Chapter 94 - Oversea Station
Part 1: Eyesore
TIME: 05:24 ERST
DATE: War Day 835/5 Octavius 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Eyesore Islands
K: "ALRIGHT!" I called to the back. "STAND UP, HOOK UP!" I nodded to Twilight. "Set the auto-cruise, and get back there. Spike, go."
Twilight: "I can see the stolen plane! Right there!" She indicated a plateau we would pass very close to.
K: "Yeah, I see it, too." I got up, and pushed her ahead of me. "Let's see if these things work."
I was referring to the Gale, the latest tool in Equestria's arsenal. The ER-4 Grant wasn't even set to be issued, yet, but a pre-production run of them and the Gale - an integrally suppressed variant of the Grant - had been finished and delivered to Canterlot the day of the Tornado. Those weapons were now in the hands of the Paratroopers.
The problem of Paratroopers dropping without long arms, had been solved.
With the stock folded, these weapons were a tiny 21.8-inches (556mm) long. They had a nine inch barrel, chambered in 7mm NEIGHTO, and the suppressor rendered them hearing safe. Paratroopers could fasten them to their bodies, and thus, no longer needed weapons containers, except for machine guns. For this raid, none were being used.
I got in line. My personal prototype Grant had a suppressor screwed to the end of the barrel. It was longer than the Pony version, but still the same weapon, more or less. Sunset and the other assigned Marskponies had Grant Carbines with Buff & Lamb 1-6x variable power scopes and mountable suppressors. These were about an inch and a half longer than the Gales, but gave them a good 600m reach.
The island we were about to jump to was perhaps twice that in length (1.25km), and a bit more than thrice it in width (2.24km).
As soon as I verified 'feet dry' I called out.
K: "GO GO GO!"
The engines were just starting to complain about lack of fuel as the first Paratrooper jumped. They went a bit faster than normal, as we had a tight jump window. I was last. As soon as Twilight was out, I jumped.
As I fell away, I heard the engines cough, sputter, and die. The C-1 we'd flown for 17 hours and change would drift until the winds forced it down. As the chute opened, I looked down at what we were jumping into.
Jungle.
This.. was about to be very bad. No alternatives to steer towards, though, I had a mind to try for the beach.. no, no, too rocky. Just make sure I come down over land. Up above, I could see the second C-1 releasing its stick of paratroopers.. its engines already complaining before the last got off. I saw it empty of Paras, the engine dead before the last two got off. We'd cut this so very, very close.
I saw the jungle start to get closer. There was virtually no chance that I'd get a clear landing, so instead, I braced myself for the branches and limbs of the jungle trees.. and as my feet started hitting them, I crossed my arms before my face, and focused on staying together..
I arrested in the limbs of a very tall tree about eight feet off the ground.. the entire rigging jerking my body around a bit. Once I settled, I grabbed my OSS Knife, and cut part of the rigging, on the side furthest from the tree, so the slackening lines would jerk me towards it. I grabbed a limb, and tested my weight on it. Satisfied, I got good purchase on the limb, and cut the other rigging line. Resheathing my knife, I lowered myself down and dropped the remaining couple of feet.
Out came my Grant. The irony of being lost in a jungle with "Mister Grant" was not lost on me. I hoped I wouldn't meet a T-Rex with a nasty attitude..
I didn't have to walk very far. Coco slid down out of her rigging about ten feet from me. She gave me a nod, and we moved in the direction the parachutes had been trailing. We found Spike, next, already down on the ground, and having taken position behind a rock. Twilight flapped down from the canopy, getting used to her Dragon Wings. Sunset, Fluttershy, Dash, Applejack, and Toola, soon after. Within 12 minutes of landing, we'd assembled our entire stick.
Webley: "The plane is on a plateau about 250 meters from here. As far as we know, they didn't get off the island." She looked at the Paratroopers. "Break down by squad, advance slowly, leapfrog. They'll probably have no weapons, but we can't be sure. They also still have magic."
K: "About that - we can't risk a Magical Dampening Field unless it's an emergency. We need it, too." I nodded. "Let's move."
In no time, we ascended the slope leading to the plateau. We could see the plane. A few Gizmonks were wandering around outside of it. One had a pistol, the others were unarmed. We couldn't risk using the radios at this point - any signal at all would put them on extra alert. For the moment, they seemed on edge, but not excited.
K: "Rarity." I nodded to the one with the pistol.
Rarity: "Of course, Darling." She gently rest her 11mm Hathcock on a rock, and zeroed in on them. One suppressed thump later, and he was down.
K: "Advance!" I raised up, and started running for the plane. "HANDS UP, HANDS UP! DON'T MOVE! DON'T MOVE!"
The remaining Gizmonks did as instructed. They were set upon by Paratroopers, who quickly tied them up, as the rest of us made for the plane. The other stick of Paratroopers was coming up the other side. Getting into the cargo deck of the Buffalo, I found our prize..
..the unicorns, and a few remaining enemy ponies.
Sunset immediately lunged at her father, and dragged him out, after laying several hard hooves across his face.
K: "FIRST one of you that so much as TWITCHES in a way I don't like, YOU ALL get hosed down!" I yelled. "Kat?"
Katrina: "I can localize an anti-magic field to the plane itself." She nodded.
K: "Do it. NONE OF YOU MOVE!" I held my rifle at high ready.
Katrina enchanted a sigil, and "rubbed" it along the skin of the aircraft on the inside.. and patted me on the shoulder once it was done.
I walked outside to see Sol in chains, and a magic restricter placed on his horn.
K: "Nice plan, Sol." I sat on a log, next to him. "Alright. Why the prison break? Why the chase? I gave you the rope, show me what you did with it."
Sol: "It really doesn't matter." He shrugged, rubbing the side of his face. "Our friends will be here in three days."
K: "And, I suppose, you're not THAT much of a bargaining chip, to them?" I made him look me in the eyes.
Sol: "Not as much as you'd like. Our.. re-settlement.. was only assured if we could make a clean get-away, and had intelligence to provide." He gave me a very even look.
K: "Who?" I nodded to him.
Sol: "Again, it really doesn't matter." He shrugged.
K: "One of the Middle Southern nations? The Cervines?" I asked, anyway.
Sol: "As I said, human, it doesn't matter." He sat upright.
K: "Why not?" I shrugged. "You think they're going to kill us all?"
Sol: "Yes." He said, like he expected it.
K: "A bullet's a bullet, is that it? Doesn't matter who sends it?" I shrugged. "Well, you are right about one thing, Sol. It doesn't matter to you - after the fleets arrive, you're going back and finishing your trial." I grabbed his jaw gently. "As the ringleaders, you and Night are going to be executed by firing squad."
Sol: "The second you landed, my death was assured." He shrugged, shook his head, and sighed. "At least I know you're going to die, too."
Sunset: "So, that's it?!" She grabbed his now-shabby robes. "That's IT!? YOU NEVER LOVED ME, DID YOU!?" She shook him. "I was nothing more than a TOOL to you!"
Sol: "You.. you were the future. But, you threw it all away. You ALWAYS threw away your opportunities!" He retorted.
I had to drag her off of him at this point, and sit her down off to the side.
K: "Flutters." I motioned for her to come over.
Fluttershy: "Yes, K?" She saw Sunset was in a mood, and looked concerned for her.
K: "Gather some troops up and get to foraging. The Roaman fleet will be here in a week, and we have over a hundred mouths to feed. We only brought two days' rations for our Paras." I reminded her. "And fresh water."
Fluttershy: "I'm on it!" She said, with determination, and dragged Sunset to help her.
I still didn't know who was behind this, but I had recaptured the escapees. I needed to know who it was that had organized all of this, and why - was Tirek only involved as a co-belligerent, or was he the mastermind? Was Sol, and was he playing everyone against the middle?
I wouldn't have those answers just yet.
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Azure Glow
TIME: 08:37 ERST
DATE: War Day 835/19 Septimus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Flower Island, Eyesore Islands Chain
Fluttershy came running up to me with excitement.. and joy? She just about tackled me to the ground.
Fluttershy: "K---! You'll NEVER believe what we found!" She said, almost vibrating.
Twilight: "What is it, Flutters?" She came up, with Spike.
Applejack: "Yeah? What's got'cha all durn riled up?" She moved over as well.
Fluttershy: "Come look!" She ZOOMED off her hooves and into the brush.
We followed. After a short walk, we found a cave. Three Paras were posted up around it. Fluttershy zoomed into it without explaining. Sunset, I could hear, was talking with someone..
Sunset: "..I mean, I can promise you, he won't hurt you." She looked up at us. "K!" She held out her hooves..
There was a GLOWORM in it!
I fell to my knees, and.. I couldn't hold back the tears.
K: "H-hey, there.. little guy.." I cried.
Applejack hugged me tightly.
Twilight: "Goodness!" She blinked. "Ah, I'm Twilight Sparkle.. these are my friends, K----, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Sunset."
Sunset gave her a big grin, being called Friend.
GloWorm: "Ah! A HUMAN!" He was excited, too. "I'm Doodle!" He giggled a little. "I never thought the legend would come true."
K: "I.. I don't know which side will, but.. I'm trying very hard to save this world, Doodle." I held my hand out, and he crawled into it.
Doodle: "You seem sad! What's wrong, friend?" He hugged my thumb.
K: "Just.. we found another island with GloWorms and other Glo Friends.. and.. they were extinct." I gently pet his head. "I was afriad.. you were ALL dead."
Doodle: "Ooohh. Yeah, no, the stories tell that many thousands of years ago, a cataclysm came and washed over Old Glowy Island.. and a bunch of us ended up here. We call this place Flower Island!" He puffed himself up, so proud to remember these details.
K: "I.." I wiped my face. "..are there more of you?"
Doodle: "You bet! Come on." He pointed the way deeper into the cave.
K: "Sergeant, report to Webley where we are. Do NOT mention what we found, but send the other elements, and Jade down here." I nodded to the Paratrooper at the mouth of the cave.
Sergeant Lofty Meadow: "Yes, sir." She moved off.
We advanced into the cave, going slow at first to give our other friends time to catch up. When they did, we went at a full pace. It didn't take us but a few minutes to get to a huge open area inside the cave..
..and inside, was a massive Glo Friends City. A metropolis. Easily, ten thousand glowing little friends, no bigger than my thumb. Rocks and stalagtites and stalagmites carefully carved out into skyscrapers. Little roads. Little parks. Little homes.
Applejack: *Sniffle* "This is th' cutest durned thing I ever did see!" She hugged my leg.
They.. uh.. also all kinda realized we were there, and just about the whole city stopped city-ing, to look at us. After a couple minutes, I could hear a voice from the large city park to my right.
Prayerbug: "Down here, human!" She was attended-to by a small entourage.
I recognized her immediately. She was one of the OG GloFriends.
K: "Prayerbug." I was choked up. I extended my arm out so she could climb into it, being very careful not to disturb the ground too much.
With effort, she climbed into my other hand, and I pulled her back to get a better look at her.
K: "My cousin.. had your toy." I was rolling tears down the side of my face. "Ah.. sorry.. how can we help you, Prayerbug?"
Prayerbug: "It is we who can help you, Human. What is your name?" She asked, so kindly.
K: "K----." I didn't give her my title.
Prayerbug: "What a nice name. You're the one Molly told me about." She nodded.
K: "Molly?" I blinked - my visit to the past! "Yes.. Molly Williams."
Prayerbug: "She said we might meet some day." She patted my thumb. "Do not worry, K----. We have prepared for your coming."
K: "It.. must've been ten thousand years.. I.." I trailed off, seeing the bugs were now organizing themselves.
Prayerbug: "Our scouts told us of those with dark intentions landing here. We knew that if the legend Molly told us of your coming was true, you would be close behind, and bring friends." She gave a small nod. "We have remained undetected for a very long time, for a reason. We can mask the island from sight."
K: "Such magic." I shot a look to Katrina, who was coming into the cave as well.
Katrina: "Prayerbug." She knelt next to me. "We meet as friends. As you predicted." She held a claw out, and 'shook hands' with her. "Forgive me, K, I honestly thought they were dead, after Neighpon."
K: "It's fine." I shook my head a little.
Prayerbug: "As you can see, Katrina, my wisdom WAS superior." She nodded a bit. "I also felt the deaths of several Old Ones. I can tell Somnambula is still alive."
Katrina: "Indeed. I.." A titter. "..bow to your superior wisdom, Prayerbug."
K: "She's being.. taken care of." I shrugged. "We're trying to find a way to.. I don't know.. make it so she doesn't have to drain life force."
Prayerbug: "The Moon Drops we have amassed over the centuries can be turned into a potion that would allow her to alter her form once again, and alter her feeding. It would allow her to drain something else - magic, say?" She nodded slightly.
Obediently, a massive trailer was marched forth from one of the stone "buildings" I presumned was a grand church of some kind. On its flat bed was a large vial of Moon Drops. Katrina gingerly plucked it, and examined it with awe.
K: "More immediately, my friends and I are on this island for about a week." I said, being careful with the tension in my hand.
Prayerbug: "We can shield the Island from our enemies for a short while.. hopefully, your friends make haste. As for food, the jungle abounds." She nodded to the bugs, as they brought forth samples of edible items.
Fluttershy carefully gathered them up - she was the happiest I'd ever seen her.. humming, singing to herself as she took the samples for comparison.
K: "Thank you, Prayerbug. Is there anything we can do for you?" I asked, not wanting to impose.
Prayerbug: "If the worst should happen, hide this cave. We must not be discovered by those with dark hearts." She patted my thumb.
K: "You mean, use explosives and bury it." I nodded. "I'll make sure."
Prayerbug: "And defeat Tirek.. seal the Avegir for all known time.. you have many things you must do to save this world, not just for us, but all living things." She bade me to return her to her retainers.
I carefully.. carefully set her back down, and her attendants came on to my hand to help her down.
Prayerbug: "I wish you success, K----. I will pray for it." She bowed slightly.
I stood back up, returned Doodle to the city with my other hand, and got everyone out of the cave.
K: "That was.." I sat on a rock. "..my God.."
Katrina: "A reminder, hm?" She pat the back of my neck. "There are a great many mystical things in this world."
K: "And I will protect them all, if I can.." I looked up, and then to the Jungle..
..I swore, I would.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Phase
TIME: 14:44 ERST
DATE: War Day 835/19 Septimus 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Flower Island, Eyesore Islands Chain
Webley: "General.." She came up to me, at my little impromptu HQ at the plane's front end.
K: "Yeah, Webs?" I tilted my head at her, having had a tasting of some of the Jungle Fruits.
Webley: "One of the Gizmonks wants to talk. With you." She nodded to me.
K: "Bring him here." I gestured.
After a moment, a tallish Gizmonk with slightly grey fur around his temples, was brought forward under guard.
K: "I'm General K. And, you are?" I motioned for the guards to allow him to take a seat.
Gizmonk/Garrick: "Garrick." He sat. "They call me Icky." He glanced arond a little. "I'll be frank, General. We're mercenaries. Hired hands. We have no loyalty to the unicorns in there.. we were promised a fat purse for accomplishing this mission. It's clear, now, they planned to kill us when it was over, instead." He crossed his arms, ashamedly. "We have families, General.. we're not.." He looked down.
K: "You're enemies, not monsters. You do realize that you were ultimately aiding Tirek, yes? I understand many of your people have fled his lands." I asked, with sympathy.
Garrick: "Yes.. they have." He rubbed his face a bit. "Could I trouble you for some water?"
I just handed him my canteen - to show him I didn't see him as a lesser creature.
He drank a good amount of it. They'd probably not had food or water since before the courthouse attack. I shot Webley a look, to tell her to take care of this. She nudged Coco and moved off.
K: "Where did you all come from? Are you an organized mercenary outfit, or were you all hired individually?" I asked, motioning for him to finish the canteen.
Garrick: "Most of us.. we came from a group." He cleared his throat a little, unsure of exactly how to answer - I could tell, he was trying to evaluate what information he felt safe in giving me. "Some of us were just added in." He shook his head. "There was a group of middle men that handled everything, got us together, had us train with weapons. Before that, we were hired muscle. You know. Protection rackets, influence, gang fights, whatever. We sold our hands for cash. No job too dirty. This was the first time we'd used firearms, really. Not the first time we used weapons - I used to be pretty good with a crossbow and a knife." He gave a small smile.
K: "Where.. exactly.. are you all from?" I asked, as Webley brought us some jungle foods to eat, and nodded to me that she'd seen to watering and feeding the POW's.
Garrick: "The group I was a part of, that most of us came from, lived in a village in unclaimed territory in the southern lands. Uhm.. the nearest major Kingdom was Saddle Arabia." He gestured. "We went to one of the Arabesque nations to train on weapons and urban combat tactics."
K: "Not sure which one?" I asked, taking a plantain and opening it.
Garrick: "No, I'm not. Once we were hired, they treated us.. strangely. Transport was always at night, sometimes we were blindfolded, and if it took too long, we'd be stuck in a.. a warehouse or something. They fed us, and stuff, but.." He shook his head.
K: "How much was your price?" I asked, plainly.
Garrick: "Three tons of gold. That's if this whole operation went off exactly as planned." He shook his head. "You always seemed to be a step ahead."
K: "What were the objectives?" I leaned back a bit.
Garrick: "The initial objective was to cause the Cyclone, and in the confusion, make sure you died in Ponyville. But.. as we approached it, we realized everyone was alive, and most of them were armed. We were outnumbered, and had been warned Ponyville's militia was the best in your military. So, we had to abort that. We were dumbfounded that no one died there." He heaved a sigh. "After that, destroy Cloudsdale, make sure as many ponies died there as possible, and if the level of destruction was high, certain persons dead, then leave. Stealing a plane right before the Cyclone hit the city, of course, so we'd have a way out. When you captured the Unicorns, you beat us there by less than an hour. We aborted again, and were then instructed to attack the Court House, again, kill you, kill any Royal officials we could - they wanted the Magistrates especially - and recover the Unicorns, then escape as previously planned."
I listened and ate a few pieces of fruit.
K: "What's the exact value of those Unicorns?" I looked at the plane.
Garrick: "Tirek apparently promised to reward them if they did their job well. After we escaped, and our employers picked us up, some would be given transport to Tirek's territory, and we'd be returned home and paid." He looked at his hands. "I have a feeling, they were going to liquidate us."
K: "Probably. So, Tirek was the organizer, and one of the Arabesque nations was the middle man.." I looked at Twilight.
Garrick: "One of the bosses said it was because he needed ponies. We used some of the ponies on our teams as scouts, observers, and spies. Walked right through the towns, no one noticed." He shrugged, but ate. "Thing is.." He glanced at the plane. "..if everything went south, we had orders to kill them. That came from the guys that organized us."
K: "Tirek likes to handle his own failures - if they'd screwed up so badly that you would have to eliminate them, Tirek would, too. His own way." I gave a slow nod. "Your bosses place a bit more value on you than them. But.." I shrugged. "..I suppose if you'd done a good enough job, they'd've eliminated you all, and kept the money for themselves."
Garrick: "Exactly what I was thinking." He ate slowly, filled with regrets. "What will you do with us?"
K: "Provided we survive, you'll be interred at Carousel Island until the war is over." I shrugged. "As Prisoners of War. You'll be treated fairly - it's more of a warehouse for POW's. We don't do torture or slave labor. After the war ends, again, if we win, you'll be repatriated to your point of origin if possible."
Garrick: "That's fair." He looked up at me. "Even though we're mercenaries."
K: "In my world, Mercenaries would be arrested and imprisoned. Personally, I don't see a difference between Mercenaries and regular soldiers, provided they generally obey the Laws of War. This world doesn't have such Laws, so, I'm guiding things by my own morality." I made a small hand gesture. "You didn't cast the spell, you didn't intentionally target non-legitemate targets - I count the Prosecutor and Magistrates as a legitimate target - and you didn't wantonly attack non-combatants. You could easily have tried to tie down our responses by staging a side attack on a soft target. You didn't."
Garrick: "I see." He nodded a bit. "I tried to think.. if I was my own enemy, what would allow me to get my job done, and not harm those that didn't deserve it."
K: "Respectable." I nodded to him. "So, are you the actual leader, or just someone that has the general respect of the others?"
Garrick: "Something of both? Our actual selected leader committed suicide before capture. Leadership fell to me, since I have the most experience." He peeled a plantain from the bottom, and ate it that way.
K: "That works." I gave him a small nod. "I'll have you segregated from the Unicorns. They're a special case."
Garrick: "Thank you!" He smiled a little - that I didn't lump him in to their category.
K: "Webs." I nodded to her. "Was there anything else?" I asked, earnestly.
Garrick: "No, not really.. you're being far kinder than I expected." He nodded to me. "We were told you were.. unforgiving."
K: "Depends on the situation. If civilian lives are in danger, I tend to go to extremes. On the field of battle - like now - I try to conduct myself honorably." I shrugged.
Garrick: "I see." He rose, and gestured to be escorted back to his troops. "Thank you, General."
After he was escorted back to his troops, Fluttershy spoke up.
Fluttershy: "He doesn't seem like a bad person." She 'hmm'd' a bit.
K: "He's not. He's a smart leader, but this kind of warfare is new to him. He's trying to adapt, but he hasn't the sense of timing that I do." I stood up. "War draws in all kinds of people, Fluttershy. Some, it breaks. Some, it kills. Some, it forges into better people. Some.. have no effect what so ever."
Icky wasn't a bad guy. I hoped his village was still intact when the war was over - he deserved to go home.
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Interval
TIME: 17:54 ERST
DATE: War Day 835/19 Septimus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Flower Island, Eyesore Islands Chain
I paced around, as things started to get more properly organized. I realized that the B-1 LeMay/C-1 Buffalo were simply not enough plane. I'd need a larger duo for intercontinental transport. That also meant developing a tanker version, and the F/A-2 Hawks would have to be designed with a fuel probe. So many considerations.
The Mercenaries were detained in a hastily created enclosure by a rock outcropping, and guarded. The Unicorns would be kept in the plane. Magic Restrictors were placed on each of them. They, too, would be guarded. Just about everyone found themselves with a specific job - some of the Paratroopers were gathering water, some food, some timber for fires, others guarded. My staff were doing the same.
I knew Katrina had snuck off to go talk with Prayerbug. She found an "old friend" and it was better her than no one at all. She was also probably trying to gather intelligence, or maybe learn more about what we were calling Moligan Island.
I moved to help a few of the Paratroopers that had brought back some starchy tubers that resembled Turnips - they were on the approved list. Another was setting up a cooking area, using stripped pieces of the C-1's hull to form a cooking pot and cookware. I'd never considered this, but the thin aluminum did serve that purpose well enough - horse hooves being ideal for shaping a cylinder.
Cpl. Bay Leaf: "I wonder what these taste like?" She sniffed one of the tubers. "Mmm.. kinda bitter.. needs cooking." She snorted a bit.
K: "I'm sure we'll find ways to make them edible." I shrugged, helping her clean them off.
Sgt. Featherfall: "I'm sure we will. Maybe we can mix them with those mango-like things?" She tilted her head.
Sgt. Brusky Sands: "That might not be a bad idea.. the seeds inside them are like Star Anise." He nodded.
Cpl. Bay Leaf: "Too bad we don't have a few months to properly dry and grate the cinnamon trees." She sighed. "But, using the wood should impart some of the flavor - just make sure you shave it up and only use a small amount at a time."
K: "We have cinnamon bark?" I cocked a brow.
Sgt. Sands: "Yes, sir." He nodded.
K: "Save some of the wood. There's only one good route up to this plateau. If we have to, we can light smoke pits on the lower part of the island in the jungle - anyone advancing won't be able to breathe well. Might kill 'em, too." I nodded.
Cpl. Bay Leaf: "Oooh. That could get real nasty. Suffocation is horrible! Moreso from smoke that burns your lungs." She cracked a small grin.
K: "Make sure the Mercenaries eat before the Unicorns. Make sure both of them get as much as our troops do." I said, making sure they all understood.
Sgt. Featherfall: "I understand, General.. it doesn't sit right with me.." She started.
K: "I lost my cousin, Braeburn, in the attack. He was visiting his husband's place - they hadn't decided where they were going to settle down, yet." I put my hand on her shoulder. "War means dealing with loss. It's hard to maintian your humanity, but we absolutely cannot lose the essential part of us, and become as bad as Tirek - otherwise, what's the point?"
Sgt. Featherfall: "I.. understand, sir." She sighed a bit, and went to preparing the food.
Me? I went over and looked for my General Staff - they were all milling about, helping with the various tasks. Applejack and Fluttershy were foraging. Sunset and Dusty were helping guard the prisoners. Twilight and Spike were gathering firewood.
I went to help Applejack and Fluttershy. Being taller, I could reach fruits that were high up in the trees. I found her trying to calculate how to Buck a Coconut Palm properly, and not get herself hurt by a falling coconut.
K: "Hey, hun. Let me." I motioned to her.
Applejack: "Alwright, honey." She smiled a bit.
I monkeyed my way up the tree, and sort of tented myself off the trunk, one arm holding it, both legs providing tension. I used my OSS Knife to cut down each one I could see, that looked ripe enough. I then resheathed the knife, and dropped down.
I noted that MOST of the coconut palms on this island were slightly bent towards the west. The ones that had been on the island with Toola and Cadence were almost perfectly straight. I made the guess right there that this place was part of this planet's tropical convergence zone and probably saw a lot of hurricane activity.
Either way, I netted five of them, each one quite large. I just used my hands to husk them (not unlike husking corn, which I did as a kid), and extract the core. Each core was no smaller than a regulation basket ball. And hefty. We'd need a few more of these to feed ourselves for the week, but it was true - the island was so bountiful with food, we easily had enough to feed all of us (149 total - 100 Paratroopers, 32 Unicorn Prisoners, 17 Mercenaries).
Applejack: "Mmm.. I hope.. we c'n rebuild th' farm." She gave me a hug. "After th' war'n all."
K: "Oh, we'll be taking a break from the war to rebuild Ponyville, at least. I know Cloudsdale will take years - and we need to find the Weather Stone, now, that Twilight mentioned, unless you want to deal with random weather." I shrugged. "There's going to be a lot to do to rebuild everything. In the meantime, technology and preparedness. And occasional excursions."
Fluttershy: "You're right. I need to tend to the animals as best I can.." She sighed a bit. "..I feel bad that my home wasn't badly damaged. Even most of my garden survived." She hugged Applejack.
K: "You were on the opposite side of town from the Tornado, and not in the path of it heading across to Canterlot and Cloudsdale." I shrugged. "A few outlying buildings in town made it, too, like Dancer's cottage, and most of the other farms. The Husker family's wheat was badly damaged, though.." A head shake. "There's going to be a full year or more of distruption in crops and supplies. Really, considering how large Equestria is, it won't be that bad of a problem over all, but the local devastation is very real." I clambered up the next tree and started cutting.
Applejack: "That orchard'll take decades t'get back in business." She sighed, almost depressed. "Even with magic helpin' 'em grow."
K: "Yeah, your family is going to need some kind of government subsidy. The orchard was attacked because of me. Because they were trying to assassinate me." I clambered down, and started husking the coconuts. "In wartime, at least where I'm from, civilian property that's damaged because of the war, is the responsibility of the government - after the war, it's part of the war reparations from the enemy. I don't think there'll necessarily be anything to take from Tirek, in terms of money or gold. Maybe. But it has to be spread over all the nations that contributed - every lost soldier, every injured one, every ruined house, all of that has to be paid for. I highly doubt Tirek or his allies will have the wealth to spare, and this world doesn't work on a debt-based economy." I got the last coconut husked and moved to the next tree. "The whole world is going to have an economically strained time for probably a decade or so, maybe two. Basically, it won't get back to where it was when I arrived, until Applebloom's kids are her age."
Fluttershy: "That's awfully sad to think about." She stacked the coconuts on a tarp.
K: "Yeah. The best thing we can do is keep the economy moving. Keep goods flowing. Do what we can to keep prices down, so the economic hit doesn't hurt the financially weakest as badly, and give those in the next few economic rungs, more buying power, so they keep the train of money moving, like blood in the body." I looked at both of them. "Money is like matter - it can't be destroyed, only changed in form, value increased or decreased, but never zero. Harsh economic times are like blood clots - if money stops flowing, the economy has a heart attack and everyone suffers."
Applejack: "..all ah'm hearin', honey, is 'Ah married a smart stallion.'" She smirked. "That and 'fuck me, now.'"
Fluttershy: "Oh, MY!" She blushed, not expecting that.
I stopped right in the middle of husking the coconut in my hands, and looked at her.. shrugged, and started pulling off my gear.
Fluttershy: "B-But, the co-" She was shut up by Applejack's tongue down her throat.
K: "Threesomes with married couples, do rock." I smirked. "Especially among friends." I looked back towards the camp. "Better make this a quick one, honey."
Not that she had any problem with that. J-- was the same way when I started talking smart about subjects she was into. It turned her on to see my nerdiness. Especially when I flirted with it.
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Experienced Exposition
TIME: 21:00 ERST
DATE: War Day 835/19 Septimus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Flower Island, Eyesore Islands Chain
After 'show and a dinner' I was curled up with AJ in a small depression in the earth, near the HQ area. Guard rosters were drawn up, everyone had shifts, the works. The Paratroopers found themselves spots to sleep in, and made sure they were covered well. Being ponies, and the vast majority of them being 'rural ponies' of some kind, more than half of them were accustomed to 'sleeping out doors' in some regard.
Me? I used my shelter half as a ground cloth, and AJ's as a roof, and got comfortable. The little hollow was just big enough for the two of us to be perfectly snuggled together as long as we were partially stripped. Our weapons were nearby.
We weren't asleep, though. We were just cuddled.
Dusty: "Hey, you two." She slid in just under the roof part. "I saw Fluttershy trying very hard not to walk like she just got drilled." She smirked at us, and kissed us both.. a bit lewdly.
Applejack: "Should'a come with instead, sugarcube." She nuzzled her far more affectionately than she did Fluttershy.
K: "You two would make a great couple." I blurted out.
They both looked at me.
K: "Come on. I know there's a betting pool that has very heavy odds on my not surviving this war or being yanked away at our moment of total victory. You're both young, very beautiful.." They both blushed. "..very hot, and very lewd, and you two are very comfortable with each other. I know you've kinda left it unsaid up to this point, but I want to tell you both, I absolutely endorse you two getting married or whatever, if I'm not around." I reached my monkey arm over, and made sure to get Dusty in the hug. "I know you'll look out for each other, raise the kids, tend the farm.. and Dusty would make a great Sheriff for Ponyville." I smirked.
Dusty: "I guess you're right." She kinda leaned her head away, thinking about it, blushing, a bit coyly and lost in fantasy.
Applejack: "Mmm." She nuzzled us both. "Be fine with me, honey, sugarcube." She rolled on her back a bit, and hoof-pawed us both.
K: "My problem is, I love all your girls. Each in your own way. But, I also know, the bonds that tie us together are based on my presence. Without that, I don't see any spontaneous lesbian orgies happening. But, you two? Nah, there's something else there." I hugged them again.
Dusty: "..I won't disagree, K." She nuzzed us both. "I dunno. Farm life? Might be fun." She gave us both a warm smile.
Applejack: "Yer a strong gal. Ah c'n teach ya apple buckin' - once th' trees grow back." She blinked.. then stopped. "Hey, wait a sec!" She rolled over to face me. "Grundle's farm!"
K: "Ahh.. I wanted to keep that for a surprise." I blushed. "I already talked to Ambrosia, before we left Canterlot. She says it's possible, but.. she's going to need to make up some special machinery. The Grundle Cave has an outlet for an underground river. She thinks she can float some of the trees down the river, and out, but getting them up to ground level, you know.." I shrugged a little.
Dusty: "Awww." She beamed.
Applejack: "HONEY!" She swatted me. "'Splains why ya didn't bring her."
K: "Depending on when we get back, she might already be done." I shrugged. "There should be enough trees in there to restore about a quarter of your acreage.. and then there's the Zapapple trees."
Dusty: "Hm. If you converted the next four years of harvests into limited reserve ciders and apple liquors, and took advantage of the war to market them.." She made some quick notes on her notepad. "..hey, make one called The Great Tornado. That alone should get some sales. You'll have to focus the market towards Manehattan, but.." She shook her head.
Applejack: "..mm, an' this here proves if ah picked'ya fer my wife, Dusty, y'all'd be perfect." She pawed her a bit. "Got good business sense."
Dusty: "I tried marketing as a job.. you know.. looking for my special talent."
K: "I get it." I shrugged. "Come on, let's get some sleep."
The nice thing about dirt is that it can be compacted. Between me and AJ, we squished down the dirt enough to fit Dusty in there snugly, but boy, were we tight in there. It was cozy. And I was so happy to know - for certain - that if I wasn't going to be allowed to enjoy the world I would help make, my wife and family would have someone there for them.
Even in the middle of a war, it was important to be human.
It still impressed me that same-gender pairings weren't a big deal. Given that there were markedly fewer males than females, though, this made sense. Not every Mare would get a Stallion, but one Stallion might have two Mares, or two Mares might come together.. or in the case of Soarin and Braeburn, two Stallions on occasion.
Equus had achieved a socio-political balance that my world was still trying to figure out.
Indeed, I didn't know it at the time, but back home, Grundle Cave was being excavated. Carefully, respectfully, and with an abundance of caution. The massive underground fields that once supported almost a thousand Grundles with literal magical plants that grew bountiful foods at amazing rates. They would be carefully extracted in such a way that the plants would be allowed to regrow and re-fill the emptied patches.
Most of the apple trees down there would be removed and replanted on the Apple Farm. True, it would only recover about a quarter of the acreage. However, unbeknownst to me, the extended family from all over had converged on the Farm already, and were bringing mature trees, seedlings, and young trees from all over Equestria.
By the time we got back, over half of the acreage would be replanted or in the process of recovery. Given that only 70% of the arable land had been covered in Orchards - AJ and Mac only able to care for that much between them - this left only a small gap that wasn't somehow taken care of.
To say nothing of the outpouring of care and relief coming to Ponyville. With Cloudsdale gone, the former residents decided that the best place to resettle (for the next full generation, at least) was Ponyville. Yes, back home, recovery was in progress.
Out here.. there was war.
{End of Chapter 94}
