I have returned! Hello! I'm sorry there was such a long wait, I think that's the longest gap between posts there's been. I've had so much on my plate recently, but now my schedule has cleared up and I have time to write again. Thanks for being so patient with me, and thanks to whoever topped this after my two months of inactivity. Here's the next part!

Part Fourty-Four

~

Bluebell woke to a loud, repetitive noise drilling into her skull. She stumbled, bleary-eyed, out of her tent to see where the banging sound was coming from. She put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun, and the noise stopped momentarily.

“Morning!” Winter greeted cheerfully. She was holding two wooden boards, which she resumed banging together. “Rise and shine, everyone!”

A moment later, Bluebell saw Holly emerge, holding her hands over her ears. She didn’t quite hear what Holly said, but she guessed it was something along the lines of “What are you doing?”

“We have an announcement!” Jubilee announced. Bluebell noticed that they were already over by the firepit. As was Gracia, who was sitting next to them.

“And this announcement couldn’t have waited another hour?” Bluebell said under her breath, but went to sit by Jubi and Gracia anyway.

Once all the CBers (and Goldie, who Win had to shake awake) were out of their tents and seated around the firepit, Jubi clapped their hands together. “Alright! Let’s get started. Thank you for meeting with us this morning-”

“Not like we had much of a choice,” Dusk muttered.

Jubi chose to ignore her. “-even though it’s early. We’ve got something pretty great planned! Gracia, take it away.”

Gracia stood to address the other CBers. “The last time Sylvia attacked, we were totally unprepared. She caught us off guard, and it was a miracle that we all made it through. We’re almost certain she’ll be back, so this time we want to be ready. We’ve started on the traps, which puts us in a good defensive position, but we need to work on some offense. Which leads us to why we’re here.” She nodded at Win, who stepped forward.

“Gracia, Jubi, and I have each chosen a subject to teach. Gracia will be covering tactics, Jubi will be covering flight, and I’ll be covering combat.” She grinned.

“Flight?” Holly questioned.

“With Sapphire,” Jubi clarified.

Goldie smiled. “I think this is all a great idea! We can work more on the traps later, but for now let’s take some time to prepare ourselves. We know a fight’s coming, so we may as well be ready for it.”

The other CBers nodded in agreement. Now that they were a little more awake, they were warming up to the concept. The idea of training towards something was an appealing one, especially if it meant hopefully taking down Sylvia the next time she attacked.

“Great!” Jubi said. “I’m glad that’s settled. Now, everyone get some breakfast, then we can get started!”

 

Breakfast was eaten quickly, and soon everyone was assembled in the middle of the clearing. Gracia stood before the five other CBers and Goldie, gathering her thoughts.

“Good morning, everyone,” she began. “With me, you’ll be learning some battle tactics and maneuvers that will hopefully make us all more organized when the time comes to fight.” Everyone remembered vividly the events of the previous day, how they’d all scattered in a panic. “We’ll start off easy.”

Gracia looked down at the sheet of paper she held in her hand- her notes. “The first thing we’ll learn is Formation A, which is a wedge. We’ll have Agent Winter in the front- Win, stand there.” She pointed, and Win moved obligingly. “Then we’ll have Jubilee and Bluebell. You two stand on either side of Win, then step back so you’re at a diagonal. Good- now for the back row, we’ll have Dusk, Holly, Goldie, and me. Holly and Goldie will stand directly behind Jubi and Bluebell, and Dusk and I will be on either side of them. Does that make sense?”

There was a pause, then Holly timidly raised her hand. “Um, did you say this was the easy one?”

Gracia sighed. “It’ll make sense once you do it. Let’s go, into formation!”

After much confusion and several feet being stepped on, the CBers were in a wedge formation somewhat close to what Gracia had envisioned. She stepped back to survey it and shrugged. “Okay, close enough. Now we’ll learn Formation B. It’s very simple, I promise- it’s just two lines, so Win needs to step back in between Jubi and Bluebell.” Winter did so without much trouble. “Great! That’s it, nice and easy. Next is Formation C- this might be the easiest one. It’s one line, straight across, so the front line just needs to take a step back. Yes, just like that. Perfect!”

The other CBers nodded. They were getting a feel for it now, and were growing more comfortable with the different formations. None of them really knew what the point of learning them was, but for the time being they were content to follow Gracia’s instructions.

“The last one,” Gracia said, “is Formation E.”

“You mean D?” Win asked.

“No, E.”

“I’m pretty sure you skipped D.”

Gracia referred to her notes and frowned. “It appears I did.” Win snickered, and Gracia rolled her eyes. “Oh, give me a break, I came up with these at, like, four am. Whatever, we’re calling it Formation E. It’s pretty simple, Win just stays where she is, and everyone else backs up until we have diagonal lines- they should form an arrow. And that’s all there is to it!” She smiled as she admired her handiwork. “Let’s practice getting into the formations. We’ll start with A!”

It took them a moment to remember, but the CBers eventually got back to their respective spots. From there, at Gracia’s command, they moved into Formation B, then C, and finally E.

“Nice,” Gracia said approvingly. “Now let’s do them out of order. B!” They moved into the correct formation. “E!” They moved again. “A! E! C! B! E! B! A!”

Gracia called the letters, and the CBers moved accordingly. They practiced the formations for a while, until Gracia finally called a break. “Great job, guys!” she said. “I think you really have those down.”

Dusk took a sip of water, then asked, “So are we done?” The others chorused the question as well.

Gracia raised her eyebrows. “Oh, no. Those are just the formations. Now you have to learn the attack plans!”

The whole camp collectively groaned.

 

After what seemed like forever, Gracia’s lesson was finally over. Although the CBers complained (admittedly more than was necessary), they grudgingly agreed that they’d learned some good strategies. Each of them felt at least a little bit more prepared for the upcoming fight.

After a quick water break, the group reassembled in the center of the clearing for Jubilee’s lesson. Jubi was already there, waiting eagerly with Sapphire at their side. Once everyone was ready, they launched into their speech.

“Good morning, everyone!” they said brightly. “I think it’s still morning. Is it? Doesn’t matter. Anyway, who’s ready to fly?”

There were varied reactions, from excited whooping (Win) to concerned mumbling (Holly).

“Great!” Jubi grinned. “Now, I’ve run this all by Sapphire, and as far as I can tell, she approves.” The pegasus stomped a hoof on the ground and shook her mane. “So let’s get started! Obviously we have a super cool flying horse on our side, and it would be silly not to use her to our advantage. With Sapphire’s help, we can launch an aerial attack and hopefully take Sylvia by surprise. I think Gracia’s working on some strategies for that-”

Gracia nodded confirmation.

“-so we can be nice and organized about it. In the event of a battle, I’ll most likely be the one in the air, but just in case I’m… incapacitated, we thought it would be a good idea for all of you to know some basics and be comfortable riding Sapphire. Make sense?”

The other CBers nodded.

Hollyshock bounced nervously on the balls of her feet, trying to take deep breaths. It’s okay, she thought. Maybe I won’t have to do it. They don’t need everyone to know how to fly, right?

“Who wants to go first?” Jubi asked, gazing around at their fellow CBers.

Predictably, Agent Winter’s hand was first in the air. Holly breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Jubi pointed at her. “Sold to the girl with the blue hair!”

“Yes!” Win pumped her fist and jogged over to Sapphire. “What do I do?”

“First of all, you have to mount her,” Jubi told her. They laced their fingers together to form a step, helping Win up onto Sapphire’s back.

“Okay, got it.” Winter said, looking down. Now that she was settled astride the pegasus, she was quite a bit higher off the ground. “What now?”

Jubilee showed her where to sit so that she didn’t hinder Sapphire’s wings, how to hold onto her mane, and demonstrated how to crouch over the horse’s neck while she was flying.

Now that she was actually about to take off, Win looked a little more apprehensive. Nonetheless, she nodded decisively when Jubi asked if she was ready to go. “I was born ready!”

Jubi grinned. “Ready… Set… Fly!”

Sapphire set off at a trot, growing steadily faster until she was galloping around the clearing, Win hunched over and holding on for dear life. With shaking hands, Holly covered her eyes. She couldn’t bear to watch.

A moment later, she heard an elated yell and excited chattering from around her. Bracing herself, she peered through her fingers. Sapphire and Win were flying, sailing smoothly through the air.

Holly winced as Win threw her hands up, and she faintly heard the words “This is amazing!”

Bluebell caught Holly’s eye and smiled. “Terrifying, isn’t it? At least she’s enjoying herself.”

Indeed she was- the moment Sapphire’s hooves touched the ground, Win slipped off her back, grinning wildly. “That. Was. Incredible! Can I do it again?”

Goldie laughed. “Maybe later- everyone needs to get a turn first.”

Jubi turned to face the Palace Keeper. “Why don’t you go next, Goldie?”

“Okay!” she said, stepping forward with a smile. But as she neared the pegasus, Sapphire reared up with a shrill whinny. She backed away a few paces, nostrils flaring. The smile slid off Goldie’s face.

Jubilee looked back and forth between the two, brow furrowed. “Maybe something spooked her?” they suggested, but Goldie shook her head.

“No, she wasn’t spooked.” She returned to her spot at the back of the group, and murmured, more to herself than anyone, “I guess she doesn’t forgive me after all.”

There was an awkward silence, broken by Jubi’s next words. “So, um, who wants to go next?” Dusk and Gracia both raised their hands, but Jubi scanned the crown until their eyes alighted on Holly, whose face paled.

“Hollyshock!” they said with a grin. “Thanks for volunteering, come on up!”

“I- I didn’t-” Holly managed to squeak out before Bluebell put a hand on her back and propelled her forward. She stumbled a little, and ended up standing, red-faced, next to Jubilee and Sapphire. The pegasus shook her mane, and Holly jumped.

“Let’s get you mounted!” Jubi said, forming a step with their hands again. When Holly quickly shook her head, they lowered their voice. “It’s okay, Holly. I promise it’s safe. Would I make you do something that wasn’t?”

“I… I guess you wouldn’t,” she admitted quietly. “But…”

Jubi smiled encouragingly. “Just get on her back- after that, you don’t have to fly if you don’t want to. Deal?”

After a moment of hesitation, Holly nodded. She placed her foot in Jubi’s hands and let them boost her up onto the pegasus’s back. It took a moment to get herself situated, but eventually she was sitting with a leg on either side of Sapphire. She gave a tentative smile. “I did it!”

Sapphire tossed her head and nickered. Holly giggled.

Jubilee beamed. “Yeah you did! Now if you want to, you can get down.”

Surprising herself, Holly shook her head. “I think I can, um, do a little more. Maybe walk around the clearing?”

“We can do that! Come on, Sapphire.” Jubi led the pegasus forward at a walk.

Holly felt a little self-conscious with everyone staring at her, but she focused instead on the steady beat of Sapphire’s hooves. When they’d made it all the way around the clearing, she was feeling a little more confident.

“Want to keep going?” Jubi asked.

Emboldened by her success, Holly nodded. “I want to fly,” she said firmly.

A wide smile split Jubi’s face. “That’s great! Here, let me just show you a few things.” They went over the same basics as they had with Winter, then stepped back. “Are you ready?”

Holly swallowed down her fear and twisted Sapphire’s mane more tightly in her fingers. “Ready.”

“Then ready… Set… Fly!”

Sapphire started forward, steadily gaining speed. Once they were moving into a gallop, Holly began to regret her decision, but it was too late to stop now. She leaned forward, trying to move with the rhythm of the horse and the hooves thundering beneath her. Her grip on the mane was the only thing keeping her seated at that point, with every step bouncing her higher into the air. Just at the moment where she thought she’d surely be flung from her seat, Sapphire’s wings spread and they were off the ground. In an instant, everything was smooth. The wind whipped Holly’s hair into her face, but she didn’t care. She didn’t even care that they were so far off the ground, clearing the treetops and soaring towards the clouds. They were flying.

She let out a scream- not of fear, but of exhilaration. It was truly an incredible feeling, being up in the air and surrounded by nothing but sky. It was freeing. For a few brief moments, she felt like she hadn’t a care in the world.

Holly was disappointed when they returned to the ground, touching down lightly in the middle of the clearing. She slid off Sapphire’s back, feeling a little dizzy but mostly thrilled. When she walked back over to the group of CBers, she was met with resounding applause.

Jubilee bounded over to her. “You did it!” they exclaimed. “You really did it! How was it?”

“Really, really fun,” Holly said. “I can’t believe I just did that.”

“Me neither, but you did! I’m so proud of you!”

By that point, the others had reached them, and they surrounded the two to offer Holly their own congratulations. She blushed profusely as she was showered with hugs and exclamations.

Goldie was the last to arrive at the little group, where she gave Holly a hug of her own. “That was so brave, Holly! You did great.” The words were tinged with sadness, but the smile the Palace Keeper offered was genuine.

Holly looked at the ground. “Thanks, Goldie. I’m sorry about, well…” She trailed off.

“It’s fine,” Goldie assured her. “Don’t worry about it, really.”

Jubilee turned back to the others, grinning broadly. “Alright, who’s next?”

 

The CBers took a break for lunch (they were all really starting to hate granola bars), then returned to the center of the clearing for their final lesson. Agent Winter stood before them, looking eager to begin.

“Is everyone ready?” she asked. “Great! Today, I’ll be teaching you combat. You’ll all learn some relatively simple moves to help defend yourself and attack Sylvia when she comes back. Sound like a plan?” She didn’t wait for a reply. “Let’s get started! Everyone partner up.”

After a moment of discussion, each CBer ended up with a partner: Jubilee with Holly, Dusk with Bluebell, and Gracia with Goldie.

Win clapped her hands together. “Perfect! Now pay attention. The first thing I’m going to show you is a simple kick.” She stepped back, then pivoted on one foot, her other leg arcing through the air. “See?”

She was met with blank stares from the others. She sighed. “Come on, just try it. I’ll walk around and help.”

Bluebell attempted the move several times, but she couldn’t seem to get her leg as high as Win’s had been. She shot Dusk a wry grin. “This is harder than it looks.”

Dusk nodded emphatically. “Right? I keep falling over.” She demonstrated, wobbling on one leg, and Bluebell had to stifle her giggles.

“How are you two doing?” Win asked, materializing behind them.

“Not great,” Bluebell told her. “I can’t seem to get my leg as high as you did.”

“Show me.”

Bracing herself, Bluebell tried the kick again, achieving the same underwhelming result. Win studied her critically, and after a moment, said, “You have to turn more. Really spin on your other leg, the momentum helps you kick higher.”

Bluebell did as she was instructed. To her surprise, she did manage to get her leg much higher, though she stumbled a little at the end of the kick.

Win nodded approvingly. “Nice! Dusk, did you have the same problem?”

Dusk shook her head. “No, I’m having trouble with balance, I keep falling when I turn.”

“Find something to look at when you’re spinning, it’ll help you stay steady. Like that tree over there.” Win pointed.

Dusk followed her gaze and nodded. She turned and kicked her leg up, keeping her eyes fixed on the tree. This time, she was able to maintain her balance. “Thanks, Win! That really helped.”

“No problem! Let me know if you need anything else!”

During the next half-hour, the CBers and Goldie were taught how to punch, block, and evade different attacks. They grew increasingly tired with each skill they learned, but also increasingly determined. Each person had felt their confidence grow over the course of the morning, and whereas the day before their situation had seemed hopeless, now it felt like maybe they stood a chance.

“Great job, everyone!” Winter said, somehow still full of energy. “I’d say you’re all officially passable at hand-to-hand combat!”

There was a chorus of cheers. Win’s excitement was contagious.

“Before we finish up,” she continued, “I have one more thing I want to teach you.” She leaned down and picked something up off the ground. “Ta-da!”

Jubilee said what they were all thinking. “Is that a stick?”

Win twirled the stick, which was a little longer than her arm, then pointed it at Jubi. “Nope! Today, it’s a sword. That’s right, people, we’re learning weapons!”

Gracia suppressed a long-suffering sigh. “First of all, as far as we’ve seen, Sylvia doesn’t use weapons.”

“But she might.”

“Even so, second of all, we don’t have any weapons.”

“That’s just a technicality,” Win said, waving a hand dismissively.

As Gracia took a breath to argue, Goldie interrupted. “Come on, let her have her fun. Besides, it can’t hurt to know more, right?”

“I guess so,” Gracia said. She shrugged resignedly and turned to Win. “Alright, go ahead.”

Win grinned. “Awesome! Everyone come find a sword.”

Once they’d all found a suitable stick, the CBers paired off again and began practicing as Win instructed. It was more for fun than anything, so they took it less seriously than the other classes. They challenged one another to mock duels, and eventually created a tournament- unsurprisingly, Agent Winter won.

Once they were finished with their tournament, the combat class was declared over, and they all returned to the firepit, sitting down around it. With the sun high above them, it was too hot for an actual fire, so they sat around the empty pit and drank their water.

The CBers were all exhausted from the morning’s activities, so it was silent in the camp until Goldie stood. “I know you guys are all tired, but I just wanted to say how proud and grateful to you I am. I dragged you into this mess, and you’ve not only forgiven me but worked so hard to help me. It just… it really means a lot. Thank you.”

The CBers all looked at each other, taken aback and touched by Goldie’s words. Then, one by one, they each stood and moved to envelop the Palace Keeper in a group hug. They all stood huddled together, drawing comfort from one another until Agent Winter spoke.

“I hate to ruin the moment, but it’s really hot out here. Who wants to jump in the pond?”

I'm back! Has it really been two months? Sorry about that, I've been very very busy, so I haven't had much time to write. I'll continue to update this whenever I can, even if that's not as often as I might like. I promise, though, I will finish this ski lodge, no matter how long it takes me. Anyway, here's the next part! The one after this is already written, so it will be posted in a timely manner sometime next week. Enjoy!

Part Forty-Five

~

The cool water of the pond felt wonderful as the CBers jumped in one by one. They splashed around, relishing in the moments that they knew were the calm before the storm. Sylvia- along with the murderer- were still threats looming on the horizon, but for now, things felt okay.

Even so, they all new that the fun couldn’t last forever. Reluctantly, they left the water and dried themselves off.

Gracia sighed, the last vestiges of a smile still on her face. “Alright, alright. That was fun, but we really need to get back to work. Those traps won’t build themselves.”

“We have more than enough wood,” Goldie said. “If we all work together, I think we can finish before it gets dark!”

Everyone agreed, and they returned to the half-finished traps that were still laid out from the day before. Gracia once again supervised and directed her companions, referencing the blueprints and ensuring that all the components were correctly put together.

Despite the heat of the afternoon, the morning’s activities had given the CBers a second wind, leaving them newly energized in their battle against the rogue AE. They finished the traps sooner than Gracia had expected, and she wandered around, inspecting each one. It was a nerve-wracking process- everything had to work perfectly in order for them to capture Sylvia.

Finally, she stepped back, dusting off her hands. “Well, I think that ought to do it. Good job everyone!"

There was a chorus of half-hearted cheers. Even with their newfound energy, it had been an exhausting day.

Jubilee flopped back onto the ground, spreading their arms out. “Somebody wake me up when Sylvia gets here. Until then, I’m not moving.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Holly chided, nudging them with her foot.

Dusk sank to the ground with a groan. “I could live with not moving ever again.”

“Oh, come on, it wasn’t that bad,” said Goldie, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Let’s go eat dinner!”

Now that the sun was lower in the sky, it was cool enough for a fire, which Agent Winter and Bluebell started. There was nothing to cook, of course, just granola bars that were getting staler by the day, but the fire was a comfort. After a long day, the CBers finally began to relax.

Breaking the comfortable silence, Win leaned forward and spoke. “So, I think it’s time we strategize.”

“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing all day?” Dusk complained.

Bluebell propped her chin up on her hands. “Yeah, I feel like we’re pretty well prepared.”

“No, I mean specific stuff,” Win explained. “You know, plans, backup plans, backup backup plans?”

“Do you really think we’ll need backup backup plans?” Holly asked, sounding more than a little worried.

Goldie shot her a reassuring smile. “Hopefully not, but it can’t hurt to have them, right?”

Holly nodded, conceding the point.

“I agree with Win,” Gracia said, pulling out yet another sheet of paper. “In fact, I came prepared. Here I have some specific strategies and backup plans- and backup backup plans- for if things go wrong. Not that I think they will,” she added with a glance at Holly. “Certain plans involve certain people, so only those people will be in on the it. Don’t forget, we still have a murderer in our midst. We have to take precautions where we can.”

Win nodded thoughtfully. “You put that a lot better than I could have, so basically what Gracia said! Any questions?”

There were none.

“Alright team, split up and receive your assignments!”

The group broke apart, the CBers walking away alone or in pairs. Holly was starting towards her tent when she heard footsteps behind her.

“Holly! Wait up!” It was Jubi, jogging towards her. “What do you think of all this?”

“Splitting up the plans? I guess it’s smart,” Holly said with a shrug.

Jubi looked uncertain. “That’s what I thought at first, but then again, what if Gracia is the murderer? She could be trying to throw us off the trail, and then she’d know every plan and be virtually free of suspicion.”

“I know, but we can’t point fingers now. There’s too much at stake. Any one of us could be the murderer, even you.” As she said it, Holly felt a stab of nerves, but pushed it down. Jubilee was her friend, and she refused to believe that they were the murderer.

“I guess you’re right.” Jubi didn’t look entirely satisfied, but before they could say anything else, Gracia appeared.

“Hey guys! Jubi, can I steal you for a minute? We need to go over some things.”

“Sure! See you later, Holly.” Waving, Jubi left with Gracia.

Holly watched them walk away, talking animatedly, then turned back to her tent. If Gracia needed her, she knew where to find her. For now, she was very, very tired. 

 

Dusk wasn’t sure what woke her. Something had, she knew- it had registered in her sleeping mind and startled her into consciousness. She sat up blearily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and trying to pinpoint what had woken her up. She glanced over at her tentmate, Bluebell, who was also stirring.

“Bluebell?” she whispered.

“What’s wrong?” came the groggy reply.

“Something woke me up, and I don’t know what it was.”

Bluebell sat up in turn. “Me too, I think. Should we-”

Her voice trailed away as they heard a low rumbling, so familiar to them now. The two CBers exchanged anxious looks. It appeared that the battle they’d been preparing for had finally arrived.

“Sylvia,” Dusk whispered. She braced herself as the ground shook more violently.

Bluebell was already on her feet, swaying on the unsteady ground. “We have to get to the others! Sylvia could be here any minute- we need to see if she triggers the traps.”

Dusk stood, and together the two stumbled out of the tent. It was early in the morning, the sky still grey and the sun not yet having crested the horizon. In the dim light, they could see the other CBers and Goldie emerging from their respective tents.

“She’s coming,” said Goldie, ashen-faced.

Gracia stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’re ready,” she said, though she didn’t quite look sure.

The shaking of the ground intensified, then tapered away until all was once again still. The CBers stood with bated breath, waiting for the moment that the rogue AE would appear.

After several agonizing seconds, a small figure rounded the bend of the path. Sylvia strode toward them, already beginning to grow. Within ten paces, she once again towered above them. Despite the CBers’ careful preparations, it was hard not to feel hopeless.

“Here we are again,” Sylvia said, her smooth voice booming across the clearing. “You had to have known I’d be back. That was a clever trick you pulled, I’ll admit, but it won’t work twice.”

“Good thing we have some new tricks up our sleeves!” Agent Winter yelled back.

Sylvia’s eyes narrowed, and she started forward again. The CBers all tensed as the AE drew nearer and nearer to where they knew the tripwire lay hidden. If the trap worked correctly, it would bind her legs with a rope (or in their case, a vine) and trigger another part of the trap to swing out and hit her head, knocking her unconscious.

Please work, Gracia thought, just as Sylvia’s foot reached the tripwire.

It took a moment for the trap to begin working, but sure enough, another vine was released from the mechanism on one side of the path. The weighted ends caused it to spin through the air, wrapping around Sylvia’s legs and pulling tight. Her face showed her surprise, and the CBers cheered. It was working!

But in an instant, everything went wrong.

Sylvia, in an effort to keep her balance, swayed to one side, arms pinwheeling through the air. As a result, the heavy wooden beam that swung out across the path missed her head, instead making contact with her shoulder.

The CBers’ cheers died away as Sylvia let out a roar of pain. Clutching her shoulder with one hand, she reached down and undid the weighted rope with the other. Looking furious, she continued forward, her giant feet crashing down in the pond.

“Scatter!” Gracia called, and the CBers all ran.

Holly grabbed Jubi’s hand and sprinted towards the nearest tent, pulling them behind it. She crouched to the ground, her breaths coming faster and faster. “The trap didn’t work. It didn’t work! What do we do? What do we do? Oh no. No no, we can’t-”

Jubi crouched down next to her. “Breathe, Holly. This is why we had backup plans, remember? Everything will be fine.”

As Holly drew breath to reply, she heard another voice call out. Goldie’s voice. “Sylvia!”

Hurriedly, Holly and Jubi peered around the side of the tent. The Palace Keeper was standing in the center of the clearing, directly in Sylvia’s path. Her shoulders were drawn back and her chin was lifted as she faced her AE.

Sylvia stopped, staring down at her CBer. She replied, her voice dripping with contempt, “Goldie.”

“Stop this, please,” Goldie said. “Let’s talk- we can work this out, it doesn’t have to be like this.”

“The time for talking is past. You had that chance ten years ago, but you chose to lock me away. That’s on you.”

“I was scared, Sylvia, we both were! You killed Noble! You killed Copper! She loved you, she trusted you, she-”

Before Goldie could finish her sentence, Sylvia lifted her arm and, with a swift movement, backhanded Goldie into the air. The Palace Keeper hit the ground hard a few yards away, tumbling over herself before landing sprawled on her back, groaning in pain.

“Don’t talk to me about trust,” Sylvia spat. She turned to scan the clearing, her fury evident. “Now where are the rest of you? Show yourselves now- this is a fight you can’t win.”

“We’ll see about that!” It was Gracia, standing defiantly at the edge of the woods.

Sylvia whipped around to face her. She raised her arms, and the earth once again started to shake.

Gracia held onto a nearby tree for support, but was undeterred. Over the noise of the earthquake, she called, “Backup Plan A! Now!”

Holly looked at Jubilee. “Is that you?”

They shook their head. “No. You?”

“No. Then who-”

The answer became clear when Sylvia cried out in pain and anger. Behind the giant girl, Bluebell stood next to a pile of fist-size rocks. She threw one after another at the AE, taking careful aim before hurling them through the air. They bounced off, not doing any real damage, but they served to further infuriate Sylvia. She started towards Bluebell, who grabbed a handful of the rocks and sprinted away, throwing more as she went. Sylvia followed.

“What’s she doing?” Holly asked, panicked. “She’s just antagonizing her!”

“That’s right!” Jubi said, realization dawning. “She’s antagonizing her on purpose! Look where Bluebell’s headed!”

Holly looked, and saw that Bluebell was running straight for one of the other traps set around the clearing. Sylvia was in pursuit, and would run right into it.

But Sylvia was slowing down, and came to a halt by the firepit. She picked up one of the large logs that served as the CBers’ seats and, hefting it in her hand, threw it at Bluebell, who was still running.

Bluebell looked up just in time to see the log hurtling towards her, and dove out of the way. She managed to evade it and remain unharmed, but the plan was ruined.

Gracia remained unfazed, calling out a new set of directions. “Dusk, go take care of Goldie!”

Dusk broke cover from behind one of the other tents and ran to Goldie’s side. She kneeled next to the Palace Keeper and began checking her over.

“Win! You’re up!” Gracia called, then sprinted across the clearing as Agent Winter emerged from the trees, yelling and waving her arms.

Gracia looked around wildly as she neared the tents, and Jubi stood up, waving her over. “Gracia! Over here!”

“Jubi! Holly!” Gracia exclaimed. “Thank goodness, I didn’t see where you’d gone.”

“This isn’t going well,” Jubilee said, frowning.

Gracia sighed. “I know.”

“What can we do?” Holly asked, trying to hide the fact that her hands- and voice- were shaking.

Gracia looked at Jubilee. “I think it’s time. Jubi, you know what to do.”

“Okay. How much time can you buy me?”

“Win and I will distract her for as long as we can, but I don’t know how long that’ll be. You need to be fast.”

“I’ll do my best. Good luck.”

“You too.” With that, Gracia ran back out into the clearing, joining Agent Winter in taunting and evading Sylvia.

Holly nudged Jubi, eyes wide. “What was that about? What do you have to do?”

“It’s the plan that Gracia and I discussed last night. It’s supposed to be a last resort. It’s risky.”

“How risky?”

“Let’s just say we don’t have any other options.” Jubi met her gaze. “And it’s a two-person job.”

Holly gulped, then asked the question she already knew the answer to. “You need my help?”

Jubi nodded. “I do. The plan involves Sapphire, calamum vesperum, and a whole lot of luck. I’m asking you because I trust you, Holly.” They looked at her expectantly, waiting for a response.

With difficulty, Holly pushed down her nerves. “I trust you too. I’ll do it.”

Jubi looked relieved, and they jumped to their feet. “Great! Come on, I’ll explain on the way. We don’t have much time.”

~~~

@Hollyshock, thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it, that's great to hear. And horses can definitely be really scary!

@Silver Crystal, thank you!! Your comments really mean a lot. Fluffy fluff is so fun to write, I'm glad it's fun to read too!