//------------------------------// // Chapter One. The old mare aint what she used to be... she's a lot scarier // Story: Sisu // by Ebony Gryphon //------------------------------// God in heaven… what have I done? I thought the piece was… information, a weapon… what havoc have I wrought with its awakening? Now, it sits at my desk, a blackened husk, a grim reminder of my own folly. What has happened… I suppose I must say it as plain as day… We are no longer in the forests of our homeland… in point of fact; I’m not sure what land we now reside in. Once the piece was activated, all of us, guards, assassins, old and young, man or woman, the entire city of Den was… well, transported to this place. Of course, this I only found once I roused myself, and wandered outside. My people… you make me so proud. Where others had panicked and turned, all of you… my guards, my assassin’s, you did as we should all do: you kept the peace in the grip of turmoil. I look out my window now… night is here… Oh, Orion… Taurus… your faces no longer grace the heavens. Even the moon of this land is changed… and when I gaze upon, I can barely contain myself. The sadness it casts… Ahh, but I ramble in the written word as I do with the spoken. Onto the report itself… after the farmers, workers, and merchants had gathered in the square, our finest were dispatched to the immediate areas… but what tales they tell! Once returned, they spoke of… horses… ponies, as my son put it. From a distance, they watched as the plowed the fields below, seeming indifferent to the Keep that had suddenly plopped down. And unicorns! And so, my dear Pegasus, thou left thy perch to grace the land. But what is this… from what my assassin’s say, the unicorns are the landowners, the pegasi their regal bully boys. We leave our land to a place I suspect the Templar can never follow, only to grace the doorstep of those who while not in name, but in spirit, are no different than our enemy. No matter. Two days have passed. We have plenty of food, and while messages have been sent to our neighbors, they have said nothing. Oh, you fool… how could it fall from my mind. Despite all being safe and sound, we are not so lucky as to be completely bereft of tragedy. My son’s son, my grandchild, is missing! While I… put on a brave face… it seems this old heart of mine, who has grown hard as flint, can still ache for one loved… and it seems these old eyes, who have held all the wickedness men do to one another, can still shed tears… Enough… Erik is gone, and may not return. His mother and father weep, but I have no such luxury, as much as it pains me… Miracles do happen… he returns… my scribe has called me! I must to my grandchilds side! Matthew groaned as he lifted himself up, an limped to the young red haired fellow, leaning against the door frame of his study and panting as though he had run all the way to his elders office. Grimacing as he buckled slightly, the old human grasped his cane of his desk, and turning back to the scribe. Grasping the scribe’s arm in which a small bit of steel, he shook the scribe. “Is it true? Does he return?” Patting his elders arm, the scribe nodded. Taking a step back as tears leaked down to soak into his beard, the elder slumped slightly, heaving a sigh of relief. Pushing past the scribe, the elder began limping down the stairs, snorting as the scribe tried to grab his arm. Poking the man in the chest, he barked “Leave off! Go refill the ink bottles or glue forgotten books together! I’m not so old as to need a nurse maid!” Seeing the slightly raised brows, he scowled, and turning back to his path, continued on, grumbling all the way. Coming to the bottom, both humans jumped as the doors to their inner sanctum slammed open. Weeping, a woman rushed in, and collapsed at the elder’s feet. Rolling his eyes, the elder leaned down, whispering assurances, and then paused as the woman looked up. Bushy gray colored brows furrowing, Matthew said “Ruth? My God woman, what has you in this state?” Rising shakily, though still hyperventilating, the woman stammered “Jason…. Erik… dark wings… on its back…” Shaking his head, the elder chuckled. “Come now, your little boys returned! He’s come back, though probably a little worse for ware!” Finally catching her breath, Ruth shook her head, and managed, “Erik… fine… but… the thing… I don’t know what it is… but they’re around it! All the guards…” Scowl now anything but playful, Matthew gave his daughter in law a shake. “Speak! What’s going on?” Clutching her in laws arms, Ruth wailed “Shao’s going to kill my little one!” Clenching what few teeth he had, Matthew pushed Ruth into the arms of one of the keeps librarians, and as fast as an old injury and his cane could let him, ran to the doors. ………………………………….. At the foot of the steps leading into the keeps library and archives, a large man stood, his arms crossed across the plate of steel he bore across his chest. Next to him, in bronze, two guards knelt, crossbows at the draw. Across the causeways and paraphets, others stood at the ready, crossbows locked on the pegasi in the middle of the square. Raising a brow, the golden maned mare regarded the scene before her. As her gaze traveled, the young… whatever he was she had brought with her clung to her back, whimpering as he watched those who he once thought of as friends had both of them in their sights. “Tell me child… Tis customary for thy kin to greet their foals savior in such a manner?” Lifting his head, the child wiped his eyes. He wasn’t gonna cry. Cryings for babies. His father always said laugh at death… grinning uncertainly, Erik said “Only on the second moon of the summer, Grandma Shadow.” Grimacing, the mare cast a glare over her shoulder, and barked “Its barely spring, and I’m not old!” “Saw some gray fur…” Eye twitching, Shadow Kicker looked forward again, and began to count in her head, ears and wings flicking in irritation as Erik, who did have some sense of self preservation, got off the mares back. Suddenly, a definite grin crossed the boy’s face, and patting the mare on the withers, he said “I told you Grandma Shadow I’d get you talking right in just a couple of days!” Eyes snapping open, Shadow Kicker looked up and hissed to the heavens “Give me strength…” “Hitting him upside the head usually works. He learns quicker!” A voice shouted from the paraphet. Shrugging as the child blew a raspberry up at the adult, Shadow Kicker gave him a solid thwack with her wing. As the surrounding bow men snickered, their captain bellowed for order. Rubbing the back of his head, Erik pouted. “Geez, you hit like my mom! Where do girls learn how to do that?” A true rare smile across her muzzle, Shadow said “Swat teams.” Still scowling, his fear somewhat ebbed since his fellows were wiping tears of laughter from their eyes, Erik looked at Shao. “Hey dropout! Where’s Father?” Face first paling, then turning purple, Shao screeched “Insolent wretch! You dare to… Don’t ignore me, you bitch!” Ignoring the human, Shadow looked back at Erik again “Pray tell, young one… Your tongue is still… odd to me. Dropout?” Shrugging his shoulders, Erik dropped his arms again. “That’s what Mother calls him. Said he didn’t make the grade as an assassin, so they booted him down to guard. We all hate the blowhard, but his Father’s a merchant, and the elders gave him a boon.” Again, the crossbows wavered as the men and women snickered. Teeth bared, the human walked forward, and began to draw his sword, growling as he walked “Insolent little… I shall cut that tongue from your…” In a flash, Shadow Kicker was in front of Erik, who stumbled back and with a yelp fell on his butt. Wings flared, and sorely wishing she was allowed her wingblades on this endeavor, Shadow Kicker said in an even tone, her eyes and voice as chilled as a dead winter night “You want him? Come a claim him.” Gazing up the mare, Eriks jaw dropped. He had yet to see this side of the mare. In a way, she reminded more of his father then his mother and for some reason when he said that, Grandma Shadow got upset. She wasn’t playful like Gale, or stern like the other guards, but she was definitely fun to tease. And like his Father, she treated him like a grown up, answering his questions, though the answer of where foals came from was something he had come to regret. He knew she saved him from those dog creatures, but compared to Granny now, those dogs were as scary as a bowl of oatmeal. Even without a weapon, against crossbows, though some had been lowered in shock, Shadow Kicker acted as though in control. Standing back up, Erik said “Marry me.” Gaze still locked, Shadow gave a rueful smile. “Come back when you can actually use it…” As the child sputtered and turned red, the guards finally lost it. Some knelt, others leaned against walls, carts, or each other, but all assembled fell into fits of laughter. Eye twitching, Shao sheathed his sword again, and threw up his hands. Turning, he stomped back to the door as it flew open, and ignoring his elders inquiries, stomped into the library. Both faces now suffused in shock, Ruth and Matthew looked out at the scene before them. “What in heaven…” Scowling, Ruth walked out, and standing at the top of the stairs, put her hands on her hips. Voice snapping out like whip, her single word “Erik!” stilled all. Wings clutched to her side, eyes wide, and ears folded back, Shadow gulped. “That’s…” Sighing, the child nodded. “Yep, that’s her. Her names Ruth.” Face set in a frown that swore vengeance on the little terror, Ruth began tapping her foot. Feeling things she hadn’t since a little filly, Shadow said “She’s really… umm…” “Scary. I know…” Pointing at a spot at her feet, Ruth snapped “Erik, you drag yourself up those steps this instant, you useless sack of skin!” Both Pegasus and child flinched. Giving a soft whicker, Shadow Kickers ears pricked back up, though folded back down as the female glared at her. Looking down, Shadow regarded her hooves, willing them to stop scuffing the floor like a foal who ruined her mother’s linens. Leaning close, Shadow Kicker said “Child… I’ve faced diamond dogs, trolls, and even my own kin… None have scared me as much as yonder female… Tirek would abandon his chariot if he saw her coming…” Nodding again, Erik trudged up the stairs. Two steps away, Ruth grew tired of his nonsense, and grabbing his ear, proceeded to drag him to a door, shouting and swearing, and how his father wouldn’t be able to find enough of him to punish once she was finished with her. And with a slam of a door, the square was silent. Sighing, Matthew said “Wanna drink?” “Yes please…” Shadow Kicker said meekly, head cocked as she pondered the scene she had just witnessed. And foals accused her clan of being crazy… Scowling the mare walked up the stairs, her commanders words echoing in her mind. You won’t need your armor, Celestia says… Leave my weapons at home, Gale said… their peaceful, the reports said… First contact and the return of their offspring is something I can entrust to my closest confidant that buttering up fat flank tells me… A nice, easy, ambassadorial offer of friendship to our newest possible friends, the commander tells me… Buck! Now I’m thinking like they talk! Uncultured brutes, the lot of them! And with that, the first pegasi entered a human’s hold, wishing all the time her beloved Princess would sit on a pin. ………………………………………….. Half a day and a couple of human wine later, Shadow lay on the bed they had provided for her. While pegasi did prefer cloud beds, Shadow had never had a problem with terrestrial bedding, not to mention it would be rude to refuse the accomodations. And in any case, after a meal of finely cooked human home fare, along with the other bottle, she found herself relatively content. Effects of the booze now mostly gone, and her belly full, Shadow Kicker yawned as she pulled her head away from her preening, and regarded the room where she was set up. Over the years, Shadow had spent many a night in Canterlot, and the castle, and had quickly grown bored of the bric a brac and tapestries, which she was sure Celestia did just to annoy her. Every visit, her room had become frillier and frillier, the various figurines and vases set carefully on shelves all but forcing Shadow to sit in one spot and not move for fear of breaking some priceless heirloom. And of course, when she came along, her daughter teased her ever suffering mother, the mare who had taken her in and raised her, ignoring any protocol as she ribbed Shadow to the point her mother was grinding her teeth. Sighing, Shadow rolled onto her back, and tucked her forelegs to her chest. Maker, she missed that girl. It was only a day, but still… Not having her at her side was… weird. Mind you, annoying as she was, and since Erik showed she’d gotten worse, she was Shadow’s little foal, for good or for ill. And of course she’d never say that. Some things went without saying, and in any case, she and Gale were proud pegasi, destroyers of evil. Her little soldier didn’t need mommy getting all weepy over something so silly… right? Rolling back onto her belly, Shadow gave flick of her ear. Wine must have been stronger than I thought… Or humans have a lot more tolerance… They are kinda built solid like the ground pounders… I wonder how else their endurance serves them… At this, Shadows eyes bugged, then clenching her muzzle like she’d bitten into a lemon, she squeezed them shut, and thumped a hoof against her head. Where the Tarturus did that come from? In this place of all places my mind goes there, really? Seriously, I need to get laid… Closing her eyes, Shadow Kicker began to drift. Uh Oh… Jumping off the bed, Shadow Kicker looked under the bed, then the closet. Giving a growl of annoyance, she muttered “If I were a chamber pot…” ………………………………………….. After a time, five minutes of which were spent in desperation, Shadow meandered down the hall to her room, squinting through the dim light of the torches. As she walked, wind whistled, sending a gust against the torches, which flickered, but continued to glow. Looking out the window, Shadow Kickers followed the movements of the guards, and even few assassin’s below. Tightening her wings to her barrel, Shadow Kicker shivered, though not from cold. Their eyes… the eyes of veterans. The sad, detached look of those who had given up hope of better days. She expected it amongst their elites, and even the guards, but civilians, even the children. What world made such sadness? Shaking her head, Shadow continued on. Whatever had happened, the mare prayed that better days would come for the humans. As she passed the door to the kitchens, she stopped. Backing up, she peaked in. Sitting at the counter, and judging from his hood and wrist devices, and Assassin sat, drawing a tin cup to his lips. He was… Shadow Kicker closed her eyes, then opened them again. He was young. As young as Eriks mother, barely twenty two, twenty three winters by Shadow Kickers guess. But he sat slumped, a light smattering of hair across his chin and cheeks adding to the disparity of his posture. He looked… Shadow Kicker winced as she looked at his eyes. He looked… old. Tired. Not beaten, but made too carry way to much way to early. Briefly her mind flashed to her daughter. She wasn’t any older then this poor male, and she was a soldier. To think she could… “Please… join me…” Shadow Kicker jumped slightly, and took a step back. Taking a sip of his drink, the human continued his gaze at the table. “Miss Shadow, was it?” Sighing, and giving a slight eye roll, the mare pushed the door open, and walked in. “Indeed. And you are…” “I surrendered my life, and my name, when I became a Master. I belong to my keep, and my comrades now.” “An… interesting, albeit cruel, custom.” Chuckling, the human tilted his head. “Like training ones children to be either mechanations of the clan, or soldiers from the time they can barely walk?” Shadow’s eyes narrowed at this as she perched on the stool, her nostrils flaring at the insult. Raising his hand, the human said “Forgive me. I can relate to that, you see. Unlike many, I was raised as an Assassin.” Giving a slight smile, Shadow cocked her brow. “Far too young for regrets my dear.” “Never to young for that, ma’am. Much of life is regret. If we didn’t, we’d never try to do better.” Shrugging her wings, Shadow gave a grunt of agreement. “Fair enough, I suppose. What’s wrong with being a soldier?” Slowly the humans smile faded. “Being killed.” At this Shadow snorted derisively. “Watching others get killed…” Shadow bit her lip, and gave a nod. “Having to stand there and do it to someone else…” “Hardly.” Seeing the human frown, Shadow waved a hoof. “Please. All those I killed deserved it.” “Deserved…” Smiling again, the human looked at the pegasi in a way that made her squirm. “Many that live deserve death. Some deserve life. Can you give them that? Then none of us should be so quick to dole out the ending of life as justice.” Shadow frowned, and looked at the hearth, the fire burning in it. As the flames danced, she remembered the fields, watching the other clans burn, hearing their shrieks. Some had cast themselves from cliffs to flee Celestia’s wrath, others begged for their lives, only to be shredded by wing blades. Finally, only her clan remained, the others dessimated or to few to continue. “Tin toys…” The mare looked back. “What’s that?” “That’s what we called the soldiers and guards. Not people, just… little wind up soldiers. No thoughts or feelings, just…” Hand shaking, the human covered his eyes, and whispered “Tis no stronger lies then the ones we tell ourselves. And how I lied. How they sold out, or were corrupted… how they threw away there lives for a few extra coins and scraps from some nobles table… But… I couldn’t anymore, you know?” Laying his hand back down, the human sighed. “There were bad ones. Those who abused position and wealth, and for a time I showed them no kindness, to my everlasting shame.” “Kindness?” “I pray they find the peace in the next life that this one stole from them.” “Why? Would they offer you the same?” “Probably not… But I’m not them, am I? And no one should leave this world without even a moment of kindness.” Shadow wiped a hock across her eye. “We’re monsters to you, aren’t we?” The human looked up, and winced. She was crying. Not bawling, but… his heart broke at the look in her eyes. Rubbing her eye again, Shadow whickered. “I hate it. Most of us do, and those that don’t aren’t in the Guard long. I can't stand the stupidity, the waste. Dead foals and ponies lining the streets, ponies who never did anything to anyone. Killing isn’t easy, you hear?” A thud echoed. “You think it’s easy, do you? It’s fun for me? I can’t stand it! And my little foal is out there in the thick of it, and she has to see all this too. She says she choose it, but…” Laying her head down, wings slumping in misery, Shadow wept. “I… I tried so hard. I always tried… but still… they die, or are crippled, living out what remains as beggars.” Raising her hoof again, Shadow Kicker thudded it against the table. “Celestia thanks us, gives us medals, tells others we’re something to strive for…” “But… we’re not, are we?” Shadow raised her hoof, and followed the human with her eyes as he walked around the table. “When it’s for those we love, our home… we can bear it, can’t we? But still, we wonder…” Slowly, he knelt down, and though she stiffened as he wrapped his arms around her and drew her to him, he didn’t stop. “We’re… just us. People. Humans and ponies. Fallen creatures who are hard to live with…” Gently he laid his chin on the top of her head. “But there are good things too. For all the storms of life, we bear it, or when we cannot, we hope for better tommorows.” “What… if it never comes?” The human shrugged. “Then there's always the next day.” “Didn’t I…” Shadow gnawed her lip, then whimpered “I know how others see me. A hero, a soldier. But… how much more can one pony do? There’s always another enemy, another fight. I bled, burned, and risked my life more times then I care to remember? Haven’t I done enough for them? How much more misery can this world bring us.” “And so we face their fears, and become something else in their eyes…” “We… I… are called champions. But I’m a pony too, you know?” The human nodded. “Well, even if that’s true, at least us soldiers have each other.” Sniffing, Shadow pulled away, and gave a chuckle. “Thank you… my friend. Sometimes us old war dogs just gotta howl, you know?” Nodding, he patted her neck “Not at all. Anything for the mare who saved my child.” “What? Eric is…” The human looked away, regarding the fire. “Like I said, we leave our names and old lives once we are made masters. He doesn’t know me from a hole in the ground.” Shadow moved slowly, as though making a movement she rarely, if ever did, and wrapped her forelegs around his neck. Giving and awkward chuckle, the human patted her neck again. “Hey… come on. You’re losing your reputation. Hell, other holds cut off your ring finger.” Shadow tightened her grip. “A tickle compared to your loss child.” To this, no words came forth, just a nod.