CHAPTER 9
Complications
The last thing I remember happening was talking to the leader of the small group of rebels, I couldn't remember exactly what he said, but the next thing I felt was a heavy blow to the head, and then everything went black.
As I slowly opened my eyes, I could immediately tell that the blow to my head, had left my eyesight blurry. After blinking a few times, I began to see again, but I could tell I was in a different place, I slowly sat up, but was immediately met with a sharp pain to my skull. Immediately my hoof shot up and rubbed the sore spot as I turned and looked around, but much to my surprise and relief, I saw Dust and Vapor leaning against the wall, they’re gazes were fixed on me. I tried to speak, but my mouth was dry from lack of water, but I tried none the less, “Vapor? Dust? Where are we?” I asked as I tried to stand up, which caused Vapor to immediately walk over to me.
I smiled as she fully helped me, she returned the kind smile as Dust walked over to us. “Good to see your awake, how’s your head?” he asked with a smile, I smiled back as I continued rubbing my head, “yeah, what happened?” I asked looking around. Now it was Vapor’s turn to speak, “after we spoke with the boss, the guards knocked us out and threw us in here, seems to be the basement of the mill” she said as we all looked around.
Dust walked up to the concrete walls, and rubbed his hoof along them, “well, there’s no way out, this place is solid, I don’t think we’d get very far” he said as he examined the room around us. I sighed and slowly sat down, while Vapor walked over to Dust, my hoof slowly reached up to my chest, and my eyes shot open as I realized the medallion was missing. “Wait! Where’s the medallion?” I asked looking around in a panic, as to why I was so concerned about a piece of metal, I don’t know. Both Vapor and Dust turned to me with confused looks, “what? You mean that old golden thing? The leader took it, not entirely sure why” Dust said with a raised hoof.
I quickly sat down and lowered my head, but I didn't need to see to know that Vapor had taken a few steps closer. “Frost, the leader seemed awfully interested in that medallion, what was it anyway?” she asked me, I looked over at her, a worried and concerned look on her face, which was quickly joined by Dust, it was at that moment that I knew I would have to tell them the truth.
I quickly took a deep breath and began to tell, “Vapor, you remember that strange stallion that came into the post office a few days ago, that package he dropped off for me, well…the medallion was in that package” I said as I looked at them, Vapor seemed more concerned than Dust, “why would he send that to you, clearly it’s brought nothing but trouble” she said with a concerned look. I stood up and walked over to the bars of our cell, “I don’t know, but I met up with him a few days ago, he said that he sent it to me, because I was the only one who could keep it safe” I said as I slowly turned to them. Vapor glanced at Dust briefly, but he merely looked at us with confused looks, “well, what else did he say?” she asked turning back to me.
I tried to find the right words to describe it, but nothing came to mind, but I could still feel Midnight’s words echoing in my head, but I knew it would be best to keep it a secret for now. “Nothing…he left after that” I said as I turned away for the third time, but I heard Dust speak up, “come on Frost, I may have not known you for very long, but I can tell your lying, he said something else to you, didn’t he?” he said, I winced at how good Dust was, I guess being a petty thief has its own advantages.
I was about to turn around and tell them, but just as I did, the door to the basement opened up and a trio of guards came down the stairs, they seemed to be a part of the group we were with earlier, we all watched as they walked up to the cell door, unlocked it, and slowly opened it up. “the boss wants to speak with you Frost Fall” he said in a calm yet demanding tone, I looked back at my two friends, they glanced nervously at me and then we all started walking towards the door, but not before the guard spoke up more fiercely. “Just you Frost! Your friends will remain here in the basement, if I were you, I wouldn't keep the boss waiting” he said with a frown.
I looked back at my friends with a concerned expression, they equally shared my concern, but they stepped back and sat down, “go on, we’ll be fine, just find out what that jerk wants” Dust said as they both smiled, but this only gave me a small boost of confidence. I calmly turned to face the guards, and with a confident step, I slowly walked out of the cell and followed the guards up the stairs, while the third locked the cell up again, and joined behind me.
I glanced back down at my friends as I ascended the stairs, and in a quick flash they were gone as my eyesight cleared the wall.
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After being lead out of the basement, the guards escorted through the large mill, and up the same path as to when we first arrived. As we came to the office on the second floor, the guard opened the door, and shoved me inside, and immediately slammed it behind me. I cleared my throat and turned to the rest of the room, I tensed up slightly as I saw the same pony who had captured us and taken us here. He seemed content to simply smile maliciously at me, but he turned to the leader who was facing away from me, his eyes fixated on the large map of Equestria behind the desk.
Without even saying a word, he calmly turned and faced me, a simple smile on his face. Despite his seemingly kind gesture, I felt my body tense, the leader simply glanced at the other pony. “leave us for now” he said in a relatively calm voice, the second one nodded and made his way towards the door, but not before flashing me a look of disgust, and then walking out the door.
After he left the leader walked over to his desk and sat down, he quickly gestured to the seat in front of me, “please, have a seat, we have much to discuss” he said. I looked at him suspiciously, quickly glancing from him to the chair, “there’s nothing to fear Frost, I simply want to talk, allow me to introduce myself formally, my name is Iron Star, this is my little organization” he said with a calm smile. Despite my distrust, I simply didn't want to come off as rude, so I calmly climbed into the chair and faced him. After I got comfortable, I finally spoke up, “okay, you got me now, care to explain why you are keeping my friends and I prisoner?” I said in a stern tone.
He simply smiled and looked away for a minute, “yes…about that, part of the reason I asked you here, was because I wanted to apologize for my actions earlier, I admit they were a bit…extreme” he said with a slight frown, I simple raised an eyebrow, “you knocked us out and threw us in a cell” I said with a deadpan expression. He chuckled lightly at my response, but quickly cleared his throat, “yes…like I said, they were a bit…uncalled for, but the other reason I called you here, is because I wanted to ask you…about this” he said as he reached under the desk, and pulled out the gold medallion, and placed it on the desk, and slowly slid it forward.
My eyes widened at that, and then quickly glanced at him, “why ask me, you seem to know more about it then I do” I said in a calm yet aggravated tone. He smiled at me, but then looked down at the medallion and picked it up in his hooves, “true…but I want to know what you know” he said as he leaned forward more. I looked from him to the medallion, thinking about what I could say, I had a feeling that this guy could see through any possible lie I might tell.
I remained silent for the moment, as I tried to think of something to say, but his stare made me more and more unnerved, until he finally spoke up. “I want to know…where you came across such a…unusual artifact?” he asked in a calm yet serious tone. I looked at him, I knew I wouldn't be able to lie very well, but I tried my best to remain strong, “fine, it was given to me by a friend, I don’t know his name, he sent it with a letter, he said something about me being able to keep it safe” I said as I looked up at him, he simply studied me for a moment and then turned to look at the medallion, and then back at me, placing it on the desk, and gently slid it forward. I was glad he didn't catch my little lie about his name.
“Hmm…very well, but before I go any further, I need to know, do you know what this is?” he asked referring to the medallion. I looked at it and then back to him, I knew it wouldn't be safe to press my luck on the whole lying bit, so I came clean. “I don’t know…it looks like some old equestrian treasure, but I can’t be sure” I said with a sigh, Iron Star smiled at me and stood up, picking up the medallion in his hooves. “Not just any old equestrian treasure, the rarest…tell me Frost, do you know the legend of the four Alicorn Medallions?” he asked.
My mind immediately started to remember some of the old legends I had read in story books (those that had been approved by the government), and I remembered something about the Royal Medallions, but I couldn't fully remember. “I've heard of it, I might have read it in some old storybooks” I said, he simply smiled as he walked around me and the desk. “Indeed, the story tells of a young craftspony, who came to the princess’s, shortly before the war started and offered to make them each a golden medallion, these medallions were said to have been enchanted with a powerful form of magic, this magic is said to have represented some of the virtue’s that the princess’s represented” he said as he made his way over to the seat, gazing at the medallion as he picked it up in his hooves.
I simply watched and listened as he retold the story, “Cadence’s amulet is said to have represented the love and hope she spread. Luna’s was to represent her kindness and understanding, Celetia’s was her knowledge and wisdom, and princess Twilight’s was her compassion and reason” he said as he grinned, placing the medallion on the desk, I simply looked at him in awe. Finally realizing he was waiting for me to speak, I shook myself and stared at him, “that’s…a nice story and all, but…what does this have to do with me?’ I asked, this only seemed to make his grin wider.
He leaned back again and smiled, “well, part of the legend says…that the young craftspony secretly made, but he only told Luna and Celestia about it, neither of them knew what the fifth represented, but they would have time to find out, as Red Spear came along took over, the maker went in to hiding and the fifth medallion disappeared, that is…until now possibly” he said as his grin faded and he leaned closer to me. I sat there amazed at the story, but my mind was still filled with confusion, “so…you think that the medallion I have, that somepony gave to me, is the fifth medallion?” I asked in a full state of disbelief. He smiled at me and slid it closer to me, “either that, or it’s one of the most convincing fakes I have ever seen, but I highly doubt it, and so does my boss” he said, which quickly caught my attention.
“Boss? I thought you were the head of this organization?” I asked him, he laughed at my ignorance and smiled, “Me? No my friend, I’m in charge of our militant operations, but my orders come from the head of the Night Ranger’s” he said with a calm smile. Despite that, I returned to the situation at hand, “Okay…I can already tell you want something from me, otherwise you would have probably just killed my friends and I or something, and so…what is it you really want?” I asked him, in a tone as serious as I possibly could.
He smiled widely and then sat down, “now we come to the interesting part” he said in a quieter tone, as he studied me, before clearing his throat. “Your right Frost, there is something I, or shall I say we want. While you were in the cellar, I was talking with my boss, and he wants to meet you, he says he can answer all your questions, but you and your friends must come with us to our base in the mountains, it’s an old abandoned monastery from the old days, so were safe from royal troops” he said with a calm tone, that hinted with urgency.
I chuckled at this, which seemed to surprise him more than anything, “what’s so funny?” he asked me, I sighed and looked at him, “you make it seem like I've already decided to go with you, what if I don’t want to go, what if I want to go back to my old life, what does your boss say about that?” I said in a cocky tone. Iron Star seemed momentarily shocked at this, but he calmed down and cleared his throat and smiled, not a good sign. “I thought you might bring that up. My boss says it’s completely your decision to make, if you choose not to go, then we will escort you to the nearest road so you can return home, but…ask yourself this. Aren’t you the tiniest bit curious as to why this pony sent this gift to you, do you really think you can just…live your life, without finding the answer” he said. I sat there completely dumbfounded. He really had me cornered, and I hated it, but he was right, there was a part of me that wanted to find out why I had gotten this gift.
I finally looked back up at him, despite that I knew my life would never be the same after this moment, and that I could kiss my simple life goodbye, I needed answers, and the leader of this organization could give them to me, but before I would say yes, I needed to clear something up. “Alright…I’ll go with you…but on one condition” I said raising my hoof up, he smiled widely and leaned forward, “name it?’.
I cleared my throat and began to speak, “I’ll go with you, but I refuse to leave my family and friends behind in Ashen, I’ll go back with you, but not without my sister and my mother, I will NOT leave them behind” I said with a serious tone, he looked shocked for a minute, but then began thinking it over. “Why should I agree to that, they are of less importance to me, we need you, not them” he said in a tone that only made me mad. “They’ my family. If you want me or this medallion, you’ll let me go back for my family, and you have my word that I will come back and honor my end” I said grabbing the medallion and levitating it near me. Iron Star eyes me suspiciously, but then he sighed heavily and then looked back at me and smiled.
“Very well Frost, I can tell you care greatly for your family, as a family stallion myself, I would easily go back for them, I can provide some support but you’ll mostly be on your own, your friends can come with you, I’ll make all the arrangements” he said with a confident smile, and for the first time since getting here, I felt glad that I was actually getting help.
After the entire time talking to him, I finally stood up and stretched my hooves, finally giving myself a chance to be at ease, Iron Star calmly made his way to the door and opened it, the lieutenant quickly walked in, “I think it’s time you two were fully introduced, Lieutenant Arrow, this is Frost Fall, we’ll be working with him for some time now, and I know you two might be on edge at each other, so here’s your chance to move past that, we certainly can’t be having any conflicts in our travels” he said, Lieutenant Arrow looked at me, and then his usual grimace turned to a more friendly smile, which partially threw me off. “it’s nice to finally be formally introduced, I must apologize for my roughness earlier, this job can get a little…tense” he said rubbing the back of his head, before extending his hoof out, I eyed it suspiciously at first, but I shook it nevertheless.
Iron Star turned to him fully, “Arrow, go and get his friends, and bring them to us, we have much to discuss” he said, the lieutenant nodded and trotted out of the room. Just as the door closed behind him, Iron Star turned to face me, a more serious look on his face, “despite my letting you go, there is something I must warn you about” he said as he trotted over to his desk. “I’m sorry to say this, but…you may not find Ashen quite as you remember it” he said in a suspicious tone. I calmly walked over to him, “what does that mean, we've only been gone a few days if that” I said as he sat down.
He looked at me and sighed, “that’s what I’m talking about, I received word that news of the destroyed prisoner convoy had reached the general in Ashen, thinking that we might have had something to do with it, General Brick has declared martial law in the town, setting up curfew’s interrogating those who were close to the prisoners, you may not find a warm welcome waiting for you” he said in a sinister tone.
But before I could reply to that comment, the door opened and I turned to see my friends walk in, “oh Frost there you are, what’s going on, what’s the plan?” Vapor asked in confusion, at the moment I didn't have an answer for her, but I shook myself out of my concern-induced trance and looked at her, fear and concern filling my eyes.
“were going home”