Ponycraft: The Maw of Insanity

“So, are you ready to head off to Azeroth?” Jaina asked the heroes in the park the following day. They all had their bags packed for Azeroth.

“You betcha! I am SO ready!” Berry said excitingly.

Jaina nodded. “Before we head out, I must tell you that when we have arrived there in Stormwind City, King Varian Wrynn, the king of the Alliance, his assistant partner, Genn Graymane, and Highlord Darian Mograine of the Death Knights of the Ebon Blade will be there to greet you. I simply ask you pay your respects.”

“Of course. We wouldn't want the heroes of our allies to think badly of us.” Ruby responded.

“Then let us be on our way, that is, if everyone is ready?” Jaina said as she looked back at them. They all nodded except for Cuddles who simply hopped up and down a few times. “Good. Stand back everyone, I shall open the portal to Azeroth's Stormwind City!”

Jaina's staff began to glow as her hooves began to glow. They all took a few steps back as Jaina's eyes began to glow. Wind began to circle around her fiercely. Swirls of light began to morph together to create one large light. The picture of rooftops began to be seen within the light. Jaina was slowly lowered to the ground and stopped glowing.

“There we are! Now, any last minute questions before we head off?” Jaina asked.

Fluttershy raised her hoof. “Umm... my leader... Darian Mograine... is he nice?” she said shyly.

“My dear, Azeroth has a rough term for “nice”. You'll have to decide that for yourself. But enough talk! Let us head off!” Jaina cheered as she leaped through the portal.

“Let Cannon and I go first. Keep follow behind us.” Carees said to the 3 mares.

They all lined up, Fluttershy last in line, and all slowly walked through the portal. After the last trace of Fluttershy vanished, the portal closed. It was time to save the universe.

______________________________________________________________________

“My king, it appears Jaina has reached and brought back our heroes. Take a look over yonder. The magic tide is turning.”

The scar-faced human looked over to one of the corners of his keep. “So she has, Darian. Good eye. Let us greet them once again.”

The wind and light had created a portal which proceeded to throw out 6 beings. The beings were a mage human, a male human, a male dwarf, a raptor, a female Draenei with blood red hair wearing a sorcerer's robe, a female human in sharp, bladed armor, and a female elf creature with blue, plated armor and pink hair that ran over part of her face. All but the mage landed on the keep floor with a thud.

Darian crossed his arms and tilted his head. “Hmm. My king, if I may say, I do not remember there being five of them. Rather, just two with a pet.”

Beside him, a gray haired human put his hand to his chin. “I can agree with Darian. I do remember sending not but the two men.”

Varian squinted and nodded. “Indeed, Genn. We did only send the two. Jaina, who are these women?” The king asked. Jaina immediately bowed.

“Nothing more than more worthy heroes who have been battling along side our two missionaries against the forces of our enemy, Yogg-Saron. From what I have been told, without them, the mission would have failed.” Jaina explained as the five got up from their fall.

“I see...” King Varian said as he closed his eyes and put his hand to his chin.

Berry was the first to speak, unaware of where she was or what she was. “Ow, my head. Jaina, you didn't tell me it was gonna give me a massive head-ache. Wait a minute... what the heck am I?” Berry said when she flinched as she looked at her new hand.

Ruby was the next to speak. “Yeah, what are we? Wait a minute... Do I have horns and hooved feet? Dang it! I'm sick of hooves.”

Fluttershy flinched and threw herself back in a high pitched voice as she saw her dark blue armor and her hands and feet. “Yeep! I... I have hands... and long ears!... and armor!” Fluttershy said as she blew the hair off of her face. Her voice hadn't changed, though. None of their voices did.

Carees and Cannonbolt were giggling at them, standing up and crossing their arms. Cannonbolt looked at himself and sighed. “Aww, flagon-breakers! I be short again! I want ta go back to Equestria.” He joked.

Carees knelt down and put his hand on Cannon's shoulder. “Well, when Yogg-Saron is dead, we can all go back.”

They all looked at Jaina when they turned around. She looked quite different. “Heroes, please pay respect and introduce yourself to King Varian Wrynn, Highlord Darian Mograine, and Genn Graymane.”

They all stumbled up and bowed before them. The royal men introduced themselves first.

Genn introduced himself first. “Genn Graymane is my name. I am the leader of the Gilnaen Worgens, a pack of human like wolves that have not but recently joined the Alliance.”

Darian bowed next. “I am Darian Mograine, leader of the Death Knights of the Ebon Blade.”

Before the king could introduce himself, Fluttershy looked up with a gasp. Darian caught it in the corner of his eye. “Is something wrong, dear elf?” He asked Fluttershy.

Nervously, Fluttershy answered. “Umm... no problem... but this is the first time I've met my glorious leader I've heard so much about... oh I'm sorry if I said anything...”

Darian put his hands on his hips. “Leader? How am I your leader? You are from another world, yes? I don't understand how I am your leader. Please explain, shy elf. Don't be afraid.”

“Well, I was dead until a few months ago when Carees here resurrected me with the powers of the Death Knight. I... I was then trained by him to learn the ways of the Death Knight. I am your... umm... loyal follower, Lord Darian.” Fluttershy said as she quickly saluted him.

Darian chuckled. “Hah! That's rather unbelievable, young elf.”

Carees butted in. “Your highness, I wouldn't be so sure of yourself, she's quite the master of frost. She's still under training with unholy and blood, but she is a mean frost.”

Fluttershy blushed.

“Ahahaha! Oh I can't take it! Your highness, please allow this shy elf to show me her “frost skills” after your introduction?” Darian looked over to the king, who smiled.

“Sure, Darian, but if you get your head handled to you, that's your fault. Anyways, I'm Varian Wrynn, king of Stormwind City, and leader of the Alliance. Now then, may I have your names? I would also like to know what kind of skill you all posses.”

Ruby started off. “Of course, your highness. I am Ruby Black, a master of psychic power. I may call intense lightning bolts, fire bolts, ice rays, and even meteors at my own will. I hold the ultimate power of the universe inside my body, but rarely use it as it is dangerous.”

Berry came next. “Berry Punch, my king. I don't have too much to me, other than I wield the two legendary weapons Shadowmourne and Frostmourne at one time with ease. My skill and soul belong to those two weapons in battle, and they have never failed me.”

Finally, Fluttershy introduced herself softly. “Umm... I'm Fluttershy... I'm a skilled... Frost... Death Knight...”

Darian couldn't help but laugh. “Ahahaha! I'm sorry! I just can't help it! You're just so... soft! You can't possibly be a Death Knight!”

Fluttershy blushed from embarrassment. “But... but I am!”

Darian crossed his arms. “Alright Miss Frosty Flutters. Prove it to me that you're worthy. I'm gonna stand here, and if you can cause me pain, I'll accept you as one of my followers.”

Fluttershy's new elven eyes grew big. “But... But you're my highlord!”

Darian shook his head. “I don't care. Your highlord wants you to hit him with all the strength you got.”

Varian gave him a skeptical look. “Darian, are you sure about this? Well, I'm moving my guards just in case you get your head sliced off... again.”

Fluttershy slowly agreed. “Umm... i-- if you insist, leader. Just let me grab my... umm... swords...”

Darian's chin lifted. “Swords? You have those? I bet they're just-- whoa.” Darian was surprised to see the chainsaw like swords come from her bag.

“Darian! You really want to see her all?” Carees called.

“Yep! If there's a way to do it, let 'er rip!”

“I warned you. Hey Fluttershy? Did you know Porky's spirit rests inside him?”

Fluttershy stopped and twitched. “P... Pork...k...ky? Sp...Spir...r...rit? Inside?”

Varian gave the signal for his guards to hold off. “No matter what happens, guards, hold off. This is going to be quite entertaining.”

Darian giggled. “Porky? The hell you talking about Carees?”

Carees ignored him. “Yeah! Porky's taken over him! Only way to get rid of it is to senselessly beat it out of him! You don't want Porky to get you again, do you?”

Fluttershy gave Darian a mean face. He started to worry. “Wait... what? I don't get it!”

Fluttershy twitched. “Porky... enslave... brainwash. Porky, you PAY!” She shouted as she drew her weapon.

Carees laughed. “Don't kill him, Flutts.” He looked over to Darian. All of the heroes were giggling, even Jaina and Varian were smiling.

“You're screwed.” Berry laughed.

“What do ya--!?” Darian couldn't finish his sentence before a monstrously cold blast slammed Darian against a wall. Fluttershy raced up to him as she casted Death & Decay around him. Darian started to hop on his feet as Fluttershy charged up a Frost Strike and slammed Darian on the side of the head with it. Darian flew to the left as Fluttershy held her weapon up and summoned dozens of ghouls and zombies. They all swarmed him and clawed at him as Fluttershy readied both of her weapons for one final Obliterate. It sent Darian flying up to the ceiling and crashing down onto the ground, in pain.

“It's good, Flutts!” Carees called. Fluttershy's mean face disappeared as she put her weapons on her back. Fluttershy leaned over Darian.

“Oh, did I go too far? Are you okay, highlord?” she asked, offering a hand to help him up.

“If by okay, you mean getting my butt handled to me by a months old Frost Death Knight who is already as skilled as Carees and I, yes I'm okay.”

Berry was cracking up on the floor. It appeared her laughter was contagious because behind their masks, the guards were laughing. Genn was chuckling at it and even Varian was laughing.

“Oh that's rich! She messed you up BAD!” Ruby called.

“Shut up. I didn't know that was going to happen! Well, anyways, Fluttershy was it? Not quite a Death Knight name, but whatever. My bleeding gut has underestimated you. Very impressive, Fluttershy. Quite a knight you are!”

Ruby butted in. “Oh, let me fix you up, Darian. PK Life-Up Omega.” With that one phrase, all of Darian's wounds healed.

Darian looked at his bloodless palms and then to Ruby. “How did you do that?” He asked.

Ruby winked at him. “I told you I'm magically skilled.”

Varian, still smiling, spoke up with his powerful voice. “Well! It looks like our heroes have introduced themselves in a nice way! One question, though. As a king I love getting an answer to this because one always answers to royalty. Are some of you in a relationship, because it really looks like it.”

Carees sighed. “Yes, you majesty... we are. I'm with Ruby, and Cannon's with Berry.”

Berry jumped and jokingly yelled. “I'm dating a midget!” Cannonbolt crossed his arms.

The lighthearted king nodded. “Haha. Yes, I knew it. Well, Jaina and I have prepared a nice inn for you all to stay in. Feel free to explore Stormwind for the rest of the day, but the inn resides in Goldshire. I have ordered the Innkeeper in the Lion's Pride Inn to make a room for the heroes, but if you just tell him you need an extra room with one bed, he'll give you one, I know the man personally.”

Ruby smiled innocently. “Thanks, your highness! We really appreciate this!”

Varian nodded. As they headed toward the outside of the keep, he stopped them. “Oh, wait one moment. I forgot something. Goldshire resides outside the city. Keep following the road and you should come up on the town. I must warn you though, Goldshire is one heck of small village. Only a few buildings, but that's where the people go to chat, hang out, or duel to test their skills. Healers usually hang around on the fences. Be careful, the people there can be quite... annoying to say the least. Just thought I'd let you know so you aren't too surprised.”

Ruby nodded. “Alright, thanks. I'll take that into account.”

Varian waved to them. “Goodbye for now heroes, and may the light grant you strength on your quest!”

________________________________________________________________________

The heroes oo-ed and ah-ed at Stormwind's sights until five PM. They went past the auction house, sat in the Dwarven District, admired the Old Town, and watched the mages at the Mage Quarter. Stormwind was truly a sight to see, and after dinner, they decided to head off to Goldshire. Walking through the Elwynn Forest's path to Goldshire was a very short and peaceful walk. The clash of swords and axes were heard as they edged closer to Goldshire, along with mage spells and nature healing. Goldshire was nothing more than a smith and an inn for weary travelers. A lot of people were sitting on the fence, and the others were competitively dueling each other. They dueled out of friendship and training. Well, most of them. As they walked in to the shire, a certain female Draenei shaman stood out among all of the duelers. After every quick duel, she wiped the sweat from her face and leaned against the wall like a boss. She was very impressive, and undefeated. As she looked to the left, she noticed Carees and Cannonbolt and waved as she walked over.

“Cannon! Carees! Oh, boy! It's been SO LONG! Gimme a hug, guys!” The Draenei said as she pulled the two men over to her and squeezed the life out of them with a big, happy hug. They could barely breathe.

“H-- Hi... Aiva...” Carees managed to blurt out. “Could ya let go? You're killing me. I don't want to die again. That hurts.”

“Woopsies! Sowwy! Aivies apologizes! So, whose yer friendzies? Or are they... ehem... your GFs? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink?” The peculiar Draenei asked.

Carees face palmed. “Ahh. Aives, I've missed you. You were correct the second time. We are all team mates, but these two are our girlfriends. This is my girlfriend, Ruby Black...”

Ruby smiled at the Draenei. “Hey.”

Cannonbolt finished for Carees. “And she be mine, Berry Punch.”

Berry winked. “'Sup?”

Carees alternated back to him. “And this is our friend, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy blushed. “Oh, umm... hi... nice to... uhh... meet you.”

The Draenei made an adored face. “D'awww! That's so CUTE! I'm Aivaleen, but you can call me Aiva for short, or Aivy, or Aives, or really whatever you want to call me!”

“A pleasure to meet you, Aiva! You seem like the top shaman around these parts.”

Aiva shrugged happily. “Well, I don't know about THAT, but I consider myself very skilled, not to toot my own horn. Our friend who we call “Nerd” is one of the best friggin' Death Knights around here, he can beat me nothin' flat!”

Carees smiled. “Oh, I know that. He beats me often. Speaking of which, how is Nerdified?”

Aiva smiled. “He's doin' great, runnin' the guild like a champ.”

Berry's eyebrows raised. “The guild?”

“Yep! We're a good ol' PVP guild! Oh, don't tell me you don't know what a guild is!” Aiva said as her mouth dropped.

“We ain't from this planet, I don't know what anything is.” Berry said, snootingly.

“... Fer-real? Dude! I'm talkin' to aliens! Sha-weet! Anyways, a guild is just a group o' people that get together to go on adventures, go huntin' hordies, or just to hang out!”

Berry crossed her arms. “Huh, that's neat. Well, which one is the Lion's Pride Inn? King Varian told us we should stay there.”

“Oh!” Aiva said as she spun around twice and pointed to a building. “Raht dere it is! Oh, umm... one more thingy. That fence there... see those peeps sittin' on it?”

Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? What of it?”

Aiva pointed at Ruby. “They are all ass nuggets. I hate them all. All ya gotta do is hope they don't pull you over for a talk.”

Carees nodded. “Yeah, there's no escaping it. I obliterate their argument every time, and since Berry's a more aggressive arguer and Ruby a smarter one that I am, it shouldn't be a problem. Fluttershy, you just stand back and let us do the talking, because you have shy in your bloody name.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Oh... okay... that's not a problem...”

They walked toward the Lion's Pride Inn, only to be stopped.

“Well, if it isn't Cawees! Where ya been, hot stuff?” A female night elf cheered. Carees squinted.

“Godammit.” He muttered. “What do you want this time, Whiteberry?”

Whiteberry waved her hand. “Aww, nothing really, Cawees. Where's yer lazy ass been?”

All of the heroes turned to Whiteberry and her friend beside her. “Where your ass hasn't, that's where.” Carees responded.

“Ooh, Berry! He getting' mean with you, girl!” Whiteberry's friend said to her.

“Damn right, Mescoa! So, whose yer slut-friends?” Whiteberry asked with a jerkish attitude.

“Our girlfriends, mind you, are Ruby and Berry. I've gotten farther than you'll ever get with anyone, so shut up.”

Whiteberry and Mescoa went “ooo” at the same time. “That hurt, Careesy. Hurt real bad.”

Ruby pointed her finger at Whiteberry. “Hey, the only one who adds a Y at the end of HIS name is me. Don't you forget that.”

“Oh, really? Who ever said that?”

Berry started to laugh from the sides.

Whiteberry looked at her fiercely. “And just what are you laughing at, miss Purple?”

Berry said it. “You... you remind me a lot of my past self.”

Whiteberry put her hands to her hips. “Oh, now, really? In what way exactly?”

“A whorish way. I used to be an attention grabbing whore like you, then I took a friend to the life, something you don't have.” Berry taunted.

“I got plenty of friends! Shut yer ocean!” Whiteberry shouted.

“Oh, so if one of the greatest evils in the universe was coming after you, you would protect that friend with your life like Ruby did to me and I did to her?”

Whiteberry flinched. “Uhhh...”

Berry shook her head. “Didn't think so. So, now. If you will excuse us, we have to check in with the inn before we get side-tracked by wastes of oxygen. C'mon, guys.”

Whiteberry sat on the bench with her hand to her head. She had to take in what just happened. Mescoa was laughing ridiculously hard on the inside.

“What a cute little inn!” Fluttershy said as her eyes widened. The inn was wooden, it had a bar, upstairs, music playing, and games of poker.

A human walked over to the heroes and bowed. “Hello, heroes, I've been expecting you.”

Ruby raised her eyebrows. “You must be the innkeeper here?”

“Indeed, miss. Your rooms are just up the stairs. I've signed you in to the inn already. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Fluttershy blew her pink hair off of her face. “Ummm... is there an extra room for me? If you don't... I mean... that's... okay...”

The innkeeper smiled. “Not a problem, my dear! I see where your coming from, don't worry. I shall assign a room for miss... what is your name, dear?”

Fluttershy cringed up. “Umm... Fluttershy...”

The innkeeper bowed. “It's no problem for me! Thank you for telling me, I shall take it to action right away.”

“Well, this has really been one hell of a day, hasn't it?” Ruby asked, flipping her new hair.

Carees nodded. “I agree. It's been an interesting day. I'm ready to settle in for the night.”

Cannon nodded. “Aye, me too.”

Carees crossed his arms. “Tomorrow, we meet with King Varian to discuss our attack plan on Ulduar. Research is being done on the Ulduar and Yogg-Saron. This will be the climax of our quest. Are you all ready to face fear itself soon?”

They all cheered in bravery, even Fluttershy. They all headed up to their rooms for the night, and prepared for tomorrow.