Chapter 21: A Wild Slide - Part 2

Life had gone by so fast that I could’ve sworn I was back in high school.

One moment, I’m traversing the luscious landscape, taking in the beautiful scenery as it blossoms in the morning sunlight.

I blink, and I’m getting bombarded by magic blasts, cheating death for however-many times I have done it. Guess Mr. Death is getting jealous of me surviving for so long here in Equestria. It'll only be a matter of time before he comes and finds me himself in his black cloak and siðe, or scythe.

But nothing can beat the thrill of it all. So whether it’s rekindling old memories and playing them on the record player or defending myself for what I believe in, it'll be worth it.

And as the shot deflected off the shield I had summoned, presumably back at those…ah, fuck it. I didn’t hope that Emperor Nacreous and Princess Luna would get hit by the beam of magic as it pinged off Erdrick’s Shield back at them, but I couldn’t control it.

The golden outline of the shield made it appear royal, with the runic markings carved into its layering above the red gemstone embedded in the center. Unfortunately, the faded blue hue of the shield was about to get a cold awakening as I quickly flipped over and eyed where I was heading.

The mountain dipped slowly, giving me enough time to plant the shield underneath me. As the ground connected with the underside of my newly makeshift sled, I summoned the Ax of Orichalcum and waited for it to materialize onto my back. The snowy terrain slowly morphed into a steeper slope, the wind blowing by faster with every second that passed.

This isn’t going to end well for us, the left side panicked.

Don’t start this again, the right side sighed. Look on the bright side. It's not that bad….

“Yet….”

True to form, the situation worsened when I realized a cliffside was dead ahead. The ax fully materialized and sat within the holding on my back as I repositioned myself to balance all the weight the shield was now holding.

I gripped the ax's handle with my right hand and swung it down, connecting with the snow. Then, grabbing the straps within the shield with my left hand, I pulled hard right and avoided jumping the steep cliff. The snow clambered over the side as it was pushed away from me and fell a considerable distance before joining its snowy brethren below.

I panted slowly, staring at the cliffside behind me while relaxing my fierce grip on the shield’s interior straps.

See, what did I tell you? the right side celebrated early. Everything is going to be alri-

fwoomp!

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This will not end well for Alex the longer this goes on.

My mind was taken aback after firing the shot at the human. He purposefully jumped up and turned to look at us as I fired that beam of magic, and a second later, the shot came careening back at me.

My wings flared as my defenses kicked in, nearly knocking me back. Then, regaining my composure, I flew over the mountain peak and lay low above the snowy slope. The human was starting to lead us on a fast sled chase down the Jackalope Slope.

Come on, Alex, I painfully thought while gritting my teeth. Stop this, and let me help you!

“Princess Luna!” a voice chimed in. I looked to my left and saw Nacreous flying next to me. “Slow down for a second!”

I immediately slowed down, keeping my gaze on Alex as he drifted to the right and enlarged the gap between himself and us.

“What is it, Nacreous?” I asked quickly. “You know he’s gett-”

“I just wanted to quickly regroup to know if you understand the plan, okay?” Nacreous interrupted. “Remember, you stay back and fire shots at him. Try drawing him toward either side so I can get a better chance of trapping him in a side of the ridge.”

I paused, flapping my wings to stay airborne. “You sure that’s a good idea, Emperor? What if Alex dodges and you miss?”

“Well, we’ll have plenty of time to try again,” the hippogriff said before preparing for his descent. “This mountain range is taxing to slide down, especially the eastern side we are currently on. So now, let's move!”

Nacreous charged ahead and dove over the cliffside Alex had avoided. Following after the human and spacing out the distance, I slowly charged my horn to fire a good shot behind him.

========================================<>========================================

“Ohhh fuuUUCK!!”

The road now taken spiraled to the left as it branched into a steeper and more treacherous drop. The snowy terrain accompanying it did not help, making it difficult to see the ground I was sledding down.

I quickly switched my holdings, tightly gripping the Ax of Orichalcum in my left hand and the straps of Erdrick’s Shield in my right. Regaining control was crucial for survival, so I remedied it by using the ax as a makeshift paddle. Steering back towards the middle, I looked around as the Jackalope Slopes' rocky walls towered overhead.

Looks like I’m not getting out of this region anytime soon, I miserably thought as I swung the ax over my right side, pushing myself out of the way of an oncoming rock. Fuck, that was close.

Stay on a steady trajectory, Alex! my right side screamed.

I don’t want to be turned into an experimental corpse, my left side dramatically clamored. I WANT TO LIVE!!

“Don’t we all?”

“Damn straight,” I muttered, swinging the ax at a tree on the left side as I passed by. The ax cut right through and landed with a mighty poomf! as I sped past it, briefly slowing me down so I could regain my composure.

Let’s keep it steady, Alex, I thought. Speaking of which, what abou-

========================================<>========================================

The magic left my horn as a small blast, hitting a snowbank and kicking the loose snow follicles up.

Nacreous sped through the morning air, trying to get above the human to swoop down and catch him. I fired another blast, disintegrating a rocky structure jutting from the snow ahead of Alex.

Okay, Luna, I thought as my horn fizzled. Let’s tip him off balance.

========================================<>========================================

boom!

Yup, I thought as I glanced back over my shoulder and into the sky. There they are. My face turned into a tired gaze as I refocused on the objective ahead.

Swinging the ax to my right again, I dodged a set of rocks pretending to be a ramp. In my mind, it would have been a terrible idea to hit it, not only with the jutting gemstone on the shield’s exterior but giving The Crown a potentially more extensive area to target with their magi-

boom!

“Goddammit….” I growled as the rocks ahead on my right disintegrated. I was losing my grip on the fragment of concentration left in my brain, with the wild slide taking my focus away at each turn.

Move left! my right side instructed.

As I shifted my weight to the left, I swung the large ax behind my back and tipped the blade toward the ground.

ping!

“Nice read,” I commented under my breath. The blast bounced off the blade and caused it to make contact with the ground and start vaulting snow into the air behind me. I quickly altered my weight to the right side of the shield and brought the ax back to my left side.

ping!

Getting better at this, I thought to myself with a determined grin. The hair on my skin raised, making me glance to the left to see Emperor Nacreous flying straight toward me.

“Oh shi-”

fwoomp!

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I fired a powerful beam of magic at Alex as he hastily adjusted his weight. Then, realizing the sudden shift, I ducked down to my left as fast as I could as Alex swung his ax to the right and deflected the beam backward.

Not losing sight, I quickly aimed for his left side and fired another beam of magic. The shot again deflected off his ax with a satisfying ping! and bounced back towards me at an even faster speed.

“Shoot!” I cried as I summoned a magic shield to protect me. The blast hit the apex of the barrier, causing me to groan from the impact as it shattered.

I clutched my head before seeing Nacreous nearing the human on the right side of the gorge. I quickly darted toward them, keeping my distance from the pair, but saw Nacreous ascending rapidly away from the human. That’s when I caught on to why the hippogriff did that, with Alex diving down faster and faster toward what looked like a large ramp made of rocks.

========================================<>========================================

Due to my negligent behavior and momentary loss of concentration, I sent myself far right, placing me on a sharper dive downward. As the shield slowly left the snowy terrain, I looked to my left again to notice the elder hippogriff glaring at me silently.

“Don’t.” Emperor Nacreous mouthed, an extra emphasis placed on the last consonant.

“What choice do I have?” I shook my head in return, causing him to prepare himself. Then, as I sensed him leaning to the left, I looked to my right and deduced he was going to bodycheck me into the rocky wall nearby.

Finally, the shield made contact with the ground and picked up even more speed. The hippogriff stopped his motion and left my viewpoint as I leaned down, propelling myself forward down the mountainside.

The faster and faster we get, I thought, the more wildly out of control this chase gets.

One thought surged to the forefront and made me tense up. Four words made me dread what could become of me as a massive ramp-like structure protruded from the ground.

Think, Alex. Think! my mind shouted in unison.

gulp! “This won’t end well.”

========================================<>========================================

Can he clear it? I thought as Nacreous came back toward my right side.

“Hit him when he’s in the air!” Nacreous answered back ferociously. “That’s when he’ll be most vulnerable.”

The way he had phrased that statement made me seem like I was going to hurt Alex badly. Vulnerable? I thought as my horn charged a larger beam of magic to be fired. I…I know that feeling….

**”GO AWAAYYY!!”**

My mind flashed the image of the crumpled human in the tower room, forcing me to scratch the thought. Then, as worry and regret filled my eyes, the magic within my horn reached its point of no return and fired out.

At the same time, something quickly altered the chase.

Alex vaulted off the rocky ramp into the air and began a fluid motion. His left arm, holding the ax, swung to his right as the shield in his right arm brought itself to his chest. The sudden turn forced him to spin around in the air and stare directly back at us.

Only this time, it was more deterministic than ever. It reminded me of an incident when Alex was called upon to dispatch another dangerous creature outside Ponyville. He wore this expression that he was sick and tired of the games and wanted to end it here and now.

As he faced us, his eyes screamed volumes as a fiery gaze shot back about how he truly felt. Pure, unadulterated rage emanated as he cried out into the morning air.

“HYAAAAH!!!”

pang!

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“Sweet Celestia!” I yelled as the shot reflected perfectly off the center of the ax. I rapidly flew into the air as the enormous wave of magic passed underneath us, and kaboom! hit the jutting rock walls that surrounded the slope.

Nacreous kept his gaze trained on Alex as I tried collecting my thoughts. Oh, dear Faust, I exhaled with relief. That could’ve been so muc-

rumble!

Both of my ears twitched at the noise.

rumble-rumble!

What in the deepest and darkest pits of my dream realm is that? I asked my mind as the sound got closer and louder. It felt like something was rolling fast behind us.

“Great,” I heard Nacreous comment as he flew next to me. “Just what we needed today….” His attitude had shifted again to annoyance as he peered behind himself, my eyes drifting to see the commotion.

I nearly faltered mid-flight as a giant tidal wave of snow hurled down the embankment, smashing through everything in its path. However, the snow descended and built up rapidly with the aid of the surrounding walls, helping it stay in the right direction.

I yelped in surprise as Nacreous nudged me, motioning for me to climb higher and avoid the mess. I did so immediately, the avalanche issuing its form of chaos as it rocketed down the side of the mountain after the human.

“What do we do?” I asked Nacreous nervously. “Now we have two huge problems, and one may wipe out the other!” He closed his eyes briefly as he exhaled loudly.

“You are correct, Luna. We have two objectives now,” the hippogriff reported as his gaze located the human. “Aside from the current one, we must ensure Alex survives this chaotic avalanche. So let’s not lose track of him in the snow! COME ON!!”

Emperor Nacreous darted downward again as I followed in hot pursuit. I peered ahead of the avalanche and couldn’t believe my eyes.

Alex was still sliding down the slippery slope of the mountain, with the threatening avalanche chasing after him, inching closer and closer.

“Come on, Alex,” I peacefully said to myself under my breath. “You can escape THIS mess! We’ll wait for you at the end.” I rocketed forward, catching up to the hippogriff as we kept observing the human and the cascading snowstorm.

========================================<>========================================

“This is turning out to be a wild slide, isn’t it, Alex?”

Sure will be IF WE DON’T SURVIVE!! my left side screamed.

You’re not only going to give Alex a headache, my right side groaned, but ME as well.

“Can you two just shut up?” I politely asked as I shook my head. “Lots of stuff going on right now….”

Oh my goodness, my brain mulled over. Where do I start with this scen-

“The beginning.”

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Eques-

“Stop playing around, Alexander Walkerson.”

Then please don’t cut me off.

rumble!!

As the avalanche roared behind me, the shield underneath me weaving through the Jackalope Slopes, and the ax affecting my balance, one funny thought came to mind and forced a silly grin onto my face.

Hey, brain, I thought while imagining an MP3 player. Play the Super Mario 64 Slider theme.

Sliding faster and faster down the snowy mountain, I paddled back and forth with the ax, trying to stay level while desperately avoiding any obstacles in the way.

It was challenging for the time since the pressure kept mounting from an unstoppable forc- Scratch that! Three unstoppable forces and one movable object fleeing for his life.

It hadn’t even occurred to me until then that I hadn’t been keeping track of Nacreous and Luna’s location after the avalanche had started. I forced a peek into the skyline behind me, seeing if I could spot th-

Ho…ly….Shit!

“They were closing in on you?”

========================================<>========================================

This doesn’t look good.

I kept my eye on the human ahead of the avalanche as it roared down the Jackalope Slopes. Navigating the clear sky, the snowy texture of the mountain almost hid the human within its embrace.

How he’s able to remain focused as he is chased by this roaring storm is beyond any reasonable explanation, I thought to myself. I flapped my wings harder as I tried to keep pace with the cascading tidal wave washing over the terrain.

The trees aren’t even standing a bucking chance, as I noticed a couple of trees get enveloped and snapped cleanly by the landslide of fluff. If it reaches him….

“Nacreous!”

I looked up and saw Luna flying near my right side and slightly ahead. “Do you see him?” the alicorn said as she scanned the ground below.

“Yeah, he should be rig-”

My eyes widened as I saw him only for a few seconds before the snow obscured him from my vision.

“Nacreous, tell me he’s still alive down there,” Luna pleaded worryingly.

“Oh, he is,” I replied before speeding up, “but not for long!”

========================================<>========================================

I didn’t even see the two rulers in the skyline. Instead, all that greeted me was a tidal wave of snow barrelling down after my dog paddling ass, wanting to swallow me whole.

It tore through everything in its path. The trees that grew and stood for who knows how long snapped like twigs and flattened under the avalanche's might. Rocks that had shaped the mountain range for hundreds of years, changing every time the tectonic plates moved or Tirek through a fit, were nullified and enveloped.

Sent to an unknown fate deep within the snow's chilly embrace, one that I did not want to be a part of. I looked forward and prayed within my head as I continued to weave back and forth through the gorge. The rocky walls stood tall, proudly trapping any unfortunate creatures within it to suffer a potentially grizzly fate while helping the avalanche remain concentrated.

I hadn’t been so fearful of potentially losing control of the shield for one second, a misplaced ax dig to throw my trajectory off target, and likely being killed by the fleeting force of nature behind me, but this was some next-level sense of fear. It spanned beyond the genre of horror and the dreadful terror it sent toward my brain.

Nooo…this was much different.

“What? What could that be, Alex?”

It’s destructively neutral chaos, my brain said in unison. Destructive in the power it holds. Neutral in that it has no favored side and remains in the middle. Worst of all, chaotic because of what good or harm it can cause to anycreature unfortunate enough to be caught up in it.

I screamed internally as the avalanche's rumbling started getting closer to my ears. It was frightening that something you couldn’t stop could be so terrifying if engaged. Let alone running from it.

I didn’t want to die, and definitely not up in the mountains.

I felt the shiver running up my spine as I dared to take one more peak behind me, nearly going pale as the blanket of snow. The wave was crashing down on all sides and had risen up above me. I sensed it wanted to ferociously crash down on top of me, burying me underneath and sealing my doom.

That was always the scariest part to hear about if you were caught in an avalanche. Not the amount of force hitting you, nor the fact that you would essentially be buried beneath its thick blanket. Within fifteen minutes, your fate was sealed if you weren’t rescued because the top layer could freeze over, becoming impenetrable.

I don’t want to go out like that, I thought, recalling the near-fatal moment outside of Hailberg.

I always heard the stories of dangerous rockslides destroying roads, mudslides formed by tsunamis that wiped out towns, or volcanic eruptions that spat out magma, flowing down the sides toward the ground below. Gravity was the ultimate factor, including this untamed beast.

I felt the tremors vibrate the shield, my ax slowly becoming a non-factor in my repositioning down the slope. I looked at it and initially deemed it useless, stowing it away and onto my back. Instead, I got low to the shield’s interior and gripped one of the straps while holding its outer rim down with the other.

Come on, Alex, think, I carefully thought. Consider your options in this predicament….

========================================<>========================================

WHAT DO WE DO?! my left side wailed in terror.

You’re not helping! my right side retorted.

As if you are doing any help by being sarcastic! my left side snapped.

Who are you to judge how I act? I’m practically a part of you, my right side shot back.

You are on the right side, while I am on the left! So we each have entirely different functions!

So? We are equally important!

“Can you two not argue while I plan a method of survival,” I countered as I looked up at my forehead.

Then hurry up and decide, Alex, my left side angrily replied.

Yeah! Or we’ll be snow-chow! So unless you can slingshot us out of this mess, we are toast! my right side commented.

gasp!

I could’ve sworn that in all my years of life, I never would’ve heard an audible gasp come from within my own head. That, or it was my own mouth opening and uttering the gasp.

That one word began to repeat itself more and more as I rocketed down the side of the Jackalope Slopes, and with me remembering the ax on my back, I reached for it and gripped the handle tightly.

“That’s it!” I exclaimed under my breath. That’s my answer to getting out of this situation!

It was so simple, it was so easy, it was beyond risky and unbelievably stupid.

But with enough luck, a perfect throw, and some accurate aim….

“You got out of that unholy situation?”

That’s the plan.

“Oh, pardon my language, Alex. Do continue.”

========================================<>========================================

One shot, Alex, I thought, the three words echoing into the vast space within my head.

As I gripped the side of the shield, I looked again behind me and saw that the avalanche wave was nearing my redesigned sled. As I took some deep breaths and averted my gaze, I set my sights on the large hill jutting from the horizon’s outline.

“Just like old times,” I commented, mimicking my younger self. Then, gripping the ax tighter, I exhaled once before putting my brilliant plan into motion.

With one fell swoop, I began to dip the shield’s front into the snowy ground below me. The interruption of an object sent the snow into dire straits as it plunged a path for me to follow. Snow kicked up into the interior of the shield, sending a chill down my spine.

Readyyy, I thought, as I reached back. My weight shifted backward as I drove the tip of the shield slightly deeper, the ax in my right hand positioned perfectly underneath the tidal wave above me.

Aim. Throwing the ax with full force, it rocketed forward on an angle away from the slope, a single ray of light bouncing off it and into my eyes. As I looked down, I pushed all my weight forward and slammed the shield underneath my body.

It immediately catapulted from underneath me, a loud klang! sounding from it as I did a somersault forward. My mind sent the webs to my wrists, ready to latch onto the ax. Simultaneously, the shield grazed my back on the way up as I aimed for the ax.

Here we go, my mind said in unison as it locked onto its target.

“Aaaand?”

FIIIIRE!!

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The both of us raced as fast as we could to the front, which was shown to be seemingly impossible. The more I beat my wings to propel me forward through the air, my muscles continued to ache.

Eventually, I couldn’t keep up and started to slow down to regain my breath. Luna looked back and saw me, slowing down as she approached me.

“You okay, Nacreous?” Luna asked.

“Heh,” I chuckled at the comment, “I’m getting older by the day…even though I’m immortal, I can still succumb to feeling tired….” I let out a shaky breath as I shook my head back and forth rapidly. “I’m good, Luna. Thanks for asking.”

“No problem,” the lunar alicorn replied with a soft smile. “Just double checking.”

klang!

“Yeah,” I huffed, “I’ll be okay. For now, let’s catch up with the avalanche an-”

fwoomp!

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The webs slung from my wrists as the avalanche’s waves crashed around my body. Then, the snow started to cascade and weighed down on my figure as I suddenly felt the vibration of the webs latching onto the handle’s grip tape.

The next split-second happened so fast as I zipped from the snow wave, getting shot out like a bullet through the morning air and toward my ax of death.

As my hands grabbed the Ax of Orichalcum's handle, my body was propelled forward as I hung on for dear life.

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My eyes darted as something shot up into the sky ahead of us. The glare reflected off it, temporarily blinding me before it disappeared.

What in the seven seas of Equestria was that? I puzzled. My eyes eventually settled on an object floating through the sky toward the ground below.

“Is that..?” Luna asked, causing me to squint harder.

“It looks like….” I commented before my eyes widened. “Oh no.”

“Oh no?” Luna asked as the alicorn looked at me.

“Quick, Luna!” I pointed toward the object falling towards the snowy embankment. “Grab it with your magic before it gets buried beneath the snow!”

“On it!” The lunar princess shouted, racing down toward the object and attempting to use her magic to catch the thing. But, as I flew downward, I noticed she couldn’t quite secure it as the object planted itself within the snowy terrain, slightly visible from the surface.

I touched down a short distance from it and ran for it. Luna touched down a few meters away as I examined the object in the snow.

“What is it?” Luna asked before I grabbed ahold of it.

“No doubt in my mind what this is,” I grunted before removing the object. An audible gasp! caught my ears as I glared at the shield.

“Th-Th-That’s….” Luna stuttered as she stared.

“It’s Alexander’s shield he uses,” I admitted with a huff. “So that’s what he was on when descending the mountain.”

“But if the shield is here,” Luna nervously said, “then where is…?”

I looked at the lunar alicorn before dread washed over us.

“By any chance, do you have a spare parchment on you, Luna?” I hastily inquired.

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The speed at which I was going overshot my hopeful destination, and I kept going.

Oooooh nooOOOO!! my mind screamed in terror while my face noticed the city coming into view. My jaw dropped, and my eyes widened as countless streets passed underneath me. Clearing the buildings on the perimeter of the coastal town, I only had a second to react.

My other hand instinctively went over my eyes to shield whatever part of my face was not guarded, but it was too late. The damaging impact of the water’s edge shut off all my body’s functions, causing me to black out as soon as I went under.

I don’t remember what happened immediately afterward, but I knew something was wrong when I woke up.

One way or another, the objective remained the same in Casaflanka.

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“How is the search going?” I nervously asked as I gripped the shield to my chest tightly.

“Nacreous,” Commander Shifting replied back to me as he approached. “It’s been five minutes since he was last seen. Chill out.”

“Heh heh…chill. Chill?” My eyes widened as I laughed. I immediately shot up. “How can I bucking chill, Shifting?!”

The unicorn put up a hoof. “Nacreous, wait. I didn’t mean it lik-”

“You tell this shield then to stay calm!” I snapped back at both Shifting and Luna. The two of them leaned back as I finally came to my senses. Pinching the bridge of my nose in annoyance, I let out a tired sigh as my head drooped. “I…I j-just know that if we d-don’t find him in t-t-time, the snow will fr-freeze over….”

“I understand your concerns, and that’s why I think your idea was the best response,” Shifting reassured, gesturing to the hundreds of ponies behind him. Using whatever means necessary, The Royal Army of Canterlot was feverishly digging through the upper layer of the snow.

“There’s a high percentage he could’ve been buried underneath the avalanche’s tide,” I said slowly as I fell back onto my haunches, “which means he is running out of air and time….”

“There could be an air pocket under there. And besides, don’t we want that?” Shifting asked me in confusion.

“NO!!” I yelled as I stamped my fist into the snow before relaxing my muscles. sigh “No. No, no, nooo…it’s too painful of a way to go out.” My sides heaved as a tear threatened to form in my eye. “Especially for somecreature like Alexander….”

“I-I’m not followin-”

“I can explain it when we return to Canterlot, Shifty,” Luna interjected, moving up to her special somepony. “It’s getting cold out here anyways. We should head home to Canterlot.”

“Okay, I understand. But why don’t you two return then?” Shifting said, nuzzling the alicorn princess. “I’m going to stay with the army to continue searching for any signs of Alex.”

“Are you sur-”

“We really do appreciate that, Commander Shifting,” I interrupted with a soft smile. “Are you sure you’ll be alright out here without us?”

“I don’t think there are any potential threats even if we find Alex,” the Commander replied, straightening up a bit. “He'll be completely out of it, and we outnumber him significantly.”

“Thank you, Shifting,” Luna said sweetly, giving him a kiss on the lips. I rolled my eyes and got up, spreading my wings and stretching them for the trip ahead.

“No problem,” Shifting replied with a sincere smile. “By the way, is there anything else we should be looking for other than Alexander?”

I prodded my chin with my left paw before looking over to Luna. Her eyes widened as her gaze settled on the shield I was clutching in my other claw.

“Wait, Nacreous,” Luna softly addressed. “Didn’t Alex also have his ax with him as he sledded down the side of the mountain?”

gasp! “You’re right, Luna!” I exclaimed, nodding in agreement. Then, I turned my attention to our friendly unicorn. “Shifting, keep your eyes peeled for a dual-bladed ax. It could have been buried beneath the snow as well.”

“I know what weapon you’re describing, but doesn’t Alex have two of them, Nacreous?” Shifting inquired, raising his eyebrow. “Which one am I to look for?”

“The one with the sun symbol on it,” I said in return, recalling the burning image in my head. The stallion nodded as he saluted.

“Will do!” Commander Shifting proudly stated before returning to his group and shouting some orders to the group.

I looked over at Princess Luna and nodded once. Finally, flapping my wings slowly, I ascended back into the air and started our flight back to Canterlot.

The shield clutched in my right paw made me wince from how cold it was, but it was also off-putting. Something immediately nagged at the back of my head as we flew through the morning sky. It was pretty significant too.

Am I missing something, or did I hear a sound before the shield shot up from the avalanche wave?

Also, shouldn’t there be a holding strap on the inside of this shield?

Author's Note

Well, would you look at that?....HE GONE!

Thank you for reading this chapter. You know you're awesome! Take care and I'll see you next year on January 8th, 2023 for Chapter 22.

Spoiler: It's the longest chapter in the book. Period.