Kyle was a man of planning. When asked about the layout of his room within the town hall, he specifically mentioned that it needed to be on the east side of the building. He had also had the room designed so that the sunlight would fall across his pillow fairly early in the morning. Being a fairly light sleeper, that meant that the sun would act as an alarm for him, and he could rise early as well. After all, the earlier he woke, the more he could get done, and potentially the sooner he could end his duties for the day and slip away to meet with his friends or relax on his own.
Of course, he hadn’t counted on being able to sleep through the sunrise.
And so it was that he cracked his eyes open. He instinctively raised his hand up to shield his eyes from the usual blinding glare, only to find that the light was not there. He let out a low grunt and lowered his hand. For a moment, he was content to simply curl back up and attempt to return to sleep.
That is, until, he realized that the room was far too bright to still be night time. His eyes snapped open. The sunlight still did not shine into his eyes. Instead, a beam of light shone through the windows onto the floor in the center of his room. It was well past sunrise.
“Well crap… I slept in,” he thought as he pushed himself upright. He threw the covers off of his body and hopped out of the warmth of his bed. The cold autumn air hit him like a slap in the face, jolting him to full awakness. He strode over to the small wardrobe in the corner of his room and withdrew a fresh set of clothes. He threw them on, as well as his armor, before setting off to find the latrine.
Five minutes later, he was feeling much relieved, though still irritated at himself. It was unlike him to sleep in this late, especially when there was work to be done. Judging by the level of activity present throughout Ironwall, he figured he was at least an hour and a half behind schedule. He had already missed his morning briefing, and now he’d have to find some time to make up for his missed work. Work time that would have to be taken from his own leisure time.
He let out a small sigh. To be fair, he couldn’t exactly be blamed for sleeping in. The train ride from the Crystal Empire had been bumpier than the trip up for some reason, and so his sleep on the trip had been interrupted numerous times. Not to mention that he had already been exhausted by the time they actually reached the train. They’d arrived back in Ponyville late into the night, and the moon was high in the sky before Kyle actually made it back to Ironwall.
Kyle stepped back into the town hall and navigated the familiar path back towards his office. The door was already slightly ajar as he approached. He pushed it open and moved towards his desk. As he did, he noticed a small clipboard and a pencil already laid out in front of his chair, along with a still-steaming mug of coffee. Despite himself, he felt a small smile form as he sat down. He brought the mug to his lips and took a small sip.
A small knock at the door drew his attention. He peered over the mug to see a small, pink-haired Gnome poking her head through the door. “Ah, commander. Good to see you’re awake,” she said. She took a few steps in and closed the door behind her. “I was just about to wake you if you weren’t. I hope the coffee is still hot.”
“It is. Thank you, Filwin,” Kyle replied. The Gnome smiled as she hopped up into the chair opposite him. “Sorry I missed our meeting this morning. I got in late last night and -”
Filwin’s small, high-pitched giggle cut him off. “I anticipated that you would be tired after you arrived, sir,” she said. “I’ve left the usual summary of the events of the past two days there on your desk for you to read at your leisure.”
“Thanks.” Kyle leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, preparing himself for the worst. “So, how late am I?”
“Behind your usual schedule sir? Ninety-seven minutes.”
“Lovely. And what exactly have I missed in that time that I’ll need to make up?”
Though he couldn’t see it through his closed eyes, Filwin’s smile grew larger. “Of any importance? Nothing, sir.”
Kyle opened one eye. “Come again?”
“As I said sir, I anticipated that you would be tired after your late arrival last night. I specifically scheduled today to be a light workload for you so that, in the event that you DID sleep in, you would not fall behind.
Kyle stared at the small, pink hair Gnome that sat across from him. He blinked. Slowly, a large grin crossed his face. A loud, mirthful laugh erupted from him. “Filwin Springfizzle, I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Just doing my duties, sir.” Filwin’s smile faded away as she pulled the clipboard back over to her. She flipped the first page over and glanced down. “However, there are still a few things that need doing today. There’s some more paperwork from Stormwind - the usual stuff. The researchers here in the garrison want you to sign off on a couple of projects of theirs. And the foremen are getting impatient waiting on your decision for what will be built on those last two plots of land we’ve set aside, so I’d suggest figuring that out today. Oh!” She set the clipboard back down and reached into her back pocket, producing a slightly crumpled envelope. “And a letter from Ponyville, delivered just this morning. From Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
“Huh. Wonder what she wants to say that requires a letter…” Kyle shrugged. “Eh, I’ll take care of that one later. Thanks a ton, Filwin.”
“Not a problem sir. I’ll leave you to it.” The Gnome hopped off of the chair and gave a small salute before heading towards the door. It opened and closed, leaving Kyle alone in the room once more. He took a deep breath and leaned forward, turning his attention to the first task at hand - the Engineering project requests.
The first one seemed to be an attempt to replicate the light switch that Equestria used to light their homes at night, rather than candles. It was an easy enough decision for Kyle to sign his name on the request form for that one - such technology would be of great benefit to the people of the Alliance. He likewise signed off on the second request, which was an investigation into the water distribution system of Equestria. Hopefully, the engineers would be able to figure out how exactly those faucets worked…
The final request, however, nearly made Kyle burst out laughing. It seemed that a certain Dwarven artillery commander had mentioned Pinkie Pie’s unnatural ability to somehow see into the immediate future. The mages and engineers had come together with a joint proposal to observe, study, and test the hyperactive mare to determine how exactly she was capable of this. Of course, Kyle had already heard about Twilight’s own attempts to do the same, and the near insanity she had driven herself to while doing so, so he quickly denied the request.
And so it went for the rest of the morning. After the project requests came the paperwork from Stormwind - easy enough to do, but long and boring. While doing this sort of tedious task, Kyle often found himself wondering why exactly all of this paperwork was required so often. Today was no exception, and just for good measure he threw in a few mumbled curses at the sheer volume that had accumulated over just the couple of days he had been gone.
Three hours passed before he finally leaned back in his chair. He sighed and flexed his right hand, which had begun to cramp from the hours of constant writing. He was still feeling tired from the late night and long day before, and to top it all off his stomach was starting to rumble. He set his pen to the side and stood up. There was no way he would complete anything else like this. At the very least, he needed some food. With that thought in mind, he moved out of his office and towards the mess hall.
As he sat down with his meal, Kyle glanced around the hall at the other occupants. It was just about lunch hour, so there was a steadily-growing trickle of workers and soldiers entering the hall for their midday meal. It wasn’t anything amazing - a small boar sandwich with half-stale bread and dry meat, an apple, and water. Still, it was better than going hungry, so Kyle finished off his food and left to give up his seat for another. He made his way through the growing crowd and towards the door.
On the other side, the line had already stretched out of the mess hall and into the main courtyard. Kyle sent a silent prayer to the Light that he had managed to beat the lunch rush as he maneuvered his way past the line and towards the Town Hall once more. His prayer devolved into a short curse as the stack of work on his desk was brought to the front of his mind once more.
As he approached his office, he noticed a pair of figures standing outside the door. One of his guards was standing next to an unfamiliar light-green Unicorn stallion with a small satchel around his neck, who appeared to be waiting him. The pair turned as he approached, and the Human saluted. “Commander,” he said. “A courier from Appleoosa. He claims to have a message for your ears only.”
“Very well. You’re dismissed,” Kyle replied. The guard nodded and strode past him, away from the door. Kyle stepped into his office and gestured for the Pony to follow him.
“So,” Kyle began as he sat down in his seat, “What is this message that you bring for me?”
“Firstly, an apology,” the stallion replied. Kyle raised an eyebrow as the Unicorn continued. “I am sorry for this deception, but it was necessary to gain an audience with you.” His horn lit up with a bright green glow, and an emerald flame formed around his hooves. A flame which quickly raced upwards, surging around his body. Where it passed, green fur was replaced with black chitin, eyes with solid-blue orbs, teeth with razor-sharp fangs.
“Secondly,” the not-Unicorn continued, “I bring greetings from the Changeling Empire, and from Grand Empress Yxia.”
Kyle had half-risen from his seat as the Changeling had transformed before his eyes, but now sat once more. “Apology accepted,” he replied calmly. “What is your name, courier?”
“I am called Xanthor.”
Kyle nodded and leaned back in his chair. HIs heart was still beating furiously in his chest, but it seemed clear now that there was no threat here. Still, the sudden appearance of a changeling here in Ironwall could only mean important news from Yxia. And it wasn’t likely to be good. “So, Xanthor. What word from Hive Regali? Is the empire in trouble again?”
“Not in immediate danger, no,” The Changeling replied. “Our empire is recovering swiftly under Empress Yxia’s rule, and the last vestiges of the Sha’s corruption are being purged.”
“However, the news I bring you may be of concern.” Xanthor let out a small sigh. “An intruder found his way into Hive Regali not five days ago. He was captured quickly and brought before our Empress. He claimed to bring a message from his masters.”
Kyle frowned as warning bells began to go off in the back of his mind. “Did this intruder happen to mention who his master was?” he asked.
“He spoke as if there were more than one, but no, he gave no name to these masters of his.”
“What was this visitor? And more importantly, who was it? Did you at least get his name?”
“The intruder was a tall creature who walked on two legs. Blue skin. Tall, but always hunched over. He had three of those… Fingers.” The changeling nodded towards Kyle’s hands. “Walked and talked like he was some big shot, even though he spoke of masters. He called himself a Troll.”
“So the Horde IS in Equus,” Kyle hissed. He brought one hand up to his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose. So much for a quiet day. “Alright alright… how about a name? Did you get his name?”
“This ‘Troll’ gave us no name, but dropped this after being… persuaded… to leave.” Xanthor’s horn lit up once more, and a small bit of metal floated out of the satchel around his neck. Kyle reached out and took the bit of metal, quickly realizing that this was a badge. He flipped it over so that he could read it.
The brass was heavily tarnished by rust and what looked suspiciously like blood. However, the tarnish was not enough to completely obscure the name. “Zinju…” Kyle read slowly. Of the Troll’s last name, only the first letter, S, was visible. “Zinju S…”
“Queen Yxia is hoping that you may be able to help us identify this Troll,” Xanthor continued. “And more importantly, who he’s serving.”
“It’s a Troll,” Kyle scoffed. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. “Probably from the Horde. Their warchief is Vol’jin. Just don’t get involved with them and -”
“He was not from the Horde.”
Kyle opened one eye. “Say what now?”
“This Zinju character spoke of the Horde and the Alliance as though he was their enemy. Much disdain and hatred in his voice. He called this ‘Vol’jin’ a coward and a half-assed baboon.”
“So… right.” Kyle sat back up in his chair. “Definitely not Horde.” He closed his eyes again and folded his hands under his chin. He let out a small hum of thought as he scoured his brain, trying to think of anyone else who might be interested in Equus. “Why was he there?”
“He wished to recruit us to wage war against you and Equestria. He wanted our aid in conquering this world, in exchange for ‘power beyond reckoning’.” The Changeling smirked slightly. “An offer we rejected immediately.”
Kyle nodded slowly. “Sounds like… Zandalari maybe,” he finally said. “They’ve been trying to unite the Troll tribes ever since the Cataclysm. They’re looking for a new land to call home after their island sank into the ocean. Maybe they’re looking at Equus.”
“But if they are uniting other Troll tribes, why come to us?”
“They’ve worked with other races in the past,” Kyle explained. “Most recently, the Mogu. They’re Troll supremacists, but they’re not above using other races to further their schemes.”
“Right. So where do we go from here?”
Kyle sighed. “I’m not entirely sure,” he admitted. “I mean, to be honest, we don’t even know for certain who he is or why he’s here. All we know is that it’s likely going to be bad for both the Changeling Empire and the Alliance. We need more information, and the best way to do that would be to catch him personally. But he could be anywhere on Equus by now.”
“Well, I thank you for what information you could give us.” Xanthor turned to walk away. “I’ll inform Empress Yxia of this. If you find anything else out, please, let us know.” His horn glowed green once more, and emerald flame wrapped around his body. When it faded, the green-coated Unicorn had returned. “Unless there was anything else?” he asked.
Kyle shook his head. “No, there wasn’t, sorry. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.” Xanthor nodded once and walked towards the door. It swung open and closed behind him, leaving Kyle alone once more.
It didn’t seem like his job was getting any easier. If the Zandalari had made their way into Equestria… Their last attempt at world domination had unleashed the Thunder King upon Pandaria. He REALLY didn’t want to think about what would happen if they awoke some other powerful entity here on Equus.
A small knock at his door drew his attention. He raised his head just as the door swung open. “Commander?” Filwin asked. “If you’re done with that paperwork, I can -”
“I’m not,” Kyle grumbled. He placed his arms on his desk and laid his head down.
Filwin raised an eyebrow. “Are you alright, sir?”
“There might be a few more problems headed our way in the near future.”
“I take it that courier didn’t bring any good news?”
“Only bad,” Kyle confirmed. “The Zandalari might be in Equus, and we have no idea what they’re planning.”
“Zandalari?” Filwin frowned. “I’ll inform the guards to step up the patrols, and warn them about potential Troll attacks.”
“Thanks,” Kyle waved a hand dismissively. He really did not have the energy to deal with this new threat, not with so much else going on in Ironwall. Filwin seemed to recognize this, for she exited the room without another word.
Kyle raised his head and glanced back down at the brass badge, which rested on the desk in front of him. “Zinju S…” he murmured. “Who the hell are you…”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The curtains ruffled as a tall, hooded figure strode in. The stone cave in which he had taken to living was far from ideal, but it was also far from any prying eyes who might reveal him. He had worked in far worse conditions before. He could make it work.
The cave soon split into three paths, each leading to a separate area. The right path led to the warmest place in the cave system, and so he had taken to using that as his resting area. The middle section had the widest open space, and so he used it as a storage room. And finally, the left-hand route led to his workplace, where the energies of the world came together in powerful ways. The figure turned to this passage and moved down the sloping path, stooping several times to make it under the lower ceiling.
As he reached the end of the passage, the fruits of his labor were already beginning to show. A small pattern had begun to form on the ground, pulsing faintly with dark purple energy. The figure approached the pattern and knelt down before it. He lowered his hood, revealing green braided hair, light blue skin, a large pair of tusks jutting from his lower jaw. Most noticeable about the figure, however, were his eyes, which, though closed, glowed blood red.
The Troll’s hands became encircled by orbs of black energy. Dark lightning crackled to life and surged into the center of the purple symbol on the ground. Instantly, a cloud of smoke rose from the center of the symbol. Slowly, another shape began to take form among the smoke. Though the cloud obscured the figure, it was clearly humanoid. The figure towered high above the Troll knelt before it, and stared down at him.
“Well, Zinju?” the smokey figure asked. “What news from dis new world?”
“De reports were accurate,” Zinju replied, standing back up. “Equus teems with life. De Alliance is already deeply entrenched in dis new world, and has allied with one o’ de more influential local races. De Horde has tried to get in, but I don’ tink dey made it too far.”
“And dese Changelings?”
Zinju hesitated for a brief moment. “Dey… wanted no part o’ dis.”
The figure scoffed. “No matter. Dey chose to not stand with us? Den dey gonna burn too. We will take Equus, and from dere we can build a force to conquer Azeroth. I assume ya found a suitable location to begin ya work?”
“A small cave system deep in de forest,” Zinju nodded. “It be crude, but sufficient for mah work.”
“Good,” The figure said approvingly. “De barriers between Equus and Azeroth begin ta weaken. Soon, we be able to open a portal between de two worlds and move de rest o’ our bruddahs and sistahs through. You done good so far, Zinju. We gonna be well rewarded fer dis one.”
Zinju’s lips curved upwards in a cruel smile. “I hope so. Jus’ make sure ya be keepin’ tings steady on your end,” he warned. “Remember, dis be our las’ chance. We mess dis one up, we end up wishin’ we was dead.”
“Ain’t gonna happen dis time.” The figure chuckled darkly. “Ah got Krom’gul guardin’ de entrance. No one gonna get through on mah end.”
“Good, good.” Zinju reached into his robe and pulled out and handful of white powder. “I be seein’ ya, mon. For da master’s will.” He tossed the white powder into the smoke, and the cloud vanished into thin air.
“No. It ain’t gonna be us dis time,” Zinju murmured to himself as he sat down on the cold, hard stone. He closed his eyes, and another pair of dark orbs formed in the palms of his hands. “Dis time, we gonna get it done right. Dis time, Azeroth gonna burn.”