Captain's Travels

"...and that's the gist of it," Captain finished, as he and Luna sat in a graveyard peppered by granite headstones.

"So you're telling me that Celestia has some sort of super weapon at her disposal?" the lunar princess asked skeptically.

"Not exactly, I've seen what these things can do in the human world. I really don't want to imagine what these things could do here. Thankfully though it should take a while to reverse engineer one of these things, let alone make one on the scale that there are back home."

"I see Captain, I shall do all in my power to either destroy this blasphemous weapon, or at least slow its production. On that you have my word. Now would you be so kind as to change the locale. This place... unnerves me."

"Right, sorry about that." With a snap of his fingers, the two were back on the boat. A slight creak in the background brought their attention around.

"I think that it is time for me to go, lest you wish for a repeat of earlier."

"Alright see you tomorrow."

"Agreed," Luna said with a small smile before departing.

Captain sat in silence for a bit as he rubbed his eye for a bit while waiting for his wake up call.

"Excuse me sir," a strong female voice said.

"Yes," Captain mumbled softly.

"Oh my, I didn't expect you to be awake at this hour. Miss Sparkle sends for you, she is in the main library."

"Why?" he asked, as he looked over at the voice, a unicorn guard.

"She said that she may have discovered a way to remedy the problem of your being here."

"Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes. Do me a favor, and keep an eye out for this little bugger by the name of Nightshade. I don't want him busting in on me while I'm on the can."

"What has my son done to you this time?" the guard asked as she brought a hoof up to her temple. "My name is Hemlock by the way."

"Good to meet you Hemlock, and just keep an eye on him, he likes to poke at me with a stick."

"I'll have to scold him about that later," the mare said under her breath.

With that, Captain got up, and preformed his morning ritual in the restroom. Once the man was sufficiently clean, he made his way outside, and to the library. Every step he took down the winding hallway was marred by ponies shooting him odd looks, hurring on their way, or even offering him a drink as thanks for dealing with Blueblood.

After a few more minutes of that nonsense, he reached the royal library. Pushing the door open a crack, he heard the Six, Spike, and Luna all conversing wildly.

"Are you sure about this Twilight?" asked a concerned Princess Luna.

"I'm positive that if there's a way to stop all of this, and help Captain back, it'll be in this book," replied Twilight.

"How do we even know that this thing's legit?" asked Rainbow.

"Every book I've consulted, and even Starswirl's personal notebook has pointed me at this tome. So I have to say that it must be real."

"Beg yer pardon Twilight, but you sure this is the right book?" Applejack questioned skeptically.

"Every time that this book was mentioned, it gave the exact same description. A dull brown, leather bound, iron-studded tome with four slots in the cover. Each a different shape, a triangle, a square, a circle, and a pentagon. So this has to be it."

"But darling, do you even know if this book will contain the information we need?" asked Rarity.

"I don't, but this is our only hope at this point. We need to stop that storm, and we need to send Captain back to his world, I-I promised him that I would."

"Have you tried opening it," asked Pinkie.

"I tried, but it's held closed by powerful magic," admitted Twilight.

"But Twilight," started Fluttershy, "how are you even going to find the things that fit into those slots? Obviously they must be keys of some sort."

"Actually, I do have a way of tracking them down. As it turns out, these 'keys' were enchanted, and every enchanted item leaves behind a magical resonance, especially strong enchantments. The keys, it turns out were specially designed to do just that. They're basically bleeding magical energy where ever they go, and they appear to have left a strong magical imprint on these slots. I've already started tracking them, and two of them actually feel close by. One more so than the the other. Actually," Twilight said as she grit her teeth, and flared her horn, "one appears to be here in the castle."

"Then let us be off," the princess stated.

Captain quickly straightened himself, and began walking in the opposite direction.

"Look girls, it's Cappy," shouted Pinkie Pie.

"Hey Cap where you been?" asked Dash.

"I got a little lost looking for the library," he said with an awkward chuckle.

"Don't worry about it," said Twilight, "I used to get lost around here all the time as a filly. Now, we have a plan, but were not even sure if it'll work. We have to find four... uh 'keys' I guess, and use them to open an ancient book about enchanting. We were actually on our way to find one now, come on."

With a nod Captain accompanied the eight, all being led by Twilight. Several minutes passed, with the purple pony lighting her horn every few steps to realign their course. After a half-hour, the group stood outside of a display for various relics of the castle's founding. A helmet, a few swords, a dented shield, and a small amethyst gem in the shape of a triangle.

Relics collected from the foundation of Castle Canterlot.

Twilight hummed as she looked over the case. "What does that plaque say?" she asked Pinkie, who was standing in front of a bronze plate.

"It says that the junk was found alongside the bones of a giant mole."

"Pinkie, it's not junk. They're ancient artifacts of a great struggle which took place in order to stop a great evil... I think. Anyways, it looks like this jewel's the thing were looking for."

Slowly, Luna approached the case.

"We should probably get a guard or something to unlock the case for us shouldn't-" *crash*

Everyone present looked on as the princess of the night smashed the case, plucked the jewel from its resting place, and fitted it into the book's cover. The group watched as the amethyst lit up with a deep purple glow, and tiny runes began to glow on the tome's surface.

"What does it say?" Asked Spike.

"It's a dead language, I don't think that anypony knows how to read it," admitted Twilight morosely.

"It says,'Property of Tim the Enchanter,'" said Luna with her head cocked to the side. "I do belive that this is in fact the correct book."

"What? How?" asked the lavender unicorn.

"Ancient immortal goddess, remember?"

"Oh right," the purple pony added sheepishly.

"Try opening it now," Pinkie Pie said.

With a burst of magic, Twilight grunted and strained, but the cover wouldn't budge.

"Quite obviously we are missing the remaining keys. I shall make preparations at once," said Luna before departing.

"Great, so what now?" asked Rainbow.

"I guess we split up, and prepare for a trip, real quick," said Captain.

"I guess it's a good thing that we're already packed then. Although considering it took a few guards to stop the mole thing, I think it would be best if we prepared ourselves for the worst," said Twilight

A row of nods, and the group set off to gather provisions for their trip. Captain, having no money,  or any idea what to buy, set back off to his room to rest for the no doubt long journey. The man made his to the kitchens for a quick meal, and then returned to his room to look over his few possessions in this world.

Before him now lay his phone and headphones, at half charge, and his hatchet, now with a fine coat of rust. The sight of his material wealth brought a slight humbling sensation. Slipping his phone into his pocket and placing the hatchet on the table, the man laid on the soft bed for what seemed like hours, contemplating his situation.

After a lifetime of probing the depths if his mind, Captain heard a knocking at the door.

"Hey Cap, you in there?" called Rainbow Dash from the opposite side of the wooden door.

"No," he responded sarcastically.

"Quit moping, the airship's all ready."

"The air what?" he asked as he got up, and retrieved his things.

"Airship. It's like a floating house held up be a big balloon. I don't get it either. Now hurry up, everypony's waiting."

"Alright, I'm up. Keep your panties on," Captain exclaimed as he opened the door.

The first thing that the man noticed was a pair of saddlebags,  emblazoned with Rainbow's cutiemark. The second was a look of annoyance plastered on her face.

"Come on slowpoke, at this rate, I'll die of old age before we get to the airship."

"I'm a magikarp at least," the man retorted as he walked past the azure pegasus. "We goin' or are we waiting for that heart attack?" Captain asked once he got a few feet away.

Rainbow's jaw dipped for a second before she caught up with the human. The two raced a bit and talked trash as they made their way to the ship already waiting in port.

Captain gaped at the leviathan vessel. The aircraft in question was easily a few hundred feet tall. A retractable bridge connected the balloon to land. A pink mare with a poofy mane waved at the two from inside. Twilight stood next to bridge, a hoof tapping impatiently as she saw the two approach. The lavender unicorn too had a pair of saddlebags strapped to her waist, each with her cutiemark embroidered on the side. At her side rested a package,  and a drawstring bag.

"You're late," Twilight said sternly, "everypony's already onboard."

"Sorry Twi," Rainbow said as she rubbed a hoof along the back of her head. "Cap here decided to take a nap, and so I had to wake him up."

"Come on you two, we've wasted enough time as it is. Captain, I've taken the liberty of packing you a bag, beacause I didn't think that you'd be able to. Not that you wouldn't be able to pack a bag, it's just that you didn't have any bits so I figured-"

"Thanks Twilight," Captain interrupted.

"Anyways," the purple mare said as she pointed at a drawstring bag at her side, "Princess Celestia sends this with her regards," Twilight said as she levitated the package to Captain's side.

"What is it?" asked Rainbow, with a glint in her eye.

Gently, Captain took the item from Twilight's telekinetic grasp. The box was a stark contrast from the gift Luna had given him. The package was wrapped in dull brown paper, and tied with rough twine. A simple white note poked out from between the creases.

May this assist you in your journey.

-HRH Princess Celestia

With a soft tug of the knot, the twine fell away and the paper fell to the floor. A simple wooden box with brass hinges, and a polished surface now sat in his hands. Captain opened the box, and within sat a black steel machete, in a strapped leather sheath, with a black plastic handle and iron studs. A new feature was inscribed in the metal, a set of red runes on either side. The blade had been sharpened to a point, leaving only a silvery luster in its place.

"What is that thing?" asked Rainbow.

"It's a machete," answered Captain, "but I don't know what these markings mean." As he raised his hand to touch the symbols, he could feel a warmth radiating from them.

"Those marking are from a very powerful fire enchantment Captain," said Twilight as she ran a hoof over the markings, "keep it, you never know when something like this could come in handy."

With a nod, the man tossed the box into the air and with a swift strike, drove the blade deep into the wood. After a moment, the box began to smolder until finally it burst into flame. Captain freed the machete from the burning wood, and kicked the burning remains over the side on the bridge.

"Come on, let's go," he said before returning the blade to its sheath, and slinging it across his back, picking up the bag Twilight had made for him, and walking across the path and onto the airship.

The man was impressed by the fancy decorations in the halls, and luxurious surroundings. High ceilings and ample halls accented the price of it all.

Twilight led the way down the immaculate walkways, leading the group toward the bridge. When the three of them arrived, Captain saw the rest of the Six jostling for position in the windows. Behind the wheel stood a familiar bat-pony, Obsidian. To his left sat Nightshade, and his right a familiar gray-brown unicorn filly.

"Good afternoon Sid," said Captain warmly as he approached the night guard.

"Huh? Wuzzat?" the stallion said, before falling back to sleep.

"You'll have to excuse my husband," spoke a female voice from behind, "he's had a long night dealing with these two."

"Not a problem Miss Hemlock."

"I'm not young enough to be called 'miss'. Just Hemlock if you would," she said bashfully.

"Alright Hemlock, this going to be a family trip or what?"

"Oh no sir nothing like that. Obsidian and I have simply been assigned to guard and pilot the airship, and as for the children, they enjoy tagging along."

"Okay cool, any idea where were headed though?"

"Unfortunately, miss Sparkle hasn't given us a heading yet. We are waiting on her orders to depart. Why don't you go ask?"

With a nod, Captain left the mare to attend her family.

"I can't believe that were actually riding on the royal airship," Twilight said with a bounce.

"Hey Twilight, you mind telling us which direction to go?" the man asked.

"Oh right, sorry," she said sheepishly. With a flash her horn burst to life, and out came the ancient tome. Captain could see her lavender magic probe the recesses of the jewels, and after a moment she flashed a smile at him. "It feels like the jewel is to the south. Wait no... southwest. Yeah definitely southwest," she said with an affirmative nod.

"You heard the little lady," Captain shouted, "lets shove off."

"This trip's going to take a while," the lavender mare said, "why don't we go get some rest." With that, the two were led to a pair of rooms. There were two rooms for the mares, and one for Captain and Spike to share. Plopping down on a cot, Captain began to sift through the bag Twilight had packed for him. A few snacks, a first-aid kit, a pocket knife, his other clothes, and a few bottles of water. Satisfied, Captain decided to check up on Luna.

"Luna?" Captain called out to the dreamscape, "Luuuuuuna."

"Yes," came an irritated response from behind.

"What kind of bug got up your butt today?"

"I am simply trying to rest after a long night of being violently ripped through strange beings' dreams, and doing princess-y things," Luna retorted. "Is there something that you needed?" she asked much more softly.

"I didn't see you on the airship, aren't you coming?"

"Unfortunately, my royal duties here in Canterlot are keeping me occupied, so I'm afraid that I will not be able to accompany you on your quest."

Both felt a tremor shake through the very foundations of Captain's dream world.

"It appears that you may have hit turbulence, I shall go before we have a repeat of yesterday," the princess said as she summoned a portal to leave.

"Luna, have you heard up on anything concerning the gun?"

"I haven't had the opportunity, unfortunately."

"Celestia is looking over a death-shooting murder stick as we speak, this is kind of a big deal, and as much as I would like to face off against an ancient, immortal, regenerative, celestial-body controlling princess, I can't. That means that you'll have to do it for me."

Luna gave a nod, but didn't meet his gaze as she stepped through the portal.

For once, Captain opened his eyes of his own volition, and saw that a softly snoring purple lump occupied the bed opposite his. He stood with a yawn, and arched his back in a way that produced the greatest number of pops possible. The airship gave another lurch, and sent the human to the floor. Scrambling up, he bounded out of the door, and to the control room. A few tense seconds and another lurch later, Captain reached the main cabin, where Twilight was already waiting.

"Hey Twilight what's wrong?"

"Sorry sir," interrupted Hemlock, "but the air currents around the Everfree are preventing the ship from going any further. I'm afraid that you'll have to continue on hoof."

"Well then, what are we waiting for," asked Captain, "let's get going."

"Captain?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah."

"I'm worried."

"About what?"

"That this isn't all just some insane pipe dream, I really hope that the book has what we need."

"Don't worry about it, if this isn't the answer then I'm sure that there'll be some other sort of crazy ass plan to fix all of this. If not, then at least humans only live until eighty or so."

"Wow, only eight," Twilight said sarcastically.

"And hell if this doesn't work out, hopefully I'll get some sort of bad-ass exit. Preferably with bitchin' music playing in the background." Captain's statement drew a chuckle from the unicorn. "And I promise, that none of you will be hurt while I'm around, because I'll be sure to at least take the worst of it."

"Don't kid yourself, you're not going to be able to do that."

Captain knelt down to eye level with the lavender unicorn, took off his glasses, and spoke.

"Look me in the eyes, and tell me I'm lying," he said sternly. Twilight didn't speak, she only kept his gaze for a few moments before blinking. "That's what I thought," Captain said smugly.

"Come on," the fuchsia pony started, "we've got to get ready to drop into the forest."

With that the two made their ways to prepare. A few minutes later, the Six and Captain were standing outside of the exit hatch, each carrying their bags, prepared to drop.

"We're going to drop anchor here," Hemlock said loudly to the group, "you'll have five hours to get there, and back before we shove off for Canterlot. This area's incredibly dangerous, . After that, if anypony's still in there, they'll have to find their own way out. Is everypony clear." Seven heads nodded in agreement. "Good, time to move," the guard said as she opened the door, and kicked a rope ladder down to the ground.

For a second, nopony moved, that is until Rainbow Dash got impatient. The azure pegasus dove into the roaring winds, just outside of the hatch. Reluctantly, Captain followed her lead, and stepped out of the door, and onto the rope ladder. Fluttershy stepped out next, opened her wings and allowed herself to be carried by the gale. Twilight continued by looking out of the door, flashing her horn, and teleporting to the ground. Rarity, proceded to take hold of the ladder next, and slowly climbing down, without opening her eyes until her hooves touched the ground. Pinkie Pie looked out of the door, and dove to the ground, landing in a bush, and giggling furiously. Finally Applejack looked down, took hold of the ladder, and slid down with the look of excitement burning in her eyes. When she landed with a puff of dirt, the orange mare could see Hemlock picking the ladder up.

Looking around, the group saw gnarled branches, and twisted knots in hoary trees. The dirty clearing they had landed in, was spotted with puddles of muck, and piles of hanging moss. Insects buzzed and animals went about their day as the airship's engines added to the din of the forest.

"So boss," Captain asked the lavender mare besides him, "where to now?"

With a nod and a flare, Twilight began to trot off and the rest fell into step behind her. The group found themselves following the lavender unicorn for about an hour, Twilight constantly adjusting her trajectory.

"Huh?" Twilight said.

"'Huh', what?" Captain asked as he swatted stray sprig of grass with the enchanted machete.

"It almost feels like the jewel's moving."

"What do you mean, moving?"

"As in, one minute it's in one spot, the other minute it's in another."

"It's a rock, how the hell does it move?"

"Hey y'all," started Applejack, "maybe it's like in the castle. Y'all remember how they found that first jewel, in the body uh some giant mole monster. Maybe it's the same thing here."

"That does sound like a possi-."

*ROAR*

At that moment, Twilight was cut off by the bestial roar of a lion in the distance.

"Oh shit, there's lions in here?" Captain asked, his voice thick with worry.

"Don't worry Captain," Fluttershy comforted him, "of course there aren't any lions here." That drew a relived sigh from the man. "That was most likely a manticore."

"What the hell's a manticore?"

"A manticore is an animal with a lion's head a scorpion tail, and a pair of bat wings."

"And here I thought that you were going to make me feel safe. Let me guess, it also pisses acid, and shits napalm."

"Not that I know of."

"Great, everybody be on your guard, we don't know what's out there," Captain said as he raised his machete.

The beast in the woods bellowed again, this time closer. The man's grip on his weapon tightened, as he swallowed nervously, raising the machete into a defensive position. The bushes rustled all around, and the wind swept motes of dust into the air. The eerie calm that settled around them was unsettling to say the least. Captain's eyes darted to and fro as the shrubs around them shook. Slowly he crouched down, and searched for a stone to throw. He was rewarded soon after.

A flick of the wrist, and the rock flew, landing with a sickening crack, which drew another roar from the manticore. The beast leapt from between the shrubbery, its forehead dampening with a red dot. Another bellow from the monstrosity, and Captain was ducking out of the way of its claws. Unfortunately, the creature's momentum did not end with him, and instead hit Rarity, claws scraped her coat and slammed her into a large tree. The sudden impact to the back of her skull, knocked her unconscious.

"NOOO!" shouted Captain as he attempted to jump on the beast's back. The scorpion tail swung, and caught him in the abdomen. The force of the swing, sent the man flying, knocked his machete from his hand, and left him gasping for air. As Captain glanced around between breaths, he saw the machete driven deep into the bark of a tree, where it smouldered, slowly blackening the wood around it.

Two rows of glistening fangs entered Captain's vision, and a pair of fluorescent green eyes stared into his own. Before the chimera could make a move, Pinkie Pie's party cannon boomed, and drew the attention of the snarling, slavering beast.

"Watch out," cried Fluttershy as she pushed Pinkie out of the way, and took a sting to the flank, just below her cutiemark. The yellow pegasus crumpled into a sobbing heap, as the poison spread through her veins like wildfire.

With a gasp, an azure blur sped towards Fluttershy's side, picked her up, and deposited her next to Twilight. The lavender unicorn began to cast a purging spell to cleanse her friend of the toxin.

"Applejack, see if you can't help me take this bitch down," shouted Captain to the orange mare.

The farm pony charged, and delivered a devastating blow to the creature's ribs, drawing a pained yelp. With a turn, the manticore flung the blonde earth pony into a nearby bush, incapacitating her for the time being. With the monster distracted, Captain drew his hatchet, and charged himself. A moment later, and the beast reared up on its hind legs, catching the human by surprise. The man readied himself, dropped his hatchet, and held back the beast's weight. His arms strained as he struggled to avoid the beast's snapping jaws.

"HEEELP," Captain bellowed as the stink of decay fell upon him.

Answering his call was a cerulean blur rushing up to the manticore, and bucking it in the face. The beast reeled back, blood trickling from its nose, the manticore took a quick revenge by taking the pegasus' wing in its mouth, jerking quickly, and tossing the winged pony into tree.

"DASH!" the man cried.

Before the beast could fall to the ground once more, the man rushed beneath it, and pushed the creature off balance, giving him all of the leverage he needed to knock the monstrosity onto its back, jump on top, and plant his boot firmly on the creature's throat.

"Rainbow, quick toss me the machete."

With a hop, Rainbow Dash was up again, one wing hanging at her side. The azure mare ran towards the smoking tree that held the weapon, and with a soft tug, pulled it free from the delicate ash. Captain, despite the pressure he was placing on the creature's throat, knew he was fighting a losing battle as the beast's thrashing became greater.

"CATCH!" shouted Rainbow as she  flung the weapon through the air. Hilt over blade it went spinning as it flew, just over head. Captain reached as far as he could, and for a split-second, his foot left the manticore's throat. Success, but this had been more than enough time for the beast's thrashing to knock the man off of his balance.

Captain stumbled off of the monster, and saw the beast rushing once more. He raised the blade to the manticore's jaw level, and watched as the creature bit down on the steel. Saliva steamed off and enamel burned, as the fangs blacked, slipping farther into the beast's maw as the man's boots dug into the soft earth.

"Que diçe guey?" [What's up dude?] The man said as a grin spread across his face. "A little help would be awesome," he shouted behind him as the blade slipped a few more centimeters in.

Out of the corner of his eye, an orange spot raced out of the bush, and slid beneath manticore.

"Howdy." Captain heard a grunt followed by a rib shattering crunch.

The beast recoiled, and released the glowing, red-runed blade. Before another blow could be struck, orange and blue raced from either side, and each held a massive paw back before it could hit the ground.

"Do it now Cap."

Captain glanced down, and picked up the hatchet in his free hand. The scorpion tail flailed and thrashed as the beast roared. The man, quickly sidestepped the appendage, raised the machete  high, and drove it into the animal's neck. Unfortunately before the blade could finish its descent, it hit a bone. Quickly, Captain raised his hatchet into the air, and slammed the hammer edge into the back of the machete, driving it deeper into the beast's neck. Again and again the hatchet fell, pushing the machete past the manticore's vertebrae.

Glistening bone and sinew shined in the sunlight before blood began to spill forth onto the beast's coat, staining it a filthy crimson. The monstrosity's jaw hung low, and its eyes rolled freely around its skull. Still Captain did not relent, but instead swung his hatchet again, and saw the lion head fall to the floor with a wet thud. Blood pooled around the severed extremity, drowning it in a sanguine mud.

Finally, the two mares that had been supporting its weight, let the corpse fall into the dirt. The man who had been splashed with the creature's blood, dropped his weapons, and fell to his knees.

"W-we've got to get out of here," he said just above a whisper, exhausted.

With a wobbly step forward, he walked to where Twilight stood, attending the two prone mares. As Captain looked at the two, his vision blurred, and a lump rose in his throat. He kneeled closer to the two and reached out to touch them, feel them, reassure himself that they were still alive. Before he could reach them however, a hoof met his shoulder. Looking behind him, he saw a pair of amethyst eyes shaking slowly from side to side.

"We shouldn't move them yet, they aren't stable."

Tears in his eyes, Captain reached over, embraced the lavender unicorn, and buried his face into her soft coat. If the mare had any objections, then she kept them silent as she slowly patted his back.

"It's all my fault," he said between sobs, "it's all my fault."

"Captain," Twilight said sternly, "this is in no way your fault."

"If I hadn't-" a purple hoof cut him off.

"If you hadn't stopped the manticore, then we would have all been much worse off."

Captain's brown eyes looked into Twilight's amethyst ones. That look was all that he needed to bring a smile back to his face, and stop the tears.

"Thanks Twilight... I needed that."

"Anytime."

"Not to interrupt this feel-good moment, but shouldn't we get moving," called Rainbow.

"She's right, we can't stay here. Let's move," said Twilight.

The lavender unicorn put her horn to the blue pony's injured wing, and focused for a moment before the pegasus' wing flared back to its full length. Now they were ready to depart. Pinkie and Applejack carried the spare bags, as Twilight carefully levitated the two mares. Captain and Rainbow led the way, slashing and surveying their way to a safer clearing. A half-hour later, and the group was in a relatively clear location. A boulder rested at the tree line, and a small stream flowed in the distance.

The two mares carrying the bags, unceremoniously dropped their friends' belongings into the rough middle, and pulled out a snack. Twilight gently placed both of her injured friends onto the grass before sitting down, panting, for a moment. Captain, and Rainbow sat down on opposite sides of Twilight.

"So Twilight," the man started, "any idea where the jewel is now?"

A flare of her horn, and a comical sputter later, the mare was laying on the grass face down.

"Ugh. My magic reserves are too weak right now, I can't do much more than levitation at the moment. But I did feel where the gem was before my magic gave out."

"Really, where?" asked the cerulean mare.

"What do you mean your magic gave out?" Captain asked skeptically.

"I felt it back where we came from. Magical exhaustion is what happens when unicorns use low level spells for an extended period of time, or a bunch of high level spells. My magic will come back on its own soon enough, but I'm going to see if I can't do something about it."

"Come on Cap, let's go get that jewel."

Hesitantly, Captain looked over to Twilight with head hung low.

"She's going to go regardless,  you might as well go to keep an eye on her."

With a resigned sigh, the man got to his feet, and followed the azure pegasus down the trail they had carved out. The path went quickly this time, and Captain noticed that nature had already begun to reclaim the track. The pair slowed, as they heard the low growls of wolves in the distance.

"What's that?" Captain asked.

"Most likely timberwolves."

"And those would be?"

"Kinda like regular wolves, but made out of timber."

Captain, not wanting to press the issue further, let it go. As the two tiptoed closer, the sounds of gnashing teeth, tearing jaws added to the cacophony. The pair now stood behind a bush, and with a cautious peek, looked past the shrub. The man saw as a pack of timberwolves ravenously devoured the carcass of the manticore. A green glint caught Captain's eye as it slid into the gullet of a wolf. Gradually, the beast's eyes turned from amber to green. Its head whipped back, and howled until its brothers joined in its chorus.

Captain looked at Rainbow, and she at him. A nod between the two, and they were racing back down the trail, and back to camp.