Shadow of Fury

Chapter 19

Well, This was Fun

Everypony stayed hidden for a few moments after the explosion. All of their ears were ringing, and the smell of smoke burned their nostrils. After a few tentative moments, Derpy looked over the trench.

She was greeted by an amazing sight. Most of the volcano was gone, its summit mostly vaporized in the titanic blast. Small streams of lava trickled down its slopes slowly, as a massive pillar of smoke snaked through the air. Most of the griffin army was picking itself up off of the ground, at least the ones lucky enough to survive the blast.

The group pulled themselves out of the trench, taking the sight in. The griffins looked at where Ironfeathers had once stood. The whole are had been decimated. Nothing was left, just charred ground. Silence hung over the air for a long time, until it was finally broken.

Gilda flew above everyone, before hovering in place. "Well, seeing as Dad is dead, that makes me the next in my bloodline. Which means that all of you answer to me now," she said, commanding authority.

The griffin soldiers looked at each other confusedly, searching for confirmation that what she said was true. Unfortunately, they quickly realized, she was right. "What would you have us do, Lady Gilda?" one soldier asked.

Gilda turned and looked at the group that had, for whatever reason, spared her life.

"You're free to go," she said simply, staring Rainbow Dash straight in the eye.

A wave of disbelief shot through everyone present, not just the soldiers. They lingered for a moment, not knowing what to do.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Go!" Gilda shouted, causing them to flinch. Slowly, they began to leave.  A few minutes later, the rocky field was left empty, save for the group of friends and Gilda.

"Thank you," Minerva said. "I am glad you were able to bury your father's hate with him,"

Gilda said nothing, simply staring at the volcano, her back to the rest. "Yeah," she said after a while.

Silence hung for a while more, before Gilda spoke again. "I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have done any of those things. Things just got way out of control," she said.

Minerva placed a comforting claw on her daughter's shoulder. "It's okay. Do not fret. You have made the right decision. Now, what say we return home?"

Gilda didn't say anything, but instead turned and looked at Rainbow Dash again. The pair stared at each other for a while, before Gilda sighed. "Let's go," she said.

Within moments, both of the griffins were gone. Rainbow sighed deeply, only to be interrupted by the metallic moron. "Did I do it right, boss?" Sputnik asked.

Reaper still stood in shock. "Yes. You did. Tell me, Sputnik, how exactly did you get here?"

"Oh well, you see, Boss, after you guys left, I just kinda stayed at home, laying around. Then I had some potatoes! And then I decided to go buy a chair, because I was really, really sleepy, but the guy at the chair store said I couldn't eat chairs, and I told him that I could do whatever I want because I'm a fairy princess! But then he kicked me out of the store, so I decided to come find you so you could buy me a chair, Boss! So then, I climbed that mountain near Ponyville, and I found a nice birdie named Ms. Eagle! But Ms. Eagle wasn't really happy when I started riding her. Ah well, it doesn't matter. So anyway, I rode Ms. Eagle all the way over here, until she got really fed up with me and threw me off. And that's how I got here!"

Everypony else didn't know how to react. Reaper, however, had grown used to this kind of stupidity. "Understood. At least you came when you did," he said simply, ending the conversation. He wandered off to take in the scenery, needing time to think.

"So..."Lightning said awkwardl y to Twilight. "About what I said in there....it's okay if you say no. I mean, I was just thinking out loud, and if you say no I totally understand, and-"

"Lightning!" Twilight said, shutting him up. He stopped, looking worried.

Twilight smiled. "Of course I'll go out on a date with you. All you had to do was ask!"

Lightning smiled nervously. "R-Really?"

Twilight nodded, hugging him.

Willus and Applejack watched the happy event unfold, smiling. "Guess there is such a thing as true love," Applejack said.

Willus nodded. "Yeah, I guess,"

Applejack noticed the slightly sad tone of voice Willus had. "Everything alright, Partner?" she asked.

Willus sighed. "When I found Morticia, we fought. Eventually, the erupting volcano caused her to slip, but I caught her. I demanded answers. She told me that something else was going on, something bigger than just conquering the world. She also said she was sorry,"

Applejack placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Ah'm sure she was. And what she said may seem troublesome, but don't fret about it. Ah'm sure everything's gonna be just fine,"

Willus smiled. "I'm sure it is,"

Suddenly, a yell shot through the air. "Mom!"

It was followed by "Twilight!"

All eyes turned, to see Dinky and Spike rushing out of the forest, Fluttershy behind them.

"Dinky!" Derpy shouted, rushing towards her filly.

"Spike!" Twilight shouted in kind, breaking from her hug to embrace her assistant.

"I was so worried!" They both said simultaneously, weirding out everyone else.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh-huh! We're both fine!" Dinky said.

Shamrock approached the mother-daughter pair. "Well, I'm glad to see everypony's okay,"

Dinky tackled the larger stallion with a hug. "Thanks for saving us, Mr. Shamrock!"

Shamrock didn't know how to react at first. Finally, he smiled, ruffling the filly's mane. "No problem kiddo," he said.

Reaper sat away from everypony else, thinking. Suddenly, Rainbow approached him. "You're hurt," she said flatly.

Reaper looked down, to see a fair-sized cut on his shoulder. Blue blood trickled down it. "I suppose I am. What do you care?"

Rainbow sighed. "I'm sorry. You're right, I had no reason to be so untrusting of you," she said.

Reaper merely huffed. "You had every reason not to trust me. Had the tables been turned, I doubt I would have been any better,"

Rainbow was surprised, but didn't mention it. "Well, I'm glad you're on our side," she said, before leaving.

Reaper nodded, before turning to Sputnik. "Sputnik?"

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Take a note,"

Sputnik pulled out his notepad and pen, ready to write. "I had originally planned to use these ponies to build an army, with which I would conquer the hive," Reaper dictated. "In light of recent events, I can honestly say that that will never happen. This plan is clearly inefficient, and I will have to rethink my strategy,"

Sputnik paused. "Any reason, Boss?"

Reaper sighed, looking at Pinkie Pie and the other ponies. "No reason," he said.

A few minutes later, the happy band of friends began the long journey home.