Shadow of Fury

Chapter 16

The Beginning of the End

All eyes were glued to the female griffin. "His wife?" was all the group was able to manage out.

The female griffin chuckled. Her fur coat was deep tan, and her feathers were as white as snow. The only other color in her feathers was the occasional spot of purple, as well as the purple around her deep golden eyes. They could tell she was in her later years, but she had certainly aged well.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Rainbow interrogated, hovering over her friends defensively.

The female griffin only smiled. "Like I said, I am his wife. My name is Minerva. And I am here to help you," she said.

Reaper cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. "You could be lying. How do we know whether or not to trust you?" he said.

Minerva merely brushed past him, unfazed. "I could say the same of you, changeling," Reaper hissed softly, but said nothing more.

"I may be his wife, but do not think it is by choice," she continued, not bothered by the interruptions. "Long ago, when I was young, I was an elegant girl. I had friends, family, and a life that couldn't be better. And then he came," her words were filled with venom. "He, for whatever reason, decided that I should be his wife. I was only 22 at the time, and he was a full 16 years my senior. But that didn't stop him. He wanted me, and tried everything to win me over. It didn't work. However, my parents had other ideas. They knew he had a high standing in society, so they forced me to marry him. It was an unhappy marriage, but there was nothing I could do. For a while, at least,"

"Eventually, I met a boy.  We were very much in love. Ironfeathers may have been as powerful as he was, but he was ignorant. He never knew of our affair. But then, one day, I became pregnant. I had always refused him the bed, so he knew that the chick was not his," Minerva paused, staring into the forest, her eyes showing she was clearly far away. "He found my lover. It had not been long after the....accident that resulted in his metal wings,"

"Wait, the guy we're facing has metal wings?" Lightning interrupted. Twilight nudged him with her elbow and glared. "Don't interrupt," she said.

"He had been so angry when he found him. I...I'm not quite sure what happened. I wasn't there. All I know is, whatever happened, it was the inspration for him to weaponize his wings. The next day, they found my lover's body. He didn't even get a funeral," Minerva was finishing her story. "But Ironfeathers chose to spite me even more. He made me go through with the pregnancy, so that the chick would serve as a constant reminder of the pain I had endured. When the egg hatched, he named her Gilda,"

As the tale ended, the ponies were filled with shock. "Wait, Gilda's your daughter?" Rainbow asked. "That must be why she's working with Ironfeathers! Now that I think about it, I never did meet her parents,"

Minerva smiled. "You must be Rainbow Dash. I remember the day Gilda told me about you. She had been so excited to make her first friend,"

Rainbow felt a twinge of sorrow, as she remembered the days when she and Gilda had been friends.

Minerva continued talking. "Gilda has been persuaded to work under her adoptive father. I am certain it was against her will, but she does it anyway. Most likely out of fear. Understand this, ponies. I am not here to stop my husband on his maniacal rampage - I am here to save my daughter,"

There was a moment of silence, before Twilight Sparkle approached her. "We'll make you a deal. If you help us deal with Ironfeathers, we'll help you with your daughter," she said. Minerva smiled.

"I was hoping you would say that. Why would I have shown myself if otherwise?" she said.

"That makes sense," Shamrock said. "But how can you help us beat Ironfeathers?"

Minerva paced past him, before speaking. "Ironfeathers sent for me. Apparently, he wanted me to be present in his 'hour of victory.' He sent his second-in-command, and closest friend, to get me,"

"And where is he now?" Lightning asked.

"He is currently suffering from a severe case of death. But Ironfeathers doesn't need to know that, now does he?"

"What are you proposing?" Reaper asked.

"It's simple. You, my friend, are a changeling. If you can pull off a disguise identical to Ironfeathers' second, you and I can infiltrate his base undetected," She said.

Reaper shook his head. "You underestimate how difficult it actually is to make a disguise. A good one can't just be made willy-nilly! I need to understand how he looks, how he acts, even how he breathes! I need to fully understand all the subtle intricacies of his actions, or else the disguise will fall apart," he said.

Minerva waved him off. "Don't worry, I'll walk you through the disguise,"

Shamrock suddenly raised a hoof. "Wait, are we really doing this?"

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked.

"I don't know, it's just...We're really going to do this, aren't we? We're going to take down Ironfeathers, aren't we?"

Everypony nodded. Many of them sighed. They had made it far. They had fought and struggled, but they were here, now. And now, it was time to end it.

"Then let's get planning," Shamrock said.

Minerva drew a crude image of Ironfeathers' volcano base in the sand. Twilight pointed to the underbelly of the mountain. "This is Mount Molten, right? If it is, we might be able to wake it up," she said.

Willus' eyes lit up with recognition. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Wake it up?" Lightning asked, feeling left behind.

Twilight nodded. "You see, Mount Molten is a dormant volcano. This means that it hasn't erupted for some time. However, it doesn't mean that it can't erupt. In theory, if somepony were to cast the right spell in the heart of the volcano, we could set off a chain reaction that would result in the volcano erupting,"

Rainbow nodded. "Once the spell is cast, how long would they have to get out?" she asked.

Twilight sighed. "Not long. A few minutes, at most,"

"Sounds like your gonna need a quick getaway. I volunteer," Lightning said.

Rainbow gave him a look. "Are you sure? We both know that I'm faster, maybe it's better if I go," she said.

Twilight shook her head. "No, Rainbow, we need you and the others on the front lines. If Ironfeathers attacks, we need ponies who can fight ready for him," she said.

Rainbow nodded. "I guess that makes sense,"

Twilight turned to Rarity. "Since you have the Fluttershy costume, you and Pinkie will go save the hostages. Sound good?"

Rarity and Pinkie nodded.

"Then it's settled," Reaper said. "Minerva and I will cause a distraction, while Pinkie, Rarity, Twilight, and Lightning infiltrate the base. The rest will stay outside, ready to fight. Any questions?"

Willus raised his hoof. "Can I join the infiltration team?" he asked.

Everpony gave him an odd look. "Why?" Twilight asked.

Willus shuffled awkwardly, before turning to Applejack. "AJ, if anypony understands, it's you. It's Morticia. I...I just need to know. I need to know why she did what she did," he said.

Applejack gave him a compassionate look. "Willus...Ah know you need to know, but don't you think it's risky? Having that many ponies sneaking around at once?"

"Oh, no, don't worry! I would break off from the group as soon as we got in!"

Twilight nodded. "Lightning and I wouldn't seperate as well," she said.

Applejack pouted, before turning to Reaper, who merely shrugged. "Then sure, Ah guess it's okay," she said.

Willus smiled, glad that it was settled.

Shamrock slapped a hoof on his back. "Looks like we have a plan, then!"

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Ironfeathers and Morticia sat at the edge of a cliff. They watched the sunrise, each consumed by their own thoughts. "My wife should have been here by now," Ironfeathers finally said, breaking the silence.

Morticia rolled her eyes. "Calm yourself. I am sure she is just dead or something," she said nonchalantly.

Ironfeathers half huffed, half chuckled. "Probably. Oh well," he said.

Both watched the sun continue to rise. "Poetic, isn't it?" he said.

Morticia gave him a look out of the corner of her eye. "What do you mean?"

Ironfeathers smiled, his metallic wings shuffling noisily. "The sun rises on a new age, a new year. Just as the Phoenix rises from its ashes, I have risen to a new level. Soon, the world will be mine, and there isn't a thing that can be done to stop me!"

Morticia said nothing, simply nodding. Ironfeathers smiled sadistically.

"It's almost a shame that the ponies who try and stop us won't live to see their dreams crushed."