Two full days passed, and the small group of adventurers found themselves on a small bluff, from which they could survey the Jade Forest in all its beauty.

"As far as I know," Zorann said as he pointed at various places, "that's the Temple of the Jade Serpent, that's the Greenstone Quarry, that's Grookin Hill, that's Pearlfin Village and that's..."

The others, noticing Zorann's sudden silence, looked at him with concern. His jaw hung open in shock, and his eye twitched erratically. Following his gaze, the other three soon found themselves sharing his expression.

In the middle of the forest, the signs of a battle were clear for all. Corpses of hozen and jinyu, along with the occasional human and orc, were spread around the remains of a statue which resembled the fabled Jade Serpent.

But nothing could have prepared the group for what they could also see amongst the carnage. The land itself was as black as night, and strange creatures stalked among the dead.

"By the Light..." Baegon mumbled, "... what happened here?!"

"I don't know." Navitas replied. "But I do know that I don't like the looks of those creatures down there. They look like shadowfiends, only... creepier."

"They are the Sha." said a voice behind them.

The group spun around on their heels to see a male pandaren sitting on the ground in a meditative pose.

"The Sha?" Luxxoria repeated. "You mean the dark energy which is the physical manifestation of negative emotions?"

The pandaren nodded.

"Indeed." he said. "And when this battle erupted, plenty of those emotions were around. You are most fortunate to be here now. For the Sha you see now pale in comparison to the monster that was summoned while the fighting was ongoing."

The group exchanged curious glances with each other as the pandaren stood up and walked towards them.

"Oh, I'm sorry." he said. "I seem to have forgotten my manners. I am Lorewalker Cho, and I must say that you four are unusual."

"We're not the only ones." Luxxoria muttered.

Cho looked at her puzzled for a moment before a flash of realisation entered his eyes.

"Oh, no!" he said. "I don't mean that in a bad way. I meant that I have met many of your Horde and Alliance over the last few weeks, and each of them is of the opinion that the other is their enemy. So to see you four together like this... is remarkable."

"We used to be part of the Horde." Zorann said. "But that all changed when we were betrayed. It's a long story, one I really don't want to tell again. All you need to know is that we work for the Alliance now, as hard as that is to believe."

"But of course." Cho replied. "If you do not wish to discuss it, then it is not my place to pry. But... should you wish to talk in the future, you will find that I am a very good listener."

Zorann nodded as Navitas stepped forward.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lorewalker." she said. "I am Navitas, a druid like Zorann. This is Baegon the paladin and this is Luxxoria the mage. We are looking for a human by the name of Anduin. Perhaps you have seen him?"

"I have seen many humans in the last few weeks." Cho responded. "But if it is a particular one you seek, perhaps I can be of assistance... but I would ask for help in return."

"Name your deal, Lorewalker," Baegon said, "and we will see if it is worth our time."

Cho nodded and the group huddled together.

"He hasn't tried to kill us yet." Luxxoria said. "That's a good thing, right? And if he says he can help us find the White Pawn, then I say we trust him."

"I agree with Lux." Zorann said. "... did I really just say that?"

He grunted as Luxxoria elbowed him in the stomach.

"I say we help him." Baegon said. "If he tries anything funny... well, there's one of him and four of us. We'll just kill him."

"Then it's agreed." Navitas announced. "We help the Lorewalker."

The four of them nodded and separated from their huddle, turning back to face Cho, who was looking at them expectantly.

"We will help you, Lorewalker." Navitas said. "Tell us what you want, and we shall do it."

Cho smiled and pointed out towards the battlefield below.

"I have been cleansing the Sha infestation for many a while now," he said, "and I grow tired. If you could destroy as many of them as you can, I will gladly help you to find your lost friend."

The four of them stared at him blankly.

"... is that all?" Zorann asked. "There's nothing else?"

Cho shook his head.

Zorann looked at Luxxoria, who shrugged.

"Okay." he grinned. "Let's go kill things! But I must say it'll take a while to get down from here. Lux, would you be so kind...?"

Luxxoria nodded.

"Slow Fall!" she shouted. A soft yellow light illuminated all four members of the group. Shifting into his bear form, Zorann jumped off the bluff — closely followed by the other three members of the party. Landing gracefully on the ground below, Zorann roared at a nearby Sha. The creature let out a roar of its own and charged.

"Come on then, you worthless piece of matter!" Zorann cackled. "Show me what you've got!"

As the sha continued charging towards him, Zorann felt a chill approaching. He stepped to one side as a bolt of frost flew past his ear and slammed into the sha, causing it to screech in pain and fury, and slowing its movements.

"Dammit, Luxxoria!" he yelled. "Watch where you're aiming!"

"Sorry!" she replied. "These things look tough. You sure we can handle it?"

Zorann snorted.

"Of course we ca-"

His words were cut off as the sha finally got within striking distance, which it did with furore. Striking out with a shadowy appendage, it left a gash along Zorann's side. He bellowed in agony as Luxxoria summoned her water elemental.

"Crap!" he muttered. "That actually hurt!"

"Allow me to be of assistance."

Zorann cocked his head saw a tree standing next to him. He smiled as it waved its wooden arms, and a feeling of relief washed over his injured body.

"Thanks, Navitas." he said.

"Call me Nav." she replied. "All my friends do."

Zorann smiled and growled at the sha, which had turned its attention to Luxxoria, who was running around with her hands on fire as she shot small bolts of flame at the beast.

"Time to get mangling!" Zorann said, as he charged. Clawing and biting, he unleashed a flurry of attacks on the sha, which let out a final blood-curdling cry of pain before disappearing.

"That's one." Zorann said.

"Er, guys? I've got a bit of a problem on my end!"

Looking around, Zorann saw that Baegon was surrounded by several smaller sha creatures, which were trying to overwhelm him. The ground beneath Baegon's feet glowed a pale yellow, which seemed to invoke shrill cries of agony from the enemy.

"I overshot the landing, and they attacked me!" Baegon yelled. "My consecration is holding them off, but I still need help!"

"Just a sec!" Luxxoria called. Holding her hands above her head, she closed her eyes in concentration. Soon, large blocks of ice appeared above Baegon's head, plummeting to the ground and crushing the sha beneath their weight."

"I love blizzard." Baegon said as he hurried back to regroup with the others. "It's just so... overpowered."

"Don't relax too much." Navitas said. "We're still not done. But those big ones are way too strong. We need some way of weakening them. Any ideas?"

Baegon and Luxxoria shrugged while Zorann looked around. A glint of light caught his eye, and he cocked his head towards it. A small piece of green stone was lying half buried in the dirt. As he watched, one of the smaller sha creatures bumbled over it — only to screech in agony before disappearing completely.

Zorann snapped his fingers.

"The jade." he said. "The smaller sha are killed off completely when they touch it, so perhaps we can use it to weaken the bigger ones? That way they're easier to kill... meaning I hopefully won't get another unsightly gash."

"It's worth a try." Navitas said. "Okay, everyone grab as much of the stuff as you can carry. We're going to show these creatures not to mess with the Alliance."

The four of them split up, searching the immediate area for pieces of jade, avoiding the larger sha manifestations and destroying the smaller ones.

Moments later, each member of the party had a few pieces of jade on their person.

"So, er... how do we use this stuff?" Baegon asked. "Do we just throw it at them or something?"

"Let's find out." Luxxoria replied.

With slow, deliberate steps, the elf nervously approached one of the larger sha manifestations. The creature sensed her presence and turned to face her, emitting a low growling noise. Luxxoria gulped, before throwing a piece of jade with all her might, before engaging her ice barrier and teleporting a small distance away.

The jade hit its target, causing a much louder roar to come from the sha. It writhed in agony before shrinking to a smaller size from what it previously was.

"I guess that answers that question!" Luxxoria yelled as she prepared a frostbolt, sending it cascading into her target. Another volley of magic followed, and soon the sha was nothing more than a dark blob on the ground.

"Okay, good job Luxxoria." Navitas said. "Now, let's clean house."

The four of them let out roars of courage and ran further into the mass of sha. Moments later, the air was once again filled with the sounds of battle.

"Let me get this straight, Twilight. Pinkie's Pinkie Sense thinks that Zorann and Luxxoria are in danger?"

"That's what I said, Rainbow." Twilight replied. "And there's nothing we can do to help them."

Silence descended on the bakery as the five mares, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, sat around a table, the ticking of the clock being the only audible noise. Eventually, Applejack spoke up.

"Shoot, Ah reckon they'll be fine." she said. "They're good at what they do. And, as much as it pains me ta say, they're certainly good at fightin'. Maybe Pinkie, fer once, misunderstood what her Pinkie Sense was tryin' ta tell her?"

The other four looked at her with raised eyebrows. Applejack groaned and put on a pout.

"Ah was only makin' a suggestion." she defended. "Just because her Pinkie Sense was right before don't mean it always is."

"You're right, AJ!"

Applejack yelped at the sudden voice in her ear. She turned nervously to see that Pinkie had somehow integrated herself amongst the group without anypony noticing.

"Ah... Ah was?" Applejack said, dumbfounded.

"Yep-a-roonie!" Pinkie replied. "Turns out that I did get it wrong. How, I don't know. But I did!"

"So... if they're not in danger," Twilight offered, "then what was your Pinkie Sense trying to tell you?"

"That Zorann and Luxxoria are coming back to us..." Pinkie said plainly, "... but they're not alone."

A chorus of cheers erupted from the table.

"That's great news, darling!" Rarity said.

"It is." Fluttershy added. "I bet you have a party planned for them coming back. But, er, what did you mean by 'not alone'?"

Pinkie sighed.

"I'm not sure." she said. "That's the only thing I wasn't able to decipher from my combo. But I can't shake the feeling that whatever it is, it's bad news..."

She fixed a steely gaze on her friends.

"... for all of us."

The bakery descended into silence once again as each mare contemplated not only her future...

... but that of her friends.