> The Rending
>  by Sir Hat
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Land Fall On The West Shore
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Fires come to the shore, bringing with them vagrants and vagabonds searching for a new home. When night falls and the sun rises, a new tower will take hold upon the mountain we call High Rock. And when High Rock is adorn with the fires of the sun, we of the night shall fall to ashes and rest forever in the mountains.


__


I sat at my desk, going over income and expense for the dockworkers for Port Hope. The smell of brine wafted into my small hut, reeking too of dead fish and squid. It was a disgusting smell, but it was also a welcome change from the constant bitter cold from the west. For the past two years the cold has been growing more and more severe, threatening to force a large number of the elderly to move further east. But it was none of my concern. I was young, I was strong, fit, capable. I could more than stand up to the cold winds and the stench of fish.

The distant morning bell snapped me out of my ink induced stupor, reminding me of the reason I was still awake despite the sun hanging high in the air. Strange reports of hulking ships of western origin were flooding in from the traders that ventured through the western sea. But they were only rumors, rumors with enough truth to keep me on the day shift with the other day dwelling Thestrals.

I could understand the allure of the sun, it was warm, you could see better if you were adjusted to it, and there would always be some that wished to avoid the normalcy of the night, and dwell with others who praise the sun over Mother Moon. It simply wasn't for me. But my duties as the Port Authority kept me awake in the most ungodly of hours, simply to assuage the paranoia of the commoners.


I was getting paid extra however, so my complaining was metered with acceptance. My greatest complaint was the lack of mares around the port. I had a wife, a daughter back in Transylmania, but I wasn't dead or old, I still enjoyed the sight. Something about the pretty girls in just enough clothing was enough to drive me wild. But with the cold and the sea air, the mares one would enjoy looking at were wrapped up in thick warm clothing and the mares that didn't lacked the quality of beauty in lieu of a, stronger, appeal.

There was nothing wrong with a, strong, looking mare, I of all people could enjoy the look of a powerful girl, but I was after ponies unlike my wife. Ponies with shorn teeth and warm smiles. My wife, beautiful as she was, was built like a castle, strong, no nonsense, but unimaginatively beautiful within. I had found my mate, but a little tail on the side, even just from the window of my office, was a just reward for my hours of work.

I slumped forward, my mind thinking of rest. My pale sky-blue mane poured over my eyes. A quick toss of my head and my vision was clear. My mane was a gift of years of good breeding, houses working in harmony to produce the best of each house's craft. Av Crag, marksmares and inventors, Av Iron, the brash blue maned warriors always clad in some sort of armor, and House Light, the traders and craftsponies I worked for. But in the end, I was destined to wear steel every day, the mark of blue my curse and my blessing.

But, being of the mixed blood marked me as a son to many, a brother to few. Many in the houses were not very fond of me, many more simply refused to acknowledge my existence. I could not breed with a family I was part of, so they had no reason to even bother with me. But, so too were those that welcomed me at every opportunity. A hoofcrafted metal chest piece wrapped up my belly in snug steel, and a gift from the marksmares stood by my side every day, a beautiful crossbow and a back harness came as a wedding gift, and a useful tool.

The harness was wonderful, fitting around the metalwork on my chest and holding the crossbow just under my right wing. A solid flex of my wing was all that was needed to sent a bolt through any target. The downside came in its very nature, I could not fly and shoot. I could barely fly at all to start however, with the extra weight of the chestpiece, so I was earthbound most of the time.

I reveled in my musings, finding them a wonderful distraction. Up until a loud bang caught my attention, "Posa!?" A panicked voice cried out from my door, "Posa there's a ship coming to port, Equian markings!"

I rubbed my chin with my hoof. The last Equian ship to come to Port Hope was nearly three years ago, long before the bitter cold started, and now out of the blue a trader appears on our shores after an unannounced absence. Something was rotten. I stood, donning my crossbow and heading to the door, "Grimm, gather the guard, bring the halberds!"

I leaned against the lever, thrusting against the door and revealing the bright sun high above, a strange sight given the abnormally long day, but it was up to those that dwelled in the mountains to control the sun. A small convent of unicorns that were adopted by our people stood watch in Highrock, and would never deviate from the normal day without good reason. We were entrusted with the sun and the moon, our land given to all those that live in this land, the griffons, the ponies, and we the Thestral Bat Ponies.

But more disturbing than the sun, a tattered ship was barreling towards the harbor, making no indications of folding their sails or slowing down. "Carve!?" I screamed, running to a small guard tower that stood on the wharf, "Carve ring the bucking bell!"

Mere seconds later a loud, dull bell started ringing out over the wharf. Carve started yelling as it became clear the ship was not stopping, "Get clear of the dock, get clear!"

A set of screams filled the air as dock workers bolted away from their work and towards the waterfront. The ship coasted in, slamming bow first into the landing and riding up the brick of the wharf. The horrible sound was cut short by the jostling of ponies in armor, my guards joining my walk to the gang plank that slammed into the broken dock. "Hiida! Hiida!" a unicorn screamed in Equian, scrambling down the plank and slamming side first into the ground.

I charged over to him, keeping a fair distance away and trying to speak in a common tongue, the trade language, "Hey, calm down! How about- by the Mother...." I mumbled, spotting strange sores and cuts embedded into the stallions body. He was falling apart, his mane patchy and frayed, his posture crazed and gaunt, his entire being stank of decay and desperation, and the crazed, bloodshot look in his eyes spoke volumes of his intent. This was a feral, deranged creature, and the ship was undoubtedly filled with them.

The stallion looked rabid, darting his gaze between us and speaking broken trade's tongue, "You, help, help us, please!"

I stomped my hoof twice, catching the attention of my guards, "They're sick, you keep them on that ship, understand!"

My guards rushed up, halberds low and ready to end the lives of the plagued. I marched up as close as possible to the stallion, "Get back on your boat, and leave. We won't have you spreading your plague in our port!"

The unicorn grew panicked as my colts forced him back towards the gangplank, "No, no, it's not contagious, it's from the cold, we just need to stay here for a--"

"Find a new port!" I shouted, training my crossbow on the stallion. My guards continued to push forward, the stallion stonewalling against the side of the ship. The dark oak cog was imposing, but the tattered sails reeked of disrepair and abuse.

The unicorn started to scream, looking around like a rabid animal, patches of his mane falling off as he fidgeted, "I'm not going back! I won't go back to the bucking cold, never!"

"Hold him still!" I shouted, training my crossbow on his gut, my guards keeping the stallion at spear point, "Stay calm or I--"

Before I could act, a spark was sent from the panicked stallion's horn, quickly setting my guard captain, Grimm, ablaze. His screams echoed around the near empty harbor, the smell of burning flesh and hair causing the first line of guards to collapse. The stallion backed into their ship and started shaking his head like mad as my once good friend was reduced to ash and cinders, his screams petering out in seconds as the pyromancy annihilated him in seconds.

The stallion was in shock, staring at the burning pony before his hooves, the crackling fire petering out and leaving behind a husk of charcoal. "Ida nos ca--"

I cut him short, sending a bolt through his chest. The maniac's horn flared up once again, shooting a blast upward and into his ship's sails, turning the wooden hulk into an inferno in mere seconds. The screams of the crew and cargo cried out as bits of tattered canvas fluttered down to the deck and spread the magical flames. Ponies appeared from everywhere, trying desperately to get past my men and onto the shore.

I felt a sense of panic rise in my chest. It was my duty to protect the port, above all else, above everything else my duty was to the city, to the people of that city. So when the time came, the time to hold back a tide of panicked ponies seeking to infest our land with untold sickness, I gave the order. "Keep them on that ship! Hold them on that ship at all costs!"

I spotted a pair of ponies trying to get overboard. "Kill them if you must, we hold the plague here!" I screamed, leading a small group to the other edge of the ship and shooting a few ponies trying to claw their way from the water. "Put the fire out if you can, but keep them contained!"

My guards were in a frenzy, some jabbing the plague refugees, others going further, and some further still. This was by far the worst possible situation, and one we were completely unprepared for. "Hold the wharf my stallions, hold it at all cost--" I spotted a sight that chilled my to my very core.

A dark navy unicorn mare wrapped in an ornate blanket hovered just off the bow, a mare screaming and holding the baby off the ship. She screamed in Equian, clawing at the edge of the ship as my guards kept them at bay. I saw my daughter in that filly's crying face, I saw her death in the high pitched whine as the engine of the cog started to strain. Equian ships were notoriously quick, the speed thanks to a magical engine. But the engines weren't meant to withstand fire, they were never meant to operate under these temperatures.

"You, now!" I screamed, shaking the crossbow controls off my wing and zooming over to the filly. I plucked her from the air, flying as high as I could. As expected the high pitched whine gave out, ushering in utter silence for a moment before exploding and silencing the constant screams of the ponies on board. The fire burning bright yellow and sending shrapnel high into the air. The smell of sulfur fluttered down around me as the sound of shattered wood and the hiss of steam sang the last bits of life from the burning ship.

I watched from on high as my guards finished off the survivors, purging the plague from our shores and assuring the safety of our kingdom for another day. It cost these ponies their lives, the price was undoubtedly heavy, but the cost of a plague would undoubtedly be higher.

I looked at the crying filly in my hooves, the poor creature was immaculate, pure and clean in the face of the sick and dying that tried to land on our shores. And as horrifying as the death of those ponies was, we were not at fault. A mad pony with magical fire had done the damage and sealed their lives with his act. All I could do now is send a report, tend to my ponies and find out who this elegantly ordained filly was.

A loud horn burst through the air from afar. "Sir, more ships inbound!" the lighthouse water screamed, echoing around the harbor.

I looked to the west, spotting ships slowly drifting through the mist, a large one with a tower at the center of the formation was glowing bright with a beacon. I stared in awe as the fleet appeared to be hundreds strong, all heading to my humble port home.

"Coal, Coal!?" I flew down to the broken stone and searched my guards for the fastest of us all. "Coal--"

A short guard pulled his helmet off. "Sir!?"

I cradled the filly in my right hoof, "Coal...run to the king...." I looked out at the growing horde of ships. "Tell him he must see this himself!"

Coal stared into my eyes with utter disbelief, the fire flicking into his own and reminding me of the coming tragedy. "Yes sir!" he screamed, shedding his metal trappings and taking to the sky, the sky filled with light after many hours, the sky that, as it fell, shown a fleet of infected ships, and an ominous light that refused to fade.

Soon, Port Hope would be lost, that much was assured, "Evacuate the town, all available ponies evacuate the town!" I shouted, rearing up to two hooves and taking my foreleg, "Get them to Roseden at all costs!"

My guards dispersed, leaving me staring face to face with a massive shining hulk, a filly bundled in cloth across my chest and a sense of unending dread tearing into my soul. This was no rogue landing, no lost trader, this was an exodus, an exodus to a land with nothing to spare but sympathies and kind words. Our land was our own, and to have it tainted by plague and refugees would see our people to slow and painful death.

And I feared soon we would face that choice. To fight, or to succumb to disease. And given the violence that surrounded the now burning wreck wedged against the stonework, it was clear that they two would give no ground. Soon the streets would flow with blood and disease, and the very earth beneath my hooves would change forever.