Foxy opened her eyes. A loud noise came from the engine. Metal was grinding into metal, creating hundreds of sparks and tremor in the ship's body. The light bulb was blinking. Metal Eye, who was lying next to the wooden staircase, woke up as well and looked around in confusion. The grey mare jumped from her seat and quickly went to the white pegasus. Tail seemed to have forgotten about last night because her every action was made without much thought. Without saying a thing, she immediately grabbed him and together began climbing the stairs, when on the exit appeared the yellow unicorn. The morning light shined on his face, which was not very happy.

"I couldn't turn the engine off!" the unicorn shouted. "I'll need to get inside and stop it before it goes 'Kaboom' !"

"It will explode?!" Metal asked.

Foxy pushed him up, so that the inventor could get to safety fast and let the inventor inside. The little ship was starting to vibrate in a very troublesome manner. The bags with the provisions fell down and food began to roll and litter the clean floor. Phoenix stood in front of the dying metal heart. Foxy was next to him, in case she needed to get him out of there fast. His horn sparkled, creating a pink aura around the engine. He was trying to stop it's powerful cylinders from rotating the propeller. It took a lot of knowledge to tinker with such a complicated piece of machinery that used magical crystals as well as traditional fuel to power itself. Phoenix used everything he knew about it. He clenched teeth, closed his eyes and concentrated more on the difficult task in front of him.

Foxy looked at the him, then at the engine, understanding the intricacy of putting the machine on full stop. The unicorn seemed in such a stress, if he failed, then it would be his face that was going to get the punch. Several long painful seconds passed, when suddenly the engine calmed down. It's last beat sounded so agonizing and then dead silence. The power was gone and so the light from the bulb. The ship stopped shacking. Dust made visible layers in the air. It was a bit hard to breath down there.

"Well, there goes our engine..." Phoenix said, while looking at the machine that was beyond repairs now.

"Walking is healthier anyway..." Foxy turned to him, her disaffection was all over her face. "You didn't say that it could blow up."

"Yeah...Ha-ha." he unconvincingly smiled. "The chance of exploding is below 1%, I guess we were unlucky."

The mare shook head, trying to hold her anger. She turned her back to him and said:

"Collect the provisions and bring the sacks up. We are going to make an emergency landing."

Phoenix nodded. Foxy went upstairs, leaving the unicorn alone with the mess.

"Nice try to warn her with the false explosion. For a moment, you really tempted me to push some important points in your brain..." the Jester mockingly said in Phoenix's mind.

"I for a fact know that I'm more important alive than dead. You don't want to spoil the surprise, eh?" the unicorn calmly thought.

"Don't try to be clever or you'll quickly say good-bye to your puny life!"

"Afraid, aren't ya! I'll get rid of you and when that happens, I'll make sure to gift you the bullet!"

The demon was quiet and did not answer the unicorn's threats. Phoenix turned to the scattered supplies and started gathering them.

When her head appeared on the upper deck, the cool morning wind hit her in the face. The sun was at the horizon, still young and weak. Small clouds were approaching them from the left. Metal was waiting outside, worried that something bad must have happened.

"Is Phoenix alright? The engine?"

"He is gathering the food that got scattered on the floor. The machine is dead." she stared at him with her cool orange eyes. "You can land without its help, right?"

"I can. We need to find a flat surface, on which to land, while we still have our momentum. Or we won't have control because of the wind."

Metal went to the nose of the ship, followed by the ninja. Both looked down at the endless see of green. The mountain in front of them was covered with a living and breathing ancient forest. There weren't any signs that ponies had stepped hoof in this wild place. No roads, not distant houses or anything to indicate civilization. Only nature. Sadly there wasn't a clear spot, thus this would make Metal's job a tad difficult. The good news was that Foxy recognized the mountain. They were near the final station.

She pointed at the middle of the mount and said:

"There, the portal is in a cave. The Guardians' camp is next to it."

"Hm, I get the feeling that they won't like our ship landing on their heads..."

They looked each other. Tail was not amused by the joke.

"You just land us safely and leave the diplomacy to me." she quickly turned around and headed to the center of the ship. Metal looked again at the land below. So many possibilities to crash into trees. However, he was not scared. The Guardian had an experience in crashing, when Lucky was his partner. He sighed with some regret.

"Sadly, your diplomacy begins and ends with your blazing hooves."  

Then Metal slowly turned to the helm and went to prepare the ship for landing. Foxy was standing in the middle of the staircase and looked inside the dark room.

"Do you need help?" she asked with no concern in her voice.

"No, no. I'm okay." Phoenix quickly answered. He was with his back at her, holding in his left hoof a very dangerous weapon. His heart began to beat a bit faster. If she discovered the bracelet gun, then it would be over for him. Fortunately for Phoenix, the mare didn't enter inside. When the sound of her hooves were somewhere near the helm, the inventor slowly turned his head to the stairs to make sure that no pony would see him. He put the gun deep inside one of the brown sacks by using his telekinetic powers and then magically lifted up the supplies and Metal's spear.

When he appeared on the main deck, that gave the green light and the captain pulled the lever, which in turn activated a mechanism that began filling the balloon with heavy air. The nose steadily began to incline and thus the ship started declining. They had enough momentum to control the direction. Foxy and Phoenix were holding tight to the red railings. The Equestrian flag was flapping. Metal was skillfully piloting the ship with an absolute concentration. He did not want to make a mistake or the pegasus'd have to get them out of the ship the hard way.

The forest with its high trees was approaching nearer and nearer. His pink eyes didn't blink once. With every meter that was lost, his confidence grew. The pointy peaks of the of the pine trees were ready to make some holes in the wooden bird. Now the green mountain stood like a giant, everything seemed so big now.

For the first ten seconds the ship barely touched the tops on its descent, then there was the first tree. Metal's plan was to use the forest as brakes. He pushed the lever to lift the nose and keep a good attitude. The trees were slamming into the strong hull like brushes, steadily killing it's speed. His plan worked perfectly for some moments, but with one exception. There was a very tall tree dead ahead and no time to maneuver.

"Brace for impact!" the pegasus shouted.

The ship cut through it like a hot knife to butter. It slowed them down significantly but for a prize. The balloon was punctured and the lighter-than-air gas immediately began to leave its cage. They began falling deeper into the forest like a sinking ship. The green wall consumed their view. Sharp branches tried to wound some of these unfortunate ponies. Metal jumped in the air, grabbed the unicorn and got him out of the ship. Then, the speed was completely killed and the air-ship went straight down, where it hit its final destination. Foxy jumped overboard. Big bang sounded throughout the peaceful mountain. Planks were flying in different directions. She landed next to the smashed air-ship. The fallen bird shook for a few moments, before the purple balloon fell like a blanket on top of it. It was officially buried.

Metal, who was still holding Phoenix, approached her and dropped the heavy payload.

"Are you okay?" he concernedly asked her.

"I'm alright." she answered darkly, then came closer to him and earnestly pointed her hoof at his chest. Foxy said with a little pissed voice: "You call this an emergency landing?! Lucky could have done a better job!"

"Every crash landing, from which we can walk away is a good one." the little scratchy white pegasus looked at Phoenix. "You got the provisions, right?"

The two brown sacks and the spear floated in the air in purple auras near the trio.

"Yes." Phoenix smiled.

"Hey, where are you going?" Metal asked the ninja, who was headed in the direction of the Guardian's camp.

"Follow me! Don't swerve from the path or you can get yourselves killed. Move it!" she ordered and continued forward. Her gait was confident and energetic, as if this pony didn't just experience an air-ship crash.

The spear came to the pegasus, he took it.

"After you?" Phoenix politely prompted.

Metal silently went after her with a prepared spear, followed by the inventor with the two sacks. They had to catch up to her. The mare was unforgiving and did not even make an attempt to slow down. Time was on the essence.

It was cold. The forest was quiet, only a few birds dared to announce their position. Only pine trees and grass grew in here. Woodpeckers hammered distant trees in long intervals. There were no signs that anypony was living nearby. Foxy was fearlessly piercing the woods, anticipating an ambush any moment now. The Guardians of the Portal must have seen them approaching from the skies or at least heard the crash. Metal in his body armor did not feel safe at all. This wild place was too unfamiliar to him. There were literally hundreds of spots, from which an attacker could appear. He was flying low, with an aimed in front of him spear. Phoenix was lagging behind a bit. His blue eyes were checking every rock and tree.

They felt like being watched by ancient ghosts. This place was sacred for the ninjas, 'cause long time ago, the first warriors were searching for a better future in these parts. The discovery of the Portal led them to the promised lands and that was a day, which all clanners worshiped. Home of the famous and mysterious Guardians, this place had the feel of history in every living or non-living thing.

Suddenly, Foxy stopped and the rest followed her example. Her eyes were looking somewhere in the distance, where the grey tents were standing. There wasn't a single smoke from the campfires. They got so close to the Guardian's camp and yet, the welcoming committee was nowhere to be seen. It didn't took long for her to correctly guess that the ninjas were not on this side of the Portal. Despite that, she didn't want to take any chances.

"Metal. I want you to watch our flanks, Phoenix - our rear. Proceed with more caution."

"Why the change in pace? You are not afraid of them, right?" Metal asked.

"No." Tail answered, while looking in front of them and continued with a quite voice: "I'm afraid of the cause, that made them leave their camp. They always have warriors on this side, who watch for trespassers."

Metal nodded and returned to his position.

"I hope that there is a reasonable explanation!" the unicorn said behind them.

"Ah, this place. It brings so many happy memories from not so long ago." the demon spoke from inside. "Many fought against me just to parish without a chance!"

"You've killed them all?" Phoenix couldn't believe that so much death was possible in today's world.

"Only half of them. The rest are probably rotting in their unnamed graves on the other side. He-he."

"You son of a..." before he could end his sentence, the inventor felt pain inside his head, which was intolerable.

"Uh-uh, I think you still don't know your place. This is just a reminder of who is really in charge." the hurt ceased and the unicorn could finally move. The other two were a bit ahead. He quickly rejoined them, while trying to not show his anger. In a few minutes they reached the grey camp. By the looks of it, the Guardians must have left in a hurry some days ago, leaving the tents to the nature's mercy.

"What happened in here?" Metal asked.

Tail only scanned with sight the abandoned encampment. There were no signs of struggle or maybe this was an illusion?

"Wait here! I won't be long." then the grey mare entered in this desolate maze to search for clues. Metal was not fond of splitting up like that but he could only obey her order. The Royal Guardian was on a high alert and ready to defend himself and the civilian from any danger.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

"The Portal is west, two hundred meters from here." Feather whispered to Silver. Their heads were barely peeking over the green coronas, just enough to spot the huge rock, in which the magical tunnel was located. The skies were still hostile, so they needed to be careful. Enemy patrols were probably scanning the area for them and every second spent above the forest meant a bigger chance of being spotted. "The area around the rock has almost no cover. Because of the magical energy of the portal, trees and bushes can't grow near it. It would take a lot of tons of rock to block it's negative effect."

"It will be impossible to sneak in. They are probably fifty ninjas waiting for us." Silver quietly noted. "What's your plan?"

"We wait for her." Free stared at on spot, which he thought was an enemy warrior but it turned out to be just a large bird. It was really hard to spot hiding ponies, when the forest was so dense in these parts.

"How will you know, when she is going to make the jump?"

The white pegasus turned to her and pointed down.

"Razor Sharp is the only remaining unicorn, who is skilled enough to sense the fluctuations in the energies of the Portal. However, for him to do that, Sharp needs to be in a meditation. He'll be an easy target but there's no pony else, who can perform this dangerous task."

"I see."

Suddenly, there were low noises, which came from below. The leaves moved with the pony climbing on the tree. Using metal claws, the earth pony managed to get to them as silently as possible.

"Feather!" he whispered. "One of our brothers captured a messenger from Draconicus. What should we do with him?"

Free looked at her and then at him.

"I'll come down and learn what his orders are."

The ninja nodded and the tree ponies climbed down to the shadows. Two not so happy warriors were waiting next to the tall tree with aimed weapons at one green pegasus. The dragon pony was not wearing any cloths and didn't carry any weapons with him. He never needed them, because they'd only hinder his speed.

Free and Silver landed next to them. The two armed ninjas gave a way to the young leader, who looked the prisoner in the eyes. The captured pony seemed very tired. However, his spirit revived, when he saw Feather and begged:  

"You must be the one in charge here... Please, you have to let me go!" something in his voice told Free, that this pegasus was trying to race against time.

"Why should I?" Free was highly suspicious.

The messenger's eyes moved from him to Silver and the rest. He felt very scared of what was going to happen to him.

"I-I know who you are! The Guardians of the Portal! I-I..."

"Spit it out! Now!" the leader's nose almost touched with the prisoner's. His blue eyes were earnest and staring directly at him.

"I w-was sent in a hurry to give the-the order to the ninjas, who are searching for you." he was starting to sweat with fear.

"What's the order?" Silver asked him with a gentle voice. The green pegasus took his sight from the leader and placed it on her. There was something familiar in the mare, as if he had seen her before. This gave him some courage to answer the question.

"It's to abandon the hunt and fall back to Draconicus. My boss said that somepony was coming and she is not to be tangoed with any of our forces. Dragon Born is coming and she is not on our side anymore! Our leader fears that everypony in her way will be met with utter destruction."

The Phoenixes looked at each other, only Feather was in a thoughtful pose.

"Does that mean that we'll be on the safe side in an hour?" one of the ninjas asked.

"Not unless we set him free..." Feather said with a troubled tone. He turned to the rest with a serious look in his eyes. "However, I can't let him go or we risk of being slaughtered."

"No, I won't tell them that you are here. I promise!" the messenger got on his knees, there was only sincerity in his face. "They didn't manage to find you, so they failed the leader and that means that you won your freedom. But I absolutely must deliver the order!"

"Why are you so concerned about them? Do you have any friends among those ninjas?" Feather asked.

"I have and if I'm too late, they might end up dead. I flew all day and night to get here. Please, let me go!"

The story was touching and Feather was divided for a moment. He didn't want the blood of Wing's comrades on his hooves but this pony asked too much of him. His answer came shortly:

"I'm sorry for your friends but I can't jeopardize the lives of mine. That's why I have a plan to save them both." Free smiled and gave him a hoof. At first, the prisoner confusingly looked at it and then, knowing that he had no other choice, uncertainly bumped it. "I'm Free Feather and you?"

"Wing Mail." he sounded very lost.

"Wing, we are going to save our friends with minimum bloodshed. Are you in?" his words were full with confidence, which the exhausted messenger grew to like.

"I-I am in."

"Alright, let's prepare the plan, we don't want to be caught unprepared, do we?"

Free helped him to stand up. The ex-prisoner felt renewed and then together they went behind the deep cover of the forest. In just a few moments their hoofsteps were no longer among the sounds of this place.

Back to the other side...

The grey mare came from the center of the camp with a concerned look on her face. Her search was fruitless and it spawned more questions than answers. The two sidekicks were impatiently waiting for her. The feeling of being watched was peeling their nerves.

"I see that you were unsuccessful." Metal lowered a bit his guard.

"Yes and no. The camp was not under attack, when it was abandoned. A lot of their food, water and medicine is still here. Can't say the same for their weapons. I also checked the place, where the Guardians bury their dead. There are almost thirty new graves from more than a week ago. Something bad definitely happened but what was it, I do not know. I'll need more time, if I want to learn more about their deaths, time, which I can not waste."

"So, how do we proceed?" Phoenix asked.

"As planed. We get on the other side and from there on, we gallop to the capital."

"I'm not a fan of this idea. I think we should continue with caution." Metal suggested.

"Afraid of the unknown, eh?" Foxy askew looked at him. "I still hope that under that paper armor beats a warrior heart."

"This has noting to do with my courage." Metal boldly moved forward to her. "I'm thinking ahead, unlike you. We do not know what we can expect on the other side, so we need to gather as much information of what happened here before we make the jump!"

"Investigate all you want. I'm not going to stop or slow down because they are missing."

"Which side is speaking at the moment? The pony, who has lost everything or the warrior? I can bet that it isn't the latter!"

Sparks began to flash in the space between their eyes. Tension was in the air. He knew that he couldn't beat her by force but maybe outsmarting her was the key.

"You want to stay here, fine by me." then she quickly turned around and began marching in the direction of the cave. Metal watched her distancing herself from them, when Phoenix came to him with a lot of concern.

"Should we really let her go alone?"

"That dragon head of hers... What Lucky saw in her, I do not know. We'll follow her but please, stay frosty, Phoenix. We are probably inviting ourselves into the trap but she seems not to care at all."

The yellow unicorn placed a hoof on his shoulder and said with a friendly voice:

"Maybe that's the mare heart?"

"Heart that is covered in black and blinded by anger, more likely." Metal sighed and disapprovingly shook head. Then he looked ahead with a ready gaze and said: "Let's move out!"

"Oh, the drama! The emotions! I can't wait to see what happens next!" The Jester said.

"Can you be quiet for at least an hour?" he annoyingly asked.

"For you? Never! Ha-ha-ha!" what a torment it was for the unicorn.

The two of them went after the unstoppable grey mare, whose red fox tail was dancing hypnotically behind her. It didn't take them long to find the dark cave. Like a mouth of a huge beast it was widely opened. There was a strange blue glow. Metal didn't like the picture he was seeing, Phoenix was curious to learn how it looked inside. Foxy stood for a second in front of it, trying to see if ambushers were lurking behind the dark curtain.

Then with a daring step, she entered into the blackness, closely followed by the other two. It took some moments until their sight got accustomed with the lack of sunlight. They were heading to the source of the blue light, which was shining brighter with each moment. Then behind the corner, there it was, standing on the wall. The crystal clean water, which was making waves was a fascinating sight to behold. This thing was very old, it definitely had more years than the two Equestrian Princesses combined. Their bodies were lighted upon blue shades. Their real colors were lost.  

This was it.

Foxy slowly approached the Portal. It's unnatural surface lured them to come close and use it's ability to transport matter over a great distance in just a second. This was a dream come true for Phoenix, but a total nightmare to Metal.

"What can we expect on the other side?" he asked.

"Hell." her answer was clear and simple. It echoed inside the cavern. No pony could get their eyes off the magical object.

"Who wants to go first?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"It's magnificent!" Phoenix came closer to the artificial passage like a fly to a spider's trap. He wanted to touch it but Foxy stopped him. They looked at each other. The bluish light illuminated her in a dark way.

"If you touch it and didn't move inside, then you'll lose the precious hoof." the seriousness in her voice made him to gulp.

Metal came to the unnatural water on the wall and put a hoof on her shoulder. She looked at him a little annoyingly.

"Are you going to try to stop me again with your pretty words?"

"No." he unexpectedly made a warm smile. "I want you to know that I'll be at your side, no matter what. We get in together and together we return home."

She felt honored, but also made her a bit afraid of the possibility that he might sacrifice himself, in order to save her life. Metal didn't have to die too...  

"Well, hell is waiting..."

Tail then boldly stepped inside the the glowing magical water.    

Meanwhile...

"Wait what?!" Wing Mail made too much noise for what the rest would consider staying invisible for the enemy. "I can't wait a few days! They'll question me after I've delivered the order! Then I'll be dead!"

"Calm down, you are giving our position away." Feather put a hoof in front of his mouth. "Here is how we are going to do it. When Razor notices somepony using the Portal, we'll make a little act. You'll run in panic and call for help, after you've miraculously escaped the Guardians. I'll be the one chasing you."

Silver anxiously turned to him and asked:

"Shouldn't somepony else play that role? I can do it better than you."

"No, Silver. I don't want you to get hurt and I kind of know what I'll be doing."

"She has a point, Free!" said one of the dark ninjas. "If something happens to you, then we'll be left without a leader."

"Guys, I know what's at stake here. I want to be close, when Dragon Born arrives. If things don't go as planned then she'll need the sword to defend herself."

"Feather, you don't have to carry it on your own, we can do it too! I bet that I can deliver it to her in twelve second flat after she made her first step on the island."

Feather shook head.

"I know that you are more than able to do it, but the burden was given to me. If you want, you can come with me."

"Or maybe the corruption of the sword is at play here..." Silver thought with a dark look on her crimson eyes.

"I can't just leave the most important pony hopping around unprotected, so I'll come with you."

"Okay, Silver. The rest have to protect Razor on all cost!"

Everypony around the three nodded. Then they took positions in the shadows and prepared. Razor and the wounded were hidden behind a rock, that had a deep recess, which was used as a short roof. Cut off bushes and branches were carefully placed in front of them to conceal their presence. Only one stood guard near them, who was also hidden behind some vegetation. If it wasn't for Feather, Knife and the messenger, then they'd have won the award for the best blending with the surroundings.

Now they had to wait.

The three ponies went behind a tree trunk and sat. The green pegasus seemed like he was going to lose it any moment. He was beginning to regret this, despite knowing that he had little to no choice. Silver didn't lose Feather from sight. Her guts were telling her to be careful with the magical blade. Free leaned against the wood and closed his eyes. He felt tired and now was a good time for some rest.

Then Feather remembered. The lighter was still under his wing. He took it out and looked at the small metal object with a 'V' symbol on its flat surface. It was not meant for hooves, so for whom it was originally? The pegasus tried to open the top. It didn't work with his hooves. He then put the body in his mouth and then tried again. Success. Now, the only question was how to make to produce a flame.

"What's that?" Silver asked.

"Flamemaker, Blue Circle said it was. He gifted it to me before he left."

"How does it work?" she moved closer with interested glow in her red eyes.

"I haven't the slightest idea." he sadly answered.

Then their attention was taken by the small shivering in the near bushes. The noises were coming closer and closer, when suddenly the guard, who was supposed to stay next to the wounded, appeared before them.

"She is here."

At first, they looked like a lightening just struck them from above. The leader was not expecting her to arrive so soon. Feather then quickly turned to Silver with a stretched hoof.

"Please take it. I don't have pockets."

She willingly took it and hid it under her dark clothing.

"I won't lose it."

Free nodded and said:

"You know what to do! The rest are to be ready! Come on, we need to be fast!"

Then the three ponies jumped from their places and galloped in the direction of the Portal. They made so much noise that it would get a lot of wanted attention to them and not the arriving guests. Next Chapter: Chapter 39: Collision Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 22 Minutes