With tensions high, our heroes have partially reunited! Unfortunately, though, they soon found out that Ruby and Zula were still in danger! As they travel the cold, dark meadows, they come across a large fortress, and camp out of it's sight, while they devise a plan to save the last of our heroes, along with any other poor souls who were captured by the Black Wings! Will fate finally smile upon our heroes, or will things continue to go downhill, as Ruby and Zula continue to suffer at the hands and hooves of the cruel Black Wings?

Zula glared at the Minotaurs who were in the bedrooms, as they constantly insulted her for different reasons that they created. Some called her clumsy after intentionally opening their hands after they asked for her to give them a glass of wine... though the females actually showed her pity, but mostly because they, too, were slaves to the Black Wings, and were forced against their will.

Then Zula made it to the last room that she was told to check... the one where the leader's future wife was said to be held. Taking a deep breath, she told herself, "Just one more, Zula... I only hope the leader's fiance is good, at least..." Then she turned the handle, and walked inside, only for her eyes to widen.

"R... RUBY?!" Zula stuttered, which caught the crying filly's attention.

Ruby turned towards Zula, and gasped, before she wiped her tear-filled eyes, and ran up to her Zebra friend.

"Z... Zula! I'm glad to see you're safe!" Ruby cried, as she soon felt the Zebra's arms wrap around her, and the Zebra's own tears falling on her back.

"Ruby... what have they done to you?!" Zula asked, once the hug was broken.

Ruby looked up to her, and sniffled a few times, before Zula's eyes widened at the sight of her right cheek. "No... they didn't..." Then her expression turned more cold, while her hands started to shake. "Ruby... who did that to you?!"

As soon as Zula asked that question, the door swung widely open, and in walked Lord Stonefist, who had a smile on his face... that is, until he saw Zula hugging Ruby. Then his smile quickly lowered, and in the snap of a finger, he walked towards the Zebra and the filly, glaring daggers at the Zebra.

"You, there! Slave! Unhand her at once!" Stonefist demanded, only for Zula to embrace Ruby even tighter. "Fine, then... you will die here, and now!"

With that, he held his right hand out, and flicked a ring on his finger that, upon contact with his thumb, created a scimitar made out of diamond. Then he aimed it at Zula, and chuckled. "You think you can take my fiance away from me, huh?!"

At that statement, Ruby glared at him, and broke from the hug, only to stretch her arms out, in an attempt to keep Zula from getting harmed. This, of course, caused Stonefist's right eyebrow to raise. "DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY FRIEND, YOU JERK!" Ruby shouted, unable to hold the tears from her eyes.

Stonefist tilted his head, and asked, "Friend? Who, this slave over here?!"

Ruby's glare intensified as she shook her head. "She is NOT your slave!"

This sudden outburst caused Stonefist's eyes to widen, and his hooves to step back a couple steps. Then, after a small delay, he chuckled, while smiling menacingly at the two. "Oh, I see! You're her friend! And it would make sense that her friend try to take her away from me!" Slowly, he started walking towards Zula and Ruby, while Zula stepped in front of Ruby, and stretched her arms out.

The next thing they knew, Zula was lifted into the air by wind magic, which was created by one of Stonefist's rings. Then he pulled her closer to him, as his menacing smile only grew. "Alright, then... I can tell that my fiance doesn't want to go through with this, so allow me to clarify what happens, should she not choose to marry me!"

Slowly he raised the sword that he created from one of his rings, and aimed it at Zula's throat.

Ruby noticed the sincerity in his face, and shouted, "NO! PLEASE, DON'T!" Then she began running up to Zula, only for Stonefist to start inching the blade closer to Zula, even making her scream in pain.

The scream caused Ruby to back away, and for Stonefist to stop pulling the sword closer to her mildly bleeding neck.

"If you so much as try to escape, then this one's life will be taken." Then he turned towards Zula, and said, "And if you get any closer than this to my fiance, then I'll kill you just as easily!" He pulled the sword closer to her neck again, and hissed, "Is that understood?!"

Quickly, Zula nodded her head, while a single tear fell from her left eye. Stonefist then grunted, before removing the blade from in front of her neck, and shoving her to the ground behind him, and walking towards the door again. "Don't go anywhere. I'll send a guard back up here to keep an eye on you both." With that, he closed the door, with the sound of his hoof steps growing increasingly silent.

For about a minute, Ruby looked around, trying to find a way out of there. She couldn't find any windows that could lead out of the room, so that was out of the question.

Then her mind went back to the fireplace. "Of course!" She silently said to herself, before turning to Zula, and at once, her happy expression was replaced by uneasiness. "Miss Zula... are you okay?!"

Zula weakly smiled, and nodded her head. "I am fine, Mistress Ruby... I-"

"Please, don't worry about calling me that while he's away. And besides... I might have a way out of here!"

Zula's eyes widened at that statement, and quickly, she stood back up from the ground. "R-really? How?!"

Ruby pointed her right hand towards the fireplace, and replied, "We need to put the fires out of this fireplace, first... then we can climb the chimney! Don't they usually lead out of the top of the building?"

Zula hummed to herself for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders. "I was never told of how chimneys work... but I trust that, since you know of it, we must go with it."

Ruby nodded her head, and smiled. "Now, we just need some water, and we can escape this p-" Before she could even finish her sentence, the door swung open, and in walked Stonefist, as well as a Minotaur clad in heavy red-colored armor.

"I'll leave you to them, then. Oh, and one more thing..." Stonefist began, before turning from the red-armored Minotaur to the Zebra who turned towards the two unexpected guests. "... I want you to keep the Zebra away from the Alicorn... and you may do with her as you wish... so long as it doesn't kill her. I must respect my fiance's wishes, after all."

The red knight nodded his head, and replied in a low-pitched caveman-like voice, "Yes, sir." With that, the door closed behind the red knight, who merely stood there, watching the two mares ever-so-menacingly. Then he slowly started to walk towards Zula, who looked up at him nervously. "So... what Thor'lok and new friends do, first?"

Around a circular table with a map of Fort Shivercrest, Justin, Gilded Blade, Gilda, Pinkie Pie, Stealth Paws, Swift Justice, King Goldheart, Boulder, Topaz Claw, and the others that were with Topaz when they first met the adventurers, all stood in a circle, looking at the map, and the leaders of their factions.

"So, where do we start?" Gilded asked Justin, who in turn, looked at King Goldheart.

Goldheart looked at Justin, and smiled. "I'll leave you to decide, Justin. It is your daughter we're trying to save, right?"

Justin nodded his head, and replied, "And all the others with her, of course." Then he turned to Gilded. "Gilded, how much more flight do you have left in you?"

Gilded chuckled, before replying, "I know I can manage! I've been through worse conditions!"

The Minotaur child with the goggles from earlier looked up at Gilded, and smiled. "Excuse me, Mister... you might need these!" He offered Gilded his pair of goggles, revealing his red eyes.

Gilded looked down towards the child, and smiled, before nodding his head and accepting the goggles. "Thank you, kid! I'll take good care of it!"

Then Justin turned towards Swift, and asked, "Swift, do you think you can handle another battle?"

Swift nodded his head, and replied, "Of course I can! I'll take care of the sides of the entrance, so long as someone could guard me."

"I can handle that, my son." King Goldheart boldly stated, before looking at Boulder. "Boulder, you can cover us from the back, right?"

"Of course, your majesty." Boulder happily replied. "I haven't been able to taste battle in a long time!"

Then Topaz looked at Justin, and asked, "My group and I can take the Middle levels of the fortress. Will you be okay with taking the higher grounds?"

Justin nodded his head, and replied, "Of course, Topaz. I'll need to leave a few of mine to aid y'all, though." Then he looked at his group and asked, "Gilda and Stealth. Are y'all up for this?"

Gilda nodded her head, and smiled menacingly. "I was born to kill."

Stealth chuckled lightly, before pulling out a pair of flintlock pistols. "As long as you can keep them from me, then I'm up for it!"

Justin nodded his head, and turned towards Pinkie Pie. "Listen, Pinkie... I don't want to sound rude, or anything, but I don't think this is something you should get involved in."

Pinkie raised an eyebrow at him, before asking, "What do you mean?"

Justin sighed, and placed his right hand on his forehead, then replied, "You don't seem like you're fit for combat, and I'd rather not have you die because I brought you into a battle with me."

This caused Pinkie's mane and tail to start deflating again, which caused the group to look at her in confusion. "B-but..." Then she sighed, and asked, "Justin... can I talk to you alone for a moment, please?"

Justin was about to object, when he noticed the group already leaving the room for the two. This caused him to sigh, before nodding his head. "Alright, then... but please make it fast. We don't have much time."

Pinkie nodded her head, and replied, "Okay..." Then she closed her eyes, and at once, her entire mane and tail was completely flat, which caught Justin by surprise. After a few moments of silence, she opened her eyes, which showed an expression that Justin didn't think that she could ever show... sadness.

"Listen... I wanted to say that I'm sorry for the way that I've acted earlier. I promise it isn't normal for me to act that way... and I don't even know why I was acting that way to begin with, but... I want to be your friend. And I don't want to leave a potential friend out of the picture!" Then she looked towards the window that showed the fortress. "I want to help you! I don't care what happens to me, either!" Slowly, her smile turned into a grin which, with the flat mane and tail, actually caused Justin to start feeling even more nervous. "And besides... I'm not new to combat, believe it or not. I grew up on a Rock Farm, and took on Timberwolves with my bare hands several times!" Then, with a loud pop, her mane and tail puffed back up, she walked closer to Justin, and then she asked, "So, Justin... may I please go with you? I won't be able to rest easily, knowing that your daughter is in there! I can't imagine what they would do to a mare her age!"

Justin thought for a moment, before weakly smiling. Then he looked her in the eyes and asked, "Do you promise me that you won't do anything stupid?"

Pinkie nodded her head, and was about to cross her heart, before shaking her head, straightening up, and giving him a salute with her right hand. "Don't worry, Coach! I won't let you down!"

Justin then looked at the map, and back at Pinkie Pie, before nodding his head. "Alright, then... you can join us in the higher levels, Pinkie... but stay close, and don't get yourself killed. Alright?"

With a quick nod, Justin and Pinkie both exited the door, and prepared to face the upcoming battle.

Gilded Blade and Gilda were talking to each other in another part of the ship while Justin and Pinkie were left inside the map room. Gilda, of course, wasn't looking too happy to see Gilded.

When they were safely away from ears' reach, Gilda popped the back of Gilded's head, which caused him to grunt in pain, rub the spot he was popped, and ask, "Ow! What was that for, G?!"

Gilda's glare intensified, which caused him to smile nervously, as she pulled him down to her eye-level by the top of his harness. "You know damn well what! Where in the name of Tartarus have you been?!"

Gilded weakly replied, "Didn't pop tell you, already?!"

"No, because by the time I got back home from my week-long visit to Equestria, I ended up having to go back, to take Pinkie Pie in there back to her home!" Then she looked towards the door, which just closed after the last person to leave the room exited. Then she turned back to him. "Look, I know that you were never one to sit idly by and watch things go on, but quite frankly, you seem to have gotten involved into something too big for you to handle by yourself."

Gilded raised an eyebrow, before asking, "Wait... what are you saying, exactly?"

Gilda groaned out of frustration, before pulling him back to her level again. "I'm saying that, no matter what you say, Pinkie and I are going to Equestria WITH you! Now, you be sure to encourage him to let us join in on this 'journey', because if you don't, then I'll be sure you get a very 'friendly' greeting when we get home. Understood?"

Gilded gulped, before nodding his head. "S-sure thing, sis! I'll tell him once they are through talking!"

As soon as he finished saying that, the door to the map room opened up, and out walked both, Justin and Pinkie Pie, who had her normal smile on her face again.

From a very high distance above the scenery, a gray-coated Pegasus stallion with a black, back-spiked mane, a black collared jacket, a black shirt, black fingerless gloves, and a black pair of pants, sat on top of a cloud, with his right hand over his ear, and his left hand rested on the cloud. Attached to his back was a short, black-bladed Ninjato Sword, sheathed in a black sheath. His eyes appeared to be red, with black irises. As he began to speak on an earpiece that was rested in his right ear, it revealed a pair of sharp-looking fangs that projected from his teeth.

In a voice that sounded like a low, yet young, stallion from Manehatten, he said, "Hey, Thunderwing! I might've found the guy that I've been hearing rumors about in Druathica!"

Through his earpiece, a higher-pitched stallion's voice replied, "Wait, really?! So the rumors are true?! There's an alien creature roaming around?!" Then after a moment of silence, the voice asked, "What should we do about this, Zero? Should we report it to Princess Celestia?!"

"And let the Royal Guards ruin this chance of adventure for me?! Nah, I'm good!"

"What about the rumors of the dragon in Ponyville, though? Clearly you'd be more interested in learning about that, right?!"

"Well, apparently my trip to Equestria's been delayed anyways, so maybe I can see if this guy's going in the same direction? Besides that, there's a lot of dragons out there anyways, and only one of this guy! You think I'd miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance?"

With a sigh, Thunderwing replied, "No... just don't do anything stupid, alright?"

After giving a slight chuckle, Zero replied, "Not gonna make any promises, Thunderwing. Oh, but do NOT let the princesses know about this, alright?"

"Of course... good luck out there, Zero. Thunderwing out." With that, the voice in the earpiece turned into pure silence.

Zero looked down, towards the Iceboats, and hummed to himself. "So, Mr. Alien... let's see who's side you're on..." With that, he tapped his right hoof on the cloud, and made it lower towards the ground level, right as the events of the battle were about to unfold.

Author's Notes:

Zero (AKA; Zero Gravity) belongs to the user, "zeroxdoom", and was added by his request through PM. If YOU would like a character of your own, please be sure to check out "Season 1, Episode 5" of this story, and read up on how to apply! Thank you!

Oh, and "Thunderwing" is an OC that I just made up. He is in the Weather Team over in Manehatten, and is one of Zero Gravity's old co-workers who he kept in touch with for a while, before Zero left the Weather team, seeking adventure and discoveries.

Zero is planned to be paired with either Fluttershy or Twilight, so Twilight is no longer on the list of available love interests! Oh, but a quick heads-up, in case I forgot to mention this. Zula isn't planned to be with anyone in the group as of yet, so if you happen to like HER, then she's available, as well. If your character is a female, though, then Swift Justice and Topaz Claw are available for love-interests!