops and bottoms rotating in opposite directions. These would sporadically whiz around so quickly that it would make it nearly impossible for someone to get a beat on it if they were not used to its erratic movement patterns.

Other creatures were comprised of floating bombs, large Basilisk, floating eyeball creatures with tiny arms, legs and long wings. There were also the occasional Chimeras, which were pretty close to that of Manticore's. Whereas the second had a body of a lion, wings of a bat and a tail from a scorpion. These chimeras just so happen to have a few additional features that make them so much more treacherous. They're lion like bodies were further developed to where one could easily notice the rippling amount of muscles under the fur that would make the most decorated bodybuilder think of himself as a toothpick when in comparison.

The wings themselves were more developed to allow a short distance of flight. However, their primary focus was to give a sudden burst of additional speed and lunging distance for the alpha predator to strike with. Now, just having these features alone were not enough. Then it would have to be the two additional long heads that grew just behind the shoulder blades of the front two legs to create some serpent appendages. One would commonly be referred to as the Goat Head as it bore a good resemblance thanks to a pair of curved horns. The other was called the Dragon Head, due to how it was covered in scales and paired with a set of horns that would go towards the back.

Normally, an extra pair of heads was something to cause others to be wary on its own. But it turned out that these two heads had magical abilities, which only made fighting such an opponent to be quite difficult. As the main body would fight with its claws, teeth and stinger. The Goat Head would cast a powerful frost spell in a melee range and extend a little past ten yards from the body itself. The Dragon Head however, would use a lightning spell that would only strike enemies that were beyond a fifteen-yard range and extend to approximately thirty-five so that it would create a donut shape.

Those caught by the frost would not only take a large amount of damage, but their bodies would be slowed down by the sudden drop of body temperature. Anyone struck by lightning would also suffer a similar fate. but instead of slowing. They would have to deal with being partially paralyzed. Of course, this would make it an ideal way of hunting as it would prevent its prey from getting too far and guaranteeing that they would get caught soon after. This creature was also known for a double trifecta of danger, which included a strong fire breath that would erupt from the Lion's head. So not only did it have three ways of attacking with its normal body alone, but there were also three varying elemental types thrown in.

Luckily enough, such creatures had little to no reason to leave Ghastly Gorge. This had to do with an abundance of reoccurring creatures that would spawn through random rifts that would lead to another realm of darkness. In other words. A steady supply of monsters would come in to only become their food. Also, it was capable of consuming the Elementals and Plasmoids to turn into a source of fuel for its body. Which meant it was never without any type of a food source. If it were not for this simple reason, then there might have been a contingent of guards, along with a barracks built to keep the creatures inside.

Back with the group. Brex motion for the others to follow as Rory was sitting in front of him and sharing a ride on Crystal. While carefully navigating the difficult to follow path on the way down. Brex began to ask Rory a question. “And why don't you just get your own Chocobo instead of climbing on like this?” Rory then responded with, “Oh Master, I really don't see anything wrong with sharing Crystal. She could easily handle us at the same time.” Brex only rolled his eyes before he noticed that Crystal was turning her head so that she could face Rory. His eyes went wide as he knew what was about to happen and flinched at the sudden sound of a beak that was striking down onto a thick skull.

Rory released an annoyed grunt at the very moment the top of her head was aggressively hit by the Chocobo. She then said with an indignant voice, “Ouch! what was that even for? All I said was that we were sharing you!” This earned her another wallop on the top of her head as the girl started to protect it with both of her hands and showing a small tear on the edge of her eyes. She then indignantly screamed the following as she was now showing a pout towards Brex as if saying that she was being bullied by Crystal. “Okay okay! Fine, I get it already! We're not sharing you; you're sharing us.”

From behind. Gilda was quietly snickering to herself after seeing Rory's predicament in the pecking order. After that, it took the better part of an hour before the entire party managed to get to the bottom and relax after a few of them nearly slipped as some rocks began to give way over the weight of the birds. Once dismounting and getting themselves organized. Brex gave instructions on where they needed to go to find the bunker. But he specifically told them that there would be monsters along the way that would need to be taken out as they headed further in.

Thankfully enough, it seemed as those Zecora was able to adapt to the others fighting styles with being a back line healer along with Fluttershy. Even the new Chocobo's would stick by their prospective partners to add to the overall effectiveness of the party. The floating Fire Bomb’s posed little threat as they typically roamed solo within the Gorge. Even if there was a set close by. They would practically ignore what was going on with another member of their own kind.

This was mostly due to their tendency to self-destruct when their life was near its end. As a result, the rest very much wanted to not be a part of the suicide pact. This turned out to be a good opportunity to teach the group the importance of both interruption and stunning abilities to prevent such skills from being activated by their opponent when signs were given of its immediate activation.

The Flying Eyeballs were a little tricky as the members had to not only watch out for the incoming long-range spells. But also, the cone range effect of its “Magic Eye”. Which would cause the effect of petrification. Although there was one unfortunate accident where Applejack was unable to get out of the way in time of the petrification attack. This left her right leg from the knee down to be turned to stone while trying to leap to the side. The girls were obviously freaking out and yelling such nonsense as, Applejack had to make sure that she didn't move her leg or it might shatter.

Even the farm mare herself was making comments on how was she going to work on the farm in this condition. Brex was about to but in, when Zecora brought their worries to an end after applying some medicine to the Petrified limb. This came in the form of some Golden Needles. It only took a couple of seconds for it to take effect and the stone membrane that went all over her fur and clothing just flaked away as if she was wearing a simple mud mask. On the next Flying Eyeball that they came across. A similar incident occurred yet again while still in the middle of the fight.

This time it was Rainbow. However, before the next attack was to be launched by their opponent. Fluttershy stepped up and cast a spell to remove negative effects from an ally and broke the petrification right at the nick of time for the blue Pegasus to jump out of the way as it made a dive for her. It was not until they came around their fifth Flying Eyeball that they managed to get its general movement patterns down to where they could start to anticipate what it was going to do next and avoid any more unnecessary petrification’s.

Unlike in the game, where a player would be stuck in whatever position they were in once afflicted with such a status effect. This world's rules on that particular spell were much longer in duration. Also, stronger opponents could keep it indefinitely until they themselves were defeated. In the worst-case scenario, the victim would just be far too weak when compared to the caster and the effect would just remain without any type of cool down as to when they would be released.

Brex had even heard cases of some ponies that had been turned to stone for close to a hundred years and kept in mausoleums as a testament to their bravery when facing such a creature. It was at this time that the Roegadyn reached out to the community and disclosed the antidote to the public. Of course, he did think of the implications on someone using those Golden Needles on the statue of Discord. Although, the odds of it working on a being who was petrified thanks to the Elements of Harmony were slim to none. More so if they were strong enough to affect a spirit of chaos to begin with.

This surprisingly started a movement of individuals to go around and search for said grave sites to revive the ponies that were still kept in good condition over the years. Brex even chuckled to himself at the idea that there were those out and about and breaking open these burial sites and bringing statues back to life. There was even one mention in the paper about there being a successful revival of a stallion that had been preserved for nearly four hundred years. To say that it made the headlines for half a year was no understatement.

After going in a little further. They came across a nest of Giant Basilisk that spanned nearly the length of eight meters long. Their bodies were bright red as the scales appear to be very rough on the top, whereas the bottom was quite smooth. These Basilisk’s had such long teeth that they were still exposed after it closed its large mouth in a similar fashion to that of a saber tooth tiger. Unlike the other creatures that have been encountered so far. This one was level twenty-six, whereas the rest were barely up to twenty-one.

Brex found that this may have been a little too much without any real firsthand experience with seeing how the creature fought. Especially with the huge level gap. The thought of taking care of it himself had crossed his mind when Gilda stepped up and said that she wanted to take it out herself. At first, Brex was worried about Gilda getting struck by the random lightning that could come at any time if she were to stay in the air for too long. But luckily enough, the Griffin kept her wings tucked in and heavily relied on using the jumping techniques so that she was only in the air for no more than a second or two at the most.

The others were obviously worried about Gilda and offered their assistance. But the Griffin only laughed at all, as this was a good chance to show just what she was capable of now that there was a seemingly worthy opponent to test the new Dragoon potential. With a flurry of lunges, strong yet precise twirls of the Lance, and powerful techniques being accompanied by seemingly impossible leaps. Gilda took the Basilisk down with relative ease, as her form was pretty much a blur with how she was able to land an effective hit and dance around the agile Basilisk’s form until it was brought down by a final lunge of the lance. Which penetrated the top of its skull with nearly no resistance.

When Gilda wrenched her weapon free and did a quick backflip to land close to Brex. He could not help but to let out a long whistle of admiration at Gilda's refined technique which could have put Valkyries to shame. What's more was the impressive fact that she had also evaded each and every one of the Basilisk’s attempts to retaliate and came out what he would call a flawless victory. The Griffin tried to play it off as nothing and put on a convincing scoff before turning away. But in reality, she had turned her back so that she could hide her heavy blush as the furs on her body were positively tingling at the praise.

With them now having a good grasp on how the Basilisk acted. The group pushed their way through them one at a time. But whenever it turned into a situation where they had to handle more in a single sitting. It was Gilda who would rush in and ultimately claim the MVP title of the day. She even impressed them more with the visualization of a dragon spirit that would erupt from her body and flow into her weapon to allow for a one hundred percent critical chance on her next attack. This paired with her Leap ability, would usually end with her getting in a one shot kill.

It was not until nearly an hour and a half past by the time they manage to see a glimpse of the bunker through the haze of the Gloom. And by then, Brex could easily tell that they all had leveled up quite a bit. He even thought it was cheating now that they all cross the level twenty barrier and Gilda was already at level thirty-two. He even considered the idea of what it would be like if they were to camp there for a couple of days. He had almost no doubt that they all would easily reach the point where they could all get a job advancement. But Brex quickly dismissed that thought as it would not be right to go full spartan training mode and force them to fight nearly non-stop for such a lengthy amount of time.

As for the Chocobo's. Brex was decently surprised as well with the revelation that they had all gained enough experience to where the girls could allocate their points into unlocking nearly half of one of the three skill trees afforded to their mounts. This meant that Brex was going to need to inform them about how that part works when they were done with todays trip. He even thought on who would choose what and made a mental betting pool in his own head.

Although, finding the bunker was more of a pressing matter for a certain fashionista as she was bawling at this point about how icky and smelly that she was getting from sweating so much. Apparently, the mare must have remembered the mentioning of the showers that were located inside and quickly rushed ahead to get first dibs when the outline of the structure came into view. The mare even started to scream just two words that resonated loudly to the group and rushed off at top speed. “It's mine!”

She even went so fast as to create an after image and a dust trail that failed to keep up with the surprising amount of acceleration by Rarity and her mount. Everyone else was left with their eyes nearly bugging out as Applejack shifted closer to Rainbow to give a small nudge before speaking out in a whisper. “Hah! We're lucky she doesn't put that much effort into the runnin' of the leaves or none of us would ever get first place.”

The blue Pegasus only nodded to that dumbfoundedly before the rest of them followed suit at a more leisurely pace. As they proceeded even closer. Brex began to turn his masked face from left to right to survey the surroundings. He then said to Rory through the connection as his eyes narrowed. “Is it just my imagination, or is the air getting thicker with Gloom?”

Rory's ears perked up as she could be seen lightly sniffing the air before responding. “I'm smelling trace amounts of pony musk, and maybe some blood. That's strange... I'm also smelling chemicals. Its giving off a strong pickle smell... if I didn't know any better, then I'd think that this was formaldehyde. Strong too. There’s so much that its practically everywhere.”

In response, Brex began to tap the bottom of his masks chin before he thought the following to Rory. “Why would there be formaldehyde all the way out here? That's used to preserve living tissue. Other than that, it's also used in certain manufacturing processes. But we're way too far for many facilities that would even require that substance. How about we put that aside and concentrate on that blood you mentioned. Any idea on the direction?”

Rory could be seen shaking her head just a little before responding. “There's not much of air flow down here. But judging from the amount it can't be far.” After giving a couple more sniffs. Rory's eyes went wide and she made a dash for the bunker and nearly knocked over Twilight in the process. By the time she had gotten close enough to see the entrance and silhouette of Rarity. The Unicorns voice could be heard as she was screaming and also falling onto her tail.

By the time everyone else arrived. They were greeted by two beaten up Golems that were just barely holding themselves together. These were comprised of some bluish bricks that were obviously made with fortifying Magic to increase their durability to that of being nearly three times as tough as what would be used in a Castle's defensive walls if compared to how thick the stone was. They stood nearly three and a half meters tall and positioned themselves on either side of the entrance that would lead below.

The one over to the left was missing its right arm as the other was barely hanging on. Chunks of the chest and lower left hip were broken away. The head itself was nearly caved in to where there was only a stump of what one might consider a neck. The rest of it was littered with scratches that were nearly an inch and a half deep, as well as multiple cracks that ran along the entire framework. Metal gauntlets and leg guards were strapped in place to add to the defensive properties. Yet these were warped as if being pelted with an unbelievable amount of force to leave them nearly unusable and cracked.

The one on the right was in nearly the same condition. Although the head was still mostly intact as the front was left almost unscathed. While the back appears to have had a huge chunk taken out of it in the same way an apple would be attacked by a voracious eater in one bite. There were even markings to indicate that not only was this one hit with a similar blunt force trauma as the first. But some of the lines to give off a brick like pattern were now warped as to show that it was hit with a powerful acidic attack that was capable of eroding the stone.

From a quick glance, it appeared that whatever was poured onto the Golem was primarily focused on the back. This of course would also play into the reason as to how it lost some of its additional armor for the straps were eaten away. This leading to them to fall right off. In the Roegadyn's eye's, he was rather impressed, while also worried over the fact that there could have been a creature down here with the destructive abilities to take on his creations.

With this being one of the slightly more dangerous areas and easily proned to be swarming with a large number of monsters when compared to some of the other regions. The Golems that were dispatched here were made of the tougher variety. So, in terms of raw power and overall defense. He would have to rate them as being as strong as a level forty adventurer of the tank class variety.

The thoughts that ran through Brex's head were interrupted when one of the Golems with the still partially intact head began to show signs of movement. This was no doubt because of its sensors that were operational upon detecting the group. With a small amount of static and a robotic voice that was nearly similar to the Roegadyn's. It spoke as it turned its head towards Rarity, who happened to be the first to arrive. “Attention... Ah... Ah-Attention! Records indicate hostile predators have been reported in the immediate vicinity! Emergency pro-pro-protocols... have been initiated! This unit unit unit Zaaaat! This unit advises all personnel to evacuate to the bunker Eh-Eh-immediately!”

Upon hearing this. All the girls became wary as they began to look around for any signs of a dangerous creature. However, Brex only had his narrowed eyes locked onto the Golem before walking up to it. Seeing this as a situation and not wanting to waste any time at all. Brex spoke loudly in an authoritative voice. “Initiate verbal interface! Activate passcode verification and voice imprint verification! Sigma Zero-Zero-Four-One access! Requesting confirmation!” The Golems wide slitted eye holes which only produced a single yellow orb began to flash a couple of times as The Voice of Brex began to replay every single word that was just said to it with a perfect pitch and tone.

After a couple of seconds more. The Golem then raised its right hand in order to do a salute. It then stated in the same gargled voice as before. “Pass-pass-passcode verification and voice imprint verification authenticated! Please present follow up passcode to unlock bizt… all-all-all privileges!” Brex then took in a heavy breath of air and said the following so quickly that it may as well have come out as one solid string of numbers that was almost impossible to keep up with. “745-468-2994, 8719-942-25161, 8177-23-456-259.” As a result, the Golem lowered its arm and went into an attention stance. At the same time, the other without a head did the same thing even though their bodies creaked at the motions.

From there. Brex began to ask the Golem a number of questions and received the following answers as the pair went back and forth with one another, while also ignoring the obvious stairs from the rest of the girls. But not before sending Rory into the Bunker with a nod of his head. This was because There were no doubts in his mind that there may have been survivors inside, thanks to the blood that she mentioned earlier to have picked up on.

“Why has there no report been submitted to HQ about this matter in regards to the emergency procedures being put into effect?

“Zittt!!! Answer: Mul-Multiple attempts were made... no no no reply received! Conclusion: Signal has been either ignored or unable to reach a representative.”

“Requesting immediate report on all relevant information.”

“Affirmative! Details are as follows! Approximately three three three hours ago, a group arrived and was being chased by a large monster that follows the criteria to identify as the species Chimera. Defensive units intercepted to buy time for the retreating party to enter the bunker. The threat was repelled. One unit was severely damaged and is reduced to seventy-seven percent of peak operational status. This unit is operating at eighty-five percent of its operational status. Warning: Target is still active and exhibiting additional traits that are not currently under specified parameters.”

“Clarify last comment.”

“Chim Chim Chimera, exhibits additional combat abilities which consists of highly acidic traits. Overall physical projections have have have been exceeded. Conclusion: Chimera is well beyond specified level range for this zone. Recommendation: Immediate relocation of all personnel advised and contact must be made for investigation team.”

Brex paused as he was taking in his environment, while also noticing the worrisome expressions from the rest. It was Twilight who spoke up next as her eyes drifted over to the Golems that were still vigilantly staying on guard, even though their forms betrayed that they were barely able to stand without creaking every few seconds. “Putting aside all the questions I have right now. Maybe we should all get inside? And by the sounds of it, we may also need to cancel today.” This got a quick nod of confirmation from Brex right as Rory came back out of the bunker.

She then called out in a rush. “We got injured inside! They're not looking too good and the only healer in their group is unconscious.” Brex then led the girls inside along with the Chocobo's. He even ordered the Golems to keep watch. Once they cleared the entrance and walked into the winding tunnel that would normally take about half a minute to go through. The Roegadyn went over to a panel on the wall and inserted his Guild identification plate thanks to a slot that could be seen. As a result, there was a multitude of whirling and clicking noises that echoed along the walls, floor and ceiling for a moment. This signified that the traps were momentarily disarmed.

When they were past all that. The system was reactivated thanks to a similar panel located deeper within. This revealed a space that was about the size of a typical high school gymnasium. The walls and ceiling turned out to be reinforced with support beams to spread out the amount of tension in case the ground was to experience a sudden shift. Within the hollowed-out space, was a couple of buildings that snugly took on the provided spots to make a very tiny town if one was to call it that. There was a cantina and even a cleaning facility, a shop where one could use tools to make some minor repairs on equipment or brew up a potion if one should have the appropriate skills.

There are even a number of vending machines that held various supplies behind reinforced glass display cases. These would either take coins or use a slot for Guild plates to be placed inside of to purchase what was stored within. These would consist of not only food and drink. But also, various types of potions that would aid in the common adventurer’s duties. The bulk of which would be low-end healing and Mana potions. There was even a building with the medical cross right above that would act as a mini-Hospital near the entrance.

It seemed as though Applejack was about to ask as to where the ones that came in had ended up. However, all of their eyes were drawn to a noticeable line of red drip marks that was obviously from someone's open wound that would lead over to the mini Hospital. After immediately bursting in through the front door from following the trail. Brex and the rest were met with the site of three ponies that were laying on top of some stretchers that were all lined up. There was also one that was barely keeping themselves on their hoofs. This turned out to be a Unicorn that wore a completely black outfit. When the groups entrance was noticed. The one still standing inside pulled out one of their daggers got into a defensive stance.

Even though they too also exhibited signs of exhaustion. The Rogue held on to her side and brandished the weapon for a couple of seconds before they realized that it was just Brex in his group. Upon which, the Rogue relaxed and placed the blade back in its holder before speaking up in an exhausted voice. “About... Huff! Bloody time!” She continued to breathe heavily before going on. “Was beginning to think that no one was going to make it all the way here with those things running around!” Once the last words escaped her lips. The Rogue finally collapsed into a heap on the floor as the rest of her strength apparently ran out.

And with that, Fluttershy, Zecora and Brex immediately jumped into action and started to heal them all one by one. From where he stood while healing The Conjurer. It became obvious that the wounds were made by the following. Clear lacerations from thick claws that easily penetrated their gear with minimal effort. Scorch marks from barely avoiding a direct hit from a flame attack. The pieces of armor from the Gladiator showing signs of being pelted with extreme blunt force trauma and the same traces of damages from the acidic attacks that hit the Golems. Not to mention, the clear electrical discharges from the bodies from what was obviously remnants of a lightning attack.

What made it all even stranger for Brex. Was the weird sludge that stained not only their gear, but most of their fur as well. This being the odd substance that he was able to clearly smell from the close proximity to be the formaldehyde that Rory also mentioned. The ones on the stretchers were clearly showing signs of being exposed to a high quantity of it as they were showing a number of symptoms. The common ones being, watery eyes; burning sensations in the eyes, nose, and throat; coughing; wheezing; nausea; and skin irritation. These however could be easily dealt with under the right circumstances. But the problem is the more serious effects such as causing cancer if the levels were to exceed a certain point.

Brex then looked over to one of them and saw a familiar name popping up from overhead. Without even wasting time to think on it any further. Brex accessed the heavens computer and brought up that pony’s information. Luckily enough, the computer also displayed the individual’s medical history and current situation. But when it displayed that she was in the first stages of confirmed levels of cancer. Brex immediately started to cast his spells and pulled out a number of vials from his inventory and placed them on a nearby table.

He knew for certain that magic was not an all-around solution for every medical problem. But he deeply hoped that it was early enough to make a difference. After using a spell to remove negative effects from the target. The Roegadyn went on and administered a number of potions in small quantities through her mouth. The only problem was with the Unicorn constantly spitting it back up or being unable to swallow properly while in an unconscious state. This was all thanks to the coughing fits that would sporadically come and go.

To all of their surprise, which even included Rory as she stared dumbfoundedly at Brex as he did the following. Without even showing any kind of hesitation. He positioned himself so that his back was towards the rest as he poured the sufficient quantities from each of the bottles into his mouth at once. He then leaned down and slipped his mask off so he could give the Unicorn her treatment through mouth-to-mouth. At first, she was having some trouble and subconsciously fought back. But after a few seconds of pressing his lips to her’s, Brex could feel it going down her throat as the sound of swallowing could be heard.

After pulling away. The mask was hastily put back into place as he checked over her information one more time. Brex then gave a relieved sigh as he saw that the texts had changed to say that she was recovering from stage one cancer and would make a full recovery. Thankfully, this was not needed for the rest as they avoided the level of exposure that this one was unfortunately enough to be hit with. Brex had not even turned around to face the rest, yet he was already beginning to feel that there were three sources of intense emotions being radiated with such force, that even he wondered if he had somehow taken on the traits of a Changeling.

Upon turning his head slowly. He found Rory giving him the, “Did you seriously just do that look.” When it came to Gilda and Rainbow. The pair were easily giving the impression that the air around them was being superheated due to the aura that now took a red hue. It also did not help the situation as the others were giving them quite a bit of distance and sending Brex some very questionable looks of their own. These consisted of confusion and concern for his well-being. That was when Brex thought the following in a rather scared tone. “Oh... Uh, okay… I see what I did there...”

Gilda then pointed towards him and then back at herself before she quietly whispered the following. “Later, we are going to have a talk.” As for Rainbow, who was also standing next to the Griffin was silently nodding and this sent a cold chill to run up the Roegadyn's spine as he now knew that he made a big mistake. He then said to Rory through the connection in a pathetic tone. “Do you think they'll accept the excuse that it was a medical emergency?” What Rory said next only filled him with dread. “Master... even I'm not sure as to what I could do to help you out of this. Sure, I understand what you did. But even I'm a little upset.”

That was when he closed his eyes and brought a hand up to his mask as if trying to hide himself as he said the following out loud. “Geez… It really is true, no good deed goes unpunished.” After the awkward event was finished and everyone's attention was brought back to the immediate medical emergency. The rest of which was soon taken care of after the group concluded with the very last of the healing spells. They waited for the next hour to allow the four to rest. Meanwhile, Rarity and most of the girls ran off to use the cleaning facilities.

This only left Gilda and Rainbow to be with Brex. As he picked up some of the dropped pieces of gear near the still unconscious adventuring party to run some quick examinations on the damage. As his eyes were examining the shield belonging to the Gladiator. The girls began to start up a conversation with Brex as it was the prismatic Pegasus that spoke up first as her tone came off with a little edge to it.

“So… why? Does one of us have to be on our death beds for you to take that mask off?”

Brex remained silent to that as he had his back turned towards them. This was when Gilda spoke up. “We don't even practice in the morning anymore. What exactly did we do?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing my ass! Clearly there's an issue and Gilda and I want to know what it is.”

“Just why would you assume that there's an issue between us?”

“*Huff* why do you have to act like a dweeb now? We're supposed to be in a herd but we're not spending any time at all together these days. Not even one date. It’s always class this, or job that. Heck! You even disappear all day and no one can even find you.”

“I've been really busy. These weapons could tell me a lot about what they encountered. Obviously, it's not a normal-.”

“Gah! I can't take it anymore!”

“Rainbow! Wait!”

“I'm not waiting Gilda! I want to know why Gambit thinks that we're going to end up killing him!”

Hearing those words caused him to freeze in place as he had just brought up the sword of the Gladiator to check the knicks and cuts on the metal. There was also a sinking feeling in his guts that only grew as the few seconds that followed were completely filled with silence. At the end of which. Gilda could be heard giving herself a facepalm as she spoke past her hand. “Rainbow! Really?! You bucking idiot...” As a result, Brex had this stern look from behind his mask as he thought the following. “Why in the name of the twelve would she think-. Hold the phone. Is… Is this, what they found last night? What exactly did I dream up?!”

Rainbow obviously realized her outburst and quickly back pedaled as she continued. “I mean... that is I... What I meant was I just…” Brex by that point, had turned around after putting the blade onto a nearby table to look at the pair. He then said in a slow and questioning tone, “Why would you say something like that?” Rainbow was now sweating as she was glancing over to Gilda for any assistance. On the Griffin's part however. All she could do was to shake her head while massaging her temples to relieve an oncoming headache. She appeared as though she was about to open her beak when there was a loud noise from outside of the mini Hospital, which consisted of a number of booms that obviously came from the direction of the exit for the bunker.

Wanting to make sure that nothing had happened to the others. Brex quickly pushed his way past both of the girls and rushed into the open so that he could look down the tunnel. The bunker itself was now shaking as small tremors cause the creaking of the support beams and allowed a few pieces of loose dirt to crumble onto the buildings and the once cleared walkways. As the rest all came rushing out of their buildings and gathered up behind the Roegadyn. It was Applejack that spoke as she used her hat to block a couple of pieces of dust from landing in her mane. “What in tarnation is makin' all that racket?! Sounds a lot like Big Mac when he starts to snore again!”

Rarity was the next up as she was frantically looking above to dodge any incoming debris that would mess up her newly cleaned body. “My word! What is the point of taking a bath if it's only going to get ruined immediately afterwards!” Without waiting to give them any kind of reply. Both Brex and Rory ran forward and deactivated the traps so that they could exit and find exactly what was causing the sudden tremors. It did not take long until they were greeted by the broken pieces of Golem remains on the surface and two hulking figures that could just barely be made out at the edge of their vision thanks to the Gloom effect in the air. Already there was a menacing growl as the distorted forms inch their way closer.

When the distance was lowered to the point that Brex could finally make out what they were. His eyes went wide after witnessing a pair of Chimeras that were clearly twice the size of normal. This meant that he barely reached a third of their height. Not only were they so much bigger. But the amount of muscles on their forms were even more defined than he had expected. He then said the following as he shifted his legs to be ready for a fight and changed over so that he was using the Red Mage Soul Stone. This produced a Rapier weapon along with its focal gem. He even brought up his level from fifty up to sixty as he saw that both were registered as fifty-five.

(Here is a video of the Chimera.)

Even his white and blue robes were replaced as he did not change them over for the Red Mage’s set with the glamouring items. This meant that he took on the same attire he used when going to the gala. Instead of the brown mask with the stripes. He now had the porcelain opera mask with the laughing face carved into it. He then heard Rory speaking as she readied her battle axe and took on a fighting stance of her own. “What's the plan? One of us hangs back while the other takes them both on, or are we having one each? Either way I'm fine with it.”

Brex responded as he brought up his weapon to point straight ahead as his free hand was slightly behind and raised so that the palm was pointing straight up. This was so that his focal point gem would levitate right above it. “Go ahead and kill the one on the right. I'll take my time with the one on the left and learn what I can. Obviously, these things have been altered. I can already smell the chemicals soaked into their fur from all the way over here.” That was when he heard Gilda calling as everyone else came rushing out of the bunker. However, they were not alone, as the four adventurers were also being carried on some of their backs. “Whoa! What in Tartarus are those meant to be?”

There was a distinct row of loud gasps from the crowd when they saw what was outside. Which unfortunately drew the attention of the two Chimeras and cause the monsters to do a bum rush. Brex used an ability to close the distance while leading with his weapon to do a lunging stab. But to his surprise, the blade barely got past the abnormally tough fur so that only several inches of his blade would sink into the flesh. At the same time, it gave off a vague metallic sound as his weapon came in for a collision. Luckily enough. This was sufficient in halting that Chimeras movements as it tried to swat him away.

To dodge the paw, Brex used a leaping back ability, along with a quick slice of his weapon to slightly alter the incoming appendage to cleanly evade the attack and return to where he was previously. This solicited an angry roar from the chimera as it dug its back Paws into the ground to prepare for another lunge and the ensuing square-off with the Roegadyn. When it came to the other, to which Rory was in charge of. It too was parried after Rory infused her axe with some light and fire Elemental Buffs thanks to the Paladin skills afforded by the Dungeons and Dragons spells she knew.

With a simple, yet quick jump forward and accompanied by an upward slice with her axe. The Chimera was struck just under its neck and sent flying back after being forced into a backflip. There was even a spark which erupted into an all-encompassing flame that quickly started to spread all over its body as it was still in the air. This made the monster stand out as a lighthouse within the Gloom filled atmosphere for a couple of seconds before it started to shake itself and extinguish said flames. A few of the embers flew and landed on the second one and it too went through a similar process. This resulted in the chemical scent being replaced with the undeniably, and painfully sickening smell of burning fur

Rory even clicked her tongue after finding out that she was unable to slice it open with that initial attack and began to examine her axe for any defaults for a reason. She then called out to Brex with a perplexed tone to her voice. “Huh? That's never happened before!” Seeing as these monsters were going to be more trouble than originally thought. Brex called over his shoulder while making sure to keep the Chimera in front within his view. “Hurry! Get on your Chocobo's and get out of here! Get to the Yuna, NOW!!!”

Both Gilda and Rainbow immediately protested as they started to run up to join Brex and Rory in battle, instead of listening to what he had just said. After seeing the two flyers running on the ground. Both of the Chimeras took in a quick intake of air and erupted two fireballs that were hurtling at the new combatants. The attacks came so fast that they were already passed Rory and Brex within an instant and halfway along their projected routes by the time the Griffin and Pegasus even realized what was going on.

Thanks to the way that they were standing so close together. Both fireballs would have collided with one another right at the point they would have reached the pair and create a massive explosion. Which in turn, would completely obliterate the two and leave nothing in their place. The fireballs cleared another quarter of the way and were about to hit. When Brex leapt out of their shadows from behind them both and rushed to intercept the twin balls of highly compressed fire within the blink of an eye. This stunned the pair as to how he even got there so fast.

On his end. Brex used the following combination to launch a counter attack. After combining the hilt of his Rapier to that of his focusing gem. The ability called Acceleration and Swift Cast so that he could use Veraero. This launched a strong wind spell against the fireball. It was then thanks to the very first ability, that allowed him to instantly cast an earth spell called Verstone. This allowed them to overlay and create a more powerful version. The resulting collision of fire and the combination of both wind and earth produced a deafening boom just several yards away from Brex.

He even used that split second that was created thanks to the resulting explosion to do another one of his backflips. This made it so that he would land before the pair and put away his weapon as to reach out and grab Gilda and Rainbow to pull in tightly so that his body could be used as a shield for the incoming wave of crashing heat and pressure. Rory managed to jump away and behind a large rock formation to avoid the explosion as the rest of the girls were far enough away.

As they were only hit with enough force that it nearly knocked them over. Of course, they still screamed out of fright. Apparently more so for Rarity who acted as though someone had turned her hair green with how she was yelling about how her mane was now completely ruined. Most were dug in and barely holding themselves upright. Fluttershy could already be seen placing herself on the floor as much as possible while covering her head with not only her hands, but with her wings as well. For some odd reason pinky pie was just opening her mouth and allowing her cheeks to puff up like a set of sails on a boat to catch the wind as if this was fun for her.

Before the dust even settled and the air was filled with chunks of dark powder from the blast zone. The two girls’ underneath Brex coughed a couple of times as his arms were still coiled around them in a protective manner. When he released his grip. Brex felt the urge to cough and this produced a small amount of blood to splatter onto the inside of his mask. Which in turned also allowed some of it to drip from the mouth that was cut into the porcelain. The two saw this and grew increasingly worried. Especially as another cough came out and caused a drop or two to land on their armor. As for the reason for the blood. The direct cause was from a couple of shards of stone that had been launched thanks to the explosion and embedded themselves into his back.

To prevent anything to be said on their part. Brex brought up his weapon and attached the pieces to cast a couple of healing spells onto himself. The effect was nearly instantaneous as the shards were expelled from his body and clattered onto the ground to show that there was at least a half a dozen or so. The wounds themselves sealed up nicely, but still allowed the blood to stain the skin so that it perfectly blended in to the dark red fabric. He turned his attention to the two Chimeras after stepping away and said the next part in an emotionless voice. “Go. Get out of the gorge. Don't make me ask again... Rory and I will handle-.”

Brex could not finish that sentence as both the Chimeras decided that they had waited long enough and recommenced their attack and leaped at the same time in clear hopes of pouncing onto the Roegadyn. Although, the next thing that happened, obviously came as a surprise to the two would-be alpha predators when he dashed forward and launched a powerful spell that erupted the area with a crimson hue. Multiple crystals appeared out of nowhere to create a spherical zone as dark red lightning coarse from the center to strike at each of the stones. The force in which was powerful enough to send both of the monsters back to a defensive stance. All the while, they would roar and hiss loudly with all of their heads.

Brex even went through the motions of holding both of his arms out to his sides while grasping the jewel in his left, as the right was held so that the blade was pointing down in a reverse grip. After equipping his armband to use the accumulated energy for a level three limit break. His body was enveloped in a bright yellow light which encompassed a good three and a half meters with his body in the center. Gold jets of flames were continuously being given off as lightning crackled along his form. Both of the chimeras crouched down to indicate that they were aware of something coming from him.

Both arms were brought together as to attach the two weapon pieces. The jewel itself became so bright that it was nearly impossible to see even his own hands that gripped onto the item and a set of glyphs appeared side by side before Brex. At the very same time. A much larger circle with elaborate drawings could be seen coming into formation right underneath his target's feet as it was taking on a wide area. Brex then said loud enough to be heard over the accumulation of power that was only growing stronger and stronger over the course of the next few seconds. “Now! It's my-GHAAH!!!”

Yet again. Brex was interrupted, thereby breaking his concentration and losing all of that energy that was ready to be released and harmlessly dispersed into the atmosphere. This was due to a much larger figure that came out of the Gloom and sent Brex flying far enough that he instantly lost sight of the bunker and crashed into the cliffside that would lead up and out of Ghastly Gorge. By the time he even knew what hit him. He already found himself half embedded into the blacked stone wall and was in the middle of pulling himself free right as a deafening roar could be heard which easily dwarfed the two Chimeras from earlier. There were numerous animal sounds all going at once to give the impression that an entire zoo was sounding their own battle cry.

It was so strong in fact. That there were visible shockwaves thanks to the Gloom being forced away. What was soon unveiled, was a creature that was nearly as tall as the Red Dragon. In fact, if one was to compare the two in terms of how strong they appear to be. The one underneath the mountain could have been seen as a string bean. And in an arm-wrestling contest, the Red Dragon would have had its arms ripped clean off. Brex stare dumbfoundedly at the creature as he contemplated on just how such a monstrous entity could have gone unchecked as to get that big.

His thoughts were only brought to a stop when he noticed that he was in a large amount of pain. After grunting a couple of times and casting close to half a dozen healing spells on himself. He thought the following. “Shit! If this was back in the game, that would have nearly one shot me!!! Fuck! I would be dead right now if I didn't raise my level by ten.” Brex released a couple of heavy huffs as he finally peeled himself all the way from the wall and stood on one of the footholds as he continued. “Wow! I can't remember when I last got hit nearly that hard. Just how strong is that thing anyway?!”

As the monster was letting out its continuously ongoing roar. Brex brought up its information bar. Unlike the others. This one was marked as level seventy. Not only that. There was also the symbol that showed that the creature was classified as very hard in its difficulty rating. In other words. The classification marked it as just below being called a world class hunt. Which would normally take a group of players of the same level to be able to bring it down. After coming to this realization, he instantly brought up Heaven's Computer and accessed the bestiary section so that he could find anything of importance. After a couple of seconds of windows opening and closing quickly. He finally found the page he was looking for.

Name: Experimental Chimera, Number 1232. Code name: Sun Eater.

Level: 70.

Difficulty rating: Very hard.

Age: 87 Years old.

It even went on to list a large number of abilities such as, Fire breath, Ice breath, Thunder breath. Poison, Acid, Paralysis, Blood absorption abilities, Enhanced senses, Enhanced intelligence, Enhanced external physical and magic defense, Enhance speed, Enhanced physical regeneration, Enhance resistance to fire and light attribute magic. However, there was just one more on the list that caught his attention. This being a description of a skill called Personalized Curse. It stated that anyone under this effect would specify a specific target for their aggression.

When encountering said target, the user would gain the ability to counteract their physical and magical attacks. But it did not stop there. It would even boost the user’s offensive capabilities up to ten times the normal amount. When Brex looked into it more to find out if it was in effect right now. The Roegadyn's eyes went wide when he saw that it was indeed active. Not only that, but the target was set as Princess Celestia. Moreover, was the fact that it was already set at its maximum grade. Brex then said the following from under his breath as he quickly scanned over all the details to double-check.

“Oh damn! Just who was it that you fucking shit on to get them to even make this monstrosity?! Most of the Primal’s would just be a chew toy to that thing! And what is with all of these stat buffs? This is just way too much, I'm calling bullshit! That was when he realized something from earlier and quickly glance over to the smaller chimeras as he said, “Don't tell me that they also... Ah, that must be the reason why Rory and I couldn't do that much damage.” Brex then switched over to his mental connection and called out to Rory in a serious tone. “Rory! I'll leave the runts to you. Don't hold anything back, do you hear me? The big ones mine.”

From there. Brex moved on and pulled a Link Pearl out to relay the situation to the crew of the Yuna. He stated that the others would be rushing back to the ship and that they should take off as soon as possible to be in a less dangerous location and to have the shit put on Red Alert. He even added that the weapons were to be free to be used at a moment's notice. Which instantly earned him an excited cry from one of the Changeling’s in the background. Once that was all finished and he was able to bring his undivided attention over to the gigantic Chimera. His face from behind his mask became Stern as he boosted his level to max so that it would match the monsters.

He made sure that his weapon was secured on his hips before he began to hold up both of his gloved covered hands, while muttering the following to himself. “It's way too dangerous to get into a real fight while the girls are still so close by... I really wish that my mark two armor was finished. At the very least I can use these pieces for now.” Once those final words were said. Brex opened up his character window and brought out a set of metal gauntlets that made his own hands appear to be twice of their original size. At the same time, the item appeared on his window to display that it was a piece that overlaid onto his current equipped gloves.

These were mostly silver and color as a neon blue light course through a circular disc in the palm and ran underneath the segmented plates and a wire-like fashion. Obviously, the circuitry for this item was clearly exposed. This showed that it was not completed. After channeling some energy into the glove thanks to some lightning magic afforded by the Red Mage class. The lights began to grow and give off a low hum. With every twist and flex of both his wrists and fingers. The whirling noise of gears and hydraulics that were built inside could be heard coming to life.

After checking to see that everything was in order. Brex psyched himself up and melded into his shadow that was being cast onto the wall. It took less than a second later for him to appear from one of the boulders in front of the creature so that he was situated between it and the retreating students. Not too far behind and off to the left, could be seen Rory as she was quite busy with the underlings. None of the three were staying still for more than a second as they leaked at one another in a constant dance of swipes and slashes on both ends. The Chimeras would get a lucky hit every so often. But unfortunately for them, it was barely more than a scratch and would be instantly healed within moments.

Rory on the other hand, was taking full advantage of her small stature and evading their strikes, while also landing one blow after another to send them tumbling as to attack the next. Even during the times that she was unable to pierce their thick fur and hide with the edge of her axe. The girl was still doing quite a number on them with the blunt force trauma that she was throwing their way. Even if the ax was unable to cut. It would have delivered the same destructive force as being hit with a truck going fifty-five miles an hour.

The fire breaths were telegraphed too much, so she had plenty of time to avoid those. The lightning and ice spells were unable to hit as they were being clearly given away thanks to the corresponding heads glowing eyes that would occur just a few seconds beforehand. Once or twice, Rory would even strike the head that was about to use magic to interrupt it and to only leave it as a dazed appendage.

Over with the big one. It was either due to its size or just not really caring all that much. But the larger Chimera had ignored Rory and Brex and was looking in the direction of the retreating group. Brex slammed both of his fists together and loudly called out to it after spreading his legs and bringing his arms down so that the elbows were being pulled back. Brex then channeled a continuous stream of lightning magic into the gloves, which then crackled with raw power. This continued for a few seconds before he was enveloped in a bubble of the same neon blue energy as the gloves themselves. Many connecting ribbons of lightning poured from the large set of gauntlets and struck the inner layer of the bubble.

Crackling zaps and what could be similar to hundreds of quickly chirping birds fill the air. Still not paying attention to Brex, even though all of this was going on practically right underneath its own head. The Chimeras wings outstretched as the lower legs crouched to inform that it was about to make a long jump. With both a loud grunt and a savage growl of his own. Brex braced himself further as he called out to the monster. “OH NO YOU DON’T! YOUR DANCE PARTNER IS WITH ME! NOW WHY DON’T YOU BE A GOOD LITTLE HELL KITTY AND WAIT UNTIL THE PLAYGROUND IS ALL CLEAR!”

The Chimera paid absolutely no mind at all to the Roegadyn's words as it took to the air with a surprising amount of speed. The force of which was felt to be as strong as a hurricane due to the strong flap of the large bat wings on its back. But at the very instant it made itself airborne and was nearly halfway with jumping over Brex. He thrusted both of his palms forward and towards the creature. While doing so, he screamed loudly the next set of words quickly.

“TAKE THIS! IMPROVISED LIGHTNING FLASH SURPRISE ATTACK!!!” This caused his thick gauntlets to release a jagged edged wave directly into the underside of the chimera. The thunderous boom of lightning and thunder eruption overshadowed the pain noises being emitted from the three separate heads as the entire form was being electrocuted. Lights quickly flashed between high and low levels so quickly, that it could cause a person who was susceptible to a stroke to suffer from one through visual stimulation.

(Here is a video of the move that is being copied.)

The hair that could be seen coming from underneath his hat was sharply sticking out in the same way that the Chimera was. Its limbs were fully locked in place while the entire form was forced to become stationary in mid-air. Although this lasted for only a couple of seconds before the monster began to fight back and attempt to flex its body to break free. As a result, Brex screamed even more as his outreached arms were enveloped by even more electrical energy. The resulting feedback from using so much of that type of elemental power was already making itself known as his clothing exhibited signs of there being scorch marks slowly being made. There was even a hairline crack on the bottom edge of his mask that came from exerting so much energy.

The lion head was twitching uncontrollably as its large fanged mouth was forced open as the muscles were barely under its control enough to close the jaw. The two heads were fully outstretched while in the same predicament. The Scorpion tail took on a zigzag pattern as it erratically twitched. Short yet quick waves of electrical energy could be seen running along the length of its fur covered body. So far, Brex was only holding this for no more than nine seconds, yet he was already close to bottoming out on his aether reserves. Thankfully though, he had the skill of Lucid Dreaming to slowly revitalize his magic for a short time which held out just enough to prevent his levels from dropping for the time being.

He had no idea as to how much longer he could hold out as he had never expected to use this technique that utilized both magic and technology to hold such a massive creature. At least not until the entire set was completed. This was when he caught sight of a number of Plasmoids and Lightning Elementals that were being attracted by the massive discharge and had a stroke of genius. He then contacted Rory through the connection and ordered her to use a skill to command them to attack him.

As Rory was still in the middle of her own fight. She replied with saying, “Master, they don't really have conscious thoughts. I'm not entirely sure if my ability to control with a command will even have any effect on them.” However, Rory gave up after noticing the way her master was struggling and finally did what she was told. After causing a smoke screen from slashing her axe along the ground to distract the two smaller Chimeras. She began taunting the Elementals and gathered them all together within a couple of seconds. She then screamed out one word after activating the spell, while also pointing her large axe towards Brex. “Attack!”

When the command was given. The Plasmoids and Lightning Elementals shifted in place for about a moment before immediately converging on Brex. From there, they launched a combined assault right as Rory was found by the Chimeras again. Even though they were all at a much lower level. Having nearly a dozen of them blasting Brex made it extremely painful for the Roegadyn. After fighting through the pain. He flexed his magic just enough so that the additional electric current was funneled into his own attack that was holding the more dangerous of the three. Through gritted teeth. Brex then said, “Ghaaaaaahaaaaaagrrrrrrr! Need… Need to… hold on!!!”

Over to the left-hand side of his vision. The character status screen which displayed his form and items that were currently equipped, was already showing that the gauntlets had already dropped to around seventy percent of their total durability. At the rate things were going. It was not a question of if, but more of when this technique would finally break. Either the gloves would eventually destroy themselves or what he was feeding them was going to run dry. All he knew was that when that creature came back down, he was going to be in the fight for his life as even he was unsure as to how far he can go against a creature with that kind of a difficulty rating, while also being at the same level as him.

*Point of view: Princess Celestia*
*Location: Canterlot Castle*

Just moments ago. Celestia was in the middle of day court when her sister suddenly came in through the large set of open doors and quickly waved to her older sister while being behind the crowd of nobles. She merely paused while looking over to Luna and wondered as to why she would come to the throne room so early. However, the look of urgency on her younger sister's face conveyed that something was up. Before she could even have a chance to stop the noble who was currently in the middle of a speech for something or another. A loud boom had caught all of their attention and Celestia saw through one of the windows that there was a pillar comprised of a bright blue light and electrical strands coming from deep within the Everfree Forest.

All of those that were within the castle began to scream as they turned their heads to see just what was going on. The castle guards were on high alert and brandishing their weapons. Princess Celestia could also hear the faint noises of the citizens beyond the walls as they too were panicking. It was not until a few seconds passed while attempting to judge the situation in order to put together a proper response to tell her guards. The alabaster alicorn felt a familiar wave of energy that she instantly identified to be the exact signature as that of Gambit.

As her voice hitched in her throat and eyes glued squarely on the pillar. She thought the following while her shocked face turned into worry. “Is that... is that coming from the direction of Ghastly Gorge? Oh no! Did something happen? Wait! Weren't they all going there today?!” Celestia suddenly felt her heart sink as an unmistakable sense of dread began to grow. Without even realizing it herself. Her right hand immediately tensed its grip on the armrest and caused multiple cracks to spread several inches along the marble throne. If it were not for her back already pressing against the padding behind. Then her wings would have already instinctively flown out in an aggressive style.