The smoke came from an Earth Pony village alright. As we approached, a defensive line of Earth ponies wearing planks of wood over their barrels stood in front of the buildings, blocking the way all across the small field outside the village. But by far, the most impressive pony amongst them, was an absolute giant of a pony, a literal mountain of muscle dressed in slabs of steel. They stood in front of the defensive line, towering over their fellows by almost two heads.

“Halt!” they called out when we approached close enough, their helmet seeming to reverberate with the sound of their voice. “Yer kind are not welcome here! Turn around and go back ta whence ye came!”

“Hail and well met fellow ponies!” Tia called out from the cart. “We are but simple travelers who wish to barter! We have no Clan coin but we have skills in which we can trade with!”

“We have no use fer yer vile magics and sorceries! Go back!”

“Please! We are not magicians and we have come a long way! We-”

“We will deal with none of yer treacherous ilk Unicorn!” the giant exclaimed. The line of ponies dropped into a defensive position, preparing to charge.

“Ok! Ok! We will leave peacefully!” Tia called out. “Back up back up back up back up.” she whispered to Breeze and Song, who were nodding along to her quiet chant, doing their best to reverse the cart.

“Behold ponies!” exclaimed a shout from behind. The entire line of ponies turned their heads towards the source of the voice.

Confused, all of us in the cart followed their gaze.

On the hill behind us, just in front of a copse of trees, stood a familiar figure. There was Hoarfrost, his horn aloft and alight in icy blue flame.

“Behold the barbaric nature of the Mud Ponies!” he called out. “You came to them with nothing but peaceful intentions and look how they repay you!”

“‘Frost you idiot! You’re ruining everything!” Torchwood shouted over the far away stallion.

“It is as we feared ponies!” the giant mountain of pony exclaimed. “The Unicorns come ta us with dubious intentions! Charge!”

“Raaaagh!” the line of Earth ponies began to run forward.

“No! No no no!” Tia stood up onto her back legs, waving her arms in an effort to try and stop the attack. “This is all a big misunderstanding!”

“Behold Mud ponies! The power of the Sun’s chosen Ponies!” Hoarfrost shouted. With that, his horn became blindingly bright and discharged.

The bolt of magic flew fast and true, impacting into the armored pony like a runaway cart.

“Run away!” Tia exclaimed at Breeze and Song, who wasted only a moment to turn the cart around to start running. “Ponies! Shields only! No pony else needs to die today!” she shouted to the rest of the cart. At her words, a shimmering multicolored cloud formed around the cart, mainly focused towards its rear.

Wood armored ponies swarmed around their leader, who for the most part, took the attack rather well, seeing as they were only stunned for a moment. But that stun lasted long enough for their underlings to overtake them.

“Onwards ponies! Crush these raiders beneath yer hooves!” they exclaimed.

By now, the Earth ponies had crossed halfway across their field, and the cart had reached the treeline where Hoarfrost stood.

“Ponies!” he greeted “Why are you-”

“You bucking idiot!” Tia jumped out of the moving cart and punched him. “You didn’t have to do that! We could’ve moved on without violence!”

“Ignorant sow!” Hoarfrost raged. “Must I show you the light of the Sun as well?!” he slapped Tia in retaliation, sending her sprawling to the ground.

“Hey dummy!” I shouted. “This is your fault!” I pointed at the stallion. Hoarfrost regarded me with cold eyes.

“Or maybe…” he pondered. “I’ll teach you to respect your elders by teaching the little goblin some manners. After all…” His magic extended and grabbed me by the scruff of my coat. “I’ve been so lonely without my late wife…”

“Eek!” I tumbled through the air as I was pulled from the cart, Hoarfrost’s magic not being solid enough to keep me fully lifted.

My heart filled with an emotion I never had felt before. I didn’t know what exactly he meant, but deep down I knew it wasn’t good. If it was the words he had said, or if he had hit Tia, I didn’t know. But something he did made this emotion rise up my throat like a hissing snake.

I felt my lip curl into a snarl.

“No don’t!” Tia called. I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or Hoarfrost, and I didn’t care. I knew what this new emotion wanted, and I was going to indulge in it.

Hoarfrost had originally wanted me to throw my new spear right?

So I did.

My magic lifted it out of the still nearby cart and I threw it.

I threw it with all my might.

I threw it right at his throat.

Somewhere, a silver set of ears perked in surprise.

“What-?” he managed to get out. “HURGH?!”

The Pegasoplian spear sprouted out of his throat, hitting him so hard he flew backward, impaling him to a nearby tree. His horn sparked, uselessly trying to do something, anything! Anything to rectify his situation. But it was all in vain, he couldn’t concentrate as his red blood spilled down his front, staining his chest.

I got up and walked to the dying stallion, yanking my spear out of the tree and neck, letting him fall to the ground in a heap.

I turned towards the Earth ponies, expecting them to be on us in a moment.

But the charging line of earth ponies had screeched to a halt at what they had witnessed. All of their mouths agape.

I snarled at them, wordlessly daring them to even think about touching Tia or me.

“Lu?”

I turned past the now still stallion, expecting one of the Earth ponies to have come up behind me.

But all I saw was Tia. Tia with her soft magenta eyes. Tia with a worried frown.

“By the Earth…” the giant in steel plating came up from behind their ponies. “Did that filly just kill that stallion?” they made to approach closer, but Tia waved them off.

“Please, give us a moment.” she murmured. The giant looked confused, but eventually nodded and took a step back.

“Lu?” Tia asked again. “Can you calm down Lu?”

I shook my head, worried that if I did, something else would hurt Tia. I couldn’t allow that

I would never allow that.

“It’s ok Lu… He’s gone now. He won’t be bothering you again.” she said softly.

I shook my head again. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was we were surrounded by strange ponies. Ponies who were just about to hurt Tia.

Ponies who were about to hurt me.

I glared at the Earth Ponies, silently challenging them all to try something.

Tia must’ve noticed my glare, because she waved at the ponies to take steps back.

They almost tripped over themselves to backup.

“It’s ok Luna… It’s ok.” Tia murmured again.

No it wasn’t ok! We had tried to do things right and ponies were attacking us! This wasn’t right! This-

My face became smothered in white fur.

The familiar scent of Tia told me who it was.

“It’s ok Lu… It’s ok.” she soothed, holding me in a hug.

That broke the strange emotion.

That broke the rage.

That’s what that was.

I had felt it before, but never so intensely.

Everytime Emerald and Sapphire had called me names, I had felt it.

Everytime Mrs. Amethyst had encouraged her daughters, I had felt it.

Everytime Hoarfrost told me I was worthless, I had felt it.

When the hydra had taken Mom, I had felt it.

But those times were like comparing small drops of water to a roaring waterfall.

There was so much, so much emotion, so much water, so much wetness in my eyes…

…Oh.

I cried into Tia’s coat.

Happy New Year everypony!

Kind of a bad chapter to be celebratory... Oh well.