Antecedent 4
#4 of Antecedent
Raindrop grumbled as she adjusted her pack with her good hoof, her wings giving an irritated little flick.
She was definitely not used to having walk everywhere. Or, to be more accurate, she was annoyed at not having the option to fly. It was amazing how much of a chore it was to walk when you get told not to fly.
Harrumphing, Raindrop stalked down the main street of Ponyville towards Sugar Cube Corner, wracking her brain to try and think what would be the best kind of apology gift. Cupcakes? A mini-cake? Pastries? Which one would work the best so there was the least chance of her having to apologize openly?
Raindrop still hadn't made her mind up when she pushed open the door to Sugar Cube Corner. A bell on the top of the door jingled faintly to announce a visitor, while she moved to stand in front of the counter, waiting for service.
The glass display case was filled with cakes and cupcakes and donuts and all manner of wonderfully tasty-looking foodstuffs covered in so much icing sugar that Raindrop's teeth hurt just looking at them.
After a few moments, a white pegasus came barrelling down the stairs from the second level, bounding over towards the counter and then bouncing in place, staring at Raindrop. Her voice was high-pitched and happy as she leaned in and cooed, "Whatcha looking for, frownyface?"
Raindrop raised a brow slowly at the bouncy pegasus. She looked like she was in the midst of a sugar-rush. Her blonde mane and tail were frazzled and looked more like the nesting area of a small animal than anything found on a pony.
"I'm looking for...I don't know," Raindrop admitted, her ears pinning back. "Something that says 'I'm sorry' emphatically enough that words won't be needed."
"Apologies?" the pegasus asked, giving a thoughtful hum, a hoof at her chin. "Hmmm...I think flowers are best for that! But we don't have flowers here...maybe if you got cupcakes for the petals...and a sparkler for the stem! Everyone loves sparklers! But ohhhh, sparklers aren't so good for apologies unless it's a filly or colt...is it a filly of colt?"
Raindrop blinked slowly, head tilting slowly to one side, before she blinked once them. "W-what? No. He's a stallion."
"No sparklers then!" the pegasus declared, peeking down through the glass at the array of cakes, cupcakes and donuts in the display case. "What are you apologizing for?"
"I kinda beat him up and then insulted his recently deceased coworkers. He took it pretty badly," Raindrop said, rubbing at her mane with a hoof, chagrined.
The pegasus leaned right over the counter to peer at Raindrop with one eye suspiciously. "Are you sincerely apologizing? Or is this one of those 'I'm only apologizing because to do otherwise would be socially unacceptable and I really hope you choke and die' kind of things?"
Raindrop's ears splayed backwards, and her cheeks flushed faintly as she muttered, "Uhm...kinda...both?"
"Ohhhhhh...a passive aggressive cake!" the pegasus said with a grin, clapping her hooves together. "Let's see what I can do!"
Raindrop canted her head to the side as she watched the pegasus dig around under the counter for cakes and the like. All that was visible of her over the counter was the curve of her rump, her back, a cutie mark consisting of purple balloons, the tips of her white wings, and her shock of yellow tail swaying happily back and forth.
"There!" The pegasus declared, pulling up a vanilla cake, slapping down a circular base on top of it, and then adding a cake on top of that. "See, if he wants to mix the flavours, or even get at the bottom cake, he had to pull it apart and make a bit of a mess and inconvenience himself. But he can't be mad, because it's cake. The perfect passive-aggressive cake!"
A soft laugh left Raindrop, and she shook her head, before pulling up her purse to pay the pegasus.
In a few moments, the cake was placed in a pink box, and then pushed across the counter towards her.
"Come again!" the pegasus said, waving a hoof cheerily and then bounding back upstairs.
Raindrop waved her hoof in response, pushing the door open and stepping out into the sunshine. She looked left, towards Canterlot, visible on the mountainside. Her eyes traced the long, winding road up to it, and she groaned.
Raindrop stepped down off the train, stretching and arching slightly. Thank Celestia for trains. There was no way she was going to walk from Ponyville all the way to Canterlot.
Adjusting her load as she straightened up, Raindrop began to make her way towards the palace. There was a quietness to the air, like it was a holiday. There were no ponies in the street, and the shops were all mostly closed. It was eerie.
As she got closer to the palace, Raindrop began to hear trumpets, blaring out a mournful series of notes.
The giant arched gates in front the palace were open, and a great deal of ponies were sitting on chairs in rows just inside, in the courtyard. A military procession was making its slow way out of the gates. Raindrop paused on the other side of the road from the palace, watching awkwardly as the procession carried a pair of caskets towards the Canterlot graveyard.
Not spying Sentinel amongst the casket-carriers, Raindrop made her way over to the front gates, and pushed her way through the crowd that was spilling out into the streets to follow the caskets towards the graveyard.
Sentinel was standing on a raised stage that had apparently been erected just for this occasion. Celestia was stepping down off it to follow the procession towards the graveyard, and Sentinel was standing in a salute posture, dressed in full armour, watching his two fallen comrades being carried away to their final resting place.
After a few moments, Sentinel lowered his hoof, and then lifted his helmet to wipe at his eyes guardedly, before turning around and walking back into the castle.
Raindrop hobbled after the guard, crippled by her three-legged walk, carrying the cake on one hoof carefully as she limped after him.
"Sentinel, wait!" she called after him.
Sentinel paused, looking back over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing. "What do you want?"
"I just...uhm..." Raindrop trailed off after a long moment, suddenly feeling very stupid, holding the cake and standing in front of the guard.
"Spit it out," Sentinel stated flatly, turning to face her and planting his rump on the ground, his expression completely blank under his helmet.
"I...Well...I got you a cake," Raindrop said helplessly, holding the box out towards him.
Sentinel slowly tilted his head to the side, raising a brow and then looking from the box in her outstretched hoof, to her face. "...A cake."
"Two, actually," Raindrop said nervously, holding out the cake still.
"It's not a joke? There's no hidden spring that will send a puff of smoke in my face, or explode? It's not poisoned or laced with laxatives?" Sentinel asked blankly, as he shuffled over closer.
"You realise, of course, that you're merely giving me devious ideas, right?" Raindrop asked flatly.
Sentinel raised a brow, giving a thoughtful hum as he reached out to take the box, popping it open to inspect the cakes within. "I think this is devious enough."
"How is this devious? It's cake," Raindrop pointed out, harrumphing.
"Yes. It looks quite good. But it's a cake from you," Sentinel pointed out with a wave of a hoof. "And so I will be forever tormented by the fact that I'm holding a tasty cake but cannot eat it for fear of some horrible trick you employed with this cake. And why does it have a double base?"
"The shopkeeper put in two cakes. So there are two bases," Raindrop said with a dismissive wave of a hoof.
"But they're both on the bottom...a single base would have been better. And lighter," Sentinel said with a wise nod.
Raindrop growled faintly in the back of her throat. "Just eat the damn thing."
"I'll get fat," Sentinel protested, huffing.
"Eat a piece then!" Raindrop corrected, waving a hoof in annoyance.
Sentinel looked her up and down once, and then took on a guarded expression. "You're pretty eager for me to eat the cake, how do I know you don't just want me to eat it because you poisoned it?"
Raindrop gave a sound that was somewhere between exasperation and anger, dipping a hoof in the cake and then licking some of the icing off her hoof, poking out her tongue in proof. "There. Not poisoned. Now eat it."
"But you ruined it." Sentinel held out the box to show Raindrop the hole she'd made in the cake.
"Sentinel. I am going to start hurting you, and I'm not sure when I'm going to stop," Raindrop stated flatly, her ears pinning back.
Sentinel snorted a moment, and then set the cake aside, straightening up and looking at Raindrop levelly. "Say it."
"Say what?"
"What you came to tell me."
"I came to call you an arrogant, dim-witted, useless excuse for a-" Raindrop's tirade was halted by Sentinel's hoof over her mouth.
"Repeat after me," Sentinel said, lifting his hoof as though to swear a vow. "Sentinel."
"Sentinel," Raindrop repeated, glowering.
"My name is Raindrop,"
"My name is Raindrop,"
"I am but a lowly pegasus,"
"I am but a lowly pegasus,"
"You are more clever and ever-tempered than I ever will be,"
"The urge to hit you is rising fast,"
"Close enough," Sentinel said with a grin, "And I'm sorry."
Raindrop blanched, fuming at the other pegasus.
"I'm..." she wrinkled her nose, and then shifted her hooves slightly from side to side.
"Say it," Sentinel sing-songed, raising a brow.
"Sentinel...I'm..." Raindrop scowled up at him, and then gave a faint sigh, deflating. "I'm...I'm sorry, okay? Happy?"
"Undoubtedly," Sentinel stated, as he dipped a hoof in the cake and then licked it off slowly, before dabbing some on Raindrop's nose playfully.
"Can I go now?" Raindrop asked, scowling.
"Don't you want to hug and make up, first?" Sentinel asked with wide, innocent eyes.
"...Do you want a concussion?" Raindrop asked flatly.
"Later, then," Sentinel said with a grin, licking the last of the icing from his hoof.
"So..."
"So?" Asked Sentinel, as he dipped his hoof in the now thoroughly ruined cake and happily swallowed down the mix of icing and moist cake.
"Well? The pony who stabbed me," Raindrop stated with a faint huff.
"Princess Luna denies that she has any knowledge of the guard at all, so it's a stalemate. Personally, I think that Celestia is being rightfully cautious in not trusting her sisters every word, and Luna understands what he sister must do...though that might be a clever ruse to try and keep Celestia pliable and off-balance," Sentinel said with a wave of an icing-covered hoof. "But s'far as we known, the guard just...vanished. Melted into thin air."
"Ponies don't melt into thin air. Somepony must have seen him trying to escape," Raindrop said with a frown. "I mean, he killed two guards."
Sentinel gave a sad nod, and went silent for a moment, looking down at his hooves. Raindrop paused awkwardly, contemplating lifting a hoof to rest on his shoulder, her hoof hovering half-off the ground uncertainly.
"But the road between here and Ponyville is pretty empty. If he was lucky, he wouldn't get seen. I'm rather more bothered by why he chose to target you of all ponies." Sentinel paused at that, and looked her up and down, before adding, "Your stunning personality notwithstanding."
Raindrop rolled her eyes. "Well apparently everypony knows I'm chasing the Elements of Harmony..."
"News travels fast," Sentinel said with a wave of a hoof.
"So...why aren't you...you know, at the graveyard?" Raindrop asked quietly.
"I injured myself fighting off that dark guard," Sentinel admitted ruefully, rubbing a hoof against his chin.
"Injured?" Raindrop asked, frowning. "He didn't get you with the dagger, did he?"
"Oh no...It was uhm...kinda stupid," Sentinel said with a nervous laugh.
"You chipped a hoof?" Raindrop asked flatly.
"No, but I did pull a muscle in my inner thigh. Nothing too serious, but it makes walking a bitch."
"...A muscle in your inner thigh. Don't you do training so that sort of thing doesn't happen?" Raindrop asked, head canting to the side.
"Sure. But I just woke up. I didn't do my morning exercises. Hadn't even had my coffee yet," he said with a wrinkled nose.
Raindrop shook her head and then waved a hoof. "A dagger wielding maniac and you manage to pull a muscle."
"Hey!" Sentinel said defensively, giving Raindrop a pout, "I still beat him up for you!"
"Indeed you did," Raindrop stated, looking thoughtful for a moment. "And well...thanks. I'm kinda happy to be...you know, not dead."
"It was nothing," Sentinel said with a dismissive wave of his hoof.
Raindrop stared at him for a moment, shaking her head, before she said softly, "No...it wasn't. He had me down...repeatedly. It was like a game to him. He could have killed me at the start if he was in a hurry, and you wouldn't have even known until morning."
Sentinel nodded, and then lifted a hoof to rest on Raindrop's shoulder soothingly. "I got there in time, Raindrop. I'll always get there in time. I promise."
The pegasus snorted a moment, and then nodded slowly, lifting a hoof to rest on Sentinel's own. "That's...far more reassuring than it should ever be, coming from you."
"Thank Celestia, I thought you were going to get sappy on me," Sentinel said, withdrawing his hoof and then waving it, "So...when are you going hunting for the next element?"
"I was thinking when I'm allowed to fly again, because walking. I don't like walking," she stated with a shake of her head.
"We have guards out searching for the elements of Laughter and Honesty. The Element of Kindness isn't active at the moment, so the seeker stone is dead, useless. Maybe you should give one of the teams your seeker stone? If you're just going to be lying around," Sentinel suggested, trying to sound reasonable.
"I'm going to go get it!" Raindrop protested with a huff. "I'm just not allowed to fly."
"And until then? You're just going to lug it around? That's very impractical," Sentinel pointed out.
Raindrop snorted faintly. "Impractical. But it's my seeker stone for now. I'm going to find the element."
"You don't trust the guard to find them?" Sentinel inquired, raising a brow.
Raindrop paused a moment, giving the guard a long stare. "I have met two guards so far. One of them stabbed me, and the other one is...you."
"Touché," Sentinel said with a bow of his head.
"Well, now you've eaten the cake laced with slow-acting poison, I'm going to go find an inn to rest in," Raindrop said with a wave of a hoof.
"You came all the way over here just to apologize?" Sentinel didn't seem to be very convinced.
Raindrop peered down at her forehooves for a moment, mincing them back and forth uncomfortably. "You kinda saved my life...and then I went and insulted your fallen coworkers or comrades or whatever you call them..."
Sentinel frowned deeply, and then pressed in close, laying his cheek against her chest.
Raindrop stared down at him for a moment, brows slowly raising. "...What are you doing?"
"I'm making sure you're not developing a heart! Celestia knows what having one of those would do to you!" He tapped his hoof against her chest once, and then pulled back, smiling. "Nope, no heart. Situation normal."
Raindrop rolled her eyes at him and then turned about, heading towards the front of the palace. "I trust you'll turn up and torment me sometime in the near future?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Sentinel called after her.
Raindrop groaned faintly and shifted, stirring fitfully. There was the sensation of warm hooves around her, and she snuggled herself back into the embrace with a happy sigh.
It was several long, long seconds before she realised that she wasn't at home with Shine.
The pegasi's eyes widened, and she squirmed out from the embrace and spilled clumsily onto the floor, before sitting up and whirling around, her jaw dropping. "..Sentinel?!"
The guard gave a faint, groggy sound, opening an eye and peering at her for a long moment, before closing it and going back to sleep.
"Wake up!" Raindrop insisted, pushing him with a hoof. "What are you doing in my bed?!"
"You don't remember anything, do you?" Sentinel asked tiredly, sitting up and rubbing at his temple with a hoof, shaking his head to try and wake up a little bit.
"No, I'm asking because I'm stupid! Now what are you doing in my bed?!" Raindrop almost squealed.
"You told me to," Sentinel stated with a wave of a hoof, rolling over.
"I did no such thing!" Raindrop retorted heatedly.
Sentinel gave a low groan, and then rolled over to face her again, eyes narrowing a little bit. "You apparently have bad reactions to sedatives and certain types of medications."
"How does that result in you being in my bed?!"
"You don't remember a thing, do you? Not even a scrap of anything that happened last night?" Sentinel queried, raising a brow.
"Of course not! Now tell me." Raindrop hissed, lifting a hoof threateningly.
"Okay, okay, fine! You took some pills, downed some cider, got really loopy, and I rescued you from your misguided attempts to seduce a colt, and dragged you upstairs to your room. And then you seduced me and nature took its course, and here we are." Sentinel said, waving a hoof matter-of-factly.
Raindrop stared at the guard for a long, long moment, her head canting to the side slowly, her mouth slightly open. She choked out, "Y-you're joking..."
"Of course I'm joking," Sentinel said with a chuckle and a shake of his head.
Raindrop hit him, rather hard, in the shoulder.
Sentinel rolled his eyes, rubbing a hoof against the shoulder she hit as though injured. "But in all honesty, you did take pills and they did unbalance you. I found you holding up a unicorn in the bar demanding that he give you a banana and a roll of yarn for insulting your family."
Raindrop blinked once. "...That...sounds decidedly odd."
"Oh, it was. And of course, you insisted I stay up here in your room," Sentinel added.
"This is where the story becomes a bit less believable," Raindrop stated.
"No, seriously," Sentinel insisted, "You erm...well. You wanted me up here because you were a little...hesitant to sleep alone?"
"...What? I always sleep alone," Raindrop pointed out, shaking her head. "You're not making sense."
"Well fine! If you want the truth, I managed to wheedle it out of you that you were afraid of the dark guard coming back to finish you off," Sentinel admitted, frowning.
Raindrop paused, and then nodded gently. "But...I...made you sleep in my bed?"
"Indeed," Sentinel stated with a snicker. "You were delirious. Barely coherent; said it was my duty to protect you and that I was lucky you weren't going to make me stand inside the door all night, and I should be thanking you for your grace in allowing me to lay down and rest."
"That sounds more like me," Raindrop said with a smug smile. "But I still find this whole story hard to swallow. I...Don't remember anything after leaving the palace."
"We kissed," Sentinel said with a short nod.
"Liar. I see no signs of where I threw up afterwards," Raindrop said with a wave of a hoof.
"You'll never know, will you?" Sentinel asked with a sly grin.
Raindrop snorted. "I have naught but your word that any of this is true in the first place!"
"Inside of your left foreleg," Sentinel said, pointing with a hoof.
Blinking once in confusion, Raindrop tilted her head and lifted her hoof, eyes widening at the neat length of writing down the inside of her foreleg.
You asked him. Sentinel smells. Unicorn with blue mane owes you a banana and roll of yarn.
"Believe me now?" Sentinel asked, raising a brow.
"Why didn't you tell me about this in the first place?!" Raindrop demanded.
"And miss Raindrop's meltdown adventure?" Sentinel asked with a soft laugh.
"I hate you," Raindrop said, deadpan.
Sentinel gave a wry grin. "Not what you were saying last night, under the influence of drugs and alcohol."
Raindrop snorted and then shook her mane, rolling her eyes. "That's about what it would take for me to say anything about you that is in any way positive."
The guard nodded with a grin, rolling out of bed and beginning to pull on his armour. "So, last night, you were talking about catching the train back to Ponyville. The stone is pointing out towards the Everfree Forest or beyond."
"Sentinel," Raindrop started, mincing her hooves slightly.
"Hmm?" the guard asked, as he neatly slid his helmet into place.
"...Thank you," Raindrop said quietly.
The guard raised a brow under his helmet.
"No...really. Thank you for...staying here with me when I was out of my mind on drugs," Raindrop said hesitantly.
"I'm sure you'll go back to hating me in a little while," Sentinel said with a warm smile, saluting her with a hoof.
"I already am," Raindrop stated, and then lifted a hoof. "Now get out of my room!"
A wry smile crossed the guards face as he turned and headed for the door, pulling it open and then peering at her over his shoulder. "Train leaves at midday."
"More than enough time for breakfast, now shoo," Raindrop said, making a motion with her forehooves.
Raindrop grimaced as she pulled the bandage away from her wound to inspect the handiwork of the dark guard.
It was just after midday, and the pegasus was rocking back and forth slightly to the sway of the train as it took the gently curves down towards Ponyville. It was a short trip; but long enough for her to change her bandages.
It was the first real look she'd had at the wound since it was a gaping opening in her flesh. The area surrounding the injury itself was inflamed and puckered, and the hole in her flesh where the dagger had penetrated her was still quite visible, with raw, red flesh showing clearly, weeping a thin clear liquid.
The cream she had to apply to the wound was a notoriously fast healing agent, but it also, as a by-product of the accelerated healing process, kept the wound completely open. As such, any poking and prodding in the area was painful and caused the pegasus to gasp and grit her teeth. Already, the wound was beginning to close, and soon, it would be no more than a thin sliver of scar tissue hidden underneath her fur.
Raindrop grit her teeth, and then pressed the mouth of the ointment tube against the wound, closing her eyes and then squeezing, several stuttered gasps leaving her as the cool liquid contacted raw, open flesh. The pegasus quivered, her wings stiffened and fluttering just slightly as she swallowed down the yelp that tried to escape her.
The door to the train cabin slid open, and Sentinel stepped through, closing the door after him.
"Don't you ever knock?" Raindrop asked between gritted teeth, her ears splayed backwards as she pulled the tube of ointment away and then pressed her hoof over the wound.
"And give you a chance to refuse me entry?" Sentinel asked with a slowly raising brow.
Raindrop rolled her eyes a moment and then tentatively dropped her hoof, capping the tube of ointment and throwing it back into her bag. She folded the bandage up as neatly as she could, and then stuffed it into the trash area, before digging out a fresh bandage to place over her wound. "Don't you have your own cabin?"
"I find it difficult to guard somepony when I'm not in their general vicinity," Sentinel stated, as he moved over to one of the seats and sat himself down on it, stretching out languidly and adjusting his helmet.
"We're on a moving train, Sentinel. Do you really think there is a chance one of those guards could get on here without being...you know, seen?" Raindrop asked flatly, frowning at him.
"Expect the unexpected," Sentinel stated with a raised hoof. Obviously, it was some kind of motto.
Raindrop rolled her eyes again. "That's an oxymoron."
"But it sounds clever," Sentinel said with a wise nod.
"So do you. Until you speak," Raindrop stated, as she undid the bandage and began to wind it awkwardly around her shoulder. It was difficult to get it over her shoulder and around her chest, especially with only one hoof.
Sentinel made a faint, derisive sound, and then slipped down off the seat, moving over to the other pegasus and then halting her motions with a hoof.
"Look, you need the bandage to be firm. You're making it all loose. It'll slip off in a half hour after you start walking," he stated, as he unwound the bandage completely and began to wind it correctly.
Raindrop arched and bit her tongue until she tasted blood as Sentinel pulled the bandage firmly over the wound. She gasped and spluttered a few times before she managed to get control of herself, grinding her teeth in pain.
"Wow, anypony would think you got stabbed," Sentinel quipped as he heard her grinding her teeth like that. He continued to wind the bandage over her shoulder, kneading his free hoof soothingly between her shoulderblades. "Relax. Breath shallowly; it'll put less pressure on the wound."
Raindrop nodded helplessly, panting for a few moments before evening out her breathing, subconsciously leaning into the soothing kneading of Sentinel's hoof.
The guard finished winding the bandage about her, and then neatly stretched the toothed elastic strip over both sides of it, keeping it in place. He patted her shoulder gently, "There, done."
"Th-thank you," Raindrop growled between gritted teeth, limping over to the bed and sprawling across it untidly, lifting a hoof to lay over her wound, just resting it there, not applying any pressure, but giving her something to focus on to dull the pain.
"That ointment always sucks when you first apply it," Sentinel said with a wise nod, watching her.
Raindrop nodded in response, "In spite of my inclination to argue with you on every point possible, I agree. This sucks. I bet you get injured plenty as a guard."
Sentinel gave a laugh and a shake of his head, "Actually, the royal guard is a very sedate job. Basically, I stand around and look intimidating. The armour helps. Most of my supply of accidents and mishaps came from my days off."
"So you've never been stabbed?" she queried, perking an ear upwards at him curiously.
"Well...kinda? I guess?" Sentinel responded, making a circular motion with a hoof to indicate that he was unsure. "I've been impaled, but stabbed...no."
"Impaled?" Raindrop asked, looking him up and down. "Like...with a spear?"
"A fence," Sentinel said calmly. "You know the ones in front of the palace with the big, pointy black spikes on top? One of those."
Raindrop winced sympathetically. "I'm willing to bet that hurt...did you scream?"
"No!" Sentinel replied instantly, looking affronted.
The female pegasus slowly raised a brow at him.
"Okay, fine," Sentinel stated, shaking his head, "I bawled like a foal and screamed like I was being murdered."
"An appealing image," Raindrop stated with a nod and a wry smile.
Sentinel shifted, and slipped off the armour covering his right forehoof, tilting his hoof to show her the faintly visible scar running from the inside of his elbow to almost the end of his hoof. "Went in one side, and out the other."
"I don't blame you for screaming," Raindrop said, staring at the scar for a long moment. "How in the name of Celestia did you manage to do that to yourself?"
A soft laugh left the guard, and he waved a hoof, "I was fleeing from the kitchens. I was on a strict diet of bread and water because I might have ruined one of Celestia's favorite statues. So I snuck into the kitchen and got some sugar cubes. One of the kitchen staff saw me, and I ran away. Tried to fly out the back door, clipped my wing, bounded up over the fence, and came down on one of the spikes."
Raindrop wrinkled her nose, "I bet your teacher or whatever you call it was unhappy with you."
"Oh for sure, but not for the same reasons you'd think," Sentinel said, waving a hoof airily. "He was more angry that I got caught than the fact that I was sneaking in there in the first place."
"Then what's the point of disciplining the younger guards if he's expecting them to sneak out and get sweets?" Raindrop asked, bewildered.
"...That's the point," Sentinel said with a snicker, shaking his head. "See, he denies us things we want, and then hints at ways we can get them back. I learned more sneaking into the kitchens than I ever did sneaking past a training partner who knew I was there."
"That...makes so much twisted sense," Raindrop stated, prodding at her shoulder gently to see how much pain it would give her.
"Indeed it does," Sentinel stated, narrowing his eyes at her after a moment, watching her prod at her bandaged shoulder. "Stop that. You'll just irritate it."
Raindrop snorted, and then dug around for the Seeker Stone in her backpack, pulling it out and inspecting it.
"Worried its going to disappear?" Sentinel asked, raising a brow.
"It's changed," Raindrop stated, staring at it for a long moment. "I'm not sure how 'general' of a direction it points in...but look at it."
Raindrop held out the Seeker Stone for Sentinel to see.
"It's pointing east," Sentinel stated unnecessarily.
"But it was pointing further south than east while we were in Canterlot!" Raindrop said with an excited little bounce.
"...And?"
"And. If there's such a drastic change in direction from Canterlot to Ponyville, then the element must be close to Ponyville!" Raindrop pointed out.
Sentinel stared at the pegasus for a long moment. "If you say so."
"Ugh, this is like talking to a fish," Raindrop said with a shake of her head.
"But I'm better looking than a fish," Sentinel rebuked.
"Only by a little, hun," Raindrop stated, patting the guards cheek gently.
"So you think the element is close to Ponyville?" Sentinel queried.
"I can't be certain..." Raindrop admitted, shaking her head, "But s'far as I can tell...in the Everfree forest somewhere?"
"The canopy deep in the Everfree is too thick to really get through if you're flying," Sentinel stated knowledgeably.
Raindrop raised a brow at him slowly.
"Hey. I liked to sneak away every now and again, plus our Captain taught us that the forest is the first place to try and stop an escaping fugitive from reaching, because once they're in there, it's ground patrols only. Not to mention all the dangerous things that live there," he said with a short nod.
"Yes, lets not forget the pony-eating monsters," Raindrop agreed, sliding the Seeker Stone back into her pack. "Why can't this be...simple? I mean, what kind of asshole just goes and hides these things? It's inconvenient."
"Discord," Sentinel stated flatly. "Though, I must say, knowing his history...I'm surprised he hasn't jumped up on a pedestal and declared his intent and power."
"He's the element of chaos. That's kinda what he does," Raindrop pointed out.
Sentinel nodded, frowning. "Well the last time he came back, he just took over Equestria. Turned it into pure chaos."
"Plays get boring if they repeat the same thing over and over again. He's Discord. If he did the same thing over and over again, then that would be order...and it would be the opposite of chaos, yes?" Raindrop suggested, raising a brow.
"...I personally don't think that Discord would ascribe himself to any kind of patterned randomization. Because that would make him predictable and therefore not chaotic." The guard nodded smugly.
"We're going to go in circles," Raindrop stated flatly. "But he hasn't gotten up and announced his presence and taken over all of Equestria, so obviously, I'm right."
Sentinel opened his mouth to protest, and Raindrop placed a hoof over his mouth.
"Sentinel. It has been a grand total of three days since I last hit you. I'm sure my being unconscious in the hospital for a third of that and drugged out for another third has something to do with that, but if you continue arguing with me, then three whole days is going to be the new record for 'not beating Sentinel up'."
The guard paused a moment, tilting his head at her, and then giving a smug smile. "You hit me when you were loopy. Said I was making unwanted advances on you by hopping into your bed, and then ordered me out of it. And then you asked me why I got out of the bed and demanded I get back in it."
Raindrop took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a long moment, and then gave Sentinel a ringing blow to the cheek with her hoof.
"Annnd back to zero," she stated, pursing her lips.
Sentinel grinned, his helmet having absorbed most of the blow. He lifted a hoof to gently bop her nose. "You're cute when you're mad."
Raindrop scowled, and then paused a moment, staring at the guard and slowly tilting her head to the side. There was a long pause before she asked, unbelievingly, "...did you just try to flirt with me?"
The guard smiled and shook his head goofily, before blinking and then looking up and to the left at a corner of the room, pondering deeply. "Oh sweet Celestia I think I did...Quick, hit me again!"
Raindrop gave him a ringing backhand with her hoof, on the opposite cheek, before leaning in and staring at him. "...Better?"
"The urge to make nice with you has definitely faded," Sentinel stated, rubbing his cheek with a hoof and frowning.
"Good. Flirt with me again and I'll put you in hospital," Raindrop stated flatly, turning away to hide the inexplicable blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Still cute when you're mad," Sentinel said with a sly grin.
Armed with the Cloudsdale Chaser and the Seeker Stone, Raindrop and Sentinel strode through the underbrush of the Everfree Forest, pushing aside bushes to forge a path. Sentinel was walking ahead of her, making a path wide enough for Raindrop to follow after having seen her wincing as she pushed aside a branch herself.
The Cloudsdale Chaser was a simple instrument that at first seemed quite hard to use. There was the little icon on the outer ring that showed the direction of Cloudsdale, and then, outside that, two different dials that had to be manually set. The first inner ring was rotated until it the marker was pointed straight at Cloudsdale, and the second outermost ring was set to point towards an object of reference; usually something high and static, like a mountain range. Then, with a little bit of dead-reckoning you could use the Cloudsdale Chaser to find direction.
Or, in this case, to make sure the two of them didn't lose the direction of Ponyville. With Cloudsdale so far away, even if they travelled dozens of miles through the forest, the angle of the marker pointing towards Cloudsdale wouldn't shift more than a few degrees. Therefore, they could just turn the Cloudsdale Chaser until the inner ring was lined up with the pointer, and then head in the direction of the outer ring to give themselves a travel line that would take them pretty close to Ponyville. Simple trigonometry.
The Seeker Stone was clasped in Raindrop's good hoof, and she looked at it every now and again to make sure they were on the right track. Already, they were a good few miles into the Everfree Forest, heading deeper towards where the forest became a bog. Already, they were having to leap over the occasional point where bogwater crossed their impromptu path.
"I don't like this," Sentinel whispered, slowly down.
"It's a bog. That's the general impression it gives to everyone," Raindrop stated, shaking her head.
"No, this bog is inhabited by the hydra," Sentinel pointed out, his tone low and careful.
"Oh, a hydra. Wonderful." Raindrop shook her head slowly, rubbing a hoof against her forehead for a moment. "Let me guess, it'll be guarding the Element of Harmony and we'll have to fight it."
Sentinel paused a moment, and then heaved a sigh. "...knowing Discord? Yes."
"I'm going to knock him the hell out when I meet him," Raindrop stated flatly.
"I'll hold him, you beat on him," Sentinel agreed, as they bounded across the ever-diminishing lengths of dry land between the watery parts.
"If only it were that easy," Raindrop sighed, stretching her wings slightly, fluttering them. "I am so just aching to fly."
"Nurse says no," Sentinel warned. "You were stabbed. You'll probably only get off the ground and then end up falling back down."
"That sounds fun," Raindrop replied sullenly, folding her wings again.
"What's the Seeker Stone say?" Sentinel asked as he sloshed around a half-sunken cart that had been abandoned to the bog. The odd discarded object floated amongst the murky water; old buckets, a leather coat, mugs, tables. Everything and anything that had been abandoned by wagons in days gone by trying to cross through the bog. There were even entire wagons sunk to their axles, abandoned where they were when they became too bogged down to move.
"It says to keep going that way," Raindrop stated, waving a hoof in the direction the stone was indicating.
Sentinel grumbled and bounded to the next island.
"Soooo...what do we do if we find the hydra?" Raindrop asked, raising a brow. "Does the guard training cover that?"
"We attempt to make the heads attack each other," Sentinel stated immediately, "But that's plan B."
"And plan A?"
"Running."
The Seeker Stone continued to lead them further into the bog, until the forest opened up into a rather sparsely vegetated series of still water holes choked with algae. The water holes were hidden in the lee of a steep cliff-face leading up to a mountain range at the edge of the Everfree Forest.
As they carefully bounced from one tiny island to the next, Sentinel said, "So...I've been thinking."
"I can see how this is rare enough of an occurrence that you felt an urge to notify someone," Raindrop responded dryly.
"No, seriously," Sentinel snorted.
"I am being serious."
"About the dark guard," Sentinel explained, shaking his head.
Raindrop raised a brow as she leapt to the next island. "And?"
"...It was too easy," Sentinel stated flatly.
"I certainly didn't get that impression when he was choking me...or stabbing me," Raindrop retorted.
"No...take it from someone who trained with the dark guard...that was way too easy," Sentinel reiterated, frowning deeply. "I just...can't figure it out."
"I was rather...confused that he kinda played with me," Raindrop admitted, pausing on another small island to peer at the Seeker Stone.
Sentinel nodded in understanding. "If it had of been me, I would have done it silently and before you had a chance to react."
"Okay then, talking about murdering me is kinda creepy," Raindrop replied with a wrinkled nose.
"No. Seriously." Sentinel lifted a hoof to halt her. "The royal guard is the only militia in Equestria. Outside of the Wonderbolts.If Equestria is invaded, we are the first line of defense. Princess Celestia is a kind, benevolent, peaceful ruler...but she's also wise. We learn to do some very...despicable things in the name of protecting Equestria."
"Like how to murder someone silently?"
"Like how to murder someone quietly," Sentinel replied quietly. Something in his eyes made Raindrop drop her tone immediately.
"So you're saying that...given what he did, he wasn't a dark guard?" Raindrop asked helplessly.
Sentinel made a sound that conveyed uncertainty, "That's what I feel. If it was a trained royal guard or dark guard, then they would have broken your neck and been gone before your wings stopped twitching. And then there's the fact that he had trouble with you and yet took down two guards and faded into the night. Not to mention a dagger is a rather...uncommon thing for a pony to use. Especially a kris blade. The guard is only trained in straight blades, kris blades don't carry a strike very well, and are prone to deforming."
"So I'll take your word for it," Raindrop stated with a shake of her head. "What's the bigger point you're trying to get at?"
"...I think Luna is telling the truth. I don't think that dark guard was one of hers," Sentinel stated, sitting down on his rump and staring at Raindrop.
"Okay then...so why would a dark guard be attacking me?" Raindrop asked blankly, not understanding.
"Someone wants to drive a wedge between Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. That's the only thing I can think," Sentinel said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"So...a dark guard, attacks me, with the intent of causing Celestia and Luna to stop speaking to each other and mistrust one another or something. And the person that you think did this had no problem overthrowing both of them at once before, when they knew where the Elements of Harmony were? Why would Discord bother attacking me?" Raindrop queried, staring at the guard, raising a brow.
"I have no idea. I don't know all the answers. I'm just going to say it all now so I can say 'I told you so' at some unforeseen point in the future," Sentinel admitted, standing back up and waving a hoof towards the cliff. "Do you think it's close?"
"The glow moved a fair amount in the last leg of our trip. Seems like we're getting pretty close...Maybe over that hill," Raindrop said, pointing towards a hill to their east.
Sentinel nodded, and then launched from his little island, flying over to the island and landing lightly, padding up over the hill to peek over the edge. He was frozen for a few moments, before very, very carefully drawing back and creeping as quietly as possible down the hill.
Raindrop bounded over the last few bits of land and to the large hill Sentinel was on. The guard lifted a hoof to halt her, his eyes wide behind his helmet as he hissed, "The hydra is right over that hill!"
"I've never seen one of those before," Raindrop said calmly, stepping up the hill, ignoring Sentinel's hissed rebukes.
Raindrop's eyes widened as she stared down the hillside to the scene beyond.
The cliffside ahead had been hollowed out, into a kind of lair. Random detritus had been gathered around the hollowed out section of cliffside, leaving a wide ring half-submerged in the oily bogwater that lay at the mouth of the hollow. Further back in the hollow, there was a portion of the ground that was raised above the waterline, flattened by constant trampling. There was a treasure trove of shiny objects there; random pieces of metal, coins, gems, jewellery, what even seemed to be a severed unicorn's horn.
And in the centre of the pile, placed there seemingly at random, was the Element of Generosity. It was just like the Element of Loyalty, except the swirls inside its centre were blue rather than red.
It would have been a perfect scene, if not for the hydra curled around the treasure pile.
It was huge. Each of its four heads were larger than a pony by themselves, and its long, slender necks had an impressive length. A body that looked to belong to a full-grown dragon was curled around the treasure pile protectively. Three of the heads were laid down, apparently resting, and the fourth was awake, alert, looking around.
"They take turns watching out for prey or dragons in the sky," Sentinel whispered as he crawled up beside her. "And that would be the Element of Generosity down there, wouldn't it?"
Raindrop nodded grimly. "It sure looks like it. How are we gonna get to it?"
"We could try sneaking past it...but that's unlikely. We'll need to distract it. Since you can't fly, I'll go flit round above it, get its attention, and then draw it away so you can grab the element. Then we'll meet up on that mountaintop," Sentinel said, pointing a hoof towards a peak in the distance.
"I can't fly," Raindrop stated flatly, wiggling her wings for emphasis.
"I'll see you coming," Sentinel stated with a shrug, dipping his head forwards to remove his helmet, and then starting to slough off the rest of his armour, dropping it quietly into a neat pile.
Raindrop paused a moment, an ear perking at the guard. "And if you get eaten?"
"Well, I'll be dead and I won't care. See ya on the other side," Sentinel said with a mock-salute.
The guard took a running start to the edge of the hill, and then leaped off it, spreading his wings wide, gliding down the edge of the hillside. His hooves almost touched the brackish water as he swept across the shallow length of bogwater and then skimmed across the edge of the hydra's tail, swiping at it with a hoof.
Raindrop laid her ears back and winced as a chorus of angry roars rose throughout the bog.
The hydra was awake.
Snarling roars rose throughout the hillsides as the hydra awoke suddenly. A pair of roars rose in symphony as the already conscious head and a second head both jerked around to stare at the intrusion on their sleep, jaws parted, rows of teeth visible in bestial snarls.
Sentinel grinned as he skimmed away from them, wings splayed wide, keeping low to the ground, where the hydra would be hesitant to attack him because it would be more likely to smash its many heads into the bushes and twisted trees rather than the pegasus.
A second pair of challenging roars rose to join the first as the two remaining heads awoke properly, realising the threat to their territory, no matter how minute. With a fierce snarl from three of the heads, the hydra lumbered to its large feet, and began to pound after the pegasus.
Raindrop watched with wide eyes from atop her hilltop, standing with her forelegs splayed slightly, her wings twitching slightly in reflexive nervousness.
She had absolutely no idea how Sentinel could just attack a hydra like that without being scared half to death at the prospect. It would have taken her hours to gather up the courage to do that.
The hydra snarled in impotent anger at its prey, which seemed to stay just out of its reach, tempting it further and further from its horde. But the small mind and attention span of the hydra was focused on one thing: anger. It wanted to hurt the pegasus, to crush him to a pulp beneath its feet or share its limbs between each of its angry heads.
Deciding that the hydra was far enough away from the horde, Raindrop bounded over the crest of the hill and began galloping down the other side, heading for the Element of Generosity sitting on the top of the pile.
Elsewhere, in Ponyville, a lone unicorn was stirring.
This unicorn was oddly coloured; a silvery white, with a jet black mane with what appeared to be glowing white highlights in it. Something about her appearance spoke of magic. It was almost a palpable thing that rolled off her.
Her eyes, when they opened, were a vivid, deep blue. They were so bright and intense that it was almost eerie to look into them. Her name was Stardancer, and she was utterly insane.
Ever since she was a foal, she had resided at the Ponyville Insane Asylum, quite at home with the other strange, broken ponies. In a constant state of near-catatonia brought on by mind-numbing amounts of drugs, she was often found whispering to herself in the corner about causality and effects.
But today was different. Today, she had refused her medication.
It was perhaps an odd thing that she refused her medication. She willingly took her medication, and seemed to rely on it to function. When Stardancer was old enough to make decisions for herself, she had been given a session with a Psychologist to see if she was fit for integration back into society.
After an hour of discussions, it was deemed that the unicorn was 'beyond intervention' and she was sentenced to willing incarceration in the Ponyville Asylum until such time as she sought a second session with a psychologist.
Today was that day.
One of the orderlies came by to take her to the session, carefully helping her ease out of the straight jacket she had been placed in, allowing her unrestricted movement. The jacket was a precaution, but everyone at the asylum knew that it was unnecessary. Stardancer was a willing tenant, and her only respite from the demons of her mind were the drugs she regularly imbibed.
And everyone who knew Stardancer, and knew her history, knew that if she really wanted to get out, then she could do so whenever she pleased.
"F-five, seventeen, twelve," Stardancer murmured hoarsely, her voice raspy from disuse.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" the orderly asked, raising a brow, turning towards her.
"N-nothing," the pony rasped back, turning her head and mumbling to herself.
The orderly frowned as he led the crazed pony towards the room where she would meet with the psychologist. But she had eyes only for the orderly. She watched him intently from beneath her sparkling black mane, eyes narrowing, watching his expression as thoughts rolled through his mind.
At first, his thoughts turned to the numbers, pondering on them, wondering what they could mean. And then that thought then turned to the lottery, and the ticket he had in it, waiting to be checked. It was sitting in the office where he had his breaks, and he had to take it into the store that afternoon, as he'd forgotten it three times already this week.. He had almost forgotten it again! Phew.
The orderly paused as they passed by a room, and Stardancer ran right into him, gasping in surprise and putting her hooves up to balance herself, entangling them in his mane by accident.
"You should watch where you're walking, Stardancer," the orderly said kindly, as she disentangled her hooves. His mind was so preoccupied with asking his fellow orderly to remind him about the lottery ticket, that he didn't even notice that Stardance came away with his hairpin in her hoof.
"Yo, remind me to take that ticket in this afternoon, yeah?" the orderly called, while Stardancer hid the hairpin in her mouth.
"Yeah, sure!" came the response, and the orderly smiled before continuing down the hallway.
"So why today, Stardancer? You've been here what, ten years now?" the orderly asked of her, looking at her sideways.
Stardancer just grunted in response.
"Well don't talk to me then," the orderly said with a shake of his head, sighing and then pushing open the door to the psychologist's office, peeking in.
"I'll be waiting outside, don't wreck anything," the orderly said, narrowing his eyes at her.
Stardancer shrugged, stepping inside and calmly draping herself across the couch inside.
The psychologist looked up from his notepad, raising a brow at her. "Ahh, Stardancer? I understand that you wished to speak to me? Ready to get out of here, huh?"
Stardancer merely nodded in response, remaining quiet, watching him.
The psychologist perked his ears up at her, and then jotted something down on his notepad, moving out from around the desk and moving to sit down across from her.
Stardancer watched him with narrowed eyes, waiting. She knew it was coming. She had known it for weeks.
The psychologist stumbled slightly, and then winced, a hoof lifting to grip his stomach, his face screwing up slightly in pain. "Ugh...oh wow...that hurts..."
Stardancer merely watched him, tilting her head to the side.
With a groan, the psychologist stumbled to the door, pushed it open, and then bolted for the men's room, shoving open the door to a stall before he began to be violently ill into a toilet. The orderly looked into the room where Stardancer was, giving her a surprised look.
Stardancer shrugged, giving a bewildered look in response.
The orderly turned and then bounded down the hallway to the door of the men's room, peeking in to see if the psychologist was alright.
Of course, Stardancer knew this was coming. She had known for a full two weeks. It had started with an innocent word to an orderly: 'cake'.
It wasn't cake that made the psychologist sick though, no. A week before that, the psychologist had given the orderly a piece of cake for lunch. The forgetful orderly hadn't remember that until today, and gave him a piece of home-cooked pie instead.
What the orderly didn't know was that the psychologist was mildly allergic to rhubarb, which was an ingredient in the pie.
Stardancer calmly rose to her hooves, and stalked into the hallway and then to the door leading to the front of the asylum, spitting out the hairpin and looking down at it. With a quick twist of her hoof, she had it bent in half. The unicorn then picked it up, inserted it into the lock, and twisted it. It took her under three seconds to get the door unlocked, and then she was gone. By the time any of the orderlies noticed, she was long gone.
Raindrop bounded down the slope, crashing through the knee-deep brackish water, and then back up the slope leading to the treasure horde. Up close, it looked even larger. Shiny piles of metal, silver, gold, simple stainless steel, even an old sword or two, formed a complex net draped with jewellery and other random bits of shiny things. Some of it was pure junk, but amongst the junk, were some very real treasures.
She could see a treasure chest, spilled open with gold inside. There was a tiara perched upon an old cart whose contents included metal plates used for what appeared to be shield material, as each were in the three-pointed shape of an old shield. And old stove was laying half-on a walking brace used for helping old ponies who had trouble walking.
And on top of all these mixed tangle of metal things, was the Element of Generosity. It was held high by the struts of an old foals playground, the paint chipped away to reveal rusting metal beneath.
Raindrop clambered up this haphazard pile, sending various objects bouncing down from the pile as she disturbed the weight distribution. And then, she had it! She quickly transferred the element from her hoof, to under her right wing. Very quickly, the element dimmed and turned a stony grey.
Unable to believe how lucky she had it so far, Raindrop leaped down off the pile and landed at a full gallop, speeding away from the horde with her prize clutched under her wing.
But that's where it all went wrong.
Sentinel was merely playing with the hydra now, juking between the trees and actually laughing as he dodged the angry behemoths ponderous attacks. It was like watching a sloth try to catch a fly. The hydra just wasn't too fast to catch the pegasus, even with all four heads vehemently trying to snatch him from the sky.
But his cockiness was his undoing.
Sentinel rolled over as he flew, and blew the hydra a kiss as he circled around a tree trunk, waving at the giant beast coquettishly.
The hydra snarled its anger at his insolence, and two of the heads tried to attack him at once.
Sentinel laughed, righting himself in the air and juking out of the way easily. But he didn't dodge the tree so easily.
The hydra's two heads smashed into the tree he had been circling around, causing it to tilt, its root system tearing out of the ground as it began to lean and tip. Another strike from a third head causing it to tear itself out of the ground and fall completely. Sentinel was too close to the tree, and as it fell, it struck him across the back, raking down his wings and spine with its spindly branches, like clawed hands tearing at him.
Feathers were torn from the pegasus' wings and he was dropped instantly, like a bird caught in a net, forced down by the weight of the tree. He slammed into the ground and rolled free under his own momentum, coming to a halt in a tangled mess of leaves, torn feathers, and mangled flight surfaces. He groaned and stirred faintly, his wings giving a feeble twitch. It didn't take a doctor to know that he wouldn't be flying on those wings any time soon.
The hydra roared in triumph, and began to circle around the fallen tree to get at the fallen pegasus, all four heads focused on him entirely, eager and ready for a meal.
Raindrop watched with wide, horrified eyes, looking from the scene in front of her, to the element under her wing, biting her lip. Everything in her told her to run away, to stay safe. She couldn't even fly, and that was a hydra.
But there was something in her that was stronger than her impulse to flee. With a heavy sigh, Raindrop set down the Element of Generosity, rolling it into the fork of a tree. The pegasus then turned on her heel, and began to sprint towards the hydra, her wings automatically flaring for balance against the wind. Her shoulder was still too sore to fly, and even running caused twinges in it, but she ignored it. It was time to save the guard. Again.
Raindrop skidded down a slope, catching a decent sized stone in a hoof as she skidded, and then landing neatly on all fours, spinning in place, using her momentum to hurl the stone in the general direction of the hydra.
Her aim was true, and the stone caught the back of one of the gigantic heads, bouncing off it.
The hydra paused in its attack on the unmoving Sentinel, and three of the heads slowly turned towards Raindrop, while the fourth whined and tried to snap at the form of the downed male pegasus, a few metres short of being to reach him, whining.
Raindrop stared up at the giant beast, swallowing hard. She hadn't thought that far ahead. All she had been trying to do was stop it from eating Sentinel, and now, it was focused on her. And she couldn't fly!
Raindrop backpedalled instantly, turning around and beginning to scramble up the slope she had finished sliding down, her mouth dry and her heart beating in her ears. She could hear the heavy thuds of the hydra's footsteps as it pursued her, and she could see, in her mind, the four heads eagerly stretching out to bite at her.
The ground began to tremble under Raindrop's feet as she ran, cresting the slope she had slid down and then rapidly bounding down the other side. A heavy grating sound echoed behind her, and she stole a glance back to see the hydra sliding down the slope after her!
One of the heads snapped at her, and she sidestepped, feeling the pressure wave of the jaws closing where she had been but a few moments before, her eyes widening at exactly how close it had been to sheering off her wings or just chomping her in half.
Unused to running in any setting, Raindrop realised instantly that the hydra was faster than her. Just running wasn't going to cut it. It would catch her and tear her to pieces before she managed to get into any substantial cover. So instead of running away, Raindrop turned and leaped at the hydra.
Confused at the sudden change in tact, two of the hydra's heads completely missed her with their clumsy bites, while the third head waited a few moments before attempting to catch her. Raindrop leaped as high as she could, and spread her wings on reflex, her hooves grazing across the side of one of the hydra's necks, the pegasus slipping between two of the long limbs in an attempt to confuse it.
Raindrop's plan worked, and the hydra was momentarily confused. To further the chaos, the third head that was waiting to attack her attempted to curl between the two necks of its fellow heads. The gap was too small though, and its teeth grazed against the two necks as it narrowly missed snapping closed on Raindrop's trailing tail.
A snarl rose from one of the heads as a long gash in its yellow hide became apparent, and it snapped at the head that had caused the damage, headbutting it bickeringly.
Raindrop, for her part, landed on the hydra's back, bounding down the length of it, hardly able to believe she was running on a living creature. The hydra snarled in anger as it realised that its prey was getting away, and turned, writhing in an attempt to twist around and snap at her once more.
Raindrop felt the motion underneath her, rolling like a ship in high seas, upsetting her balance. She resisted the urge to clamp down with her limbs to keep herself from falling off. A sudden impact caught across her breast, and she gasped, all the air leaving her body. The hydra's thick tail had whipped across her form as the lumbering creature turned, and the motion of the whippy limb sent the pegasus high into the air.
The world tilted crazily for Raindrop, and her wings spread automatically to catch the air, snapping taught to arrest her uncontrolled tumble through the air. A snarl of pain left the pegasus as the muscles in her shoulder were forced into action far too soon, the wound there making itself known with a vengeance. Automatically, Raindrop folded her wing to avoid the pain, and her fall turned into a tumble once more.
Baring her teeth, Raindrop spread her wing before she lost too much altitude, feeling a crunching bite coming down on the air where she had just been, as she began to glide painfully towards the ground, putting distance between her and the hydra.
Aching, piercing pain burned in her shoulder constantly, and she wanted to just fold her wing and drop to the ground in a heap, but she grit her teeth and fought through it. If she gave in to the pain, then she was going to end up a very small entré to four different mouths.
Raindrop hit the ground running, each step sending a jarring bolt of pain through her shoulder, making her bare her teeth, the pain most definitely clearing her head.
"Sentinel! Get up!" she called as she bounded at an angle away from where she had seen the pegasus go down. She hoped that he could hear her, but she had no idea if he was even conscious, or mobile. And she certainly didn't have the time to stop and ask questions.
Sprawled out in a few centimetres of murky water, Sentinel stirred fitfully, his wings giving an uncertain flex and flare. His brows twitched, and then his eyes blinked open, clouded with pain and possibly a mild concussion from his impact with the ground. The sounds of the hydra pounding after Raindrop seemed to echo from a long way away.
Raindrop was already panting hard from her exertions. Running was not high on a pegasi's 'to do' list, and generally speaking, on the ground, they were slower and had less endurance than even the unicorns. The price of wings, it seemed. The pegasus' breath was coming in harsh pants, and her hooves were getting heavy, harder to command.
Another crashing bite from the hydra almost caught her tail, and Raindrop stumbled slightly, almost losing her footing and ending up on the ground.
Raindrop could almost sense the next strike coming, and she backpedalled, skidding to a stop and throwing herself backwards. The hydra's bite slammed into the ground where she would have been had she not stopped so suddenly, and the next strike hit to the side of her, causing the entire ground to tremble underneath her.
The strikes seemed to stun the hydra, as two of its heads came back up from the ground looking distinctly dishevelled, stunned by their impacts. Instead of running away from it, Raindrop took the opportunity to duck between its forelegs, standing beneath it.
At first, the hydra was confused, apparently having lost track of her, before one of its heads dipped down to peek underneath itself, eyes narrowing evilly at her. A large foot lifted, shifted, and then began to come down on top of her. Raindrop leapt to the side, and the crashing blow hit bare earth instead, vibrating the earth underneath her. A second and third strike were dodged like this before the hydra tired of the new 'game'.
Another head curled down on the opposite side, and the remaining two shifted to come from the front, boxing her in, leaving her with only place to go: backwards.
Raindrop turned to run that way, finding that the hydra had hiked its tail up slightly, as though offering her a route of escape. But she saw it for what it really was: a trap. As soon as she tried to exit that way, the tail would come down, and weight of it would crush her.
Raindrop bit her bottom lip, looking left and right. Four heads stared at her. Eight unblinking eyes watched her. It knew it had her, but it was toying with her now, exulting in its victory.
A muted shout echoed from the other side of the hydra's form, and the large beast seemed to pause a moment, one of its heads lifting and curling away to peer down at the second pegasus.
Sentinel was back on his feet, limping towards the hydra. His right front leg was cocked in front of him, and he wasn't putting any weight on it. His wings were bedraggled, and trailed on the ground at his sides, seemingly unable to close properly. His form was streaked with mud, leaves, and clods of dirt, and, in one spot, blood. He was beaten. But he was still hobbling after the hydra, calling out to it in angry, challenging tone of voice.
"Come and eat you, you oversized lizard! I got one leg for each of your ugly mouths!" he was calling, completely fearless.
Raindrop looked left, at the head there, and then down at her hooves. The fourth head had moved, but three of them still watched her, making sure she didn't go anywhere.
She looked up again, gauging the distance, and then flicked her hoof, lifting a generous amount of sand with the flick, sending it directly into the hydra's eyes. the head she hit with the sand recoiled, and Raindrop slipped out through the gap she created, lended a second wind by pure adrenaline, bounding away down the slope towards Sentinel while the hydra roared its fury at being duped and gave chase.
Raindrop intercepted Sentinel halfway up the slope, skidding past him. The guard didn't even pay her any attention, continuing to hobble towards the hydra resolutely.
"What are you doing?!" Raindrop screeched as the heavy thuds of the hydra's footfalls grew closer and closer, and a roar rattled their eardrums.
"Run," Sentinel said urgently, waving a hoof at her to entreat her to run. "I'm not going anywhere."
Raindrop scowled, gripping his tail in a hoof and tugging at it. "Run you stubborn mule! We're going to be eaten!"
Sentinel frowned at her as the shadow of the hydra fell over them, and he harrumphed at her. "So...I'm going to get eaten and you're not even going to get away? Typical female."
Raindrop gave an exasperated sigh, "This is hardly the time or place!"
Sentinel looked up at the hydra, and the hydra stared back, all four heads watching the two pegasus. A slimy tongue slipped from one of its mouths, licking across its teeth, savouring the moment.
And then, the hydra paused. It realised its prey was no longer looking at it, but rather, past it.
One of the heads turned, and that single head had time to register that there was a massive spire of rock levitating above it, before the rock swung down and smashed across four heads in a single massive swipe.
The heavy body of the hydra keeled over sideways, ponderously tipping until it crashed to the earth with a resounding thud, unconscious. Sentinel and Raindrop could only stare.
The large spire of rock was carefully set down with a touch of magic at the top of a hill, and a figure appeared. A white unicorn with a flowing black mane rolled a rock up to the side of the giant spire she placed there, and then nudged the rock once or twice, making sure it was just so, before heading back down the hill, apparently talking to herself.
"That just happened, didn't it?" Sentinel asked blankly.
"Eeyup," Raindrop replied, looking from the fallen hydra to the strangely placed rock. She then peered down at her shoulder, and winced slightly. Blood was seeping through her bandages from her stab wound. Sometime during her headlong run, she had managed to reopen the wound. Mud and dirty water caked her bandages, and she was suddenly wary of an infection.
Sentinel gave a low groan, and then slumped, just splaying out flat on his stomach. "I wish that thing ate me. I hurt all over."
"Oh shut up," Raindrop scowled, beginning to stumble her way towards where she had left the Element of Generosity. The unicorn had already faded from view, lost to the trees. Raindrop was certain she'd be able to find out who it was, though, as she had a very distinctive look to her.
Sentinel groaned and pulled himself to his feet to follow after her, limping heavily.
"You know, I was all set to be the hero, too. And there you went crashing my parade and not running away," Sentinel stated flatly.
"Yeah, and then you'd be eaten. I'd surely die of regret if that was to happen," Raindrop rebuked flatly.
"I would be eaten and I would not care," Sentinel said in an offhand way.
Raindrop slid over the element and pulled it up, hiding it under her wing again and then turning to him, smiling weakly. "Well, we got the element."
"And injured. Don't forget injured," Sentinel interjected.
"And injured," Raindrop agreed, nodding once and then prodding at her bandages, frowning. "Can you walk like that?"
Sentinel stared at her for a long moment, and then shook his head sadly. "Nope, sorry. Can't do it. I'll just have to levitate back to Ponyville like I did to get over here."
"Looking for more injuries?" Raindrop asked flatly, glowering at him.
"Can it wait until after we're a long, long way away from that thing?" Sentinel asked, pointing at the hydra.
"Agreed," Raindrop conceded, turning and starting up the hill towards where Sentinel had left his armor. "You don't happen to know that unicorn, do you?"
Sentinel shook his head, and then raised a brow at her. "What makes you think I would?"
"She seemed...to be a very crazy pony. I can't picture you hanging out with a normal pony," Raindrop said with a shake of her head.
"I find it amusing that you say this to me while in my company," Sentinel replied instantly.
Raindrop just glowered at him, before adding threateningly "You know...I owe you a black eye."
"Owe me?" He asked, perking an ear at her. "Are we keeping a tally now?"
"Well if you keep getting injured 'in the line of duty', then we're going to need an IOU system for all the times you piss me off when you're too injured me to inflict grievous bodily harm upon you," Raindrop pointed out, raising a brow at him.
The guard rolled his eyes, pausing, and then beginning to gingerly slide his armor on. "I'm sorry that my constant state of injury is inconveniencing your violent nature. Your boyfriend must be in a constant state of concussion."
"Actually, I tend not to hit him," Raindrop said with a shrug.
Sentinel slipped on his helmet, and then hobbled over to her, gingerly patting her shoulder with a hoof. "Don't worry. I bring out the best in ponies."
"You bring out my violent streak," Raindrop reminded him with a scowl.
"And how is that a bad thing?" Sentinel asked, as he turned and began to limp back down the hill and towards the Everfree forest.
"You're usually on the receiving end of my violent streak," Raindrop protested.
"And I'm not complaining," Sentinel stated, looking at her over his shoulder.
Raindrop sighed, shaking her head. "You're a glutton for punishment, aren't you?"
Sentinel raised a brow, pausing and then glancing over himself suggestively. "I just took on a hydra. And I was laughing...at the start at least. What do you think?"
"I think you're borderline psychotic," Raindrop responded, shaking her head at him again.
"We're on the same page then," Sentinel said with a grin. He was watching Raindrop, and so he didn't see the carefully-placed stone in his path that rolled underhoof. Thankfully, it didn't strain anything in his good leg, but it did off-balance him enough that he ended up sidestepped clumsily, ending up nose-to-nose with Raindrop.
The two of them paused like that, unsure, neither of them really willing to break the sudden awkward silence.
Sentinel was the first to make a movement though, and he leaned in to place a kiss directly on the end of her muzzle.
Raindrop blinked slowly, stunned by the sudden motion, her eyes wide.
Sentinel drew back after a second, and then inclined his head. "Thanks for, you know, trying to make me not die."
And then the guard continued to limp down the path towards Ponyville as though nothing had happened, leaving a red-faced, confused Raindrop in his wake.