Icarus

Icarus had been up in his room for the past hour. The faint and slightly-distressed sounding chatter of Sprinkle and Diamond downstairs meant that they were talking about something serious, though he couldn't quite understand what it was. He had been laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, occasionally touching his bruised cheek in boredom.

Icarus was grounded, but at least he had shown Cloud not to mess with him. That was some satisfaction out of it. What would Oak think? Where was he, at that? Icarus realized he had been smirking at the though of Cloud, beaten up and bloody, and shook his mind clear of it. He focused back on his dad.

Oak didn't come to the front to see Icarus and Sprinkle when they got in, so where was he? For a split second, he thought Oak was outside, caught by whatever this threat is, and felt worry crawl up to his chest. Something bad could've happened. He could be injured, or...worse... Icarus wasn't sure he could handle that... What would he do without his dad? Would Diamond and him get along without him? How would Diamond take it? Would Uncle Aspen give them some help? It was Diamond who reeled in more income from her job as a surgeon, but Oak still had a major part in it. Icarus and Diamond loved Oak very much... If they lost him... He quickly shook the feeling off and smacked himself in the face (gently, of course). Oak would NOT want him thinking this way. He was fine. Probably went to Uncle Aspen's house, who's home was the closest to his work-place.

The worry started to melt away, as Sprinkle stepped in the room. The pink mare closed the mahogany door with a gentle 'Click,' but it merely creeped back open as it usually did. Damn door.

Icarus sat up, looking at her blankly. "So. Grounded for three months, right?"

To his surprise, Sprinkle smiled slyly. "Nope," she said, sitting at the foot of his bed.

"No?" Icarus said, eyebrows raised. "Er...why not?"

"I convinced your mom. No worries." Sprinkle said coolly, and she winked.

Icarus smiled. "Well...thanks."

Sprinkle nodded and looked at him. She put a pink hoof under his chin and lifted his face to see the extent of the damages from the fight. Nothing serious. A bruised snout and cheeks. Barely noticeable.

"Hmmm," said Sprinkle faintly. "If I knew a good healing spell, I could clear that right up."

"It's advanced magic," hummed Icarus, staring at her with his icy-blue eyes.

"Yeah, so, I don't think I can help you out this time." Sprinkle frowned, retracting her hoof.

"It's fine." Icarus waved a brown hoof reassuringly. "I'm not upset or anything. I'm actually pleased."

"Pleased?"

"Well, I'm sure Cloud's in way more shit than I am," chuckled Icarus. Sprinkle facehoof'd.

"As good as it may be, you still shouldn't have reacted to him. It was tough convincing your mom to keep you out of grounding," she explained, looking cross.

"Did you just expect me to sit there and let him insult me and my family?" Icarus asked slightly irritably. "He deserved it."

"Be that as it may," said Sprinkle, ignoring the first part. "Cloud lives for pissing you off. He WANTS you to react, and try and make himself look better."

"Yeah, he's certainly not gonna look better with a broken snout, is he?" Icarus chuckled harshly.

"That's not... Ugh, Icarus, you can't resort to violence every time someone doesn't go your way." Sprinkle said seriously. Icarus looked at her, puzzled. She was usually very hyperactive and super happy, but the past week she's been...Out of her usual character.

"Says the girl who gave someone a concussion because they made fun of her coat color." Icarus said quickly, inciting a blush out of the pink mare.

"They went way over the line--"

"If you were there, you would've seen that Cloud went way over the line, too." Icarus interrupted.

Sprinkle sighed. "Look, I'm just saying that it wasn't smart of you. You really could've gotten hurt. Or in trouble."

Icarus scoffed and turned on his haunches to look out his window. "You're sounding like my mom..."

Sprinkle blushed again. "W-Well...I--"

"Hang on," grunted Icarus, as he noticed a group of ponies flying toward the forest in the distance. It was only now he noticed an eerie orange glow from within the forest off in the distance, and an unusual number of ponies dressed in dark-green were heading into it in large groups. "Huh..."

"What is it?" Sprinkle asked, scooting up beside him to look out the window.

"What's going on...?" Icarus said softly, more focused on the sight.

"I think that's the reason we have to stay indoors." Sprinkle said worriedly. "I hope it's nothing too serious."

What could be happening? It was obviously dangerous; the UEIA wouldn't have sent everyone inside if it wasn't. But what? A number of scenarios and reasons floated through Icarus' head, sounding more and more ridiculous.

He looked down at the street outside his bedroom window. The evening sunlight cast an orange glow on the deserted area, along with the eerie light from the forest. It was an unusual sight. This was a neighborhood where one would always see kids playing, adults sitting outside watching, pegasi flying by, the occasional carriage/wagon, and an overall friendly vibe would be felt from it. Now, it was dead quiet, with the only sounds heard being the gentle breeze and the distant shouts from the ponies dressed in dark-green.

"So weird..." Icarus said slowly, focusing his attention back on the forest. "Hm...I should check it out. Could be int--AH!"

"DON'T even think about it!" The pink unicorn said sternly, after smacking Icarus on the side. "You are NOT going out there!"

Icarus, rubbing his side, grumbled. "I just want to see what it is."

"No way! I know you're okay with bending the rules, but these guys look OFFICIAL!" Sprinkle said loudly, inciting a cringe from Icarus.

"SSSHHH! Do you want my mom to hear?!" he said, putting his hoof to her mouth roughly.

"If that's what'll stop you, then yes!" Sprinkle said seriously. "You could get in a lot more trouble than just a grounding!"

"Not if I'm stealthy," said Icarus cockily.

"If they're official, they'll have gotten some training, so it's not that simple!" Sprinkle said, sounding more and more irritable. "You could get in--"

"A lot more trouble than just a grounding, yes, I know. I'll be back in a bit." Icarus said half-heartedly, opening his window as he stared into the distance.

"I-Icarus, no! I-I'll...tell your mom!" Sprinkle blurted desperately, trying to hold her friend back. She felt her stomach churning.

Icarus looked back and shrugged. "So tell her. I'll take the grounding from her," he said coolly. "I just wanna see what's up. Ten minutes, tops."

And he jumped out and took off, being sure to fly low so that nobody would see.

Sprinkle fell back onto Icarus' bed, clutching the sides of her head in fear. "Oh no...Oh no no no no..."

Venus had slowly and steadily made her way toward where Entity #413-A was, being sure to duck into cover once in a while; her brother had surely come back to see she was not there, and had come after her, so it was for the best she laid low.

The bright orange glow had gotten considerably brighter; a sign Venus assumed meant she was getting closer to her target. Not to mention the ever increasing heat. She considered sliding her jacket off and leaving it behind, but that could alert Supernova to where she went, ultimately getting her caught. She was sweating, but, with a sigh, decided to push through. In a few minutes, she'd have 413-A captured, and she could have a nice mug of cold cider back at the HQ, so everything would be fine.

Venus slid out from under a log, her dark-blue jacket caked with dirt and mud ("Son of a..." she grumbled under her breath) from laying under it. The area looked a lot more like a jungle than a forest, and felt the same way. She brushed a beetle from her dark-orchid mane and surveyed the path ahead. A few downed and charred trees lay defeated, looking gloomy. Thin wafts of smoke floated up from their remains into the air.

"Venus!"

The mare darted her head back toward the source of the voice. It was definitely her brother's. And he was yelling, which meant he was far enough from his squad mates so that they wouldn't hear him and think he was wandering off.

"Shit! Shit shit shit..." Venus muttered, running forward. She jumped over the charred trees and ducked under a halved one that had been uprooted. The branches and leaves scratched and brushed at her face, and any second a tree root threatened to trip her. It would surely sprain something.Then she would have no choice but to return home, defeated. She took this into consideration and took extra care not to trip. At one point, Venus' braided mane got caught in a branch and slowed her down with a loud 'EEP!' It took her too much time to get it uncaught, by which time she could hear her brother calling her name clearer. She bit her bottom lip and kept running, tucking her mane into the back of her jacket.

Sweat was gathered on her forehead, and her breathing was heavy. The exertion of running coupled with the heat was too much. A nice cold drink would be heavenly right about now...

As if reading her mind and deciding to be cruel, a powerful wave of intense heat swept over Venus as she jumped over a fallen tree and stopped dead in front of two crossed, charred ones, from which a bright glow emanated. She had no choice but to drop her jacket; the sweltering heat and her heavy perspiration would surely mean dehydration. She could at least delay it with less layers.

Venus dropped the dark-blue jacket onto the forest floor beneath her. Her usually well kept light-fandango coat was matted and clumped at points from the sweat. She made a mental note to take a shower when she got back, but was snatched from her thoughts from a loud hissing sound.

In front of the two crossed trees, mere meters away, stood a being composed entirely of flames. It stood tall, well over five feet, with two appendages sticking out of either side of its upper body, and two long legs. It was bipedal. It had a faceless head. The flames swirled and danced around its body, and the ground beneath was scorched black. It seemed to be standing completely still. The eerie sound of the crackling flames on its body were all that emanated, with the occasional hiss from the heat.

Venus stared at Entity #413-A standing before her.

"Theeeere you are..." she whispered, the flame creature casting a bright orange glow that clashed with her light-fandango color.

Venus started quickly contemplating ways to subdue 413-A. It would have to be magically, obviously. But, which spells did she know? What was in her ability to perform? More importantly, what would capture this creature with ease? Maybe if she knocked a few trees into it? No... That would be stupid, they would just burn... Is there any source of water? Venus surveyed the area around 413-A. The ground was scorched black and trees were charred and on fire, but there was no water. She could look for a stream and risk getting spotted by the flaming creature, or caught by her brother... What about a water spell? Venus was none-too-practiced with water spells; all she could create was a few measly drops.

All these thoughts buzzed through her head, as 413-A hissed and moved its legs. It moved slowly to a clumped patch of trees, seemingly with the intent to burn them. Venus, not thinking, dashed out from the trees. She focused with all her might on a stream of water. Her horn glowed pink, but nothing came out except the magicking sound. This alerted the creature, who spun around and stared at Venus. She froze, wide-eyed.

"I have your attention, now what do I do...?" Venus muttered ever-so softly, not moving a muscle. It's as if 413-A was waiting for a perfect moment to attack. Or...Would it? Would it attack her with its deadly and hungry flames, or simply flee?

She decided to her lift her foreleg to take a step forward. The creature remained stationary, completely still except for the dancing and weaving flames. Goddess, the heat was unbelievable... Sweat dripped down her forehead and neck, and the air was hot and dry. She lifted another hoof, stepping closer, her horn glowing.

"What am I doing?! Think, idiot! You're so close to victory OR death, THINK OF SOMETHING!"

These thoughts rung out in Venus' mind, and she felt panic start to rise in her chest. She was a mere four feet from 413-A, getting ever-closer, and she hadn't a clue what she would do. A stunning spell? That could work... Just have to focus and hope it doesn't attack first.

Venus closed her eyes and focused on the stunning spell; a novice piece of magic that knocks down the victim and sets them into a stunned trance until it wears off or the counter-spell is used. Its strength can vary from simple stunning to full unconsciousness depending on how magically powerful the unicorn casting it is.

Venus could feel the magic gathering in her horn, as the aura embracing it took on a red tint to its pink one. The feeling sent shivers up her spine; it was surreal, as though a gentle energetic pulse was being delivered to her body from that point and spread down her back. It was almost relaxing. She could see the orange glow of 413-A through her eyelids and prayed it wouldn't move or do anything.

When all the magic had gathered (the process had taken about three seconds), her magical aura glowed red. She took a nervous breath and opened her eyes. Now was the time.

SWASH!

A bright flash of red with a loud reverberating sound blasted through the silence from Venus' horn. The jet of bright red hit 413-A. Or so she thought. It had gone through its body as if nothing were there. The moment the spelled passed through, the flame creature let off an ear-splitting hissing-screech of anger and lurched forward, its body losing shape as it went straight at the unicorn in front of it.

Venus only barely realized what it had done and narrowly rolled out of the way. She felt the intense, blistering heat singe part of her coat, a mere centimeters away, and let out a cry of shock as she stumbled, leaving herself open for another attack. 413-A took this advantage and screeched again before lurching at Venus once more. She was better prepared and jumped back. The creature hit the ground a foot away from her, sending a small shockwave of fire and sparks in all directions. The mare shielded her face and turn on her hooves, and broke into a sprint. She needed to get some distance if she wanted to go onto the offensive.

Venus ran faster than she thought she could, driven by the aggressive screeches of 413-A pursuing her. She heard a whooshing sound, felt a searing pain on the outside of her left ear, and saw a bright flash of orange narrowly pass her head and momentarily cloud her left eye. A fireball exploded a short distance in front of her, throwing up a cloud of smoke that stung her eyes as she passed through. She put all her energy into running.

Icarus had landed behind a vacant wagon, hiding him from view of the UEIA troops stationed around the forest. He crouched down to be sure he was unseen, and peered through one of the wheels. They were positioned every few meters apart from each other. Smart.

"Now, let's see..." Icarus muttered, scanning the area around him, looking for some kind of opening. Anything that would allow him entrance. Sure that they weren't looking directly his way, Icarus bolted from behind the wagon and into the alley to his right and to the narrow end of it to get a better view of that side. He peeked around the stone corner of the dark alley and spotted one of the troops throwing a rock in the air and catching it out of boredom.

Icarus sprouted the idea of leading the troop over into the alley and knocking him unconscious, but that was a horrible idea. Like Sprinkle said, they'd ought to have had some training, and would be able to dispose of Icarus easily... It would be quick and efficient.

But...they wouldn't kill a civilian, would they? Not like Icarus would KILL him, only incapacitate him! The worst they would do is escort him home. Home, to a very infuriated Diamond and Oak, and--

"Stop that." Icarus muttered harshly to himself. "You're making yourself nervous."

He took a deep breath and decided to go for it. The odds looked pretty good, anyway. Caught? Sent home. Succeed? Find out what's up. He looked back at the steel garbage cans, neatly piled, stacked, and balanced, and quietly trotted toward them. Turning 180 degrees, Icarus delivered a hard, swift bucking kick to the cans, and the result was much bigger than expected.

With a huge clanging crash, the metallic cans fell and impacted off each other, the alley wall, the ground, and the decaying emerald-green dumpster.

The UEIA troop's head darted up toward the alley. From his point of view, he could see nothing but the far dark wall, until one of the fallen cans rolled from the corner and into sight.

Icarus flew up to a balcony ("Shit, please let the windows have curtains...") and landed with a gentle 'Clunk,' and huddled down on the far side of it, away from the corner.

The UEIA troop shrugged and waved over to a troop on the far left of him, who nodded. The troop trotted coolly toward the alley and entered, suddenly cloaked in darkness. He lifted his black mask to see easier and turned the corner to see the pile of fallen metal cans.

CRACK!

The troop fell limply as Icarus jumped down from the balcony and planted his hoof into the back of his target's skull, and the momentum gave him enough force to knock him unconscious. He landed with a dull thud on the hard concrete.

Icarus looked down with a grim smile of satisfaction, before it faltered. The reality of what he had done just set in. He just attacked an official! He would surely be in trouble! Oh, no... What would happen? Would they send him to prison? Maybe there were a few harsher ones who would happily kill Icarus. Oh, Celestia, he had to run!

But, wait... Nobody would know, right? Not like anypony was watching! And now he was wasting precious time. Every second passed would make the fellow troops more and more suspicious until they finally came to search for their missing ally.

Icarus had to act now. He stepped over to the exit of the alley and craned his neck around the corner. The troops weren't looking in his direction. Now was the time.

In a blur of brown and gold, Icarus propelled himself forward with his wings and into the unguarded area of the forest edge, entering successfully and spinning 'round behind a tree. He waited and listened, half-expecting to hear approaching hoofsteps, or the angry shout of a troop, but they did not come. Icarus sighed and, taking one last cautionary glance back, booked forward deep into the forest.

Icarus ran for a short distance, glancing up at the orange glow not-too-far away as he did. It was getting strangely hotter, and the air was very dry. There was a sudden movement very close to him, and, thinking he was caught, stumbled and rolled, sending a cloud of dirt jumping into the air.

Icarus hopped up to his hooves and looked back in a ready stance, his heart up to his throat, to see nothing more than a bunny scurrying away in fear. Facehoofing, panting, and sweating, Icarus turned back to his destination and continued running.

The heat was so intense, Icarus felt as though he was in a sauna. The humidity was prickling at his skin straight through his coat, and there were several times when he had to stop to take in large gulps of hot, stale air, before continuing on.

Before long, Icarus could hear a distant whooshing sound and several energetic cracks; magic spells being fired off. Thinking he was being pursued, Icarus turned sharply to his left, using his golden wings to balance himself out, and pressed himself hard against a tree. He slowly peered his head around the tree and looked back to see an empty path. Nopony was following him. He breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out from the tree.

With a sharp whistle and a bright flash of orange, followed by a loud 'THUMP,' something zipped past the opening to a field a few meters ahead. The impact of whatever it was made Icarus jump and his heart skip a beat. The whooshing sound was getting louder, and so were the frequent magical crackles. Something was approaching quickly.

Another fireball barely missed Venus' head; the size of the deadly orb was as big as her body, and zipped past her, exploding violently in a cascade of fire and smoke far up ahead. The unicorn craned her head back without wasting time and fired a volley of weak, red stunning spells. They all simply went through the fiery monster that pursued her without so much as a making it flinch. With a cry of alert, Venus pressed forward, pushing her legs to their limits.

Venus was making good distance, slowly pulling ahead of 413-A. She desperately fired back stunning spells, but to no avail. The entity merely screeched angrily and its pursuit never faltered.

As she turned her head back once more, Venus' hoof impacted with a pointed rock jutting up from the forest floor. The momentum, combined with the speed Venus was running at and the angle her hoof met the rock with, caused her to tumble over in a cloud of dirt and dust. She hit the dry forest floor face first with a loud and hard thump, and rolled. She let out a generous cry as she felt the shock of pain course through her snout and jaw like an electric current. Stars floated into her eyesight and the world spun around her.

The dazed Venus felt the heat intensifying to an unbearable degree, and the orange glow that surrounded her became ever brighter. Too dazed to think, she lifted her head and turned around, and there stood Entity #413-A, poised to strike.

Icarus stepped forward cautiously toward the opening to the small field where the orb of orange had passed, the near-blistering heat shoved aside by his curiosity. The glow was unbelievably bright overtop the trees, and the crackling and whooshing sound was so loud, it was as though the source of it was mere feet away. No,w Icarus could hear audible running hoofsteps, panting, and one last magical spell being cast.

A loud, echoing cry of obvious pain pierced straight through the crackling and whooshing sounds and entered Icarus' ears a second later. Without thinking, he lurched forward in a blur, his wings propelling him forward, out into the field.

Icarus turned, flooded in a bright orange glow, and yelled out in surprise at what he saw.

A giant, flaming, bipedal creature, at least eleven or twelve feet tall, stood meters away, the flames that composed its body dancing and licking at the ground. Cowering under it was a dazed looking mare with a coat the color of light-fandango and a mane, braided and tied into a ponytail, the color of dark-orchid. The beast towered over her, raising a fiery arm upwards, ready to strike.

Acting on pure impulse, Icarus shouted, "HEY!" at the top of his lungs. The fiery creature stopped its movement, and a terrifying silence lingered in the air for a moment, before the creature retracted its arm in a blur of orange.

With a deafening, hissing screech, the creature swooped forward, the crackling sound growing stronger. Icarus cried out in shock and only very narrowly ducked out of the way. He felt blistering heat pass over his body, and, without a second thought, jumped forward, flapping his wings frantically, toward the helpless mare, still sitting on the ground. Icarus heard another screech from not-too-far behind him. He reached out his hooves quickly, and slid them around the mare's midsection. He picked her up easily, inciting a startled gasp from her as he flew forward in a blur.

"Hey!" the mare blurted in surprise, squirming hard. She almost slipped from Icarus' grasp, who gasped and grunted.

"STOP! I almost dropped you!" Icarus growled angrily, panting frantically and flapping his wings hard.

"Sorry, but it's not every day I'm picked up by a pegasus while being chased by a FIRE MONSTER!" she shouted aggressively.

"Did you just expect me to leave you!?" Icarus asked loudly, the terror and shock in his voice very audible. He peered back just as a fireball zipped over him. "SHIT!"

"I don't need your help!" the mare replied. "I'm perfectly capable of--WATCH IT! Of taking care of myself!"

Icarus zipped back and forth in a bee-line, narrowly avoiding the relentless attacks from the pursuing monster behind them. His panting was a sure sign of his increasing exhaustion. The intense heat, combined with carrying the mare and flying as fast as possible was taking a toll on Icarus. He felt the muscles in his forelegs starting to burn, and his lungs felt as though they were on fire. His heart raced steadily. "My plot!" Icarus growled to the mare. "That thing was about to fry you right there!"

"I only tripped!" the mare growled back at Icarus shrilly. She looked back to see the creature only feet away and getting ever closer. "FLY FASTER!" she screamed in a panicked tone, curling her tail up in fear.

"I'M TRYING!" Icarus screamed back, almost dropping her again as another fireball narrowly missed his head.

The mare looked back and fired several desperate jets of red from her horn, with no effect whatsoever. The creature simply screeched loudly and blasted forward a wave of hot flames.

"LOOK OUT!" she screeched, squirming in terror as the approaching death caught up fast.

Icarus descended uncomfortably fast; both screamed as the ground seemed to jump up at them, but they neither slammed into the earth nor did they burn up from the unlifting attack. He flew close to the ground just as the menacing glow that illuminated the ground increased and decreased within a second. The creature missed by a few feet. Another screech signaled its next attack. Icarus gasped and, with a groan of effort, pulled up sharply. He heard the impact of the flames against the area he was just seconds ago flying in, and silently thanked Celestia and Luna for the narrow avoidance of death once again.

"Get behind cover!" the mare screeched again. "Get behind cover NOW!"

"WHAT COVER!? Everything here can be set on fi--AUUUGHH!" Icarus screamed out as a searing fireball hit him square in the middle of his golden wings, and they gave way. Icarus and the mare helplessly plummeted toward the ground. "No, no, no, NO, NO, NO! COME OOOOON!" he screamed as they descended toward the ground very quickly. He weakly extended his wings, and they miraculously glided forward, just lightly scraping the ground as they passed over. Icarus turned to the right without a second thought, and flew straight into the branches of a tree, cracking a few of them down to the ground and earning a bunch of cuts and scrapes as they did. They finally stopped next to the center of the tree, perched high above on a thick branch.

Icarus pushed himself up with his aching forelegs, laying directly on top of the mare, his front hooves on either side of her shoulders. He now noticed, up-close, that she was rather beautiful. Yes, her light-fandango coat was matted with sweat and dirt, and her dark-orchid mane was messy, and she had a painful looking, bloodied bruise, and a bleeding snout, but her magenta eyes sparkled up at him; she looked so pretty and innocent.

Icarus felt his face grow hot as he realized the position he was in. Without thinking, he blurted out breathlessly, "I'm Icarus."

The mare looked startled, but slowly replied, "I-I'm Venus."

Icarus noticed the orange glow intensifying at the corner of his eye, and he said, in a panicky tone, "Hi, Venus. Let's get out of this tree before we burn to death!"

And with that, he rolled off the branch, pulling Venus down with him ("AAAHH!"), and none too late, either; the entire top of the tree was consumed by flames half-a-second later. Icarus spread his wings to take flight, but did so too late and slammed into the ground face-down. Venus landed on him, and he felt something in his lower chest crack, followed by a feeling as though someone inserted a spinning blade into his sides. He felt his energy drain out of his tired body instantly, and his breath became shorter and shorter. The pain was so powerful that Icarus' vision started to fade. He felt as though he was weightless. The roar of the flames and the screaming of Venus all started to sound more muffled and distant every second. He felt his eyelids close.

"GET UP!" Icarus heard Venus' voice say faintly, echoing all around him but barely understandable.

He was in a tall, circular dark room made of large moss clumped, dark-green stone bricks, on a cold, hard stone throne that was badly decaying. The room smelled awful, a sickly sweet aroma that would make anypony gag. From his point of view, a large, square door frame could be seen, and to the left of the door, a large hole in the wall. Further, what looked like a bridge with no hoofrails connected the floor to the other side. In front of him were two figures, one small and quivering, the other tall and still, standing further back. Both were cloaked in shadow and weren't distinguishable. The quivering figure was sobbing. He felt extremely furious, but slightly amused, as well.

"M-Master, please, I-I beg of you, give me one last ch-chance!" he sobbed, his voice quivering in fear.

And then, Icarus felt his mouth open, and heard himself hiss in a very raspy, rusty, and weak voice, "I have given you enough chances, Leos, and you have failed me yet again."

"I'm sorry, I r-really am!" Leos said pleadingly, his front hooves pressed together. "B-But you must understand, Ma-Master, that the artifact w-wasn't there!"

"You lie." Icarus heard himself hiss harshly, but with a rather amused air to it.

"No!" Leos blurted out loudly. "I am not lying, I-I swear it! I-I search t-the entire ch-chapel and found nothing!"

"Then why do you return to me," rasped Icarus, "empty hoofed? Why did you not simply search elsewhere? If I recall correctly, you promised me you would have found the artifact, did you not?"

"M-Master, you were the one who told me where to go!" Leos cried. "You told me to search exactly there, i-in the chapel!"

The pony standing further back gave an audible scoff.

Icarus felt anger pulse up in his chest. "Are you implying that it is my fault? That I made a mistake?" he rasped menacingly, leaning forward slightly.

"N-N--O-Of course not, M-Master! Why would I-I ever--"

"Pathetic," scoffed the pony further back, evidently a mare.

"It is not my fault that you failed to find the artifact." Icarus heard himself wheeze, glaring. "I gave you instructions. You failed to follow them, as you have one too many times, Leos."

"I know, M-Master, my apologies, M-Master." Leos spoke quickly, his voice and body shaking. "I swear t-to you, if you g-give me one last chance, and more time, I will not fail you! I-I will prove I can be as g-good a servant as Ares!"

"I have told Ares the same thing, Leos," rasped Icarus warningly, irritation in his voice. "Time is not a luxury we have. Every day I grow weaker, and if I do not have the three remaining artifacts soon, I will die. And if I give you another chance, you will simply fail me again. I can already foresee it."

"I will not fail you, Master! I-I will not!" Leos shrieked desperately, sitting on his rump and holding his front hooves together in a praying fashion. "I will--I will have the remaining three artifacts for you, I promise!"

The mare standing back giggled harshly and quietly. Icarus felt a burst of satisfaction. He chuckled wheezily.

"You overestimate yourself, Leos," he rasped coldly.

Leos nodded his head in shame. "Y-Yes, I suppose I do..."

"You think yourself so capable of achieving goals that are far beyond your ability." Icarus rasped, feeling more and more satisfied every second.

"Y-Yes, M-Master, it is true..."

"But this is ludicrous, even for you." Icarus chuckled cruelly, his anger and satisfaction intertwined horribly.

Leos said nothing, staring at the floor and trembling in fear. His lower lip was twitching. Icarus couldn't see the mare's face, but he could tell she had a cruel grin on her face. He could see the distinct outline of a long mane.

Icarus also stayed quiet. He sat back against the cold stone throne, surveying the quivering stallion in front of him. How he would love to just kill him, to end his life now. To strike him and hurt him. But, he sadly was not strong enough to do so.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Leos?" he asked wheezily after a few long moments.

Leos looked up mournfully, terror and dread in his eyes. "I-I have nothing I can say to redeem myself, M-Master... I only beg you to give me one final chance. I will not fail you. I can assure you. If I do, you can kill me in the most painful way imaginable and flesh it out for as long as you can. I promise you, I shall not fail you. I swear on my life. My allegiance will not die."

Icarus felt immense satisfaction, and even slight pity. His lips curled into a horrible grin. "What say you, Fenix?"

The mare standing further back, Fenix, tilted her head slightly. "I don't think you should concede, Master. He will not succeed. I know it."

Icarus stared at her, and then at Leos, back to Fenix, and then back at Leos. He smiled evilly. "Very well, Leos. I will grant you one final chance."

Leos looked up instantly and exhaled shakily. "T-Thank you, M-Master, thank you! I will not fail, I promise! You will have the final three artifacts, I--"

"But, a punishment is in order. I think a dose of pain will do. Leos, what you are about to feel is only a fraction of what will happen to you if you come back empty hoofed again."

A tense silence followed. It was broken by Leos' cry of pure agony. He fell to the dirty floor, screaming and thrashing violently, his voice echoing throughout the room here and out there. Fenix giggled harshly, watching intently, as her ally suffered.

The screams started to sound distant and muffled, and it's as though Icarus' sight was creeping away from him. Everything went dark and he felt no more.

He woke up to screaming and shouting, and a crippling pain in his chest. He opened his eyes and saw frantic blurs, flashes of light, a bright orange glow.

"STAND DOWN, INSIGNIA IS DEAD, YOU CAN'T SAVE HIM, YOU IDIOT!" a muffled voice screamed loudly somewhere nearby.

Icarus heared a fiery screech and roar, and the orange glow started to diminish.

"IT'S RETREATING, KEEP IT UP! VENUS, GET YOUR ASS BACK!"

Icarus turned his head to see a light-fandango blur being roughly shoved back. The blur stumbled and landed beside Icarus, and he saw, more clearly, that it was Venus, looking terrified. She panted heavily, the bruise on her face dripping blood down to her chin. Icarus felt someone roughly snatch him up, and saw the scenery in a blur moving past him. Time seemed to fly as the heat and stale air from earlier lessen as they moved further and further away. The air became cooler and the heat practically disappeared. Icarus only vaguely heard a frantic discussion next to him, and a voice, directly addressing him, asked, "Where do you live?"

Icarus answered the pony's question drowsily, his vision too blurred and his speech slightly slurred. The discussion continued for another few minutes, but Icarus never heard the end of it. He felt his eyelids grow heavy once more. They closed, and he was embraced by unconsciousness.

"Now, get out of my sight, Leos, and do not come back until you have the artifacts." Ceyx rasped harshly at the convulsing figure of Leos on the cold, hard ground. "Or else."

Leos, trembling violently and twitching, tried to get to his hooves, but found himself jelly-legged and unable to stand. He tried, and fell back onto his side, panting and whimpering. The white mare in the corner cackled loudly, slapping the ground. "Look at him!"

Ceyx himself chuckled, smiling horribly. "See him out, would you, Fenix?"

Fenix nodded, laughing. She stepped over to the agonized Leos and lifted him up roughly with her wing. She guided him out of the room. Minutes later, she trotted back in.

"Thank you." Ceyx rasped softly as she entered.

"Master," Fenix said softly. "May I ask you something?"

"You may."

"Why did you concede to this? Leos will only fail." Fenix said earnestly, frowning.

Ceyx sighed, grumbling softly. "I know this, Fenix. It knew it from the moment I agreed to let him search for the artifacts. Leos thinks too highly of himself, and tries to set out to accomplish goals that he constantly underestimates."

"Exactly." Fenix nodded. "I mean no offense or insult, but do you think it, maybe...unwise...to allow this?" Fenix said this very delicately and in a small voice for fear of an outburst from Ceyx. To her surprise, however, Ceyx hummed.

"It is very unwise, my dear, but I do not have many options." Ceyx said serenely. "While you would be a good servant to set out and retrieve, I also need you hear to tend to me. I am too weak on my own."

Fenix nodded. "Of course, Master, I understand."

"As I told Leos, I grow weaker every day, and I will die shortly if I do not have the final three artifacts. While Leos may not be the wisest choice to search for them, he is one of the only options, and I must take what I can." Ceyx explained calmly, surveying his daughter with mild interest.

"I understand." Fenix said softly. "I am honored that you choose me to tend to you, Master."

"You are easily my most powerful and important servant, Fenix." Ceyx rasped seriously. "Without you, I would not be alive. You are one of the only ponies in existence who I owe my life to, and you will be greatly rewarded once I am returned to power."

Fenix felt the joy nearly explode inside her. A giant smile creeped on her face, and she threatened to laugh in happiness, but tried hard to fight it. She cleared her throat. "Thank you, Master, I am honored beyond believed."

"You have no need to thank me, Fenix. Now, I wish to be alone. I will call you back if I need you." Ceyx wheezed, gesturing to the door with a rotten-looking hoof. Fenix bowed and stepped out.

Written by Kerry Leventis, AKA Minimoog Voyager