Chapter 37: Wishing On A Star
Part 1: Crystal Journey
TIME: 11:27
DATE: War Day 357
LOCATION: Crystalpolis, Royal Castle
Sombra was waiting for us. He was now attended by Dr. Well Wishes at all times, and a nurse from Canterlot. His condition was.. stable, but it could take sudden changes for the worse at any moment. The Crystal Ponies' acceptance of him was.. fragile. He no longer asked to be called King Sombra, just Sombra. He also had two guards on him at all times - both because his Black Heart was a potential prize for anyone who wanted it (like Grogar) and because he.. well, there were those that had learned the value of distrust.
Sombra: "General.. ladies and gentlecolts." He nodded to everyone.
K: "Sombra. How are you doing, today?" I was concerned, of course. I was the one who 'saved' him.
Sombra: "Quite well. I've managed to reverse the emotions curse on the land, for one.."
Dr. Well Wishes: "And doing so nearly gave you a myocardial infarction." He snorted.
Sombra: "As I have told you, Doctor, it means nothing to me to live if doing thus shall mean the continuation of my curses 'pon the land. Once they are reversed, then we can begin discussing this.. quality of life.. you mentioned."
Dr. Well Wishes grumbled a little.
Fluttershy: "We.. really appreciate your help.." She nodded a little to him.
Sombra: "Thank you, Miss Fluttershy." And he returned a small, warm smile.
K: "Have you any new information?" I shrugged a bit.
Sombra: "Yes, in fact, I do. I located the mountain you were talking about. Its name hast long vanished from our lexicon - those who live near it now refer to it as Mount Frost. It is said to be extremely hazardous."
K: "Fortunately, we don't have to go over the mountain itself, just find it as a reference point to where the old town was. How far is it?"
Sombra: "It would be three weeks travel, on-the-hoof, General."
K: "Mm. And taxing the whole way." A nod. Alternative transport would be handy, here.
Sombra: "Fortunately, General, the Crystal Kingdom made use of air transport via balloon in antiquity. I understand that our descendants have not maintained this mastery, but you will find that those in the city still have it. Have you anyone who can pilot one?"
We all looked at Twilight.
K: "We do. Do you have one large enough for us all? And still able to power its own course?" If not, it might take three weeks anyway - who knew what the winds would be like?
Sombra: "There is one in the Palace's Airship Bay, and I have asked Her Royal Highness that it be readied for you." He gave us a nod, and nodded to Well Wishes.
Dr. Well Wishes came over with a sack of things and handed them to me.
Dr. Well Wishes: "My best customer, here." Harsh, then more calmly, he continued.. "Please, General. Even I've realized how much we need you. Don't go getting yourself killed - if anyone here did it, it'd be you."
K: "The best Generals lead from in front of their troops - the lengths of their careers may not be exceptional, but they are remembered." I shrugged a bit. "Besides.." I patted Fluttershy on the back of her head, and Applejack along the side of her snout. "These are my friends. Their risk is my risk."
Sombra: "Poetic, General." He shifted a little, coughed, and nodded to us. "Good luck."
We got to the Airship Bay in the Palace, and found.. well, I was pretty surprised, at first. There were two large airships about the size of HMS Alarm that were undergoing maintenance. "HCMAS Swiftsure" and "HCMAS Superb." The Airship Bay was fairly large - it looked like it could hold a much larger airship in it, in addition to the lighter two that were already there.
We were met by one of the first real Crystal Kingdom military personnel I'd yet met - Sky Captain Iris Emerald. She was a green mare, with seductive light grey curls that flowed down her back. The uniforms they wore were were horrendously outdated - flashy blues, reds and golds. Her hat was a large bicorne. She trotted up to us, and gave us a nod.
Capt. Emerald: "General K, I'm Sky Captain Iris Emerald, Crystal Kingdom Air Fleet. I was informed of your arrival." She started in, all business all of a sudden. "It seems I'm the most senior officer left of the Crystal Kingdom's military." She lowered her head a moment. Her rank of Air Fleet Sky Captain was in the Naval tradition - making her an OF-07 in the NEIGHTO rank chart. "We've prepared a light craft for you, but we're short on pilots." She shrugged. "Most of the military that's.. come back, I suppose you could say.. were Palace personnel. There were only a few trained pilots here - mainly for immediate palace defense and in case the Royal Family wanted to take one of the airships out."
K: "Twilight can pilot it, if it's not too complex." I nodded to her.
Capt. Emerald: "Excellent." She walked with us towards where our craft was. "The Crystal Kingdom used to be very proud of our airships. It seems only Swiftsure and Superb are left.." She gave them a look. "..and they were supposed to have been replaced. They were going to undergo transformation into Royal luxury yachts." A shake of her head. "We've all learned what's going on out in the world - we may not have the splendour we once did, General, but I am willing to offer any assistance that we can. It'll take some time for us to form proper military units once again.. and ages to construct our airships."
K: "The industrial resources of Equestria may be able to help. Does Crystalpolis have an airship construction dockyard?" I said, as I walked with her.
Capt. Emerald: "Yes. But we lack raw materials - one Air Cruiser was under construction at the time this all happened, but the materials to finish her.."
K: "Let Princess Cadence know what you need. She'll see that you get it. Are Superb and Swiftsure armed, in any way?"
Capt. Emerald: "Lightly. The best we had at the time for.. well, weapons.. were ballistas and arrownals. Mainly as defense against Griffon attacks. When everything happened, the only real concern we crystal ponies had was a possible raid by outcast Griffon war bands. Hence the Airships - we're fairly close to their borders, and Pegasus Ponies haven't the same stamina and strength as full-grown Griffons. So, we developed a technological answer." She said this with a note of pride.
Arrownals, as I found out later, were essentially large cubic racks of crossbows (they came in different configurations - Superb and Swiftsure were armed with four 6x6 Arrownals). The bolts were placed in a cubic rack, and the rack slid over the individual mechanisms from the front. The whole thing was activated by a central device that acted as a ratchet for the individual launchers, to give each one tension, with a single trigger mechanism. They were finicky, as the bolt racks were single shot things, and had to be placed just right or the bolts wouldn't sit in the bolt rests properly.
K: "Uh - Norf." I motioned to him. "You and the lads stay here. Cosmic-"
Gaze: "What about that promise, suh?" To never leave them behind again.
K: "Just listen. Cosmic, you were an artillerist. Get some 75's and see if you can get them mounted to these airships - if they're so close to the end of their service lives, we may as well use them for test beds. Norf and Gaze, you two give the crews basic firearms instruction - get any small arms you might need shipped in, post haste. See about mounting some Medium MG's to the outer safety rails."
Norfy: "Of course, K." He made a note of this on a small scratch pad he had out.
K: "Captain, were any prominent airship desingers in Crystalpolis, and have they been found?" I said as I walked.
Capt. Emerald: "Yes, three.. though their colleagues were, apparently, outside of the city when the event happened." *Sigh*
K: "Alright. Get them on designing new and better Airships. They'll probably need some time to research any technological advancements that the rest of the world has made, that might help them. Airships can be fantastic weapons platforms - and cost effective." I wanted the Crystal Kingdom to focus on this.. their specialty here might help us immensely when we take the fight to Tirek.
Cosmic: "I'll look into it, sir." He nodded.
K: "Alright. When you get them working, take them out for a test run, and come for us. We'll leave markers to indicate where we're going."
Toola: "Can.. can I paint them?" She grinned mischeviously.
K: "You're the best one for it, Toola." I smirked.
The craft we were given had the designation XY-3102. It had no name. It was simply an excursion vessel that was kept at the palace. I made note of a few things here and there about it - it was an open top craft, with the gas bags underneath, and a single engine in the rear. The ducted fans were a single pair, mounted partly to the underside. Unlike the huge ducted fans for the Cruisers that were about 19 meters across, these had safety cages over the intakes and outflows, just in case someone slipped. It looked like a small sail boat, but with a huge inflatable raft glued to the bottom.
K: "Looks.. interesting.."
Capt. Emerald: "Crystal Kingdom airship technology relies on the principle of neutral buoyancy instead of positive buyancy - we tried positive buoyancy gas bags with hydrogen, but.. they were incredibly dangerous and massive. So, we went with a more conservative approach. The gas bags use helium, and provide only enough buoyancy to keep the vessel neutral in the air, or slightly gain altitiude depending on loadout, crew, and so on.."
Dash: "Whoa.." She was instantly fascinated with the vessel.. she zoomed over and started inspecting it from every angle. "..this is the most awesome thing I've ever seen!" *Squeal!* *Ahem* "Yeah, well, how FAST is it?"
Capt. Emerald: "The XY-3100 series are rated for 60 knots, maximum. It uses a single Diamond-Merietta eighteen cylinder engine with an Arbette NC-12A propeller and two Arbette NR-22 ducted fans."
K: "Dash can break the sound barrier." I commented. "That's about eleven times the top speed of this vessel."
Capt. Emerald: "Can she maintain that speed for 450 nautical miles?" That's 833km. She smirked a little.
Dash: *Embarrassed chuckle* "Uh.. maybe.. but I'm not flying at ALL after that!" She rubbed her forearm a little - that's about the distance she covered during Lone Hoof Ridge.
K: "Okay, so, Dash has a speed advantage, but this has an insane endurance.. over four hundred and fifty nautical miles?" I queried, brow cocked.
Capt. Emerald: "Yes, General. That's with a full fuel load and minimal cargo and passenger load, taking advantage of wind currents. Airships have to take into account every gram of weight, in order to maintain that neutral buoyancy, and thus, their speed and endurance." A proud nod.
K: "Alright. It'll be me and the seven girls, here. Two weeks of food, plus spare armaments and weapons. I want a couple of mechanics, if you have them to spare. Twilight might be able to fly the vessel, but I doubt any of us could repair it if something went wrong." I shrugged.
Capt. Emerald: "Of course. I know just the ponies to help you.." She leaned over towards HCMAS Superb, and yelled at the top of her lungs. "SPARKY! LUGNUT!" She waved with her right fore-hoof. "GET YOUR FLANKS DOWN HERE!!" Well, well.. a Captain that talks like a truck driver. She had my respect - being able to talk at the same level as her crew, and without abusive verbiage..
Two ponies in interesting-looking jumpsuits hopped down from the rigging around HCMAS Superb and came over to where we were. The first one was hefty, with a squat face. He was also fairly tall - taller than Captain Emerald. The second one was short and lanky - he had those graceful legs similar to Corporal Campanula, but on a frame that was a bit smaller than Twilight. A very mismatched pair. They reminded me, instantly, of Laurel and Hardy. Right down to the grin on the pudgy one's face.
Asst. Sr. Mechanic Lugnut (The Pudgy One): "Assistant Senior Mechanics Lugnut and Sparky reporting for duty, Sky Captain." A beaming grin, and a slight head-bow. "And how may we help you, Sky Captain?" He asked, getting into position in front of her, right away.
Asst. Sr. Mechanic Sparky (The Thin One): "Uh.. Luggie..!" He was trying to get off the rigging, but a wrench in a sleeve pocket had gotten caught.
Lugnut: "Be quiet, Spark." He gently waved his hoof at him. "Her Captainship is trying to explain our job.."
Sparky: "But.. but.. Luggie!" He gave a tiny whimper. "I'm stuck!"
Lugnut: "One moment, Your Captainness!" He bowed, and used his hoof to smooth out his necktie, before going over to Sparky, and putting a hoof on his shoulder. "And what is this?" He made a gesture with his other hoof.
By now, Sparky, attempting to get free, had tangled himself in the rigging completely. His forelegs and back legs were entwined with the rigging rope.
Sparky: "Ah.. I dunno, Luggie? Seem to have gotten myself caught!" He flailed a little, helplessly.
Lugnut: "I suppose I'll have to give you a hand!"
He snorted a little, and grasped Sparky in his fetlocks, trying to pull him free and get the rigging ropes untangled. Unfortunately for them both, when he did so, he yanked one of the ropes that was lazily slung around one of the scaffolding joints so hard, it popped out of its joint clamp. Then, there was a crash as Sparky and Lugnut managed to bring down a large chunk of scaffolding, and cause three other ponies to fall to the ground.
K: *Deadpan* "You're secretly working for the enemy, aren't you, Captain?"
Pinkie Pie: *Mad cackling, snorting, and giggling*
Norfy: *Groan* *Chuckle*
Gaze: "OI!" *AAAHAHAHA!*
I could hear the other girls laughing their flanks off behind them.
Capt. Emerald: "N-No! General! Why would you say such a thing!?" She didn't get it.
K: "Because these two are obviously selected to sabotage the mission.." I blinked. Then I started laughing, unable to hold it in any longer, seeing Lugnut and Sparky extracate themselves from the pile, only to have a bucket of water fall on Lugnut's head.
Capt. Emerald: "LUGNUT! SPARKY!" She yelled, obviously humiliated by their disasterous performace. "GET OVER HERE!" She stomped over..
Pinkie: "Oh, no!" *LAUGHS* "Don't do it..!"
Lugnut: "C-Captain! I'm so sorry! Please.."
He reached out to take her fetlock and get him and Sparky out of the mess, when in doing so, he managed to pull down the other three buckets that were on the top level, for washing the airship. The rope around his arm was caught around them. When they fell, they drenched the Captain, Sparky, and one of the other Ponies that had fallen into the ropes from last time.
Pinkie rolled over on her back, and could not stop laughing. She even hiccuped a couple times.
I had to lean against the wall, I was laughing so hard.
Capt. Emerald: *Steaming* "SPARKY! LUGNUT! YOU IMBECILES!"
Sparky: "Sorry, Captain..!"
Lugnut: "This is another fine mess you've gotten us into!" He snorted.
K: "Ohh.. ohhh.. dear Luna.. I'll TAKE them.. just for the comic relief!" I sat down on a crate, trying to stay away from the Comedy Zone that had apparently erupted around the two - any who dared enter would become part of the joke (ask Pinkie - she wrote a Doctorate-level thesis on the Physics of Comedy Zones).
Capt. Emerald: "I-I-I SWEAR, General! They're not as incompetent as they look!" She GLARED at them with murderous eyes. "YOU TWO GET CLEANED UP AND REPORT TO 3-1-0-2! GO!"
They got out of the rope pile, still drenched, trying to give the Sky Captain an apologetic look.
Capt. Emerald: "GOOOOOOO!" She yelled, and stamped her right foreleg.
After brushing herself off a little, removing her topcoat and bicorne and handing them off to another pony to have cleaned (leaving her in her crisp, white, linen shirt, red vest, and white linen pants, with black leather belt and red waist sash), she paced over to where we were, wringing out her mane.
Capt. Emerald: "General K, I.. I can't.." She looked absolutely humiliated.
Pinkie was the one that extended the Laurel of frendship. Hardily. Ha, see that? I made a pun. No, no, she hugged her, tightly, and stuck a cupcake in her mouth.
Pinkie: "Don't worry about it, silly! That was funny! This may be war and all, but you still have to smile!" A beaming, ear-to-ear Pinkie Grin.
Capt. Emerald: "Thank you.." She grinned a little and ate the frosted treat.
K: "Pinkie's right." I shrugged. "That was the best laugh I'd had in.. ages. I needed that. But I'm not going to judge you or the ponies under your command, poorly, because of one little goof-up." I patted her on the shoulder. "I look forward to working with you. Pinkie?"
Pinkie: "Yeap?" *Munching on a cupcake*
K: "Gather up all the things we're going to need for the trip. Weapons, ammo, food, equipment. Take Toola with you, grab any palace personnel you need for the heavy lifting." I nodded.
Pinkie: "You got it!" Off she and Toola went.
Capt. Emerald: "Again, General, I'm terribly sorry.." She shook her head.
K: "Think nothing of it." I gave her a grin. "At least this journey will be.. interesting."
Once we got all prepared, we'd be on our way to the Wishing Star. I looked forward to it, if only because I could feel the friendship around us. I just had no idea what finding that Wishing Star was going to entail..
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: To the Sky
DATE: War Day 360
TIME: 12:01 Equestria Royal Time
LOCATION: Unknown Skies, 30km from the Crystal Kingdom's borders.
It took almost three days to modify the XY to carry machine guns. In that time, the other two XY-series craft that were in the Crystal Palace were used to forward deploy some supply caches. Ammo, food, fuel, and spare parts. The Girls plus Gilda were with me, as was Sparky and Lugnut. Each of us had a Bradley, with five of the rifles being Bradley/Gavin combos. There were three Chaffee shotguns, two Merrill Commando LMG's, a Knox Grenade Launcher, two Hathcock Sniper Rifles, and five Ridgway SMG's in reserve, plus a Morgan pistol for each of us. The XY held 12 days of food and water, plus we could easily forage for both. The XY had a spare bladder tank in the rear top deck, lashed to the superstructure and the cabin door, with extra fuel in it, increasing our range to 400nmi.
In short, we were set.
Oh, and Gilda? She'd shown up and complained about how I was taking her mare away from her again, and insisted on coming with. That we were going to be so close to her old home gave me pause. But, still.. I couldn't say no.
Jade and Gorcat were back at the palace helping Norfy, Gaze and Cosmic arm the Superb and Swisftsure. They needed the extra hands (and the fact that they both had actual HANDS).
Our path would take us into unclaimed, unknown territory. Lands that the Crystal Kingdom never settled, as they were very far north of the Capital - which, itself, had weather closer to a city in northern Canada on Earth - and realtively inhospitable to Pony settlement. We had a map (three copies, avoiding the Hero Mistake of only having one) and we had a direction to go in.
I was on the upper deck with Twilight and Gilda. Gilda was acting as her navigator. What was nice about these excursion craft was that they had panels in the sides of the railing that rolled up while the vehicle was in flight, and a roof piece that slid over the top, making the whole thing look like a flying submarine or something. It also kept the wind and rain off.
K: "You'll have to show me how to pilot this thing, some time.." I started.
Twilight: "Yes, that's a good idea.. it can't hurt to have a backup pilot." She seemed so engrossed in what she was doing - this was yet another technological marvel to her.
K: "I don't mean just that.. I've always wanted to fly." Yes, like many humans, I've always wanted to know what it's like to be propelled through the air at potentially lethal velocities - and since this was much slower than a traditional airplane, this was perfect, in my eyes.
Twilight: "Hm!" A smile.
K: "Uh, Twi.." I started in. I had to address something..
Twilight: "What is it, K?" She gave me half a glance, and looked back to her instrumentation.
K: "About.. what we did.. in the hotel.." I continued.
Twilight: "Oh.." She turned a shade of red across her muzzle.
Gilda: "Oh?" She looked at both of us.
K: "Rainbow Dash got some, too." I shrugged, nonchalantly. She was just less likely to make an issue of it.
Gilda: "That little tart!" She snorted a bit. "She promised she wouldn't DO that until both of us..!" She realized what she was saying, out loud, and hushed up, also turning a shade of red.
K: "Were you two planning on ambushing me?" I cocked a brow.
Gilda: *Nervous chuckle* "W-Well.. see.. we were both really curious.." *Ahem* "What's it matter!?" She paced over. "I want to know!" She tapped my chest with her claw. "I got a right, don't I? You're our leader. And in Griffon custom.." She trailed her tail under my chin. "..you do have that option. And I have that expectation." A purr.
K: "You mean, the Alpha of the Pride has the option of bedding any available females within the pride, and thus, you somewhat culturally expected me to take a shot at the Almighty and Awesome G?" I stated with a chuckle in my voice, coming off both cool and unconcerned - exactly what she would react to.
Gilda: "Yeah!" *Coff* "Yeah.." She looked down, and back up. "Unless you don't think I'm worth it?"
K: "I thought you preferred females!" I shrugged, brushing it off.
Gilda: "W-Well..!" Her face turned even redder under her feathers. "Just because I do, doesn't mean you can't.." She stopped, her face almost maroon.
K: "You have rape fantasies and you want me to be your little Monkey Dom for a night." I got right to the point.
Gilda: "!!" Her face was flushed, and she was now sweating. "Th.. I.. you couldn't Top me, anyway!" She crossed her arms, shut her eyes, and sat on her haunches.
K: "Uh-huh.. I already have, you just won't admit it." I brushed her off and went back to Twilight. "As I was saying, Twi, considering what we did.. I just hope our friendship doesn't get wierd or something." I shrugged.
I connected with Twi on a different level than the others. AJ.. I loved her to death, and I was making her as paranoid as I was. Dash was.. she wouldn't make an issue of it if we did the pelvic pinochle once in a while. Rarity, I was already having casual affairs with, with consent from he others (to keep her out of trouble). Fluttershy just didn't seem interested in that (which was fine with me). Pinkie.. was Pinkie. And Toola approached sex in a completely different way.
Twilight? She had the mental capacity to, one day, think almost exactly like me because she was, at her heart, a scientist and inventor. Her scientific medium was both magic and hard science in the traditional (Earthly) concept. So, I tended to think of her as.. something much closer to myself.
I didn't want what we did, partly under the influence, to have any effect on our relationship as friends. Of course, what she said, was both partly expected (AJ warned me about it ages ago) and partly a shock.
Twilight: "W-Well.. I kinda expected this to happen sooner or later.." *Ah-heh* "..n-not that it wasn't.." *Dreamily* "..magical.." *Coff* "..but it is part of our culture that a stallion in a committed relationship have access to, and sample, the mares closest to the one they've chosen." She adjusted herself in the seat a bit. "And I wouldn't mind doing it again in a more controlled environment. Uh, for science, of course."
K: "Yeah. For science. And your now recently-discovered libido." I patted her on the head. "I value you as a close friend, Twilight, I just don't want it to be wierd, is all."
Gilda had gone back to her duties as navigator, but I could tell, she was aroused. She was shifting her back feet in the same way a female cat in heat, would.
Twilight: "I won't make it wierd." She shrugged a little. "I know you're with Applejack, and I'm not going to interfere with that. But.. you know.. I wouldn't mind.. exploring things.. with someone I know isn't going to mistreat me." She shrugged a little. "I used to read those.. kinds.. of forbidden books in the Canterlot library.. it's where I learned how to-" She looked at me, and Gilda. "-let's just say I know what to do without a stallion, and.. I'm not going to be all stuck-up about it." A grin, and the subject was settled.
I walked back out onto the lower exposed deck, descending the stairs (I had to duck because the side shields and roof were up) between the two MG mounts. Rainbow Dash was in one of them, acting as lookout. I gave her a nod, and walked over to where Fluttershy was, just leaning against the rail, looking out at the world as it flew by.
K: "Amazing, isn't it?" I patted her shoulder and mane.
Fluttershy: *Hmm!* She rubbed into my hand, with a beaming grin.
K: "I am sorry for the things that've happend to you." I said, resting my hand on her shoulder.
Fluttershy: "No, it's okay." She rubbed her head on my chest a bit. "Because of you, I get to explore the world.. I mean.. I would never have done any of these things if it hadn't been for you, K." She grinned again, and went back to looking a moment, before turning back to me. "Really. Thank you. I've had more excitement than I ever thought I would." She gave me a friendly half-hug. "I better go see about lunch.." And off she toddled.
At least she didn't blame me. But I couldn't tell if that was because of her naturally submissive attitude, or because she really didn't blame me for.. what happened to her and Grogar. Gilda's rape fantasies are one thing - that's all in lust and play - but actual rape? I reminded myself of my need to avenge her. And, really, any of the girls.. I'd avenge them, too. Just because she was sweet, innocent Fluttershy.. it didn't make my desire for revenge any stronger - she was my friend, and THAT'S what made it so important.
I went over and climbed up into the starboard side machine gun turret, and nodded to Dash again. She was using the unpowered turret ring to slide around in circles while she watched the skies. She waved back, and gave me a determined, excited grin. This was HER thing.. in the skies, flying along, feeling the wind in her mane.. and she was loving it.
The rest of the afternoon was fairly uneventful. We had sandwiches for lunch, which Fluttershy prepared for us.
TIME: 17:37
LOCATION: 208km/112nmi from the Crystal Kingdom's Borders, ~30km from Mount Frost
I was back in the pilot's cabin, getting lessons from Twiight on how to fly the thing. I got the basics - yaw, pitch, foward speed, buoyancy, etc. - and I could handle it as long as I wasn't hugging the ground. Navigation? Eh.. as long as I had Gilda there to point out where to go, I was okay.
Twilight: "It's starting to get dark.. better let me take over. We need to find a place to land for the night." She nodded and replaced me in the pilot's seat.
Gilda: "Didn't Sombra say people lived near here?" She tilted her head to one side.
Twilight: "He did. Though I don't know what race they'd be." She shrugged a little.
K: "We.. I think we're going to find out.." I pointed off in the distance. In the setting sun, I could see smoke on the horizon. Multiple ribbons of it. Like, from chimneys.
Twilight: "That.. can't be ancient Ponyville, can it?" She glanced at Gilda.
Gilda: "No way. We're not even at the mountain yet." She shrugged. "Griffons, maybe?"
Twilight: "I'll find us a place to land nearby, and we'll go check it out?" She asked me.
K: "Make it so." I said, while tugging my uniform jacket down a bit. I'd been waiting ALL MY LIFE to pull off Picard's line. And I did. Along with "The Riker Maneuver" of fixing my top.
I'm such a nerd.
I went back to the rear of the XY and told everyone what was going on - that we'd spotted a possible village of some sort.
Toola: "Awesome..! Primitive art!" She was suddenly starry-eyed at the thought.
Pinkie: "Party?" She was holding up a champagne popper.
Applejack: "Hm.. I'm guessin' were'a goin' in armed?" She cocked a brow at me.
K: "Definitely. Just to be safe. Might be an Outcast settlement, and they might not be too friendly." I shrugged. "AJ, you, me, Toola, Rarity, Dash and Gilda. Everyone else stays here to protect the XY."
Applejack: "Ah'lright.." She went over to the weapon rack to get everyone loaded out.
I could feel the airship dropping in alititude, and slowing down. I grabbed a Bradley/Gavin combo and my (new, made by Rarity) Load-Bearing Vest and put them on. Rarity even made me a thick coat to wear. Everyone was getting their cold weather gear on - there was snow on the ground, after all, this was a sub-arctic type region.
Rarity: "This should be fascinating.. I wonder if I can design some back-to-primitive fashions based on the native's clothes..?" She tapped her chin with her right forehoof as her left forehoof grabbed her personal Hathcock and got her gear on.
Toola: "I just want to see what they call Art over there..!" A Ridgway for her. Of course.
Dash: "Eh.. might be cool." She smirked and grabbed a Bradley/Gavin as well.
Applejack: "Y'all be on your best behaviour! We can't 'ford to make no more enemies." Practical as always - she grabbed a Chaffee.
I grabbed a Merrill for Gilda and some extra belts. She might be small for a Griffon, but she was larger than a pony, and had greater strength and endurance than I did. A machine gun was perfect for her. I brought this up to the pilot cabin just as we touched down, along with her coat. She didn't need much in the way of Cold Weather Gear - her race was built for cold, to a degree.
K: "Here. Gilda, you're with us. Twilight, I'm taking a radio with me, so stay in contact. You have permission to use lethal force if threatened - you're also in charge until I get back."
Twilight: "I understand." She nodded.
I got to the rear deck, and pulled out the drop ladder, flinging it over the side. We'd set down in a clearing amidst the woods. At the very least, this wouldn't make a bad camp site for the night. The XY had been a fantastic boon to our mission - the broken, snowy ground and the 200+ kilometers of travel that we'd covered in just a few hours? We'd be lucky to make 5 miles a day on foot with terrain like that, to say nothing of the supplies we would have needed. The XY dropped it down to a few hours of travel. And if my calculations were right, we weren't that far from a supply drop, either.
I just wondered what this village had in store for us..
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Place in the Cold
DATE: War Day 360/29 Tertious, 1002 C.S.
TIME: 17:42 Equestria Royal Time
LOCATION: Approaching Unknown Settlement, 209km/113nmi from the Crystal Kingdom's Borders, ~30km from Mount Frost
I was out in front with Applejack, with Gilda bringing up the rear. Toola and Rarity were in the middle, with Rarity off to one side. Dash was occasionally popping up to check over the treeline so we wouldn't get lost. It was snowing, lightly, as we made our way through the woods and over the dense, broken ground.
I can't emphasize enough how broken the ground was - it was a climb just to get a few feet of distance. The girls handled it well - I needed an occasional boost. Jagged chunks of rock and terrain jutted up from a couple feet, to over my head. The girls could just hop on small outcroppings and get over it. I had to seriously climb. Other spots were flat, open terrain. Serene, peaceful, easy to cross. Then there were a few 'sink holes' - depressions in the ground about pony-sized that were totally filled with unpacked powder.
Yeah, marching this terrain would be a nightmare without a good map and a pre-chosen path. That'd call for a few months of scouting with professional pathfinders and woodsponies/trappers, some expert cartographers, and probably an Engineer Company to smooth out or bridge anything not easily traversible. This would have been a nightmare without the XY.
But, it came to mind, what exactly caused the ground to be shattered like this? It looked or felt like some kind of cataclysm happened here. Did Sombra have a hand in this? If not, then whom? Or what? Geological forces?
Dash: *Shh!* "Ten meters straight ahead, through that underbrush, there's a cleared road!"
K: "Everyone stay cool." I advised. The cold was no problem.. I grew up in Chiacgo, remember? A place that had some hellacious winters. "We're not trying to start a fight with anyone."
Applejack: "R'aight." A nod from her. She pulled out the apple dumplings from her saddle bags and made sure they were in easy reach. A peace offering.
We moved out on to the road, slinging our rifles behind our backs. Our uniforms bore both the Crystal Kingdom's old markings, and Equestria's, as well as the NEIGHTO flash. We were well identified as being foreign nationals. Foreign military, in fact. I was well aware of this, but I insisted on the markings in case we ran into the Herdiet Union, which had borders within 'accidental discovery' distance of these northern lands (so they couldn't claim we were spies, or something), and in case we met Griffon Kingdom officials.
The path of the road was corduroy - that's a log road with, in some cases, a pitch or dirt covering, if the logs aren't carefully split and flattened. This road was constructed with whole logs covered in packed dirt, with slabs of rough stone placed over it at odd angles, possibly to level out the terrain and provide solid footing if it gets muddy. This path in the woods led right to the settlement.
As we walked up the road, I could see the buildings. I wouldn't call this place, properly, a village. It had no signs of commerce of any kind. It was just a collection of houses. I counted fifteen of them. One house seemed to have some kind of smithery set up in the rear - the forge is lit and burning. A sign of life.
We walked into the settlement quietly, calmly, and showing no sign of aggression. No one was on the road, or out of their houses, so I led us towards the smithy. If the forge is still lit, the smith is probably still working.. and we can make contact with them.
I noted that none of the houses seemed to have obvious windows. They were all constructed almost the same way. A stone foundation, with what looked like a timber frame, topped with thick hay, except around the stone chimneys - they had little circles of stone near the tops that seemed to be fitted to the roof. Likely to prevent a fire. Under the hay were signs of closely-fitted timbers or planks, with another sandwich of hay between them. Looked both sturdy and warm... these settlers aren't dumb by any means.
In the center of town was one large pine tree. At the top of it was some kind of crowning piece that looked like something could be set in it.
It came to mind that these might be ponies that were survivors of the initial problems all those years ago, and that instead of continuing to move south with the rest of the ponies, they stayed behind. Adapted. And kept some of their traditions. That tree would be the perfect spot to mount The Wishing Star!
We moved over to where the forge was, and I could see that there were tools left out, and an iron in the fire. Whoever was here, was coming back in a moment. I prodded AJ to get her present ready.
???: "..jest a meenit! I left an eye-ron in de coals!" An odd accent, but we could see the door opening to the house the smithery was attached to.
Out came an older pony. Mid-50's, at least. He was quite furry compared to the girls, with a big bush of hair around each hoof, and a nice, thick coat along his neck. His mane was white and grey, with a deep khaki coat. He had a vest on, too, that had a fur-lined collar. His arms were covered in what looked like a linen shirt. He even had pants on, and fur-trimed boots over his rear legs.
K: "Uh, excuse me, sir?" I announced myself.
He didn't seem to notice us until I'd spoken up, though..
???: "W-EH! WHAT EES DEES!?" He raised his smith hammer in one fetlock and moved to keep it between us. "JOU STAY'EH BACK!"
Applejack: "Aw, shucks, sir, we don' meen'ya no harm!" She pulled out her apple turnovers and set them on the anvil, opening the box with her teeth. "See? We's tryin' ta be right neighborly - even brough'cha a treat!" She batted those big eyes of hers, in her most innocent possible tone.
???: "Whut are'a 'dees?" That's when it hit me - his accent was Scandinavian. He approached the turnovers carefully, and sniffed them. Blinking in surprise, he munched one right out of the box. *Mmm-mmm!* "Dee-ah-leeshus!"
??? #2: "Whoo'joo talkings-to, dearie? Essit Meesus Copplerhoof, ag'in?" Another pony came out. A mare, this time, wearing a long dress that came to her 'knees' and some kind of shawl over her shoulders. "OH! S-Strangers..!"
???: "D'ey seem'a to be okay, Marta." He held out a turnover for her. "Here! D'ey bring'a us treats!"
She took it with caution, but once she started eating it, she fell in love with its delicate charms.
Marta: "Ooohh! D'is is wonderful, doo'nch'a kno!" She smiled, and nodded to us. "You'sr'e friendly! Come on een!" She stood aside, and nodded for us to enter.
K: "Thank you, ma'am." I bowed my head and led everyone inside. The older stallion followed behind us.
Sven: "My name is'a Sven Steelheart. D'is here is me sweetie, Marta." He bowed to us. "Welcome to our home, jae?" He pronounced that last word as 'yea' as in 'yea or nay.' "Whut'a brings you all out'ere?"
K: "Thank you, sir, ma'am. I'm General K - this is my Leading Mare, Applejack, and our friends Gilda, Toola-Roola, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. We're members of Equestria's military. We've come here in search of a certain magical artifact. A demonic entity known as Tirek is searching for it, as well. We intend no harm to anyone - I apologise if I've disrupted your home." It was a little cramped in here, height-wise. Clearly, these homes were not meant for humans.
Applejack: "Nice ta'meet'cha!" She tipped her hat.
Gilda: "I-It's a pleasure to meet you, folks." She wasn't used to playing diplomat.
Toola: "Hiyas! Nice place you've got here."
Rarity: "A pleasure to meet you." She bowed her head a little.
Dash: "Nice to meet'cha!" She smirked and gave them a winning smile.
Sven: "Eet's'a pleasure to make your-all ac'vaintence!" He chuckled a little.
Marta: "So nice'ta meet new friends!" She curtsied a little.
Sven: "You's sayin' a thingie name't Tirek is behind this?" He gave a concerned nod.
K: "Yes, sir-"
Sven: "Sven, plees! We are friends, now!" He nodded a bit. "Oh, my iron! Excuse me!" He hurried outside.
K: "Ma'am-"
Marta: "Marta. Or auntie. All'a th' little tykes calls me Auntie." She patted my arm, and bade us all to sit down.
Gilda: "..Auntie.." She honestly smiled. Familial acceptance wasn't something she was familiar with.
Sven: "All tak'n care'of." He stepped back in and took a seat in his rocking chair. "Tirek, eh?"
K: "You're familiar with him?" I cocked my head to the side a little.
Sven: "You could say 'dat." He gives a stern nod. "Any enemy'o Tireks' a good pally of ours!" He affirms.
K: "Tell me.." I made hand motions.
Sven: "D'is here village's all 'dat's left'a the Old Empire of Harmony's.. well, we was de Guards of Harmony." He shrugged.
K: "I'm not sure I follow.." Guards of Harmony? It didn't make sense.
As Sven explained it to us, this was the village of the remnants of the military of the Empire of Harmony. The Guards of Harmony. They were the elite that protected Pony society from its external threats. When everything started to grow cold and dark thousands of years ago, the Exodus began from the northern lands to Dream Valley. The Guards of Harmony and their families were the last to leave. By then, it had already begun snowing regularly. Mount Frost exploded around then, and massive earthquakes made the passes through the mountains impossible to traverse.
The Guards and their families didn't know that, and soldiered on anyway. They were attacked by outcasted Griffon warbands, as well as 'skraelings' from the north (Herdiets - Roostians, actually). They eventually reached this pass, and could go no further. So, they decided to settle down and adapt. Over time, they encountered other stragglers from the Exodus, and invited them to stay. This settlement was one of four in the area (this being the smallest - it was known as Woodvillage or Byntra in their local language), with a fifth and much larger settlement acting like the local fort and trading post. When the villagers had things to trade - food, crafted goods, whatever - they went to The Stone Circle (Stenakrets) and bartered for what they needed. Sven was a Weaponmaster - he crafted things from iron and steel. Marta was a casual baker and cook.
Everyone in the villages knew how to fight. Mare and Stallion alike trained as children to fight like warriors, to defend the pass (symbolically) and to ward off occasional Griffon raids. What they were taught to fear the most, though, was the return of Tirek. THAT story had been passed down through generations, even BEFORE the Crisis. He was seen as the ultimate evil.. something like Satan, on Earth.
Sven: "Ees'a very long history, you see. This'a house? Belong to Marta's parents. My sister lives in the house in vich I grew oop." He nodded to us.
K: "Interesting.." I pondered this. "..you wouldn't happen to know where Ponyville is, would you?"
Sven: "Aye.. but to travel there is forbidden to us. It is seen as retreat - to run away from here." He shrugged. "Not that eet hasn't happen'd before. Some young'a fools every ger'ne'ration.. they try to get back to there, fill'a'd with stories of its glories."
K: "We need to go there. We must see if the artifact we seek is there." I shrugged. "And we must get it before Tirek."
Sven: "Den I will help you get on'da right path.." He nodded. "..but not tonight. Never at'a night. Too dangerous."
K: "Wise, of course." I shrugged.
Sven: "In'da mornin', I want'cha ta meet da Guardmaster. He's'da leader of us all." A small, thoughtful nod. "He c'n give'ya more information."
I excused myself to radio back to Twilight. Sven and Marta invited us to spend the night. In the morning, I wanted Twilight and the others to come to the village in the XY - there was a spot to land just north of its edge. I also told her what we'd found here.. and the link it gave us to both The Wishing Star and Tirek himself.
Needless to say, in my anticipation and excitement, sleep was hard to catch.
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Winter Wonder Land
DATE: War Day 361
TIME: 06:30 Local Time/07:30 ERDT
LOCATION: Byntra Settlement, Empire of Harmony
I woke up first. Well, not first. Marta and Sven had been up for an hour. Marta was already making us breakfast. Sven was working at the forge. I sat up, dressed myself (I knew how to sleep in cold weather - get nearly naked and stuff your clothes in the covers with you, it prevents you from sweating in them and freezing your nuts off when you get up, plus, it makes sure your clothes are nice and toasty) and gave a nod to Marta.
These homes had four or five rooms each - a main room that had the kitchen and sitting area, the primary bedroom, the storage room for food (located on a corner with at least two exterior walls), and then a smaller entrance room. As near as I could tell, the main room also served as a guest room, given how easily we were all stowed away in here.
Marta: "Aye see j'our up.." She nodded. "..do humans like oats?" She tilted her head to the side a little.
K: "Yes, Auntie." I smiled a little, digging in my own small backpack and coming up with a jar of apple preserves. Hey, I like oatmeal as much as the next guy, but it's gotta have a little flavor. I maneuvered across the room and sat at the small table. "I'm guessing most ponies around here get up early?"
Marta: "Jae. Until early summer. Then we tend'a to sleep'a in a bit." She gave me a warm smile and set a bowl of quick oats before me, giving me a very motherly kiss on the head.
I blushed a little.. she reminded me of my own mother, a bit.
K: "Thank you, Auntie." I put some preserves in the bowl and set the jar on the table for anyone that wanted some.
Marta: "That Greefon.." Her accent on that word was harsher than her husband's. "..she an outcast, yes?"
K: "Yes, Auntie. She.." I shook my head at Gilda, who was cuddled up to Rainbow Dash. "..she's been one of my best friends and most trusted allies for the last two and a half years." I shrugged and dug into the oats.. seems she added a little sweet cream to them. Yummy!
Marta: "She'a seems to have'r troubles." She sat across from me. "I remember.. my family.. we took in'a young'un Greefon.. when I was a filly." She bowed her head a little. "He din'a complain.. work't very hard.. I seen now he jes' needed a mother."
K: "If I may ask, what happned to him?" I tilted my head to the side.
Marta: "A Greefon raid.. fifteen yeer ago.. he protect me.." She shrugged. "..the raid took'a my brodder, too."
K: "I'm so sorry." I put a hand on her foreleg.
Marta: "Eets okay, Meester K." She gave me that warm, motherly smile. "Eet was a lesson.. race, it makes no difference. It'sa what in de heart dat counts, jae?"
K: "Just K, please, Auntie. And, exactly." I finished my bowl of food, and grabbed the radio. "I'll be right back."
Getting my coat on, I stepped outside and into a clear spot, nodding to Sven. Pulling up the aerial, I clicked the radio on.
K: C> "Alpha One Actual to Zero Two, come in, over." Zero Two for the last two numbers of XY's designation number.
Twilight: C> *Yawn* "Zero Two Actual, go ahead. Good morning, K. Over."
K: C> "Good morning, Twilight. Come on into the village - there's a clear spot just to the north, at the very edge, where you can set the XY down. One of the settlers, Sven, has invited us to meet their leader. I'll mark the position. Read me? Over."
Twilight: C> "I read you. ETA's about.. ten minutes or so. Zero Two, out."
K: C> "Ten-four." I clicked it off.
Sven: "Dat's'a interesting device.." He came over and examined it. "..what joo call 'dis?"
K: "A radio, Sven." I shrugged a little, packing it up. "It allows-"
Sven: "-ca'muu'nee'cations across long distance, vit de Radio Waves, jae?" He tilted his head at me.
As far as I knew, these people shouldn't have any idea what a Radio IS, let alone the concept of radio waves.
K: "Yeeahh.. exactly.." I gave him a quizzical look.
Sven: "Ve hadt something likes this." He shrugged a bit. "Many century ago, but we did." He pulled down his pants to show off his mark.
Interestingly enough, the mark was a crossed wrench-and-hammer with a lightning bolt through it. There's a little antenna in the middle of the bolt.
K: "Wow.." I cocked a brow.
Sven: "Ve still haff a few t'ings dat run on magic powers.. I repair them." He shrugged as if it was no big thing.
Thing is, he's an Earth Pony. So is Marta.
K: "But, you're an Earth Pony.." I started.
Sven: "Jes because I'm'a'an Earth Pony don't mean I dun't'kno what I doin'.." He gave a little mischevious chuckle.
So, I brought it to his little workshop, opened it up, and showed him how it worked. The primitive batteries inside that powered it. The tubes. Everything.
Sven: "Fascinating.." He rubbed his bearded chin. "..so, these are coming back, then?"
K: "Sort of. I've been spearheading a technological revolution." I shrugged. I dug out my cell phone - it still had a little power to it, and I didn't really need anything off of it, so I turned it on. "This is from my world. It's a communications device not unlike the radio, but it can also store pictures, perform computations, and play music." I selected Beethoven's 5th to play.
Sven: "This.. this about the limit of our ancient tek-no-loggy!" He beamed and examined it carefully.. like it was made of glass. "It'a run on elek-trice-aty, yes?!"
K: "Yeah.. why?"
Before I realized what was happening, Sven dug out a manual cranked electrical generator. It looks like he put it together himself. What amazed me was that it had a bank of power sockets on it.. Western European Three-Prong, Asian.. American Two-Prong..
K: "What's the voltage and ampereage that comes out of this?" I asked, with a note of excitement.
Sven: "Aboot'a.. 120 voltage.. 6 amperage.." He scratched his chin.
K: "Does she still work?" I examined the magnets and coils of copper inside.
Sven: "Joo'betcha!" He grabbed the crank handles in his fetlocks and started turning. It, indeed, came to life.
K: "I'll be right back.." And off I went to my backpack, getting my charger out. I carried these things with me, because of the espionage case that was still open - I'd have to talk to Chemical Splash about that when I got back to Canterlot. Basically, I didn't want this stuff to get reverse engineered. "Here.." I said, plugging it in, and connecting it to my phone.
Sure enough, it started charging it. So, I cranked up the volume to maximum. What a wonder!
K: "This is amazing, Sven." I blinked, and shook my head. Total awe.
Sven: *Cackle* "I long been trying to find'a old elek-tro-niks devices, jae? I know'd they exist! Joo make's an old man's day, Meester K." He beamed. A full-on beaming beam, all teeth.
K: "Just K. And, I'm glad."
Rarity: "My, my.. what is that wonderful sound?" She came in, half-dressed, with her hair down.
K: "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. He was a classical music composer on Earth." I shrugged.
Rarity: "Mmm.. sounds wonderful, darling.. you should show that to Octavia." She giggled a little.
K: "Perhaps!" I took her hoof. "May I have this dance?" I nodded to Sven, who winked back at me.
So, I shared a dance with Rarity. She was elated - even if she wasn't wearing her finest ball gown at the time. Then, she gave Sven a dance, while I pumped the generator. It had a little meter on it that Sven made, telling him how fast was too fast - voltage output, basically.
Rarity: "Gentlemen.." She bowed. "You've made a lady's day." I got a wink out of her. I'd be in trouble, later.
By now, Twilight had brought the XY into the village, and Marta had to go out and make sure everyone was properly introduced. Sven joined her. I sat in his shed, charging my phone. While doing so, I was playing some music (low volume). Songs I hadn't heard in three years. There was a good chunk of Country on there, for the wife.
That drew Applejack in, hearing the twang of 'modern' country music. She strutted around the shed, casually dancing, humming along with the tune, and making sure to flip her flank at me, suggestively, every chance she got.
Applejack: "Ah lahk this music.." She said, as we listened to one of the most popular country stars EVER - George Strait.
K: "Modern American Country." I nodded. "I'm not from the region where this is popular, I just like some of it. Honestly, I.. I was thinking of my wife, again." It was one of her favourite songs.
Applejack: "Well.. ah cain't replace her.." She slid her forelegs around me. "..but you know I'll make you the happiest stallion in all Equestria."
I stopped cranking, and turned and embraced her. A deep kiss followed.
K: "You already have." I smiled.
TIME: 09:00 Local/10:00 ERST
Well, my phone was fully charged, now. That was a bonus. Plus, we had as close to an expert on hard electronics as the world could get. I had to show Sven the XY - of course, he was absolutely astounded and intrigued, examining every inch of it. The engine room brought him to Sparky and Lugnut - my pair of lovable morons.
Sparky: "Luggie.." He prodded his larger companion.
Lugnut: "What is it now, Sparky?" He tittered his collar with the edge of his hoof.
Sparky: "Seems to be an oil pressure buildup in the numbah' one duct, Luggie.." He bent over, examining the oil transfer pipe.
I was standing in the engine room, watching Sven examine everything with a child-like (foal-like) wonder.
Lugnut: "Well, let off some of the pressure before it gets too hot!" He nodded to it.
They were both grey stallions - Sparky had a reddish-brown mane, and Lugnut a dark mane with a soul patch. It reminded me even more of Laurel and Hardy..
Sparky: "But if I bleed off the pres'sha, it'll make a mess!" He frowned.
Lugnut: "Bleed off the pressure!" He directed, going to work on some basic maintenance on one of the drive shafts.
Sparky: *Simpering* (GOD it sounded like Stan Laurel!) "Bu-But Luggie!"
Lugnut: "Bleed. Off. The pressure!" He directed.
Sparky: *Simper* "Ah-alrght, Luggie.." He frowned and pulled the emergency release valve for the oil pressure.
That shot a hot steam of oil over Lugnut's back end. I saw this coming and did not prevent it - the Physics of Comedic Zones. He squealed and bellowed.. and Sven, who had been watching the whole thing, doubled over in laugher.
Lugnut: "SPARKY!" He smacked his flanks.. good thing those jumpsuits were so durable.
Sparky: *Simpering* "Bu-But you TOLD me to, Luggie!"
Lugnut: "Enough! He-Help me get cleaned off!" He presented his rear to Sparky.
Sparky: "No probl'm, Luggie!" He whipped out a handkerchief and began wiping down his partner's flanks.. and making a bigger mess of it. "Err.. it's not comin' off, Luggie.."
Lugnut: "Get a touch of kerosene.."
I had to pull Sven out.. he was too close to the action. At the doorway, I stood there with a strange grin on my face. This was both inevitable and hilarious.
Sparky got to the kerosene - I'm sure it had some reason to be aboard - and wiped some on his rag. He then went back over and wiped off Lugnut's flanks. And his tail.
And it quickly bleached it.
And I watched this. Snickering.
Sparky: "Ah.. uh.. all done, Luggie!" He realized what he did, but tried to play it off.
Lugnut: "Good. I'm done here, too. Let's start her up and see how she does." He nods. "Get over there, Sparky.." He motioned for Sparky to get over to the side, and went over to the engine activation panel. He started it up.. and it hummed like a kitten. "There, see? No trouble at all."
K: "Come on, Sven.." I ushured him out of the room.
Sven: "Jae, jae.." *Chuckles*
We got out to the main deck, and were about to get on the debarkation ladder when I heard it..
*PWOMF!* The sound of a sudden flame.
Lugnut: "SPAAARKKKKKYYYYYYY!!"
Sparky: "Bu-But you SAID to use the Kerosene, Luggie!"
Sven: *AHAHAHA!* "Ohh.. d'ess is better.. better 'dan d'e time my brother-een-law got his hoof caught in de butter churner!"
He got off the ladder as I went over to where everyone was gathered. Twilight was talking to some of the settlers. Fluttershy was off with the settlement's animals, looking in on them (and I just now realized that Angel Bunny was with her - more on how that has an actual impact on things, later). Pinkie was off with Toola entertaining the foals. Gilda and Dash were basically pulling security.
Twilight: "..and with firearms, you can more easily fend off Griffon attacks." She finished talking to some of the folks. She was holding up a Bradley, and had apparently demonstrated how it works.
K: "Showing the folks what firearms are, Twilight?"
Twilight: "Yeah." She nodded, with a bit of a grin. "They seem to like the idea!"
Sven: "Eet could be usefuls, jae.." He shrugged a bit.
K: "You wanted us to meet your senior.." I started, with Sven.
Sven: "Jae! He ees due to b'here by noon." He gave a warm smile. "My brodder!"
TIME: 12:00 Local/13:00 ERST
When he said "Brother" he meant someone that he'd more or less adopted in his teen years as a brother. Guardmaster Ritt's parents were killed in an accident in the northern mountains while looking for mineral deposits, so Sven - who was out on his own at the time - took him in.
When Guardmaster Ritt came to town, everyone was quite happy to see him. He apparently stayed at Stenakrets almost all the time, but was raised here. The Settlers all know him.
He was a tall pony.. muscular.. looked a little like Sombra (and made me wonder if there was some relation - another genetic line of ponies that simply has nearly died out?) but with a thick blonde mane and striking green eyes. His coat was dark grey. He approached us with due caution - I would, too, if I was seeing us for the first time - but came over and bowed his had a little to us.
Ritt: "Greetings. Velcome to our landts.." He said as he raised his head.
K: "Greetings, Guardmaster. I'm General K of Equestria. These are the Elements of Harmony - Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and my Leading Mare, Applejack, as well as our friends Toola Roola and Gilda." I nodded to the XY where Sparky seemed to be helping Lugnut cover up his lack of tail. "And that's Sparky and Lugnut, expert mechanics from the Crystal Kingdom."
Ritt: "Zese things you say.. zey tell of a great many things happening that we heff not hear of." He shrugged a bit. "Please, General, I ask you give me all ze details."
K: "Of course, Guardmaster. But please, call me K." I was going to motion to the XY, but Sven motioned to his place.
Ritt: "Only eef you calls me Ritt, K." He gave a small grin. I thought right then how much I could trust him - he truly seemed to have his people's best interests at heart. The qualities of a good leader.
TIME: 18:30 Local/19:30 ERST
The history lesson? That took until dinner. Explaining how it had now been just under a year since Canterlot was attacked. How we had fought Tirek's armies on every front, and how we were now searching for the Wishing Star. Everything, laid bare before him, and with Twilight's help, catching him up on the thousands of years of history his people had missed.
K: "As you can see, Ritt.. we need the Wishing Star." I shrugged. "It's vital that we at least get it to deny it to Tirek - and possibly save someone important to us.."
Though I was really doubting if Shining Armor was needed at all, any more, to anyone but Twilight. Sunshine Smiles had seemed to take his place in Cadence's heart, and had taken to the idea of being a big part of the Crystal Kingdom's restoration..
Ritt: "I'ya'gree, K. Thees ees important.. an' I shall help you. I vill return tomorrow vith a few trusted ponies to guide you vhere you need to go." He gave a thoughtful nod. "Be ready at dawn, jae?"
K: "Aye." I nodded.
So, it seemed, that I had the way to the Wishing Star all laid out before me. Of course, at the time, I thought this far too easy - I was sure Tirek was staking out the Wishing Star with one of his lieutenants, ready to pounce us and eliminate the Elements - his only serious threat. After all, in this army, ain't nothin' ever easy..
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Cold Shoulder
TIME: 05:30 Local/04:30 ERST
DATE: War Day 362
LOCATION: Byntra, Empire of Harmony
Yes, I give these people credit as being the successor state to the original Empire of Harmony. They thought themselves that way, so why not?
Marta and Sven got up early to cook for us - we insisted on using our own supplies for this. As much as they might say they have extra, I didn't want to impose on them any more than we already had.
I sent Gilda, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash out right after breakfast to see if they could locate the Supply Drop that was supposed to be in the area. They came back just before dawn with all the goods they could carry. I made sure they grabbed the rifle containers - I had a reason for that. Part of the Supply Drops were spare weapons. Simply because I knew that sub-arctic to arctic conditions might incur damage to the weapons we brought with, and I didn't want to be caught without enough dakka (truly, there is never ENOUGH dakka, but you get the point).
I gave the rifles - 10 Bradleys with six magazines each and 3,600 rounds of ammunition - to Sven's people as a gift.
K: "Gilda, I want you and Toola to wait here while we go to Ponyville. Your job will be to train these people." I said, as I set up my pack.
Toola: "You're hoofing it?" She tilted her head. "What if it's a trap?"
K: "We don't have an army. If it's a trap, my objective will be to escape, not defeat the enemy. I'll need a place to escape TO." I emphasized. "Make sure Sparky and Lugnut do anti-weather maintenance on the EM-4's. I don't want them frozen up if we get back here with a huge gaggle of nasties on our tail."
Gilda: "And if you DON'T return?" She leaned in a little.
K: "Between the four of you - Sparky and Lugnut especially - I think you can work out how to fly the XY. If not, Gilda, you'll have to fly back to the Crystal Kingdom and get help. Give us.. what.." I looked at Sven.
Sven: "Eet should be no more 'dan three days' trip."
K: "One week. If we aren't back by then, we aren't coming back at all. Get the other two XY's and come pick up our bodies." I said, with a note of grimness.
Gilda: "A week.. to come back to a pile of frozen corpses.. with my marefriend among them.." She leaned in a little closer. "..and you." I was the one who gave her the chance to excel in the first place. She did, basically, owe me everything.
K: "This assuming it's a trap." I shrugged.
Toola: "I'm surprised you're not taking more precautions. There's still the Camp Crystal troops back at the Crystal Kingdom. And the reinforcements. We could have a couple companies here in a few days." She shrugged.
K: "Yeah, but.. there's this to consider.. and if I know Tirek at all, this would be on his mind: If this is a Trap, he's not going to trust his best chance to kill us all to an amateur. He'll do it himself if he has the ability. Nothing can really stop him but the Rainbow of Light. The Elements might not even be enough - and if they aren't?" I shrugged at them.
Gilda: "Another couple hundred ponies aren't going to make much difference either way." She shrugged.
K: "Exactly, and if he can't get here himself to do it, and he does leave it up to an amateur.."
Toola: "..the fewer there are of you, the better chance you have of getting away. While bringing an army might cause a battle we really aren't ready for - his troops would have a defensive advantage in horrible weather."
K: "Very good, Toola." I pet her dreads. "See what I'm thinking, now?"
Gilda: "I don't like it. If I was you, K, I'd get as much force as I could here, with air support." She was the leader of the Cloudriders Scouts.. calling for that kind of support was part of her doctrine.
K: "And Ponies don't do well flying in extreme cold." I shrugged. "For every sortie, they'd have to rest." Or they'd become weather casualties.
Gilda: "Point. But, still.." She hugged me. "..stay safe, okay? Don't dweeb out and get yourself killed." She still had that part of her that was the same old Gilda. Even if it was tempered with a little kindness she might not ever have shared if this war hadn't put the fear of death into her.
K: *Chuckle* "I'll do my best." I grinned.
Ritt showed up as expected. With him were two other stallions he identified as Kozac and Frimm - Sven knew Frimm, so I felt okay with this. Sven also demanded to come with.
Ritt: "You are too old, brother!" He snorted. "The trip could easily kill you."
Sven: "D'en it be so! Eef I aym too old to do my duty, d'en bygarsh, I'm too old to stay alife!" He snorted in return and grabbed up his sword, sheathing it on his cold weather gear.
Actually, interesting note about the sword, it fits in the mouth and has a mouthguard. It's a slashing sword, though, not a stabber.
Ritt: "..have eet your vay, brother." He shook his head. "But I'll not carry you!"
Sven: "Aye not askin' t'be carrie't!" He pawed the ground. "Eef I fall, leave me, let the snow take me body." He cast a hoof at the weather outside. "As is tradition!"
Marta: "Now, now, Sven.." She kissed him on the cheek. "Yew be carefuls, jae?"
Sven: "Ay'up, Marta, I vill." He kissed her back.
The trip out there wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Three days was about right. The hike was mainly impeded by the unpacked powder being unsteady under our feet (hooves for the rest of them). This slowed our advance, as it was more like wading through sand. But, it was uneventful.
TIME: 17:33 Local/16:33 ERST
DATE: War Day 364
LOCATION: Outskirts of Ancient Ponyville, Empire of Harmony
And there it was. Ancient Ponyville.
Actually, to be precise, it was a field of deep snow. The only indication that it could possibly be what we were looking for is the manner in which the field lay itself out before us. There were drifts of snow here and there in set lines, with little dips and valleys between them. If we didn't know what we were looking for, we would have completely missed it. The trees that once stood in front yards had grown wild - though many had simply died and frozen solid in the cold.
K: "It must be way below zero out here.." I said, pulling a weather thermometer out. The temperature inside my pockets was about 8ø C. When I pulled it out all the way, it dropped like a rock, finally stopping at..
..negative twelve. Fuck. That's 10ø F. I pulled the attachment that gauged wind chill, and got a reading. Negative eighteen. That's flat on zero degrees Fahrenheit.
Twilight: *Chattering* "S-So.. cold.." She was huddled up with the girls.
Applejack: "Ah.. Ain't never.. been.. so cold.." She was as close to Fluttershy as possible.
K: "..somehow, this doesn't feel natural at all." I commented, looking off in the distance.
Ancient Ponyville was constructed at the low end of a deep valley. The valley had gentle, rolling slopes going up the sides, and was oriented north-to-south. The sides of the valley were - I thought in my amateur estimation - too shallow and too poorly angled to cause a wind tunnel effect. And yet, the Windchill was so low, that frostbite was going to be a problem really quick.
Odd, though, a few minutes ago and the temperature with windchill was right on negative two (-2ø C/28ø F).
K: "Sven, how you doin'?" I looked aside to him.
Sven: "Ay'm goot. Coldt, but goot." He nodded to me.
K: "Can I get you to walk back to the edge of the valley and get a reading for me?" I handed him the instruments.
Sven: "J'oo betcha! C'mon, Frimm."
He and Frimm walked the 250-or-so meters back to the edge of the valley, got the reading and returned.
Sven: "Eet reads only -3ø C." He stated with curiosity. "A feefteens degree drop in 'dat short'a time?"
K: "Magic. Has to be." I shook my head. I wished Norfy was here with me. "Ritt, you and Kozac come with me. Girls, you go with Sven and Frimm and get back to the edge of the valley and clear a spot for camp tonight. I saw a few caves up there." I nodded.
Twilight: "W-We should go with you!" She stammered in the cold.
K: "No, no, I'm just going looking for clues. If I find anything, I'll wait until tomorrow to try and go get it." I gave her a dismissive hand wave.
Twilight: "Alright."
I descended into the town with Ritt and Kozac. It was eerie.. I'd seen the Generation 3 cartoons perhaps a dozen times in total, and could never stand to watch a full episode. But, still, it was like.. watching a war movie like Gettysburg, then actually going to Gettysburg. Granted, the time difference was far different (about 150 years), but still..
To orient myself, I started pawing away at a randomly-selected house's little snow drift - partly to see how deep it went, and partly to see if I could figure out who's house it was. And if so, perhaps find my way to the Mayor's House. If the Wishing Star hadn't been removed from the town and hidden, it would be there. If not, someone should have left a note about it.
It made me wonder, though, how many actual generations of ponies had passed between the final episode of Generation 3, and the cataclysm that took place millenia ago?
Or the difference between that, and the original cataclysm that destroyed Dream Valley, Coltonville, and the First Pony Society?
Luck was.. so heaily on my side it was as though I'd won the lottery (I briefly considered a trip to Las Pegasus right then and there). The house I ended up digging out..
..was Cheerilee and Scootaloo's.
K: "F-Fuck..." My heart sank. I knew their reincarntions.. Scoots was like another daughter or niece ever since I gave her to Harv to raise, and Cheerilee was one of my original Rangers - my friend. I trusted her so much..
Ritt: "A problem, General?" He leaned over to have a look.
K: "J-just.. this is the home of someone I know's.. past life.."
Ritt: "Dees happens, General.." He shrugged. "Ve know ve are at times rein-kar-nayted.." He looked at Kozac. "Ees part of what dees world ist about.. I know not if you can understand.."
K: "In a way, I do.. my human wife's religion believes in reincarnation." I said, grimly. "But seeing this.. it's far different." I cleared my throat. "I'm going to have a quick look inside. Stay here in case I get stuck."
The windows were long broken in, so, I pulled myself through the window opening. Inside was like.. a time capsule. Everything perfectly frozen in place. It was clear that the cataclysm happened only gradually - no bodies, that I could see (I was thankful for that). It looked like the girls had all had one last party here.. and just left it.
K: "..no way of knowing.. where we'll be going.." I was overcome with memories as I looked around. Memories that I only vaguely had of a show I barely watched.
I explored the house, finding long-lost remnants of my freinds' former selves.
K: "..our adventures never end.."
I smiled a little, seeing a pile of rubber fragments on the frozen ground, partly covered in ice. Pinkie Pie. Old Pinkie Pie.
K: "..plan a party with Pinkie Pie, watch her balloons lift her up to the sky.."
A broken board game, and some sidewalk chalk, for Scootaloo.
K: "..Scootaloo will show us games to play.."
A painting by Toola Roola (in watercolor - I packed that carefully into my backpack for her).
K: "..Toola Roola will be painting away.."
A dress from Rainbow Dash, frozen stiff.
K: *Wry, almost tearful chuckle* "..Rainbow Dash always dresses in style.."
The remnants of some frozen-in-ice cookies, for Sweetie Belle.
K: "..Sweetie Belle's magic brings a great big smile.."
An old storybook, left open to a page that started on about some old legend.. Cheerilee.
K: "..I hope we hear a story from Cheerilee.." And I looked for that last piece.
A torn music sheet.. Starsong.
K: "..or a beautiful Starsong melody.." I wanted to cry. I really did. It was like visiting a graveyard, and knowing the occupants on some personal level.
Wait.. Starsong was a Flutter Pony!
The realization hit me as I picked up the torn sheet of music. Flutter Ponies HADN'T been wiped out by Galactica Spark after all! They were alive and well as recently as 2,000 years ago. Still..
K: *Sigh* "My Little Ponies.." I said aloud as I pulled out my phone and took pictures of the historical artifacts. "..I'm so glad you're my friends." *Click!*
The Generation 3 theme song. I still remembered it. But I wasn't thinking of the past ones that I had no way of saving. I was thinking of the six girls waiting for me at the edge of the valley. THEY were my friends.
I took a few moments in the bitter cold to have a little one-man memorial service for the seven ponies that shared their lives here. They were long dead. LONG dead. I'd never get to meet them, share my world with them.. but I could, and was, with their reincarnated selves. A world I had to help save..
Hold on.. Starsong hadn't been reincarnated!
K: "Holy shit.." I said to myself, putting everything away before my fingers froze. "..none of them match her.." I thought to myself, getting back to the window. "..and if that's the case.." I climbed back out, and got up to Ritt. "Ritt, are there any stories of mysterious sightings of ponies with gossamer wings?"
Ritt: "Jae.. there are old legends.. why?"
K: "No, no, I mean recent stuff." I waved my hands. "Like, in the last few hundred years or sooner?"
Ritt: "N-No.." He shook his head.
Kozac: "..there are." He spoke up, lifting his head.
K: "Kozac?"
Kozac: "A byut-ae-ful Pegasi once.. she save me'life.. out in'da coldt.." He lowered his head a little. "She you talk ov, she purple, yes? Star for her kyootie-marks?"
Ritt: "Kozac!" He corrected him.
Kozac: "He deezerve to know!" He snorted.
K: "Tell me, Kozac.. did she call herself Starsong?"
Kozac: "She no call herself no-thing!" He chortled. "She jes pull me from a ice crevasse, an' take off."
K: "She's still alive, then.." I blinked. "..she has the Wishing Star." It made perfect sense! "And she'd take it to the one safe place she knew of, for it. The place it went to, last time. Mount Frost." Which was a half day's travel back the way we came.
Ritt: "Then, we go to Mount Frost." He nodded. "In the morning."
K: "Of course. In the morning."
As I walked back to where the girls had set up camp - I could see they had a fire going - I reflected on all of this. It made sense. Starsong must've wished for the mountain to blow up in order to discourage anyone from going there to look for the Wishing Star. Why her? She could fly, of course. And she was a Flutter Pony. Maybe her friends went with her? No.. they were dead. Dead and reincarnated.
She sent them away from her to protect the one priceless and most dangerous treasure that their world had. A power she knew all too well.
We had to find her. No matter what.
{End of Chapter 37}
