Author's Notes:

Done reading this and Fire Weaver's fight? Decide who wins right here!

With the door behind him closed, Zephyr examined the room he’d stepped into. It was nothing but an empty little box, barely ten steps wide and containing only pristine white walls. The air was stale and motionless, and his grey wings twitched a little as claustrophobia began to set in, but he swallowed it down and took a few strides forward. As he did so, his vision swam and he lost his orientation.

He couldn’t tell where the walls were. He’d been sure they were close when he’d entered, but now he thought they could be farther away. The pegasus closed his eyes, took a breath, and looked back at the door he’d entered from. It hung against an endlessly white background, until it suddenly disappeared from sight with a loud Pop!

“Ponyfeathers,” he muttered darkly. Trying to remain calm, he glanced about in every direction in search of anything that stood out in the white room. Between one heartbeat and the next, there was a plain wooden door in front of him.

Sighing in relief, Zephyr ran to the door before it could disappear on him like the other. He raised a hoof to the handle, but hesitated before pulling it. Am I really going to do this? he wondered. If I win, I get my answers. If I lose… He took one last look around. The door behind him was still missing, and he didn’t see anything else in the room. “It’s not like I have a choice,” he said aloud. Taking a deep breath, Zephyr opened the door.

A wave of warm, humid wind stirred his wild black hair from the other side. Grateful for a reprieve from the stagnant air of the room, Zephyr stepped quickly into the space beyond.

Stone met his hooves on the other side of the door as he walked out onto the edge of a small cliff. Sprawled out before him was a crater roughly two miles wide and surrounded on all sides by steep, sloping mountains. Directly below Zephyr within the crater was a dense wooded area that continued outward for nearly two hundred yards before thinning out and becoming a sandy beach.

Most of the crater was filled with an enormous lake that was noticeably giving off steam. Maybe twenty yards of discolored rock lay between the water and the trees, covered here and there by large holes that likely led underground. The woods ringed the lake on all sides, though the opposite end of the lake did not appear to have as many. For that matter, most of the trees had discolored leaves and looked to be dying.

Above, the sky was a bloodshot red heavily blotted out by tattered clouds formed from the steaming lake. It was not the most welcoming sight, but Zephyr was relieved all the same to be underneath it. That relief vanished, however, when he heard the door slam shut behind him.

Something changed in the air, and the pegasus tensed immediately. A small rumble came from the sky, followed by a voice that Zephyr had only recently become familiar with.

“Welcome, friends, to round one,” Discord announced grandly. He made no appearance, but his words seemed to echo across the sky as though he were talking through a loudspeaker. “By now you’re probably wondering where your opponents are. Well, look around! Somewhere within the Arena your obstacle to victory is thinking the same thing. So keep on your guard! You never know where they might be or what they might be capable of.” The voice went silent and the air seemed to normalize, but only for a moment. “Oh, and by the way,” Discord added, as if he’d forgotten something. “Once one of you has proven to be a clear victor, the exit will appear at the center of the battlefield. Good luck finding it! Ta!” With that, the sky once again went silent.

Remembering what Discord had said earlier, he had a sick feeling about what “clear victor” meant. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, he told himself. He began flapping his wings at a steady tempo and took flight.

On the other end of the battlefield, Fire Weaver wasted no time descending into the crater after Discord’s announcement. Using a small flicker of his fiery orange magic, he activated the box-like grappling hook on his right foreleg and snared one of the sickly trees below to carefully slide down the steep rock on his ash-grey hooves. Weaver landed easily on his hooves, the black chainmail of his vest chinking slightly.

The unicorn blew a few stray locks of his low-hanging burning red-orange mane out of his deep brown eyes, already analyzing the battlefield. Not bad, he decided. The trees are mostly dead, meaning they’ll go up quickly. The lake I saw was boiling, and the air is warm from the steam. Plenty of heat to use.

His left eyebrow furrowed, but what remained of his right (the half that survived a long ago mishap with a fire spell) only slanted a little. A crater lake with dying trees and boiling water though, that can only mean one thing. This crater is one big volcano, waiting to blow.

Being inside an active caldera did not thrill Fire Weaver, but neither did being caught in the open near the outside of the main battlefield. Keeping that in mind, Weaver moved quickly and carefully to the left where the dying trees were denser. As a Cursor to the Crown, his first instinct was to disappear into his surroundings to seek and observe his target from stealth.

Fire Weaver made sure to keep the tree line nearest the lake in sight at all times as he picked his way through the overgrowth. Over half of the trees had sickly yellow leaves clinging to their branches with many more lacking any leaves at all.

Being a Cursor, Celestia’s eyes and ears, Weaver by necessity had learned to observe everything in his surroundings. Even so, it was only by chance that he caught sight of his opponent. Catching movement from above, he scanned the skies until he noticed a fast-moving blot of grey and black moving separately from the gloomy clouds above.

Closer inspection revealed that the blot was actually a pegasus flying a few hundred feet in the air. The pony’s flight made it clear they were searching the ground for something. Three guesses what that is, Fire Weaver thought, already lining up his aim.

From above, Zephyr scanned the woods for signs of life. He’d already circled half the crater searching the woods and found nothing. If he didn’t see his opponent by the time he completed the circuit, he’d have to improvise. He sharply banked his flight to continue his path around the crater.

A burning ray whizzed by from somewhere behind him and he spun, startled. His eyes scoured the woods until they came to a rest on a unicorn. “There you are,” he said, moving closer.

In a moment of panic, Weaver lit his horn again and fired another ray without aiming. The shot was a rushed, weak thing that went wide of its target, but Zephyr dodged violently in the other direction in surprise. The motion unbalanced him for a second and he lost sight of his foe.

Fire Weaver took off further into the woods, hoping to put some distance between them before he was spotted again.

Despite the trees, it only took Zephyr a few seconds to spot him. The foliage was thin and the unicorn’s fiery red hair was one of the few things visibly moving through the woods. Rather than take a fast, aggressive dive at his target, Zephyr flew directly above him and lowered his altitude to about ten feet.

Hearing wingbeats overhead, Weaver looked straight up to see a pair of crystal blue eyes staring coolly back at him. “I don’t suppose we can talk a little before we start fighting?” their owner asked in an amicable (if slightly annoyed) tone. Zephyr knew it was foolish, but his adoptive father Doc had raised him to be polite.

Fire Weaver pulled to a stop and eyed his opponent warily. Uncomfortable with how close his rival had gotten, he nodded slowly. Zephyr glided downward to land a few feet in front of him.

The pegasus was lean and muscular like a sprinter or other athlete. Weaver himself was fairly trim and wiry, but being shorter and slimmer, he didn’t like his odds in a brawl.

Zephyr smiled and stuck out his hoof. “I’m Zephyr. Nice to meet you.”

Weaver searched Zephyr’s face for an ulterior motive. It was one of those open, honest faces you couldn’t afford to have as a Cursor. “Fire Weaver,” he replied, refusing to shake.

Zephyr chuckled. “Fire Weaver, huh? Well I bet I can guess how you’ll be fighting,” he said cheerfully as he eyed the blazing flame adorning his opponent’s flank.

Weaver began mentally kicking himself for his stupidity. Idiot! he inwardly cursed. He opened his mouth to attempt a counter, but Zephyr cut him off.

“My thing is storms,” he continued. “Making them, breaking them, or even just having them around.”

The unicorn’s jaw dropped. “Why would you tell me that?!” he demanded, confused. “You just gave up an edge in the fight!”

“I was hoping to avoid a fight,” Zephyr admitted. “Just because Discord wants a battle to the death doesn’t mean we have to give him one. At the very least, we could try to keep this a clean, bloodless fight.”

Weaver’s hoof automatically went to his chest, where his Cursor coin hung as a medallion beneath his vest. The promise he’d made on it rang in his ears, and he knew he couldn’t agree. I have to win, no matter what, he told himself.

“Can’t do that, Zephyr,” he said bluntly. “I can’t afford to lose, and you heard what Discord said. I may not like violence, but I will kill you if that’s what it takes.”

Zephyr’s smile faltered before vanishing altogether. “Fair enough,” was his only response. He crouched into a battle posture, wings extended. “Ready when you are,” he said, stone-faced.

Though Fire Weaver’s answer had disappointed him, Zephyr was not terribly surprised. What did you expect? he asked himself. In truth, he wasn’t sure what his own answer would have been. But was he willing to kill for what he wanted?

The unicorn took his own readied stance, and Zephyr could no longer spare thought for the issue. Instead, he took a long, deep breath to steady himself and waited patiently for his adversary’s move. Weaver’s horn lit up with a fiery glow, and Zephyr sprang into motion.

Zephyr pounced diagonally to the right of his opponent. Fire Weaver had been expecting a direct charge because a ray of fire, thicker and hotter than the first, came streaming out directly ahead of him and missed Zephyr by matter of inches. The pegasus’s move carried him even with his foe on the left. He spun in the air and angled himself so he faced the unicorn as his hooves landed flatly on the side of a nearby tree.

Fire Weaver was already turning when Zephyr hit the tree. His ray followed the tilt of his head, leaving a thin band of burnt vegetation in its wake as it pursued its mark. Zephyr sprang again much faster, aiming himself at the unicorn’s undefended left side. He made it inside Weaver’s range and used his left wing to scythe his foe’s back legs out from underneath him mid-turn. The resulting fall caused the ray to sputter and vanish, but not before its arc seared off the last few inches of Zephyr’s tail.

Zephyr planted his hooves on another tree on the other side of his fallen opponent, but this time he shot upwards and began flapping his wings in earnest. Weaver’s gaze followed him carefully as the unicorn rose from the ground, already preparing another spell. Rather than wait to find out what it was, Zephyr flew a wide arc before descending in order to strike his opponent from a new direction. Weaver caught a glimpse of his approach and took shelter behind a thick tree, forcing Zephyr to fly right past. Before he could come around for another attack, Weaver’s horn pulsed and a small ball of flame went whizzing over his right shoulder from behind.

Between one heartbeat and the next, it grew from the size of a pea to that of a bowling ball and appeared to still be growing. Zephyr’s pupils shrank in alarm and he veered sharply left just as the orb exploded in the air. A blast of fire engulfed everything within twenty feet, setting large sections of the woods ablaze. Zephyr was fast enough to escape the worst of the attack, but the force of the explosion knocked him to the ground.

The pegasus rose on unsteady legs and looked back at the site of the explosion. Dry and rotten as many of the trees were, there was still a rather thick smoke coming from them. However, even as Zephyr watched the fire began spreading outward and the trees in the very center of the blast had already charred and burnt themselves out.

This whole crater is a matchbox! he realized with horror. He saw Fire Weaver preparing to launch another spell at him. Scrambling to evade it, Zephyr pumped his wings furiously and flew low to the ground off to one side.

Weaver cast his Fire Blast spell at Zephyr a second time, but succeeded only in igniting another chunk of the forest. A third and fourth explosion kept him skirting around instead of approaching. However, he didn’t take another hit like the first and didn’t mind letting Weaver know it. “It is me you’re aiming at, right?” Zephyr taunted.

“Stop flying away and find out!” Weaver retorted, launching another burning missile. Fire Weaver was growing frustrated by his inability to land a solid blow. He’s too bloody fast, even with all these trees in his way, Weaver thought. I’ve got to stop his movement somehow.

Zephyr’s speed wasn’t his only problem, however. He was running out of woods fairly rapidly as the flames spread from each explosion. Weaver had already ignited a large semicircle around himself, and a few more blasts would close most of what was left. The fires were spreading in every direction and would soon tighten the noose of burning vegetation around him.

Weaver sent another explosion out, but a sudden inspiration struck him and he prepared a different spell. While he gathered the energy for the move he had in mind, he scanned the remaining open and unburnt woods for a sturdy tree trunk and leveled his grappling hook at it. Alright Zephyr, try dodging this, he thought smugly.

Sensing a halt in the barrage of fireballs, Zephyr angled himself back towards Fire Weaver and flew as fast as he dared. The unicorn’s horn was aglow and he’d raised the hoof with the small white box on it. Zephyr didn’t know what it was until the hoof clenched and a barbed metal object shot directly at him out of the front.

Zephyr only barely barrel-rolled out of the way as the grappling hook and its dark cable flew past him to thunk into some distant tree. Before he’d fully recovered, Weaver streaked past him through the air, even giving a grin and a little wave as he passed by.

Once he was clear, Weaver unleashed his spell. A wall of fire ten feet high leapt up from the earth between him and Zephyr, closing the circle of flames around the pegasus. The strain of creating the wall and maintaining it had Weaver panting, but he only held it for a few seconds. As expected, the flames had hungrily taken hold of the nearby trees and rendered them just as impassable as his wall of fire would have.

“Got you now, speedy,” he muttered, grinning wolfishly. His horn lit again, but this time was different. Heat from the nearby fires began coursing through him as his magic siphoned it out. Normally this would have diminished them, but the abundance of fuel kept the flames hot and spreading. A few more seconds, and Weaver began readying what he hoped would be a finishing blow.

Inside the burning ring, Zephyr had maybe fifty feet he could fly in any direction and knew that would disappear fast even if his opponent didn’t feel like helping it along. He tried flying up and out of the enclosure, but the rising heat and smoke forced him to abandon that plan almost instantly. “Ponyfeathers!” he swore as he landed, racking his brains for an escape.

When he landed, Zephyr felt cool mud under his hooves. Remembering something he’d read about insulating oneself from flames, he threw himself bodily into the mud and wallowed. He’d managed to thoroughly muddy his wings, face, legs and chest before it happened.

A flickering torch appeared on the ground in right front of Zephyr. It immediately surged outward in every direction to cover the ground. Zephyr leapt from the mud to a low hover as the wave of fire engulfed most of the remaining unburnt area. The flames seemed unnatural to Zephyr, and when they pulsed brightly for no apparent reason his pupils shrank in terror. Closing his eyes, he flung himself as fast as he could towards the outer ring.

Before he cleared the strange burning circle, it erupted into a bright orange column of billowing flames. Zephyr felt searing heat on his flank as the pillar incinerated what remained of the hair on his tail and burned the nearby flesh. The mud managed to protect him from any further injury as he barreled out of the burning woods.

Fire Weaver winced despite himself as his Flamestrike spell rose over a hundred feet into the sky. He let out a breath that was only partially from guilt. Even with the assistance of the burning woods, that spell and the many before it had taken their toll on his magical reserves. If his opponent was still alive after that attack, Weaver either needed to finish him or escape and recuperate.

He decided the second option was safer and fled away from the flames as a steaming muddy pegasus haphazardly burst out of them. Fire Weaver triggered his grappling hook and began zipping through the woods as fast as the cable would carry him.

Zephyr saw him retreat but chose not to pursue. Instead, he took a moment to shake off the mud. His flank and lower back still stung from their burns, but he ignored them. Satisfied that he’d removed as much of the mud as he had time for, he took to the sky to deal with the fire still raging behind him. The flames were still spreading and he couldn’t afford to have all that smoke in the air.

The air above the crater was saturated with moisture and full of low, heavy clouds. Zephyr moved several to the leading edge of the burning circle and pounded them vigorously, creating a downpour. It wasn’t enough to put the fires out, but it did beat back the flames and saturate the woods beyond. The trees already caught in the blaze would burn themselves out without spreading any further into the crater.

Tired of playing hide-and-seek in the thick woods, Zephyr flew over the lake and well ahead of where Fire Weaver had escaped to. There, his flight became tight, concentric circles. Faster and faster he went and the rotations slowly got larger. In short order, Zephyr’s wingbeats were the engines of a twister twenty feet tall. He made his circles ever wider and began descending towards the ground.

By the time he was satisfied, the tornado had tripled in height and finally touched down beneath the trees. Limbs and bushes were already getting sucked in and the crack of many strained trunks and roots rang out below. After ensuring it would go in the proper direction, Zephyr bailed out of the twister and flew out over the lake. The tornado, however, moved ponderously towards the billowing flames and the pony who’d set them.

Fire Weaver had determined what Zephyr was doing fairly quickly, but the size of the tornado still surprised him. “Are you kidding me?!” he yelled. Cursing under his breath, Weaver ran back towards the flames.

He had a few hundred yards of wooded area ahead of him, but he doubted very much the tornado would stop after that distance. With the angle it was traveling, Weaver realized Zephyr had only left him one option. Praying that one of the tunnels around the lake was close, he turned towards the crater’s center and made for the tree line. Once I’m out in the open, he’s not going to let up, Fire Weaver worried. If I can make it to one of those tunnels, I should have a chance. If I can’t… he didn’t want to finish the thought, but did so anyway. Then I lose any hope of saving Cursive Script. Preparing for an assault, he readied a spell as he ran.

When Weaver burst from the woods a short distance ahead of the cyclone, Zephyr was ready for him. He’d found an ugly black cloud and dragged it out to the rocky beach. The first bolt of lightning came crashing down harmlessly well ahead of the Cursor.

“And you made fun of my aim earlier?” Weaver shouted over his shoulder.

The pegasus snorted. “Not like I’m throwing explosions at you!” he retorted.

Zephyr flew the cloud closer and took careful aim before slamming his hooves solidly on the cloud. A thick, jagged shaft came hurtling at Fire Weaver, but the unicorn ducked his head just in time. Weaver felt his mane stand on end as the lightning split the air above his ears. A few errant sparks shocked him lightly as the bolt crashed into the ground next to him

One of the tunnel mouths gaped open thirty yards ahead, a strange blue glow emanating from within. Fire Weaver determined he could use his grappling hook to reach it faster. The Cursor pulled to a stop and leveled his hoof at his target and launched the hook.

Zephyr saw the motion and aimed as quickly as he could. His cloud only had one weak shot left, but when he fired it the lightning flew straight and true. To his chagrin, Zephyr had failed to strike the unicorn even though he was wearing a metal chainmail vest.

The grappling hook was not so lucky.

The bolt caught the cable as it yanked Fire Weaver toward the tunnel and followed it back to the device on his hoof. There were sparks as the firing and retracting mechanisms died, but the momentum he already had carried him to the opening. He sprained his left foreleg as he tumbled down into the glowing opening. Struggling to his hooves, Weaver disconnected his grappling hook and dragged himself further into the cave.

The tunnel was spacious, almost eight feet wide and tall. Luminescent veins of blue ran through the rocky walls and lichen covered the bare stone. In a few places, crystals erupted from the veins in jagged clusters that gave off a noticeable heat.

Fire Weaver reached into his vest and pulled out a crystal of his own. It was smaller than an apple, and a red fire glowed within. It was a weaker version of his Fire Blast spell, but still packed a punch and could easily fill the cave mouth. He tossed it near the entrance to land next to one of the tunnel’s queer blue formations.

Outside, Zephyr had flown closer to the tunnel entrance. He really didn’t want to enter such confined space with his pyromaniac opponent, but it was marginally better than dense woods. Mind made up, he sped towards the opening. He slowed before entering to accommodate the angle, and it was fortunate he did.

As soon as Fire Weaver saw Zephyr near the opening, he used a flicker of magic to ignite the fire crystal. Its detonation shattered the glowing blue stone beside it to trigger a second explosion at the same time. Fire lurched outwards with a blast strong enough to blow Zephyr back from the tunnel and scorch Weaver’s remaining eyebrows clean off. Rather than end there, a series of smaller detonations followed the blue veins near the rock up to the natural ceiling and another crystal. This one exploded as well, sending shards whizzing by Weaver’s face and bringing rock down from above to completely block the opening.

Surprised but grateful for the reprieve, Fire Weaver limped further into the warm, glowing tunnel. The crystals and their veins became thicker as he went deeper, and the passage seemed to be taking him under the lake. They were hot to the touch and, oddly enough, smelled faintly of blueberries. I think this stuff is magma! he realized. Already, an idea was forming. Grinning a little, he pulled several more fire crystals from his vest.

Zephyr, meanwhile, was recovering from his latest injury. He was burnt and bruised, but he could still move normally for the most part. “I’m getting real tired of that,” he groaned, getting up. The tunnel entrance was sealed, so he would need to find another way in.

A brief flight took him to another opening in the rock with the same eerie blue glow as the last one. Zephyr flew straight in at a cautious pace, keeping to the ceiling as much as possible. The tunnel twisted to the right and towards the first one, but quickly turned back towards the center of the lake.

Fire Weaver had reached a large, cavernous area almost thirty feet tall and most of an acre wide. Several other tunnels emptied out into the chamber, with a couple being particularly close to his. Chunks of the blue magma, some as large as a pony, sprang from every surface.

Weaver set up his explosives near some of the entrances and the largest crystal formations before retreating into a passage he believed would go back to the surface. Trap set, he started taking in as much heat as he could stand with his magic and waited for Zephyr.

In his own tunnel, the pegasus could see the open chamber ahead as well as the multitude of blue crystals. Remembering his last encounter with it, he gritted his teeth and hoped he didn’t get caught at the entrance again. He retreated a short distance from the cavern and braced himself. Target this, Fire Weaver, he thought angrily as he leapt forward at a breakneck pace.

When Zephyr came racing into the chamber, Fire Weaver set off his trap. His first Fire Ray detonated a crystal directly in front of Zephyr and a nearby magma chunk, but the pegasus’s speed carried him right past the explosion before it could hit him.

Zephyr flew directly at the unicorn after dodging the initial explosion, but Weaver shot off four more rays in rapid succession. Each ray hit another of his explosives and took a few more magma crystals with them. Even at high speed, Zephyr was battered and buffeted from every direction by the nearest explosions. He came crashing down to the rock directly at Weaver’s hooves, struggling for breath. My ribs, he thought as they cracked in his chest.

Behind him, the explosions were rippling along through the blue veins and deeper into the earth. Rocks fell from the ceiling as several of the other tunnels collapsed. The ground trembled as each new section of magma detonated.

Fire Weaver looked down at Zephyr, panting. “I...I did it,” he rasped. His legs felt like jelly underneath him, and his whole body cried out for a rest after all his magic use. At his words, Zephyr stirred in protest but couldn’t seem to rise. “What’s the matter, Zephyr?” he jibed in exhaustion. “Didn’t your parents teach you not to play with fire?”

The movement was too fast to follow. Weaver found himself reeling in pain as a pegasus skull smashed into his muzzle. Stunned and bleeding, the Cursor stumbled back to see Zephyr standing on trembling legs and breathing heavily. “No...they didn’t,” Zephyr growled. “If I hadn’t...lost them...they might’ve gotten...to that.” He stood up straight and glared at Weaver, his blue eyes icy and cold.

Weaver’s pupils shrank as he realized that he was very much in trouble. Zephyr leapt at him, hooves swinging. Tired as he was, Weaver only managed to defend against the first few blows. Weaver felt several thumps against his chainmail and every hit he blocked with his left leg made it scream in pain.

Burnt and bruised, Zephyr’s limbs and body likewise begged for mercy, but the pain was distant in his anger. The floor gave a violent shake, putting Weaver off-balance. Seeing his opening, Zephyr dove low and came up with an uppercut that struck heavily on Weaver’s jaw. The Cursor collapsed, blood trickling from his mouth. His coin medallion was jostled out from under his vest to hang out visibly around his neck.

Anger having mostly played itself out, Zephyr stepped forward, put a hoof on Fire Weaver’s chest and stared into his fearful brown eyes. “I’m not going to kill you,” he said coldly, “but I’ll beat you senseless if I have to.”

Weaver coughed and strained against the hoof, but could barely move in his pain and fatigue. “I...can’t lose,” he gasped. “Have to...win.” His horn flickered slightly as he tried to release his stored heat. He couldn’t focus, however, and the flickers ceased.

Zephyr’s grim expression softened slightly. “I do too,” he said quietly. “I’ve lived my whole life wishing for the parents I’d lost. I thought I’d made my peace with it but…” His scowl returned. “I wouldn’t kill anypony for any reason, even to find them.” He lowered his face to Weaver’s. “So what’s my life worth to you?” he demanded.

Fire Weaver’s throat tightened as his hoof slowly went to the coin. “Cursive Script,” he replied. “She got hurt.” Tears welled up in his eyes as he recalled his beloved, missing a leg and lying in a coma. “My fault,” he choked. “Promised to do...anything.” In his sorrow, Weaver found the clarity he needed. His horn flared brightly to release his spell.

Fire Weaver’s skull erupted with pain as Zephyr’s grey hoof cracked down on his horn. He let out a scream of agony as it fractured near the tip and the magic fled his system unspent. His vision swam and finally went black. I’m sorry...Cursive. His head and limbs slumped as he fell unconscious.

“I warned you,” Zephyr said. Zephyr felt sick to his stomach after the strike. Doc would be ashamed of me, he thought sadly.

The explosions beneath the ground suddenly multiplied in strength, and the entire area shuddered and cracked. A deafening bang struck the air as the floor of the cavern split and gouts of molten blue rock spat out of the fissure. Time to go, he panicked. On the cavern roof, he saw a wooden door hanging open.

He took a few steps but paused, looking back at Fire Weaver. To win, I have to… “Horse apples!” he swore. Zephyr moved next to his fallen opponent and struggled to lift the unicorn onto his back. His legs bemoaned the extra weight and his burns shrieked in protest, but he eventually succeeded. I don’t care what the rules were, Zephyr decided, I’m not leaving him to die. Spreading his wings, he painstakingly managed to lift off and fly towards the exit.

Rocks fell all around him, and in some places the lake began pouring in through cracks. Weaver’s weight made it difficult to avoid these hazards, and Zephyr received several new bruises as he strained to reach the door. Almost...there. He put everything he had into those last few wingbeats. Just a few...more...feet.

They passed through the doorway just as his strength gave out and he fell in a tumble with Weaver. A massive explosion bellowed from behind, but was cut off as the door slammed safely shut and vanished.