(Ponyville)
(Later That Day)

Spike was wearing a new training outfit that seemed like it started to fit his figure a bit better than the original had, and had little baggy space aside from the pants. He was seated at the same bistro that Twilight attempted to eat at during the ticket fiasco for the Gala and directly across from him was an alabaster white unicorn. “I’m surprised that you wanted to eat with me Sweetie Belle.” The drake stated as he munched on a bright red ruby in front of the nervous filly.

To say that she was only nervous would be a massive understatement. “Well I just wanted to catch up with you...” Flashbacks of the night Spike was held by the neck by the massive figure,The Puppetmaster, remained in the mind of the filly but Spike didn’t seem to remember or at least didn’t hold it to a high degree. “Since you tried your best to protect the class but got hurt...”

A look of confusion flashed across Spike’s face before he’d realized what she was talking about. “Oh right, yeah that was a crazy night but we’re all ok so it worked out just fine. At least that’s what Zeko said.”

“B-But you were being choked!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed and shook the table, garnering attention from other patrons who quickly went back to their business after seeing that they were staring at the disciple of their local hero.

“Well yeah but I’m alright, and more importantly you’re alright.” Spike had his eyes closed but they sprang open and a blush went across his face once he realized what he said. “I meant- That’s good you’re- Well uh!” The red creeping along his friend’s face was becoming more and more apparent. The two went silent and continued to blush to themselves but before any of them could speak-

“So the awkwardness here is choking me.” Zeko’s voice was heard and the two preteens yelped and saw the crimson haired shinobi rise out of the ground. “No really this was so terrible to watch for the last few minutes but you’ll have to pick up later, Spike I need your help.” Zeko gestured for Spike who quickly left his seat and followed behind his mentor, leaving Sweetie Belle to sit and stare at the table.

“What did he mean it’s better I’m ok?!”

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An open field is where Zeko hovered just slightly over the ground in a meditative position. The gentle wind blowing the grass and his short hair. “Cutting this down was a good choice, it really was effeminate.”

Spike say on the ground directly across from his mentor with a look of slight annoyance. “Why’d you have to get me when you did?! I was having fun with-“

“Your new girlfriend? And here I thought you had a thing for Rarity but her sister might be the best you’ll get.” A smirk was spreading over Zeko’s face while Spike only blushed increasingly harder.

“T-That’s not true! She’s just my friend!” The drake turned around to seem angry but the facade didn’t fool his older friend.

“I called you here for a reason Spike, I need your help with something so listen carefully because if you fail...” Spike turned back to Zeko to give him his attention better. “You could die a lot younger than you’d like so pay close attention.”

“A-Alright.” Spike wavered but steeled himself, knowing he trained hard to be better than his previous self and could handle what Zeko needed as long as he was confident.

“It’s noon right now so in one hour I will summon you to my location but you’ll have to put that receiver I gave you into your skin. When you’re with me just follow my instructions closely, the good part is that they’ll go straight to your head the bad part is that you will hesitate more than once no matter how confident you are.” The wind stopped as Zeko spoke, leaving the two in a serene field within the once chaotic Everfree Forest.

Around thirty minutes later the complete plan was done and Spike knew exactly what he’d have to do when the time came. But to his surprise the sound of something approaching the two from the trees caught his attention, and Celona revealed herself.

“Am I too late for that idea you had Zeko?” The young mare was pushing Mist in her wheelchair who looked at the forest calmly.

“I still think this place is pretty creepy, but I have to deal with it I guess.”

Zeko stood up and walked over to the two and started to talk but was out of Spike’s earshot, he assumed that they were discussing the plan because of their role to play in the event. “I could die...” Spike started to think negatively and zoned out until a hand pressed against his chest and formed a black marking.

“There’s yours, and they have one too. If this goes right then everyone will be fine, worst come to worst somebody’s gonna be hurt.” Zeko leapt into the air and a large puff of smoke formed as a screech was heard and a massive bird of prey flew away with Zeko on its back.

“What was that?!” Celona gaped but another rusting of bushes revealed Zecora donned in leather armor.

“Be calm and have no shock, that creature is simply a Roc. A massive bird that hunts large prey, not something one would see everyday.” The four made a double take and looked at one another before looking back at the near out of sight bird.

Spike broke the odd silence by voicing what he’d realized. “We’re gonna be a good team aren’t we?”

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(1 hour later)

Quicksilver was in the same meadow that Titus and True Shot found the hatch to the Black Talon hideout, he had a stern look on his face and even sharpened his beak in anticipation. The wind slowly blew over his dull silver feathers and his Black Talon suit with a griffin talon on the chest remained taught against his skin. “I know something’s there.” He turned and flared his wings. “Show yourself.”

A figure leapt down from the sky itself and was clad in a crimson robe with a hood covering their face. “So you’re the Quicksilver I know of, it must be strange to have nopony near to admire and show love.” The hood was pulled off and revealed Zecora’s face

“A Zebra? I know that rhymespeak from anywhere... but based off your voice I know you aren’t the Zeko that’s coming here for me so you must be an ally or maybe his lover?” Quicksilver’s wings came closer to his body, signaling Zecora of his guard being let down. Which is what she wanted. “Hm?!” She rushed at him with her arms under the robe, out of his sight. “So you’re an ally? Then I’ll just cut you down to get to him.” His wings turned to metal and protected his front from Zecora’s powerful roundhouse.

“This was unpredictable, I can only hope this fight will be simple.” The wings opened and blew Zecora back and made her crash and roll against the ground before coming to a stop in a rut.

“My brother and I have the ability to turn our feathers into metal except his is only as strong as iron...” With great force Quicksilver flapped his wings once and covered the distance between him and his quarry, but to his surprise she spun and landed a kick on his beak and sent him reeling backwards. Once the two recovered separately they stared each other down. “Can’t say that was a bad kick... but we have more than that to do if you want to protect the human. This one against one isn’t very fair all things considered.”

Zecora cracked her neck in response and pulled a corked vial from her robe with a purple fluid in it. She opened the bottle and it turned red before releasing a burst of red smoke into the air. “And my signal has been completed.” She pulled out a black piercing as opposed to her gold accessories and placed it through her ear like a bar piercing then gripped her head before dropping her arms to her sides.

Quicksilver was confused but his experience let him know to keep his guard up in this situation and that payed off once Zecora recovered but he saw that her eyes were very different. “So what’s this supposed to do? A power up with your eyes?”

Zecora smirked before she spoke but the change to her voice disturbed the griffin greatly. “This is the result of the Paths of Peace.” Sounding like an amalgam of Zecora and an unknown male figure but there was a wicked edge to the tone sounding like a demented creature was involved. “But I’m not your biggest problem... WE are.” Slamming her hands into the ground Zecora spoke and a puff of smoke brought three other figures clad in the same hooded robes out of seemingly nowhere.

“So Quicksilver...” The shortest figure spoke with the voice of two boys with the same wicked undertone and upon taking his hood off he was revealed to be Spike with a piercing through the bridge of his snout. “Would a four on one be more fair to you?”

“I’m curious too, this should be fair right?” Celona pulled her hood down and revealed her voice to be almost overtaken by Zeko’s, her piercing was through the ear like Zecora’s. The last figure was revealed to stand over the others but was Mist in her Red Claw outfit as opposed to the plain white shirt and black leggings she’d been wearing, however the issue wasn’t her attire... it was her standing up unassisted, with her piercing not being visible.

“You- You’re Culina’s daughter! Why are you helping these ring eyed freaks?” Quicksilver questioned but once he looked closer he saw that Mist had the same spiral eyes as the rest and they all had their sights directly on him. Gritting his teeth the griffin reached down his protected chest area and pulled a necklace with a red engraving on it out and placed it on his back allowing red lines to go to his wings and turn his metallic feathers red hot. “This should be a pretty fair fight actually, let’s go!” Another burst of speed brought Quicksilver straight to his enemies who dodged the vicious slash he attempted. All four dodging in different directions.

https://youtu.be/MfMDHvgdH4w

(Theme for the fight)

“Fire style: Giant fireball!” Spike blew his green flame at his enemy who slashed through it and proved his heat was greater. “That’s inconvenient.” Quicksilver made for the drake but was charged by Celona from the side with... lightning encasing her arm...

“Lariat!” She collided with her enemy’s right wing and both struggled to push the other back until one gave way. “Hah!” And it wasn’t Quicksilver. The gust of desert like wind not only pushed Celona out of the way but nearly singed her very fur.

Quicksilver blew towards a backwards shifting Spike but feigned and lashed at the cragadile that came at him from the side, harboring the same eyes as his opponents. The skin of the reptile had little chance against his blades and was cut into like paper, leaving a wound on its back. “You’re a well organized team, this is quite the challenge.” Quicksilver looked around and saw that Zecora was to his left with a large serpent by her side, Celona was pulling herself from the dirt to his right with Mist being behind her, and Spike was directly ahead of him and decided to speak.

“Why do your cults do what they do? What type of deity do you worship that would reward you by spilling blood? And what reward would one even give for that deed?”

“Hm... Because I’m either going to die here or live just barely I’ll tell you what I know. The Black Talon act as a base for the worship of Apoxis, our lord and creator.”

“Creator of what?” Celona questioned. “Ponykind is aware of Faust being their creator and gifted up with the Alicorn race to guide us. Even I learned that and I wasn’t in traditional society.” This outburst only made Quicksilver chuckle.

“The ponies now worship Faust when she is only a mimic to true greatness, only elite members and leaders of the Apoxis followings are made aware of his very existence because the weak minded can’t comprehend the very name... meaning I’m truly dealing with something impressive since not one of you even wavered.”

“I wasn’t even aware of his existence, meaning my mother truly didn’t believe in me... But that’s a past I won’t live, what is so special about Apoxis anyway?” Mist questioned as she folded her arms

“His greatness is what shall heal this world of all of its suffering, with a thought alone he could cleanse this very land of anything vile. The sacrifice is that we have to amass enough magical strength for him to rise again, the power that the human has will be enough to complete the ritual.” He raised his arms to his sides and let his wings flare with a passionate heat before blasting himself backwards and turning to slam into Mist who put her guard up last second.

“You’re insane! None of that’s happening since not only are you going to die here but-“

Spike cartwheeling in the air to the side got the attention of the devout griffin who also saw his other enemies. “I’ll take her back!” Mist was pulled directly into Spike’s grasp and Celona crashed into Quicksilver’s back but another heated gust pushed her away and he came to a stop.

“Spike, Celona, Mist, and Zecora you’re all a very interesting group... it makes sense Zukako would remember your names. Now-“ A flick of the wing sent a volley of razor sharp feathers towards the approaching cragadile and impaled it sending it to the ground lifeless. “Now I’ll be a little more serious.” His wings flared with white hot fury and sent a crackling gust of wind towards the four.

“It’s a great change of pace.” Mist said as she formed hand seals. “Water Style: Wall of Water!” Mist sent a torrent of water from her mouth, when it collided with the heat it turned into her namesake. The blazing heat told them to evade again and the four managed to dodge the attack that split the ground and desiccated the soil.

Mist and Spike rushed in and clashed against their enemy. “Watch his wings, one swipe and we’re done.” Spike ducked under the very danger and delivered a kick to Quicksilver’s side, stopping his motion for a short time while Celona coated her arm in electricity again and aimed to punch him in the chest but he ducked backwards and blew into the air.

“What can you do against this?” Flapping his wings, Quicksilver sent down scalding feathers in a massive orderless array The four reunited while Zecora and Mist weaved a series of signs before both sent a large burst of air and water respectively that turned into a massive spiral that caught the oncoming projectiles. Once the attack stopped Quicksilver’s grin was noticeable from the ground and a quick check revealed that Celona had been too slow to get under the barrier and was struck through the chest by a stray feather.

Spike went to her and checked her body. “She’s hanging in there, just barely... she might not make it...” A scowl formed on his face and he set her down as he and the other two walked forward as the serpent slithered along with Zecora.

“Oh I hope the fire you had isn’t gone Spike and I mean that literally since you were only heating up my feathers with it.” Quicksilver joked but when Spike began to slowly levitate into the air he was confused and visibly so since he was told that the drake was just a drake, wingless.

“So you want to have a god to worship? You holding try outs for the role?” An outstretched hand confused Quicksilver but he has his answers soon enough. “Almighty Push!” The nearby clouds were cleared and only Spike was visible until he landed again and looked at his allies and Celona. “She’ll be fine, we can’t give him time to rest.” Spike dashed towards where their enemy went flying and the smell of molten rock told him the mountain ahead was relevant to his location.

The other two caught up quickly and saw Quicksilver using another rune on his chest but this one had purple lines come to his arms and talons. “Another little boost for me since one did what it did so two will finish this.” He walked forward and dragged his talons along a tree and it bubbled, began to rot and warp where it was marked. Bursting forward he clashed with Spike alone throwing two swipes with his claws and a sweep with his wing, all of which were parried and acted on with a jab to the face and a kick to the stomach pushing the griffin back.

“Fire Style: Phoenixflame scarlet claw!” A series of burning scales were sent right at Quicksilver but before he could deflect them.

“What the?!” The serpent wrapped around his body and was cut apart by his wings but it made a window for the scales to embed themselves into his flesh. “Agh!” He took a breath before flying like a dart straight at Mist who was preparing a jutsu. “She’s Water, Spike is Fire, and Zecora is Wind... Then she goes first.” He thought and he spun and sent a volley of feathers at Mist right when Spike’s foot came crashing into his neck and was almost lost to the corrosive talons.

“Water Style: Severing Wave.” Mist spewed a stream of high pressure water and deflected the projectiles, right when a gust of wind was launched and scorched the grass as it went for her but Zecora pushed her aside and took the hit, sending her into a nearby boulder shattering it.

“I have to go retrieve Celona you two will have to fight alone.” She bolted back towards where they came from with Quicksilver aiming a feather at her but his idea was stopped fast when a cooled feather whizzed by his face.

“You remember you’re fighting us right? That’s not too big of a demand is it?” Mist declared as Spike walked next to her.

“It shouldn’t be, I’ve beat one of you and sent another running. At this rate I should come out on top but I won’t jinx that.” Spike smirked at the statement before crossing his forearms defensively.

“Might have done it already...”

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Author's Notes:

It feels good to have my mojo back, and I’m proud of the setup here. Comments, questions, concerns, you know what to do.

See you next time