Hangaku was absolutely baffled by what she saw in the sky above the oasis. She’d witnessed her fair share of absurdities before, especially in her line of work, but this one was certainly going into the ‘What The Actual Fuck’ archives of her psyche.

Still, duty demanded that the white pegasus act, which pulls her out of her stupefaction. Before she could question the stranger above, she needed to fulfill a particular request involving the four camels in front of her, still fastened into the carriage’s reigns and harnesses but never diverting their attention away from the floating stallion.

Hangaku leaped off the vehicle’s forefront with a flap of her wings and landed flawlessly on the sandy terrain. She immediately proceeds to tamper with the breeching mechanism connecting the four camels to the carriage.

The pegasus finally pulls out a metallic pin, causing the entire mechanism to break apart and fall to the ground.

“There we go.” The equine’s sweet words and the sudden weight loss garner the camels’ attention.

“Wh-who…” Herbert managed as he, his wife Shirley, and the other camels looked back to the equine. “Who are you…?”

“My name is Hangaku Gozen. I’m with the Magius Syndicate,” the pegasus answered as she helped to unstrap the two single-humped camels closest to her.

“The mercenary guild?” One of the single-humped camels inquired, their voice femininely exhausted yet hopeful.

“B-but who would hire you to help us…?” The other single-humped camel asked, also female but much younger than the last. All the while, Herbert and Shirley observed with bountiful questions of their own.

Hangaku smiles as she undoes one final strap, allowing the leathery bindings to slip off the camel and fall to the ground, “I can answer that question,” she looks over to Herbert and Shirley, “with another one. If my information is accurate, you two are Herbert and Shirley, correct?”

“Y-yes,” Shirley answers while Hangaku is in the process of unstrapping the last of the single-humped duo. “How did you…”

“Long story short: your son, Caleb, managed to reach Istanbul, and I’m here on his behalf. And yes, he’s safe. The others are nurturing him back to full health as we speak.

I’m also here for those members of the brigand collective known as Zawaqil, but it looks like they’re a little preoccupied at the moment.”

The camels collectively gasped and wiggled their ears in relief upon hearing Caleb’s name as Hangaku removed the last strappings from the single-humped camel.

“Atta boy!”

“I knew he could do it!”

“Oh, my sweet little Caleb…” Shirley leans into Herbert and sheds tears of relief as their single-humped brethren celebrate, Hangaku approaching the two-humped couple.

“Thank you for honoring our son, Hangaku.” Herbert expressed his gratitude while comforting his lover. “Maker bless you.”

Stopping in front of the camel duo while being trailed by their recently relieved brethren, the pegasus shrugs in amusement while flickering her white red-tipped ears, “Eh. Part of the job description and whatnot. Now then,” she ventures forth, “Let’s get those bands off you.”

“How in the hell is he doing this?!”

“This is madness!”

“D-damn! I can’t break free!”

“You want to break free?! He’s floating us almost a hundred hooves in the air, you moron!”

“Fuck’n!”

As the other five brigands voice their complaints, Radahn stares down the dark-red leader of this gathering. “Apologies, friend,” the large stallion abruptly floats the struggling saddle arabian closer with a simple twitch of his forehoof, “but I didn’t quite catch your name.”

“Ngh! What-how are you-?!”

“That’s not what I asked,” Radahn interjects, his voice reflecting the purple-energy-prowess he was exercising. “And, frankly, it’s none of your business. Now… Who are you?”

“You’re not getting anything out of me, you filthy pony! Rrrgh! I should’ve killed you when I had the chance!”

The titan of a stallion raises a brow as the saddle arabian’s cohorts curse in the background. He then throws his head back to let out boisterous laughter, which echoes across the sunny and dry sky.

“Haha! Well, If that’s how it’s going to be, then I’d like for you to meet a good friend of mine. Bwahahaha!” Radahn sets his sights on the saddle arabian, who narrows their eyes, their expression demanding to know what the red-maned stallion is talking about.

“They tend to reacquaint people with the ground in situations like this. You and your friends… Hovering way up here…” Radahn spins in place to look them all over until he looks upon the leader again.

“My friend has several names, but I prefer good old,” a toothy grin forms on Radahn’s muzzle, “Gravity.”

The brigand’s eyes shot wide open in horrific realization, “W-wait! Don- you can’t do this!”

“Actually, I can. After all, like someone once told me,” the earth pony chuckled, leaning in. “‘You don’t matter. You don’t deserve my best.’”

With a dismissive wave of the large equine’s forehoof, the purple aura surrounding the saddle arabian dissipates, and he plummets to his impending doom, screaming profoundly along the way.

The action certainly got the falling brigand’s allies to go quiet as they looked at Radahn in fear while he observed the falling spectacle…muttering a count.

“One… Two… Three… Four…”

He aims a forelimb directly at the freefalling saddle arabian.

“Five… Six… Seven… Eight…”

The lavender aura surrounding his body flares, “Nine… Ten.”

On reaching ten, a black and purple circular vortex is shot forth from his outstretched forelimb, its’ velocity of an admirable speed.

The projectile catches up to the falling and screaming equine and collides with his very being, closing in on itself, which results in a push of force that shoots the saddle arabian back up to Radahn, who waits patiently with a knowing smirk.

Radahn catches the now-frantic brigand via his gravity magic, floating them in place again as they tremble with quivering lips, their former attire now a complete and frantic mess.

“Feel like answering some questions now?” Radahn asked, grinning.

The saddle arabian nods in a panic.

“Great!” Radahn shouts gleefully. “So, what do you think of my Gravity Well spell? Impressive, wouldn’t you say?”

They nod again.

“Yes, I’m quite proud of it myself. You should consider yourself lucky, by the way. Usually, that spell does some severe damage when reaching its target, and that’s before they get pulled toward the caster. But I am a master of my craft—basically, you’re welcome.”

A series of muttered inquiries escapes from the other prisoners held in gravity-defying prowess.

“Anyway, what’s your name, my exceedingly rude friend?”

“His name is Galib Zawaqil.” A feminine voice injects itself, causing the vast earth pony and his captives, save for Galib, to turn toward its source.

There, before Radahn’s eyes, was one of the three common pony types he had heard of from Philomena.

“You’re…a pegasus,” he comments in curiosity and interest as the mare in front of him flaps her wings rhythmically.

“And you’re an earth pony defying gravity, literally,” she responds jestingly. “Which, uh, is kind of impossible, big guy. Gonna need an explanation.”

“Bwahahaha! Well, what can I say? I like to make the impossible—possible.” He finished with a wink.

“I can see that. I’m Hangaku, by the way.” The pegasus flies forth, hovers in place, and extends a forelimb in greeting. “Hangaku Gozen.”

“Ah! I figured you’d be Japanese! You have that accent, not to mention your armor. I’ve met several samurai and ronins who’ve traveled across the Lands Between over the years. Excellent sparring partners, I must say.”

‘...Japanese…?’ Hangaku questioned internally, confused.

“You see that, gentlecolts?” Radahn happily asked of his captives. “Now, that is a proper greeting.” He hovers forth and returns the gesture, their hooves locked, followed by a gentle shake on either side, although Hangaku was still slightly taken aback.

The earth pony then puffs out his well-built chest and poses his masculine form confidently. “I am Radahn Carian!” He declared, raising a forelimb in emphasis. “General of the Redmanes and Conquerer of the Stars! Ahaha!”

“Bullshit!” The brigands, aside from Galib, shout in impulsive denial of that last title.

Radahn glares back over his shoulder. “Who wants to fall first? And, spoiler alert, I’m not catching any of you this time.”

Silence takes hold.

“I thought so.”

“Redmanes…?” Hangaku finally managed. However, her eyes shot wide open in realization. “Wait. Conquerer of the Stars…?” She narrows her gaze with a low growl. “If this is some kind of sick joke, you’d best deliver the punchline, pal.” She emphasized angrily.

“It’s no joke, ma’am! That’s easily my grandest title of all! Ahahaha!”

However, as Radahn set his sights on her following his boisterous laughter, the stallion’s eyes slowly widened, his joy fading alongside it… She was absolutely livid.

“How dare you…” The pegasus whispered a curse.

“Ok, I…can’t help but feel like there’s a misunderstanding here…” Radahn tried to reason.

“Misunderstanding…? That’s what you’re calling it?!”

“Truly, I-”

Hangaku lunges forward, bringing her angered gaze mere inches away from Radahn’s utterly shocked face. “Selene Sol Invictus is among those spanning several pantheons who can manipulate night and day! She is one of the most kind and generous beings I’ve ever met—I work for her! Yet, here you are, proudly bearing a title that’s a blatant insult to her honor and every other sun and moon caretaker across the planet!”

“Can I interject for a secon-”

“‘Conquerer of the Stars?!’ Give me a break! How dare you mock them with your empty title!” Hangaku intervenes, flying higher and pushing Radahn’s head back a little with her own during her tantrum, although he doesn’t resist the more petite equine.

“Tsukuyomi, Chang Xi, Selene, Metztli, Khonsu, Hati, and every lunar demigod who governs over the stars! You arrogant jerk! Your title means nothing, you hear me?! Baka! Baka, baka, baka!” Her native tongue managed to slip in toward the end.

Following her outburst and waves of anger, Hangaku simmers and breathes heavily through bared teeth, staring directly into Radahn’s eyes as admittedly awkward silence takes hold in the passing moments.

“Will you allow me to defend myself now?” Radahn breaks the ice, but the pegasus continues to growl at him. Thus, he sought to de-escalate the situation, choosing his next words carefully.

“I like to think that I’m a fairly good judge of character, Hangaku. I meant no disrespect. I swear upon my honor.” He carefully floats away from the smaller, enraged pony, absorbing their appearance in judgment. “You seem like a calm and reasonable person. Are you a calm and reasonable person?”

Hangaku exhales sharply, flaring her nostrils. She maintains her glare until finally letting up and taking on a neutral expression.

Seeing the slight change in her demeanor, Radahn claims the opportunity to talk things out and potentially gain even more information. “Thank you,” he said most graciously. “Now, I was going to interrogate these sad excuses for bandits, but seeing as you’re already familiar with their leader’s name, why don’t you decide what happens to them as a show of good faith?”

The pegasus looks over the large stallion’s frame while considering his request. All the while, the brigands, or bandits, as Radahn called them, were quiet. Too quiet. She didn’t like that one Selene-damned bit.

“Thanks to your outburst, I have several questions I’d like to ask you, as well. What say we go down to my camp and talk? Once we take care of our friends here, of course,” he finished while gazing over his prisoners with a grin.

Hangaku sighs. “That works for me. Oh, and one more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m Neighponese. I honestly have no idea what Japanese is. Also, more importantly...” The pegasus suddenly winks at the large earth pony before playfully concealing her face behind her right wing. “You just got ninja’d.”

Radahn blinked in confusion, “What do you mean by that?”

“Kawarimi no Jutsu.”

“...Huh?”

“The-camels-and-I-will-meet-you-at-your-camp, K? Sayonara~” Hangaku quickly said before her form burst into white mist, leaving behind a brown log with a single green leaf, which fell to the earth below.

The crimson-maned stallion was stunned by this, eyes wide and muzzle hanging agape. “Wh-how-I-but, she…” He managed to catch himself amid his confusion, looking down at his campsite, where he noticed the former pegasus waving at him, accompanied by four camels.

“Was she down there the whole time?! I was speaking to a clone all along…?” He blinked several times. “Marika’s tits… I am so confused right now, and yet…” An infectious smile explodes on his face as he throws his head back in amusement.

“Ahahahah! I like her!”

Throughout the vast and scorching sands of Saddle Arabia, an entity watched Radahn with great interest through a strange red and orange portal from deep within one of the desert realm’s many caverns.

A black robe concealed the individual’s humanoid torso, but a pair of eyes similar to that of Radahn’s were visible from within the darkness of the hoodie shrouding their features. And although the robe also hid their lower, equine portion, their gray tail was fully exposed, often whipping side to side.

“Interesting,” an elderly yet intelligent male voice comments, witnessing Radahn lower himself to the oasis below with his prisoners in tow. “Very interesting. This prowess and those eyes of his… Hmmm…”

‘When can we expect some help, Sendak, you old coot of a centaur?!’ The voice of Galib Zawaqil responds from the viewing vortex. ‘This freak has us all trapped! How the hell does an earth pony even use magic, anyway?!’

The centaur growls in annoyance. “Quit your whining, fool; I’m trying to figure that out. Or do you want them to discover this magic channel?”

Galib’s voice remains silent.

“I didn’t think so. Don’t worry; I’ve already forwarded your predicament to your boss, and the Scourge is on its way,” Sendak finished with a dark chuckle. “You and the boys just keep playing your part. Selene thinks she’s so clever with her little pet pegasus, but little does she know; this is all part of our plan.”

‘Rrrgh. Just hurry it up, will you? I can’t stand this humiliation!’

“And whose fault is that, hmm? Bah! I don’t have time for this; I’m leaving this channel.”

With a snap of his fingers, the centaur seemingly breaks the link, silencing the saddle arabian brigand’s voice. He then clasped his hands together and slowly parted them, forming a similar portal to the one depicting Radahn, who was now on ground level and chatting with Hangaku near his camp.

A dark void lies beyond the newly-formed anomaly. “Can you hear me, my master?” Sendak asked of the abyss, staring into it.

The sound of a bell’s eerie melody plays, and as the ominous instrument stops, two crimson eyes open and stares back.

“Have you found her, my apprentice?” A demonic voice answered and echoed from within.

“We are so close, my lord. I have found one of Selene’s faithful thanks to that pathetic band of brigands, Zawaqil. Soon, I will be able to feast on the power of an alicorn. My mouth waters just thinking about it.”

“So long as you kill her, you may do with Selene as you wish, my apprentice. Only an alicorn of pure blood can stop me, and now, only one…remains.”

“It shall be done,” Sendak bows while spinning his right wrist in a flourish. “Lord Grogar.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 12~ Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 9 Minutes