"Blech!" uttered a rainbow-maned pegasus. "This place looks nastier than that pie I made for Pinkie."

"I can attest to that!" the pink one added.

The only unicorn of the group tried to find something else to stare at besides the moldy stone making up all of the temple. It's been the only thing she could look at for the past hour and now her eyes can't tell where her hoof ends and where the floor begins.

"I'll have to agree with Rainbow on this one," she said. She grimaced when she saw her hoof blending into the environment. The pristine white of her coat did not look good against the spotty and cracked browns and grays. "Twilight, darling, surely there must be other locations where these artifacts reside. Perhaps we should have started with one in a more, err... appealing locale?"

Twilight Sparkle, currently leading the group, let out a sigh. "I'm really sorry that I rushed us all here without knowing what 'here' was..." She couldn't help feel a little guilty for not knowing ahead of time that the temple was a maze of low ceilings and narrow hallways, effectively grounding the airborne members of the group. "...but this relic was the closest out of the three and the disaster is only one moon away."

The orange earth pony, second in the lead, tapped the alicorn's leg with her hoof to get her attention. She gave the princess a smile, saying, "Don't you worry 'bout that none. We're just gettin' a little antsy s'all." The apple farmer's eyes glazed past the rest of her friends until they fell on the restless pegasus. "Right?"

Rainbow Dash flinched. "Uh, y-yeah! Must be that saving-the-world pressure again," she said, nervously chuckling, "Eh ... It's nothing, really."

"I'm okay too, I think!" piped the Pie.

"I suppose we've been through worse," Rarity added, though she had to blink a few times and squint just to see her friends. "Apologies, darling."

"I'm actually doing fine," said the soft-spoken Fluttershy, "Talking to these mice for directions really kept my attention away from the dark and... spooky... temple." There was an audible gulp from the group, but the apple farmer did her best to ignore it for her other friend's sake.

"Ya see sugarcube? We're doin' alright." Applejack, along with the rest of her friend's words were finally reciprocated with the princess' own smile.

"Thanks girls," Twilight said, breathing easy. "Still, I feel like I should pay you all back somehow. How about a weekend at Las Pegasus when we're done? My treat." Murmurs took up the silence of the corridor behind her. She barely looked back, but she already knew they were more than happy about the idea. "I guess that settles it!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie cheered, “Let's save the day and party like we didn't!"

Coincidentally, just as the mane six renewed some pep in their step, they reached the chamber where the mice said the artifact was supposed to be.

The whole room was in the same condition the rest of the structure was in, ruined and damp. There was, however, one light, shining from a hole in the ceiling onto a stone pedestal in the center of the room, whereupon the single ray illuminated the—

"Where's the relic!?" Twilight rushed over to the empty pedestal, her friends following closely behind her. She circled it, looked at every one of its little cracks and crevices, and even uprooted the whole thing with her bare hooves. "It's not here!"

"Ms. Mouse, would you happen to know..." Fluttershy noticed the expression on the rodent's face as it scratched its head confusingly. It seemed like it wouldn't.

A loud thud echoed throughout the room when Twilight dropped the pedestal back on its place. "It's not here! We... WE NEED THAT!" The princess took hold of her own ears and pulled them down below her chin as she panicked.

"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed ahold of her purple friend's shoulders, "Everything's going to be fine. We can figure out another way, just like we always do." Her attempts at consolation didn't seem to work as her friend continued to mutter the same things to herself.

"This is it. We're done for. I failed. I failed Celestia. I failed Equestria. I failed myself, my friends, and everypony. I—"

Whether it was thrown up from Twilight's earlier uprooting or some other unlikely event, a piece of paper glided into view. It swayed back and forth in its slow descent, gently landing on the empty pedestal where the relic would be. Without hesitation, the alicorn brushed past the pegasus, grabbing the paper with her two hooves and bringing it much too close to her face.

After three long, uncomfortable seconds, Twilight dropped the note, letting it glide and fall faceup in front of her friends. While she stood completely frozen, staring as if it was still in her hooves, her friends gathered around the note. They gave each other wary glances before craning their necks to see what vile words could make their friend act like so.

GET FUCKED

SUCK MY DICK

"So..." A tall bipedal figure standing next to a tree, obscured by shadow, stared intently at another figure. Its eyes were the only things visible. "Did you get it?"

Across the shadowed figure was another; a human, standing in the orange light of the rising sun. This one's attire was rather casual for the current mood, wearing sweats and a plain shirt underneath a light jacket.

The illuminated figure lifted a hand, carrying with it a simple ruby amulet, albeit glowing in power. The edges of the shadowed figure’s lips briefly curved upward before his visage returned to its stone cold scowl.

"Is that all?" Their eyes were locked, both trying to stare harder than the other.

After another moment passed, the one in the sun cracked first, a smile replacing his hardened glare. "I left the note."

The shadowy figure's eyes widened. "You didn't."

The other being snorted, his smile quickly becoming one of someone trying their best not to laugh. "I did."

A second later, the shadowy figure stepped out from the tree's shadow, revealing himself to be another human. He's as casually dressed as the other, minus one jacket and replacing the shirt with a polo. Extending their hands out, they clapped the other's appendage, momentarily grasping it, before letting go and moving closer to tap their forearms together in an X pattern.

"Ules, you fucking madman," said the previously concealed human.

"I try." The jacketed one shoved the amulet down one of his pockets with as much care as a package handler would give a box labeled ‘fragile’. "So how's 'fuck with everyone one last time' part two working out?"

"Glad you asked." The one with the polo faced the tree and looked high up at its branches. "Reyes!"

Sitting near the top was, surprise, another human, younger than the two on the ground, but having the same fashion sense. Addressing the tree-sitting, baseball shirt wearing, khaki shorts rocking young man, he proceeded to ask about the location of the next artifact.

"Please tell me it's not another temple."

The young man, currently looking through his hands as if they were binoculars, answered by calling back down in denial. "It's not in a temple, but there are bits and pieces of one lying around. The thing itself is frozen inside an iceberg—icecube? It's frozen inside some ice." He grabbed a chip from a bag laying against the main trunk, holding it ready for imminent consumption. "I don't really see much else, Leers, unless you count trees as something." Crunch.

Leers straightened out his collar and turned back to the other gentlemen. "It seems we are headed towards a block of ice that's probably guarded by some mystic guardian."

Ules threw his head back as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Ugh, we gotta fight something?" he groaned, "Leers, I thought you said this shit would be easy."

"I did, for the first one," Leers said matter-of-factly, "As it turns out, whoever built the temples for these amulets were really indecisive about how they would be protected. I read that in a book."

"Did that book also tell you how to use these things?" Ules patted the pocket with the amulet. "At least then I can determine for myself if this shit's worth collecting."

"It's actually really simple. Just get it close enough to you, say what you want, then you offer something you're willing to give up for it."

"...Like a bargaining genie?"

Leers pursed his lips. "Not exactly—"

"Hey! Are you telling him about the auction genie?" Reyes called down.

"He already told me," Ules replied, looking up at his perched companion. "Get back to keeping watch." He waved his right hand in a shooing motion.

The younger man's volume lowered into a murmur. "Well... It's like an auction genie..." Another crunch and he returned to his duty of being a human periscope.

Ules stare lingered for a bit before his eyes snapped towards his other, eye level friend. "I'm giving you a bop on the shoulder if it's gonna be some sort of ice or nature golem."

"Ha!" said Leers, before his combined gaze and smirk emitted only the most serious of challenge acceptances. "Too obvious. I say it's fire-based for two."

Out of nowhere, a crumpled up chip bag fell onto the ground beside them, making the two look up at the young man. "Are you guys betting?" Reyes yelled. "Did someone put one in for an electric dude? If not, I'm voting for an electric dude." The two down below gave each other amused looks.

"His thinking has transcended ours," Leers said.

"Well, let's go see this 'lectric dude for ourselves," Ules suggested. The eldest two of the trio called their third down from the tree, giving him a bit of shit for suggesting the idea.

As they began making their way to the crystallized relic, Leers tapped Ules on the shoulder to get his attention. "If it makes you feel any better, I've got a plan where you can avoid this fight and still be two steps ahead of the horse crew..."

Fuck

Even with the sun approaching its apex, bathing the world in Celestia's light, no matter where the elements looked, the scenery of the forest seemed rather dull and dreary.

They had crossed a sizable portion of the country to reach a remote corner of Equestria, and were justifiably tired. Although traveling long distances on hoof isn't something new to them, they realized they'd once again be dealing with a familiar group of troublemakers, and right before the end of all life, no less. The idea didn't juggle so well in their heads.

Twilight was especially miffed when they figured out who left the note. Every time she faced them, she swore she could feel every symptom of stress manifesting. This time was no different as she already found another gray hair in her mane.

She looked up at the dense canopy to try and ease her mind. The rays of sunshine peeking through did little. Maybe... Maybe they can give us another chance? she thought.

Her brows furrowed and she shook her head, puffing air through her nostrils. I shouldn't get my hopes up, that's how they've always got away. She softened her expression for a brief moment before she snapped back to the cold, contemplative stare, groaning in frustration. I don't want to believe in them anymore, but—

"Hey!"

"Gah!" Twilight yelped. Apparently, she was looking too obviously troubled that Pinkie Pie had decided to walk up next to her. "I—Is everything alright!?" She began frantically searching around for anything amiss. "What's going on?"

Pinkie Pie giggled. "I was going to ask you that, silly!"

"I... I was just thinking, is all." The sentient, pony-shaped mass of cotton candy lowered her neck so that she was looking up at her friend's chin.

"Abooouut?"

"I—"

"Pinkie, she's thinking about those three," Rainbow Dash interjected, flying up to Twilight's other side. "We all were."

"Really?" Pinkie said with her head tilted. "All I've been thinking about is how a macaron is one type of cookie, but if you add another 'o', it becomes a completely different type of cookie." With her friends observing her now, Pinkie's mood seemed the most normal out of all of them. At least, normal in the Pinkie sort of way.

"Dear, these are the same hooligans who've been a nuisance to us and the Equestrian government for nearly a year," Rarity said behind them. "While we may have stopped them on a few occasions, they have managed to slip past us in several others. What's not to worry about those three?"

"I didn't say I wasn't worried at all. Sure, these guys beat us more times than we could count—"

"Don't remind me," Rainbow said.

"—but acting like they've already won will lead to them, well, winning."

Twilight's gaze lingered on her pink friend, marching along without a care in the world. "I suppose..." she said, her eyes now following the unmarked path ahead.

—Is what would have happened if there was more path to follow. Should she have noticed her friends stopping a few paces back, she, too, would have seen the dense thicket blocking their way. Instead, she walked face first into a wall of prickly foliage.

"Ow," she said, backing up a few steps and rubbing her snout. Brushing herself off, she looked up at the leaves with mild annoyance. "Did we take the wrong turn?" Her friends glanced at each other before shrugging.

"We wouldn't know," Applejack said. "Yer the one with the relic know-how, you tell us." Twilight sighed upon being reminded that it was her own fault for researching a way to stop the doomsday alone, despite her friends' offers to help her out.

"Right... We'll just go around."

"Oooo, shiny!" Pinkie Pie said, staring into the indent Twilight's face left in the thicket.

Raising an eyebrow, Twilight followed the pink mare's gaze, only to see a flash of yellow. While brief, the light was intense enough to momentarily daze her. With a quick shake of her head, she regained her senses, but not her patience.

"What in Tartarus is it this time..." she groaned.

Her horn lit up and the entire section of thicket glowed. She tried pulling the whole thing down, but the best she could do was make the thicket rustle to no avail. Growling in defeat, the pink aura vanished and she began approaching the indent while holding up a hoof to partially block its view.

As she leaned in, she turned her head a little to the side and squinted, still wary that it could flash again. Her friends had gathered around her, shielding their own faces.

"Well? What'd you see?" Rainbow Dash said behind the partial cover of her foreleg.

"I..." Twilight craned her neck in and closed her eyes a little more. "I don't see anything. Hold on..." The alicorn's horn lit up and the deepest parts of the indent glowed a deep pink. Using her magic, she pushed the leaves and twigs apart, digging the indent deeper into the thick layer of green.

At first, she wasn't getting anywhere as she only found more leaves to get through. She began thinking that it was her and her friend's imaginations, even when she knew that it was too much of a coincidence. However, when she managed to get through a pony's length of thicket, she was able to see movement, even behind the layers of foliage.

"I think I'm finally getting something!" Twilight said with the slightest hint of excitement. Her friends, who had opted to lay about in the meantime, all looked up from whatever they could find to keep themselves busy.

"Finally!" Rainbow said, abandoning a game of chess with Pinkie. Before she took another a step, the pegasus turned around, reached for her rook, and slid it onto her opponent’s king. "Check and mate." Then she unfurled her wings and power leaped her way back to Twilight, blowing away both the board and its pieces.

Pinkie shrugged and proceeded to get up so that she could join the rest of her friends who were gathered around Twilight.

Rainbow Dash, hovering next to the alicorn, tried craning her neck to get a better view. "So...?" she said.

"I see..." Twilight said, squinting her eyes. The other mares leaned a little closer, all staring in anticipation. "I see..."

"C'mon Twilight! What is it?"

The princess of friendship remained silent as she finally peeled off the last few layers. Then she leaned back and gasped, her eyes going wide. "Run! Get away from the—"

A flash much brighter than the first shined through the hole, blinding everypony once more. They all staggered back, their eyes shut tight, hoping it would dull the pain.

Except Pinkie Pie. Although she couldn't really see anything but white, she continued giving a wide-eyed stare as if she wasn't just blasted with enough lumens to outshine the sun.

"Ow! That was like a flash of lightning!" the pink mare said, turning her head at where she thought her alicorn friend would be. "It's a good thing that wasn't really lightning, otherwise there'd be thun—"

KRAKOOM

A shock wave of pure force and sound erupted from the opening, sending all the ponies flying back at least fifty feet. Twilight was thrown back the way they came, falling on her side and skidding to a halt right in the middle of the unmarked path. She steadied her head with a hoof, eyelids clenched as she endured the ringing in her ears.

Though she was still dazed, she forced her eyes open to see what became of her friends. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were thrown right at a tree, the former slammed into its trunk, while the latter broke through it. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity were luckily caught by some relatively soft bushes, leaving only a dirtied mane for them to worry about. Besides the apple farmer, who was already shaking off the dirt in her coat, nopony was hurt too badly.

Before Twilight could breathe a sigh of relief, she noticed the numerous leaves and twigs scattered about. She recognized the leaves as ones from the thicket. Curious, she brought her gaze over to the wall.

The section her friends gathered around had been blasted away, presumably from the same shock wave that knocked them back. Normally, Twilight would wonder what could have caused such a blast and prompt herself to investigate further. Instead, she remained motionless, as the next thing she saw was the answer to her question.

Rampaging out of the ruptured wall was an entity of frost and energy. Shards of ice made up most of its form; its head, hands, and torso being the largest chunks, while smaller, disconnected icicles served as its fingers as well as the frame of its arms and legs. Electricity arced between its shards, creating a constantly changing web of energy within itself, and keeping its body chained together. It was an elemental construct harnessing the power of ice and lightning, none like Twilight had ever seen.

Yet, as intimidating as it seemed, what caught her eye the most was the passenger balancing himself on top of it.

"Whoa, calm down there fella! I only impaled you with a tree branch," said the human with the polo, standing on its back and keeping steady by holding on to said tree branch. "Is all this thrashing about really necess—HO SHIT!"

The branch erupted, creating another shock wave that sent the human flying. If he had paid attention, he would have noticed the elemental sending a surge of energy into the branch, appearing as a yellow light travelling up its wooden crevices. Instead, he landed flat on his back a few feet in front of the purple pony, gasping for air.

Twilight pushed her upper body up so she could better see if it really was who she thought it was.

"Le..."

Her brows furrowed, her pulse quickened, and her left eyelid twitched. She absolutely did not want to believe it. She wanted to blame her earlier blindness from the light but knew it couldn't have affected her vision that badly. With nothing else to fault, she ejected the stress-infused air from her lungs into a name she didn't want to hear.

"Leers!?"

"What are you doing here!?" Twilight blurted out. "And why is that thing attacking you!?"

The pained expression on Leers faded slightly when he realized who addressed him. "Ah, princess!" he groaned through gritted teeth and squinted eyes. "How are things?" He received a glare that could bore a hole, though it stopped abruptly when the alicorn noticed a few things amiss on him.

"Y—Your foot, and your arm!" Twilight said, pointing a hoof at the aforementioned limbs. Leers raised an eyebrow before checking to see what concerned her.

His left shoulder had been dislocated, leaving the arm slumped more than it should, and his right foot was turned a bit too far to the right. "Oh," he said, now raising both eyebrows. He didn't know how hasn't seen it already, but now that he has, he was now more aware of his body's signals telling him to be more aware. "...Ouch."

Twilight caught herself staring, so she shook her head and returned to glaring at the human. "We'll fix you later, just answer my—"

A violent crackling pulled the alicorn's attention back to the golem and saw its arms generating electricity. Numerous arcs shot out of its icy chunks, discharging into the air, the ground, and the surrounding foliage. When the frequency of its arcs reached a peak, it pointed its palms at the two and unloaded the built-up energy into a single, massive bolt of lightning.

The bolt closed the distance in a near instant, followed by a thunderous kaboom that rattled eardrums and the surrounding trees. The other five elements, still dazed from their previous impacts, could do little besides shouting their friend's name.

Fortunately, Twilight's adrenaline was already pumping the second she saw the human.

Before it could strike, an angled barrier of pink magic materialized in front them. The bolt ricocheted off, shooting up into the atmosphere, where it promptly dissipated.

Leers looked at the sky and then at the alicorn, smiling when he saw her horn glowing. "Still the great pony that you are, I see," he said while nodding. The second her gaze shifted back to him, he allowed her a split-second to see the scowl on his face before turning towards the elemental.

As he picked himself up off the ground, a green glow surrounded the injured appendages.

The human drew a subtle, yet sharp breath as an acute, abrupt pain shot up both limbs. His arm extended straight out to the side, shaking slightly before being pulled back into his shoulder with an audible pop. His foot followed suit, although it trembled a bit more violently, and needed to snap back into position twice after the first jerk stopped just short of being right. Still, both appendages had been righted, and the only evidence of pain Leers showed was a few laborious breaths and a twitch of an eyelid.

The golem roared at the sight of the intruder getting back on his feet and responded by raising its hands and aiming them at him. From its main body, yellow arcs bounced out, jumping to and fro the floating bits of ice that hovered between the larger chunks, towards its hands. Upon reaching the appendage, the arcs made one more bounce into the icicles that were its fingers, being absorbed and coalescing into amorphous shapes appearing in the ice that fluctuated in brightness. When enough energy was collected, each one was then shot off, crackling through the air with short electric tails.

Once more, Twilight created another barrier, this time appearing as a solid, perpendicular square. The barrier was successful in shielding them from the volley; the shards embedding themselves into the wall, just short of hitting Leers. However, when the alicorn thought they were safe, the yellow shapes contained within each shard began trembling.

The energy held in the frost missiles were discharged, sending arcs across the visibly cracking barrier. Twilight grimaced as she could feel the damage done to their only form of defense transfer to her horn, like several needles poking into her head.

When the pain fizzled out, she cast a one-eyed glance to see if they were okay. While her barrier was littered with several holes, it was still holding up, but for how much longer, she wasn't sure. To her relief, Leers was also alright, though the thought of feeling as such annoyed her as well.

Before she could express her desire to do something about the immediate danger, she noticed that the immediate danger had regrown all its lost fingers. Said fingers were also charged, and presumably, about to be sent flying in their direction.

"Drop it," Leers said. Twilight looked up at the human in disbelief.

"What!? N—No!"

The second barrage collided with the barrier, and she flinched. Amidst the fractured webs on the translucent magenta wall, a tiny piece evaporated away, leaving an opening that was eye level with Leers. A single shard flew through the hole, no larger than a pen, but holding just as much destructive energy as any other shard.

The human was prepared, however, as the instant he saw the elemental through the crude peephole, he had put his right hand up a few inches from his face, fingers flared, and his palm exposed.

The shard pierced his flesh like a needle to a cloth, going halfway through his hand before it and the appendage glowed green. The ice missile froze, as if all the momentum it had just vanished, leaving it lodged in. Whatever energy was still in the shard seemed to be stuck too, as a blurry ball of yellow light buzzed and quivered excitedly inside. Droplets of blood began leaking through either side of the wound, yet Leers' blank expression didn't budge.

"Drop. It."

Twilight grit her teeth, wanting to protest against the very dumb and dangerous suggestion. However, whether it was the little fragment of hope telling her to trust him, or the inability to keep her hold on to the barrier any longer, her horn finally dimmed. As the unexploded shards that were stuck the barrier fell and clinked away, Leers put both his forearms up and tucked his head as close to his chest.

The next volley came without pause, pelting the human with an array of white knives. They punctured cloth and skin, cutting through his major muscles, with some even striking bone. Had the green glow not surrounded and stopped those shards too, they would've fried him from the inside out.

Barring his head and neck, nearly every inch of his body was embedded with buzzing shards of ice. He looked like a bloody pincushion, with 'bloody' being the keyword.

Falling on one knee, he failed to stifle a groan that Twilight caught. The alicorn quickly put up another, smaller barrier as her eyes bore into the human's back.

"Why didn't you get out of the way?" said the already frustrated princess.

Leers turned his head as little as he could so as not to move too many shards towards anything important. "You're welcome for taking that for you," he said in between heavy breaths. "And just to ease your little pony heart, this hurts just as much as I expected it too." He barely managed a smile, but Twilight was having none of it.

"Stop not taking this seriously!" she said.

"Oh? But I am, princess." Leers calmly set his gaze on the elemental with Twilight following it as best she could. "If you had only been paying attention..."

Before she could ask, a flock of mixed birds descended from the sky and swirled around the golem. The whirlwind of feathers angrily screeched as they viciously scratched and pecked the chunk of ice that was its head. Although their attacks hardly left any damage, they pestered it enough to drop its assault, using its hands to try and swat them away.

Twilight's magic faded, but the surprise in her face remained. Looking around, she saw that her friends were no longer where they were thrown back to. Instead, they had approached the elemental under the cover of the foliage, with Rainbow Dash and Applejack advancing on the right, and the others on the left.

"Nice job Fluttershy!" Pinkie cheered as she gave the pegasus a rough pat on the back. The yellow mare stumbled forward but managed to catch herself before she fell out of their bush.

"It's quite the distraction," Rarity added. "What ever did you do to make them attack in such a frenzy?"

"I didn't do much," Fluttershy said. "I warned the birds to run away, but they just got upset that something dangerous is so close to their nests."

"Well, you did a good job anyway," Pinkie said. "Now we can signal Applejack AND keep my pie that I was going to throw at it!" She then pulled out a pie from her mane and scarfed it down.

While her cheeks were still full of pastry, the element of laughter popped up from their hiding bush and frantically waved her forelegs in the air. A bush opposite to theirs rustled, and a pair of green eyes beneath a stetson peeked out of from the top and then promptly sank back down.

Applejack looked at her cyan friend hunkered beside her and gave her a nod. She replied with a smirk before they both jumped out of their cover.

Pulling out a lasso from her hat, Applejack spun it above her as she charged the golem. With a flick of her head, the rope was expertly thrown through the air, somehow avoiding the angry flock. It managed to loop itself around the golem's left hand, allowing the apple farmer to skid to a halt and keep her distance.

At the same time, Rarity gracefully leaped out of her bush, horn aglow. She cast her own magical tether, originating from the tip of her pearly focus and snaking its way over to the elemental. Just like her rustic friend, it quickly found its way around the other hand, tying itself into a cute little bow.

Seeing her friends doing work, Rainbow Dash swooped down at the icy monstrosity. Utilizing some tree bark, she pressed the wood against both sides of its head, allowing her to grab onto it without getting shocked. Together, the three of them pulled their respective ice chunks as far away from the main body as they could, leaving it wide open.

Leers drew a sharp breath and forced himself to stand again, causing his wounds to bleed a bit more as his muscles shifted.

"Stop moving," Twilight hissed. "Just lay down while me and the girls handle this." The human ignored her and ripped some cloth from the right sleeve of his polo.

The green glow around the pen sized icicle in his palm intensified. The shard budged half an inch out his palm before completely coming loose, leaving a tiny hole in his hand. Instead of falling to the ground, it flipped back into the nook of his index and thumb. It remained even as he flipped his hand around to wrap the wound up, as if it was stuck there.

"You might be wondering why I wanted to get stabbed by several ice shards," he said, flexing his fingers.

"No, I wasn't—"

"Let me tell you, firsthand..." Leers extended his right hand to the side, palm out. "Chucking branches at it isn't very effective."

The same glow holding the other shards scattered across his body gleamed a little brighter. Just like the icicle in his hand, they were pulled free, but didn't fall to the ground. Once out, they promptly flung themselves to the icicle between his fingers like a magnet. The ice merged together, becoming longer and more solid, ending in sharpened points. The energy trapped within each shard also combined, appearing as a long line of yellow running through it, and glowing much brighter.

When Leers had no more shards to give, he gripped the object in his hand and held it over his shoulder. "Now, this? This should do the trick," he said. He looked back over his shoulder, expecting her to look as annoyed ever, but instead got something much better; shock, and horror.

"Y... You've just opened up all your wounds..." Twilight said, scanning his person. The more she looked, the faster her eyes moved, and the more she realized just how bad of a shape he was. "Sweet Celestia, you're going to bleed out!"

Leers pressed his lips together. He had hoped she wouldn't notice.

Still, whether she did or not didn't matter as he was given a clear shot and was sure as hell not going to give that up.

Eyeing the elemental once more, he brought his left foot forward so that his torso turned a little to the side. He extended his left arm forward, hand facing outward so that he could see the golem's main body between his index and thumb. Lastly, he began leaning back into his right leg, even lifting his left so that all his weight was on one foot.

Then, before Twilight could make another remark, Leers looked back at her one more time. "Not before I do—"

"Graah! How much longer is Twilight going to take?" Rainbow Dash groaned, straining to keep her grip on both the wood and the golem's head. "Did she even notice us?" The elemental tried struggling free once more, which only caused the ponies to double down on their holds.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!" Rarity said. At that point, she had to keep her eyes shut and focus all her effort on keeping the tether intact. If Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy not have chosen to jump out of their bush and grab on to her, she would have easily been thrown around.

"Jush... a li'l... more!" Applejack could barely say through the lasso clenched tightly in her teeth.

After another second of constant pulling and pecking, the golem realized that it has had enough and began collecting the energy from its restrained body parts. A steady stream of yellow arcs jumped out of its head and hands, making their way to the torso through its collection of floating icicles. The more that its power was transferred, the brighter its main body became, and the weaker the other appendages got.

When all five ponies realized that the increased ease of their holds wasn't the cause of their alicorn friend's doing, they were too late. The elemental had released the stored the energy into a shockwave and were now getting a face full of it.

Ponies and birds alike were thrown back, all leaving a small trail of smoke from their singed fur and feathers. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity landed in their bush, their limbs strewn over each other, making them unable to get up. Rainbow Dash, after flailing uncontrollably through the air, fell through the roof of the forest canopy, crashing through several branches until one particularly large arm broke her fall, and maybe a rib. Lastly, Applejack had once again collided into another tree, but not before crashing through the trunk of two other trees, leaving Applejack shaped holes in each one.

While it was unable to reconnect with its now inert hands and was still returning the excess energy to its head, the golem had freed itself from its restraints. It roared another unnatural roar and turned its sights on the human, ready to finally smite the original intruder down.

"—this!"

Leers extended his left leg out, causing his weight to shift and making him fall forward. Just as his left foot touched down, he twisted his other foot straight, which in turn helped pushed his torso in the same direction. The rotation of his body tugged at his right shoulder, cuing him to bring his arm up and over, bending at the elbow prior to reaching the apex of the swing. Right before he would straighten out his arm to fling the overcharged spear and completing the throw, the green glow from his hand faded, and surrounded the rest of his arm instead.

Instantly, much faster than any human muscle could possibly move, the arm snapped forward, and the spear along with it. A miniature sonic boom occurred at his fingertips as the icy missile was launched out of his hands. It shot past any birds still in mid-fall, blowing them and whatever loose foliage away with the tremendous squall behind it. With no way to defend itself in time, the elemental braced itself.

The spear penetrated its hard torso with ease, having enough momentum to continue through and out its back, and only stopping halfway due to the lingering green glow. Once the glow disappeared, so did whatever cohesion the spear's individual shards had, as well as the force keeping their energy contained.

The elemental staggered backwards, now having to manage the massive fluctuations caused by the stored energy being unleashed in itself. It tried transferring the excess energy into its head and the surrounding icicles, but that only managed to overload them as well, causing them to burst, and leaving its torso as the last remaining piece of itself.

Unable to manage it all, large cracks began to form all over its icy body. Yellow light and electric arcs escaped out each crevice, crackling and fizzing away shortly after. When the elemental became nothing but cracks leaking energy, it erupted into a brief, but intense explosion of light and frozen debris.

With a satisfied sigh, Leers straightened up and turned around to face the princess. He brought his left hand up to his forehead and saluted her with two fingers.

Twilight's left eyelid twitched. Finally taking the moment to stand, she glared at the human as her mouth opened, ready to drop the most intense scolding she's ever given.

She didn't, however, because when she lifted a forehoof to help emphasize her point, she saw the damage done on Leer's right arm. The bigger muscles were strewn with bleeding stretch marks, and red silhouettes outlined the blood vessels on his forearm. The skin and underlying tissues of his inner elbow had been torn while the joint itself seemed like it was about to come loose. And the human's only reaction was to give Twilight the same dumb smile that always pestered her.

Leers saw her gasp through his fading vision, and just as she began gesturing to his arm, saying words that he couldn't hear, his balance gave way and the whole world fell to the side.

I think I'm doing something, but I don't know what I'm doing.

Sorta rushed, sorta not. Having a consistent schedule is really nice though.

Leers woke up to the sound of rickety wood hitting unpaved dirt. The sight of the afternoon sun meant that he was no longer in a forest where the canopy could obscure the sky. He also figured that he was no longer wearing his polo, or at least, not all of it, as he still felt cloth wrapped tightly around his central torso.

When he lifted his head, he saw that his shirt had been torn off and repurposed as bandages for his wounds. Whatever cloth wasn't already used, he could feel, was sandwiched between his back and a rough wooden floor, presumably used to keep his bare skin protected from chafing. Considering that the cloth did little to soften the rugged surface, combined with the consistent rocking and shaking, he found it odd how he didn't wake up sooner.

Sitting up, Leers realized the floor was actually the bed of a crudely made wagon, big enough for only one passenger his size. The act of rising also made him more aware of how sore his whole body was, almost resigning and laying back down if he didn't see who was pulling the wagon.

Applejack held the reigns to his ride, walking behind the rest of her friends in their little caravan. Normally, he'd take the opportunity to slip away without their noticing, but he didn't think it possible or reasonable in the state he was in. That, and he also had a plan, one that required their cooperation. So, he stayed put, thinking of a way to properly re-introduce himself as painlessly as possible.

After a brief moment of looking down in thought, Leers finally saw the thing encasing his right arm.

Instead of few bandages here and there, it was an entire cast, sling and all. From the glossy and clear outer surface, combined with the leafy patterns underneath, it looked like an amalgamation made from the thicket's dense foliage and the remains of the elemental. Add some sort of transmutation magic to the mix and it wouldn't seem like much a stretch.

Wondering why he didn't notice it sooner, he tried moving the arm out of curiosity. It didn't budge. Thinking about it now, he can't feel anything from the limb. The soreness that urged the rest of his body to rest wasn't even present.

Leers shook his head when he realized he was getting distracted. As much as he wanted to admire it, amused by the idea that the six are still willing to take care of him, he wanted to find something to break the ice. Then he looked at his cast again.

"...I take it this is Rarity's handiwork?" he said, knowing he was probably wrong.

Fluttershy nearly jumped from the sound of his voice breaking the serene quiet. The rest of the group stopped and everypony, besides Twilight, glanced back, wearing looks ranging from genuine surprise to slight annoyance.

Leers began to think that maybe his choice of a conversation starter wasn't the best option.

"Great, he's up," one hovering Rainbow Dash groaned, rolling her eyes. "Why can't you stay unconscious until after we dropped you off?"

"Rainbow," Applejack said flatly.

"What? I'm just saying." The pegasus crossed her arms and looked off to the side. "Now he's going to hassle us and get under our skin."

"She's not wrong," both Leers and Pinkie Pie said.

"Ah know he ain't exactly our friend, but sassin' somepony while their down ain't right." The human's eyebrows rose slightly. "'Sides, we'll be droppin' him off to the authorities real soon, then we can get back to savin' the world." Rainbow Dash could only protest with a groan.

"Oh, don't worry miss wonderbolt, you'll get plenty of hassle from me," Leers said as innocently as ever. He then turned his sights on the purple pony in the lead, still facing forward and doing her best to ignore him. "But for right now, I believe the princess and I might have some important matters that need discussing."

Everypony grimaced at his request and the air suddenly grew tense. Slowly, they all turned their heads at the equine in question, with some covering their mouths with their hooves.

The alicorn stood motionless, her head slightly dipped. A single light breeze blew and gently waved her mane, settling down seconds later. Still, she remained unmoving.

When the others began to wonder if she ever heard them in the first place, she twisted her head back, eyes immediately locked on the human in the meanest death glare she's ever worn. The others all swore they felt a rush of wind when she looked back. Applejack, specifically, was pressing down her hat, only asking why she was doing so after she realized she was standing on three legs.

"Ye-ikes," Leers said, taken aback just like the rest of them. "She seems quite happy to see me."

Twilight closed her eyes and marched down the line, emanating an air of enmity that her friends have only felt from their villains. They would usually try and calm her down, but when it came to the terrible three, there's not much they could say. This didn't mean that they haven't placated her in the past, but, at this point, more than a year spent dealing with the humans' constant harassment was hard to beat. Thinking it was better not to interfere, they stepped aside to let their friend through.

As Applejack finally undid her harness and distanced herself, the princess of friendship reached the left side of the wagon and stopped. She half opened her eyes, and, without turning her head, she glanced at the human with nothing but contempt. Any hint of shock Leers had disappeared the moment she laid her eyes on him, instead being replaced with the same smirk that annoyed her, accompanied by a golf clap.

"Quite the stink eye you've developed," he said, seemingly impressed. "It's very intimidating. Bravo." The alicorn rolled her eyes.

Rearing up, she placed her front hooves on the wagons side and stood on her hind legs. "You have some nerve," she sternly said as she jabbed a hoof towards him.

"Thanks, but I couldn't have gotten it without you." Twilight's eye twitched and she retracted her hoof.

"What were you doing fighting that golem?"

"Right to it then, huh?" Leers cleared his throat, straightened his back, and put his good hand in his lap.

"I was just minding my own business strolling through the forest, is all. A little break from the usual, if you will. When I started to grow more appreciative of the scenery, that monster attacked me, the crazy thing! I barely managed to survive the encounter if it weren't for you brave ponies coming in to save me."

The alicorn let her gaze linger on the human a second longer before shifting it towards Applejack. The apple farmer had one eyebrow raised, looking back at her friend with a face that said, 'Do ah really need t' say?''.

"...And you weren't there for any other reason?" Twilight said, eyes back on the human. He shook his head.

"Would you consider the interesting fauna as a good reason?" Leers said. In the group of ponies huddled away, a yellow pegasus barely managed to make a noise that sounded like 'I do'.

Twilight's scowl softened as she began making slow laughs. "Ha. Fauna. Interesting. Very convincing. Ha." Her horn glowed and a crumpled-up note poofed into existence. It promptly uncrumpled and was aggressively levitated in front of the human. "I don't suppose you wouldn't know anything about this, would you?" she said.

Leers took the note out of the air, only needing a second to read it and immediately replying with, "Rude." The alicorn chuckled once more, slowly leaning off to the side.

"Ha. Ha. Ha..."

Instantly, the note erupted into flames as she straightened herself out and flared her wings, giving the human the stare from earlier, wind included. At that close a distance, Leers could see the anger in her eyes. Not just figuratively, but quite literally too, swearing that there were flames in her pupils. He tried putting his hands up, failing when he remembered he only had one hand, and then continued to put his good hand up anyway.

"Alright, alright, I give," he said. "What do you want to know?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow at his sudden willingness to cooperate. She couldn't help but think that he was giving up too easily. Still, answers are answers, and she even had a lie detector in the form of Applejack to boot.

She calmed herself down with a deep breath, retracted her wings, and addressed him coldly. "Are you aware that the end of the world is coming?" she said.

Leers put his hand down and gave himself a second to think. Then he answered with, "Yes." He looked over at her little party and then back to her. "Is it safe to assume that you were tasked in stopping it⁠—"

Twilight flared her wings out, creating another gust of wind. When she withdrew them, Leers was calmly patting his hair down.

"I'll ask the questions." She paused for a moment and sighed. "But yes, we are trying to stop it." He briefly wore a smirk, disappearing before the alicorn saw. "Now, do you know how we're going to do that?"

Once more, Leers didn't immediately reply. He screwed up his face to try and show how much he was thinking about her question, convincing no one. "I might have an idea."

"Does that idea also relate to where we found this note and the forest you were attacked in?" The human pressed his lips together.

"It might." He said nothing more.

Twilight's scowl flickered just a tad more intense. The irritation in her voice was also growing. "Well, are you going to tell me how it might?" He shook his head.

A purple hoof knocked against the side of the wagon, hard. Leers flinched, suddenly becoming more aware of the fact that his interrogator was at the end of her patience.

"Don't expect me to believe it's pure coincidence that you and the note appeared in the same places we were looking. What are you planning?" The human looked at her, like he was about the deliver that one smile. This made Twilight grit her teeth and talk herself down from smacking him if he did.

He didn't.

Though he would look away a split-second later, Twilight was able to see a little something in his face she'd never think she'd see again. An emotion too sad and unfitting for the current Leers that she knew.

The alicorn's scowl softened to an irritated stare. "You didn't answer me," she said, the coldness in her voice now touched with the smallest hint of sympathy.

He looked back at her and, for the first time in a long time, their eyes weren't filled with hostility. "It's because I can't, princess. The stakes are much too high for me to tell you so easily."

Puffing air through her nostrils, Twilight put her front hooves back on the ground. "Then we're done here."

At the sound of 'we're', and 'done', and 'here', Rainbow Dash turned her head away from the poker game she was having with Pinkie. "Wai⁠—huh? You're finally done?" she said, oblivious of the pink mare pulling the top of her cards down with the tip of her mane.

"Oh, she is. I'm not," Leers said, cracking a smile that shattered any connection between him and the alicorn. The cyan mare threw her head up as she let out an exasperated sigh before turning her attention back to her game. "While I can't say what my goal is, I will offer something to help you with yours." The intensity of Twilight's stare returned.

She recognized what he was doing. This was always the part of his scheme where he would set-up some sort of trust just to trick her later. She was compelled to deny his offer, and almost did so as she had every reason. Yet, the little thing in the back of her mind kept her thinking that maybe, just maybe, he'd mean it this time.

Twilight's silence cued Leers to continue. "Tell me princess, with the so-called doomsday happening so soon, would I be right to assume that you were notified only recently?"

"And? This isn't much different from any other disaster," she refuted. "We've handled other emergencies before where all we had was a day."

"So that's a yes!" Leers said with more enthusiasm that she expected. "Am I also right to assume that in your limited time of research, your books could only share the bare minimum of information so you at least know what you're looking for?"

Twilight stamped a hoof down. "Don't you insult my books! I found all that I needed to know in my library."

"Even Powers of the Pre-Celestial Age?"

The title caused the alicorn to pause. She scanned the ground as she tried her best to remember why it sounded so familiar to her. Then she looked at the human again and it clicked. "...You stole that book when you destroyed part of my castle."

Leers waved off her realization. "Right, right. But more importantly!" He raised a finger for emphasis. "What if I told you, you won't be able to complete this quest without me?" The alicorn's eyes narrowed.

"What are you saying?" The human narrowed his eyes too.

"The next artifact you're looking for requires a little something that only I can give." They spent the next ten seconds staring at each other before Twilight realized what was going on.

"...You're not going to say what it is unless we bring you there?"

"Ding ding!" he said, pumping his fist. "If I told you now, you wouldn't need me anymore."

"How do I know this isn't something we can't figure out on our own?"

"Oh, you might." Leers dipped his head slightly. "But by the time you realize the artifact can't be acquired without me, I'd already be taken away to some dungeon far from you." Twilight pressed her lips together and gathered her thoughts.

If he does prove useful, that would mean one less step to take towards stopping this disaster. The only, quite glaring problem...

"This is all too vague for me to fully trust you," she ended up saying. Not even the thing at the back of her mind could convince her otherwise.

"Yet, my record shows, and I know you have one on me, that every time I tell you about something, I was always right." The alicorn's eye twitched.

"The record also shows that every time you were right, you'd also betray us soon after."

"For the most part, yes," Leers said as he nodded in agreement. "This is a special case, however! My life is on the line just as it is for you. It'd be foolish for me to mess things up now."

"Says the one that stole the first two amulets!" Rainbow yelled. She went silent when her poufy maned opponent laid down a straight to her three of a kind. "...Dang it Pinkie."

"You have no proof that I did such a thing." Twilight had to sit on her haunches and rub her temples so she could ease the headache she was getting.

"I've wasted enough time talking to you," she said. She looked to her group of friends, who were now all participating in a match. "AJ! Pinkie!"

Both mares looked up from their game and then at each other. When they realized their friend wanted them, they immediately folded, to Rainbow Dash's displeasure, and walked up next to the alicorn, standing at the ready. Twilight held a hoof up to them as she looked at the human.

"Tell Applejack whether you stole the amulets or not."

Leers waved a finger at her, opening his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Instead, he opted to do as he was asked and removed any trace of humor from his face. "I did not steal the amulets," he said in his most sincerest tone.

Applejack analyzed every inch of his face for even the slightest hint that what he spoke was not the truth. To her surprise, and mild suspicion, she found nothing that could betray his statement. "He ain't lyin'," she said.

"Thank you Applejack," Twilight said, giving her a nod before continuing to stare down the human. "Now Pinkie promise that you aren't going to steal the next amulet or make an attempt to run away."

This made Leers's eyes go wide, taking a wary glance at the pink pony. "That bad, huh?" he said,

"Leers."

"Fine, fine." He looked at Pinkie and, though she still had that friendly smile, he swore he could feel her pupils staring into his soul. "I, Leers, Pinkie promise that I will not steal the next amulet⁠—"

"Ooor run a-waaay," Pinkie added, craning her head sideways. He pressed his lips together and stifled a groan.

"Or run away."

"Great! All you gotta do now is⁠—"

"Yes, yes. The crossing of hearts and wanting to fly and whatnot," Leers said as he half-assed the gestures. "Are we happy?"

"Ecstatic!"

He sighed in relief. "Alright, let's get a move on. The end of the world isn't going to wait for us" Reluctantly agreeing, Twilight called the rest of her friends to pack up.

After Rainbow Dash took a minute to fully process how Fluttershy won their game, they were off again, this time towards the location of the third artifact.

Once things settled down and became relatively quiet, Leers remembered something from earlier. "Oh, miss wonderbolt?" The cyan mare growled before turning herself around with her forelegs crossed, effortlessly flying backwards. "About that hassling thing..."

A deep sigh escaped Ules as the last of his fear and anxiety finally calmed. He had been standing at the edge of a pit for the past five minutes, thinking it better to let his worries run through him now rather than later. Taking a few breaths more, he no longer found the steep vertical plunge as intimidating as it was.

The drop in question went as far down as 200 feet. Although the pit was deep, it was also quite wide, large enough that the sun could illuminate most of the bottom. It was thanks to this extra light that Ules could see what laid below.

Behind him, several feet away and leaning against the trunk of a young apple tree, was Reyes. He had taken one of the fruits from his wooden backrest and was contently munching away, watching his older companion with mild interest.

"Ish thish the plaish?" Reyes said, ejecting wet apple bits onto the grassy rock.

"Stop talking with your mouth full. It's fuckin' gross," Ules replied. "But yeah, this is it."

Ules reached into his pockets and pulled out the ruby amulet from his left, and a sapphire one from his right. While they both had an ominous glow, a bit undercut by the pocket lint dotting them, the blue amulet also had tiny streaks of frost that have yet to melt.

Lightly tossing the ruby amulet up once and catching it, he half-turned towards his companion. "Reyes," Ules called.

Too focused on his second apple, the younger gentlemen looked up like he was caught grabbing a cookie from the cookie jar. "Huh? What?" he said, sitting up in a panic.

Ules raised an eyebrow. "That thing fuckin' talkin' to you or what?"

"W-what?" Reyes stared at him for few seconds before glancing at his apple. "Oh. Uh, no... Did you say something?"

"I was, 'til I saw you giving that apple goo-goo eyes."

"I was not!" the young man said, forming a scowl. He looked at the apple again and the intensity on his face dissolved. "I'm just hungry..."

"Well, if everything goes alright, you'll have all the normal people food you can eat."

The young man sighed. "Fine."

Ules showed him the amulets in his hands before tossing them over, both landing in his companion's empty hand with a satisfying clap. "Hold those for me. I'm gonna be pushing myself in a sec and I might say something I didn't mean."

The amulets felt a little heavier now that Reyes' was actually holding it. He glanced up at Ules, saying, "Are you sure it's better that I hold them?"

"It'll be fine," Ules said, turning around to face the pit. "Just make sure you're not stuffing another apple in your face when we get the signal."

With a skeptical groan, the young man laid his back against the tree and put the amulets into his pocket. He looked at the red fruit in his hand wistfully, muttering, "If only all it took to set everything right was you."

As Reyes was mid-bite into the apple, he noticed a growing red light coming from his side. He looked over and saw the light was coming from the ruby amulet, having slipped out when he leaned back.

Red, misty wisps sprouted from the center of the red jewel and impaled themselves into the apple. The red of the fruit grew brighter and more intense, while, at the same time, it became less solid and more intangible. Before the human realized what was going on, he chomped down on air as the apple became nothing more than a red ball of light.

Reyes sat motionless as the light of what used to be a fruit was drained through the incorporeal tendrils stabbing into it, and into the jewel of the ruby amulet. After a long two seconds, the ball of light had been completely absorbed, and the red tendrils retreated back into the amulet. The ruby no longer glowed, seemingly inert.

Wide-eyed and dumbfounded, the young man stared at the ground as if what happened really did just happened. He looked up at his companion, but saw that he still had his back turned, both arms extended out over the pit and glowing an intense dark purple.

He wanted to say something but didn’t want to break Ules' concentration. That, and he knew his friend would be less than happy. So, in this conflict of interest, he said the one thing his brain could process.

"Uhhhh..."

"That's it!"

As Leers saw the rainbow mare hurtling towards him, he shielded himself with his good arm and braced for impact. Seconds passed, but he could still feel that his consciousness had not been knocked out of him. He opened his eyes, and, to his relief, he was still on the wagon and not writhing on the ground. A quick breeze brushed past his cheek, prompting him to look up, seeing the angered pegasus had been partially suspended in place, a few feet before she could reach him.

She beat her wings and threw out punches like crazy, trying all she could to land even one blow. However, nothing she did could overpower the little glow of pink tugging at the tip of her tail.

"Why. Can't. I. Hit. YOU!?" She growled between each swing of her forelegs. Glancing back, she saw the color of magic holding her back, and then glared at her alicorn friend. "Let me go Twilight! I need to teach this chump a lesson!"

Twilight turned her head just enough so that their eyes could meet. "We need his help for the next artifact," the princess said flatly.

"As much as ah hate to disagree --" began Applejack, flashing a brief glare back at the human, "-- he insulted the apple family legacy. That there's grounds for a woopin,"

"And I'll have you know that I've worked hard to build up the popularity of my boutiques," Rarity loudly proclaimed. "To call their successes mere flukes? The nerve!" She gave a proud 'Humph!' as she closed her eyes and looked away with her chin raised.

"He said my parties are only appealing to young foals!" Pinkie said, pointing an accusatory hoof. "They are not! I give each party excruciating amounts of thought so they can bring joy and smiles to everypony. The balloons and cupcakes are just my schtick!"

"Worst of all, he almost made Fluttershy cry!" Rainbow Dash added.

"N-no, I'm fine..." the yellow pegasus said, followed by a sniff. She tried to give the rest of her friends a smile to reassure she's fine but ended up pressing her quivering lips together. The human entered her field of vision and her eyes began to water again. She instinctively looked away, her voice shakier than before. "I-I'm okay, r-really..."

Pinkie Pie and Rarity walked beside her and started cooing words of encouragement as they occasionally sent disapproving stares back at the wagon's occupant.

"You see Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, "he deserves a good smack across the head."

The alicorn turned around and, in a loud, booming voice, she yelled, "I KNOW!"

The caravan stopped, and an audible whimper came from the yellow mare. They all stared at Twilight with various degrees of disbelief. Even the element of loyalty had paused her attempts at giving the human what for.

"...I know..." Twilight said again, this time in a murmur. She could feel their eyes digging into her as she took another breath. "But he's promised his cooperation. Pinkie Promised, even." They all gave each other doubtful glances.

"Once we're done with our mission, we can see him punished for every crime he's ever committed. Please girls, just tolerate him a bit more. It'll just be for a little while longer."

After several seconds of silence, Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs and gave a reluctant, but concurring groan. "And how much longer is, 'a little while longer,'?" she asked.

Relieved, Twilight sighed of and turned back ahead. She pointed a hoof forward, saying, "Not much." They all followed her hoof and gawked.

Another mile ahead was a sheer cliff face, extending far and wide on either side, and fading into the horizon. It was steep, sparse of any green, and mind-boggling how they didn't see it sooner.

"I can feel the amulet in my hands now." Everypony glanced back at the human. His peered at the cliff while clutching his hand into a fist, stopping only when he noticed them staring. "Hm?"

Rainbow Dash approached Leers so that her face was a few inches from his. "Shut," was all she said.

Without arguing, he brought his left hand to the right side of his mouth, 'zipped' it to the other side, rotated it in a locking motion, and flicked the nonexistent key off the side of the wagon. The pegasus squinted at him as she backed away.

"Alright," she said, flying up next to Twilight. "Let's get this done so I can officially beat him up."

Little shorter this time.

I may delay the next chapter another week since I've got stuff ramping up for me, but who knows. Maybe, I'll find the time to do it anyway.