Chapter 404: Betrayal Of The Ponies
A group of centaurs made their way through the village, their hooves striking the stone pathways.
These were not the seasoned veterans who had faced Luca in battle, nor the mothers who had watched their children with fond exasperation.
No—these were the younger generation, those who had only recently crossed the threshold into adulthood.
Their eyes still glowed with the brightness of youth, and their fur held a luster that spoke of energy and vitality not yet worn down by years of service.
But right now, none of that brightness was on display.
Their shoulders were slumped, their gazes downcast, their tails hanging low—the picture of a group whose expectations had been thoroughly crushed.
At their head walked a centaur named Riley.
She had shoulder-length hair of brilliant red, green eyes that glowed with barely contained frustration, and a pale white coat that gleamed even in the dim afternoon light.
Currently, her jaw was set tight, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and every line of her body radiated barely suppressed fury.
The reason for their collective mood was simple: they had just attended a meeting to devise a plan to defeat the Hero and restore Sigrid’s honor.
The meeting had been Riley’s idea.
She was one of the hot-blooded centaurs, who had stood at the edge of the battlefield and watched their beloved commander fall to a mortal man with swords strapped to his arms.
The rage that had ignited in her chest that day still burned with undiminished intensity, and she had been determined to do something about it.
So she had called the meeting, and the other centaurs who refused to accept their defeat had answered.
They had gathered in secret, speaking in hushed tones, desperate to find some strategy that might give them an edge against the being who had humiliated them all.
But no matter how much they discussed, no matter how many ideas they proposed and rejected, every strategy they devised was useless.
Ambush tactics? Pointless—Luca’s reflexes were beyond human comprehension.
Overwhelming numbers? They had already tried that with forty warriors and failed.
Exploiting weaknesses? What weaknesses?
The man had fought them all without moving from a single spot, without using his divine powers, and he had still emerged victorious.
The truth was crushing: Luca wasn’t simply stronger.
He was the strongest entity in the entire world.
What possible tricks could they devise against someone like that?
The realization left them feeling hollow inside.
So they had sat there, young warriors all, stewing in their own impotence until the meeting simply dissolved into silence.
"Let’s just go for a run." Riley had said finally. "Clear our heads."
And now here they were, cutting through one of the village’s many open courtyards—
And stopped when Riley saw something strange.
The courtyard was filled with cushions. Big, plush mattresses scattered across the grass, the kind centaurs used instead of chairs.
And sprawled across those mattresses, looking for all the world like they were on a royal holiday, were the little ones.
Riley blinked.
There was Nella, the ringleader, her chestnut hair fanned out behind her as she lounged on her side.
Around her, a dozen tiny ponies were arranged in various states of blissful relaxation, some with blankets draped over their centaur bodies, others kicking their small hooves lazily in the air.
And in their hands was a fruit Riley had never seen before. Round. Red. Shiny.
They were biting into them with expressions of such pure, unfiltered joy that it was almost indecent.
There were drinks, too.
Little cups set beside each mattress, filled with some golden liquid that caught the light.
It looked like a picnic. A very, very happy picnic.
Riley changed course immediately, her hooves crunching against the grass as she approached.
The others followed, curiosity overriding their earlier gloom.
Hearing the incoming hoofbeats, Nella looked up from her apple. Her cheeks were stuffed like a hamster’s.
"Oi, Nella!" Riley planted herself at the edge of the courtyard, arms folded.
Her voice came out brutish than she intended.
"What’s going on here? I thought you lot were supposed to be giving the Hero trouble. So, why are you sitting around like you’re on a holiday?"
She jabbed a finger toward the fruit in Nella’s hand.
"And what in the world is that? I’ve never seen it before!"
Nella chewed. Swallowed. Wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Oh. That." She shrugged, the gesture impressively casual. "Well, we went after the evil hero with the full plan and everything. But he still beat us."
Riley’s blood went hot. "What?"
"Mm."
"Don’t tell me—" Riley’s hands clenched at her sides. "Don’t tell me he actually laid his hands on you!"
The other young centaurs stirred behind her, murmurs of outrage rising.
The thought of a grown man putting his hands on these tiny, adorable creatures with their chubby cheeks and their fluffy tails and their little wooden swords...it was too much!
"If he did." One centaur said darkly. "Then he really is evil."
But Nella quickly shook her head.
"No, no! The evil Hero didn’t hurt us at all! He defeated us without even properly fighting back!"
The older centaurs blinked in confusion.
"Without fighting back? Then how—"
"He used psychological warfare!" One of the other children supplied helpfully.
"He pretended to be hurt and then tricked us into thinking we’d killed him!" Another added.
"It was very dramatic. He even had fake blood."
"But then he got up and laughed at us. It was terrible."
Riley struggled to process this information.
"So...he didn’t fight you, but he still won? Through deception?"
Nella nodded sagely. "He was much more cunning than we anticipated. Master Mavis’s plan was perfect, but the evil Hero had countermeasures we didn’t expect."
Then, unexpectedly, a faint blush crept across her cheeks.
"Although...he didn’t attack us. He did lay his hands on us. But just not in a bad way." Her voice grew softer, almost dreamy. "It actually felt...really nice."
The other children immediately chimed in with enthusiastic agreement.
"Yeah! It was amazing!"
"I can still feel it on my head even now!"
"He ruffled my hair and it felt so good! I wanted it to never end!"
"I wonder how many times he’s practiced to have such amazing technique!"
Riley stared at them in utter bafflement.
"What are you talking about? He put his hands on you, but it felt good? What exactly did he do?!"
Nella coughed into her fist, her blush deepening.
There was no way she was going to admit that she had enjoyed receiving head-pats from the supposed enemy.
"It doesn’t matter!" She said quickly. "What matters is that the evil Hero defeated all of us. The plan completely failed. There’s nothing more to say about it."
The disappointment hit the older centaurs.
"No way..."
"I thought the little ones’ plan was foolproof..."
"Even with such an underhanded strategy, they still couldn’t beat him!?"
"Now what are we supposed to do?!"
They had placed their hopes on their adorable faces and their clever tactics. But now even that avenue had been closed off. The Hero had proven himself untouchable once again.
Nella, however, simply smirked mischievously.
"Why don’t you go ahead with our plan, Big Sis Riley?"
"What?"
"You could put on some pretty clothes. Style your hair in a much cuter way. Then go find the evil Hero and act all adorable while proposing the same conditions we did."
Nella’s smirk widened. "I’m sure you could have a chance too."
The other children burst into giggles.
"Yeah! Go on, big sis Riley!"
"Act cute like us!"
"Of course, you’ll never reach our level of cuteness." One of them added, puffing out her cheeks for emphasis. "But you might still gain some sympathy from the evil Hero!"
"It’s worth a try, isn’t it?"
Riley’s face flushed bright red.
"Shut up, you little brats! How dare you mock your elders like this?"
She felt an overwhelming wave of indignant rage washing over her.
The sheer nerve of these toddlers!
But even as she spoke, an unwelcome thought crept into her mind.
What if she went the opposite direction? Instead of acting cute, what if she tried something more...seductive?
She could approach Luca with a different kind of charm, lure him into lowering his guard, and then—
She shook her head violently, her cheeks burning.
’What are you thinking, Riley?’ She scolded herself. ’Have some shame! Even if you won that way, it would be the most hollow victory imaginable. Absolutely not! Never!’
She forced herself to change the subject, pointing at the fruit in Nella’s hand.
"Fine, forget all that! What’s that you’re eating!? It’s a strange color. You all seem to be enjoying it quite a bit."
Nella’s face lit up with enthusiasm. She lifted the fruit high into the air like a trophy.
"This? This is an apple! It’s probably the most amazing fruit in the entire world!"
The other children immediately erupted in agreement.
"They’re so sweet! I thought they’d taste like grass, but they’re incredible!"
"I bit into it and it went crunch! I nearly jumped out of my fur!"
"It’s so juicy! My mouth is swimming!"
"Crunchy, sweet, AND juicy! Three amazing things at once!"
"My cheeks hurt from smiling so much while eating!"
"I love the tiny stem on top! It makes the apple look so silly!"
They waved their apples in the air like victory banners, their faces glowing with delight.
Riley and her companions exchanged skeptical glances.
"It can’t be that good." One of them said doubtfully.
"It IS!" Nella shot back, nodding her head so hard her bangs whipped around. "It most definitely is! You can only understand the true majesty of an apple if you experience it yourself!"
She then looked down at the fruit with a surprisingly fond, gentle gaze as she said,
"If the Evil Hero hadn’t brought these over from his world, we would have lived our entire lives never knowing such a paradise existed..."
Riley froze, her eyes widening in horror.
"Wait...what did you just say? THE HERO...GAVE THOSE TO YOU?!"
"Yes." Nella replied innocently, taking a crunchy bite. "What about it?"
"What about—" Riley sputtered. "Nella! What are you doing? I thought your mission was to defeat the Hero! But here you are, accepting gifts from the enemy, getting spoiled by him—you’re completely undermining the centaur name!"
Nella’s cheeks puffed out indignantly. "It’s not like that!"
"Then what is it like? You literally accepted enemy gifts! You’re sitting here raving about how wonderful they are! How is that not surrender!?"
For a moment, Nella faltered. Then a familiar cunning gleam entered her eyes, the gleam of a disciple who had learned well from her master.
"It’s not surrender." She said, drawing herself up with exaggerated dignity. "It’s analysis!"
Riley stared. "...What?"
"Master Mavis taught me that to defeat a powerful enemy, you must first know them completely. Who they are. Where they come from. Their culture. Their history. Everything!"
Nella gestured grandly at the apple in her hand.
"By eating this fruit—this ’apple’ from the evil hero’s homeland—I am conducting vital reconnaissance! I am learning about his world so that when the time comes to strike, I will be fully prepared!"
Riley opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"You’re making that up!"
"I am not!"
"You absolutely are! I may not be as smart as you, Nella, but even I can tell when I’m being fed nonsense!"
The other young centaurs behind Riley nodded vigorously.
"Yeah, Nella! I thought you were better than this!"
"How could you betray us like this?"
"Queen Poppy gave you a mission and you’re over here tasting enemy gifts! It’s disgraceful!"
But Nella was unmoved. She settled back onto her mattress with the air of a queen dismissing petitioners.
"I don’t care what you have to say! Just do whatever you want and let us enjoy our apples in peace!"
With that, she turned back to her fruit and took another bite, the crunch echoing in the sudden silence.
The other children followed suit, pointedly ignoring the older centaurs as they resumed their happy picnic.
—
The young warriors stood there, utterly indignant.
Not only had they failed to come up with a strategy against the Hero, but now Luca had somehow managed to turn their own children against them.
Nella might claim she was "analyzing the enemy." but it was obvious from her tone and the softness in her eyes when she mentioned his name, that she had genuinely grown fond of the man.
It was baffling.
What kind of spell had Luca cast to make even their fiercest young warriors fall under his charm!?