//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven // Story: Fire of Passion // by Zachurra //------------------------------// “What is taking those stallions so long?” Saryn groaned to herself. The group had been waiting for nearly an hour for Awestruck Wonder to come to the outer wall and meet with the rest of them. What annoyed the mare further was that the good captain and the little one had wondered off when she had turned her back. She huffed, “For being the ones who were all for this trip, they certainly are taking their sweet time getting here.” “It doesn’t hurt to have a little patience, Lady Saryn.” Goliath was currently in the middle of double checking the contents of his own bags. Satisfied that everything was there that needed to be there, he turned to face the noble, “Just sit down and relax a minute. Check your things or take a little walk or something.” With a quick move he hoisted the saddlebags onto his back, followed immediately by the sword returning to its original position. He gave her a polite nod before turning and walking off in a different direction. She responded with a small, quiet annoyed growl. She looked around in hopes of finding something to do. Nature watching wasn’t exactly something she found interest in and she was confident enough when it came to the contents of her bags that she hadn’t forgotten anything. She let out a sigh, knowing what she would have to resort to in order to pass the time. She turned and slowly began making her way towards the tree line where one of the group sat up against the wood with his eyes closed. Saryn put on the best charming smile she could, “Sky Captain?” There was no response. She cocked an eyebrow as she looked down at him. His eyes were closed, was he in some kind of meditation? It was indeed a rather nice day, so perhaps he was just taking in the presence of such a peaceful moment? Just then the sound of leaves quietly rustling against one another was broken by a loud, nasally snore. The sound was almost enough to cause a vein to pop in the mare’s forehead, but she knew she was better than that. With a movement as swift as the wind, she smacked the side of his head with her hoof. His snoring was cut short, much to her appreciation. However she couldn’t help but feel a little surprised at how little his head moved when she hit him. She could have sworn she hit the stallion fairly hard. Wind Reaver opened his mouth and let out a loud, heavy yawn. When his eyes finally opened, he turned to look towards Saryn and, to her further surprise, gave her a warm smile. “Morning, m’lady.” He said with a gentle nod in her direction. Sadly, her expression was far from spreading the same gentle feeling that his did. “It’s two in the afternoon.” She said simply in an annoyed tone. The stallion’s eyebrows raised a bit as he leaned forward and looked to the sky. He touched the patch of fur on his chin that was a little longer than the rest as he took in the position of the sun, “Huh, so it is…” Saryn rolled her eyes, giving up on friendly act she had attempted to perform a moment ago. “So, Sky Captain, I’ve been wondering something for a while now.” “Hm?” He hummed as he slipped back into a comfortable spot against the tree. Saryn made sure to keep an eye on whether or not his eyelids closed as he leaned back. “Well, considering you’re the captain of the air force of our great nation’s, and here you are traveling with us for what could be a venture that takes up possibly several days if all goes well, I cannot help but wonder if there will be any duties that will be… neglected, for a lack of a better term.” “Duties?” The older stallion chuckled heartily, “We’re in a time of peace, ma’am. Nothin’s happened in the past seven years that’s called for someone of my expertise.” “So… what exactly do you do then?” She asked with an eyebrow raised. He shrugged, “Paperwork, mos’ly. Right now they’ve been tryin’ to get me to approve some new side corps called the… Oh, what did they call ‘em again? Wonderbuns? Wonderwaffle? Eh, I don’t remember. They’re supposed to be mos’ly for show. You know, dazzle ponies and what not with tricks. I went ahead and approved it, but I don’ think it’ll ever ‘take off.’” There was a moment of silence. The birds ceased their songs and the wind halted in its blow. Suddenly the sound of a hoof meeting the face of its owner shattered the silence, followed by a groan and the rolling of eyes by any other soul that was able to hear the sky captain. He, on the other hand, couldn’t help but laugh at his own joke. “What’s wrong, too forced? Maybe I shoulda said they’d never make it off the ground. How’s that sound?” Elsewhere, Goliath was debating with himself on what to do to pass the time. There was no telling how long it would take before Awestruck, Star Light, and New Dawn made it back, so he didn’t want to do something that would be too time consuming. However, if they were going to take longer than he would need to do something to pass the time and keep himself occupied. Conversation with Saryn and Wind Reaver seemed to be going south pretty quickly… No, the conversation was going badly. He didn’t want to risk that sounding like another flying joke. Getting to know Morning Dew appeared to be out of the question as well, considering the mare often responded with glares or looks of annoyance. And when she did respond, anything more than a sentence was unlikely. Well, he supposed that settled it then. A short walk through the woods would have to suffice. He’d make sure to stay close enough to hear if the others came back, but get far enough way to avoid any further possibilities of overhearing something horrible. Deciding that would be the best course of action, he took his first step towards coming closer to nature and immediately threw away any intention of doing so when a dark iron chain fell in front of his face and caused him to jump back in surprise. Taking a deep breath to regain his composure, he followed the chain links up into the tree that they hung from. It was there that he found a familiar red earth pony lying on a large branch that hung above the beaten path. She wasn’t looking in his direction and it seemed that she had slumped down and let her hoof hang over the side that caused the chain to fall in the first place. “Uh, Red Star?” Her response was somewhere between a “Huh?” and a lazy groan. “What exactly are you doing up there?” “What does it look like I’m doing?” Goliath took a moment to look around before coming to a solid conclusion. “It looks like you’re not doing anything.” “Well there’s your answer then.” Goliath’s expression fell to a deadpan and his mouth scrunched to one side. His gaze fell from the mare above him to the chains that hung in front of him. “You know, I still don’t understand why you decided to keep these things on. They’re just going to get in the way and make you trip over yourself.” The chain was pulled up as Red Star shifted in her position. Her left hoof replaced her right one to act as a more comfortable spot to rest her head. One chain was lifted, only for another to fall as her right hoof hung off the side. Goliath turned his eyes back up and was met this time by her own gaze. Her eyes weren’t those of one who was looking down on somepony, despite their positions to one another, but they also didn’t seem like the eyes of a pony who was pleased to have someone conversing with them. She merely seemed indifferent to him. “I already told you why I’m still lugging these things around.” She rattled her chains a little for emphasis. “Until your Princess is pleased, I’m not really free. The chains weren’t cut… just extended.” Her last few words were enough to make his eyebrows rise. “That’s surprisingly deep.” “Don’t expect more.” “Sorry I’m late!” All eyes turned towards the Unicorn who was running towards them. Awestruck slowed to a stop and fell onto his haunches. He had been running since he left his house, and that was practically on the other side of town. He brushed a hoof across his forehead, “I suppose I took a little longer than I thought I would.” “I’ll say,” Saryn said from her and Wind Reaver’s side of the forest path, “You know it isn’t kind to keep a lady waiting.” “My sincerest apologies,” He said in her direction, still a little breathless from his run. He picked himself up off the ground and made his way towards Goliath, who had already closed most of the distance. “Are we ready to go?” “We are.” He replied, “All we were waiting on was you, the captain, and the boy.” “The captain?” Awestruck’s head spun around as he conducted a quick headcount. As Goliath had said, both Star Light and New Dawn were missing. “Where are they?” “Star Light said somethin’ about escortin’ the boy back to his home.” Wind Reaver spoke as he pulled himself up off the ground and pulled a heavy stretch. “Back home? Is he refusing to allow New Dawn to come with us?” “Quite the contrary.” A voice coming from the open gateway caught the attention of all who were outside. Star Light stood straight and tall, as he always did. New Dawn trotted by his side, a small smile resting on his face from seeing the others. Star Light continued, softer this time now that he was closer, “I only assumed it would be best to ensure that New Dawn’s mother be notified of our journey.” “Aw, I knew there was a softer side to you!” Saryn called out from her spot beneath the trees. Despite the smile she wore, Star Light didn’t seem to acknowledge she even said a word. “Are we prepared to depart?” He said towards Awestruck. “It would seem so.” Awestruck replied with a nod. And so the unlikely bunch began their journey. The magician and the captain were the spearhead of the group. The veteran and the colt walked side by side, one listening carefully to the other as they told stories of another time. Behind them were the prisoner and the farmer who were making an attempt at conversation, but the hope of passing the time began to fade as both realized they really had nothing to talk about. After all, what does one talk about with a mare whose been locked away for roughly half of her life? And then behind them were the lady and the… the… “What did you say you did around the castle again…?” Morning Dew said nothing to the mare at first, merely turning her head to give a half glare, half simply annoyed look towards Saryn. Saryn merely looked at her with eyebrows raised and a “What?” look on her face. Morning Dew gave a quiet sigh, “I’m a gardener.” “Oh, well that’s exciting.” She replied with a smile. The gardener said nothing and just turned her head forward once more. Saryn’s smile dropped just as quickly as it had appeared. “You really don’t talk much, do you?” “Nothing to say.” “Well, it looked like you had plenty to say back at the castle. And you had a fairly strong opinion about our mission too.” “Only because that Pegasus needed to learn his place.” She snapped, causing the other mare’s eyebrows to rise in surprise. “He is the captain of the Pegasi legion, one of the highest ranking officers in our land, and he dared to hesitate when our Princess gave an order after he had just sworn his loyalty and agreed to do whatever she asked. I suppose I should not be surprised. All of them seem to be lazy by nature. Why do something productive with their lives when time could be wasted elsewhere? It makes me sick. They can hardly keep the weather in order – their one and only job besides serving the royal family. If it weren’t for my own intervention, the city would probably suffer from a drought every other week.” Well, this was certainly an interesting turn of events. “Oh, I see. Not a fan of our winged brothers and sisters, hmm?” Morning Dew said nothing, merely turning her eyes towards the forested scenery. Saryn smiled, “Don’t worry dear, I won’t go and tell on you. To be rather honest, I’m in the same boat. Really, what can Pegasi do that Unicorns cannot? The same goes for earth ponies. I personally believe that if every pony in Equestria was a Unicorn, our lives wouldn’t really be that much different. I daresay it may even be better. Don’t you agree?” Morning Dew remained silent. Saryn noticed the way she subtly eyed her coat, probably wanting to pull her hood up and end the conversation right then and there. The poor dear probably had never had such a conversation in her life. With a short breath, she finally spoke up, “Perhaps…” Saryn’s smile grew a little wider and Morning Dew let out a small whimper as the taller mare pulled her in to a sudden one-hooved embrace. “Oh, I can tell we’re just going to be the best of friends, you and I.” The group remained together but separated into their own little groups for what felt like only a few hours. Before they knew it, the sky had gone from its bright blue to a new vibrant orange. With a smile on his face, Awestruck was able to quickly locate a river and a small clearing for them to make their camp at. “Wondeful!” He said aloud before turning towards the rest of the group, who were currently removing their increasingly heavy belongings from their backs. “As you all know, I’m a stallion who doesn’t like to dilly dally–” “Bull” and “Pfft” could be heard from the group from the two stallions who knew the magician a little better than the rest. Ignoring them, Awestruck continued as if nothing had happened. “ – and so I have decided to get straight to the point and have assigned duties for us all. Goliath, Red, you two will be tasked with finding enough firewood for the camp. I know Goliath has some knowledge of the forest, so if you find anything edible than I am sure it would be appreciated.” Goliath nodded while Red Star shrugged and began walking off in a random direction. “C’mon Twinkles, let’s get this over with.” “Next is Saryn and Morning Dew; you two will be retrieving water for us.” “Lovely.” “Wind Reaver, I want you to just circle around a few times and make sure we haven’t stopped next to something’s den. I don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night and find something other than one of you staring at me.” The veteran gave a tired sigh, “I’ll get on it.” “What about me?” New Dawn said, taking a step forward. “You, my little friend,” Awestruck said, kneeling down to be closer to eye level with the colt, “Are going to be helping me and the captain with setting up the camp. Putting up the tents, maybe rolling a log or two over if we happen to see them.” The colt smiled and nodded, and the group went about their duties. The two mares were the first to return, carrying with them three full jugs of water – the jugs courtesy of Morning Dew herself. Next came Wind Reaver, who reported that there did not appear to be any nearby nests or dens. Finally, just as the moon was rising into the sky, the two earth ponies of the group returned with what looked like an almost fully intact tree in their tow. Upon questioning, Red Star wiped the sweat off her brow before giving a surprisingly hearty response. “You wanted some sticks. Well, we got all the sticks you’ll need!” “So,” Goliath said, panting softly, “What’ve you guys been up to?” “Oh, just setting up tents the old fashioned way.” Awestruck said, gesturing to the four tents that sat in a circular formation around a small group of rocks. “We wanted to give Dawn a good camping experience. “’Camping experience’…” Star Light muttered quietly as he walked past the group, stopping for just a moment next to Wind Reaver, “This is a mission, not a field trip.” “We’re trotting face first towards one of the world’s most dangerous creatures,” The sky captain replied, “Let them have their moment to enjoy themselves.” The captain merely clicked his tongue and continued walking away towards Morning Dew, where his words went out of earshot. “Because of the need to pack lightly, we’ll be sharing the tents in teams of two.” Awestruck said to the group as a whole, gesturing towards the four tents that stood in a small circle. “Goliath and I will be sharing the first tent. The second tent will be for our dear captains. The third tent will be shared by Saryn and Morning Dew, while Red and Dawn take the last one.” “Why don’t I get to share a tent with the adorable little colt?” Saryn whined, “He shouldn’t get stuck with some brute just because of an odd number of genders.” “Firstly,” Awestruck said quickly, as if he had prepared for the possibility of the Unicorn speaking out, “I don’t trust you with children. Secondly, I tried to avoid any possibilities of conflict between pairs such as what happened back at the castle.” Saryn merely huffed at Awestruck’s gentle glare in her direction. It wasn’t her fault that somepony else in the group was a little touchy… “Now, let’s get settled in, shall we?” ------------- The sun had slowly made itself lower in the darkening sky. Halfway below the horizon, it was allowing itself just a few more moments of illuminating the planet before it descended to bring light somewhere else. Princess Celestia’s horn glowed gently as she stood on her position on the balcony of a tower, and the great ball of light finally vanished. She felt a small smile reach her lips as the warmth that came from grasping her sun lingered. “Are you ready, dear sister?” Celestia said upon hearing the faint sound of steps being made by a pony that approached from behind. “Please, We art always ready to bring about Our splendid night.” Celestia took a few steps back to allow her younger sister to stand in the place she had stood in moments ago. Luna’s horn began to glow, and the darkness of the night lightly faded as the light of the moon took the sun’s place in the sky. Unlike her sister, Luna never felt like smiling after the raising and setting of her celestial body. She remembered hearing her sister say that it felt like a warm embrace every time she reached out to it. As for the moon, all Luna ever felt was a cold, distant touch. Luna heard her sister giggling softly and turned to face her with an eyebrow raised, “What dost thou find so humorous, sister?” “Oh, nothing at all.” The elder sister replied with a wave of her hoof. “I was just surprised to see that you still talk in such an archaic fashion.” “Archaic?” Luna said as if the word left some kind of bad taste in her mouth, “We speak as the royalty of our land has always spoken – since times far beyond our own!” Celestia couldn’t help but giggle once more, bringing heat to the younger sister’s cheeks. “Oh, come now Luna. Times are changing, and we cannot rely on the past to be our eternal guide. We must pave our own way to greatness.” “Tsk,” Luna shook her head gently before turning her eyes back to the glowing moon above. Suddenly she felt the feeling of a wing wrapping around her and turned to see her sister pulling her into a light embrace. “Luna, have you been feeling alright?” Luna’s eyes looked into those of her sister’s. She saw that familiar sincerity and compassion, but there was always that hint of superiority. A demand for respect, one might say. “I am just fine.” Celestia nodded, turning her gaze back to the city below. The two stood in silence for a time, the only sound between them being the cool breeze rustling the leaves of the trees and plants. It was calming, to say the least, until… “Sister… I have heard rumors that a creature has entered Equestria’s borders. Do you know anything about it?” Luna’s posture stiffened. “The rumors thou hear of art true, dear sister. A dragon has entered our lands and has nested atop the mountain there in the distance. Do not worry, I have already taken the liberty of sending a group to deal with this potential threat.” The younger Alicorn heard a gentle sigh come from her sister before she spoke, “Luna… while I am happy to see you are capable of taking charge to deal with a threatening situation, I cannot help but feel concerned about the fact that you did not at least consult me before doing so. Who exactly did you send?” “Thou can trust that I have sent ponies most capable. Both captain Star Light and sky captain Wind Reaver have been tasked with the mission, as well as a group of several more volunteers. I trust that they will return from their journey within the next few days with news of success.” Another sigh. Must she sound so disappointed? Celestia turned and began to make her way off the balcony and back to her quarters. “I trust you know what you are doing, sister. Goodnight.” The sound of the door closing signaled Celestia’s exit. Luna took a breath to calm herself. “It is like thou had said, dear sister. I am merely paving my own way. But this road to greatness appears to be increasingly narrow… soon only one pony shall be able to walk on it.”