BATTLE IN THE BOG

THEY HAD BEEN WALKING FOR HOURS, AND THEIR LEGS WERE STARTING TO GET sore. But Inuyasha had insisted that they keep going, despite how tired his friends were getting, and the fact that Kagome could barely sense Jurorenmaru's jewel shard any more.

He was starting to get irritated.

"Damn it!" he growled. "Where the hell could that son of a bitch have gotten to?"

"Inuyasha, calm down," Miroku said. "We'll find him soon. I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, you say that," Inuyasha snapped, looking over his shoulder to face the monk. "If you're so sure, then tell me where he is."

"If I knew that, we'd be going in that direction."

Inuyasha snarled, but kept walking, balling his hands into tight fists.

Damn that Jurorenmaru, showing up out of nowhere, taunting Inuyasha with the jewel shard, challenging him to a fight, and then leaving, along with Kagura. He said that he had been hired by Naraku to kill them, and that the Sacred Jewel was his payment – the jewel shard he had on him at the moment was just a down payment. Inuyasha was going to make sure that Jurorenmaru didn't walk away from their next encounter, at least not with the jewel shard.

Still, they had been following him since that cave, which led out into this odd forest. Inuyasha didn't bother looking at the scenery at first – besides the fact that it was the middle of the night, making everything pitch black – but now that the sun was out, he could see the forest much more clearly. Other than the oddly proportioned trees and the thick canopy, it looked like any other forest.

Even so, there was something about this forest that just seemed a bit off.

"This forest is giving me the creeps," Shippo said as he clung to Kagome's shoulder.

"I know what you mean," Kagome said. "This forest feels…evil."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Please. It's just some dumb forest. I'll be we'll be out of here in no time."

"Hold on, Inuyasha," Sango said. She pushed her way forward, past Inuyasha. "Wait a minute."

"What's wrong, Sango?"

Sango knelt down to get a better look at the ground. Inuyasha knew right away what she was doing – tracking. Something had been here before them, and she had seen its footprints. That was one of the many things he could give the Demon Slayers credit for – besides their bravery and skills in combat, they were excellent hunters. Sango herself had been trained by her father, whom many had said was the greatest Demon Slayer in the land.

She was quiet for a moment as she observed the prints that not even Inuyasha could see.

"Something was here, I'd say about a week ago."

"A week? That doesn't help us. Why couldn't it have been a couple of hours?" Inuyasha asked, almost like he was whining about it.

"They look like horse tracks," Sango said. "But they're a little small to be full-grown horses. Must be juveniles."

"Yeah, well, we don't have time to look at a horse's footprints," Inuyasha said. "Kagome, can you sense Jurorenmaru's jewel shard yet?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. Nothing. He must be too far away."

"Well that's just freaking great," Inuyasha huffed as he pushed past Sango. "Well, guess all we can do is keep walking. We're bound to catch his trail sooner or later."

"Can we at least take a break first?" Kagome asked. "My feet are killing me."

"She's got a point, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "We have to stop for a little bit. If we keep going, we're going to collapse."

Inuyasha hated to admit it, but Miroku was right. Even he was starting to get tired, despite his higher level of endurance, granted to him by his demon blood. It was still a hindrance, but one that he had started to overlook in the past several months, ever since Kagome freed him from that seal.

They all sat down on logs and the ground, resting their tired and aching legs. Kagome started passing out small packs of peanut butter crackers for everyone to eat. It had been nearly twelve hours since their last meal, and they were starting to get hungry. She also passed out some juice boxes; just something to keep them hydrated. They'd gone through all their water during the trek through this forest, and unless they found some place to resupply soon, this was all they had to work with.

Inuyasha quickly drank his juice, washing the taste of peanut butter out of his mouth.

"That stuff in the wheat squares sticks to my mouth," Shippo said.

"It does that," Kagome replied.

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "Anyone else smell a swamp?"

"Now that you mention it," Miroku said, "I DID notice this musty smell."

"I'm going to go check it out," Inuyasha said. He started walking towards the thicket.

"Why would you want to do that?" Sango asked. "There's no reason to."

Inuyasha stopped. "You might be right, Sango, but maybe Jurorenmaru's there."

"I doubt it," Kagome said. "I don't sense his jewel shard. And besides, why would he and Kagura be at a swamp? That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Then again, neither does this forest."

"He's not listening," Shippo said; Inuyasha just kept walking into the thicket, disappearing into the thick trees.

"We'd better follow him," Sango said. Kirara leaped up onto her shoulder. "Who knows what he's going to be getting himself into?"

##############################

Inuyasha used the Tetsusaiga to chop through the foliage. The whole time he went, he couldn't help but notice this thundering sound, like hundreds of feet running along the ground. He decided to ignore it, thinking it was just part of the forest or the surrounding area.

The Tetsusaiga cut through a tangle of vines, and maybe it was his ears playing tricks on him, but it sounded like the vines cried out in pain.

Nah. I'm probably just imagining it. Now where's that swamp? I'm curious.

He cut through some more foliage, finally revealing the source of the smell – the swamp. The trees surrounding the muddy pool looked dead and dying. The pool itself was a massive lake of brown, bubbling water, with a terrible smell coming out of the hundreds of bubbles popping at the surface, a smell not unlike that of Naraku's miasma – only this smell wasn't poisonous. There were frogs hopping here and there – on logs, on stumps, swimming in the water, jumping off of roots.

But it wasn't the frogs that caught his attention.

There was something else moving in the muddy water.

Something large.

Something reptilian.

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha held up his hand, signaling Kagome to stop as she and the others came out of the trees. "Quiet. There's something in the water."

"Uh, yeah, frogs," Kagome said. "See? There's one on that root, there's one swimming right there – "

"No, there's something bigger," Inuyasha said. He tightened his grip on the Tetsusaiga.

Kirara leaped off of Sango's shoulder; she started growling, and her fur stood up on end. "What is it, Kirara?" Sango asked.

Miroku adjusted his grip on his staff. "Be ready for anything, everyone. I have a feeling we're being watched."

The frogs scattered. The water began to bubble and ripple.

Something was moving, and it was getting closer.

Kirara was surrounded by a ring of fire, and when it died down, she was no longer a small kitten. Instead, she was now a massive tiger with sharp fangs coming out of her mouth. She growled, her fur standing on end.

Sango adjusted the grip on her Hiraikotsu. "Wish I'd known about this so I could suit up."

"No time for that," Inuyasha said. "Here it comes!"

Something rose out of the water, something large. Standing nearly twenty-five feet tall, half of that its plump, bipedal body, the other half its five long necks, each neck ending with a lizard-like head, it towered above some of the nearby dead trees. Its scales were a light brown in color, with bumps and ridges all over the creature's body. Its long tail dragged the ground, and its back and tail were covered in sharp spines.

"Is that the Orochi?" Miroku asked.

The creature roared.

##################################

Even through her steady, yet heavy, breathing, as well as the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, Applejack heard the hydra roar. Given how close they were to Froggy Bottom Bog, she wasn't surprised.

Hey, as long as that Hydra stays over there and doesn't come over here, I'll be happy. Now, I got me a race to win.

She picked up the pace a bit, galloping faster than she was just a moment ago, until she had caught up with Rainbow Dash, who was – as expected – at the front of the crowd. Rainbow Dash was huffing slightly, mostly from the exertion of trying to stay ahead of everypony else. Not only that, but Rainbow Dash rarely competed in hoof races, preferring to stay in the air. She was, without a doubt, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria, and though she was quick on her hooves, it was clear to Applejack that her Pegasus friend was out of her element.

"How you holdin' up, Rainbow?" Applejack asked.

"Worry about yourself, Jackie," Rainbow Dash huffed. She sped up, speeding past Applejack.

"Aw, no ya don't!" Applejack called after her. She started galloping faster, her leg muscles burning from the exertion.

#############################

The creature's five mouths roared. The roar shook the entire area, causing the animals to scatter and knocking down a couple of dead trees.

Inuyasha held the Tetsusaiga out in front of him, the tip of its blade pointed at the creature. "The Orochi, huh? Could have sworn I'd killed that thing before. Oh well, guess I'll just have to kill it again!" He ran towards the creature.

"Inuyasha, wait!" Kagome called after him. "That idiot! He's going to get himself killed!"

Inuyasha leaped at the creature. All five heads lunged for him, and each one was chopped off with a swift swing of the Tetsusaiga. Two of the heads hit the muddy water with a loud SPLASH, the other three landing in the mud with a soft PLOP.

Inuyasha landed on the ground and turned to face the still-twitching creature, resting the Tetsusaiga's blade on his shoulder. "That was a lot easier than last time. This thing looks goofier, too. Wait a minute, what's it doing?"

The creature's five necks split down the middle. Skin quickly grew where just a second before, there had been just skin, muscle, and bone. The stubs of the necks seemed to bubble and pulsate as, one by one, a head popped out of each of the necks.

Where before there were only five heads, now there were ten.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Inuyasha cried. "Since when could the Orochi do THAT?"

While most of the heads had their attention focused on Inuyasha, three of the heads turned to everyone else. Their mouths opened, letting out low, rumbling growls, before they lunged.

Kagome and Sango climbed onto Kirara and took to the air, getting out of the way less than a second before one of the heads bit a chunk of dirt and mud out of the ground. There was a puff of smoke, and Shippo was now a bird, flying high over the creature. Miroku leaped back, smacking one of the creature's heads with his staff and drawing some blood.

"Hold on, Miroku!" Sango cried. Kirara banked left, descending towards Miroku. Sango held out her hand. "Grab on!" Miroku leaped up, grabbing onto Sango's hand. "Kirara, climb!" Kirara began to ascend, just barely getting out of the way of the creature's jaws.

"I've never heard of the Orochi growing its heads back," Miroku said as he tried to catch his breath. "Let alone doubling its heads."

"I don't think that's an Orochi," Kagome said. She looked down to see Inuyasha cut off another head, before using the Wind Scar to destroy three more. Once again, more heads grew to replace the ones that had been cut off, bringing the total head count of the creature up to fourteen. "Inuyasha!"

"I'm a little busy right now, Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled as he leaped out of the way of one of the heads. A quick swing of the Tetsusaiga cut the creature's head in half.

"You have to stop cutting off its heads!" Kagome called down to him.

"Not gonna happen!"

"Inuyasha, listen to me! That's not an Orochi! That's a hydra! Every time you cut off a head, two more grow in its place!"

"Yeah, well, this thing's gonna have to run out of heads sooner or later!" Inuyasha yelled as he got ready to swing his sword. "Wind Scar!" The Wind Scar hit, obliterating all fourteen heads….

"See, no problem," Inuyasha said. His voice began to trail off when he saw the heads he had just destroyed grow back, accompanied by fourteen more – twenty-eight heads in total. "Come on, seriously?! Doesn't this thing ever run out of freaking heads!" He leaped at the creature, raising the Tetsusaiga above his head. "Wind Scar!" This time, the creature ducked out of the way, but that didn't stop the blade of wind from tearing into its back. "Son of a bitch!" He caught a glimpse of the Wind Scar knocking over some trees, before the creature rose up again. "Crap." He held the Tetsusaiga in front of him. "Come on, you overgrown bastard. Keep coming at me. I'll chop off all your heads if I have to. You'll run out eventually."

Kagome took an arrow out of her quiver, notched it in her bowstring, and took aim at the hydra. Before she could let her arrow fly, one of the heads reached up and snapped at Kirara, causing Kirara to quickly fly higher into the air. Miroku and Sango managed to hang on, but Kagome lost her grip and started falling towards the open maw of one of the hydra's heads.

Inuyasha could only look on in horror. "KAGOME!"

Shippo swooped down, flying as fast as he could, flying beneath Kagome so that she landed on his back. He pulled up, his tail feathers just barely avoiding the hydra's mouths.

Kagome took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. "Thanks, Shippo," she breathed. "I thought I was going to be breakfast."

"We both will be if I don't keep climbing!" Shippo cried. "Hold on, Kagome!"

Sango took aim with her Hiraikotsu and threw it. The massive boomerang hit the hydra's leg, causing it to trip. It hit the ground with a loud thud.

Inuyasha leaped at the hydra, wind swirling around the Tetsusaiga's blade. "Wind Scar!"

The Wind Scar tore into the hydra's back, making a huge gash down its body, and continued on to the nearby forest.

################################

There was a loud crash as a large tree collapsed. Rainbow Dash skidded to a stop as the tree crashed to the ground in front of her. Applejack joined her after a few seconds, with Rarity arriving a moment later, even as the rest of the racers swerved to avoid the tree.

"Why are we stopping?" Rarity asked. "Let's just go around the tree."

"Rarity, this is a pretty healthy looking tree," Rainbow Dash said. "The thing just fell over right in front of me!"

"And this thing don't look like it were cut down by a lumberpony," Applejack said as she examined the tree. "It's like something hit this tree hard enough to rip it out of the ground." She stopped and listened, the sounds from the bog reaching her ears again. "And y'all hear that? There's something going on at Froggy Bottom Bog."

"And let me guess," Rarity said. "We're going to go look into it?"

"Count me in!" Rainbow Dash said with no hesitation. "Here we come, Froggy Bottom Bog!"

Applejack grabbed Rainbow Dash's tail in her mouth before the cyan Pegasus could take off. "Hold on, Dash," she said, her voice muffled by Rainbow Dash's tail. She spat Rainbow Dash's tail out. "We ain't goin' nowhere until Twilight gets here. You heard the Mayor – if anythin' happens during the race, talk to the princess. And you're the fastest here, so you go get her."

"Okay, fine," Rainbow Dash said. "Back in a flash!" She flew off as fast as she could, Whitetail Wood zipping past her, a blur of orange, yellow, red, green, and brown. In less than thirty seconds, the stands came into view. Twilight was sitting above everypony else on what looked like some sort of throne, though even from here Rainbow Dash could tell she was feeling a little uncomfortable. Ever since Twilight was crowned a princess, she had become very self-conscious about her new role, wanting to do a good job as the Princess of Friendship but also not wanting to be viewed any differently than she had been when she first moved to Ponyville nearly two years ago.

Rainbow Dash stopped, hovering in front of Twilight. "Twilight, we've got a problem!"

Twilight quickly stood up on all four hooves. "What is it, Rainbow Dash? Did somepony get hurt?"

"Applejack says there's something going on at Froggy Bottom Bog and she wants us to go check it out."

Twilight cocked an eyebrow at her Pegasus friend. "Really? It's Froggy Bottom Bog, what could be going on there?"

"Explain how a perfectly healthy tree fell right in front of me without a lumberpony to chop it down."

Twilight cocked her head to the side. "Okay, that's interesting." She looked to the Mayor, who was sitting nearby. "Mayor, I'm going with Rainbow Dash to investigate. I'll be back soon." She then looked into the crowd. "Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, maybe you should come along. We might need a couple extra sets of hooves, just in case."

"I don't know, Twilight," Fluttershy said. "It's at Froggy Bottom Bog. That's where the hydra lives."

"Yeah, so? What's one hydra?" She put her foreleg around Fluttershy's shoulders. "Come on, Flutter."

"Me too, me too!" Pinkie Pie chirped. She happily bounced along while her three friends took to the air, flying in the direction of Froggy Bottom Bog.

################################

Kirara flew down near the hydra's legs. Miroku swung his staff, the sharp, circular ornament at the top tearing into the hydra's scales, causing it to lose its balance. Sango threw her Hiraikotsu; it cut off one of the hydra's heads, only for two more to grow in its place.

"Thirty heads. This is getting us nowhere," Sango said as she caught the Hiraikotsu.

Kagome took aim with an arrow and let it fly. As it flew, it became surrounded by a bright light – a physical manifestation of Kagome's spiritual powers. The arrow hit the base of one of the hydra's necks. It exploded, blowing a massive hole into the hydra's neck. Blood poured from the hydra's wound. Its neck fell limp, its head causing the hydra to trip and fall into the mud, tearing the neck off of the hydra's body in the process. The hydra climbed to its feet, snapping at Inuyasha with one of its heads, even as two more heads grew out of its body.

#################################

The forest began to thin out as the six of them arrived at the bog. They stopped short at what they saw, their mouths dropping open at the spectacle before them.

There was the hydra, with more than thirty heads, snarling and snapping at the four humans near it; one of the humans, wearing read and wielding a massive sword, was swinging at the hydra, cutting off its heads, only for two more to grow in place of the one it had lost. Two more humans, a man and a woman, were riding what looked like a flying white lion with two tails, and the fourth human, a young girl, was riding a large bird, an arrow notched in her bowstring.

"What in Tartarus are we looking at?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You mean besides a bunch of humans who don't know how to defeat a hydra?" Twilight asked.

The human with the sword leaped at the hydra. A good kick from the hydra sent him flying towards them. He slammed into a tree, hard, hard enough to smash through it before landing on the ground.

The six of them gathered around him, all concerned for his well-being. "Oh my gosh, oh my goodness, are you all right?" Fluttershy asked.

The man sat up, supporting himself with his sword. "Just having an off morning, that's all." He stood up, holding his sword out in front of him. "Everyone get out of the way!" His sword began to crystalize. "Adamant Barrage!" He swung his sword, sending hundreds of crystal shards towards the hydra. The shards tore into the hydra, cutting into its body and its legs, tearing holes through its necks and heads. The hydra's blood spilled into the muddy water, turning the brown liquid a darker shade.

More heads grew from the hydra's body, bringing the total number of heads to forty.

###############################

"Son of a bitch, this is getting old," Inuyasha growled.

"Stop cutting off heads," one of the horses – the pink one with the poofy hair – said. "It will just keep growing more heads if you do."

Inuyasha turned to face the horses. "Yeah, well, if you dumb horses have any better ideas, I'd love to hear them."

"You have to cauterize the wound," the purple horse with the horn and wings said.

"I have to what now?" Inuyasha asked.

Shippo landed on the ground a few feet away, allowing Kagome to climb off his back before transforming back into his normal child form. "She's saying that we have to burn the wound closed after we cut off a head."

"I guess that's my cue," Shippo said. "But how – "

The blue winged horse scooped Shippo up and placed him on her back. "Don't pull out any of my fur or feathers. Got it, kid?"

"Alright, Shippo," Inuyasha said. "Let's do it. Miroku, Sango, Kirara, get out of the way!"

"Hold on, Inuyasha, let me try something," Miroku called down to him. He held his right hand towards the hydra. "I don't know why I didn't think of this before." He undid the beads around his wrist. "Wind Tunnel!"

Water, rocks, and even a few frogs were pulled into the void in Miroku's palm. The hydra itself – Miroku's target – held its ground, barely being moved by the massive wind pulling everything else towards Miroku's hand.

"Stop it, Miroku!" Shippo called up to him. "You're just getting swamp water!"

Miroku replaced the beads on his wrist, closing the void. "Wonderful. Now what?"

"Just let me, Shippo, and this horse handle it," Inuyasha said.

"My name is Rainbow Dash," the blue horse said. "Got it memorized, pal?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, let's just do this." He raised his sword, before bringing it down. "Wind Scar!"

The Wind Scar hit, destroying six heads. Rainbow Dash took to the air, trying to give Shippo a clear shot while avoiding the hydra's remaining heads.

Blue fireballs appeared in Shippo's hands, and he threw the fireballs at the stubs of the necks. "Fox Fire!" The fireballs hit the stubs of the necks, instantly burning the wounds closed.

"Nice shot, short stack," Rainbow Dash said. "WHOA!" She pulled up, just barely avoiding one of the hydra's heads. "You doing okay?"

"I'm fine," Shippo said. "Inuyasha, you're up!"

Inuyasha leaped at the hydra, cutting off five more heads while avoiding the rest, which snapped at him, but he remained just out of reach. Shippo quickly burned the wounds closed. One of the hydra's legs came dangerously close to biting into Inuyasha's leg. A quick swipe of the Tetsusaiga cut off its top jaw. Another swing cut off the head. Shippo quickly threw a fireball, burning the wound closed.

The remaining heads started snapping at Inuyasha. He had little time to react; all he could do was back away.

"I could use a little bit of help here!"

Sango threw the Hiraikotsu. The massive boomerang sliced through several heads before they could deliver a devastating bite to Inuyasha. Shippo quickly burned the wounds closed.

"We're getting there," Shippo said. "Just a little bit longer."

####################################

They could only watch as Rainbow Dash helped these humans battle the hydra. Pinkie Pie was staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Rarity had gone slightly pale, though it was hard to tell thanks to her pearl-white fur. Twilight winced at the sight of the hydra's heads getting cut off. Fluttershy had lowered herself to the ground, covering her eyes with her hooves. All Applejack could do was watch, whishing that there was something – anything – that she could do to help.

But what? The last time they encountered a hydra in Froggy Bottom Bog, all they could do was run from it and hope that it didn't eat them in one bite – which it came dangerously close to doing several times. But now there were these humans, and that flying tiger thing, fighting a hydra, and though it still had nearly twenty heads on its body, they were putting up a good fight and doing some serious damage.

Still, she felt like she had to do something besides stand here and watch.

Then again, she thought, this IS a hydra we're talkin' 'bout here. Ain't exactly like I can walk up to the thing and give it a good buck in the shins. She looked around. There's gotta be something here I can – She spotted a vine dangling from a nearby tree. Ain't no rope, but better'n nothin'.

She pulled the vine from the tree and fastened the end into a loop, forming a makeshift lasso. Holding one end in her mouth – and making sure she didn't trip over the vine – she galloped towards the hydra, spinning the lasso as fast as she could.

"Applejack, what are you going?" Rarity asked.

"Helpin' out," Applejack said, her voice muffled by the vine in her mouth. She threw the lasso, the loop wrapping around the hydra's nearest head.

Applejack dug her hooves into the mud and pulled as hard as she could. The hydra pulled back. Applejack could feel her hooves sliding in the mud as the hydra pulled her forward, trying to pull her off the ground. She dug her hooves deeper into the mud, knowing that if the hydra won this little game of tug-of-war, she was going to be one dead pony.

"Applejack, let go!" Twilight cried. "Just let go!"

"Nothin' doin', Twi!" Applejack shouted. She felt her hooves starting to give out and dug them even deeper into the mud.

The man in red – the one with the sword – looked over to her. "What are you doing, stupid? That thing's gonna kill you if you don't let go of that vine!"

"I know what I'm – " Applejack began to say.

The hydra pulled its head back, pulling Applejack off the ground and sending her into the air. Another head opened its mouth, ready to swallow her.

####################################

"Damn it! You idiot!"

Inuyasha ran to the hydra as fast as he could, hoping he could save that horse before the hydra swallowed her. Despite how idiotic that horse had been, at least she had tried to help.

He leaped at the hydra, cutting off the head before it could snap at the horse. Kirara flew past, Miroku and Sango still riding on her. Sango reached out, grabbing the horse.

"Gotcha!"

The horse used a foreleg to wipe her forehead. "Thanks."

"Now if you idiots could do me a favor and stay the hell out of the way, I'll kill this thing in no time flat!" Inuyasha said. He raised the Tetsusaiga above his head. "Wind Scar!" The blade of wind streaked towards the hydra. A direct hit severed the remaining heads; the heads hit the ground with a soft PLOP. "Shippo, now!"

"I'm on it!" Shippo shouted. He readied his fireballs. "Fox Fire!" He threw the fireballs as fast as he could, each one burning the wounds closed.

All that was left of the hydra was its writhing body, walking around in circles with no direction.

"Alright, time to finish it," Inuyasha said. He charged for the hydra. "Hey, you ugly bastard! Grow this back! Wind Scar!" The Wind Scar hit the hydra's body, blowing through it, sending pieces of flesh and gore flying through the swamp and leaving a massive, gaping hole in the hydra's body. The hydra's body collapsed into the mud, and twitched for a moment before going limp.

Inuyasha took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. He hadn't expected this morning to be so…frantic. As he looked at the hydra's corpse, he found himself waiting for it to get back up. Yet at the same time, he remembered that one horse's advice, that with the wounds burned closed, the hydra wouldn't be able to regenerate.

The Tetsusaiga turned back into its inert form, that rusty katana, and he put it back into its sheath.

"Well, that went well," he said.

Kirara landed nearby, allowing Sango and Miroku to climb off of her back, the orange horse leaping off at the same time. The blue horse carrying Shippo – earlier it had identified itself as Rainbow Dash – landed a second later.

"That…was…AWESOME!" she cried, rearing up on her hind legs and kicking her front legs in excitement. Rearing up like that caused Shippo to fall off her back. "Whoops. Sorry, shorty."

"I don't think 'awesome' is the word I'd use," Kagome said. "Tense is more like it."

"I really must agree with the young lady," the white horse – who for some reason had a horn on its head – said. "Hydras aren't exactly the friendliest of creatures."

"And there's bound to be more of them showing up soon," the purple horse with the horn and the wings said. "We'd better get out of here before they do."

Inuyasha tapped the handle of the Tetsusaiga. "Bring 'em all on. Now that we know how to beat them, that'll just make killing them much easier."

"No! You can't do that!" the yellow winged horse shouted. "Hydras are part of the natural ecosystem!"

"The what?" Miroku asked.

"She's saying that those things help keep nature in balance," Kagome said. "And I think they're right, we'd better go."

"Besides," Rainbow Dash said. "I've still got a race to win."

########################################

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity galloped as fast as they could, trying to catch up to the other racers. Going to help those humans had caused them to fall so far behind that they were tempted to just have Twilight teleport them to the finish line. Applejack had talked them out of it, saying that even if they finished in last place, they were going to finish the race without cheating.

The finish line came into view, just as the last of the racers crossed it. The three of them picked up the pace, galloping as fast as they could. Hearts pounding, lungs burning, all twelve legs pumping for speed, they finally crossed the finish line.

Rarity collapsed to the ground. "We did it! We finished."

"But we…lost," Rainbow Dash panted.

"But at least we finished the race," Applejack said. "That's all that matters, ain't it?"

"Applejack's right," Twilight said as she, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy joined them; they had asked the humans to wait near the forest so as not to distract anypony from the race. "What's important is that you finished the race together. Besides, we got to help some folks out with their problem. That should be reward enough, don't you think?"

They looked over to the nearby forest. The man in red – he had identified himself as Inuyasha – crossed his arms. He looked impatient.

"Didn't they say they were here for something?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'll go see," Pinkie Pie said. She happily skipped over to the forest. "Hello."

"Oh joy, the pink one," Inuyasha sighed. "What do you want now?"

"Be nice, Inuyasha," Kagome berated. "Sorry about that. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much. It's just that Rainbow Dash wanted to ask you guys something." She looked back at her friends and pulled a megaphone seemingly from nowhere. "RAINBOW DASH! WHAT WAS YOUR QUESTION?"

"Why are they here?" Rainbow Dash called back.

Pinkie Pie threw her megaphone aside. "She wants to know why you're here in Equestria?"

"I don't know what this Equestria is," Inuyasha said. "But we're looking for someone. Someone dangerous."

"Dangerous like how? Bad cupcake dangerous? Angry timber wolf puppy dangerous?"

"Get real," Inuyasha growled. "They're demons, alright?"

Pinkie Pie's face turned white almost instantly. "D-d-d-d-demons?"

Demons in Equestria? She'd heard the stories about demons, about how evil and dangerous they could be – possessing ponies, hurting ponies, sometimes even killing ponies. And now Inuyasha was saying that there were real demons in Equestria?

This could be a problem.