Celestia’s sun crested western Equestria’s skies, turning the horizon pale pink to light gold, then a rich golden orange as the sun ascended. The rays of the sun brushed Skyward’s muzzle and she sleepily rolled over, grumbling as she sat up in the bed she was sleeping in, and chuckled as she ran one hoof through her unruly mane. The dinner last night had turned into one hay of a country party—after the fillies had been put to bed, the adult ponies had brought out the hard cider, caramel covered apples, molasses covered carrots, strawberry wine, apple pie and apple cobbler, carrot cake and carrot bread—Skyward had produced her pumpkin bread she had made during Nightmare Night and some Haylian sauteed nuts. She’d roasted walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, cashews in a pan and tossed them in butter, a little sugar and Goron Spice, and placed them in a large bowl for everypony to nibble on. Applejack had produced a fiddle and began playing country dance tunes.

Skyward had been reluctant to dance at first, but Applejack nudged her, giving her a comforting wink and a smile. The music, expertly played by the orange farmpony, soon had the bluesteel unicorn dancing with the others, leaping and twirling with the other mares and Trouble Shoes—Braeburn couldn’t dance because of his injury, but he kept time with his good forehoof. She got up out of the bed, rubbing her eyes with one hoof and yawning mightily, and headed for the bathroom, needing to relieve herself as well as bathe. She ran the water for a hot bath, sighing as she relaxed in the soothing water, and lightly splashed the steaming liquid with one hoof, watching the water droplets pearl on what fur was still somewhat dry on her right foreleg.

Water.

Blue.

Sapphire.

The Zora.

The Haylian unicorn sighed, shaking her mane as she sat up in the tub, a frown touching her brow. The Zora were the only other tribe she had encountered beside the Goron tribe—the Kokiri, not so much, and with good reason. The Lost Woods were called as such; anypony stayed well away from the place, for it was said that anypony who went in never came out again—the only ponies who lived in there were the Kokiri. They looked like young fillies and colts at first glance, but they were anything but—they were ageless guardians of the forest, each with their own faerie companion. Zelda had been one of the only two ponies who had gone into the Woods and returned—the other had been her sire, King Valion.
But that wasn’t what burdened Skyward’s mind. It had been three months, and no sign still of a portal, but Applejack had been right. One more.

Would it truly be just one more? One more portal, one more area freed, one more Goddess Stone to recover?

The bluesteel unicorn sighed as she began scrubbing at her mane, tail and fur; one thing was certain. The next time she saw Sheik, she was not leaving Hayrule through a portal until she got some answers of her own. She finished her ablutions, dried herself off, clad herself in her armor, gathered up her shield and sword and went downstairs. Seeing no one was in the practice ring, she decided to practice her sword skills before breakfast, since she could smell hay bacon, flapjacks, home fries and coffee brewing, and trotted outside to the ring, checking her sword for sharpness.

In the kitchen was Applejack, who had gotten up early to cook breakfast. The orange farmpony whistled a soft tune as she fussed at the stove, checking the apple rings and the flapjacks cooking away in their respective skillets. But she was also a little concerned. While she called out dance turns and played her fiddle, Applejack kept an eye on her cousin—she knew Braeburn pretty well, and it was clear he was a little jealous--jealous of the other stallion in the room. Trouble Shoes had done his best not to trip over himself or cause a mess whenever he was dancing with Skyward, and when that happened, she definitely could see a little hint of envy in her cousin’s chartreuse eyes.

The blond maned and tailed mare smiled, catching the glint of sunlight on armor as she spotted Skyward in the practice ring—the Haylian pony already beginning her sword routines.
“Good morning, Applejack!”

“Mornin’ Rarity,” the orange farmpony called back as the white unicorn entered the kitchen. “Ah hate t’ be a bother but would ya mind settin’ th’ table?”

“Not at all! A simple task,” the fashionista replied as she lit her horn, dishes, glasses and silverware floating out of their respective places to land neatly on the table. Applejack finished the first set of flapjacks and beckoned to Rarity, who came over to her friend.

“Once th’ others are all awake, we need t’ talk. All o’ us.”

Rarity looked about carefully for anypony nearby, craning her ears to listen, and conjured the symbol of Hayrule in front of Applejack, who nodded soberly.

“Is Skyward having a bit of trouble?”

“Not now, Rare. Later. We got th’ boys hangin’ about an’ the less ponies know th’ better—oh, good gravy. Be a dear an’ keep cookin’ fer me, will ya please?”

“Applejack! Where in the world are you…oh, dear! No no no these simply will NOT do! Oh, I’ll have to start over, where is the flour…”

The orange farmpony had gone outside to avert certain disaster; she’d seen Braeburn leaning against the fence of the practice ring watching Skyward practice, which was fine. But he’d gone in while the Haylian pony was in the middle of a complicated series of movements…

Applejack was no fool, she knew Skyward was going to accidentally injure her cousin if the stallion got within range of that blade of hers, and given Braeburn’s surprise appearance at the train station, this wasn’t going to end well. The orange farmpony poured on the speed, her hooves pounding the earth as she hurtled towards the fencing. She cleared the three-tier high fence in one leap, landed on the other side with a THUD and a cloud of dust…

“BRAEBURN APPLE! GIT YER FLANK AWAY FROM THERE RIGHT THIS COTTON PICKIN’ MINUTE!”

Skyward was jolted rudely out of her concentration, her sword flying out of her mental grip to slam point first into a water trough nearby up to the middle of the blade, the sword quivering with the force of impact. The Haylian unicorn spun around to see a furious Applejack stomp up to her surprised cousin.

“Applejack, what in tarnation’s gotten inta ya, cuz?”

But Applejack was not to be deterred. “What the buck were ya thinkin, Braeburn? Can’t ya see she’s practicin’? That sword’s the real deal, ya don’t mess with somethin’ that sharp! If ya wanna talk t’ her, make some noise first!”

Skyward was watching the whole thing with wide eyes, pricked ears and a stunned look on her muzzle—the astonishment was soon mixed with annoyance when she realized why Applejack was yelling at her cousin. She snorted and turned to get her sword, lighting her horn and yanking it out of the trough it was in…or tried to. The initial launch had been one of shock and as a result the blade had gone deep, making it almost impossible to remove without her destroying the trough to get to it. Behind her, the furious argument continued.

“Ah was jest watchin’ her, Applejack! There’s no call t’ light inta me fer that, now is there?”

“Watchin’s all well an’ good, but don’ ya have th’ common sense t’ not bother somepony when they’re practicin’ with somethin’ that could cleave ya in two? She ain’t no slouch with that there blade o’ hers, Braeburn…”

Skyward continued to try to pull the blade out, muttering curses as she focused on the hilt and pulled on it…to no avail. She ‘tugged’ harder, and still, the blade didn’t move an inch…it was stuck fast. She swore under her breath; Farore’s verdant mane, she’d have to get an axe or transform the trough…

“Need a lil’ help there, Miss Skyward?”

Skyward looked up to see Trouble Shoes leaning against the fence close to her, and she nodded in gratitude, looking embarrassed. The Clydesdale-esque stallion had spent the night as well, given the lateness of the hour when the party finally began winding down after midnight.

“Please—thine aid wouldst be greatly appreciated, Trouble Shoes. I hath been trying to dislodge mine blade from where it rests…”

The large stallion let himself into the ring and crossed to the bluesteel unicorn mare’s side—he examined the blade’s hilt before he nudged it with one hoof, carefully.

“Hoo-ee, ya got this lodged in real deep, Sky—how’d ya manage this?”

Skyward jerked her head towards the two arguing Apple cousins. “Applejack scolded her cousin Braeburn Apple for sneaking up on one while I wast practicing, and startled me into throwing mine blade. If not for her warning, something terrible could hath happened; he made no noise to warn me of his presence, nor gave me fair warning…”

The rodeo star shook his head as he nudged the hilt again, closely examining it before nudging it once more. The edge of the sword cut deeper into the wood and a little water sprayed the stallion in the muzzle—Skyward stifling a snicker and failing to do so. Trouble Shoes grinned at her and winked before looking back at the sword, shaking his head to rid himself of the water. “Stallion shoulda had more sense than t’ sneak up on ya with somethin’ this sharp. Braeburn’s kinda scatterbrained when it comes t' things lahke that...whoo-ee, this thing’s stuck in there pretty good…lemme see…”

The Clydesdale-esque pony kept wiggling the hilt; the blade was sharp, sharp enough to cut through wood, and as a result it was making a wider vertical crevice in the trough, slowly leaking water from it as a result. He was slowly levering it out of the trough; because of his size, it also meant he had immense strength, more so than most stallions. This meant he was able to dislodge the blade just enough for Skyward to pull it out with minimal damage to the trough. Water began to flow from the cut in the trough—Skyward focused her magic, and a thin beam of silver light flowed from her horn to the trough, sealing the cut closed with little effort.

Skyward dried off her blade before she sheathed it, and looked up at the large stallion with a grateful smile. “I thank thou for thine aid once more, Trouble Shoes; I owe thou a debt of honor.”

Trouble Shoes kicked the ground with one hoof, looking pleased. “Ah shucks, Sky; ya don’ owe me a thing. M’ happy t’ lend a hoof.”

“Still…one wouldst like to do something for thou in return,” she replied, removing her helm and smiling at him warmly.

The huge stallion was about to say something back when…

“Consarn it, Braeburn! Don’ ya have any sense in yer head?”

Braeburn flicked his tail, stamping his good hoof on the packed earth in irritation. “Oh ho that’s rich, considerin’ ya nearly bucked up th’ last Apple Family Reunion with yer attempts t’ be ‘Best Pony Of Th’ Year’,” he snapped back.

Skyward stomped a hoof, ears folding back in displeasure at seeing the shame flicker across her honorary kin-sister’s muzzle. “Braeburn Apple, do you not dare speak to thine cousin that way!”

The amber stallion whirled on her, his ears laid back, anger in his chartreuse colored eyes, pointing one hoof at her like an accusing judge. “Ya stay outta this, ya beef-headed crowbait!”

Skyward stared at the amber colored stallion, stunned at the unkind words coming from his muzzle, ears falling back in hurt before a burning inferno of rage began building in her breast. Her sword rattled in its sheath, her horn blazing silver as she fought the urge to unsheath her sword and take him to task for his cruel words. Applejack’s mouth hung open like a trap-door and Trouble Shoes’s ears instantly slicked back as a thunderous scowl began forming on his muzzle…

CRACK!

The slap she delivered was hard enough to knock Braeburn back on his flank—she was wearing her hoofcups, and the armor added to the force of the strike she’d given him. She hadn’t broken his jaw, but she sure had given him a nasty shot to the muzzle. Tears burned her eyes—she was a farmpony by blood, and while the lingo was a little different, she knew he’d called her a ‘thick-headed old nag’. She turned on her heels and bolted right out of the practice ring, running as fast as her hooves would carry her, deaf to the calls of the other ponies behind her. Trouble Shoes spun on the downed stallion, who was only just realizing what had happened and what he had said to the bluesteel mare as he cradled his extremely sore muzzle in his good hoof.

“Now look at what ya gone an’ done Braeburn, ya mush-brained jughead! Skyward! Sky, come back!”

Applejack took off after her, but Skyward had a strong lead, and she was fueled by anger and hurt. Also, she had magic—and it didn’t take long for her to teleport out of sight of the orange farmpony. The Haylian mare kept teleporting and running, uncaring about where she was going, and almost tripped several times, due to the tears blinding her eyes and the dust she was kicking up because of her headlong run. Eventually she ended up on a cliff far from Appleoosa, the cliff pointing northwest, away from the town proper. She slammed a hoof on the rock, tears burning her eyes as she tried to keep from weeping. Damn that stupid gelding; Apple or no Apple, he was a right bucking idiot! She was Skyward, daughter of Mossy Boulder, personal protégé to Princess Zelda…the Heroine of Time…

Who the buck did he think he was?

She sat on the ledge, staring out at the wild flatlands in front of her. The desert here was not like the one she knew in the Barren Wastes--it wasn't rolling hills of endless sand as far as the eye could see. This one was mostly flat rock, some sand, scrubby brush and plants, a cactus here and there…

The sun was rising higher, and with it, the heat. This far out, she could feel it; it was similar to the Barren Wastes, and she brushed a hoof over her exposed brow, glancing around. She had to find some shade—she didn’t want to go back to the ranch-house, she was still far too pissed off to not outright give that arrogant stallion what for...

AWOOOOOOOOOO!

The piercing, eerie howl that rose into the air snapped her out of her angry musings and she stood up, looking around her, unsheathing her sword from her back. Glancing around her, she moved away from the cliff she was standing on, heading for the much broader plateau like area as she descended the twisty, crude rock path leading down from the towering rock formation she had been standing on. She soon found herself in a wide open area, the huge formation at her back, part of it split open off to the left to reveal a broad, winding path through it—the direction back to the ranch-house most likely. The rest of it was open, rolling hills of scrub, sand, and yellowed grasses due to the heat. The wind picked up a little bit behind her, and with it...

Skyward's ears cocked at a whirring noise slightly behind her and turned to face it...it was faint, but growing louder, and she drew her sword when she spotted a cloud of dust come from around a corner of rock close to the path's crevice and come towards her. She conjured her Sun Burst spell, and sent it flying into the cloud...then detonated the spell orb just as a translucent maw of dirt filled air opened wide in the beginnings of a piercing howl...

Dust devil wolves.

The first dust devil wolf exploded in a shower of dirt and small pebbles as Skyward’s Sun Burst spell erupted. The snarling continued, however—the strike only had dispelled the wolf’s form as it began to swirl back together, glowing slightly from the residual heat from the spell. Skyward’s eyes narrowed—this dust devil wolf clearly had problems keeping its form together…so…

The earth surged as she tapped her magic, rock rising around the dust devil wolf to entomb it in a sphere of stone, cut off from the outside world—until she could find a more permanent solution, this would have to do. She could hear it howling and screaming inside of the rock globe, trying to get out, but it would be some time if it could ever get out…

A snarl from behind and off to the left warned her, and she jerked away, bringing her sword to bear; but something big and heavy landed on her back, trying to force her to the ground. She heard clicking, scrabbling, snarling and ravenous growls as the beast tried to find bloody purchase through her armor, she hissed in pain when she felt fangs graze her right ear…

Skyward threw herself backwards onto the ground and rolled, trying to dislodge the salivating, snarling, stinking fanged animal from her back. Given her muscle build and her armor weight, the combined poundage was just enough to dislodge it; she reversed her sword and lashed out with it in a gliding arc…

She felt resistance even as she drove the blow home, heard the howl of agony cut off with a sickening gurgling noise, the wet thump-splatter as pieces of flesh and pools of ichor hit the ground…wait.

The Haylian unicorn spun around and stared at the wolf’s bloody remai—no. No, this was no dust devil wolf.

Her royal blue eyes slitted as she eyed the remainder of the pack; her eyes picking out the thinning coats of thick, normally shaggy dun colored fur, the glowing green eyes, the slavering muzzles, the viciously curved claws jutting out from the huge paws…

These weren’t dust devil wolves, but they had blended in well enough with their sandy colored coats. These were Wolfos, quadruped slightly anthropomorphic lupine monster wolves that answered to Ganondorf’s call.

There were four of them left out of the original five—two of them were true dust devil wolves but the other two were obviously flesh and blood Wolfos…

And that meant there was a portal here.

“Skyward! Skyward, where are ya?”

“Skyward? Oh…my…!”

“Rarity! Hie thee back to the ranch-house at once!” Skyward shouted, but it was too late—the dust devil wolves and the Wolfos had turned around hearing the snowy unicorn’s voice, and upon spotting Rarity’s pristine white coat, and seeing her as a much easier target…

The pack turned and charged right at the hapless unicorn mare, choosing to abandon their previous prey, which had already slaughtered one of their number and had proven to be a most difficult meal to bring down.

Skyward fired off an ice beam at one Wolfos, trapping its legs in solid ice, but the ice was melting due to the heat. She flung her shield at the second—it connected with the second Wolfos’s head—it stunned it long enough for her to leap on it and behead it with a swift swipe of her sword, blood shooting from the exposed neck in a fountain of steaming, reeking blackish green fluid. The dust devil wolves converged on Rarity, who was too frightened to run—her eyes were wide with terror as the swirling, howling clouds of dust closed in on her…

A whistling howl filled the air in tandem with a blaze of rainbow hues as Rainbow Dash swooped down and grabbed Rarity, the pack narrowly missing their target. The dust devil wolves slammed into the nearest rock wall and burst apart in a cloud of dirt and small rocks, the remnants making whining noises. Rainbow Dash gazed at the situation below—the dust devil wolves were down, for now, but…

The two airborne mares saw that Skyward was fighting an actual looking wolf, swiping furiously at it with her sword. The beast leaped backwards, pacing around and snarling, and not once did she turn her back to it. It lunged at her—she teleported, then did it again as it spun around and snapped at her heels, barely missing her tail.

"Uh, you're welcome for saving you," Rainbow Dash snapped sarcastically from above, and Rarity looked up at her, about to deliver an apology, when a shout and a Haylian war yell echoed from below, along with terrible growls and snarls, and the snapping of jaws...

“Skyward! Rainbow Dash, we must help her!”

“Duh! But how? I mean, she’s all but got things covered! She killed two of them already!”

The white unicorn looked over to where the dust devil wolves were reforming, and she gestured at them with one hoof. “We need to find a way to send those filthy ruffians run…ahh…swirling for the hills! Skyward already has one problem to deal with, she does not need two more!”

The multicolored pegasus mare eyed the dust devil wolves. Given they were made of wind partially and tended to burst apart when hit with something solid…

“Rarity, I gotta plan, but you’re not gonna like it,” the rainbow maned mare muttered, and Rarity tossed her head. “I don’t give a toss what it is, she needs our help!”

Rainbow Dash shook her mane. “Okay, here’s how it’s gonna go.”

Meanwhile, Skyward was fighting the last Wolfos with all she had. The bite to the ear wasn’t bad, but it hurt like hay, and the worst thing was these Wolfos were a lot swifter than she remembered. Focusing on the earth, she tried to undermine its footing by causing small, sharp rocks to jut under its paws. It yelped, trying to back up to avoid the sharp rocks, and crouched, ready to try for a pounce…

YIPE!

Skyward blinked as it yelped, jumping in place—then it yipped again, whirling around with a snarl as it looked up, another rock dropping onto its head…

The source of its distraction was Rainbow Dash—the polychromatic pegasus was throwing sharp rocks at the Wolfos and hitting it right in the flank. It snarled up at her, baying furiously and rearing up to try to snap at her, since she was hovering juuuust out of reach…

“Wassa matter, ya dumb mutt? Can’t reach? Come on! Come and get me! Nyah nyah! Bet ya can’t jump to save your flank!”

Rainbow Dash mercilessly taunted the Wolfos, deliberately letting her rainbow tail hanging within reach only to shoot back up, making it howl in frustration…

A howl that was suddenly cut off as Skyward’s sword cut clean through its neck from behind, slicing its head clean off. The cyan pegasus mare soared into the air to avoid the gush of hot, sticky ichor that erupted from the mortal wound, landing near Skyward.

“Rainbow Dash, art thou all right?”

“Yeah, I’m good; c’mon, Rarity’s gonna need us in a second!”

Skyward's eyes widened in horror. “Tell me thou didst not leave her with those two accursed dust devil wolves!”

“We got a plan, I warned her she wouldn’t like it, but she said ya needed help!”

Skyward nodded grimly as the two mares—one running, one flying, rounded the corner to see Rarity trapped in a dead end cul-de-sac with her horn flaring a pale azure blue. The fashionista was keeping a shining barrier between herself and the dust devil wolves, who were throwing themselves at the barrier, and disappating into snarling clouds of grit as a result.

“Ya have any ideas, Skyward?”

The Haylian unicorn shook her head. “Aside from imprisoning them in stone, one admits ignorance. Increasing wind wouldst not aid us either, t’will make them stronger…”

The pegasus mare looked up at the skies—there were a few clouds, but not many. The air was hot and dry…no moisture for her to draw on…

“Unless…”

“Unless, what? Spit it out, Rainbow; Rarity wilt not be able to keep that barrier up for long!”

“Okay, can ya conjure me some water? A LOT of water?”

“How much?”

“Uhhh…as much as you can!”

Skyward lit her horn and concentrated—soft bubbling noises were heard but went unnoticed by the frustrated elemental beasts. The water sphere was the prelude to her Rime Bubble spell, and she cut it off before she could reach the ice runes of her spell.

“Now what?”

“Throw it high in the air and burst it! I got the rest!”

Skyward’s eyes widened, then slitted in a wicked grin as she understood what the rainbowed pony had in mind. The bubble shot into the air, expanded, and with a loud KER-SPLOOSH blasted wide open---

With all the extra water released into the air, Rainbow Dash shot into the sky and gathered up the water via a rainbow whirlwind…and funneled it into a literall aerial waterfall of cool water that sparkled in the sun’s rays as it fell from the skies. The entire lot of it cascaded onto the dust devil wolves and the three mares; but there was so much water, that it swept them out of the cul-de-sac that Rarity had deliberately pinned herself in to lure the wolves away, and out into the open plains, soaking wet.

The three mares coughed and sputtered as they lay on the soaked grass—of the dust devil wolves, there was nothing left of them, having been washed away, literally, by the downpour.

“Well, that wast refreshing,” Skyward quipped dryly, and started snickering at Rainbow Dash’s laughter.

“Refreshing indeed! My mane is a mess! Oh, it’ll take all day to restyle it…”

Skyward shook her head in amusement as she lit her horn—a sun colored flash of light surrounded all three mares, drying them off in ‘ten seconds flat’. She shook herself as their coats, manes and tails puffed up and out, and settled back down in perfect array—or in perfect curls as was Rarity’s trademark for her mane and tail.

“I think Skyward’s got ya covered, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash chuckled, and the ivory unicorn mare blinked, conjuring a mirror to look at herself. “Oh my…well! Thank you, dear.”

“Not at all. Truth be told I shouldst be thanking thou both for thine aid--t’was sorely needed! But what art thou both doing out here?”

“Shouldn’t we be asking you that?” the cyan colored pegasus asked the bluesteel unicorn, and Rarity nodded her head emphatically.

“Skyward, dear—we were worried about you! You took off without a word after Braeburn said such hurtful things to you…”

“One…one needed space, Rarity. I wast so angry…he…that mist-brained gelding insulted his own cousin, and I woulds’t not stand for such treatment. So he proceeded to call one a ‘thick headed old nag’ and told one to stay out of it. I wast so angry…I wilt admit to cuffing him and running off…”

Skyward sighed, removing her helm and passing a hoof over her brow. “And after all I said to Apple Bloom and her friends about not hitting anypony out of wrath…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Now hold on. Braeburn had it coming. Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten involved but he had no right to treat you like that, especially if he was interested in ya,” Rainbow Dash replied.

Skyward shook her head. “Yet mine words…”

Rarity put a hoof to the bluesteel unicorn’s muzzle. “Everypony makes mistakes, darling. Believe me, I’ve more than made my share. Rainbow Dash too.”

“Hey!”

Rarity shook her mane out of her line of sight and continued, ignoring Rainbow Dash's pouting. “The point here, my dear Skyward, is that while you likely should not have interfered, Braeburn had absolutely no reason to insult you, especially when Applejack had the right to scold him considering he could’ve been seriously injured if he had snuck up on you while you were practicing.”

The Haylian unicorn opened her mouth to refute Rarity…and found she could not. What both of her friends said made sense—Braeburn did have a nasty habit on sneaking up on other ponies, and if he had startled her she could have slashed or shield bashed him and made his injury worse.

“So, ya ready to come back now? Everypony’s out looking for you.”

Skyward was about to nod in assent when her eye landed on the remains of the Wolfos she had slain, and she shook her head.

“Unfortunately, one cannot leave. Look here…these three? These creatures were not dust devil wolves. These were Wolfos— the lupine minions of Ganondorf; generally found in caverns, forests and plainslands such as these here. The wretches generally attack in packs of three or more, and these three hath found ways to blend in with the 'locals'.”

Rarity’s eyes widened and Rainbow Dash quickly glanced around, before the two mares leaned in. “You mean…”

Skyward scowled. “Aye. There is a portal and we must needs find it, swiftly. Worse, there is no time for a lesson in Haylian culture; if thou two desire to come with me as thou all of thee stated in the Crystal Empire, decide now or return to the others, continue the search until one returns.”

Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked at one another; Rainbow Dash nodded at Rarity, and the fashionista nodded her head back in return. “Then we will go with you.”

"Yeah, we made ya a promise, and we're gonna keep it!"

Skyward nodded at them. “Then one must ask thou both to heed what one tells thee. Please, pray think not that one is being bossy—‘tis life or death in mine homeland now, and I wilt get both of thee back safely to Equestria in one piece.”

“Now, where is that portal?”

“I know not, but we must search for it. Keep thine ears cocked for the others. We cannot let them find us, or it…Rainbow Dash, canst thou search from the air?”

“You got it! Uhh—what do these portals look like?”

“Look for a swirling vortex of purplish energy. That is the portal in question.”

The pegasus mare nodded before flying off—not fast enough to generate her signature trail; she didn’t want to attract anypony’s attention. While Skyward and Rarity searched on the ground, the aerial ace arced through the air, keeping an eye out not only for the others, but for the portal as well. Roughly ten to fifteen minutes passed before the Wonderbolt aspirant spotted a flicker of purple against the backdrop of browns, burned orange, beige rocks, the dark yellows and corn hued grasses, and she landed on an outcropping of burnt ocher colored rock. Atop the rock, flat up against an impressive backdrop of layered sandstone, was the portal, pulsing and twisting with energy. Rainbow stomped a hoof before she turned and peered over the lip for her friends. Spotting them slightly to the left and below her, she put two hooves to her muzzle and whistled.

Skyward and Rarity looked upward—the pegasus mare leaped off the rock, soaring downward to them both in a graceful glide, hovering in front of them. “It’s up there—here. I’ll give you guys a lift.”

The polychromatic pegasus first brought up Rarity, then Skyward, who had removed her armor while Rainbow Dash was carrying Rarity up to the otherwise inaccessible ledge to those who did not have wings. They could have used magic, but given what they were about to do?

All three mares had the feeling they would need every bit of magic they possessed.

Once on the ledge, Skyward donned her armor anew, tested her sword’s edge, then lit her horn and focused on a jutting piece of stone close by the portal, chanting softly in ancient Haylian under her breath. Three silver-blue lines of light extended from her horn, enveloping the rock in a shimmering glow, before two of those lines shot out towards Rarity and Rainbow Dash. The two mares started in shock, but nothing seemed to happen when they connected.

“Ah…Skyward dear, what is this?”

“This is a precaution to ensure our safe return when we art finished with this, Rarity. A focus, if thou wilt,” came the reply.

The Haylian unicorn turned to face the other two mares, fixing a stern look on them both. “Keep in mind what one hast told thee both—ware your words, speak as I do, and above all mind thine manners. Rainbow Dash, one knowest for thou this wilt be a difficult task given thine free-spirited nature, but, for the sake of thine safety…”

The athletic pegasus mare nodded—she could tell Skyward wasn’t fooling around. Unsheathing her sword, the armored unicorn led the way into the twisting portal—the two Equestrian mares following closely behind her.