The Night Princess was entombed in the behemoth’s massive torso, still trying to wriggle herself free while her guards defied her orders and surrounded the sluggish giant. Every attempt of Luna to escape was for naught; her limbs and body were deeply imprisoned within the mucky body, while every spell she cast did little more than splash on the mud and rotten foliage that comprised the forest gunk creature.

The two earth pony twins, Tick and Tack Toe, stayed behind, reluctant to attack when a kick or any other strike might entrap them in the same situation. Tick stepped around nervously, glancing at her sister for instructions. There was none forthcoming. Tack just gazed at the monster as it stepped forward, its leg moving with glacial finality. The ground lightly rumbled under its weight, and both twins looked at their hooves as everything shook.

Tack eyes lit up as she gazed down and up again, at the creature’s legs. She called out to her sister. “Tick! Give me a hoof!” The earth pony mare kicked a long thick branch with her white socked hoof, and snatched the end of it with her teeth. Tick did the same from the other side at once, helping her sister hold up the long branch. They left an empty space between them, large enough for a pony or two; or a monster’s leg.

“Woo too!” Tack yelled, muffled as she was, to Shaded Swirl and Snared Wish. The married couple glanced at each other and then the monstrosity in front of them, and their eyes lit with mutual understanding. They picked up a branch in the same way, aligned themselves next to Tick and Tack, and charged together.

They ran, and bypassed the two minotaurs who waited for a chance to pull the princess out. Solid Charge saw the two pairs of ponies run past him, and immediately pulled Cast Iron next to him, pointing at the monster.

“Get ready,” Solid Charge ordered, and knelt down, his cloven feet digging into the ground. Cast Iron settled next to him as well. They waited a moment, and when the ponies had enough of a head start, they charged behind them. The ground rumbled under their weight and pounding hooves, and their horns shone menacingly in the pale moonlight as they rushed towards the monster.

Stampede glanced behind him as he avoided the monster’s wayward foot, and saw what was coming. Three pairs of guards, proper soldiers for once in his old eyes, attacking as one. The century old, experienced stallion immediately understood what would happen.

“Eventide! Push it! Push it forward!” he hollered.

The flyers had been busy trying to damage the lumbering forest gunk, and slowly discovering that they could not. Eventide feared that the sluggish motion was only temporary until it got its bearings back. It was difficult avoiding even these lethargic movements in the tight confines of the forest. One wrong dodge and they risked hitting against an errant branch or tree trunk, blocking them from avoiding the gigantic limbs and leaving them easy prey.

She heard Stampede’s order, looked at the advancing ponies and the minotaurs closing in, and connected the dots. A smile filled with teeth sprung on her face. She wasn’t fighting with a bunch of amateurs anymore, but a Thestral expedition, each pony a gear in the machine that let them survive horrors and win. She almost felt back home.

“Flyers, move to the back, stab, and push!” She flew around the creature, leading by example.

Rainbow Dash didn’t bother asking for explanation. She followed Eventide’s example, avoided the forest gunk’s monstrous fist by easily twirling around it, and stabbed that thing in the back of its head with the spear she had been given. The creature’s murky body hardened around the spear head, stopping it from going deeper. Rainbow Dash kept pushing though, all conscious thought replaced by a drunken excitement and thoughtless instinct that she had so far only felt during her most perilous acrobatics.

Two more spears sunk next to her own, and Rainbow Dash saw Red Dawn and Blank Slate flying next to her. Red Dawn snarled silently as he drove his spear as deep as he could, the tall pegasus savagely twisting it as much as he was able. Blank Slate had gotten rid of his vest. Rainbow Dash spotted a bit of ripped fabric on his side, evidence of his haste to remove it. She spared a moment to gaze at his mismatched wings. One of his wings was like a pegasus’, sporting white feathers. The right one was a thestral’s wing, the black leathery wing membrane a sudden contrast to his white coat.

They heard a sound like branches breaking, the sucking of mud against hooves, something wet ripping, and the monster’s weight fell on their spears.

“Now!” Eventide yelled. “Push! Push!”

Rainbow nodded at the two ponies to her side, and at her silent signal they pushed harder, their wings buzzing to lean the behemoth forward.

The twins and the couple had almost reached their target. The Forest Gunk spotted them coming, but soon lost them as Smoke Ring’s horn lit up furiously and fog sprung out of nowhere to hide them from view. The monster raised its arms to bring them down at a guess nevertheless.

A rope tangled around the monster’s left arm like a lasso. From the other end, Raven, Gobrend, and Sunrise Storm, pulled together as one. The monster reflexively solidified its flesh when the rope dug into it, and the three of them together managed to stall it enough, grunting with effort as their legs braced against rocks and trees.

The right arm came down on what might have been Snared Wish and Shaded Swirl, but stopped an instant before piercing the fog. An amalgamation of magic flowed around the slimy appendage, forming a net and slowly pulling it back. Trixie, Smoke Ring, Tidal Wave, and Trailblazer, had closed up together, and their horns bathed them in multicolored light. They yelled and the magic shot up, pulling the arm with it.

The two branches, carried by the pairs of running ponies, sliced through the thick, pillar-like legs of the creature, cutting them off before the monster could harden itself and stop them.

A mighty wind rose, forcing leaves and small pieces of wood to fly away, as six pairs of wings flapped as one, tipping the monster. It fell forward and would have crashed the head of Luna between the ground and her chest if not for the pillars of magic that erupted from the ground, holding it up just enough to spare her. The monster placed its hands on the ground and raised itself up from the waist up.

The magic vanished.

Solid Charge and Cast Iron came charging through the fog and into the thick chest of the creature, piercing it and making a hole through it and out its back. In their arms they held Luna, the Alicorn’s coat smoking under a layer of mud that shone venomously.

After carrying the Alicorn for several meters to where the twins and couple had retreated, they stopped and gently set her down.

“The Princess is free! Everypony, keep that thing away from her! Hold it down with magic, and you three,” Stampede barked at Gobrend, Raven, and Sunrise Storm. “Get more rope, that worked.” Coils of rope were thrown and anchored from one side to another, criss-crossing the monster’s back with a web of weaved rope to keep it down as much as possible.

Rainbow Dash landed next to Luna. Solid Charge and Cast Iron tried to sweep the mud off her, but it burnt their palms as if it was toxic. They had ripped part of their clothing, and the fabric smoked as soon as it touched the mare and disintegrated in seconds.

“Gods, how is she still in one piece?” Solid Charge wondered out loud, blowing at his hands and swiping them against the ground.

“I think she’s using her magic, look.” Rainbow Dash pointed at Luna’s horn. The Alicorn’s expression was one of intense focus, her eyes shut with the eyeballs behind them moving so fast and intensely she could see them move, and her horn had a faint glow around it. They noticed the same pale, almost invisible, glow over Luna’s coat as well, and it obviously protected her. The hair was slightly charred, and there were painful-looking blisters forming, but the small part they had managed to clean seemed relatively unscathed compared to what should have happened.

“This is too much,” Cast Iron said, glancing fearfully at the behemoth behind them trying to rise up. “How long can she keep this up?”

“Hold on, I have an idea.” Rainbow Dash zoomed off, reaching Tidal Wave in a second. The stallion in the mismatched armor was helping the rest of the unicorns in pushing the monster down every time it tried to rise. “Dude, you’re coming with me, now!”

Tidal Wave’s horn flared as he helped force the monster down one more time. “Kinda busy at—”

“Yoink!” Rainbow Dash grabbed him before he had a chance to understand what was going on and flew him over to Luna’s side.

“Missus, that thing—”

“Quick, hose her down!” Rainbow Dash ordered, pointing at Luna. “Your waterspout spell thingy,” Rainbow explained further. “We need to get this mud off her, it’s eating her up. Clean her up with that spell of yours.”

“Everypony stand back,” Tidal Wave said. A feeling like that of a heavy rain cloud formed around him, and Rainbow’s sense of smell was struck with the scent of wet earth. A magic funnel appeared in front of Tidal Wave’s horn and a forceful flow of water struck Luna.

“Oh stars, that feels so much better,” Luna said with exhausted relief in her voice as her eyes opened slowly, heavy with exhaustion. She shook her head to get rid of the water in her mane, and dizzily tried to get up on her legs. Solid Charge was at her side instantly, along with Rainbow Dash, helping her up.

“Solid Charge,” Luna said, half-mumbling the words, “I believe I ordered you all to leave.”

Solid Charge stood to attention. “Yes, Princess. You did,” he said, and left it at that.

Luna locked eyes with him for a moment. “...Thank you for not leaving me, Commander. I don’t know why you didn’t, not after… I appreciate it.” She turned to the others around her. “Rainbow Dash, Cast Iron, are you hurt? Do you need medical assistance?”

“We’re right as rain,” Rainbow Dash said, hovering in the air for a moment to prove her words. “What about you? You look bad.”

“I’ll keep.” Luna straightened up with effort, and smiled gallantly. “Now, what about the monster?”

“We seem to be holding it down for the moment, Princess. It is contained,” Solid Charge reported and stood aside so that Luna could get a good look.

The Alicorn took a trembling step forward and hissed in a breath. “Oh no. Everypony get back, now! It’s a trap!” she shouted, jumping to the air, her exhaustion forgotten.

Rainbow Dash followed along. Everything happened at once. What they thought was them stopping the Forest Gunk’s repetitive attempts to stand up was actually a ruse as the monster was slowly backing a smidgen every time. It reached its severed feet and the mass got reabsorbed into it once more. The creature rose up, suddenly either being much stronger or showing off its real strength instead of deceiving them.

The multihued holds of magic over its back shattered, accompanied by a pained cry from the unicorns, and the ropes they had laid over it snapped violently, the individuals holding them falling down. The creature rose and ran forward, and Rainbow Dash was once again struck by the resemblance to Raegdan. Its legs and knees bent the same way Raegdan’s did, pushing at the ground beneath it, the arms moving like his did when he ran.

Four ponies and a griffin were standing in its path. Luna put on a burst of speed, and Rainbow Dash easily kept up. They sped before the bipedal behemoth and Luna caught Tick and Tack, getting them out of the way, while the monster’s arm swiped the air in a last ditched effort to trap the Alicorn once more. Luna’s magic grabbed Red Dawn and threw him aside. Rainbow Dash tried to catch Stampede and Gobrend.

She didn’t make it. She got a good hold of Stampede, the geriatric earth pony relaxing in her grasp to make it easier for her, but her hoof wrapped the wrong way around Gobrend and twisted his lame wing. The griffin cried and twisted at the sudden pain, falling back into the monster’s path.

A black blur jumped in the monster’s path, caught the griffin, and leaped off, four pairs of strong paws giving Raven the needed speed to barely get them both out of danger. The monster’s pistoning legs passed them by, Raven’s tail actually sliding against it; it was that close, and got lost among the trees.

“Is anypony hurt? Is everypony present?” Luna called out in distress, frantically looking around for anypony missing in action. “Blank Slate, where is he? Trailblazer? Cradle Song?”

“I believe we’re all here,” Gobrend hissed, carefully nipping at his twisted wing. “I suppose thanks are in order,” he told Raven, who stood sullenly next to him.

“I’m not like slaver Diamond Dogs,” Raven growled, looking angry at himself.

“I’ll try to keep that in mind henceforth,” Gobrend flippantly promised. He glanced at Luna, and gulped when he spotted the angry red pustules formed by the acid on her. “A moment, Princess. I may have something for your burns with me,” he told her as he dug into his satchel.

Solid Charge arrived by their side, the rest of the hopeful recruits and Lunar Guards following behind him. “It seems to have escaped. We should get back to camp, send a message to the nearest Royal Guard outpost, and return better equipped and with proper reinforcements. We should hunt this thing down if it’s as dangerous as you claimed, Princess, but you are wounded. We should get you to safety first.”

“I don’t think we have a choice now,” Luna said. She was watching Gobrend impassively as he slathered balm and layered gauze over the worst affected regions on her, careful as to not pop the pus-filled blisters. When he finished she let herself fall on her flank, breathing heavily.

“I thought I heard you say that it will try to multiply, Princess,” Eventide commented.

“It will. That wasn’t the only one of its kind when we found them. There were others, bigger and stronger. It was this one that was the most dangerous though. This one is smart. Cunning.” She pointed at the direction the monster escaped with a wing, the tip trembling. “The creature didn’t run away from us. We outnumbered it and it was weakened, so it seeks to balance the scales and have some time to regain its strength.”

They all looked at the trees, and the dark spaces among them. The multitude of shadows, the formless shapes of half-gloomy branches and foliage combining with hints of light and dark to form menacing threats. Threats that looked too much like a walking, shambling mound.

“It’s gone out there to try and ambush us, hasn’t it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We have to get out and away from its natural grounds as fast as possible, all of us,” Luna answered, her eyes scanning every dark corner. “It is now hunting us.”

“Cinnamon and honey are classics. You can’t go wrong with them!” Sea Breeze said angrily, forcing one apple fritter in Limit Breaker’s mouth.

“Bah,” Short Order barked, spitting on the ground. “Look at this caramelized mess. You have hidden the taste of fresh apples under this sugary mess. I’m telling you, all you need is the merest pinch of sugar, and nothing else. Here, try this!” Limit Breaker managed to swallow half a second before the stallion with the grey hairs in his sea-foam mane telekinetically shoved another fritter in his mouth.

Leaf Stream was laid down, rubbing her swollen stomach. “Wait. Your superior commands you to give her a sample too...” She raised a hoof weakly, and a fritter landed gently on it. She quickly munched on half of it. “Thanks.”

An untouched, golden-crispy fritter floated in front of Stalwart Shield. The former Royal guard smiled. “This night is progressing much better than I expected,” he said to Leaf Stream. He turned back to his coveted pastry and it was gone, replaced by a female Thestral’s head with bulging cheeks.

“Hey! That was mine.”

Broken Gust swallowed. “There are more,” she pointed out. Her breath was like a glazed apple-orchard walking by.

“How many have you eaten?” he inquired, suspicious.

“I don’t know. How many have they made?”

“A lot.”

“Then about half of them,” Broken Gust belched like a monster. She covered her embarrassed smile with a hoof. “Hoo, sorry.”

“Oh Celestia, it smells like a bakery!” Leaf Stream whaled from down on the ground.

Short Order and Sea Breeze were waiting on Limit Breaker to stop chewing and swallow, hovering over the small earth pony. “Well?” they asked together when he was done.

“They are both great,” he answered. His lips were glossy with honey and sugar, and the way he smiled and his eyes were bright he looked like an eight year old colt. “But I really like honey.”

“Yes!” Sea Breeze cheered with a hoofpump.

Short Order threw down the spoon he was holding before picking it up guiltily and rushing to clean it. “You ponies know nothing about appreciating the merits of simple flavors.”

“Hey, come on,” Limit Breaker protested, trotting after the one-eyed, rough looking stallion. “Yours were amazing, too. It’s just personal taste, you know?”

Short Order glanced back with his single eye. “Sure, kid. No offense taken.” Short Order pointed at his makeshift kitchen area. “Just have to clean this up and prepare another batch for the rest, okay?”

Limit Breaker walked back to Sea Breeze who gave him a one hoofed short hug. “Personal taste or not, we know who won, right?” she called out loudly.

Leaf Stream burped, feeling the pressure in her stomach ease and making her decide she could fit one more fritter in there. “Yeah. Me.”

“I hope he doesn’t mind,” Limit Breaker gloomed. “I liked everything. It was all very tasty and… What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the end of where the light from their fire reached.

Leaf Stream raised her head, and what she saw made her rush to get back on all fours. A... thing that looked like a giant scorpion was scampering closer and closer to Sea Breeze and Limit Breaker. A scorpion that was almost pony sized, and made of some kind of flowy, disgusting looking flesh-thing. It pulsed, moved, and coils of mud weaved in and out of the surface, and Leaf Stream saw greenery and brown roots and sticks compose most of it.

Sea Breeze pushed Limit Breaker behind her. “Kid, stay behind me, and slowly back off. No sudden movements.” She brought her attention back to the slimy scorpion. “I don’t know what you are but you better—” The monster’s legs clicked against the ground and the barbed end of its tail pulled back.

Two large knives pierced its head.

“Well, that’s the end of that,” Short Order said from where he stood. More of his knives floated around him, as well as a selection of pans and other cooking utensils, gripped by the handles with his magic. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t touch my utensils,” he sharply reprimanded Broken Gust.

“Sorry. Instinct. I didn’t know you would to the same,” she apologized. “These knives are really well balanced though.” She held one up for inspection.

“I’m not here just for cooking, you know. Even my pots are specially weighted. Give that back.”

Stalwart Shield moved forward. “Are we sure it is dead?”

“I can poke it,” Limit Breaker offered. “I just need a stick. Anypony has a stick?”

Sea Breeze turned sharply at him. “No, we stay back until—” The thing suddenly exploded into motion, its body flowing around the knives and ignoring them. It jumped towards Sea Breeze, more like a spider than a scorpion, its pincers aimed upwards instead of down.

“Look out!” Limit Breaker’s smaller but far sturdier earth pony body crashed against Sea Breeze and threw her aside. The scorpion shaped monstrosity fell on him while Sea Breeze and the rest watched with wide eyes. It kind of splashed against him, but somehow still kept its consistency, its insect legs wrapping around his torso and melting into indistinct shapes as they tried to cover up as much of him as possible.

Limit Breaker bucked and shook, tried to dislodge the thing from him, but it had somehow half-melted on him as it tried to wrap him inside its gunky body. “Get it off me, it burns! It burns!” he shouted.

Leaf Stream, Broken Gust, and Stalwart Shield rushed for the fire, taking long, burning sticks in their mouths and surrounded Limit Breaker seeking a chance to try and burn that thing off him as if it was a leech, but it was hard to tell where Limit Breaker ended and that thing began.

“Kid, stay still! Stay still!” Short Order yelled in vain, surrounded by a dozen of knives held in his magic, undecided on whether to make the attempt or if it would even help.

Sea Breeze got up and tried to kick that thing off him with her hooves. “Get off him, you bastard, just get off!”

“Sea Breeze, don’t get so close!” Stalwart Shield tried to warn her.

The young, red colored stallion had been wildly trying to shake off the thing that was on him, burning him more and more as the seconds passed. When Sea Breeze got too close and attempted to stop the thing from subduing its meal it reconstituted enough of itself to form the scorpion tail again. It stabbed, and Stalwart Shield’s magic shield managed to deflect the strike enough that only her left cheek got scratched by the stinger instead of having her head getting run through.

Limit Breaker froze as he saw the blood running down Sea Breeze’s face and heard her shout in pain. The young, bright eyes narrowed in anger and determination. “No! Why did you hurt her? Get off me, you stupid thing! Get off and stop trying to hurt my friends! Get off me!”

He jumped away from Sea Breeze and through the space between Leaf Stream and Stalwart Shield before they had a chance to get in his way, filled with energy. He galloped away from them, small chunks of the half-melted scorpion on his back breaking off and falling behind. He headed straight for the boulder that served as Short Order’s working station.

The young stallion didn’t stop. Instead, he turned sideways and pummeled himself against the stone. At everypony’s astonishment, it was the rock that gave away and not bone and flesh. Limit Breaker pushed through the stone with unbelievable strength, a shout of sheer effort and willpower climbing out of his throat. He passed through it as if it was nothing but a thick block of mud, leaving broken rubble, gravel, and dust behind.

The mud creature didn’t have the fortitude or strength to withstand this passing. It got scraped off Limit Breaker’s back, falling down in an shapeless puddle, while Limit Breaker tumbled to the ground and stayed still.

Everypony rushed to his side. He was breathing hard and seemed to be in pain. Sea Breeze checked him over while Stalwart Shield knelt next to his head and the rest stood over him.

“Kid, are you okay?” Stalwart Shield worried. His magic forced one of his eyes open, and a short-lived light spell sparked on his horn.

“My back hurts,” Limit Breaker groaned, and hissed in pain. “Sides hurt too.”

Stalwart Shield let Limit Breaker’s eyes close again. “He has a small concussion and he might have broken his ribs the way he went through that rock. Celestia’s mane, how did you do that, kid?”

“We need to move him back to the fire, and I’ll need our medical supplies,” Sea Breeze said, eyes wide. Leaf Stream walked around, and gagged at the sight. Limit Breaker’s back was bleeding, as well as wherever that muck had latched onto him. The skin was showing, the coat burned off, and it had split apart with blood oozing out, dark and shiny. Blackened blisters were already forming as she watched, filling with clear liquid.

Broken Gust carefully crept around the stone block, holding a lit torch in her mouth, and Short Order was right behind her, a cloud of sharp and blunt tools casting their shadow over him as he levitated them at the ready. They stood there for two seconds.

“Everypony back to the fire, now,” Short Order whispered, both him and Broken Gust quickly backing off towards the others.

“Oh Celestia, don’t tell me…” Leaf Stream grimaced.

Short Order nodded. “It’s not there. We are at a disadvantage here. It could jump out of any shadow. Can we move the kid?”

“Can you get him?” Sea Breeze requested. “You are better with your telekinesis spell than Stalwart Shield, and he needs care.” Short Order glanced at his floating weaponry, and Sea Breeze scowled at once. “Those didn’t hurt that thing, so you won’t need them. Help us carry him, now!”

It was just a few short meters from there to the warmth and protection of the large, burning fire, but their wracked nerves made it seem like it took them minutes instead of seconds. Limit Breaker moaned in pain, Sea Breeze spoke soothingly in his ear, and Stalwart Shield was jumping at every shadow, his horn shining with unshaped magic. They laid Limit Breaker on a blanket as close to the fire as they could, and Sea Breeze got to work, promising him repeatedly that she would brew a salve that would take all the pain away once they got done with that scorpion monster.

Leaf Stream wondered when that would be. That thing could be anywhere. If it stood still and low they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between it and a patch of dirt in the dark. There was no safe point in the camp, not until dawn—

“Horseapples!” Leaf Stream exclaimed loudly. Everypony stared at her outburst. Even Limit Breaker half raised himself from where he laid moaning. “Raegdan is out there on his own.”

Limit Breaker made a brave attempt to stand up. “We gotta go get him.”

Sea Breeze and Stalwart Shield pushed him back down again. They barely had to use any effort to do so. “You stay where you are,” Stalwart Shield told him. “I’ll go.”

Leaf Stream raised her hoof up, stopping Stalwart Shield from moving. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Excuse me?”

“That thing ignored a knife at the head and being crushed against stone,” she reminded all of them. “Magic might be the one thing that hurts it. Fire might not do anything against it. It was made out of wet rotten leaves and mud. You and Short Order have to stay here.”

“I’ll go then,” Broken Gust offered. “I can fly and find him, and I can see in the dark better than all of you.”

Leaf Stream took a deep breath through her nose. “Can you see well enough to tell that monster apart from anything else?” Leaf Stream taunted. Broken Gust’s hesitation was all the confirmation Leaf Stream needed. “Thought so. The moment you get low, that thing might get you. For all we know it might be able to fly or shoot the acid it burnt Limit Breaker with.”

They stared into the threatening darkness enclosing their lighted little island of hopeful safety. “Then who will go?” Short Order asked. “You?”

Leaf Stream’s lips turned into a thin, almost invisible, line. “Nopony goes. We all stay here.”

“We can’t do that!” Limit Breaker exclaimed. Even that outburst was too much for him and he fell back down whimpering as his burned shoulderblades and pained muscles exacted their toll.

“Sucks, I know, but we will,” Leaf Stream announced. “He’s on his own and—” A hoof drew blood with a punch. She recoiled, clutching her crushed nostrils.

Short Order took another step, getting into her face and shaking the hoof he struck her with in front of her eyes. “We don’t leave ponies, or whatever he is, on their own.” Limit Breaker and the rest united their voice with his, giving him their support. “I’ve noticed how you talk about him, and I know about your history. I’m not going to be part of your little revenge scheme.”

Leaf Stream showed off her bloodied teeth and growled in anger. “Yeah? Well, I know about your history, mister Dragging-Off-Ponies-in-the-Wild-to-Die. Yeah, did you think we wouldn’t know? Princess Luna can see your bucking dreams, so don’t you pretend to be morally superior to me!”

Short Order got his wind back as quick as he lost it. “Okay, I did that. And you know why? Because the bastard was as bad as you!”

Stalwart Shield got in between them, his horn crackling. “Nopony’s leaving anypony to die, and we’re not starting fights between us, not now! We’re going to go find him!”

The bitter mare whirled her head at him. “Listen, you idiot. He’s got a better chance of facing that monster than any of us!”

“Like Tartarus he has!” Sea Breeze called out. “He can hardly walk. He can’t move his arm. He’s half-blind. He’s still in recovery!”

“And he still can deal with that thing on his own!” Leaf Stream wiped the blood off her muzzle. Something broke in there, and she was sure a tooth was loose. “I don’t want the guy dead. Understand? I don’t. I just trust that he’s worse than that muddy scorpion! If that thing goes to him looking for a fight he’s gonna have its ass.”

“How? He doesn’t have magic!” Stalwart Shield retorted, full of anger.

Leaf Stream stalled, sputtered, and started crashing. “I’m… I’m sure he’ll think of something.”

Broken Gust was glaring at her. “We’re Lunar Guards. We shouldn’t leave him out there. I’m not leaving him out there. He brought Lilly’s body out of the fire. I owe him.” She flexed her leathery wings.

“We are Lunar Guards!” Leaf Stream yelled, ignoring the part about the late Thestral mare. She didn’t like thinking about her much. It always felt weird knowing Lilly was dead and the cripple was still alive. It felt unfair and like it was her fault. She pointed at the ponies around her instead, especially Limit Breaker as he lay wounded. “But they are not, not yet. We should focus on keeping them alive, not any of us! If it was me out there, or you, I’d say the same.”

“Don’t use me as your excuse,” Short Order growled. “I can take care of myself.”

“And so can Raegdan! He’ll be fine without us.”

“Guys?” Limit Breaker said. “If one of you can carry me we can go all together, and we can all take torches and go find him. We’d be safe that way, right? Or you can leave me here, I don’t mind. I’m sure I’ll be okay.”

“Nopony’s leaving you behind,” Sea Breeze stomped the ground in emphasis. “I’ll carry him,” she resolved to Leaf Stream. “I’m no use against the monster anyway.”

“And when that thing jumps you again you’re both dead!” Leaf Stream warned her. Convincing a bunch of rocks to take up gymnastics would be easier. Why didn’t they get it? “We don’t have to go find him, okay? Does one of you know a spell to make their voice loud? Or we can clang Short Order’s pots and pans. Make some noise to warn him at least. Heck, he might know already, we haven’t been quiet at all.”

Stalwart Shield paused. He looked at Short Order. “I know a spell for that. We can do that.”

“Good,” Leaf Stream breathed out.

“If he’s not here in a couple of minutes we’ll go find him though, right?” Limit Breaker asked.

“Let’s try that first and—” Leaf Stream was interrupted by an animalistic and hungry roar that ripped through the night, one that she didn’t think came out of Raegdan. This was something else entirely. “Aw, shit.”

“Fuck it. Fuck it. Fuck it. Got—Fuck it!”

I throw the marbles away. It’s useless. I’m not making up for my eye in a day. What’s the point anyway? Why am I even bothering? So I can go ahead and make a mess one more time? No thanks. Besides, if these idiots want to go ahead and prance around singing in the fields for things to come and maim them they can do so without me.

I don’t want to get up. I’ve got a good grump going so far. But I do anyway. I start searching for the marbles. I told Luna I’d practice. Leaf Stream as well. I should keep that little promise at least. Heavens know my track record needs as much help as it can get.

Why the hell did I throw them in the grass, in the fucking dark? I’m never going to find these stupid things. Luna’s going to have my ass! She got them from Stormdrain and told him he’d give them back to her. That’s great. Well done, you idiot. Score another point on the dumbass board. Paint that thing white.

There’s one of them. That’s something. I sigh and pause my search for a second. I still can’t believe I forgot little flame’s birthday. I should have sent a letter, a note, something. I should have told Celestia to get him something in my stead rather than letting her do it on her own. Then she could tell him the truth at least, and little flame might not mind if that happened. It would be far better to send a gift by proxy rather than entirely forget him.

The letters… Leaf Stream didn’t get it. Of course she didn’t, she didn’t know them. Twilight’s letter was full of disappointment and anger. All you had to do was pay a little attention to see it. It was full of sentences like: I wasn’t expecting you to make an appearance, really. I had the foresight to make a fake letter. We’re fine, in case you wondered.

Take a knife and take my other eye out, why don’t you? Not that little flame’s letter was much better. He knew. The kid didn’t buy the fake letter or the present that was supposedly from me. He had been raised reading Celestia’s and Twilight’s letters. He knew their handwriting better than they did.

Worst thing was that he didn’t complain. He was worried about me instead. I never wrote him back, not once, I blew off three birthdays of his in a row by now, and little flame worries over me instead. I… I have no idea what I’ll do the day he writes me a letter like Twilight and I know he doesn’t trust me anymore.

Another marble. This is not going fast at all. By the time Luna’s back I’ll hopefully have enough to pretend I just dropped the rest. Maybe she won’t tear me a new one for losing the kid’s toys if I still have some of them at least.

The wind blows from the south. I get a whiff of something new for a second.

I wonder if littl—… Twilight will be really angry if she finds out what Luna and I did to her and her friends, especially to her. Even I got angry when Luna told me what she made Twilight see in a misguided attempt to understand why I act like I do. I made Luna cry for that. I shouldn’t have though. She fixed it.

Which is exactly why I don’t get what the issue is now. Twilight forgot everything. It’s like it never happened. What the hell is the big deal? If magic affected me I would have asked for four slices of that spell please. I’d have Celestia whack me with memory spells until the best I could remember was how to wipe. Twilight is damned lucky, not a victim.

There’s nothing moving at the periphery of my eye.

Or how we made sure they wouldn’t do anything we didn’t want them to or anything else. Considering the alternatives there are to force someone to do something, this mind control stuff is harmless! Hell, I’d have a few portions of that as well if I could. Doing what you did because of someone else’s will? Sign me the hell up!

I rub my forehead. I’d have a headache if I didn’t already. I’ve been having one without a single stop for over a decade now. Day in, day out, the fucking rifts singing in my brain… Living so close to one of them hurts like hell.

I left the spear back where I was sitting. One leap away if my knee was working.

Luna says she understands what they mean, but I can’t wrap my head around it. Still, if she says we shouldn’t have done it, then she’s probably right. I’m not that sure yet, but I’m finally getting how useless my opinion is as far as these matters go. I’m not thinking long term, not in a way that matters. I’m still thinking that soon, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, I’ll be out of here and nothing here is going to matter. But I’m not going anywhere, am I? For better or worse I’m…

I’m not making this place my home, am I?

No, that can’t be right. I have a home already, and I don’t care about… about… something about being too long since I was there? It was something important… Who cares, I’m going back one day. This isn’t home. It’s all going to break one day anyway. Something’s going to come through, I won’t be proven crazy after all, and it’s good night for everyone. The Lunar Guard is a stopgap measure at best if it works. There’s no way these people will manage to stand up to what is out there with that way of thinking. If it wasn’t for Luna, not even half of them would make it out of the forest tonight.

I swivel my head in a slow wide arc as I keep searching. I see nothing. No marbles, and nothing at my front or left side. I turn my head a notch too much towards the right, and I glance over my shoulder. Nothing behind me either.

Still, maybe… maybe I shouldn’t outright piss on what I have. Or had. Maybe I can do a little better, just enough that I don’t lose Twilight and Spike any more than I already have. I could try making Twilight proud. I’m never going to be a hero, heavens know I don’t want to be, but perhaps… perhaps I don’t have to go all that way. Just… think a little more long-term. Show some trust like she’s been pleading for me to do.

And I could write Spike a letter. Five minutes, that’s all it will take, and Celestia will send it for me if I ask her. Maybe I could send one to little pink as well. A scroll covered with a layer of oatmeal to pay her back for the one she sent full of pink frosting. I could ask Celestia to get her next gala dress from Rarity, or ask Blueblood if he knows anyone wanting to negotiate a good, steady supply of apples. Rainbow… I’ve got no idea what she wants. What she’s already getting I guess. Swift kicks on her ass. As for Fluttershy… I don’t know. I’ll tell her I stopped kicking puppies and kittens.

There’s something here. It hasn’t spotted me yet.

The wind blows from south to north. It must have passed me by. I pick up the spear. Yeah, I can totally see myself being able to thrust with this knee. I’m boned. I make sure the longest of my knives isn’t blocked by cloth. The last thing I want is to die as I lived: stupid.

It’s not here, whatever it is, but it’s somewhere in the camp. Prowling around. I look at the fire at the other side. These guys have been making noise for a while. It’s like they’ve been drinking rather than making pastries. I swear, if they’ve been holding out on me…

Whatever’s in the camp might go for them if they keep up like that. It’s probably planning to do so right now. I could go and warn them… and then someone, probably that little red idiot, will want to be a hero and I’ll have to gather up the chopped up pieces. Yeah, I’m not letting that happen. I don’t know how Limit Breaker managed to convince everyone else, but there’s no way that kid is a day over fifteen. I’m not getting the kid killed, directly or not. I had enough of that shit. No more dead kids.

Most of the stitches are almost healed. Still, it’s not too hard to reopen them with a little effort, and blood starts flowing. All I have to do is walk around and make it obvious I’m injured. It will certainly smell that, even with the breeze. It’s too strong a smell. There goes my one advantage.

Wounded mammal separated from the rest of the pack, yummy, yummy, yummy. Come and get it, you bastard. I just wish I knew what I’m getting into. I hope it’s just a wolf or something small. Crap, I bet it’s going to be a manticore.

I’m boned.

Tick was shaking and clinging on her sister as they travelled through the forest. They didn’t dare go the way the monster had run off to, so they were going to try and circumvent it. Nopony believed they would be able to avoid a confrontation but they hoped to if they moved fast enough. Except for a few like Tick.

“I’m sorry I got us killed, Tack!” The earth pony wailed to her sister while everypony else was frantically yet futilely making motions for her to shut the Tartarus up.

“We’re not dead yet, Tick.” Tack’s white-stained hoof patted her twin’s head for a moment. “But if you don’t lower your volume…”

The white-muzzled mare sniffed loudly. “I- I’ve got something to confess before we die, Tack.”

“I know you stole my bits to buy drinks.”

“I slept with Royal Fortune on our last day in Baltimare!”

“And that you slept with Royal Fortune on our last day in—you did what?”

“I slept with him and I’m sorry! I knew you fancied him but he was so funny and I got kinda tipsy with the drinks I bought with your bits and one thing lead to ano—mm!,” Tick’s apology-rant was plugged shut by her twin’s hoof.

Lips pursing and eyes squinting, Tack thought hard about that day. “You were with him in the afternoon? About two o’clock?” Her hoof fell.

Tick nodded while wiping her nose. “Well... He had company coming and I left about then. I’m sorry, Tack. I’m so sorry!”

“Motherffff—He told me to come by at three! That’s why he was tired?” Tack screeched. At the front, Luna looked back in disbelief while Solid Charge slapped his face hard enough to bruise it. “Tartarus, we ain’t dying! We gonna live so I can get that stallion and use his tongue to choke him after I elongate his anus by employing metal, barbed tongs and a poker with—”

“Okay, ow, we get it,” Smoke Ring made a face at the vivid promise, and tucked his tail between his legs. “You’re mad at the stallion who screwed you both. But could you do what your twin should right now and calm down?”

“Until I get my hooves squeezing that jiving, conniving assbutt’s neck, no!”

Tick got off her twin and got in front of her, walking backwards with an equally frightful expression. “Hey, hey, hey! You’re not the only one he, uh... “ Tick gagged. “Oh Celestia, I can’t believe he did that. We’re both getting him together, just not the way he wants, agreed?”

“The only thing I’ll agree to is a five-second head start. Without his head. I’m gonna punt that thing like a ball! Both top and bottom one!”

Rainbow inwardly whistled at the impending doom the guy sowed himself. She resumed her overwatch, looking for anything tall, green, and dark. Not a helpful description in any area of the Everfree. It was chock full of tall green stuff, in various hues, and as for the dark, woo boy... She looked left, and saw a lot that was nothing. She eyed right, and behold, plenty of zilch. She peered behind her, and spied another couple of green tree trunks shuffling towards her, just like she did every time—

Shuffling?

Wait, ‘green’ tree trunks? Green, moving tree trunks? Rainbow’s magenta eyes climbed up and noticed those trunks connected to a massive torso with a blob sitting on top like cherry on a cake. Two more trunks dangling from the sides were swaying, following the inverse rhythm of its legs as it increased its speed, a speed that it didn’t possess a little while ago. Two empty sockets, mere shallow hollows on a ball of muck made contact with her eyes. She didn’t know how, but she knew the thing knew she saw it, and it would smile if it had a mouth to do so.

The behemoth was sprinting behind them, ready to stomp all over their perfectly positioned line in its path. She grabbed the two nearest ponies near her and jumped to the side, aiming to take cover behind a normal tree. "Run! Forest Gunk! Run! Take cover!"

Everypony, hearing Rainbow’s warning, turned around to spot the fearsome monstrosity bear down on them. Tick was the first to see it and react, her yellow eyes focusing away from her twin’s scowl and behind the raging mare’s left shoulder. She grabbed her twin and leapt to the side while Tack only realized what happened when she saw a leg covered in rotten foliage dangle in front of her.

“I’m gonna die unavenged! Thanks a lot, you soggy, mucky, dendrophiliac!” Tack cursed, still immersed in her anger.

The Forest Gunk ignored her as it did everypony else. It could have caught anypony at any time. It grazed by Trailblazer and Red Dawn, its huge arm only needed to reach out and it would have caught Drum Beat as he flew to avoid it. Trixie had fallen in its path under the strong protection of her cloak covering her like a blankie, and she still escaped it. More than that, Rainbow Dash could almost swear it consciously avoided her.

It reached the front of the column in less than two seconds. The two minotaurs dived aside to avoid it. They too were ignored. Luna took the air or whatever meager height she could attain under the forest’s unyielding canopy.

The Forest Gunk swung its arms, striving to catch her among its palms like a fly, and Luna backed off with a sudden, whip-like flap of her wings. The behemoth pressed on, punching or grasping at the air. Its arm cut the air horizontally in a backhanded swing that Rainbow Dash had seen on occasion before by another biped. Luna had seen it even more often and was experienced with it. Her wings flattened against her body and she free-falled beneath the arm.

Solid Charge got on his hooves and struck with the axe, swinging it in a continuous arc to avoid having his weapon trapped in the creature’s flesh. A bit of the murked mix that made up the monster splashed harmlessly against the ground only to instantly be reabsorbed as the creature’s steps brought it close to it again. The axe strike not only didn’t have any lasting effect, but the Forest Gunk didn’t even acknowledge it in any way.

The creature lost no time when its prey avoided it. As its left arm missed its target it used the momentum of its movement to bring its fist down, kneeling as it actually punched towards the ground. Magic flashed around Luna and she barely escaped the monstrosity’s strike, appearing a couple of meters from where she previously stood, gasping for breath, the magic on her horn sputtering.

Bolts of magic and flaming arrows flashed against the creature’s back. The magic vanished within the creature, and the fire withered with black smoke. Smoke Ring, Tidal Wave, Trixie, and Trailblazer all stood together and launched a volley of pure magic against their foe. The Forest Gunk half-swiveled to turn its blind gaze on them, completely silent. Its left arm rose across its chest and it slashed the air in front of it.

Globules of dull green liquid flew towards the unicorns. A shield was hastily erected and it splashed against it, hissing loudly. The four unicorns half-groaned, half-screamed in pain as the feedback from their shield rattled against their consciousness.

The Forest Gunk raised its arm again. Ponies, griffin, and diamond dog rushed to the unicorns to pull them out of the way. Luna screamed, demanding the creature’s attention and charged for its back.

Rainbow Dash had kept her attention at the creature’s ‘face’. It was featureless, devoid of anything that resembled expression save the shifting and gurgling mass that characterized it. She would swear nevertheless, and nopony would convince her otherwise, that the Forest Gunk smirked in wild triumph.

Luna flew straight, aiming for the creature’s back of the head, her horn shining with fueled magic while beads of sweat ran down her forehead, those nearest her horn evaporating by the magical energies coalescing together. The Forest Gunk played its charade of launching another attack, and raised its right hand, clawing for the incoming Alicorn.

Rainbow dashed for Luna with the kind of speed that would form a Sonic Rainboom in a longer flight, and she still barely made it. Luna’s right wing flicked dangerously close to the creature’s palm, and Rainbow hooted in fright as a long finger, sporting a thick, broken piece of bark like some twisted version of a nail, passed millimeters away from her eye. That was another thing that she would swear until the end of her days; that she totally didn’t pee herself a little right there and then.

They landed together a little distance away from the Forest Gunk, getting a much needed breather from the advancing titan. Rainbow Dash was draped across Luna’s stomach, with the Alicorn fallen flat on her back beneath her.

Luna weakly pushed at Rainbow. Her throat convulsed and she audibly swallowed. “Get… Get off me, and get away from me.”

“Hey, I’m trying to help,” Rainbow complained. She wearily glanced at the Forest Gunk. It got delayed by another volley of magic, but this time the unicorns were ready for its counterattack, and they didn’t group all together. Its intended target ducked behind a tree only to go around the other side and keep blasting. Rainbow didn’t know if they were damaging it, but they were surely annoying it enough to keep its attention on them for a few valuable seconds.

The melee fighters and flyers were doing their best to approach it without getting caught in its swings, using their weapons to seep some of its mass away rather than pierce or slice it. Rainbow watched for a half second. The way it was completely silent wracked her nerves. It never made a sound of pain or anger. Nothing at all. It just fought.

“I know you are,” Luna said as she stood. One of her knees trembled for a second, but she got up nevertheless and assumed a stance that made it hard to believe that the tall mare with the flowing star-mane was tired in any way. “But you have to go. I can bait it away. Use the chance I’m giving you.”

“We’re not abandoning you with that!” Rainbow proclaimed, offended at the mere suggestion. “It went straight for you, didn’t you notice?”

“I did. That’s exactly what I mean,” Luna repeated. Her expression softened. “And Rainbow? I’m sorry.”

“For what? Hey, what are you planning?”

“For seeing the Element of Loyalty, and not Rainbow Dash, the pony who wields it. The beast is after me, so we will let it give chase. Meanwhile, you will have to think of a strategy to slay it. I can’t. I’m too weak. I doubt I’d be able to withstand its grip once more and I no longer possess the amount of magic that I slayed its brethren with.”

Rainbow looked at Luna like she grew a second head. “You want me to think of a plan?”

“You, and anypony else with an idea; twenty heads are better than one, are they not?” Luna grinned. She flapped her wings experimentally and winced at the result. “I can give no more than five, ten minutes at best. I’ll circle around and guide it back to the cliffside where it emerged. Think, and act.” Luna took to the air, moved apart from Rainbow, and shouted with that impressive volume she was able to summon at will.

“Hey, monster! It’s me you want, don’t you? Here I am! Catch me, and claim me if you can!”

The Forest Gunk turned its bulbous head towards the challenge’s origin, and as soon as it made a step Luna retreated among the trees. Soon, the Forest Gunk was running after its prize with the swishing of branches and leaves as it passed, and Luna’s continued cries.

The Lunar Guard members approached Rainbow Dash. She noticed some of them were sporting various degrees of burns. Raven’s left arm was smoking, Shaded Swirl was missing his shirt, and Trixie’s cloak was less than half its former size, the pieces serving as hasty bandages among the unicorns, including herself.

“What is she doing?” Eventide asked. She favored her left leg. She was too slow avoiding a swipe from the Forest Gunk and her right leg got caught enough that it almost pulled the leg out of its socket.

Being stupid, Rainbow Dash thought, but answered, “She’s distracting it, buying us time to think of a plan to take that gunk down. Any ideas? We don’t have a lot of time.”

“First, what do we know about it?” Solid Charge asked.

“It burns!” Raven whined.

“Yeah, and I can’t pay it back for that,” Trailblazer whined. “It’s mostly dead plants, but it’s all so wet it kills any flame.”

“It can harden itself, trapping whatever is sunk in it.” Gobrend said, putting a talon under his beak. “And admirable defense, especially how it allows for the hit to come through and avoid damage if it can. I don’t believe it can control it though. If it did it would never be caught by a rope.”

“It has an ego,” Red Dawn said. Everypony turned to him for a moment. “I dodged a hit and I blew a raspberry at it. It concentrated on me for a few seconds. I think I got it mad.”

“What if we keep slashing away at it?” Blank Slate suggested. “Reduce its mass?”

Sunrise Storm shook her head. “Won’t work. It can easily absorb back whatever it loses, and it doesn’t give us a way to kill it. Besides, its huge. A lot of us would die in the attempt, and it would mean nothing the moment it made contact with what it lost.”

“Perhaps it was a weak point. A core that is not as resistant as the rest of it,” Stampede offered. “Alas, I don’t know how we would find it.”

Solid Charge punched a tree next to him. “We need ways to kill it and we don’t even have a way to hurt it! What about magic? Any of you know any spells that can do the job?” he asked the unicorns.

Trixie rubbed her front legs, looking ashamed. “Not- Not really. Trixie is a showpony. All I have are… lights and tricks. I don’t know any powerful combat magic. Just what I could teach myself.”

The rest of the unicorns shook their heads as well. “Nothing that we haven’t tried,” Smoke Ring explained. “Magic bolts are the usual fare. There is other stuff, like what Trailblazer tried, but magic is harder than it looks. There are not many ponies that can do any spell they like.”

Twilight could, Rainbow Dash thought. She really wished Twilight was here. Her, and the rest of the girls. No matter what Luna had just said, Rainbow doubted that Rainbow Dash the pony was any use now. If all her friends were here they could have figured something out. Twilight or one of the others would make a plan, Rainbow would do as they said, and done, monster gone. At least, Rainbow Dash the Element of Loyalty could use the Elements of Harmony. That thing wouldn’t stand a chance if they had them.

That’s what they needed. Twilight with her powerful spells and knowledge or the Elements. Rainbow Dash the pony was useless here. What did she have? A few flying tricks and bravado. She didn’t know enough to make a plan! She felt so dumb, especially next to the likes of Gobrend who analyzed the creature with a scholar’s eye, Tidal Wave and Trailblazer who knew at least a little about magic, and Sunrise Storm who quickly figured out the pros and cons of any solution anypony offered.

What did Rainbow Dash know? How to fly upside down. Or get a nice storm going in a few minutes. Yeah, she had that much at least. Knew her weather job inside out. Fat load of good knowing every single way to form or dissolve a raincloud would—

Oh. OH! So that’s what’s being Twilight is like!

“I’ve got an idea!” Rainbow Dash announced. Nopony was paying attention to her, frantically trying to come up with a plan themselves. “I’ve got an idea!” she repeated much louder.

She waited for all eyes to rest on her and their ears to stop ringing. “Kill it with fire!”

Trailblazer huffed. “We can’t. I just said so.”

“We totally can!” Rainbow Dash reiterated. She grabbed Tidal Wave, the stallion vaguely peeved at being hoofhandled again. “You can do your water spell.”

“We don’t want to get it wetter,” Tidal Wave deadpanned. “That’s the opposite of what we need.”

Rainbow Dash smiled so wide her cheeks hurt. In fact, Blank Slate looked at her with a hint of alarm. “When you do your water spells they gotta work like pegasi do clouds, right? You pull the moisture out of the air, right? What I want you to do is pull the moisture out of the Forest Gunk.”

She could learn to love these looks of amazement. Tidal Wave however tried to rain on her parade. “I can’t choose a specific point where I draw the water from. I just get it from all around me. I don’t have enough time to remake the spell!”

“Right,” Rainbow Dash said, still going. “Then we get you close to it. You cast your spell, make a geyser and blast it away from it. Sooner or later you will start pulling the water out of it. Then, when it’s dried out like a prune…”

“I burn it!” Trailblazer finished, smiling maniacally.

“If he goes near it and that thing notices him it will kill him,” Solid Charge said.

“What if we distract it?” Snared Wish said.

Blank Slate spoke up, pointing at Red Dawn. “That could work. Red Dawn said that thing got angry at him. All of us flyers can get near it, keep it looking up and keep its attention on us!”

“You can’t.” Shaded Swirl took a step to the front. “I saw you try to do that now. You can barely move in here under the trees. Make it focus on you like that and it will kill you.”

“What we need is a clearing,” Sunrise Storm said.

“Luna’s going to take it back around where it first came out.” Rainbow Dash looked back the way they came. “We should head there soon. We lost too much time already!”

Raven grunted in distaste. “No clearing there.”

Stampede stood up from where he stood, his old joints cracking. “Then we make one. Time to show that thing what earth ponies can do, and the rest of you can help. Distract it as much as you can until we clear out a space. When we are done it’s up to the flyers only to keep its attention while Tidal Wave dries it up. When that’s done with we set it alight and make sure it won’t escape. Anything goes wrong, use your best judgement.”

“Sounds like we have a plan.” Solid Charge hefted the axe in his hand. “Let’s go.”

They started running back where they came from. Stampede laid a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder and kept her down before she could take to the air. “Volunteer Rainbow Dash?”

“Yes?” She was feeling a little worried by that hard look.

Stampede smiled, showing teeth shortened and yellowed by age. “Good job,” he said, and left her back as he ran after the others with speed unlike his age.

“Gnnnhh!” Limit Breaker grunted through his tightly shut lips as he shook on Sea Breeze’s back.

“Are you okay?” Sea Breeze asked, worried.

“I’m fine, go, go!”

Leaf Stream winced. This was exactly what she didn’t want to happen, but she didn’t have time to stop them. She told them, she ordered them, to wait while she went out on her own, but no. They had to come along and make sure she was fine as well. It would have been sweet if it wasn’t so bucking infuriating.

Huh. So that’s what the other side felt like.

She was certain that Raegdan was in trouble. Maybe she should have listened to them, but she had seen the guy come on top too many times. He had gone alone and wounded against over a dozen griffins and was winning for Celestia’s sake. Except, you know, towards the end where they were about to kill him. But to be honest, she was certain he would have found a way out on his own either way.

They weren’t sure if they were heading the right way. The roar came this way, but was Raegdan still here or alive or—

“You fucking, cheap-ass, heaven-damned spear! Fuck you and whoever made- Fuck!”

Ok, still there. That was good. Didn’t sound it was going well though. The hasty torches they carried did their job. What they illuminated however… was not what they expected to see.

A huge manticore was in the middle of attempting to maul and eat Raegdan who was on his back on the ground, holding off the slathering jaws of the monster just a hoof’s reach away from his face with one arm. The manticore’s scorpion tail rose behind it, the spike dripping with venom. It coiled slightly back, and stabbed for Raegdan’s head.

The biped barely dodged, leaning his head aside, and Leaf Stream saw his teeth in the pale starlight as he winced at the near-hit. A spear had been stabbed in the manticore’s chest, its shaft broken. Leaf Stream spied the majority of it sticking out of the ground just a little over to the side. Raegdan’s leg started kicking, his shin striking against the broken grip and pushing it a little deeper into the manticore’s belly even as the broken wood slashed at his leg and turned it into bloody chunks.

“Why won’t you fucking die and make this easy for me, you fucking piece- Hell!” The manticore had growled in pain and raised its right paw. The large talons popped out of the feline appendage and tried to slash at Raegdan. He lifted his arm, the one that hadn’t even managed to heal, and stopped the claw by putting his forearm in the way of the monster’s wrist. It gave a little, the arm bending in a way it wasn’t meant to. He didn’t shout out in pain, but he bit his lips so hard they bled.

He spotted them with the edge of his eye. “Are you fuckers seriously just watc—” He dodged again, this time managing to somehow grind his back against the ground in order to move even further as the stinger descended for his throat. “Right, I had it, I’m gonna shove that thing up your ass! You idiots get out of here!” he screamed furious, pushing the monster’s head further back.

He kicked at the broken spear again. The broken end stabbed into his shin this time, and he grunted in satisfaction as more blood spurted out. Using the stability offered by the wood digging into his flesh he forced his leg up, driving the spear point deeper while at the same time still holding off the manticore’s teeth and claws.

The manticore roared in pain and rose at its hindlegs, howling to the sky, it’s leathery wings flapping. Five torches guided by magic shoved themselves against its face and throat, the fire sizzling and the smell of burnt hair and meat overpowered everypony. A blast of magic struck its torso, drowning out the manticore’s new roar of pain, and three pairs of hooves, one belonging to Broken Gust and nailing it at the head, the other two belonging to Sea Breeze and Leaf Stream, the two mares striking together at the same point and toppling the towering, toothed monstrosity.

The manticore rose to its feet slowly, carving up the ground with its talons, and its eyes promising retribution. It stalked towards Leaf Stream and Sea Breeze, ignoring the blasts of magic from Short Order and Stalwart Shield despite the pain. It leaped for the two mares, and was stopped short by a magic shield.

The talons were stopped by the shield, but the magic didn’t end there. The shield gave in, the manticore sinking into it for a moment before the shield flexed like rubber and threw the manticore back. Stalwart Shield’s smirk was short lived, as the manticore simply unfolded its wings and landed on the ground unhurt. It stormed for Leaf Stream and Sea Breeze again, half-heartedly making a swipe with its venomous tail for the Thestral that was trying to strike it with her bare hooves without getting in range of any of the manticore’s deadly arsenal.

Leaf Stream really, really wondered what came over them and decided to leave all their weapons behind just because they were of no use against the scorpion.

“Hey, hey monster! This way! Come on, this way!” Limit Breaker shouted, limping from the side.

“No, you idiot!” Leaf Stream yelled. What was the moron doing? He was hurt! Sea Breeze and Leaf Stream could still dodge and avoid the manticore. What was he planning to do? Distract it by being hard to chew?

“Kid, get back here!” Short Order shouted, mirroring Leaf Stream.

The manticore turned for the young stallion.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Limit Breaker continued, ignoring the shouts directed at him. “You don’t hurt my friends, okay? You look this way and— Ow!” He fell down with a grimace of pain, his burnt shoulderblades betraying him and making him easy prey. The manticore charged for the kill.

Raegdan got in the way in the last second. The alien’s right hand rose from behind him, arching over his shoulder, the long blade reflecting the pale moonlight, and finishing in a downwards stabbing motion. His whole body followed the motion, his hips turning and his knees bending at the right time for that tiny boost of strength. There was a crack, and Raegdan’s right shoulder shook as his arm popped out of its socket.

The dagger he held sunk into the manticore’s head, piercing through the thick skull and digging into the brain with a dull, dry sound that Leaf Stream felt with her teeth. The force of the strike was enough that, accompanied with the monster’s instant death, drove the monster straight to the ground, sliding for a few centimeters as its momentum brought its mouth to kiss Raegdan’s boots.

Leaf Stream watched the instant kill with widened eyes. She thought she was about to see Limit Breaker get torn in shreds, not… not watch a one-shot kill she had never dreamed about. The manticore was still, and somehow looked even bigger than when it was alive. It was as big as a bear, its mouth large enough to swallow a pony’s head whole! She brought her hoof to her mouth, making sure her jaw was in its right place and properly closed. What stunned her most was the fact that he did it blindly. The cheeky bastard had actually kept his working eye shut, aiming by sound or whatever alien senses he probably had! She couldn’t believe he took the time to show off!

Limit Breaker grinned with his usual brightness. “Wow, that was amazi—”

“Fuuuck!” Raegdan fell on his knees, screaming another epithet as soon as his bloated knee crashed against the ground. He clutched his right wrist and with a groan of pain instantly regretted it as his broken left arm shook with the sudden shift, abandoning the dagger in the manticore’s skull.

“Are you alright?” Stalwart Shield asked, rushing to Raegdan’s side.

“Do I look fucking alright?” Raegdan spat. “I dislocated my wrist and—” He looked at his shoulder. “And my fucking shoulder. And my arm is fucking broken again!” He offered his right hand to Stalwart Shield. “Hold it.”

“Uh, and do what with it?”

“Shove it up your— Just fucking hold it!”

Stalwart Shield held the hand between his hooves as tightly as he could. Raegdan swore under his breath and then pushed and twisted his forearm. There was an ugly crackle, and a stream of what must have been a very imaginative mind swearing in an alien tongue.

“What about your leg?” Stalwart Shield asked, eyeing his bleeding shin.

“What about it? I’ll tie it up when I have a working arm again,” Raegdan managed through clenched teeth. “There’s not much else I can do until I get a needle and some light.”

Sea Breeze approached him carefully. “Would you… like me to help you with your shoulder? I believe I can pop it back in place.”

“Do you know how?” Raegdan asked as he sweated.

“I think so…” Sea Breeze answered hesitantly. She prodded his shoulder for a second. “Let’s see, it should go in here, so if I—” She pulled, twisted, and then pulled up. She walked off with a satisfied smile as the new torrent of curse words exclaimed her success. Raegdan leaned to the side and emptied his stomach with loud retching noises.

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” Limit Breaker said cheekily from the side. “It hurts for me—”

Raegdan pointed at the young stallion, roaring. “You shut your mouth, you stupid brat. I swear, when we get back to Canterlot, you and I are going into a room alone and my palm and your flank are having words about the crap you just pulled! What the fuck were you thinking?”

“But… You…”

“No buts! Even dream of pulling another stunt like that and you’ll spend a month in the girliest dress I can find, cleaning carpets with your tongue! And I’ll know. I’ll have Luna check every night!”

“Raegdan,” Leaf Stream began, trying to interrupt his litany of curses. “There’s something else here as well.”

“Like what? Another manticore? Nesting feral dragons? Twilight Velvet?” he hissed as he ripped off the remains of his trouser leg and used it to tie up the grisly wound.

“We don’t know. Something. It doesn’t get hurt by weapons, I’ll tell you that much. Seriously, we tried. That’s why we brought the torches. We hoped fire might work or if not that then magic.” She nodded towards Short Order and Stalwart Shield.

“Fucking great,” Raegdan huffed. He looked around him at the sticks turned charcoal. “You mean these torches?” he asked full of sarcasm.

“Okay, so we need new ones. Sorry for saving your ass.”

“My ass didn’t need saving. I had that.”

Leaf Stream scoffed. “You did have that. You were the bottom, remember? You had a lot of that.” She winked as wickedly as she could.

“Laugh it up, but remember, I don’t get killed that easily.” Raegdan walked over to the manticore’s corpse. “I guess that’s what got the kid hurt? Let me get my dagger and we will go get some more torches, and then you can tell uncle Raegdan what made the widdle filly wet herself.”

He slowly bent on his knee and reached for the handle. Behind his back, a scorpion made of mud and rotten foliage was midair, aiming its fall for Raegdan. It descended on him before anypony could give the slightest warning, covering him entirely with a sickening wet sound.

Either they arrived on the scene too late or Luna had more trouble that she expected. She was already there, and the Forest Gunk had almost cornered her against the cliffside.

Rainbow Dash flew for the creature, she even spinned around it and managed a slash, but to no avail. It completely ignored her, focused on its exhausted prey. Luna was able to avoid the monster yet, but it was obvious she was fueled by pure will and every flap of her wings was the result of supreme effort.

“It’s not paying attention to us!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

Solid Charge knelt next to a broken log. “It will pay attention to this I bet.” He lifted one end of it, and Cast Iron got the other. They run forward, lifting the log over their shoulders as they went, and threw it together, piercing the Forest Gunk through, the log sticking half out its back, half out its front.

The monster stopped, lowering its arms and giving Luna a chance to breath. It slowly turned around, full of menace, and seemed to finally notice the crowd behind it. It took a step towards them. The log twisted and swiveled in its body, the hole closing and the log sinking into the murky body.

Luna tried to fly around it, making sure she was out of its reach. She was exhausted, and she thought she was safe for a moment. She wasn’t going fast enough, and it wasn’t like she had the strength to do so.

A wave bulged over the Forest Gunk’s body and travelled across its body. It swole over its torso, travelling down its shoulder and across its forearm in tremendous speed. The Forest Gunk swung with its massive arm, and as it performed the motion the tree trunk they had just tried to stab it with exited out of its palm. The monster grabbed it in one single motion, and just like that it was able to reach the Alicorn flying it by. The massive club cracked against Luna’s head, throwing her away like a ragdoll.

Rainbow Dash, Eventide, and Snared Wish managed to grab the princess before she could smack against a tree and get hurt even worse. Rainbow Dash was alarmed to find that Luna was unconscious, and even worse, her head was bleeding, really bleeding and not just a few drops.

“That thing is coming for us!” Snared Wish warned them. Rainbow looked up and she saw she was right, but there wasn’t a lot they could do while carrying Luna. No way she would be able to avoid that thing among all these trees and keep on to the unconscious mare.

Raven the diamond dog growled beneath them. “Give her here,” he said, reaching up with his paws. Rainbow hesitated for a moment, unwilling to trust a bleeding friend to a diamond dog, especially one with such a long muzzle and sharp teeth like Raven and his black coat, but she quickly shook away the ridiculous feeling. They lowered down and deposited Luna to his arms, and then took off again to go annoy the monster as much as she could.

Raven carried Luna one handed, running across the ground with just three legs. He reached Gobrend and barked something, and the griffin rushed behind him. Raven rested Luna on the ground as softly as he could with Gobrend’s help.

“You have medicine for her too? Can you fix her up?” the wolf-like diamond dog asked.

Gobrend was digging in his small satchel. “Her skull is cracked. We need to stop the bleeding, and I don’t have any more bandages!” he yelled with a hawk-like screech.

Raven tore up his shirt, using a stubby claw to shred in in straight lines. “Will this work?”

“Yes!” Gobrend snapped them off Raven’s offering hand. “Lift her up carefully, and don’t touch where she’s bleeding. The skull might be too fractured.” Griffin and diamond dog worked together, Gobrend giving orders and Raven following them to the letter, rushing off to pick up whatever the griffin required without any protest.

Solid Charge jumped into the fray. “We will keep it busy. Make space for the fliers!” he ordered at large. He entered the battle, him and Cast Iron providing a breather for the flyers whenever they needed one as they forced the Forest Gunk to pay attention both high and low. The monster kept trying to gaze at its surroundings, looking for Luna, but nopony dared to give it enough space to do so.

Rainbow could scarcely believe that thing’s speed or stamina. She was getting tired already. Worse, she was losing her focus. She could only concentrate so long on avoiding that club before her mind started to slowly cloud as the mental effort took its toll. She was going to make a mistake sooner or later and end up as paste. She needed more space!

“This thing is still looking for the Princess!” Cast Iron shouted. “Solid, it’s searching around for her!”

“Stampede, we need to finish this quick!” Solid Charge shouted in turn.

“Alright ponies, you heard him!” Stampede yelled, standing proud next to a tree. “Time to show what earth ponies can do!” He turned his back to the tree and kicked it with just one leg. The trunk broke in half and branches of the trees surrounding it broke in droves as it fell on the ground with a tumultuous noise.

Sunrise Storm’s jaw fell, as did that of Tick and Tack next to her. Shaded Swirl was rubbing his eyes in disbelief. “I didn’t know we can do that!” Sunrise Storm whispered.

“Might take you youngsters a little while until you get the trick. Or grow the necessary muscle. On to it, come on!” The geriatric pony said with a smirk on his withered, cragged face.

Rainbow wasn’t sure what was going on. She started hearing trees falling, a lot of them in a row, though in most cases there had to be a lot of kicks involved before one bent down. She paused to watch the earth ponies’ progress and almost paid for it. The Forest Gunk’s long weapon rushed for her.

Mismatched wings flapped furiously and pushed her out of the way. She found herself muzzle to muzzle with Blank Slate who had finally changed his tired expression to one of fear. “You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Fine.” She looked around. The space was clear enough. “Hey, guys! We got our clearing. Bring it this way,” she yelled at the fliers still in the air.

Red Dawn glanced at her, and nodded. The light red, tall stallion flew in front of the behemoth, unafraid. When the creature was doing its equivalent of looking at him, he unleashed his new found knowledge of his opponent. He pulled at his cheeks, showed his tongue, and rolled his eyes.

He zoomed flying next to Rainbow. The beast’s hit had barely touched him, but it had been enough to throw him away. The Thestrals took up the torch, going wild and enraging the monster. Rainbow and Blank Slate took the air once more, spitting saliva all over as they blew raspberries with wild abandon.

When I tell this story, Rainbow Dash thought, I’ll make sure to skip this part.

“Tidal Wave!” Solid Charge shouted, pulling back. “Any day now.”

“I’m on it, sir,” the quiet stallion in the patchwork armor answered. He jumped over the fallen trees, and got as close as he dared, doing his best to keep his approach undetected. A light fog fell over as Smoke Ring cast his spell, but not enough to conceal him entirely, not without obstructing Tidal Wave’s vision as well.

A few seconds later a geyser of water started flowing from behind the Forest Gunk. Rainbow could feel the moisture draining away from the air with her pegasi magic. It wouldn’t be long until the local atmosphere was completely dry and the spell turned on the next best source of water.

It did. The creature didn’t slow at all, but Rainbow could see the mud drying up and flakes falling off. The rotten foliage lost its shine and shriveled as time went on and the water cannon kept spouting gallons away from it. It was working.

Then the Forest Gunk realized what it was going on. It stopped trying to hurt Rainbow Dash and the rest, and its hollow eyes swept the ground. It found Tidal Wave, the unicorn keeping his eyes closed as he focused on his spell, and unaware of what was happening. The Forest Gunk raised its dried up arm, forming a fist.

Fireworks flashed in front of its face, the monster pulling back in surprise and losing sight long enough for Tidal Wave to get away.

“Haha, that’s what you get for facing off against the Great and Powerful Trixie, monster!”

“Trailblazer!” Solid Charge called.

A rain of flaming arrows pierced the Forest Gunk’s body and set it alight. The flames spread rapidly, it’s dried up body engulfed in an instant. The fire crackled, and the dried up branches and leaves snapped as they were consumed. The behemoth was dying.

It wasn’t dying fast enough. Its empty sockets looked around, and connected with Rainbow Dash’s. Once more, she had the sense that there was an expression there. A feeling. Like that thing knew that it was her idea that lead to its coming death.

Or maybe it was because she had been hooting and howling in her victory. Whatever the reason was, the creature lashed for her. Its arm, enshrouded in fire, reached out for her, faster than ever before, as if it put all of its dying strength into making sure it got one of them with it in a last act of spite. Rainbow tried to snap herself back to life to avoid it, but the sheer speed of its attack and the malevolence in that hollow, empty face had stunned her. She tried to back off, and felt a tree trunk against her flank.

The flaming fist was almost on her. Time slowed, and she could see dry leaves crackling black and turning to ash as the burning mass headed for her, millimeter by excruciatingly slow millimeter, to crush and burn her.

Not the way I thought I was gonna go, she had time to admit to herself before it was all over.

A blur passed Rainbow by, and the flaming Forest Gunk was pushed back. Luna was on its chest, uncaring of the flames licking at her body. She pushed her horn into the monster one last time.

“Die!”

The Forest Gunk blew apart, setting small fires all around them that swiftly died. Gobrend and Raven had rushed behind Luna, and managed to grab the Alicorn that half-fainted again and almost crashed to the ground, sparing her already heavy wounds from becoming greater.

A round, yellowed bone fell on the grass and rolled downhill for a few centimeters, until its sockets stared up at the starry sky, now visible through the newly opened hole. What was left of its teeth formed something like a smile, and the shadows shaped by the flickering flames played games with it, giving it the impression of closing its eyes and going to sleep, breathing peacefully as it rested.

Solid Charge, Eventide, Rainbow Dash, and all the rest waited. The minutes passed by as they waited to see if their plan worked, watching the puddles of mud and flaming bushes with dread.

Solid Charge and Rainbow Dash leaned over Luna. “Princess? How are you feeling?” Solid Charge asked, keeping his voice low.

“Is it dead?” Luna croaked.

“We’d say it’s ashes, but the mud didn’t burn. We also found that. Does that work?” Rainbow Dash asked, showcasing the ancient skull.

Luna examined it with half-lidded eyes. Rainbow had no idea how Raegdan’s skull looked, and this certainly wasn’t how she would imagine it to be, but it was still too close for comfort. At least she took solace in the fact that it couldn’t be one of someone like him, but something similar, like a monkey perhaps. It was too small.

“Well enough,” Luna said, closing her eyes again. “Now I do feel a little better. Good job, all of you. I’m still not sure how you did it, but I’m certain I’ll enjoy hearing the story.”

“Oh yeah, it was awesome!” Rainbow Dash took to the air, gesturing wildly. “So, I knew it couldn’t burn, cause Trailblazer had already tried, but then I remembered how Tidal Wave cleaned you up or how I saw him filling up a canteen with water back at the camp, and then—”

“Later,” Luna specified. “I’d like to hear it later, when my head is back in one piece, thank you.”

“Oops. Sorry.” Rainbow Dash grinned apologetically, still high on victory. Quite a few of them had got hurt, but it was mostly bruises and a cracked or dislocated bone at worse. The burns were most worrying out of everything, but Gobrend assured them that if nopony showed an allergic reaction so far they were probably safe. Still, they should get them treated as soon as possible before somepony came down with an infection.

Luna was actually the one hurt worst among them. The Forest Gunk really had a thing for her. Most worrisome was her bleeding skull, and the burns. Especially since she got more of them when she latched on the monster there at the end. Still, she was conscious and could talk so that bode well.

Solid Charge stood straight again. “We are making a stretcher to take you back to the camp, princess. We will be leaving shortly.”

“No- Not yet. Help me up, please.”

“I don’t know if that’s wise.” Solid Charge glanced questioningly at Gobrend who shrugged, unsure himself. He had been greatly impressed by Luna’s fortitude so far, but perhaps she had been pushing her limits too far.

“I have to,” Luna insisted weakly. “I want to look for Steel Edge’s body.”

“Lie back down,” Rainbow Dash counter-insisted. “We can’t dig, remember? We have to go back.”

“N- not yet. When it came out…” Luna continued dizzily. “It made a hole. He might be there. I want- I want to take his body with us. I owe him that much. I owe him a proper grave.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll go check, okay? I’ll be back in ten seconds flat, I promise.”

“No… Take a good look. Don’t hurry too much,” Luna lied back down. Rainbow examined her for a moment. She was looking kind of pale, and there had been a lot of blood. She decided to go check the hole immediately. The sooner they got this over with and went back the better.

Rainbow Dash arrived at the edge of the hole with a few flaps of her wings. She carefully approached, peering carefully, now wondering if there might be one more of these things in there. One step, two, three, and she was looking where the Forest Gunk came from.

“Princess?” Rainbow called out, her voice shaking. “I see him. There’s a… kind of a problem?”

Solid Charge shouted back. “She asks what’s the matter.”

“Hold on!” Rainbow went into the hole. It took a little digging, some clearing up, but soon she was out and flying back to Luna and Solid Charge, carrying their prize. She deposited the body in front of Solid Charge who was staring in awed disbelief. Luna’s eyes were shut again, but Rainbow could tell what she expected to hear from her saddened expression.

“He’s still alive,” Rainbow Dash said, not believing it herself.

The Thestral was alive. Gray coat, black mane, and a cutie mark of a smithing hammer behind a couple of weapons criss-crossing in front of it like an ‘X’. He was a big guy, even bigger than Big Mac, quite unusual for a Thestral. He was asleep or unconscious.

Luna’s eyes shot open. She stared, simply stared for a long time. Then her hooves pushed her away, away from the impossibly still breathing, ancient Thestral with fear.

“Princess?” Solid Charge asked.

“Take… Take me away. Take me away from him. Take me away from him!” Luna screamed. “He can’t be alive. He should be dead, dead like the rest. I killed them all!”

“Shit!” Leaf Stream screamed when she finally got control of her senses again. “Light up the torches, get something, anything, now! Raegdan, get down, we will try to pull it off you!” A lone torch flared to life as Stalwart Shield managed to find one that was still dry and clean enough.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Raegdan hissed. He tilted his head up, and Leaf Stream saw that the gauze over his eye had fallen off.

The red flames reflected against the crimson inside his no longer hidden socket, and it was like she was looking in a burning eye. There was no white, only the deep red of blood, and an indistinct, long black shape in the center among the ruins of his eye like a distant threat.

Leaf Stream and the rest froze. “Hey, are you...?”

Raegdan stood up like a pale ghost under the moonlight, covered with a brown, dripping cloak. “Just how big do fucking birds get around here? Why the fuck did it have to aim for me?” A large, almost hoofball sized, piece fell off his shoulder and splashed harmlessly on the ground. There was a new smell, a mix between manure and rot, emanating from the remains of the mucky creature.

“What the…” Short Order whispered.

Leaf Stream couldn’t believe her eyes either.

That thing was dead!