The Accursed Journey [Crossover RP] [OPEN]

[Partheus]

The Mistress looked down on Partheus, laughing menacingly. "Do you really think you're going to put up a good fight in your condition against me? I'll crush your body into pieces and throw you to the wolves!" The Mistress channelled the red lightning into her arm, and pointed the palm of her hand at Partheus' head. Her palm started to crackle with red lightning, and a ball of energy began to pool in the middle of her palm. "Say your prayers, fool!"

Suddenly, Newsworthy charged in and sliced at the Mistress' palm, cutting through the ball of energy and into the palm itself. He flew down besides Partheus, spread his wings out, and raised his shield. The Mistress grabbed her cut palm, blood seeping through her clenched fist. "Agh... Y-you runt! How dare you strike your new queen?" The Mistress held out her other palm, pointed it at both Partheus and Newsworthy, and began to channel energy into it. "You two will be the first traitors to die by my hand as the new ruler of Equestria!"

[SilverSwirl]

Slade turned at the voice and saw the mistress at last. He could see the impending attack and like a bolt of greased lightning, seemed to materialize in front of her, red eyes blazing behind the mask, blood dripping from it as he raised his Guisarme to the sky. "Take me on for size. I am the one who's been capturing your followers in the forest as well. I am the one they have been whispering about in the night, 'The black demon'.". He laughed as he lowered the Guisarme and grabbed Partheus with one arm and threw his last smoke pellet in front of him.

[Partheus]

The Mistress covered her eyes as the smoke engulfed the area surrounding her. "Get back here you coward!" The Mistress then began to blindly fire bolts of red lightning in random directions with her uninjured hand, blowing sizeable holes out of the walls, ceilings, and the statue of herself. The resulting rubble blocked off most of the alcoves and hallways in the main chamber, leaving only the hall leading to the elevator to the Mistress' chamber untouched. The rocks that littered the ground fizzled with red lightning, conducting and converging their charges with one another.

* * *

Before Partheus knew where he was, he was in the grasp of a man clad in black, who was holding a sword in his other hand and running at a considerable pace through the main chamber. "Where's Newsworthy? Did he make it out alive?"

[SilverSwirl]

Slade looked at Partheus as he evaded the lightning bolts and falling rubble. He didn't look to good as he first replied to the Mistress, "You'll have to find me first! I am a shadow in the night, silent and deadly!". "Newsworthy will be just fine if he takes advantage of the smokescreen. He may even use it to his advantage and strike back for you. I must get you to safety, Fluttershy is waiting for you. You can count on me to keep you safe.", Slade said with a friendly smile to Partheus.

Still moving quickly, he saw that their only avenue of movement was the elevator, "Not exactly the best of situations but I have been in worse!", he shouted as he sheathed the Guisarme and holding Partheus tightly, leaped towards the elevator. Turning in midair, he went into a state of extreme focus as everything slowed for him and with great precision launched an incredible volley of shuriken and kunai at the remaining guards and at the Mistress through the thinning smoke. "Everypony! To the elevator!", he shouted as he landed on the elevator.

After all that, he finally said, "The name is Slade by the way. Thought you might like to know it, just in case we get out of here.". He then went into a crouch, hands loaded with caltrops and senbon.

[DustyCharm]

Xeno had his work cut out for him; dodging the ponies that had followed him. Elluding them was easier than he thought; turning a corner and quickly changing into one of them. He managed to sneek away as they started to go at each other's throats trying to find out who was Xeno. Unfortunately the sudden change put a toll on his fragile head. His disguise dropping as he made his way back, crawling almost under the weight of a debilitating migraine. Flying and instinctively going up for safety.

Xeno came back to his senses when explosions shook the whole complex. It was loud and by the sound of it several tunnels and passages collapsed. Xeno looking around at his surroundings; laying behind what looked like a throne in a chamber. Looks like he had escaped his pursuers only to loose himself.

[Partheus]

As the smokescreen died down around the Mistress, she rubbed her eye with her uninjured hand. I'll get that coward for doing that, she thought. Suddenly, a cluster of shuriken and kunai flew through the remaining smoke and towards the Mistress. With only a split second to react, she raised her good hand and stopped them with a telekinesis spell. The caught objects floated in the air for a few seconds before dropping to the floor with a crescendo of clanging metal. "I possess power beyond anything you mortals could even comprehend! What makes you think a few knives are going to stop me?"

* * *

"Greetings, Slade. I've been in Ponyville for just over a week now, so meeting a human is very refreshing, even in these dire circumstances." Partheus picked himself up, having regained just enough strength to stand on his own two feet. "I assume you know my name and mission from talking to Newsworthy, yes?"

[NeilWacaster]

With the smoke billowing around him, Newsworthy again jumped back to regain visibility. He saw with horror the bursts of red lightning spewing forth from the cloud in all directions. However, their effects were much more deadly than the bolts themselves. He narrowly missed being crushed by a huge stalactite which fell from the ceiling. Splinters of the exploding rock cut into his flesh. He cowered, covering his head with the shield, praying that this wasn't his last breath.

He peered from under the shield and saw Partheus and Slade running for their lives. This left him to face the most powerful force of evil in Equestria.

Alone.

But then, the ninja turned and began flinging throwing knives back at the Mistress. She had her back turned to the reporter, and her attention was diverted. Newsworthy knew what he had to do.

Jumping into the air, he dove at her. A few of the shuriken and kunai stuck in his shield, but did not impede him. He brandished the sword, aiming the point directly at her heart.

[MarchingHammers]

The human that was knocked out by the buck to the face roused a few moments later with a splitting headache. He got up, noticing everyone running away, including the ninja. A human female was attacking the one pony he knew that he could trust, and he got up with his rifle and pistol. He limped ever slowly towards her, popping shots off accurately at her head. He hoped that one of the 3 bullets he fired would strike true, as he made this last ditch effort to save the pony, although his actions probably just cost him his life.

[SilverSwirl]

Slade looked at Partheus and replied, "Yes, I gathered as much from when I was observing them from the trees as you were carried away.". He gave a smile that faded as he saw the other masked human moving forward and taking potshots at the mistress. "He's gonna get himself killed... I wounded him by accident.". He took a second look as he saw Newsworthy going for the heart with his sword and pointed with one hand as he threw a flurry of senbon at the Mistress. "See! I knew he'd take advantage of that! I hope he strikes true... if not, I can take up the slack and finish the job.", he said to Partheus as his smile returned and his eyes seemed to shift to a more muted rust color.

He closed his eyes, and held his Guisarme to the sky as he shouted, "Katon!" and brought it down in a fluid motion so it rested on his forearm held in front of his chest. Bowing his head and forming a strange sign with his hand, 4 large pillars of flame materialized and seemed to pass across the mistress, missing Newsworthy and the advancing alchemist. Panting, he said, "I just gave a helping hand with my ninpo, or ninja magic. It's powered by Chi and Ki the powers of the mind and body.". He hoped that would be enough, as after all that, he was getting pretty winded.

[Partheus]

Just as the Mistress laid down the stray kunai and shuriken, she felt a few foreign objects whiz past her head. She turned around to see a human brandishing strange projectile weapons at her. "I see technology has advanced since my days in Hominopolis. No matter, just more fools to the slaughter!" She caught one of the objects midair with a spell, and turned it around to face the human. "Now, for a practical demonstration of why magic will always surpass technology!" She laughed as she began to rifle the object faster and faster.

As she was preparing to fire the object back at the human, Newsworthy charged at the Mistress, pointing his sword at her heart. The Mistress turned the object towards Newsworthy, and launched it at him, creating a loud bang that resonated throughout the chamber. It refracted off his shield and knocked him off his flight path, the object embedding itself into a wall. The Mistress lifted her hand to blast Newsworthy with a bolt, but four pillars of fire rushed towards the three of them and passed through her, diffusing the energy pool in her hand. "Gragh! Pathetic parlour tricks. You do realise you're only delaying the inevitable, you dirty snake!"

* * *

Partheus observed Slade as he cast his spell. "I recognise the garments you wear. You're a Shinobi, right? Some of the best scouts this side of Eden." He straightened himself up and dusted off his ragged medical gown. "Perhaps you could teach me a thing or two? I'm a messenger, so I spend most of my time in the wild living off the fat of the land. I'm sure a man of your calibre knows a few useful techniques to aid oneself in the wilderness, correct?"

[SilverSwirl]

Slade ignored the mistress' comment, but smiled at the results. Looking back at Partheus, he replied, "You are correct. I am a shinobi. In fact, I am one of the best that have ever lived, according to Hominopolis records." Pondering Partheus' request, he answered with a grin, "I can teach you some basic skills, but it depends upon Fluttershy's decision. But now I must focus on the Mistress.". He then handed Partheus a strange pill, "Swallow that and you'll recover your stamina. I always pack them with me on missions and my mission is to take her out!", he said as he swallowed one himself.

Feeling the energy surge almost immediately from the medicine, Slade laughed and said to the mistress, "I'm waiting...". He took one last look at Partheus and said, "when you feel ready, seize the moment and don't hesitate to use your power within.". Leaping from shadow to shadow, he approached the mistress as he yelled out "Raijin!" and a cloud appeared over the mistress' head and delivered several bolts of lightning that struck through the magical field around the mistress, electrocuting her.

[Partheus]

The Mistress was bombarded by lightning bolts, electrocuting her, which kicked up considerable amounts of dust in the process. When the dust settled, the Mistress was stood maintaining a protective spell around her, slightly singed from the electrocution. "Ah, I can see why you have been reluctant to fight me head on. You're weak! If that is the best you have to offer, I am terribly disappointed!" The Mistress then thrust her arm into the air. "Now, let me show you REAL magic!"

The Mistress began to whirl her arm above her head, while channelling energy into it at the same time. After a moments charging, a strange wind began to blow around the Mistress. Soon, a mighty tornado engulfed the Mistress, sparking with red lightning. The power of the tornado picked the rubble off the ground and hurled it around the chamber, tearing off parts of the walls, and lifting parts of the floor up into the air. The tornado soon glowed red, a tempest of unbridled rage. The Mistress ceased to whirl her arm, and simply pointed her finger at Slade. The tornado then started to move in Slade's direction, tearing up the ground in its wake.

* * *

Partheus took the pill, and swallowed it. He immediately felt his strength return to him, and was ready to fight. He saw the tornado come towards Slade, and saw the Mistress pointing her finger at him. This is it, he thought. He crouched into a power stance and began to recount everything the Mistress had done to him so far. His capture and imprisonment, the beating and torture he received, the insidious scheme that she set up just to absorb his power, the malign hooded unicorn she sent to him to get him angry in the first place, and all of the horrors she would commit if he let her get away.

While he was doing this, he began to radiate with red lightning, shaking the very edifice of the sanctuary. The colour in his eyes had completely gone; he was generating far more power than he was before. The red lightning forked out from him, intertwining with one another, forming a white-hot dome of pure electrical energy around Partheus. As the dome grew, he clenched his fists until his hands bled, gritted his teeth until his gums bled, and with everything he had, he pushed outwards with his arms.

The resulting shockwave was so great, the ceiling was blown away completely, revealing the moonlight that shone down on the sanctuary. The statue was obliterated by the blast, shattering the chiselled stone into nothing more than dust. The ground on which Partheus was standing was now a crater, alive with red lightning. Partheus himself was virtually unrecognisable; a glowing red figure with eyes that burned with uncontrollable rage. "I... will... end you!"

[SilverSwirl]

Slade watched as the mistress channeled a tornado with red lightning coming out of it and sent it in his direction. He sighed, so this was to be his first and last failed mission of his life? He wasn't gonna let her off that easy. He was distracted by Partheus unleashing a massive shockwave that tore the roof off. "I need to teach him all I know. He would put it to good use.", he said to himself as the tornado engulfed him. "AAAARGGHHH!!!", he shouted as the tornado buffeted him and he was hit with debris before being launched straight up into the air.

[NeilWacaster]

After being knocked off course by the MIstress, Newsworthy was barely able to keep himself from being dashed to pieces on the ground. Fortunately, he was able to crash-land with only minor injury. He opened his eyes to see that he was lying just feet away from her. Her palm glowed with magical energy as she prepared to wipe him from existence.

So this is what it is like to die. Huh. Never thought I'd be leaving this world today. There's so much that I left undone ...

In an instant, she was engulfed by flame and the death blow was averted, at least for a moment. His body was screaming at him, but adrenaline and desperation drove him. He leapt back into the air. He knew it was madness, but he had to try once more. He readied himself for a deadly dive.

But just then, he was knocked out of the air by a massive blast of energy emanating from Partheus' person. He tried to fly, but it was as if his wings had been severed. Panic overcame him as he dropped like a stone.

[SilverSwirl]

Recovering in midair, Slade's eyes shifted again to a piercing crimson color as he said, "You think you can kill me that easily? You may have scratched me up a little but now you will witness my true powers!". Behind the horned mask, he smiled as he closed is eyes and meditated in mid freefall as an energy field built around him. The field was jet black, obscuring his body as he reopened his eyes and his piercing gaze peered from within.

Slade unsheathed the Guisarme and cut his body, letting his blood drip onto a scroll, activating the scroll. The jet black energy field vanished as Slade shouted, "You will die! I will not let you live, even if it means I must die too!". As he fell he threw his giant windmill shrunken at the mistress but he had learned from his previous attempt and it had a letterbomb attached to it, fuse lit.

[MarchingHammers]

The man who was shooting his rifle was soon knocked back by the energy blast from Partheus. His alchemical mask had it's goggles cracked and it obscured his vision. He took off his mask, revealing his face. He had wrinkles on his face, signifying some age, but otherwise he acted like a much younger version of himself. "His raw power, isht, horrifying." He saw the Blue pony crash next to him, his sword flying and skimming his leg, putting a cut in it. He looked at his rifle, which was destroyed, and he picked up the pony in his two arms, looking down at him. "Mein klein pony, schwee have to get out of here..." He held the pony tight, carrying him up to a hole in the destroyed rock. It was large enough for the pony to fit through, but too big for him to get through. He pushed the pony through, and looked at him through the hole. "Go, get out of here pony. You haff unt life ahead of you. Go to mein lab. If I don't make it back, it is all yours. Now go!" He said turning around and pulling out his pistol.

[Partheus]

The Mistress laughed manically as the tornado hit Slade. "Now do you see the real might of the one true queen of Equestria?" However, as the storm intensified and lifted Slade into the air, he started to glow with a black aura, and threw a large windmill shuriken at the Mistress. The Mistress laughed even harder. "Oh, this again? What a fool!" She held her hand out to stop the large windmill shuriken, halting it a few feet away from her. But, as she was going to let it drop, it exploded, causing a puff of smoke and shrapnel to fly in all directions. Some of the shrapnel grazed her body and legs, wounding her slightly. "Ungh! You wretched little trickster! I'll end this!" She lifted her hand once more to charge a bolt to obliterate Slade. As she went to fire, Partheus appeared in front of her, obscuring her vision of Slade, firing right into him. The bolt dissipated into the pure red aura of Partheus, seemingly not affecting him at all.

"You... will not... get away... with what you have done!" Partheus grabbed the Mistress' hand, and slowly started to crush it as he did to Ross. The Mistress tried to free herself, blasting bolts into Partheus' face, but they had no effect on him either. As her hand was getting mangled by Partheus' grip, she focused her energy all around her body, and with a small pop, teleported away. Partheus looked around, his eyes shifting around the chamber as if he was tracking the movement of an impossibly fast object. "I said you will not get away!" His eyes glowed red, then a vortex of red energy shot out of them, accompanied by a sudden gust of wind, creating a hole in a seemingly random location on one of the damaged walls. When the dust settled, it revealed a cowering and dirty Mistress hiding behind some small rocks in the wall.

"H-how did you regain your power so fast?" Partheus smiled maliciously. "I did lots of push-ups and sit-ups, and drank plenty of juice. You should try it some time." The Mistress groaned, clenching her fists. "You... DARE mock me?!" She charged up and fired an extra large bolt at Partheus' head, spearing through the chamber at unobservable speeds. It scored a direct hit, causing a flash of white light obscuring most of the chamber. When the light died down, Partheus was still stood there, holding the bolt in his right hand as if it were a partisan. The Mistress stood there, agape at what she was seeing. "What?! Th-that's impossible!" Partheus held out the bolt with both hands and snapped it in half over his knee, discarding the broken halves onto the floor and watching them harmlessly fizzle into nothingness. "Yes, I dare..."

[SilverSwirl]

Slade landed with a roll, and was quite amazed at Partheus' power. He laughed as the mistress cowered and laughed even more as she attempted to wipe Partheus out with another bolt but fail completely. "You are out of your league, Mistress. You are no match for his power and my Shinobi training.", Slade said coolly as more of his blood dripped onto the scroll, powering up his black aura till it was like a black hole, sucking in the light of the room, leaving it pitch black. The only things that could be seen were Partheus and Slades eyes.

Looking over at Partheus, he said, "You are very powerful indeed. Perhaps even more powerful than me.". In the pitch darkness, Slades eyes glowed a demonic red as he unsheathed the Guisarme and shouted "Mijin!" as he charged the mistress and thrust it into the ground, a concussive explosion wave of Chi erupted from the katana and his body, spattering more of his own blood onto the walls. The mistress was hurled backward by the blast into one of the walls, his blood staining her face.

Slade collapsed, the aura gone and the light returning to the room. He was bleeding from his chest and arm as he looked at the mistress with the eyes of a man who seemed to be dying and said, "If I die, I died an honorable death according to Bushido and you cannot take that from me. Partheus will end you.". He smiled behind the mask, his eyes their natural color as he looked up at the stars.

[Partheus]

The Mistress wiped Slade's blood off her face and picked herself up after being knocked back into the wall, barely able to stand at all. She saw Slade's body resting on the ground in front of her. "An impressive attack. I've been DYING to see his full potential!" The Mistress laughed out loud at Slade's corpse. Partheus stood where he was, trembling. He was a noble fighter, he thought. One of the greatest acts of honour I have ever seen, and she mocks it as if it's some minor incident! That witch! How DARE she? What would she know about honour? All she does is send her lackeys to fight her battles, while gaining power without lifting a finger. She has rested on her laurels for far too long! Time to give her my all!

Partheus raised his hands to the sky, and began to charge energy upwards. A ball of red energy, as pure as his aura, formed above his head. Forks of lightning struck out at the walls from Partheus. The ground was shaking violently, and what was left of the ceiling was starting to crumble. Soon, the ball was larger than Partheus was, at least fifty feet in diameter. The Mistress stood there and watched in horror, unable to move due to how weak she was, as the room was consumed by the red hue radiating from the ball. Partheus suddenly jumped up into the air, carrying the ball with him. "This is for Slade! EEEAAGGHH!" He slammed the ball towards the Mistress. She held out her hand to stop the ball from coming towards her, but it was no use. The ball pushed her into the floor as it drew nearer. The Mistress gave one last confused yelp, before being completely overwhelmed by the ball, embedding itself into the floor of the sanctuary.

Partheus landed on the floor, searching for survivors. "Everybody who is still alive, get out of here now! This place is going to explode in five minu-" Suddenly, he slumped to the floor, the red aura disappearing from his person. His last image was of Slade lying there in a pool of his own blood, staring up at the stars, before slipping into the realm of dreams...

[SilverSwirl]

(He wasn't dead, he was faking it!)

Slade groaned, and managed to stand, leaning on his katana for support, as he saw Partheus unconscious on the ground. He had heard the attack and had felt the tremors. Not wasting any time, even in his seriously wounded condition, he lifted Partheus onto his back and chewed another capsule, this one a yellow color, the one he had saved for when things were at their most dire. He felt his wounds healing and closing up. "Partheus, I'll make sure to get you out alive.", he whispered as he began to run and leap onto a wall, and began to carefully climb the wall towards the open ceiling. "

[Partheus]

Meanwhile, in an unknown location...

Partheus was pacing up and down a white hallway, gilded with golden trimmings and decorated with various pictures in ebony frames. Red carpets were draped over the walls, depicting murals and symbols that Partheus remembers from his past. He was wandering within a map of his mind; a collection of his every experience, memory, and emotion, preserved and presented in the white hallway. He came to a stop in front of a picture of a large stone keep in the middle of a snowy wasteland. "Ah, Fort Sturmghast. I remember staying there a while a few years ago. Horrible place. Too cold for my liking."

Two hours had elapsed since he fell unconscious. He woke up inside the hallway, not knowing if he was successful or not in his escape in the sanctuary, and after inspecting the pictures in greater detail, he pieced together that the hallway contained his every memory, experience, emotion, and thought. He didn't know how he got where he was, nor did he know if he could get out of it. All Partheus could do was walk around and take a look back on his life so far.

While chuckling at a picture of the infamous wet towel incident with Commander Xiu (the details of which the author has tastefully decided to leave out), Partheus noticed a narrow, dimly lit passage forking from the main hallway. He wandered down it, not knowing what could possibly be in store for him. As he made his way through the dimly lit narrow hallway, Partheus could see a red hue emanating from the end of the hallway, around a corner. He drew nearer and nearer with each step, feeling a slight breeze on his face. He knew that whatever was behind the corner, it was something of importance.

As he made his way around the corner, Partheus found himself in a spherical chamber, with a walkway leading from where he was standing to a central platform, where a small child was holding a red ball of energy, similar to the one Partheus used to defeat the Mistress. He approached the small child, cautiously stepping towards him, just in case the ball of energy exploded in his face. "What are you doing here, boy?" The small boy lifted his head, his eyes surrounded by circles of sleep. "I am you, sir. Don't you recognise me?"

Partheus stood back, and thought back to his youth. The boy was right; whoever he was, he looked just like how Partheus used to look when he was a boy. He had dark brown hair, naturally unkempt, with deep blue eyes and a rounded face. He was wearing a slightly torn white jacket, ragged brown trousers, and loosely fitting black leather boots. The jacket bore the insignia of the Human League on its right sleeve, and the trousers had the same insignia on the right pocket, though it was considerably more tarnished than the one on the boy's jacket.

"Why are you holding that ball?" The small boy rubbed his eyes with his right hand, causing the ball of energy to wobble and rotate slightly, before returning his hand to steady the ball. "I have to, sir. It's where you draw your strength from, and it's where I drew my strength from..." Partheus thought back to the portraits he saw earlier. Whenever I was confronted by others, he thought, I relied on my anger to deal with them, beating them senseless, and saying senseless things to hurt their feelings. Now I realise that I was causing more problems for myself than I was solving them, as well as damaging myself from the inside outwards, creating an evil power within me that has plagued my conscience ever since. When I arrived in Equestria, for reasons unknown, that evil power manifested itself physically, and now that I have unleashed it, it has broken my mind and body.

Partheus looked up at the ball of energy, spitting and crackling as the small boy grew increasingly exhausted trying to hold the ball upright. I know what I must do, he thought. I must replace my anger with another feeling, something stronger and more stable. But what? Happiness has no place on the battlefield, as with sadness. Fear will only reduce me to a coward, and pleasure would turn me into a sadistic monster. What feeling could possibly provide the required power to match or even surpass anger? What does Twilight and her frie-

He suddenly jerked upright, and slapped his forehead in a sudden state of eureka. "Of course! They all rely on their friendship to give them strength! That's why Twilight is so eager to befriend me! That's why Celestia wants me to travel in the Everfree to train for Fluttershy! That why-" "Why are you talking to yourself?" Partheus looked down at the small boy, who was looking back at him confusedly. Suddenly, the small boy collapsed to his knees, and the ball began to churn and violently sputter in his hands. "Make it stop... Please..." Partheus put his hands up in the air, and cleared his mind. He thought of Twilight, and her friends, and how it made him feel to be around them.

A ball of white energy formed in his hand, though not as large as the red ball of energy. As he thought to his brief encounters with Twilight's friends, the ball grew, and once he had exhausted all of his memories, the white ball of energy was only about half the size of the red ball of energy. It's worth a shot, he thought. "Here goes! HYYAAHH!" He plunged the white ball of energy into the red one, sinking into the centre of the red ball of energy, causing the red ball to momentarily turn white, before a flash of white light consumed Partheus, the small boy, and the spherical chamber...

[NeilWacaster]

Pain. There was nothing but pain. It consumed his mind, consumed his soul.

He heard voices around him. They seemed to be familiar, for some reason.

" ... appears to be breathing more regularly now, thank Celestia."

"These adventurers will soon be well. I'm sure they have a great tale to tell."

"No kidding! I, for one, can't wait to hear about everything that happened. Especially from the human who was using those mega-spells. I've never seen such destruction."

Opening his eyes, Newsworthy squinted, trying to clear his vision. The sparse light from a few candles revealed that he was in Zecora's cottage. He recognized several of the other people and ponies who had fought in the battle. The more seriously wounded members, like himself, were lying on mossy makeshift cots. The zebra was administering some type of salve on the alchemist's wounds, and Twilight Sparkle appeared to be using a healing spell on Partheus. His unconscious form was bathed in a pink glow as the unicorn tried to repair his injuries.

Looking down at himself, Newsworthy saw he too had been cared for. Most of his body was wrapped bandages, some of them bloody. A splint held his left foreleg still, and a large bag of ice was propped against his head. A sudden wave of pain swept over him, and he couldn't keep from groaning pitifully.

Twilight glanced over. "Oh! Newsworthy! You're awake! Praise the merciful Sun Goddess. Hold tight, I'll be right there."

After another minute, the glow faded around Partheus. "That's all I can do for him for now." She looked down at him, sadly. "I just hope that he wakes up soon. If not ..."

She shook her head, trotting over to where Newsworthy lay. "Well, hello, Mister Misadventure. What in the world did you do to yourself?"

The blue pegasus managed a slight grin. "Oh, you know me. Anywhere there's news, I have to be there. But I'm not usually part of the story." His expression turned grave. "Is everypony going to be alright?"

Twilight looked a little doubtful. "I don't know. You, Partheus and that human with the gas mask are the ones I'm really concerned about. I don't think any of you are in mortal danger any longer, but that blasted messenger still has me worried. Earlier, he was so weak that he was barely even breathing. And you ..." She sighed deeply. "I have no idea how you managed to get so many rocks embedded in you, but Zecora spent most of the night picking them out. I did my best to heal your wounds after she finished, but magic can only do so much. The fact still remains that you've lost a lot of blood, and the tissue damage is extensive. You and several of the others are going to need more expert care from the hospital ponies once we can get you back to Ponyville."

Newsworthy tried to nod, but it was too painful. "I see," he said. "How did you find us? And how did you get us back here?"

She looked down at him, smiling. "I've only heard bits and pieces of what happened, but apparently that Partheus is even more powerful than I thought. Something that he did made a giant mushroom cloud of red magic. The only time such things have happened in Equestria before have been mega-spells during war time. I saw the explosion from my window, and feared that we were being attacked, so I ran into the forest to try to stop the invaders. It was a small matter to find where the explosion had happened."

Newsworthy looked quizzical. "Did you use some type of navigation spell?"

"No, silly," the unicorn laughed, "I used a compass. On the way, I met that ninja, who was carrying Partheus. They both were in really bad shape, but he was at least able to assure me that we weren't being invaded, and tell me where the rest of you were. I cleared a path through the landslide with magic, and we all made our way back here. You and your alchemist friend I had to levitate, but the rest could come on their own."

Zecora briskly walked over to join the conversation. "A pony as smart as you should know, that too much talk makes healing slow."

Twilight blushed. "I'm sorry, Zecora. I was so happy that Newsworthy finally woke up that I just chattered away like a little school filly." She turned back to him. "She's right, you need to try to get some more sleep."

The zebra held up a small ceramic bottle. " 'Painless Slumber' is the name of this drink. It is just the thing you need, I think."

She poured the vile brew down his throat. Almost immediately, his pain faded away, and his mind was overwhelmed by a pressing drowsiness. He passed into drugged, disturbed dreams.

[SilverSwirl]

Slade mumbled on his sleep, "Mission...accomplished...". Despite the yellow pill he had taken, he was still badly injured from the encounter with the mistress. He had lost quite a bit of blood, enough to have been lethal but somehow that yellow capsule had healed him enough to keep him from dying but not enough to prevent a stay at Zecora's cottage. He opened his eyes at the voices and sat up, looking at Twilight Sparkle talking to Newsworthy who appeared to have awakened for a moment before being given a potion to sleep again. "(uuuhn) I survived? Is Partheus alright?", he asked the purple unicorn and zebra. He was in a lot of pain from cutting himself and being in a magical tornado. "My name is Slade, but you probably knew that, Miss Twilight Sparkle and Miss Zecora.", he said as he lay back down on the bed, totally spent.

[MarchingHammers]

The human slowly roused from his unconcious state. The last thing her remembered was getting Newsworthy the blue pony out of the cave and getting caught in a magical blast. Looking around, he noticed a familiar place....Zecora the Zebra's cottage. He noted an imense pain coming from his chest, and over most of his body. The burns that he sustained from the blast had turned his normally brown leather armoured clothing into a shriveled black and burnt pieces. Luckily, the burns were not so bad on his body. His chest however, had sustained very heavy bleeding from the friendly fire sustained.

He looked over and saw Zecora tending to Newsworthy along with a Pony he had never seen before. "Hello liebe....I am schorry to be such unt burden to you..." He said directed towards Zecora. Him and Zecora seemed to have quite a history. They were actually good friends it seemed, as they both lived in the everfree and shared a somewhat similar profession. In reality, he had known her for a very long time as a friend and colleague. They shared an almost brotherly and sisterly bond that was immediately apparent if they were found together.

[Partheus]

Partheus bolted up from his prone position. "-tes, so everyone head for the hole in the ceiling as fast as-" He looked around to see he was in a candlelit hut, with Twilight Sparkle and a hooded zebra frozen on the spot, looking at him while tending to the wounds of everyone involved in the battle with the Mistress. "Uhh, never mind..." Partheus looked at the hooded zebra, eyeing her suspiciously. What is it with me and candlelit chambers with hooded nurses in them, Partheus thought as he rubbed his forehead, laying his head back onto the mercifully soft stretcher he was lying on. He was bruised slightly, and his bones ached, as if there was an army of tiny people inside his body mining a quarry in his bone marrow.

Partheus checked the hut to see if there were any Forest Dwellers standing guard. To his surprise, there were none. He looked at the hooded zebra again, still not convinced she is not a Forest Dweller. "So, would anyone like to fill me in on where we are now? I kinda lost track after losing consciousness and wandering through my mind for several hours." Everyone in the room stared at Partheus weirdly. "Err, it's a very long story, trust me. But seriously, where are we?"