//------------------------------//
// 17: A meeting in the Crypts 
// Story: My Little Fortress: Dawnpick 
// by Paaaad 
//------------------------------//

The stone coffin lay nestled among four others just like it, five unassuming resting places for, Falcata thought, five relatively unassuming ponies. In a way, the simple stone boxes suited more than any lavish, gold-plated tomb, though she couldn't quite put her hoof on why. 
She wasn't entirely sure that she liked the idea of a pre-built crypt for herself and her squadmates, though. She liked Virtue well enough - who didn't, considering all she'd done for everypony these past years - but this was a bit...inevitable-seeming? She got the whole "what if" thing, every soldier did, but seeing the stone receptacles before her made it seem more like "when", and that was a little bit unnerving. Especially considering the noises from the caves below, the flapping and screeching that had kept her up all night after first hearing them.
The time off, though, that was a great idea. Props to Virtue there, that had been much appreciated, although by some more than others. Stiletto had surprised her by not being all stiff and continuing to train anyways; not something Falcata would have put money on the stoic alicorn doing. Probably something to do with Flux, she reckoned; she'd spied the two being all cute and awkward at the well the other day, but had wisely kept her nose out. She was sure -something- was going on there, but had yet to confirm anything other than some impressively awkward and adorable exchanges between them.
Thinking of which, the pegasus pondered amusedly, there were quite a few ponies who were sure that there was another, similar sort of -something- going on between herself and Glaive; ponies like Virtue, who had an irritating habit of winking at her any time she saw them together. Mind you, Glaive himself had pretty much put all the rumours to rest when she'd come in after that huge storm a while back with her crimson mane all droopy and soaking. His magic exuded that same crimson colour for at least a day afterwards, rather than its normal earthy glow, prompting anypony who knew even a little bit about how unicorn magic worked to chuckle a bit, much to her embarrassment.
The white pegasus shuffled her wings a bit, drifting out of her reverie and back to the real world. She traced along the carvings engraved in the coffin lid with a forehoof, her face wearing a faint smile as she did so. Not a bad place to live, Dawnpick. Not bad at all.

Partisan sat in his room, which was filled from end to end with paperwork that needed to be filled and reminders that needed to be remembered. He was supposed to use the break as an opportunity to catch up with his paperwork, but he just couldn't concentrate. Between having to keep an eye on Jaxler, worrying about the 'what-ifs' that came to mind when the coffins were put in place, and the howling's that could be heard at night, he didn't have the heart for it. He gave it another twenty-minute try and decided to just take a walk. While out he kept his face blank, hoping nobody could pick the fear and stress lying just below the surface. He trotted along until he reached the surface and stretched out his wings.

"Oh hay Falcata, I wasn't expecting to see you down in a place like this," ays Jaxler as he walks down the stairs to the pegasus.

Falcata jumps backwards, startled. Not recognising the voice, she turns, and isn't too happy with her identification. She doesn't smile as she replies to the jet black interruption.
"Jaxler." Falcata doesn't so much speak the word as spit it, her tail lashing from side to side like an angry rattlesnake. Assaulting one of her squadmates and causing a collision in the middle of her dinner had given her a low opinion of him, to say the least. 
"What are you doing down here?" she challenges, not bothering to be polite.

Jaxler looks at Falcata in dismay at her response, and says "I wanted to find some peace and quite, why are you angry?".

She rolls her eyes, not buying his reason or his dismayed expression.
"Oh, I don't know, something to do with the last time I ran into you involving Stiletto being catapulted across the room, maybe? You almost managed to bugger up a perfect evening, you insufferable lout, and without so much as a hint of apology afterwards or anything!"
She glares at him, wondering if he's playing dumb for some reason or just a bit denser than the average pony. 
"Well?" she prompts loudly, not caring if anypony aboveground were to overhear.

Jaxler at this point was unhappy as he had only been looking for a place to sit down and think. he retorted quickly and said "Oh really, well so your telling me that you have never done anything stupid in your entire life. I personally see no reason for us not be civil. I did indeed get drunk and did ruin your night and I did knock out your squad mate but I personally see that as a mistake on my part but why after months do you act so openly unhappy to my presence. I asked why you were angry because I thought you could at least put up with me being in the same room as you for at least a few seconds."

The pegasus' eyes widen at the unexpectedly candid response, and she reels her anger in, stymied. After a short pause, she sighs softly before speaking:
"Okay, okay, whatever. I suppose I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, but you really didn't make a good first impression. And that's putting it lightly."
Falcata stops flicking her tail around, no longer all that annoyed. Her generally amiable nature wouldn't allow it.
"You're right in that it's been bloody ages since then, as well. Life's too short for grudges, or do I hear. And," she continues, smiling ever so slightly, "you didn't utterly banjax my evening either."
She glances around the room, taking in the surroundings again.
"So, "peace and quiet" then? Isn't there anywhere cheerier?"

Jaxler, now calm after his outburst responded with "Well I was looking for peace and quiet, not beautiful scenery. I'm also quite sorry for never apologizing for interrupting your night with Glaive."

He stops for a second and asks "So, what brings you down to a place as morbid as this?"

Falcata tilts her head, silently accepting the apology. Her eyes shine like copper ingots in the gloom, her gaze fixed on the immaculately carved lid of the nearest tomb.
"I heard Virtue had set all this up for us, so I came down to have a look. Not entirely sure I'm comfortable with it, but I guess it's the sentiment that matters, right? I mean, it's nice and all  but..." she fidgets, unsure how to put it properly into words. Her gaze flickers momentarily to the scar on her chest before she resumes her staring contest with the sarcophagus.

"Well?" Those words rang clear to the surface. It almost had Jaxler written all over it. He rushed toward were the sound originated. Better safe than sorry. But, by the time he reached the tombs, Jaxler was calmly talking to another pony. Instead of going down and interrupting a particularly good thing, he just hid up in the stairs, silently watching.

Jaxler looks away from Falcata and says "There is no need to to stressed, why its quite good to know that they even if you die you will have met the fort's expectations. Why it makes over achieving quite easy. To be honest I doubt you or any of our good brother and sisters of war will be needing these anytime soon." 
He stops and takes in a deep breath and attempts to snap Falcata out of her gloomy silence by saying "Well a drunken friend of mine told me that this was going to be used as a military burial ground. So I finished my drink and came down here to see my own tomb. It helps to have a reminder that I only have so long to achieve something with my life."

"Hmph." She snorts, not fully agreeing. "I hope not. Judging by the noises coming from those caves below - well, suffice to say that I hope those walls we put up never get torn down. And we've been out here for years now, growing by the month - it's almost a certainty somepony will come attacking us sooner or later. At least with something more than just a few thieves."
As the silence begins to drag on again, she changes tack.
"So", she gestures at him with a forehoof, "you and your squad leader - Marzipan, Partypan? Whatever his name is - what's with the leather armour and such? Why not cold, hard steel like the rest of us?"

Jaxler looks over to Falcata and says "You mean Partisan? Well he probably realized that a ranged unit needs to be able to outmaneuver melee forces, and most metal would only slow us down. A good ranged unit needs to be able to keep it's distance and as long as distance is achieved the only thing we need to fear is arrows, which leather "should" be able to stop.
Jaxler makes a grin and lets out a little laugh and says "Man, I personal feel bad for Partisan. He lets me in the militia and within a week I knock out a superior officer. I'm amazed he let me off with only prison time and a beating. Some captains would have me hung by the neck for such insolence." Jaxler diverts his blood red eyes from Falcata and looks to the stairs and then says "How is your squad doing?".

Falcata makes a non-committal noise, briefly following Jaxler's gaze to the stairs. "Well enough, I guess. The only one I really speak to on a regular basis is, well, Glaive," she says, smiling a little as she mentions the bearded unicorn. "Training harder than ever since Naginata had that scare with her little foal."
Noticing that he's still staring at the stairs, she grows curious. "Um, what are you doing?" she asks, peering at him.

Jaxler looks back at Falcata. He laughs and says "Nothing I guess, I'm just a bit over observant. anyhow, I really haven't  gotten to talk with Glaive in a while, well to be honest I don't think I've never really gotten to talk to him. what's he like?"

She giggles a bit, smiling fully for the first time despite the decidedly downbeat surroundings. "He's...nice," she states, slightly evasively. "A real gentlecolt, and he's so humble about earning that shield by saving that little foal from the snatcher. He even manages to seem genuinely interested when I start harping on about cloud consistency and other flyingy things, despite him being a unicorn and probably having no real interest in any of it. Speaking of which -" she breaks off, unfurling her wings and lifting off the ground, hovering about a foot off the earthy floor of the crypt and kicking up a few clouds of dust. Noticing his puzzled look, she shrugs. "What? It's a pegasus thing; I don't like being grounded for too long. Especially not since that bloody hospital stint."

"I know what you mean." Stated Partisan as he took of himself, gently gliding down the stairs, and landing next to Jaxler.

Jaxler was further puzzled by Falcata's response and said "I'm a pegasus". Jaxler then flaps his purple wings when he notices Partisan and says "Hay there Partisan, how long have you been lurking on those stairs?" Jaxler then diverts his eyes back to Falcata and says "Now ya know why I was starring at the stairs".

"Long enough to know that you are still my best, albeit only, soldier. And that I may not have to worry about you as much as we though." With that he slowly moved toward his own tomb. 

Falcata squints down from her elevated position, trying to cut a clear line of vision through the gloom. Sure enough, he definitely has a pair of wings, though they're only really visible when he starts flapping them. Embarrassed, she shrugs as best she can while in the air (harder than it sounds)
"What? It's dark and I'm tired!"
Noticing the other pegasus as he strides on past, she waves at him. "Hiya...Partisan?" she ventures, hoping she'd recalled the name Jaxler'd mentioned earlier properly. She's seen him around before, certainly, but she hasn't really spoken to him. At all, in fact; unless nodding as she passed him going in and out of the barracks every so often counted as speaking, which it probably didn't.
She starts to say something else, but cuts herself off when she sees where he's heading, content to just hover serenely.

Jaxler grins and says to Partisan "Well that's nice of ya to compliment your second in command" He follows Partisan into the crypt and says "Looks like ya found our room" Jaxler walks in and stops in his tracks as he sees his own coffin his eyes dilated. He says in a fearful voice "Finally... I see the monument to my own mortality."

"Right." Partisan muttered back, barely keeping his own lips from quivering. He needed little reminding of his own mortality, but hearing Jaxler's fearful tone struck him hard. He had always assumed him to be made out of sterner stuff. That was a wake up call.

Peering into the chamber where the two stallions had gone in, Falcata was finding it difficult to understand what all the fuss was about. Sure, the idea of pre-prepared burial grounds especially for them was a bit unnerving to her, but it was hardly something she'd quiver visibly at. Maybe she'd lost that fear the day her lung had taken a holiday outside its place inside her chest, but surely they were being a bit melodramatic about it. That, or Jaxler was a poet in the making. "Monument to his own mortality" - now that was a good one, and she would have written it down later, had she the inclination. Writing wasn't really her forte; the paper wouldn't stay still and her mouth got sore trying to form recognisable shapes.
Regardless, she kept her thoughts to herself, glancing occasionally at the stairs, wondering why all the pegasi within a hundred metre radius were coming down here today.

Jaxler looked over to his cutie mark and said inaudibly "70 years gone by and I still haven't a clue what a dagger over a cog means", He stops and looks to his captain's face and realizes that his captain is trembling along with him. He looks around and regains his resolve and says "Why look at this, here we are an entire squad quivering at our own graves." Jaxler moves further into the room and takes a seat on his coffin and says fearfully "A good soldier can walk into the pits of hell and back, so why should an empty grave stop us in our tracks?"

The stairs being about as interesting as they sounded (not very), Falcata quickly got bored with them. She swoops into the room after the other two pegasi, flaring her wings to halt herself in midair before she hit the wall. Hearing Jaxler's comment, she decides she feels a bit wordy too and adds her own input:
"As soldiers, we make our own fate through our duty. Do not fear death; fear only failure, for should we fail our duty, our deaths will only number among those of our companions who we failed to protect."
She touches down solemnly beside the two pegasi, feeling more sombre now that she is again closer to the tombs.

Jaxler responds by saying "your right" he then gets up and says "this place is starting to get a little bit too depressing. why don't we head over to the meeting hall?"

"I'm getting a bit tired of being down here, too. Good idea, in my book."
She turns around and trots towards the exit, looking forward to being outside again.



While some of the guard-ponies converse in the tombs, Powder Miner is in the meeting hall trying to steady his nerves. The sounds of the strange monsters in the cavern had been setting him on edge recently, and the repeated sound of a rocky thump (he recognized it from earlier) today had worked him into a panic. He simply didn't know what he would do if one escaped. It'd pound him into dust, and frankly, was terrifying to even think of. Explained why he wasn't managing to steady his nerves.

Arbalest was happy. Good happy. Sound good. Catapult good. Then miner (Arbalest not know name) with colour hair come in hall. Miner shaking. Not good. Bad. Scared. So Arbalest walk to miner and say "What bad scare you?" Arbalest good nice pony like that. Something hurt head. But miner no notice. What hurt? No blood. That good. Arbalest listen to miner response.

One of the ponies... uhh... Arbalest, Powder Miner thought his name was, went up to Powder Miner and said something a bit strangely, but Powder Miner could decipher it. He wanted to know why he was scared. "There are.... monsters down there. They're making sounds and are just terrifying. I'm getting scared even to go down there. I mean, the caverns they're in are sealed up nice and tight but..." Powder Miner's voice trailed off.

Ow ow ow! Long word make Arbalest head hurt! Like other hurt! 
Miner was bad scared of monster sound. That made Arbalest sad. He like monster sound. Help him sleep.
Arbalest no know how keep miner happy and monster sound. Wait! Arbalest know!
"Why not chop ear off good? Then no sound!"

... ... ... ..."Because... then I'd be deaf. And it would hurt."

This Arbalest was a little... weird, Powder Miner decided. And then Arbalest spoke again.
"Catapul-... Hmmmm......."

See? Arbalest smart. Catapult good. Arbalest know all. Except with Boo. Boo help him. Boo best midget giant space hamster. More smart than Arbalest. Now to set big catapult. Time see leader. Get big catapult acceptance.

Virtue is sitting in her office, humming quietly to herself as she picks through the last of the day's paperwork.  More production orders for lots of things.  Got to get back on the moat... and build more housing...
She looks up as a blue unicorn enters her office.
"Oh, Arbalest?  How can I help you?"

Virtue good pony. Good leader. Not more good than Boo. But good. 
Arbalest know how ask big catapult. Ask like this.
"Big catapult? Please?"
Work every time Arbalest need big catapult.

Virtue raises an eyebrow.  "Um.  Big catapult?  Is... the one you have not big enough?"

Virtue not smart as Arbalest. Not know big catapult need BIG. Arbalest must correct.
"Need new big catapult for noises."

"Noises?  You mean in the caverns?"  She wasn't sure she liked where this was going.  "Just... how big?"

If only Boo here. Then simple.
"Big big. For making noise so no more bad scare miner."

Yes, that's exactly what he was talking about.  She didn't like the idea of anypony going down there and facing whatever monstrosities there were, but... maybe a catapult behind some sort of fortification might work... it would help calm everypony down if they knew whatever it was was dead at least.  She'd feel a lot better.

"Well... I... maybe that could work.  The catapult isn't too helpful against the thieves we've been seeing.  I'll talk to Mortar and see about maybe getting a safe range set up for you.  Then we can see about the catapult."

Good Virtue. Virtue give catapult. Arbalest like catapult. Catapult good. Then after vanquishing evil, Arbalest learn how fight. All day work.
"Thank."
Why head still hurt when think about Virtue? Head hurt bad. Maybe ask her.
"Why head hurt when think?"

She looks at him, feeling her expression transition to a blank stare as she tries to place just what he's asking.
"I... uh... don't know.  Do you need to see Dr. Panacea?"

Panacea good. Panacea nice. Panacea nice pony. Nicer than- Ouch! Head hurt when think of bad pony.
"Like see Panacea."

"Oh, okay, let's go see her then."  Virtue leads them out of her office next door to the hospital.
They find Panacea busying herself sorting the hospital's supplies.  She turns and gives them a small smile.  "Oh, hello.  Is something up?"

Arbalest like Panacea. Panacea good pony. Like Panacea. Arbalest smile at Panacea.
"Head hurt when think of bad unicorn."

Panacea looks to him with concern in her eyes.  "Your head hurts?  I can get you something for that, but... who is this bad unicorn?"

Arbalest try and remember. But head hurt. Head hurt bad. Keep eye on Panacea. Help the pain.
Head hurt bad.
Head hurt bad.
Head hurt bad.
"Hurt too much."

The concern grows on both mares' faces.  Panacea raises a hoof to forestall him.  "Okay, okay, don't worry about it."  She fetches a small bottle of medicine and gives it to him.  "Here, this should help your head."

Panacea good pony. Boo would like her. Boo smart. Boo tell Arbalest "You like this pony. This pony good." Unless he thought Arbalest was silly. Then he say "You crush on this pony. Silly Arbalest."
Arbalest smile. Arbalest take medicine. Arbalest say "Thank." Arbalest say "I like your mane." Arbalest not blush. Why Panacea blush? Blush good? Should Arbalest blush? Is good? Arbalest not know. Boo know. Boo would say "Blush good" or "Blush bad". Arbalest would be okay.
Panacea good pony. Good mane she has. Like Panacea.

Panacea tries to hide the blush.  That was... a strange thing to just say.  "Um, thank you."  She motions at the medicine and adds, "If that doesn't help, come back and see me.  I've got a few other things I can give you."

Boo smart. Need Boo. Need Boo help. How act Panacea? Boo real smart. He help. Need Boo. Where Boo?







(Authors Note: Powder Miner's Diary:)

1st Slate
Oh stallion, me and the other miners heard something thumping around below today. I didn't know there were things that giant-sounding down there, and now I'm scared of going down there. Those thumps were just massive and rocky, and... they were in a pattern. So it's not just a cave-in or something. There's something down there. It's alive, and it sounds just as heavy as the rock making up the cavern. I'm honestly near scared to death of the thing.
13th Slate
There it is again. Chic was the first to hear it, but there were more stepping sounds coming from there. I could have sworn I heard a reptilian hissing. Are there dragons down there?! I'm getting even more scared about going down here. What if the things break out? I don't want to die!
28th Slate
AGAIN! I was the only one down there this time, so I just ran as fast as I could up, told bout it, then waited here uncomfortably. I'm not going down there.








Wool's diary

2nd Granite

This is the first time I've done one of these, but with my new job, I though I might as well start.

So yeah, my new job. After years of not really doing much here, I wanted to actually be useful. And so when Virtue mentioned that she was looking for someone to help Panacea out with medical duties, I volunteered. She's already started showing me the ropes - dressing and stitching wounds (not as messy as I expected, thankfully), and a bit of tidying up the equipment and spaces. I think I'm understanding it pretty well, but I hope my skills won't be really needed for a good while.

27th Granite

I really need to get used to writing in this more often. Anyway, at least I'm doing it now. For pretty much the last month my routine has been pretty regular. In the mourning, I've been learning and practicing medical skills - recently it's been broken bones, with Panacea explaining how to splint a leg so that it doesn't heal wrong. It's sometimes a bit difficult to understand, as she doesn't really have any way of demonstrating, but I think I'm doing pretty well. After that, I tend to head to the great hall for lunch, and to talk to my friends, and in the afternoon I do the daily chores (at the moment just making sure the place is clean, as nopony's in hospital at the moment). It can be quite tiring, but I enjoy it.

3rd Slate

I heard from one of the miner-ponies that there's been some worry about the caverns. Apparently they've heard something moving about in there - something big. I hope we don't have to fight it off - my even with Panacea's teaching, I don't think I'm quite ready to deal with major injuries.

14th Slate

More news about the caverns from the miners - they think there's another thing down there. They're trying to wall off all entrances to the fort though, and that should be enough to keep them out.

22nd Slate

Today Glaze gave birth to a foal - Granite, she called it. I didn't personally help with the procedure, according to Panacea most mares prefer to be seen to by other mares. I did however get to prepare the hospital for it - setting aside a bed and the like. It's nice to get get a role in these things, even if it is pretty minor.

26th Slate

A pony by the name of Spool started acting odd recently - claiming a clothier's workshop and collecting a load of odd materials. I think it's one of those "strange moods". From what I've heard, there's rarely an obvious cause for them, and sometimes the ponies affected by them become incredibly skilled in their area of expertise. I've also heard of what happens if they don't get their work done - they waste away, refusing to eat or drink, or worse, go into an insane rage and berserkly attack anypony that comes near. I hope it turns out alright.

1st Felsite

You know that pony that I mentioned last time, diary? The one who got afflicted with a "mood"? They ended up making a sock. Not a pair of socks, just one. Admittedly it was very pretty, but it wasn't exactly practical - all covered in rings and spikes and shells. Gave me a bit of a laugh at least.