Saturday, April 9th, 3pm, Dusk’s Library

Applejack forced herself to keep to a mile-eating stride until she could see the front door of Dusk’s library. Mac had offered to carry Zecora, but the shaman matched his sister’s pace and seemed to maintain it without struggle. Barely slowing down, Applejack didn't so much knock on the door but collide with it, followed by rapidly hitting it with her balled fist while calling for Dusk in the calmest bellow she could muster, trying to pick her words so listening ponies wouldn't panic. “Dusk! Hey, Dusk!!! We got something real important goin’ on and I need to talk to you. Right now!”

The silence that answered Applejack's rapid knocking made her heart sink into her belly. Nervous at the holdup, she dug a hand under her belt, to the pocket she kept the key Dusk had given her, realizing for the first time how awkward the belt loop scabbard for her hammer made getting things from her pockets. “And ponies are starting to notice. Between the hammer and these boots, I'm not surprised.” Applejack looked down at her metal boots, or as Bronze kept insisting on calling them, ‘mythril greaves’. Their polished blue metal resisted the dirt and mud when she walked, and the padding made it feel like she could kick all day and never get a leg cramp, but they stood out like a sore thumb against her otherwise plain clothing.

As she finally managed to wedge the key free, she could just make out Bronze calling back from inside the house. “Just- just hold on a minute, Applejack!” To Applejack’s embarrassment, Bronze opened the door without needing to unlock it, swinging it open as she looked back over her shoulder and called towards the kitchen. “Hey, Dusk! Applejack’s here. You and Pinkie done in the basement yet?”

Smoothing down the pocket with her key and adjusting where her warhammer sat, Applejack moved to step into the space Bronze made for her, but the the Vicarius was watching her, and the moment her eyes saw Applejack’s hammer and boots, she stiffened up, stepping away from the door only a few inches, eyes growing cold and her voice colder. “What's happened, Applejack? Why are you armed?”

Putting a hand on the door to force it open if Bronze wasn't going to let her in any further, Applejack maintained a calm face and watched for Dusk’s appearance from the kitchen. “We've got a problem, Bronze, and I don't want to spook the townsfolk like a fox in the coop. Let's get Dusk and I'll explain.”

Looking Applejack up and down with a critical, weighing eye, Bronze hesitated for a moment. Seeming to come to a decision, she nodded her head before finally swinging the door fully open and motioning for them to hurry inside. “Swiftly please, I don't know what's taking Dusk so long. He just went to the basement with Pinkie Pie a few hours ago to study her ‘Pinkie Sen-’...” As if she realized what she was saying, Bronze’s voice cut off and she smacked herself in the face with the palm of her hand, groaning a little. “Right, forget I even said that. Let's go find him.”

Rushing into the open space as soon as Bronze gave way, Applejack forced herself to remain calm, despite the minor delay. “Bronze is just protective of Dusk, I'd probably do the exact same thing if somepony showed up armed at my door looking for him out of the blue.”

Followed inside by Zecora and Big Mac, Applejack went straight for the basement door by the kitchen. She gestured to her brother and Zecora after noticing how much the Vicarius stared at the very dull mud the zebra had used to paint her skin, trying to get her back on topic. “Some kind of disguise for the Everfree. Zecora’s been following a hydra. She thinks it's one of the crazy ninety footers like the ones my Granny Smith says devastated her family's old farm when she was a foal! Now it's left the forest and might be headed for Canterlot, and we need to get Dusk and warn Princess Celestia right now!”

Drawn back to the more immediate matter, Bronze matched her pace and got ever more grim, focusing on the door to Dusk’s laboratory while lengthening her stride and punching one fist into her palm. “By the Light! We need to get word to the Royal Guard and the nearest 'Bolt detachment; they're the ones trained to deal with this sort of thing."

Applejack's powerful, calloused fingers reached out to grab the basement doorknob, only briefly noticing a faint buzzing noise. As she began to twist she winced; the accompanying noise spiked so dramatically it made her ears sting. Cringing, Applejack looked around and raised her voice over the escalating cacophony, “Dear Celestia! What kinda experiments has Dusk been doing that make so much noise?”

Looking around for the source of the aggravating noise, Bronze settled her eyes on the basement door, swallowing and answering Applejack just a moment too late. “I don't think that's a sound from an experiment, Applejack. I think we'd bet-”

The ripple of magic came on so suddenly as Applejack started to tug on the door that she didn't have time to realize what was happening. A thunderous boom filled the room, accompanying an arc of lightning that shot from the doorknob in her hand into her wrist. The brilliant flare of blue light numbed her hand and stung as bad as hitting a thick knot while chopping wood. “Oh! Miserable rotten crab apples! That smarts!”

Big Mac and Zecora had been lingering near the entrance until now, but this brought them running down the hall. After checking on Applejack, Bronze stared at the door, her bewilderment and growing frustration clear in her aggressive stance, tense with her mounting agitation, wings ruffling and shifting constantly, but locked tight to her back. “But why would Dusk lock everypony out of the basement if he and Pinkie are down there doing some research?”

Mac inspected Applejack's limp wrist, massaging the tingling muscles with care, trying to encourage feeling back into her hand. Zecora laughed gently in her singsong tones. “Don't make yourself weary, this is not the right query The contention lies not in what Dusk wishes to keep out, but what he wants to make sure stays in, no doubt. The lock is on the outside of the door, therefore he must have left the basement before.”

Letting go of Applejack’s wrist and turning to look at the door, sizing it up, Mac asked a simple question. “So there’s no reason to break it down. Question is, what’s down there that Dusk would want to protect?”

Wiggling her fingers as the feeling started to return, Applejack noticed even Bronze was looking at her. “Well… not much, really, Mac. Dusk told Barb there was no reason to waste time cleaning it, so I've only gone down there a few times. Tons of spare furniture for the library, a laboratory room… Oh! Last time I was down there, he had that great heavy chest Princess Celestia sent the Elements of Harmony in. You don't think Dusk still has them here, do ya?” Unable to stop the wonder from sneaking back into her voice, Applejack remembered the way she felt while wearing her Element. The thrill of memories, of defeating Nightmare Moon and saving Princess Luna sent a tingle down her spine, derailing her thoughts completely.

Shaking her head a little, Bronze tried to redirect them. “So it's locked, and he isn't answering us. Where in Equestria would he have gone without telling me? Without telling somepony? Maybe I should go look for him.”

Before Bronze could get out of reach, the comment she had made before returned to Applejack. She extended her arm and reached out to grab Bronze's shoulder. “Bronze, wait! You said something about the Royal Guard and the Wonderbolts? Who do we contact? What do we gotta do next? We haven't seen a hydra around here in ages!”

Those questions drew Bronze to a stop, and she hesitated, wanting desperately to hunt down Dusk, though she knew that nopony in Ponyville except Dusk, Dash, and herself probably knew what to do next. The way the three towering ponies watched her made her realize what the number one priority had to be. She took to the air, hovering a foot off the ground as she tried to organize her thoughts, forcing back worries about Dusk’s unexplained absence. She had work to do now. “First, I need to find Thunderlane. Even if he hasn't been trained for this, I'll need his assistance with organizing the weather team. After that, we'll start patrols to hunt down the hydra, while Thunderlane’s two fastest flyers go to Cloudsdale and Canterlot to get the nearest detachments of both the Royal Guards’ Unicorn Corps and at least a wing of Wonderbolts.”

Stepping forward as Bronze talked, Applejack was glad to hear the guard had a plan they could follow. Now she wanted to pitch in, too. “What can we do to help Bronze? There must be something.”

Turning to think for a moment as she rubbed her jaw, Bronze's wings fidgeted as she hovered in place, lost in thought. “You should come with me, Applejack. Your family name is well known. It will add weight to mine and Thunderlane’s in the letters we send to the guards and the ‘Bolts. Mac and Zecora, if you can find the mayor and send her to Thunderlane’s to add her authority to the letter, that would be the best help. After that… look for Dusk. He’ll think of a dozen things I probably missed. Alright?”

Offering the guard a reassuring smile, Zecora gave her shoulder a squeeze. “We'd be happy to take your request, most of all if it takes some weight off your chest."

Meanwhile, somewhere on the way to Froggy Bottom Bog

“Here, Fluttershy, let me hold this branch back while you pass.”

“Aww! Thank you, Dusk! You're so sweet!”

Adjusting her grip on the wheelbarrow’s handles, Pinkie followed after Dusk and Fluttershy, wistfully watching how naturally they talked, how casually they acted. Part of her was beyond proud; she'd been helping Rarity and Dash with their shy friend for so long, and it was exhilarating to finally see her open up to a stallion. A small part of her was jealous, though, and she slowed her pace. As she lingered, she watched how Dusk used the excuse of holding a branch out of her way to brush a hand across Fluttershy’s cheek, and the way the meek mare giggled at that, her usual blush paired with a muted titter of laughter.

Dusk tarried longer, still holding the heavy branch out of the way as Pinkie passed by, only releasing it after she had passed. He rested a hand on her shoulder, while the baskets of frogs floated behind him, supported by his magic. The frogs had only grown more noisy in agitation as the trip went on. “Pinkie, if you need a break, I can probably take over pushing the wheelbarrow for a few miles. I know you are strong, but I don't mind helping.”

There was no way Pinkie could ignore the way her legs trembled as Dusk smiled at her and peered deeply into her eyes, as if he was innocently looking into her mind. Straining up as she passed him, she let her tail stroke across his belly, winking playfully. “Why don't you hop in the cart instead? I'd be happy to take you for a ride!”

Dusk simply couldn’t help himself, and he followed after her, his eyes filled with laughter. Shaking his head at the way Pinkie had phrased the joke, he chuckled as he touched her elbow when she passed by him. "Oh, Pinkie! You are such a flirt! Maybe later, but right now we've got frogs to relocate!”

Giggling at their absurd conversation, Fluttershy covered her mouth to muffle her own timid titter of delight, double-checking their surroundings before she picked a gap in the conversation to jump in at. “Don't worry! I promise we're almost there! See those mountains? They're located on the far side of the bog!”

Pinkie delayed just long enough for Dusk and Fluttershy to get a little ahead of her again, leaning over her wheelbarrow and watching them chatter, unable to keep herself from silently brooding. She still wasn’t quite sure what had set her on edge until she nearly tripped over her tail, only now noticing it had coiled tightly around her leg, no longer poofy, but clinging to her leg, all the way down to her ankle. Pausing to reach down and try to uncoil her hair, the way it suddenly uncoiled a few loops, dancing and shifting from side to side just like a wild snake. “Now stop that! Dusk or Fluttershy might notice!”

Her hair expressed a mind of its own, and only slowly relaxed under her intense glare, leaving behind lots of knotted clumps she had to deal with. Then the tremor hit, so hard her vision blurred, and she nearly crashed into the wheelbarrow. When it had finally passed, her neck, back and legs ached from the rapid spasm that had refused to let go. Leaning heavily on the wooden cart while struggling to catch her breath, Pinkie wiped her sweaty brow, unable to keep her voice to a whisper. “That was a real doozie! Just what’s going to happen at Froggy Bottom Bog…?”

Meanwhile, at Thunderlane’s place

For the second time today, Thunderlane jumped as a rapid series of knocks on his door interrupted what he had planned to be a quiet afternoon. Only this time, unlike earlier, there was no joy or playfulness in the knock. Looking up from the lunch Flitter had prepared for him before she had left, Thunderlane gave Cloudchaser a suspicious glare. "You said your sister was helping out at the school today..."

Laying her fork on top of her empty plate, Cloudchaser was all innocence, and rushed to stand up. “I promise, Thunderlane, no games today. She's helping out with the younger foals today, and I'm covering Rainbow Dash’s flight training with the foals after school. Just… Let me just go check who it is, finish your daisy salad.”

Rushing past him, Thunderlane didn't miss how she let the softer feathers in her wing brush against his shoulder. It was a more subtle display of affection that was starting to become a regular thing, and her tail swayed from side to side in a way that spoke of her good mood. As much as she had told him to keep eating, Thunderlane was still leery that the twins were playing some game with him, so he turned in his chair to watch as she opened the door.

Since she was standing in the doorway, Thunderlane could not see who had knocked, but by the way Cloudchaser’s tail drooped the moment the door opened, he could tell she wasn’t happy to see whoever it was.

Bronze’s voice cut through the quiet room before Cloudchaser could say anything, her tone serious, even official. “Cloudchaser? Where’s Thunderlane? I need the whole weather team rallied immediately. We have a situation to deal with, right now!”

Cloudchaser drew back from the door, groaning just loud enough for Thunderlane to overhear her complaint. “Not today, Bronze! We only just sat down for lunch, and we had such a nice afternoon planned! Why do you need Thunderlane? Wouldn’t one of the other weather team members work?”

Standing so he could go speak with Bronze, Thunderlane didn't miss the disappointment in Cloudchaser’s voice, but Bronze answered her before he could reach the door, her voice ominous and sharp. “There’s no time, Cloudchaser. I need Thunderlane, right now. If we don’t act on this right away, a lot of ponies will end up getting hurt, possibly killed.”

Stepping in before the the situation escalated any further, Thunderlane put a hand on Cloudchaser’s shoulder while he looked out at Bronze, and behind her, where Applejack stood watching. “You need the weather team’s help with something, Bronze? What's wrong? How can we help?”

Cloudchaser was reluctant to let Thunderlane gently push her aside out of the way. Her wings bristled nervously, shifting in frustration. Bronze and Applejack both visibly relaxed as he appeared, and Bronze stepped forward, gesturing inside the house. “We have a hydra running wild, Thunderlane, and Dusk is AWOL. That means I'm the only one with any kind of disaster training…” Her voice trailed off for just a moment, turning hopeful, even excited. “Unless Dash gave you some?”

Now Thunderlane understood, and his heart fell. “Oh, dear Celestia. We always talked about that kind of stuff, but no, things were always getting in the way. Just- come inside, Bronze, Applejack. Tell me what we need to do.”

As Thunderlane turned to lead the way inside, he felt Cloudchaser gently touch his bicep. "I was helping Rainbow Dash with the schedule and some of the planning last week," she said, squeezing Thunderlane's arm softly but looking straight at Bronze. "I know where she left a bunch of the paperwork; she said they were some sort of emergency documents. I could go find them!"

The moment Thunderlane admitted he had no preparation for such a situation, the guardsmare had straightened up, her wings folding flat to her back once more. “Please, Cloudchaser. Thank you both. Thunderlane, let's move inside. The mayor will arrive soon, and we need to draft up letters requesting the assistance from the Royal Guard and the nearest Wonderbolts detachment. You'll also need to pick out your two fastest independent flyers while we rally the rest of the weather team. We need to locate and follow this beast until the guard arrives.”

Stepping back inside and returning to his small table, Thunderlane and Cloudchaser cleared it, while offering two of the three seats he had to the guard and the farmer. “Cloudchaser and Flitter are my fastest flyers left with Dash gone. Well… some of the younger foals are faster, but Dash never trusted any of them on solo flights around the Everfree, and neither would I. They wouldn't be qualified for something important like this.” Worried by how quiet the normally vocal farmer was, and growing anxious under the tension himself, Thunderlane turned to Applejack. “When did you get caught up in all of this, Applejack?”

The towering mare shook her head, and pointed at Bronze. “Zecora told me and Mac about the hydra, we came looking for Dusk, but we can’t find him. Now I'm here to sign some requests for help, while Mac and Zee go looking for Dusk. It's… it's not like him to just wander off like this, but with a hydra around, we ain’t got time to dawdle.”

Bronze had claimed most of the table in a peremptory way that reminded Thunderlane of Dusk, and was unfolding a map covered with fine writing in some language he didn’t understand. She also pulled out sheets of paper, some covered in seals in ink that practically glowed in golden sunlight. Unable to recognize even half of the seals, Thunderlane started feeling more nervous, a finger tracing over one of the spare copies, his hand shaking nervously over the page as he followed the one emblem he knew. He muttered aloud while trying to place the words written in old unicorn dialogue beneath. “I know this one… this is the Seal of the Weather Captain, the script is something like… ‘Férnoume ton ánemo’... um, ‘We carry the wind’?”

Looking up from the map, Bronze gave him a smile, going over the other emblems with her dry quill as a pointer. “Right. This is Dusk’s personal crest, his family’s crest, the crest of Ponyville’s office, the crest of the mayor, Cobalt Treatise…” She hesitated, looking over at Applejack. “I don’t suppose you have a family crest, do you? It would help make sure anypony questioning our messengers takes us seriously.”

Applejack reached out and tapped the emblem that Bronze had pointed out as Ponyville’s crest. “Granny Smith has a stamp she puts only on the best cider Mac brews and her Zap Apple Jam. It’s the same as this; she says the old words mean something like: “We harvest the fruit of the earth” I think…”

That seemed to catch Bronze off guard, and she looked at the crest, a large apple tree lay upon two crossed sheafs of wheat, with an acorn nestled in the center. Trying to piece the symbology together, Bronze offered Applejack a smile. "I'm sketchy on heraldry, but acorn for independence and strength, wheat for abundance and hope, and the tree for nobility and antiquities?"

Applejack gave her a shrug, smiling wistfully. "It's random details like that I normally go to Granny Smith to ask about. But we don't have time for that, I suppose. Let's get these letters done before Mrs. Mayor arrives."

With care, Bronze and Applejack took turns briefly debating phrasing while Applejack wrote the letters, leaving Thunderlane to reference the hydra's general vicinity and likely path based on Zecora’s warning and Bronze’s map. Once she had explained how the map showed elevation, he marked the six likeliest paths it might have taken, while Cloudchaser left to rally the weather team, and find somepony to watch over the foals Dash normally trained.

With Bronze busy going over search patterns with Thunderlane, Applejack was left working on the letters alone. Worried she might have missed something, she paused, hovering her quill over the final line on the page. “Maybe… somethin’ like: ‘With greatest urgency, we, the undersigned, petition for your assistance:’?”

The sounds from the gathering weather team outside were growing, a reassuring sign to Bronze. Turning away from her maps, Bronze leaned over the page and quickly scanned the dire warning and details about the hydra. Relaxing and giving Applejack’s shoulder a squeeze, she nodded. “Yeah, you covered everything I can think of. Just make sure to leave space for the crests and emblems at the bottom of the page.”

Glad these days that Granny Smith had been insistent that she graduate from school, Applejack wrote on, sticking her tongue out of the side of her mouth as she focused. But with the swirl of her signature complete, Applejack couldn't help but stare at the silk ribbons on the waiting sheet of emblems. “Errr… Bronze? Did I write on the wrong page? These fancy emblems are fused with this waxy paper here…”

Casually tossing the marker she had been using to direct Thunderlane around the map, Bronze reopened the tin writing case she had brought along with the quills and papers, and pulled out a small, oddly purple-colored wad of wax. “It's something that the unicorn scribes came up with. The sigils carry the weight and family name of whoever signs for them, so they only produce them in small amounts, and seal them with magic to make sure their authenticity can be checked. This wax lets a non-unicorn transfer them from page to page. After working for Shining Armor, I got good with this stuff.”

While Applejack watched, Bronze rolled the purple-ish wax ball back and forth across Dusk’s crest, taking great care to rub a little over every inch of the emblem. A thin, glowing aura of magic slowly started forming over the surface of the emblem, spreading more and more as she worked. Already Applejack could see the edges giving away from the wax paper, eventually slipping off the top page and onto the letter. Moving quickly, she adjusted the floating emblem, squaring it with the edge of the page and pressed down firmly, watching closely. “After ten or twenty seconds, the magic fades and the emblem affixes to the page permanently. You have to be quick and careful; after the magic finishes, if you try to move it, the emblem will rip to shreds, something Shining Armor says the scribes insisted on to prevent theft or impersonation.”

Taking the wax from Bronze, Applejack started rolling it over the Emblem of Ponyville, focusing as she carefully spread the magic wax across the page until the sigil slipped free. Once she was sure that Applejack had that handled, Bronze stood, and gave Thunderlane a nudge. “Let's go get your team organized, Thunderlane. The mayor better be here soon. We need these letters sent off ASAP.”

As she stood and started towards the door, Bronze pulled her leather gloves off her hip, working her fingers into the smooth tan leather as she pushed through the door to an impressive sight. “Thunderlane was right. They might just be part-timers for the weather team, but they can move fast when needed."

While Thunderlane didn't have as much land for the weather team to mill about on, they made do, filling out nearby trees and the roofs of neighbouring houses. Eyeballing a quick count, she guessed there were around forty here, and discounting Derpy, that might as well have been the entire weather team. “Light, some of the more energetic foals are trying to show off. But I suppose that makes sense, Dash seems like the type that would probably give them more attention when they do.”

Still adjusting her gloves, Bronze lifted her head, giving Thunderland a small nod to begin, watching how the stallion handled his people rather than stampede in and disrupt the existing chain of command.

Swallowing sharply, Thunderlane slowly stepped forward. When he stopped, he stood alone in the middle of the clearing before his house, sure that everypony could see him. A few of the adults fell silent, and nudged their neighbours to do the same. Unfortunately, most of the foals, and almost half the young adults continued to talk, totally ignoring him. Twice he looked ready to say something, then hesitated. Bronze schooled her expression to avoid a wince; he looked torn between demanding silence and waiting for the others to give him their attention. Then at last, the stallion lifted his brass whistle to his lips, his powerful lungs generating an ear-piercing, yet clear note, one Bronze identified as a call for attention.

That finally got the attention of the rest of the weather team, and they all stood to watch him as he did his best to stare back up at them, finally letting the whistle fall from his lips. “All right, thank you all for coming out so quickly. I'm not like Dash, I don’t have her training or experience, so I'll be blunt. A hydra has left the Everfree Forest sometime in the last few hours and is current-”

The roar of panic from the crowd nearly staggered him; those who had gathered to see just what the weather team were up to were the loudest, but as soon as they began to voice their fears, it spread like wildfire through the simple townsponies. The volume rose rapidly, threatening to drown out Thunderlane’s powerful voice. Bronze's eyes widened-- herd panic. She was watching the unity that bound Ponyville together begin to turn toxic. She hoped Thunderlane could control it, but began to compose herself in case she needed to step in.

Doing his best to pull them back, Thunderlane started to yell, roar, louder and louder to be heard over the once-muttered conversation that was rapidly starting to deny him the chance to say anything at all. “No, everypony, please listen! This is no time to panic!”

From the crowd, a blue haired mare-- Bronze vaguely remembered her, a mare named Sassaflash --called back a question over the others. “But, Thunderlane! It’s a hydra! What’s going to happen to Ponyville?! We just finished rebuilding it after those little magical moth things ate half the town!”

Totally derailed from his speech, Thunderlane tried to answer her question in hopes of regaining some control over the crowd. “Don’t worry, Sass! If it were coming towards Ponyville, it would have already been here by now!” Instead of reassuring the crowd, this seemed to only make them all think that they could start asking questions, drowning him out even harder. He began to panic, and shout back at them. “No, shut up! I SAID SHUT UP!”

Parting her lips, Bronze put the brass of her whistle in place, and didn’t bother to send a signal to the panicked crowd. She simply drowned them all out with enough volume that most were forced to put their hands to their ears to muffle the painful shriek as best they could. Watching them all as she let the note end, and allowed the whistle to fall on its chain, Bronze stiffened up, and found herself picturing one of her first drill sergeants, a barrel-chested old stallion with a rotten sneer and evil eyes. He had been the most despised of the teachers that the Royal Guard employed, but suddenly, she knew exactly why they kept him around. His glare could curdle milk, and his bellowing voice carried forever. Now she did her best to emulate him, turning a stern gaze to the crowd and roaring like that old lion did. “YOU ALL WILL QUIET THE TARTARUS DOWN RIGHT NOW, OR CELESTIA HELP ME, I WILL MAKE YOU!”

That did it. While some in the crowd were glaring resentfully at Bronze, she matched them stare for stare, and anyone who started to argue, she silenced with a single hawk-eyed gaze. When she was sure she had let the silence hang long enough, Bronze relaxed a little and walked up beside Thunderlane, putting a hand on his shoulder, still yelling to be heard by all but no longer throwing the vitriol from earlier. “That’s better! Now, it has come to my attention that a hydra recently passed by our little town, and is heading towards Canterlot! I am a stranger to most of you ponies, so I’ve asked for Thunderlane and the Weather Team’s assistance in tracking the monster while two of your fastest flyers are sent to Canterlot and Cloudsdale to gather the Wonderbolts, and the Royal Guard!”

Clearly, some of those watching were still worried, still edging towards panic as she took a moment to catch her breath. Realizing she might lose them again if she didn’t appeal to more than just their sense of fear of her yelling at them again, Bronze layered the next part on thick, aiming to remind them of other reasons to take this risk on her behalf. “Our duty is clear, not merely to Princess Celestia, but to our families, our home, and our fellow Equestrians. Hundreds of thousands of lives now hang in the balance; we must be the tipping point, locating the hydra and guiding the Wonderbolts in to do their duty and take their risks. Therefore, we need you all to form teams, fly as high as possible, help us locate it, and help guide the Wonderbolts to it. I want no unnecessary risks. Fly high, spot, and report. Avoid all contact with the hydra!”

Thankfully, those last few comments seemed to finally help steady and encourage the entirety of the weather team. Some even started nodding in agreement, talking animatedly to one another, but much quieter than before, already planning things between one another. Pointing to the roof of Thunderlane’s house behind her, Bronze continued. “Flitter, Cloudchaser? Thunderlane suggested you two fly to deliver our appeals for assistance, and I agree. You're old enough to be taken seriously, and strong enough flyers to make the trip there and back quickly. The rest of you, listen to Thunderlane. He will be organizing you all into patrol groups, anyone missing their whistle needs to retrieve it immediately after he assigns you your flight path, and you are to keep your two partners in sight at all times. We have hundreds of kilometers to cover, everypony, so keep your whistle to your lips, your eyes to the earth below, and your ears open. The moment we locate it, we need to start warning anypony in its path.”

Finally turning from the crowd, Bronze was shocked to realize that Applejack was watching her intently, and by her side the mayor stood waiting. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the awed weather team were still looking to her for guidance, she might have sagged with embarrassment from having just yelled down a crowd of worried neighbours. Before she could, however, the mayor started gently clapping her hands, quiet enough that nopony else around could hear her. Stepping up beside Bronze, she whispered, “That was fantastic, Bronze! You really are Shining Armor’s squire. Now, I know you’re already doing so much for us, but I was thinking… Another, more subtle show of military presence might help shore up the weather team's spirits a little more.”

Feeling a little lightheaded, even dazed, Bronze didn’t understand what the mayor was implying. Watching as Applejack handed the two designated messengers bold red tunics that reminded Bronze of the uniform Dusk had given Derpy as his royal messenger, she offered the mayor a shrug. “Sure, I suppose that might help. But what did you have in mind?”

The mayor tilted her head towards the open door of Thunderlane’s house. Rarity stood inside, polishing Bronze’s plate mail armor. Where Rarity and the mayor had met, and how they had gotten her suit here while she was busy, Bronze had no idea. All of a sudden, it just felt right. Smiling and finally relaxing, Bronze gave the mayor her hand, and shook it firmly. “You're right, Miss Mayor. I’ll need a few minutes and somepony’s help.”

Rarity had clearly overheard them and lowered the polishing cloth, standing up and smiling at Bronze. “I’ve never had to help somepony put on armor, but I’ve made decorative capes and sashes enough times to understand how they work. I just wish I had a few more hours to prepare; a fetching purple sash with Dusk’s crest on it would really give your armor flare unmatched by anypony in town!”

Shaking her head, Bronze followed the mayor and Applejack into Thunderlane’s small cottage.

Outside Thunderlane’s house, Flitter fidgeted. Her new red tunic was heavy and made of some fancy kind of expensive silk. The way the rest of the weather team were watching her and Cloudchaser made up for the awkwardness, however, as everypony eyed them with envy.

She grinned at her sister and stepped closer, not wanting to be overheard. “So how’d the lunch go?”

Cloudchaser blew out a breath, rolling her eyes. “We didn’t really get around to it, for the most part. Bronze showed up a little after you left, and we didn’t really get to eat.”

Flitter frowned. Tapping her leg with one hand thoughtfully, she looked over to where Thunderlane was still organizing pegasi into groups for patrolling. Humming to herself, an idea suddenly formed, and she smiled widely, turning to her sister excitedly. “I’ve got it! Once this whole mess with the hydra is taken care of, we’ll cook him a nice dinner, to ‘make up for lunch.’”

A small smile found its way to her sister’s face, and as Cloudchaser adjusted her new tunic again, she asked, “Ok, but I mean we were basically planning that anyways. So what makes this special?”

Crossing her arms under her breasts as Thunderlane approached them, Flitter merely smirked and replied in a low breath, “The aftermath.”

When Thunderlane reached them, he put a hand on each of their shoulders and smiled apologetically. “Sorry about lunch, girls. Can I get a raincheck? I’ll still help out with whatever it is you needed.”

Blinking in surprise, the twins looked at one another, confused. After a moment, Cloudchaser finally asked, “Er, what do you mean?”

Still smiling, Thunderlane replied, “Well, you two were nice enough to make me lunch and help with shopping, right? I figured you needed help with a weather shift or something.”

Cloudchaser’s jaw dropped for a moment, and she couldn’t form a reply. Coming to her rescue, Flitter placed a hand on her arm but looked at Thunderlane, still smiling. “We just wanted to help you out, Thunder. We don’t need anything from you this time, honest.”

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow, as if he wasn’t sure he believed the pair. Flitter knew that usually when they had done something like cook a meal or whatnot for the stallion, they usually ended up asking for a favor in return, so it was fair of him to not believe her, but she just smiled wider and stepped closer to him. Placing a hand on his chest, she spoke in a lower tone. “We just wanted to make sure you’re doing well, and help out.”

Seeing what her sister was doing, Cloudchaser stepped in close to the stallion as well, placing her own hand next to her sister’s on his chest. “Yeah, we needed to make sure you were still fine after Rumble left.”

Thunderlane looked like he was about to reply, but one of the members of the weather team called to him, and he looked back over his shoulder, before turning back to the twins. “I, uh… well, I’m sorry girls, I gotta go take care of this. Maybe after, we can-”

Cloudchaser interrupted Thunderlane by stepping in closer again and kissing his lips, her wings shifting momentarily on her back. With a light blush on her cheeks, she stepped back and said, “Sure, dinner tonight. Our treat. But your place. See you then.” The mare took off before the dazed stallion could reply.

Watching her depart for a moment, Thunderlane’s jaw was slack, and he had only managed to close it before Flitter cupped his jaw and turned his face down towards her, also kissing him. The stallion made a confused noise but pressed into the kiss, though Flitter pulled back after far too short a time. With a wink, she jumped to hover in the air for a moment, before turning and slapping his chest with her tail as she took off for Canterlot.

Taking a few moments to recover, Thunderlane nearly jumped when he heard his name called again. Shaking himself, the stallion quickly moved to organize his weather team and hand out orders. Only a few had to rush home to fetch their whistles, but by the time the door to the cottage opened again, the flock of pegasi were prepared, organized into rank and file, waiting for Bronze's command.

Bronze felt odd wearing her armor again; it was the first time since that horrific day in the Everfree Forest that she’d donned it. It felt awkward, heavy-- almost alien. The sword belted to her hip felt otherworldly. The spear in her right hand, however, was like an old friend, and she gripped it tightly, drawing strength from it. To Rarity’s credit, she had mocked up a banner with Dusk’s crest, and Applejack held it up overhead as they stepped out of the cottage, a reminder of the times he had already protected the little town of Ponyville. Now as his deputy, Bronze stood tall under the banner, the sound of metal on metal creating a powerful presence as she walked to Thunderlane’s side. Rarity followed behind them, to lend her support. Bronze’s heart felt tense, worried, but her voice was calm. “Weather Captain? Are you ready to fly?”

Shockingly, Thunderlane’s fist flew over his heart in a poor, but well-meaning attempt to copy a military salute. He stood at attention, his voice giving away his anxiety, but filled with determination. “Ponyville’s weather team is at your service, Vicarius Bronze Feather. Simply give the command and we will follow.”

With Cloudchaser long out of sight on her flight to Cloudsdale, and Flitter heading to Canterlot, Bronze took a long, careful breath. She turned to face the crowd, lifting her heavy helmet from Rarity’s hands, but delayed sliding it into place. She looked over the watching ponies, feeling pride at how well organized they now stood, and waited, watching her. Thrusting her spear into the air, Bronze roared out a decree. “Now, we fly; we fly for Canterlot; we fly for the Two Sisters! We fly to protect those to whom we owe our shield! Fly with me, Ponyville! I will see nopony harmed this day!”

As one voice, the common ponies of Ponyville joined her. Some cried out “For Canterlot!”, as many of them had been born there, or lived there for years. Others instead yelled “For Celestia!”, while still more chose “For the goddesses!” As Bronze spread her wings, she could feel Rarity's hand on hers, and Applejack’s grip on her shoulder. She was grateful for their support. Sliding on the bulky steel helmet, Bronze took flight. And the pegasi of Ponyville followed.

3:30pm, at Froggy Bottom Bog

Dusk returned to the banks of the river, glad that Fluttershy had suggested he roll his pant legs up to the knee. While Froggy Bottom Bog had been properly named, the slowly flowing river that ran beside it was clear and very shallow, making for a soothing place to walk on a warm and sunny spring day. Dusk reached out with his magic as he neared the shore, gently lifting up two more baskets of the watching frogs before turning to walk off towards a distant bush he had spotted earlier. Surely the frogs would enjoy a little shade as much as he did, and Fluttershy had said to spread them out as far as possible, rather than crowding them in together. Dusk found himself truly relaxing for once, the gentle trickle of the stream washing away his concerns about Pinkie Pie, his worries over all that Shining Armor had shared with him about Tartarus… even his thoughts about how to handle Rainbow Dash once they got to Cloudsdale drifted away with the slowly flowing stream.

“It’s so tranquil out here. Such a blissful state. And you lucky little frogs get to live here all the time.” Dusk couldn’t help but laugh a little at himself. Of course he would never be happy to live in the middle of nowhere with the frogs as his only company, but still… it was a tempting thought.

Pinkie wasn’t all that far away from Dusk, but she could see him in the distance, and as he relaxed into the work Fluttershy had given them, she felt herself calming down as well. Not the frogs, though. They remained quite vocal in their commentary, and while she couldn’t understand them like Fluttershy, they made their point clear enough. Lowering the last basket from her wheelbarrow behind a bush and letting them evacuate at their own pace, Pinkie could not help herself and called out to the last of the hopping frogs. “Find a nice patch of pond and settle in! Maybe in a few weeks time when you’re all ready, me and Fluttershy will come back and give you all one big Bog Warming Party!”

As the last of the frogs disappeared into the undergrowth, Pinkie took a seat on a mossy rock, pulling her knees in close and looking over the bog to where Dusk still walked in the stream, watching him laugh and carefully place frogs one at a time beneath a little bush. She smiled and let her finger stroke over the gold of her Element of Harmony, feeling better after talking to Fluttershy… and even about talking to Dusk. “Once we get home... Sometime tomorrow maybe… I’ll make up the cheese scones that Fluttershy likes so much and bring them over. Then… somehow, I’ll tell her everything about Pinkamena, and… well, about Dusk, too...”

Rustling in the ungrowth beside the bog drew Pinkie’s attention, and crawling out on all fours from under a bush came a short, little, vividly green creature. Its eyes were a pale purple and wide, watching her intensely while he moved painfully slow, attempting to keep under the cover of the bush, while also staying in the sunlight as much as possible.

Watching him, Pinkie nearly giggled, but was worried she might spook the young thing away if she made too much noise, or moved too quickly, and fought her nature, trying her best to keep still and quiet. In her excitement, her tail’s fluffy mass swayed back and forth, causing the bubblegum mass to shift from side to side. That was what had the tiny guy’s attention, and in a burst of energy, he rushed forth, out from under the weeds and rushes, still walking gangly on all fours, but with surprising quickness. In a leap, he was on her tail and clamped down on it with enthusiasm.

About to scream, Pinkie fell short as she felt not pain, but a slight tickling sensation. It dawned on her that whatever the little creature was, he was no danger to her, and possibly not even to the frogs they’d just delivered. Reaching down, Pinkie pulled back at his jaw, trying to free her tail, and what she saw broke her heart and made her stop, watching the poor creature as it struggled to mouth her cotton candy tail. The little guy had no teeth, only pink gums. “You poor thing… you must be starving!”

Reaching inside the little emergency party bag she always kept on-hand, Pinkie pulled out the freshly baked cupcake she had made for today, placing it down on the ground beside his muzzle. Thick, whipped frosting lay on top, and sprinkles added a vibrant bonus to the visual appeal of the treat. Plus it was cherry chip, and everypony loved cherry chip!

The toothless little guy ignored it and Pinkie’s actions for a while, fully focused on subduing the meal he had already captured. As time passed, however, the scent of the freshly baked treat caught his attention, and reluctantly, he released her tail, sniffing carefully, before turning to look up at her with those wide, pale purple eyes. To Pinkie’s shock, he sat up on his hind legs, and pointed one finger at his chest, opening his maw. It was if he were asking her a question. Pinkie couldn’t help herself; she nodded enthusiastically and lifted the cupcake, offering it out to the tiny guy. “Of course this is for you, silly! Eat up! You don’t get a treat like this everyday, now do you?”

Delighted, he surged forward again, taking the cupcake from her and plopping it into his mouth, licking his short snout with his tongue while he gummed at the decadent treat. Now that Pinkie got a better look at him sitting on his haunches, she guessed he was barely two feet tall, and had a cute pale green color to his belly scales that reminded her of pistachios. Reaching out, she ran her thumb across his snout, and earned herself a happy snort and giggle from the little guy. Walking more confidently on his hind legs, he waddled over to her side and sat next to her, turning his deep, pale purple eyes to watching Dusk like she had been. Still he said nothing, but his tail was now copying her own, wagging lazily through the long grasses behind them. That made Pinkie giggle, and she put an arm around his shoulders, pulling the little anthro gator in close. “You’re too cute! I have to introduce you to Fluttershy!”

Then, from the darkness of the bubbling bog, a disturbance split the water, and made itself known. Pinkie leaned back, staring wide-eyed as slowly, nine titanic stalks rose from peat moss bog, serpentine in nature, and the hydra hissed at its newfound prey.

Sometime thereafter, somewhere overhead

Bronze was in her element, searching the sky with comrades at her back, and her spear in her hand. The weight and oddity of her armor had faded away, slipping into a familiarity that had soothed her frayed nerves. Her wings spread wide and she turned with the wind, following her search lane, focused on the ground as she searched, just like all the others. She hunted for any sign of movement, any hint of the hydra or any sign of its passage.

Thunderlane was the one that spotted Dusk, and sent up the first alarm. It wasn’t the blaring call to arms that everypony was waiting for, but instead the triple short, triple long, triple short, an SOS, a civilian in danger. He was even about to break ranks to dive bomb down to meet up with Dusk when Bronze saw it, saw why Dusk was running, and by instinct alone put out the warning signal that brought him up short, and pulled him out of the dive. The hydra was chasing Dusk, and every time it grew close, he paused, just long enough to throw out a burst of magic that was momentarily blinding, even from this high up. Somehow he delayed it with these bursts of magic, slowed it, if only by seconds. As he ran on, it only picked up speed, following after him at a terrifying pace, its titanic tail sweeping away anything that passed close by.

Dusk wasn’t alone. Fluttershy and Pinkie ran ahead of him. They were climbing an embankment rising out of the swamp, and ahead… a wooden bridge had once been strung across tall thin pillars, too small for the hydra to cross. But the bridge was ragged, ancient, half rotted away. Even if they made it that far… Bronze swallowed the lump in her throat and sent out new orders, sending all but the outermost rim of the patrol to spread out, to look for any sign of the Wonderbolts or the Royal Guard. She kept only Thunderlane with her and raced ahead. She already had a plan, but she could not ask any other pony to do what was needed. It was suicide, and Thunderlane was the only other set of wings she had.

Dusk ran. He ran because Fluttershy and Pinkie were still ahead of him, and he ran because the hydra was directly behind him, always gaining ground on him. No matter how hard he hit it, it only moved faster, and he could feel his magic wearing thin, the pool of his power growing ever shallower with every burst used to drive the beast back. His lungs were on fire, but he ran on, because if he stood for even a moment longer, it would overrun him, and if it did, nothing would stop it from reaching the mares.

Somewhere ahead, he could see their escape, a series of small bridges that lead over the worst of the swamp and into the towering mountain range to the north. They only had to make it a little further, and then the hydra wouldn’t be able to follow; the bridge looked old, and would probably not handle their weight combined. He judged the distance for a third time, and was sure there was no way that the hydra would be able to jump to the small plateaus that had been connected by each bridge.

Then Pinkie pulled up short and Dusk had to stop, turning back to face the giant hydra, planting himself this time. He didn’t have time to discover why Pinkie had stopped, he needed time, he needed space. So he tried something he had not tested yet. “First, Shining’s shield spell. As wide as the path so it can’t stampede over me, as tall as I can manage, so it can’t jump over it.”

Even as Dusk formed the thoughts, the spell kicked in, and the hydra ran squarely into a wall of magic. And it held. “Next, feed the bubble a modified version of Flintlock’s Thunder Strike.”

The magical power poured forth, and to Dusk’s satisfaction, Shining Armor's shield spell absorbed the magic and fed on the newfound source. The hydra had backed up a few feet in confusion from the invisible wall that it had encountered, but it came to the same solution its species had came up to for this problem as they did for every problem. It charged forward at full speed, face first into Dusk’s now electrified wall, while he twisted it around to envelope the beast in an inverted shield, an electrified cage encasing the titanic monster, and for just the moment, trapping it.

Dusk was getting desperate. He could feel his magic power running out, and he still had to do more to stop the hydra. “The final step… Recreate the anti-magic field from the eight point ball. Then throw that directly against the lightning cage, and push it as far away as I physically can.”

This was far harder. The magic repulsion field the ball had was made through the use of a very rare type of mithril called antinium that was in the core of the ball. But he simply twisted the field created by a second cast of Shining Armor’s shield, and brought it into alignment with what he remembered as the way the antinium felt. He threw the new shield’s wall directly into the ball the trapped hydra was locked inside. The result was explosive, and threw Dusk into the air, rolling head over heels into blackness.

Fluttershy’s face was what Dusk woke up to. She had hauled him up onto her shoulder and ran back to the bridge while he had been unconscious. Now as she settled him down, Dusk found his lungs aching, and he gripped her shoulders while he tried to straighten up and get back on his feet. He could feel the ache in his shoulders growing more piercing that it had been in a long time, but he pushed aside the pain. “Did… did it work?”

Seeing him awake again, Fluttershy clutched him close to her chest and wiped tears from her eyes while laughing at his question, giving only a tiny sob as she nodded at him. “It did, Dusk. Whatever you had planned must have worked, because that blast threw the hydra all the way back to the bottom of the incline! But, Dusk? Are you okay?!”

Dusk found himself surprised by Fluttershy’s strength again. Unable to pull away from her, he drew a breath against her neck; the floral scent of her perfume was soothing, distracting, and he took a moment to slip his hands onto her hips, seriously assessing himself before answering her, his voice still a little shaky. “I’m worn out. I could probably run a few more miles, but my magic’s running low, and that explosion blew up in my face. I don’t think I can handle much more of this hydra, Fluttershy.”

Shifting an arm under his shoulders so he leaned on her, Fluttershy walked him back to the cliff edge, where Pinkie and her newfound friend waited. The small creature clung to her hand now instead of around her shoulders like when she had been carrying him before. As they reached Pinkie’s side, Dusk finally saw why Pinkie and Fluttershy had stopped at the bridge. Where the bridge had been, strands of thick rope, and random planks of wood remained, but now it clear that nopony would be able to cross the thirty foot gap to the first plateau, nopony but a pegasus.

Turning to check back over his shoulder, Dusk saw exactly what he feared. Finally free of Dusk’s cage, the hydra was starting on getting back up on its feet again, a difficult challenge for the gangly beast, forcing it to use eight of its heads to support the process. The ninth stared at Dusk, unblinking, saliva dribbling from its muzzle as it frothed from the edge of the mouth with rage.

With no time left to plan, Dusk forced himself up out from under Fluttershy’s arm, and grabbed her shoulders, doing his best to try to control his emotions while he pointed her towards the shattered bridge. “Fluttershy, I need you to carry Pinkie over the gap, right now!”

Fluttershy looked from Pinkie, to the gap between the pillars, and was about to answer him when she suddenly realized there must be more going on. She looked back over his shoulder, gasping in shock. “Dusk! It’s getting back up, are- are you sure? I’ll never make it back-”

Dusk put a finger over her lips and shook his head, before turning to look back at Pinkie, unable to help but smile at her before pushing Fluttershy towards the other mare. “You two need to cross the water. I’ll… I’ll delay it again, and when you get Pinkie far enough across or find some more of the bridge that isn’t broken, set her down and then come back for me, alright?”

Fluttershy still looked wary, and she tried to question him again, but in the distance, the hydra shifted its weight around and lifted one of its heads to roar at the sky, its powerful cry causing the ground under their feet to shake and rumble, forcing Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to grab one another while the ground shook. Dusk looked back at the hydra, unsurprised that it had already regained its feet. Even as he watched, it began to charge at him again.

When the ground under their feet stopped shaking, Fluttershy looped her arms around Pinkie’s hips, and Pinkie pulled the little creature up so he could again cling to her neck. Then, struggling under the weight of her load, Fluttershy lifted them into the air, her wings beating feverishly as she dragged them up and across the gap to the first plateau. Turning away from the mares and blocking out how slowly they were flying across the gap, Dusk faced down the charging hydra, its nine heads now all aligned to stare him down while they frothed at the mouth, eyes bloodshot and massive clawed feet shredded into the ground with every step. It threw up giant clumps of dirt and grass as it charged, leaping massive distances with every stride, rapidly closing in on him, leaving Dusk with time for only one more spell before it arrived.

“This is it. Just like when I tried to break Shining Armor’s shield spell… just like Nightmare Moon’s armor… Just put everything into a single focused magical burst. Maybe… Maybe I can cut through its hide and show it what pain is. Anything to drive it away.”

Charging forward at a terrifying pace, the hydra’s nine heads looked identical to Dusk, offering him no clue which hid its brain, or if its brain was split between all of them. Worse, its stomach scales were so thickly layered, Dusk began to doubt that he had enough magic left to cut through the heavy defense to reach its heart before it stampeded over him. In desperation, he turned to its legs and finally found a hint of weakness.

Green, hissing blood trailed down its right leg. The flow was slow and minor, but presented enough of a target to give him hope. Locked on, Dusk gathered all of his remaining magic into a tight line, focusing it through his horn. The roar that accompanied his magic shocked even him as it ripped through the air and struck near the hydra’s right knee, causing the behemoth’s nine heads to cast skyward, all bellowing in pain and rage so loudly that they made Dusk stagger back, shaking the earth beneath his feet again.

His back pain returned with a vengeance, and he could see the edges of his vision blurring as he dropped to a knee. Struggling to stay conscious, he stood up, taking a few steps in desperation, and realized the ground under his feet was beginning to break up, causing part of the cliff’s edge behind him to collapse into the rolling swamp below him… and before his eyes, the first plateau collapsed away into the swamp, carrying away the shattered remains of the bridge with it, crashing into the second pillar, the chain reaction ripping away the ground that Fluttershy had been about to land on.

Now truly stranded, Dusk turned back to the hydra, suddenly feeling so winded that he bent over and rested his hand on his knees, trying to calm his throbbing heart. He watched as the hydra began to right itself again, ignoring the horrific cut Dusk had managed across its knee. Shaking his head in disbelief, he found that he wasn't surprised.

Far behind him, Dusk could hear Pinkie's voice crying out something, but the pounding in his head was distracting, and he struggled to turn a little to look at her. Somehow, past the pain of his throbbing head and back, he noticed that her tail was vibrating again. Somehow Fluttershy had carried them to the far side of the swamp and now lay collapsed at Pinkie's feet, panting for breath, while hugging Pinkie’s newfound green friend close. Straining hard to make out what Pinkie cried out, Dusk was sure he had misheard her. “Dusk!!! You gotta jump! My Pinkie Sense says you'll make it if you jump! I promise!!!”

Unable to even laugh at the ridiculous suggestion Pinkie was making, Dusk looked down over the cliff edge into the boiling swamp below; thick gooey bubbles formed and popped, releasing repugnant gas that befouled the air and turned his already tight stomach. Even with the recent cascade of rocks that had shaken off the cliff edge offered no safe footholds below; the swamp had quickly absorbed it all. But turning to look back at the hydra, Dusk’s heart fell. Back on its feet, and dragging its damaged right leg, it began to charge at him again, as single-minded and relentless as ever. Looking for his magic, Dusk found nothing left. He could potentially tap into his life-force to teleport, but the way his body was screaming at him, he didn’t know if he’d be able to cast the spell correctly. Left with no other choice, he reluctantly accepted Pinkie’s plan. He turned back to the cliff edge again, staring down at the hundred-foot drop. “Well… I have no better ideas left…”

Feeling resigned, Dusk took a few steps back from the edge so he could pick up some speed, and stumbled into a run directly at the drop.

Thunderlane could not believe what he had just agreed to. The metal greaves were just large enough to wear over his light leather shoes, and yet, Bronze was right, already he could feel the built-in cushioning adjusting to his feet, and the carved-in runes and their powerful magic practically vibrating with power.

Bronze was still talking, and he tried to pay attention to her. “Dusk just badly wounded its right leg, so aim for there. The hydra is an alpha predator, they aren't used to being hunted, so it'll never look behind or up. It won’t see you coming. Just try to hit the ground by its foot as fast and as hard as you can and the impact boots will do the rest.”

Unable to help himself, Thunderlane had to ask. “And you'll just grab Dusk and just fly him to safety? Just like that?”

Bronze gripped his arm and squeezed it, the metal gauntlets pinching him uncomfortably. “By the Light, Thunderlane, just trust me. This will work, I swear in Celestia’s name.”

Sighing, he nodded his head, having already agreed. As Bronze peeled away, Thunderlane climbed higher, to pick up more momentum, and speed for his dive. “I'm sorry, Flitter, Cloudchaser… guess I won't be making it home today after all…”

Leaping from the cliff’s edge with as much speed as he managed to throw together, Dusk flailed in the open air. His legs kicked at empty space, as if he had somehow hoped to run across the last of the distance to the collapsed plateau.

The impossible moment where he hung in the air, when gravity had yet to drag him downwards, seemed to last forever. Behind him, the hydra had finally reached the cliff’s edge, its ravenous heads and most of its heavy torso stretching out across the gap behind him, snapping at his back in one final attempt to capture its hard-won meal.

The moment ended, and Dusk fell towards the roiling swamp below, unaware he was screaming out loud the whole time he plummeted, flipping head-over-heels in an uncontrollable free fall.

The bubble that started to form directly in his path was bigger than any other Dusk had seen, swelling up from the boiling swamp water in seconds, bloating to a massive size. Face first, Dusk crashed into the hot goo, and to his utter shock, instead of popping and leaving him choking on the bile-inducing contents of the swamp, Dusk bounced off the bubble, and was thrown back up, directly towards the hydra's waiting maw.

Bronze ignored the aching pain that spread through her wings, and beat them harder in her descent towards the ground. The armor helped her, adding vital weight that made her dive far sharper than she had originally intended. Pushing aside her worries about what would happen when she tried to pull out of her suicidal rescue attempt, Bronze pushed on… and then Dusk jumped off the cliff face.

She knew she was going too fast to simply plunge towards the swamp, but it also felt like she was moving in slow motion now, as she watched the hydra scramble to a stop at the drop-off, and snap at the air behind Dusk's head. She watched him fall, pinwheeling through the air, and knew she was already too late. Only bothering to lessen her flight at last so she wouldn't crash face first into the hydra's side, Bronze watched with horror as Dusk hit the swamp, and then somehow, against all reason, he bounced!

With no time to even think about her actions, Bronze forced her exhausted wings to begin beating for speed again, twisting her whole body into a painfully tight curve. She swooped down under the hydra’s nine snapping jaws and snatched Dusk’s hands as he flailed in midair. Unable to adjust to his weight and her doomed trajectory, Bronze simply aimed for the nearest piece of dry land, staggering under his weight combined with her armor. It felt like she gained only inches of elevation with each beat of her overburdened wings.

Then Thunderlane landed and the air was filled with flying dirt and the shocked cries of the hydra as it plunged into the boiling swamp.

Cloudchaser was still amazed at how quickly Bronze’s letter and a red tunic got her past a dozen different ponies who all seemed to be the type to normally turn people like her away with a harsh word. Before she knew what was happening, she was in the presence of Fleetfoot herself, and some quiet batpony mare who stood quietly to the side, watching everything Cloudchaser did while Fleetfoot read the letter. Then she was escorted away to the Wonderbolts’ own barracks and a nurse demanded she drink some thick and vile concoction, while her unnamed assistants rubbed a soothing balm into Cloudchaser's wings and back.

At the time it had confused her, but as she flew with the Wonderbolts’ vanguard, she knew why they'd taken so much trouble. Keeping up with the Wonderbolts was killing her wings, and even as they approached the area Thunderlane had told her they were going to start their patrol, her stomach gurgled; the drink, whatever it was, had kept her from noticing just how exhausted she felt, and subdued her hunger until they'd finally started to slow down.

To her relief, it took the Wonderbolts only seconds to pick out the waiting members of the weather team, and before Cloudchaser could see who they were pointing at, whistles were crying out over the great distance, and directions were rapidly passed back to the Wonderbolts’ vanguard.

In a brilliant display, they forged on while Cloudchaser was still trying to translate what half the whistle blasts had meant. She recognized the patterns for directions, but they had also said something about civilians in danger, and reported that a rescue attempt was underway. Too tired and confused to fully parse the messages, Cloudchaser did her best just to keep up with the elite flyers, chasing after them.

She hardly even noticed as two of the Wonderbolts turned back to the slower, trailing main group. It made sense; they were the ones in charge here now. They'd need to know what was going on. Something in the whistle blasts that now filled the air worried her, but she was so far behind the conversation and dazed by how quickly it was moving, not to mention her own exhaustion, she simply gave up on trying to keep up anymore...

Until she finally understood what they were saying and looked down, forcing her eyes to focus… to see Thunderlane.

She watched him impact with ground by the hydra's feet. Watched as the entire cliff face broke away and plunged the monstrous thing, and Thunderlane, into the bog below. She didn't even realize she was screaming and trying to get to him until one of the Wonderbolts grabbed her, holding her back.

Shining Armor leaned forward in his chariot and watched as his soldiers got into position. At this point, it almost felt wasteful to send his elite unicorns to deal with the poor beast after all it had been through. The hour from when Fleetfoot’s unit had arrived to his own had only further embarrassed the exhausted behemoth, with two of its heads lying prone on the ground beside the swamp, both desperately gasping for air while the rest did their sluggish best to follow the harrying tactics of the Wonderbolts, occasionally taking half-hearted nips at the air.

It was his medic who finally drew Shining Armor’s attention away from the pathetic spectacle. Her report was far from unexpected, but he knew better than to keep her waiting. “Go ahead, Silver Ointment. Just how badly is my brother wounded this time?”

The mare, one of the rare few unicorns with a true healing talent, scowled at him and shook her head. “Your brother? A concussion at worst, and I doubt even that. The fact he didn't somehow kill the hydra outright is more a shock if you ask me. The Wonderbolts report he nearly severed its damn leg!”

Dusk supposedly doing the impossible was far from what Shining was concerned about, but she seemed to be quite focused on the topic, so he indulged her. “Its leg is nearly fifteen feet thick, I highly doubt he did that much damage. What about the others?”

Distantly, Shining was aware his troops had began to drive the exhausted hydra from the swamp, taking care to direct it back towards its home in the Everfree. But Silver hadn't finished. “Regardless, he’s in and out of consciousness. One of the mares with him has a cart with her and offered to take him home for supervised bedrest, and promised to inform Ponyville’s local medics to check in on him just in case. Your former squire strained her wings pretty badly. I've patched the muscle up and sent her over to the Wonderbolts’ medic for more long-term advice; I'm better at more drastic injuries. The resident Weather Captain continues to complain about his legs feeling broken, and a ringing in his ears, but is otherwise fine. Those impact greaves are probably ruined, however, and somepony spent good money on them.”

Shining openly laughed at that, waving it off. “Bronze earned them years ago, I'm just glad they held up. We’ll have to replace them for her. Dear Celestia, he was going so fast when he hit the ground, you'd think his cutie mark was for warfare, not for challenging weather magic!”

The medic had no humor, and simply continued her report. “The Wonderbolts reported several small abrasions from containing the hysterical messenger mare, but she recovered on her own when the Weather Captain flew out of the swamp and away from the hydra. As for the two other civilian mares, the pegasus, Fluttershy, proved to be very exhausted, and once she was reassured of your brother’s well-being, attempted to leave, saying something about a promise to be present at the Young Flyers Competition in Cloudsdale. I judged her unable to make such a flight unassisted and told her to wait for the Wonderbolts to finish mopping things up around here before going along with them for the flight home. The earth mare, Pinkie Pie and her pet, ummm... Gummy, it says here, are both fine, though she is anxious to get Dusk home.”

Satisfied she was finally finished, Shining Armor gave her a single nod, thinking for only a moment before smiling at last. Turning to look back over at the swamp, the trail the fleeing hydra had left as his unit drove it away was obvious. So was the fact he wouldn’t be needed here any longer. The two Royal Guards that had flown his chariot here were relaxing in their harnesses, sharing a small canteen of what he assumed was water. A sudden, devious idea sprang up, and Shining gave Silver another nod. “If you judge them to be in acceptable health, release them. But send Fluttershy to me. She’s an Element of Harmony, and it would be my honor to give her a ride to Cloudsdale. After all, I don't take my chariot out for a good flight often enough, and she made a promise to a friend. We can’t have her breaking that promise.”

Seeing the way the pegasi that drew his chariot reacted made even the humorless Silver smile, if only momentarily. She wrote something with a quill on her papers and gave him a small nod. “I’ll have her come see you momentarily, sir. It’s good weather tonight for a visit to Cloudsdale. I’m sure she will appreciate the offer.”

9 pm, Dash’s place

Drowsing under what felt like a warm but heavy blanket, Dusk was jolted awake when he felt something gently press against his horn. Opening his eyes blearily, he saw that Pinkie was lounging half atop him in the bed, her eyes shut as her half-smiling lips trailed down one side of his horn, carefully avoiding the scar that marred the spiral. He shuddered from a sudden spike in sensation as she kissed the tender base. Pinkie stopped abruptly as she noticed his wakefulness, and kissed his forehead lightly.

"Hey there, sleepyhead. How you feelin'?" she asked softly, worry in her eyes and her arms around his shoulders.

Dusk struggled briefly to sit up, but Pinkie's soft weight and stubborn earth pony strength were more than his weakened body could handle. He felt one of her hands play in his hair, lightly scratching the back of his head, and he pressed his head back into the delicious tingling sensation, forcing a grin to his face. "Like I fought a hydra and came in second."

Pinkie giggled at that and kissed his horn again, the drawn out press of her lips eliciting another shudder and a soft groan from Dusk. Irrationally, Dusk's mind briefly fixated on just how energetic and bouncy those giggles were, until Pinkie shifted her weight, and her well-padded body, further across Dusk's. Suddenly, he was almost painfully aware of how close she was pressing her body against his, all the more as she paid further attention to his horn. "Silly-billy, you shouldn't pick fights when you don't think you can win," Pinkie said, a wicked giggle accompanying her suggestion as her breath blew hot on the wetness she'd marked along his horn.

Still smiling at her, Dusk lifted a hand - a monumental effort, it felt like - and let it drop against her plush hip, squeezing reassuringly. "I don't plan on doing that again, if I can help it. And Pinkie? A unicorn's horn is really sensitive, so-" He cut off when he heard her giggle again, the mischievous glint in her eyes redoubling.

"Oh, I know, Duskie," Pinkie said, her voice a husky promise. "I know. And since Bronze is busy with the Wonderbolts, working on reports about the hydra, and Fluttershy took off to Cloudsdale with your brother after getting Gummy all checked up, I-"

"Wait, Gummy? Who is that?" Dusk couldn’t help but stare at her in confusion. He was sure he hadn't been hit in the head, but the name rang no bells.

Pinkie frowned adorably, lightly tapping his nose with a finger. "Dusk!! You really don't remember? He's the adorable little baby crocodiligator that we picked up in the swamp. He was too widdle, and his legs were too tiny to run from the hydra, so I grabbed him and put him over my shoulders for safe-keeping. It took forever for Shy to finally bribe him out of my tail to go get checked up. I think he likes me."

Dusk's brow furrowed, still somewhat confused. "And you named him Gummy?"

Pinkie shook her head and drew the finger down from Dusk's nose, to his lips, to stroke along his neck. As she let loose another giggle, her other hand shifted from Dusk's hair to play with the sunstone earring he always wore. "Of course not! He told me that's what his name was. But anyways! I told Rarity and the girls I'd take care of you in the meantime, Dusk. So they’re dealing with the Guards and the Wonderbolts."

Her eyes met his, and a light blush tinged her cheeks pinker, even as her free hand moved back up to drag a nail gently up along his horn, following the spiral, still carefully avoiding his scar. In a much lower, more sultry tone, she whispered into his ear. “I know you said you wanted to get my Element of Harmony back in the chest, but I'm sure you'll indulge me for a few more hours, right Duskie-poo?”

If Dusk had been forming any thoughts about escape, she derailed them by reaching down and lifting his hands up to cup her breasts, the hidden nipple piercings and her excited moans making it hard for him to even try thinking about anything else. Reluctantly, Dusk tried to slow Pinkie down a little. “Pinkie… I don't want to disappoint you, but I don't know how much I'll be able to participate.”

Pinkie’s giggling laughter was joyful and lighthearted, soothing to his weary bones. Cupping his head with both hands, Pinkie leaned in close again, shifting her hips and grinding their groins together in heavy, slow strokes. “Silly. This is a One Pony Pinkie Party, and you're the guest of honor!" Pinkie's eyes were bright as she braced her thighs around Dusk's and picked up the pace.

"You made me smile," she said softly, and kissed Dusk on the lips before leaning up to flutter her tongue against his hornbase. "You took care of me," Pinkie whispered, letting her breath tease the trail of kisses once more, before pulling back and winking at him. "Now lay back and relax, Pinkie’s going to make you feel REAL good!”

Giving him no time to understand what she meant, Pinkie lifted her lips to his horn again, her hands pressing against his shoulders for support. Dusk inhaled sharply, and found Pinkie's sweet scent heavy with her own arousal. Her cheeks caved in a little as she sucked on the tip of his horn, spiraling her tongue around it in careful circles, slowly suckling in even more of his appendage. He moaned out softly, gasping in sharp breaths every time she progressed further down the spiral cone of his horn

"P… Pinkie," Dusk said softly. "I should be a gentlecolt…" Rarity had insisted, and been firm that he be good to all the herd. Where Pinkie was in that didn't matter; Dusk had never felt anything like this before, and was frustrated by how hard it was to do anything, let alone give back. He weakly squeezed one of Pinkie’s breasts as his other hand moved down and gripped her plush hip for support, struggling to keep up with the way that she aggressively kept advancing. As drained as his magic was, the further she moved on, the more he felt the embers of the fire of his magic bloom under her ministrations.

"Mm," Pinkie said, licking and curling her tongue with fascination through the phantom glow of Dusk's horn, "Tastes like… chai!" Rolling her plush ass back and seating herself against Dusk's abdomen, she shook her head and placed a finger on his lips. "Nuh-uh," she said. "No work for you. Just li'l touches. You scared us-- me, you scared me, Dusk," she said, trembling. Pinkie brought her finger up to her lips, licked it once, and began to lightly tease it in a circle on his horntip.

As Dusk shuddered, his body's weakness betraying his mind's resolve, he softly tried to object one last time. "I want to…"

Pinkie grinned saucily, and brought her fingers back for a moment, but just to re-lick the finger and to lick her thumb as well. "Tingly," she noted as she began to press both moist fingers against the flickering nub capping Dusk's horn. "Promise me, Dusky. Promise me you'll let me take care of you, or I'll stop; I don't want to risk you right now!" Pinkie's eyes watered, her lower lip trembling adorably-- and her fingers worked the tightest grooves of the spiralling surface of his horn, as though she could feel his growing pleasure too.

Dusk clutched as gently at Pinkie's breast and hip as best he could, his hardness complete between his thighs and beneath her bobbing butt. He couldn't resist that, the care and love in her eyes melded with the minxy pleasuring of his horn. Dusk closed his eyes, sinking back slightly. As his magic bubbled and flickered under Pinkie's fingertips, he whispered, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. I promise, Pinkie; I'll be good." He followed it up with what he felt was a dignified statement of his intent to make good on reciprocation at a later date, his shaking fingers gently stroking and tugging on her nipple piercings through the thin covering.

"That's a good stallion," Pinkie said with a beaming smile, tears grinned away. She continued to fingerflick his horn for a few moments, sticking out her tongue to the left of her mouth in concentration and promise. Then she inched further up along him and demonstrated an impossible-seeming flexibility-- she opened up her lips wide, bent across his head, and began to take as much of Dusk's horn into her mouth as she could.

Dusk could hardly follow. His fingers did their best to show their appreciation as eloquently as Rarity had taught him, though the throb of his shaft behind Pinkie's thighs and the swirl of flickering magic in the warm wetness of her mouth perhaps spoke louder. Dusk managed to incoherently call Pinkie's name, but she caressed the back of his head with her hand soothingly. Her mouth and tongue were anything but soothing, but every bit of it pleasuring. She somehow knew just how to twist her tongue to play at the sensitized magic-etched surface whilst avoiding his scar, her lips closing all the way to let her suck noisily on his horn one moment, and opening to pass over the ring's mark without even a hint of pain, just a gentle, loving moistness.

Pinkie's free hand wandered over Dusk's face and neck, her fingernails leaving tingling little trails along his skin. Dusk shuddered, and Pinkie stroked the trembles on his tense neck; his magic flared, and Pinkie somehow managed to pull on it with the suction of her lips, as though he was feeding her ambrosia, and she summoning up the arcana of his soul. Had she done this before? Dusk didn't know; he could barely think beyond the softness of her curves, the hardness of his cock, and the fiery ecstasy between her mouth and his horn.

Then all in one moment, Dusk felt something he had become much more familiar with since meeting Rarity and Applejack. All at once he climaxed, a very different way of reaching an orgasm, yet it had one, truly amazing perk. The blooming magic that had formed around his horn released in a wet, sticky burst that soaked Pinkie’s face, coating her hair in clinging sparkles and dripping from her cheeks like the tears of giggling stars. Hardly able to focus, Dusk could just barely see Pinkie’s laughing face and tender smile, and let his head roll back into the pillow, momentarily drifting off in the bliss of his climax.

Gasping for breath as he lay under Pinkie, Dusk just held fast to her for a few moments. Finally, he managed to reach one hand up and stroked his fingers fondly through her hair, fully aware he was grinning like a goofy foal, and was equally unable to hide a satisfied sigh that escaped the moment he tried to speak. Attempting again, he drifted his fingers across the back of Pinkie's head. “That, Pinkie, was stupendous. Truly terrific.”

Giggling against the soft spot in his throat that she'd nestled into, Pinkie nipped his skin before whispering her answer back. “That was just a small taste ‘cause you’re worn out, Dusk. Next time, I'll get serious.”

They lay together in silence for a time, Dusk listening to Pinkie’s gentle breathing until he was sure she had fallen asleep. He was just beginning to consider drifting off himself when he heard Pinkie’s voice, suddenly tiny and scared, calling out to him. “Hey… Dusk?”

Dusk kissed her cheek gently before whispering back to her like a foal sharing a secret. “Yes, Pinkie? What is it?”

Still talking in that tiny voice, Pinkie refused to lift her face from his chest. “Dusk… sometimes I have... days… days when I don't feel like me… do you think… do you think you'd be able to come join me on those days and just hold me like this?”

The sad tone Pinkie had taken on worried Dusk, but he knew there was almost nothing he could do for her right now but offer his company, and be there for her. Smiling gently, he cupped her chin and made her look at him before answering. “Anytime you need me Pinkie. I'll always make time for you.”

Later that night in Cloudsdale

Left alone at Blitz's as her father and Rumble went to check out their uniforms for the Young Flyers Competition, Dash soon grew tired of waiting when Fluttershy still hadn't shown up as Celestia's sun began to set. "Damn it, Fluttershy!!! You promised you'd come to support me! Now it’s practically midnight and you’re not here! Don't tell me you got carried away taking care of some dumb squirrel that sprained its paw or something!"

Even as she complained to herself, though, Dash knew Fluttershy’s tardiness was only a part of her anxiety. There was something in the city, a tension, a growing worry shared by everypony she saw, that Dash recognized. Something had happened. A few hours ago a wing of the Wonderbolts had been called away for an unscheduled mission. Surprise had been called back to the barracks, and her wing was rotated back to being on-call.

Watching the Wonderbolts’ barracks as closely as she could in the dimming light of the setting sun, Dash could just make out the Wonderbolts on patrol. They were magnificent to watch; tall, proud, sleek warriors that walked at attention, with spears or blades, even a few wearing claws at their side. Ready for use, yet waiting, restrained, controlled. So disciplined, and calm. “Can I really ever be that confident? Is all of that just the result of years of training?”

The roar of powerful wings in flight passed so close overhead that Dash nearly jumped from the shock of it. She turned to scowl and shake a fist at the low flying nuisance, but the moment she looked, she realized it was a gilded chariot pulled by two massive royal guards in full armor. Backing down from her plan to have a word or two with the chariot riders, Dash was thrown even further off balance when an excited, familiar voice called out to her. “Rainbow Dash? This is Rainbow Blitz’s residence, then?”

Even with the setting sun behind his back, that voice was unmistakable. Feeling her knees shake a little, she admired the casual way that Shining Armor watched her for a moment before confidently jumping over the side of the chariot to land on the wooden patio beside her. Up close, the stallion towered over her in a way that only Big Mac and Princess Celestia had ever done before. She found herself at a loss for words watching Dusk’s brother acting so calm in a place that would have had most unicorns quaking in their boots. “Sh-Shining Armor? Why are you here?! Don’t you know how dangerous Cloudsdale is for unicorns?! You can’t just walk on clouds, you know; most ponies don’t even build their houses with wood or anything!”

If anything, Shining Armor’s calm response just reminded her of Dusk. An easy, calm shrug as if what he had just done was natural to him. “Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash. I’ve visited Cloudsdale several times before. I’ve been given all the speeches twice, about where it’s safe to walk and what not to lean against. But still, thank you for your concern.”

Turning back towards the chariot without answering the rest of her questions, Shining directed the guards to lower until they were level with the balcony. Waving to Dash meekly, Fluttershy clutched her bag close, blushing darkly. “I’m so sorry I’m late, Dashie! But after the hydra attacked, Dusk and Bronze had to get checked out, and then I had to go back home and pick up my bags, and by then Miss Mophette had showed up and she was having octuplets, and well, you know how nervous rabbits can be!”

Overwhelmed, Dash threw up her hands defensively, trying to make sense of Fluttershy’s rambling answer. While Shining Armor took Fluttershy’s hand and helped her step down from the chariot, Dash began bombarding the reserved mare for answers. “Just wait a second, Fluttershy! A hydra?! In Ponyville? Is everypony okay? Did you guys have to evacuate town? Did Thunderlane get the weather team out alright?”

Giggling a little, Fluttershy put a hand on Shining Armor’s wrist and squeezed it gently, more affection than Dash had seen her give any stallion except for Dusk. “Thank you for your assistance, Shining Armor. I really don’t think I would have been able to make it here tonight at all without your assistance!”

Shining Armor shook his head and released Fluttershy’s hand, reaching back into the chariot to grab Fluttershy’s other bag, placing it on the balcony beside Dash before stepping in to answer at least a few of her questions. “It’s my pleasure to help out one of the Elements of Harmony, Fluttershy, and doubly so since you’re my brother's friend!” He laughed for a moment, his eyes sparkling with gentle humor at Fluttershy before he turned to address Dash. “Dusk is fine. He did more than his share in driving the hydra off. I’ve never seen a pony chew through a hydra's armored scales that quickly. And don’t worry, Ponyville was never in danger, Dash. The hydra was nowhere near town, and from the reports I’ve been given by the Wonderbolts on patrol, your second did admirably, pulling off his first Impact Landing with such natural talent, even Fleetfoot was impressed.”

Fluttershy giggled, and clutched her hands together over her heart, as giddy as a school filly. “You should have seen Dusk, Dashie! He was so worried about me and Pinkie and Gummy! He stayed behind alone and held the hydra off all by himself just to give me enough time to fly the rest of us over the gorge to safety!”

Again Dash threw her hands up in defense, too shocked and overwhelmed to understand everything they were saying, and they kept adding more to the story so rapidly she felt like she was drowning. “Wait! Dusk and Thunderlane took on a hydra? Just how big was it? Surely it wasn’t one of the seven-headed forty-footers, right? That’s insane! Thunderlane knows how to do an Impact Landing?! Who taught him that!? I haven’t had the time to even start him on combat training like that! Just what in Tartarus did I miss while I was doing bloody paperwork today!”

Author's Notes:

This... was a real task, but I really really like how well it came out. Can't wait to see what you all think!

ALL HAIL GUMMY!!!

See you all next in a short interlude, Followed by Sonic Rainboom!