My Little Tactics

Chapter Twenty Eight: Hail.

“You sure you want to do this lad?” The blacksmith asked him as he nodded. “Tis going to be hard work you know?”

Dustan knew this better than anyone and chuckled as he wiped off his brow. “I wouldn’t do it otherwise if I didn’t believe in the effort. Honestly I am trying to expand my knowledge a bit as honestly I am hoping to recreate some things you know?”

“From your homelands?” The smith asked of the human.

Dustan shrugged to the question. “Well close enough to what I know at least to pass for it.” Technically that wasn’t a lie, Dustan still wasn’t ready for others to know where he was from, so far only Vinyl having come to know his secret, though had considered the Mane Six as well as his other close friends for such a secret.

“Well regardless-” The smith said setting the hammer down as he went to quench the nail he was working on. “-I am just glad to see ya out and about. A couple of weeks ago you gave off this gloomy air but suddenly you just up and came to see me about metalworking tips. Why did you come ask me for the help?”

“A friend of mine is having a birthday soon and instead of ordering something like I have before; I wanted a change of pace and tried to make something.” Truthfully he could have become a Knight or a Monk for the added strength but was determined to grind his Thief levels up. “That and there is nothing really to do during Estrus season.”

“Aye that is true.” The pony smith told him. “All of the mares are in Ponyville while all the males have come here. We get to wait two weeks for them to calm down but other than that is basically a holiday.”

“Yeah, besides some patrols and the like I have a lot of downtime since I am giving the troops this time as a break from training as well.” Dustan commented as he wiped his brow again. “Constant training like they have been doing I would say they have earned it.”

Nodding the smith put his tools away for now he looked to Dustan and told him. “That was my last order for today. Not that I don’t trust ya lad but I doubt you would know what to do if the forge got away from you so I am shutting her down for the day.”

“No problem, appreciate the time you give me.” Taking off the heavy faux leather apron from his front Dustan moved to clean off his tools and put them away neatly to where he borrowed them from. Standing up and heading out of the shop he was nearly run over by a group of foals chasing one another. Giving a chuckle he watched them for a bit before heading to get some lunch. The foals and younger ones not yet ready for estrus were sent here as well and the castle has had more and more laughter than ever. ‘That will calm down in a couple of days sadly when the season comes to a close.’

Truth was some mares were already visiting again as the ones with a lighter season were already back to normal, sadly none of his friends were one of them save one. “Heya big guy, grabbing lunch?”

Chuckling at the speedy blue pegasus he nodded as Faithful Servant brought his lunch out as he went to sit down. “Yeah, thank you Faith, much appreciated.” To which the older pony smiled at that and bowed before leaving. “While I know this season is horrible for you mares, I do appreciate the downtime. Lets me look into a few things and have some me time since I am letting everyone off training during this time.”

“I usually nap on some clouds or practice my stunts when that happens.” Taking a bundle of hay fries and starting to chomp them the Pegasus didn’t waste time as she continued speaking with her mouth full. “I mean have you ever slept on a cloud, it’s awesome.”

Dustan had to wait for her to swallow before he asked her to repeat that to finally understand what she said. “Ahh nope, clouds aren’t exactly ground made you know.”

“Right, I will have Rarity look into getting you a cloud cushion bed after the season is over and she can get around to decorating your room.” Grabbing another bundle of hay fries she finished off her lunch with a smile. “Speaking of after the season, have you thought about Twilight’s present?”

“Yeah, been working on perfecting it. Been buying everyone’s present lately, I felt like I needed to do something different. Making something with my hands feels good.” Taking a bit of his burger he moaned out loud. Faithful did some good work with the meat they had been imported. Dustan still couldn’t eat any kind of chicken but as long as this beef wasn’t sentient before he would gladly keep eating it.

Rainbow Dash scrunched up her nose for a moment at his action but sighed. “I sometimes forget you are meat eater you know? I was about to ask you what you were eating then I smelled it was meat.”

Swallowing his bite he looked to her. “Sorry. I can stop for a bit to talk if you want.”

The mare shook her head. “Na, its fine. Fish and stuff is fine, helps pegasi keep their wings healthy, haven’t we talked about this before?” As he gave a nod, she just gave a face-hoof. “Ugh I hate when that happens. Come on ask a question, let’s change the subject.”

Swallowing another bite he thought for a moment as he took some fries and dipped them in ketchup. “How is everyone in Ponyville handling things. I know the season is just about to wrap up and some are already getting back to normal. Anyone handling it bad or we should look out for even after the season is officially over?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes at that and sighed. “Most of the girls are fine except Rarity, but she should be good in a day or two. Eden was staying at Fluttershy’s as those two seem to be on friendly terms and talking about flowers and animals helps they say.” Dustan knew about the friendship between them as it had started at first with Eden going to Fluttershy for some manure from her creatures that she could mix into a compost of hers which then lead into the discussion of specific animals and their diets then into various plants and veggies and then they became friends. “I don’t know Dawn all too well and same for Summer so couldn’t really tell you there. Merlene though is having a bad time of it; she might need a couple of days, same with Zecora.”

He winced at hearing that. “I thought she drank something for that?”

The pegasus belched out after chugging her soda. “Usually she does, but this time her Estrus came on a bit quicker than normal and cause of the distraction she couldn’t go out to find the last ingredient so she had to do without this time. Though I heard her swear she would make sure to keep some in stock for next time instead of waiting till the last minute.”

Sighing as he heard that and tells her. “Honestly that might be my fault.” At first Rainbow was shocked then suddenly started to grin. “With all the animals being stirred up as well as the creatures, when she went to go out for supplies I asked her to wait a day or two for another patrol in that area. I had forgotten Estrus week was around the bend and well, yeah.”

The grin fell off as Rainbow Dash looked disappointed. “Aww and here I thought I got some juicy gossip.”

Dustan would blink a few times dumbly not understanding what she meant. “What juicy gossip did you think you had?”

“Oh that you asked Zecora not to use her medicine so you and her could, you know.” Blue Speed made a motion with her two hooves that even without fingers Dustan could tell what she was inferring.

That being said it still caused him to blush. “What, no! I mean Zecora doesn’t even like me that way, and as I said I am not looking for a relationship at the moment.”

“Wait, so you don’t-oh…oh wow.” Dash chuckled to herself as she suddenly had to stop herself from laughing. “Anyways, its fine. I am sure one day you will want to go on a pony ride.”

Groaning and face-palming he just looked to the pony and shook his head. “That was a terrible pun and you should be upset with yourself.”

“Na, I am too awesome to be upset with, even by someone as awesome as me.” Tossing the can into the garbage the pegasus took to the air and smiled “Anyways I have to go, going to go make my rounds and check in on everypony.”

Before he could even give a wave the pony zipped off leaving her signature contrail behind her. A second later the doors to the dining hall slammed open and in ran Boko and Maya both of whom stopped for just a moment and looked around and upon seeing him ran over to him.

“Hey you two, you have been running off quite a lot lately on your own, I hope you two have been-WOAH!” While he had missed the pair a lot lately he didn’t get a chance to actually talk to them as both of them took hold with beak and maw some part of his clothes and were tugging him towards the door. “Ok, ok, I get it, you both want me to go somewhere. Let’s go.” When he started to walk it was clear that the pace he was setting wasn’t what they wanted.

Surprise came to Dustan as Boko quickly moved around and he felt her head snake between his legs, then her neck. Quickly he was lifted up and slid down to her back where his legs naturally settled behind her wings after they gave a flap. It took a moment before two things happened: Dustan realized that Boko was finally fully grown and the other was that Chocobos were fast!

“HOLY SHIT!” The Thief called out as he grabbed hold of her feathers and wrapped his legs around her leaning forward as the White Chocobo was now booking it. He was sure he caused quite a stir as Boko took off through the courtyard. ‘This is awesome! I am pretty sure I even saw the Crusaders look on in shock at this speed haha!’

So caught up in the speed of his friend that by the time she slowed to a halt, rather quickly at that, in a secluded clearing he realized three things. One: He wasn’t sure how long they had run for. Two: He had no clue the direction they went. Finally there was reason three: Dustan had not been holding on as tightly as he should have.

“OH SHIT!” He did his best to tuck and roll as the sudden stop of Boko had flung him off of her but the human knew he would have a few bumps and bruises when he stopped rolling. “G-going to need to work on your stops girl. Ugh.”

“Or maybe you need to pay attention more Kupo.” A voice from his right told him though he couldn’t see who it was as he was currently seeing the green grass of the ground he was so intimately connected to at the moment.

“That is also a possibli-” Dustan stopped midsentence and quickly shot up from the ground and looked to where the voice came from. “Oh…my…”

The Moogle in front of him merely stepped back slightly looking surprised. “Wow, usually no one can understand us, anyways don’t be frightened. I know I look strange but I can assure you that-KUPO!”

“YOU’RE SO ADORABLE!” Not able to contain himself he reached over and picked up the fluffy white creature. “You are taller than I thought you would be, you are about the size of Spike in fact, maybe a bit bigger but you are even more adorable then I imagined!”

This…was not the reaction the Moogle expected. “T-t-t-thank you Kupo!” He shouted as he was pulled left then right as Dustan swung him back and forth. “C-c-can you p-p-put me d-d-down Kupo?”

Dustan’s brain had to process the request for a few seconds before realizing what the Moogle actually said before staring down at him. “Oh hehe sorry. Just I have always wanted to meet one of your species, so that is kind of a dream come true you know. Moogles have always been one of my favorite creatures of all time.”

The Moogle puffed up his chest and rubbed his nose gently as he grinned. “Well then I guess I can forgive you and understand why you reacted the way that you did Kupo.”

“Oh I have so many questions I want to ask you, too many to count. Crap I should have made a list.” Dustan said frowning suddenly. Boko came over and nuzzled the Moogle. “Well you certainly seem friendly with him Boko. Is this where you have been girl?”

The Chocobo leaned her head over to him now for him to scratch and enjoyed it from the noises she made. “Yeah, Boko has been a big help Kupo. I am not very good with flying so having her carry me around at times has been a big help in surveying the state of the forest Kupo.”

“Surveying the forest? What for?” There was another thing that popped into his head suddenly. “Oh sorry forgot to introduce myself, my bad. I am Dustan Warner. Pleasure to meet you.”

Holding out his hand the Moogle looked at it for a moment before shaking his head. “Sorry, but I honestly can’t give you my name Kupo. Same with shaking your hand as that would be considered a sign of agreement Kupo. However if you wish to know it, I have a task for you Kupo.”

While it was strange to hear all that Dustan pulled his hand back and looked over to the Moogle before asking. “Ok, I am willing to listen, what task?”

Grabbing a stick and holding it in its ‘nub’, for lack of a better word, he then began to draw up some sketches, nothing great mind you but enough to get the point across. “Some time ago, as I know you have noticed, creatures have been getting displaced from their normal territories Kupo.”

Hearing that the thief nodded as he now was paying close attention. “Go on.”

“Well seems I found the answer Kupo.” Another crude drawing came, this one of a creature with two legs, a large body, a tail with spikes on it that also match some on its back and many heads. “A hydra Kupo. This one currently only had three heads showing when it first appeared suggesting that it hasn’t been in all too many battles but that was when I first saw it Kupo. Last time I saw it, now it has seven heads and pretty much can take on anything in the forest Kupo. It’s also grown to twice the size it was originally Kupo. It has also adapted to the forest changing from a yellow to a light green and it’s getting closer and closer to matching the forest every day Kupo.”

Standing up right away and grabbing the Moogle without even asking for permission he told him. “Alright and now we head back to the castle.”

“Wait, what, why Kupo?” The Moogle seemed confused.

Taking a moment to figure out how to actually get up on Boko properly he would finally do so and nearly slide off the other side. “WOAH! Hold on.” Righting himself, eventually, Dustan smiled as he sat properly “Wow you are so fluffy and soft Boko I might not ever need a saddle. Not sure if I could bring myself to ever make you wear one either.” Shaking his head and focusing, he brought the Moogle up properly now. “Ok, as for what and why, easy. I am not dealing with something like that alone. I am not feeling particularly suicidal at the moment. Second this is a problem that faces EVERYONE of the castle, not just me. If this is as important as you say it is then we need to make sure that this thing meets its end and doesn’t run off, which might happen after it eats me when I go in alone.”

“Ok, so you aren’t the brave foolish type got it Kupo.” The Moogle seemed to grin at that.

Narrowing his eyes the Thief had to ask. “Did…did you just test me to see if I would go murder myself by running head long into a deadly hy-you know what, going to preserve my cute cuddly image of you by not finishing that statement.” Tapping gently with his legs to Boko’s sides he would ask gently while petting along her neck. “Know the way home girl? If so can you get us there?”

The White Chocobo didn’t need to be asked twice, booking it full speed giving a happy ‘Kweh’ the whole way. She seemed to love running. That reminded him that he should absolutely spend more time with her and Maya. When they got to the courtyard he tapped on Boko to let her know to slow down.

She seemed to get the message pretty quickly as it seems though what she found funny last time with his landing she had her fill of it this time. “Hey everyone, I am calling an emergency meeting, Tremor, Steel, gather up the guard! Meet me in the conference room!”

Getting off of Boko and heading up there right away, after moving to grab a map or two and looking at the Moogle for advice. Tremor was the first in then Spike as he was also staying at the castle cause of the season instead of ‘hunkering down’ in a room that he would rarely come out of. Sturdy and Mystic came in nearly at the same time and a few moments later the Squad leaders of the guard joined them.

“What is this about? I don’t think you have ever called us in like this.” The deep bass of Tremor’s voice stated as he was now looking both at the map and Dustan knew he was also looking at the strange creature that was with him.

“Thanks to this little guy, I now know what has been pushing the Everfree creatures out of their normal territories.” That caught everyone’s attention rather quickly. “Want to tell them?”

The Moogle seemed confused at first. “You sure Kupo?” When he received a nod he again shrugged and looked at all those gathered there. “Ok who here can understand me Kupo.” No one responded.

“Come on guys, say something, I know that the Moogle is strange but trust me in that he doesn’t mean any harm.” For a moment they all looked to each other sharing a strange look though Steel seemed to be contemplating something.

Finally it was Sturdy that looked at him. “Are you saying its talking right now? You know besides saying Kupo over and over again?”

Looking from all the eyes in the room, though some avoided his own he had to ask. “Wait are you telling me none of you can understand him? He was just asking if you understood him.”

“OH THANK CELESTIA!” A guard called out drawing everyone’s attention to him. “What, I thought I was the only one that heard and was going crazy.”

Steel was grinning at something before leaving the room for a second. “So why can you understand him and no one else Side Winder?”

Side Winder was one of the Squad leaders they had chosen, a rather tall Unicorn that had once been stuck up and better then thou sounding as he had come from a military family thinking he was already qualified with his training when he arrived. Tremor beat that out of him quickly, or Dustan did in sparing matches. Over all he came out a rather likeable orange pony whereas before he only wanted to beat the pulp out of him.

“I couldn’t tell you sir. I understood him asking the question not the reason why I understood and why others can’t.” Luckily his question didn’t go on for much longer.

Steel came back in moving six other ponies into the room and looked to the Moogle. “Alrighty creature, if you don’t mind, ask your question again.”

Looking from the minotaur to the new arrivals the Moogle started. “Can either of you und-”

“HOLY CELESTIA IT TALKS!” One of the Luminary guards said shocked while the other levitated a blade ready to strike. The other four were confused though.

Looking to the older minotaur Dustan had to ask. “I take it you figured something out that we are all missing?”

Nodding and smiling he simply said. “For the most part. There are some legends among my kind, some hold water, some don’t. I didn’t think this particular one did, and you honestly threw a nice question into the mix just with how you are, but I went to go grab some to confirm my suspicions.”

“Those being?” The minotaur just smiled and pointed to each of the ones that could understand him. ‘What I don’t get it. Side Winder, myself, and those two uni…OH!’

Seeing realization come across Dustan’s face the old hybrid merely chuckled loudly. “I take it you are just as confused why you as well now huh?”

Nodding for a moment Mystic was taking notes this entire time and had to ask. “So what did you figure out?”

Pointing to the others he told him simply. “Apparently Unicorns can understand him for…some reason. Steel, any of your legends say why?”

The chuckling stopped right away when the old one got a serious look on his face, one that Tremor quickly shared and was now looking tense for. “Aye. We minotaur’s like to preserve our writing and findings for future generations to look after. What I know is from some of our OLDEST achieves. Concerning creatures that only horned races could communicate with. Creatures that could bring great prosperity, but were just as likely to cause mayhem as well.” Looking suddenly to the Moogle who was now squirming a bit he stated two words. “An Eidolon.”

“What’s an Eidolon?” Came the voice of one snoopy winged pony as she looked at her two compatriots.

The yellow filly shrugged but was looking through the crack from the bottom of the totem pole they had made at the entrance of said door. “Ah don’t know, but Ah reckon at least we now know why Sweetie Belle could understand that cute thing.”

“Told you I wasn’t hearing things.” Sweetie told her friends with a slight look of smugness that one gets when telling someone so.

“Quite down.” Scoots called from the top. “They are talking.”

“That…explains SOOOOOO much right now you have no clue Steel, and we will talk about that later. For now if that is true then this Moogle really can’t harm us…I think. Esper Moogles are healers.” Dustan told them with a smile.

The Moogle then said something in its language that Scoots couldn’t understand so she tapped Sweetie Belle to get her to relay what it said. “It asked how he knew that.”

Dustan chuckled and told it simply. “I know a lot of things. None of that matters now. What matters is that a Hydra is the reason why I called you all here and why we are having the issue of creatures moving into our once safe areas.”

Everyone in the room either went silent or gave a hiss at hearing that. “That is some troubling news indeed. I take it you wish to use the castle guard as a subjugation force correct?”

The large dragon often gave Scootaloo shivers when she looked at him, something about him just screamed too much predator at times making her just naturally uneasy in his presence, this was one of those times. “That’s the plan. Honestly though we can’t leave the castle undefended either so it was more likely leading half the force to it.”

Steel spoke up and nodded “Reasonable. A large force like that moving to engage a large predator like that will have all the groups in the forest running away from the site and likely into us as well as out to Ponyville.”

“My thoughts exactly. I will leave half here which will then split in half again to guard the castle and make sure everyone is kept inside. The other half would then patrol outside of Ponyville, and yes that means I know you will be exposed to the smell of heat but I ask you to try to ignore it. Lives may be on the line here and we need all the help we can get.” Dustan looked at them all and told them.

“Hear that girls?” Apple Bloom asked excitedly.

Nodding Sweetie seemed unsure though. “A hydra sounds scary and dangerous. I don’t think we will be asked to help.”

“Pfft, its fine, we will just follow them out when they leave, once we are there we can help and they won’t be able to turn us back.” Scoots told them with confidence brimming in her voice. “It’s something Rainbow Dash would do for sure.”

“So tell me, what do we know about a hydra?” Dustan asked simply. “We need notes and points to be given to everyone who is going on the mission, even if they aren’t in the party that goes to subjugate the thing.”

Tremor moved closer to the table now and spoke up. “Hydras are deadly, not only are they strong, but their stature is great. They have a large bulbous body, that dispute what you think is all muscle. It’s meant to carry and support the many necks it can grow, which it gets when it heals from severe injuries, which is another thing. It can regenerate rather quickly which is one of its most unforgiving traits right alongside its other one its deadly poison.” Mystic was taking notes this entire time of which Dustan asked him to make copies after he was done to give to others before letting Tremor continue. “Its regenerative powers are best along its necks which does mean YES the rumors of cutting off a hydra’s head and two growing back in moments is true, however it doesn’t come without a price.”

“What do you mean?” The worker and builder of the group asked as he was taking short hoof notes it seemed.

“Simple, it’s about being able to supply the body with what it needs.” Looking to himself he pointed to one of his old scars. “In order to heal a body needs magic and sustenance. Cutting off a head, while it doesn’t seem to affect it, does in fact. Growing two heads for the cut off one is draining and in battle it can only do this a few times normally, but it’s usually enough that it has more offense that it never comes to that. The other option is going for its body, which while it does regenerate, doesn’t do so anywhere as quickly as the next. A fatal wound for you and I might be a week’s worth of healing, if not days depending on where it was struck and how old the creature is.”

The Moogle said something but before Sweetie was asked to translate Dustan did so for her. “He says it’s in the prime of its life. Double the size of a normal Hydra and is adapting to the Everfree.”

The scowl on Tremor’s face grew as Steel gave an impressed whistle. “That is a right beastie you got there.”

“Indeed.” Tremor was rubbing his chin while thinking of things. “If I could assume my uncompressed form, I might stand a chance against it, but for reasons that I can’t go into, I cannot assume that form any longer.” One of the guards instantly piped up with a ‘why not?’ “What part of ‘I cannot go into’ did you not understand?”

“Its fine Tremor, to be fair, I was thinking of asking you to stay and guard Ponyville as the backup in case things went badly.” The human may have said that but even Scootaloo could see that he didn’t like it. “So poison, regenerative powers, strength, and bulk. That about cover it?”

The dragon simply said one word. “Yes.”

“Is it quick?” He asked of the group.

The Moogle spoke and filly unicorn translated. “He said ‘not particularly’.”

“Great, it means speed will be key here. It’s going to suck, but hit and run tactics seems like it’s the name of the game. Either wear it out with body shots, or hopefully make it grow more and more heads till it eats itself alive cause of the cost.”

“Aww yeah, speed is the name of my game. My scooter and I are ready.” The winged filly said buzzing her wings.

“Likely the best plan. So question now is 'who are we taking?'” At this point the fillies decided to duck out to get their prep going and so Scootaloo could modify her Scooter with the wagon to pull all of them and their supplies.

Looking over his equipment, he smiled. He had his leather armor, he would have loved to use his bronze but this being a hit and run, speed and agility were key so it had to be left behind. Dustan, still in Thief mode for its agility and speed, had his axe, his two swords, his pouches but was leaving his bag behind in a now, secret storage behind a wall that he asked Sturdy to set up when building the room so only he and the pegasus would know. Taking a moment he realized something, he had changed since coming here. Whereas before part of him was always excited to engage in a fight at first as it was just like a game, till he quickly realized how much it wasn’t. Caution had been prevalent and more and more training was the name of the game. However even in training he noticed something and had been told by Merlene many times, something that bothered him a bit.

“You like battle don’t you My Lord?” The question from his retainer surprised him at first and he had to think about it.

Hand still on his chin and head cocked looking up he told her. “I suppose I do. I mean I also don’t though. I don’t like conflict as I hate having to see things end that way sure, but I like being able to test myself. Feel myself pitted against something and come out on top knowing my training was worth something.”

“To successfully know one is stronger and the thrill of a hunt is a good sign of a predator species indeed. You don’t often show it but it is in your blood for sure.” They had both laughed about that once they were done and he would have to admit, she was right.

‘I am a predator, and now I am going to go down with my predator pack and take down an apex. YEAH!’ Sure he was saying that to himself to get hyped up but part of him really was excited for this. Heading out to the courtyard he saw his men, least the number going with him as he stood there. “Alright everyone. We have twenty four of us going to take this fucker down. This hydra thinks he is the king of the forest but he is about to have a swift dethroning. We are going to use quick in and out harassing attacks to make it use up all its fuel until it can’t regenerate anymore. Remember to watch for its claws, fangs, and spines, it has poison that even a small scratch can kill you in minutes and it’s a slow death. Report any injuries to the squads assigned for care giving if you don’t want the paralysis to claim you. However I am confident in each and every one of you if I wasn’t I would be sending a letter to Canterlot right now to ask for back up. We got this!”

With that shout they all shouted with him as he started to move. Boko and Maya were with him as he discussed the layout. It would be teams of four meaning six teams, of which two were support teams who was carrying their supplies of salves and potions, the latter of which was not that many but Zecora had been making them by a good amount with each batch. Boko was to be part of the recovery team with her ability to heal with Maya being with him, Side Winder, and another guard pony for his squad. The tactics were two teams would go in at any point and time alternating which ones go together to give the others a chance to rest, the first one would hit and as the beast was preparing to retaliate the next would rush in and hit it from the other side while it was open and distracted. The plan was to constantly switch and back off like that until it keeled over.

With the Moogle leading them to where the creature was last seen it came as a shock to find out how big the thing truly was. “There it is Kupo. It looks like it just ate so it should be a bit sluggish to wake up Kupo.”

Nodding and looking to the couple of unicorns that were with them, Dustan gave a simple command. “Alpha Strike.”

They each nodded and as the squads got into position they unleashed their strongest spells upon the serpentine creature. To say it woke up pissed would be an understatement. With a roar from its multiple heads it came right out of the gate charging, moving a LOT quicker than most realized it would. Healer teams were busy right away treating the injured leaving really only two squads left to switch back and forth.

“CHARGE!” The call given, Dustan started running with his team only to realize something rather quickly. It was just him and Maya in the charge after a moment with a brief glance behind him revealing why: He had outpaced the squad. It was too late to stop though so instead he kept up with it and called out the chant for one of the abilities he had been practicing. “Drifting Breeze, come down with fury! Blizzara Sword!” Instantly his Coral Sword frosted over as mist drifted off it, what was more, unlike normal Blizzard Sword where it would just have that mist; this one had shards of ice breaking off it quite a lot.

Maya and his sword struck at the same time, Maya biting in and clawing while his double elemental sword sank into the beasts rubbery and scaly hide quite deep. Its roar told them that they now had its attention and as he told Maya to pull back he noticed the wounds on its body already healing. Clearly this creature had quite a bit more vigor then they were lead to believe or it had more excess to heal then they thought, either way this might be bad. They were down two squads and an endurance race was something they would lose at this pace.

Soon they met up with the rest of the squad, making him still look at them with a tad bit of wonder with how he had outpaced them. The guard he could understand, he was known as Steady Shield and was a more bulwark type of fighter that wanted to set up defenses and not the quick type. Truth was, he wanted someone else in his squad but beggars can’t be choosers. Side Winder though, normally he should have outpaced Dustan with ease IF he was in the air. As it stood and they discussed, taking to the air with many heads that could crunch you and snatch you from the air was a bad idea.

‘Thief job really shows off their speed in situations like this.’ The human thought to himself as he smiled.

For now the plan was working, squads pulling back as another attacked at a blind spot then for the reverse to happen. However the first two squads were getting pretty tired by the time the potions worked on the other squads and they could finally get into the action. Dustan and his squad were resting as the recovered squads told them to while they did a couple of runs, of which everyone was thankful for. So far the plan was going well, while he was resting he asked one of the healing squads to be a timer when not healing and watch specific wounds and how quickly they were healing. Twenty minutes into the fight he was told that the wounds were now taking three times as long to heal, however considering before the wounds only took about a full minute to heal beforehand said that this thing was far from going down. That being said his dual elemental sword’s wounds were taking MUCH longer to heal was a good sign. From what the Moogle said the creature didn’t do too well with the cold which is why he used Blizzara Sword in the first place but there was a downside, though the casting of the ability didn’t take much Mp its sustained draw caused him to have to deactivate it after the last run that he made.

‘I am just glad I run on the Tactics Mp regeneration table where turns can recover a few Mp each time. Still, didn’t think the draw would be that bad.’ Taking a deep breath and putting away the water bottle provided to him from the healing team, which held the supplies for them as well, Dustan stood up and prepared for a new charge.

Except the team that was about to retreat got caught out badly as the tail of the Hydra came over and quickly swiped at them tossing two of the team without injury, one with minor scrapes, but the last got impaled via his leg on one of the spines of the creature before tossed off nearby screaming. He was about to order the healing team to get ready for emergency treatment except something surprised him just then. Buzzing.

As he was running to aid them a scooter shot past him pulling a wagon. On the vehicle was a small pegasus beating her wings quickly and in the wagon were a unicorn filly as well as a bowed earth filly brandishing a couple of potions. Dustan watched on in horror as he wasn’t the only one to hear the buzzing as it drew the hydra’s attention quickly whom lashed out at the trio with one of its feet kicking out hard. The scream of the three caused him to draw on his mana right away, what for he wasn’t sure, all he could see was the three girls being tossed away from the kick, scooter and wagon shattered as well as the supplies they carried.

When one of the heads of the hydra was rushing forward though he knew exactly what he was drawing mana for, a spell and in particular a big one. “Thundaga!” Dustan wished he had time for the chant, he wished he had time to brace himself, but one can’t always get what they want. Holding up his right hand a mass of pure plasma shot and arced away from him striking the serpent in the face and doing a rather gruesome job on it, though he never got a good look as he was thrown backwards from the force he unleashed.

When he recovered from falling back the hydra was letting out a scream as it stumbled back leaving all teams free to take a moment to recover as well as the recovery team to take the injured back, luckily the three fillies were not visibly harmed, unlike the hydra who had one drooping head whose eyeballs had been popped and melted down its face that was currently smoldering and burned from plasma burns. It really wasn’t pretty.

Looking to the three fillies Dustan wasn’t angry that they were here, but that they were in danger even if his voice only conveyed anger in general. “You three shouldn’t be here!”

The girls all folded their ears back as Sweetie Belle spoke up first. “We just wanted to help.”

Pointing to the healing groups he sighed and told them. “Then help them! Never run up like that again, that was incredibly dangerous and irresponsible of all three of you!”

Tears graced each of their eyes and though the human wished he had time to properly sit down with them and tell them why he was upset Dustan couldn’t as now the hydra had all eyes on him of which the crusaders also noticed. “We should go.”

The three booked it quickly as the six remaining heads all roared even as the seventh head was slowly becoming aware again. “Well shit.”

Then the running started.

“Administer the salve, cleans the poison from him then administer potions and healing magic.” The medic told the girls as they were helping with the pony who had gotten his leg impaled. “It’s times like this I wish I could know those spells Lord Warner knows for healing.”

“No kiddin’ those would be mighty helpful right now.” Apple Bloom responded even as she pulled out the salve and was administering it.

Sweetie Belle was uncorking a potion as Scootaloo was grabbing a bandage while the medic unicorn was using his limited knowledge of healing magic to try his best to seal up the wound and keep the pony from bleeding to death. The pony in question had been lucky, no arteries had been hit, the spine pierced cleanly and exited just as clean, overall it was hard to say if there would be any lasting damage but if they could patch him up enough to get him to a hospital or a proper healing unicorn then the guard would be out of the worst of it.

“Do you mind if I take a break?” The orange pegasus filly asked wiping her forehead.

Bloom looked at her friend a bit worried as the medic nodded. “Sure, all three of you can take a break, I can finish up here, you were just in a near death experience and on a battlefield you shouldn’t be on in the first place, take all the time you need.”

The three girls soon backed up and away from the group as Scoots leaned up against a tree still sweating. “Are you alright?”

Scootaloo looked up at her unicorn friend’s question before smiling and giving a hoof pump. “Of course, just was giving it a hundred and ten percent before my scooter got wrecked. Oh man that took me forever to get too.” She gave a chuckled and reached around and plucked a splinter from her flank. “Plus it’s going to take me forever to get all these splinters out of my fur.”

Her friends came up to the side of her and wrapped her up in a hug. “I am sure we can all pitch in to help you out right Apple Bloom?”

“Sure as shootin’ we can. We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders after all.” The little filly said with a smile.

Giving a hug to her friends she smiled and told them. “You both are my best friends. But give me a minute to get some these splinters out before trying to give me anymore hugs ok?”

They all had a laugh as the filly pulled out a pointed splinter that was green colored. Strange, Scootaloo didn’t remember any part of her current scooter that was green, must have been grass stained.

The hydra was no longer caring about the others, no longer caring about the damage they were doing to its sides, all it cared about was the thing that melted one of its heads, it was the biggest threat of all in its eyes and it wanted it dead. Dustan disagreed and wanted to live, thus he was currently running for his life. He wanted to keep it close to the clearing and thus running and maneuvering room for the other groups if they needed it, but those fangs and tail swipes were getting awfully close for his liking. There was also the fact that he was currently dry on Mp having used his full supply at the time to cast Thundaga in the first place.

‘If that thing gets a hold of me, I will have to hope to whatever deity is currently watching that my healers can patch me up. I really rather not die to this overgrown lizard.’ That being said he had switched swords, now wielding his Blood Sword in case he got injured and he had salve on him for poison if needed.

Hearing a roar that was rapidly getting closer, Dustan dodged to his left barely avoiding the large head of the hydra as it moved past him. Luckily, or unluckily, as he dodged he could already feel his sword swinging on instinct, Counter had activated.

“Yes!” Dustan called out for a moment as the head was severed from its body. ‘Oh wait, the head was severed from the body!’ Continuing his run as the creature roared out its loss Dustan shouted. “INCOMING AN EXTRA HEAD!”

The sickening sound was heard all around though as suddenly the severed head’s neck was splitting in two and growing into two new limbs which to hold the two growing craniums on. This gave the other teams plenty of time to wail on it as its hate for Dustan only grew, by now all of the ponies and others involved were soaked in blood as was the clearing as a small splashing sound was starting to be heard where hooves, paws, and feet were treading.

As Dustan ran back into the clearing one of the healers called out. “Sir, Private Narrow Escape is going to be fine, though he should be transported to a healer ASAP. Also the creature doesn’t seem to be healing noticeably anymore.”

Hearing that Dustan broke one of the cardinal rules of a chase, never look back…only to be ahead of the creature by a good bit. It was slower, much slower than before it had regenerated its head. It was at its breaking point!

“Keep at it, cut off and gouge out what you can, it can’t be allowed to escape!” The lord of the lands told his people as he soon was charging in and prepped for what he had to do. The Hydra once it was in range right away sent out another head to try to attack the biped that dared harm it not once by twice now only for it to seemingly throw a punch nowhere near it and hit the head coming to eat him.

Dustan smiled as his stunt worked and the head shot pasted him to the side. It’s what he waited for and gambled on. Bringing up his sword he brought it down again to remove the head of the creature and shouting out another warning about a possible growth. The warning was for naught though as instead of a roar, came a gurgle and convulsing.

The hydra soon collapsed down and was now weakly trying to fight back but each and every fighter, griffon, pony, and person, took to chopping the thing up. When it breathed its last breath there was a chorus of shouts in victory. High fives, hooves, and claws, were given around and soon the healers were checking everyone over.

Dustan slipped away as he wasn’t injured and went to go look for the Crusaders wanting to clear up why he yelled at them. Spotting them under a tree he smiled and called out to them causing Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to wave to him, while Scootaloo slept.

As he was approaching though time seemed to slow down, something was wrong about what he was looking at, something, off that he couldn’t touch on. Each step he took time seemed to move slower and slower, the girls smiling and waving at him in return, the cheers in the background, all of it was fading from his mind. The girls started to tell him that they had just finished helping Scootaloo remove all the splinters from her body and even showed him the pile of it. This took maybe a few moments in reality but the feeling of everything going at a crawl kept up, was he poisoned? He checked his status and saw that he was fine, no status effects what so ever.

Then he looked to the pile of splinters and got a pop up message. ‘Hydra’s Claw Fragment.’ Quickly grabbing it as he felt his heart start to race, he looked over the green sliver and sure enough it looked like it belonged in a splinter pile except for its green coloration matching the one that it came from. Quickly looking over to Scootaloo caused his face to drain of all blood.

In big bold status above the girl, was the number three. ‘No.’ That status was there for those that were dead and whose soul was about to leave their body. Right away he dug out some Salve and pressed it against her hoping beyond hope that would help. Two. “Girls go get someone NOW!” Dustan shouted as he used what little Mp he had left for a Cure spell hoping again that it would help the girl. One. This left him with only one choice; he had saved these for an occasion like this but had never hoped to use them.

“Dustan what's wrong.” He heard the Crusaders call to him though he ignored it.

He was fumbling with pouches till he found the bundle he was looking for then pulled it out just as the timer was hitting zero. “PHOENIX DOWN!” The bundle of feathers started to glow then a wave of energy lashed out causing him to tumble back. As he opened his eyes groaning at being knocked back like that he noticed that where ever he was it pitch black.

“Well, this is certainly a surprise.” A voice called out to Dustan as he turned to face the figure. Said figure was cloaked in an ornately designed hooded robe with the edges being white that faded into the black that was the color of his robes. Figures, symbols, and more were all part of said design as well but whatever was under the hood couldn’t be seen, even if it was standing up on two legs and had two arms. “It has been a while since one has managed to come to entreat with me. So Dustan Warner, what is it that has brought you here to bargain with Death?”

Author's Notes:

Someone told me that I love cliffhangers, I said I denied that and that it just happen to work out that way. To that friend, I want you to really look at the ending of this chapter, this cliffhanger is for you, muhahaha.

Pinkie Pie: "That is pretty evil Noxxy."

A little yeah and....wait did you just call me 'Noxxy'? To which she nodded. "Yep, leaving now."

Pinkie Pie: "Oooh wait up Noxxy I live in your head now after all."

Stops and looks at her before saying the one thing most people say when they hear something disturbing like that. "I am now going to drink to forget you said that...I don't know when I will stop."