//------------------------------// // Seabreeze: The Big Breezie // Story: Hive Versus Hive // by Impossible Numbers //------------------------------// Seabreeze could tell it was going wrong as soon as he reached the edge of the clearing. Most of the fey chatted and shuffled about and occasionally lashed out, cast enchantments, or threw stones at each other. Flutter Ponies that failed to get out of the swarm found themselves getting dragged backwards and smothered. Even the guards floating overhead were looking blankly at the podium for instructions. Branches snapped behind him. He turned around in time to see Hugglenut and Piffle crashing through the tiny trees to catch up. Bindweed and twigs trailed from their limbs. “They calm yet?” said Hugglenut, but not with much enthusiasm. “This is an appalling act of desecration,” snapped Piffle, and he threw his bindweed strands as far away from himself as possible. “Taking armour out of that Ringfort…” “I thought it would impress them,” Seabreeze snapped back. Over this distance, the crowd was an amorphous blob, and he couldn’t see any sign of Zephyrine. “Everyone respects the Fey Ponies. If it looks like their spirits are here, then it gives us the final say. No one can argue against the anger of the Fey Ponies. So stop going on about it!” “There will be words later, do you understand? This marionette business is going too far.” Piffle glared at the abandoned twigs entangled in bindweed. “Oh, what’s the point?” sighed Hugglenut. He fell back onto his haunches with a thump. “Look at ‘em. It’s only making them angrier. That’s exactly what we didn’t want.” It was true that the creatures in the crowd were growing more animated; waves and splashes ripped across it like bees over a hive. The shouting was getting louder, and curses tore through the air. Even the booming voice of Dragon Lily struggled against the uproar. Seabreeze glanced at the morose Hugglenut, and for a moment a spark of fellow feeling lit up his chest. Clearly, the Breezie still had Milktears on his mind, though no one was about to say so. Then he glanced at the scowl of Piffle. “This isn’t working,” said the old Breezie. “They’re only going to accuse us of trickery. I suggest we cut our losses and leave now.” “What? Wh-Wh-Why?” spluttered Seabreeze. “Leave. That’s what we Breezies do. Run away somewhere. Be safe. Hide.” “Who are we kidding?” murmured Hugglenut to the moss. “We’ve got nothing. It’s left us for good. I know it’s hard, but we just gotta accept it and move on.” There was something attractive about the idea. Running and hiding was in their bones. They were weak, their wings were obvious targets, and they were no more built for fighting than a dandelion seed was built for sturdiness. If they survived at all, it was either because they kept out of the way or because they were useful. That’s what it must have been like for us in the Big World long ago, he thought. The fire rose up inside him. “Then get lost,” he spat suddenly. Both of them looked up. “I did not spend all night planning this out just so you could muck it up for me. I am going to find my family. I am not going to be told what to do on my own land. So if you do not want to come, then I will do this myself!” And with that, he flipped over and, ignoring their protests, launched himself at the crowd. As soon as he cleared the perimeter and swept across the clearing, the Flutter Ponies rounded on him. Yet so chaotic was the crowd that only six managed to break away long enough to close in. It seemed to him that the path from trees to crowd stretched further and further away the closer and closer he came. There were the guards, about to clench around him like the fingers of a giant hand. There was the dust cloud, blooming under all the scuffles and flashes of magic in the crowd. And somewhere in there, he could imagine Saltshaker, squealing in fright. I am insane, I am insane, I am insane, he thought in a delirious moment of clarity. Breezies never do this. This is not even like being nice. This is me trying to kill myself. They will capture me, and Dragon Lily will still be Vox, and she is too smart to trust me anywhere but in a deep, dark hole with no escape. All thought drifted away. Seabreeze’s brow furrowed. From within his chest came a roaring certainty, and if it could speak, then it would’ve shouted: No! I am the Big Breezie. Who are YOU? The first guard shot towards him and snapped its tusks. Seabreeze had enough sense to leap up, stretch his wings, and catch the turbulence punching past. With barely a flick, he swept around the second guard’s lunge like a stray leaf, swept over a third, and then curled and spiralled in an eddy before he hit the moss, tumbled, and fell into the dust cloud. All right, I AM still a Breezie. No one said I had to fight. Beside him, a trio of Nymphs squealed and transformed into a pile of leaves. He turned away from them, and was knocked back by a guard trying to snap at his puffy tail. Another almost landed on top of the two, whooshing instead through the gap created between them. At once, Seabreeze hit the leaves and flapped. Both blinded guards grunted and clutched at the leaves in their eyes, but then the Breezie slipped between two other bodies and lost himself to the crowd. A Charity Pony stepped out in front of him. “A Breezie!” It cried out, rearing up out of surprise. “Another Breezie is attacking!” The wand swung round, throwing off sparkles like embers from a torch. Seabreeze ducked, felt the shot rush over his wings, and was surprised to hear the squeal of the guard that had been sneaking up behind him. Not daring to look back, Seabreeze flapped and rose over the melee, right into a Viler Spirit. Both of them bounced off each other with an “oof”. Stones flew over his head, and one struck his wing, spinning him up and over, squealing. Barely thinking, he landed on the head of what in his fear-soaked excitement turned out to be a Flutter Pony. “Sorry!” he yelled out, leaping onto the nearest exposed moss and slipping between the tussling bodies. A One from the Otherworld drifted through the melee, totally unconcerned. At once, he stopped with a frantic series of flaps. The heavenly choir, the silvery mist blooming all around it, the strong scent of fermenting apples… He could hear the buzzing of the guards behind him. Perhaps if my wings are big enough to obscure the view… It would only need a second. Seabreeze changed course and, wings splayed, ran straight through the One. He glanced back in time to see the guards skid to a halt. None of them had expected a fey to loom out of nowhere. When they blinked and realized it was a One, most of the squad squealed and rolled backwards in fright. The leader, however, quickly got over his shock and charged right through, closing in, almost stretching his tusks for the Breezie’s flapping tail. Heaps of moss rose up and smothered the face. Instantly, it was lost to the shifting crowd. Up ahead was Zephyrine, still cradling Saltshaker and lying low amid the tussling bodies. Relief swept through him. He surged forwards, cried out her name, tackled her midriff – – and suddenly found himself gripping a spider. Hairy legs twitched around him, and its warm fur tickled his stomach. Seabreeze opened his mouth to scream. Someone knocked into him. Briefly, he pressed forwards and the spider shimmered. Grey lines of light appeared like ripples where his legs were tightened. “Zephyrine?” he said. Then she disappeared behind the spider – no, behind the illusion of a spider – and the image shifted. Now he was gripping a small porcupine. It shifted again; a wet catfish slithered and thrashed its tail at him, but he’d seen the flicker of lights and now he clung on tighter. “If you can hear me in there,” he shouted, “I am not letting go!” Just before the next flash, he saw past the tangle of scales and legs to the concentrated frown of an Enchanter. It was muttering under its breath. Behind it, a trail of water led back to the nearby puddle. “Over there!” Seabreeze clung tightly to the cobra and pointed behind its back, but the thing felt his limbs move over it and followed his gaze. The cobra barely allowed the Enchanter to gape in surprise before an errant tail lashed out. There was a yelp and a splash. One top hat floated on the surface of the puddle. Zephyrine emerged from the vanishing cobra illusion, beaming at him. All around them, the crowd groaned and yelped, flashes and blurs broke through the all-pervading silvery mist that the Ones were summoning, and blasts of heat and cold washed over their wings. Both Breezies sighed. Now, the whole thing was a long way away, nothing but an echo beyond the distant hills. Her lips parted. “You big daftie.” Seabreeze was suddenly thrown back into the present. “What? What?” “Fancy you rushing in here just to get little old me,” she said, but her eyes were still shining. “We’re fine, you silly. We can take care of ourselves.” She peered down at the bundle tucked tightly under her forelegs. “Isn’t daddy-waddy a silly? Yes ‘e is. Yes ‘e is.” “A silly?” He realized the flames hadn’t entirely gone inside him. “You ungrateful tease! Do you know how many times I was nearly brained just now?” “And that’s very brave and sweet of you, but I didn’t need your help. I knocked out a Brown Foal just now. Besides, now what are you gonna do? Because I’m not running.” “Not running? You are madder than those Flutter Ponies! The plan did not work, and I am trying not to lose my head in all this, and there are only the five of us left, and the fey did not listen to Tailblade, and you are not running?” “You’re the Last Minuter. I thought you’d understand. We’ve got to do something now to stop this!” Gently, pressing Saltshaker between himself and her chest, he squeezed her a little harder. Something had just clicked in his brain. Of course, he thought. It is so obvious… “We have got to do something? You mean moping Hugglenut and snobby Piffle? No. I am the Big Breezie,” he said, mustering up as much hauteur as a tiny body could hold. “You want this thing stopped? You got it.” Hastily, he pecked her on the cheek and then threw himself back into the fray. A row of Alux raised their spears, but he angrily swatted the points aside and grabbed the frontmost one by the shoulders. He yanked the victim closer, watching as the face tried to crawl back and hide behind the neck. “We are a proud warrior species!” it said through sheer terrified bravado. “Is that so? Thank you for telling me! I had not noticed!” Seabreeze almost headbutted the unfortunate Alux. “I am a Breezie! This is MY land, and I will NOT have any fighting on it without my leave! Got it?” “Get down!” The other warriors ducked. Seabreeze spotted it just in time and went down so fast that his captive knocked chin against ground. Stones pelted the fey behind him. Immediately, he scuttled over the cowering Alux and seized the slowest of the Chaneques in a headlock. He ignored the gurgling that followed. “Get me to the podium,” he said in a whisper like an ice pick through the ear, “or when I have finished with you, my friend, you will be lucky if you can pick up a grain of sand afterwards!” The creature garbled at him in its own language, but the tone spat and sneered. Buzzing guards closed in on all sides. Claws raked through the air. Seabreeze ducked round and pushed. Seized and hauled into the air by the swarm, the Chaneque writhed and screamed. Earth beings did not like leaving the ground, and a guard that’s faced one too many stones to the face is not inclined to earthy sympathy. Flames wiped past; the Curupira galloped back and forth, leaving crisscrossing tracks with cloven hoofprints. One shot past, squealing with the joy of the hunt. The Grand High Curupira! Only he would leave the most senior ambassadors behind! All the tracks pointed the wrong way. He knew that. In the old days, or so it was told, the Curupira used to mislead meat-eaters and hunters with their backward-facing hooves. That trick wouldn’t work on a Breezie. Let us see. The clefts are all on the right of the hoofprints, so the track came from the right. Keeping low, he held his breath and flattened his wings and hoped beyond hope that his luck did not run out. All the mist vanished under a massive gust that snatched him up. Seabreeze squealed and almost flew backwards. Even holding on to the ground, his hooves left inch-long grooves in the moss. While the fire still lasted in him, he strained his neck muscles against the gale, squinting, and looked up. A Viler Spirit loomed over him. Except it wasn’t the idle drifter of before. It took a lot to upset a Viler Spirit, but when it happened, it happened on a grand scale. All the irritations and exasperations and sheer petty outrages that filtered daily through normal lives were saved up and stored up and dammed up by the easy-going spirits until everything exploded. Lightning sparks crisscrossed its halo of spinning clouds. Wind whipped about its locks. Fangs gnashed and claws slid out of the ends of its feet, and what had been white and pure became a gleaming silver like air made from metal. Wide blue eyes became black holes, which collapsed into slits. The mist cleared around it. Members of the court stood in awe behind the whipping winds. There too was the podium, now empty; he looked, and Tailblade was trussed up on the ground by bindweed, caught under the clawed feet of Dragon Lily. Lady Guardia pointed a shaking hoof. “A Breezie!” On either side of her, the Empress of Alux and the Enchanter of the River crouched, ready to jump. One of each species were present, and stood to attention. The only exceptions were the Grand High Curupira, and – Seabreeze rose to his hooves, wincing against the gale of the Viler Spirit. “Ambassador! Jelly Salve Jar! I am Seabreeze! Do not be angry! I understand about being angry! When all I have are fools and losers and Breezies who only seem to think about themselves, I get angry too! But I do not mean it! I am angry because I am worried, and I am worried because I want what is best and I cannot always get it!” He noticed a nasty lump throbbing on the creature’s temple. Instantly, his gaze pinned down the Chaneque ambassador, who smiled weakly and tried to shuffle behind Bromeliad. Yet the Viler Spirit remained beautiful and terrible, morphing the world around her into a hurricane. A hoof landed on his shoulder. “Perhaps I can help?” Seabreeze almost squeaked. “Piffle! What are you doing here!?” “Learning some interesting things about Breezies, I must say. Although I think a lesson on translating would be timely.” The old Breezie winked. “I am a traveller and a scholar. Ahem…” Piffle frowned in concentration and began gabbling. Not that Seabreeze recognized the language, but the tone was smooth and fluid. One by one, the ambassadors relaxed. Some of them gabbled back, but Piffle shook his head and continued. All heads checked the storm overhead. The winds died down. “It is working,” murmured Seabreeze. “I think it is working.” No one was fighting now. Even the Flutter Ponies, some in headlocks or peeking out from under dogpiles, clicked their tusks and glanced about for an escape. Slowly but surely, the storm shrank back. Lightning sparks shattered into tiny flickers of light which died away. Its locks settled over its neck and face. Sharp teeth sank back into square incisors. Whiteness bloomed over its body until it flowed over the slits and let the eyes brighten. Jelly Salve Jar smiled again. Every fey present breathed out. With a squeak, Dragon Lily fell face-first into the dirt. Hugglenut held on grimly, and nodded up at the two Breezies. “Trial’s not over yet,” they heard him mutter. Yet the Vox was as tough as teak, and a rage rushed through her in a spasm. Hugglenut groaned and flew backwards, right into the puddle. The buzzing wings of the approaching guards drowned out the splash. Chief Sun Crow stepped forwards, and a Jogger hopped over to his side. A small smile crept over his face. When he held up a hoof, the guards stopped and then landed, and the buzzing died away. “Ah,” he said in perfect Breezie, “so you are the Last Minuter I have heard so much about.” Seabreeze gaped at him. “You can speak our language?” The Jogger beside him translated for the court, but Chief Sun Crow shook his craggy shoulders. “Your friend there once visited our tribe in the caves of the hillock range. Knowledge and learning are the food and drink of the Joggers. We fed him, and in turn he fed us.” Piffle bowed his head and lowered his wings, presumably to signal respect. “You treated me with more hospitality than I deserved, Chief, though I am very grateful nonetheless.” “And you, in turn, opened our eyes to a world we never believed existed. We do not forget your kindness and knowledge. Up until then, we barely travelled and never cared much for the other tribes, even in the court.” By now, Seabreeze’s head was going back and forth so much it was in danger of unscrewing itself. Neither side seemed remotely interested in explaining things to him. He made a decision. “Let us focus on the here and now, please?” More translators crowded around the two Breezies and the ambassadors. More of the regular crowd pressed in behind them. Over by the puddle, Dragon Lily removed her feet from Tailblade’s binding, and both Flutter Ponies frowned at him. Seabreeze had never been the focus of so many stares before. He coughed, trying to ignore the weight of all those eyes turned on his pin-sized head. Flames flickered inside his chest. “Uh…” he said. What do I say now? I cannot tell them to get off my land. We will simply end up fighting. I cannot tell them to stay: this whole thing stinks of something rotten and foul and wrong, and there are my Zephyrine and my Saltshaker, with those guards standing all around them… Some of the stares were turning into glowers. Only one or two had smiles for company, and the one the Enchanter gave him had all the friendliness of ice on a blade. The embers of his confidence waned. Deep within his mind, the image of a pony shimmered like a reflection on running water. “You see…” He tried again. Behind the crouch of Dragon Lily, Hugglenut pulled himself out of the puddle, groaning as he slopped water over the moss. He had to hold on to the fire in his chest. It gave him power. Any moment now, he was on the verge of screaming and cowering, and he was getting sick of doing that. His whole species did that. They were famous for it. His legs were shaking. The reflection calmed. Looking back at him was a pegasus. This time, his mind stood back and let the flame die away. Nice, but firm. “Once upon a time,” he said, and as he spoke, his voice became calm and soft as a breeze, “there were the twelve tribes of the fey. After the Fey Ponies and the Grey created them and then vanished from the world, the fey tribes began to worry, because they did not know how to take care of themselves.” “We know this story,” said Chief Sun Crow, waving the words aside. Piffle shushed him gently. “I didn’t get around to telling everybody I met. And the same story can mean different things in different places. Listen.” “The Fey Ponies only left them five pieces of an ancient game they used to play, and each piece had a different symbol for a different part of the world. The pieces were fire, earth, forest, water, and air. When the world began to fall apart, the twelve tribes came together and created the first court, so that they could decide peacefully how to divide the responsibilities amongst themselves.” One by one, the glowers melted. Blank faces waited for the translators to catch up, and one or two evaporated, leaving smiles and knowing grins. “The first tribe was passionate and loved life, so before anyone else could choose it, they snatched up the first piece and became the guardians of the fire. Those were the ancestors of the Flutter Ponies. Three of the tribes chose the second piece, and became guardians of the earth. Three more chose the third piece, and became guardians of the forest.” The Empress of Alux sat down politely, followed by Bromeliad and Chief Sun Crow. Among the gathered fey, many others did the same. Seabreeze glanced about, and found Zephyrine waving at him with a cheesy grin. “Uh… finally, four of the tribes accepted the air piece, and the last tribe took the water piece in bad grace. They have caused mischief ever since…” Under his top hat, the ambassador for the Enchanters indulged himself with a smug grin. “It had been a peaceful meeting, but not a happy one. In secret, envy and resentment consumed each of the tribes, for they believed the pieces should have been theirs and theirs alone. All the sides were convinced that the only way to get everything they wanted was to overthrow all the others and seize the pieces for themselves.” By now, all the ambassadors had seated themselves on the moss – the Chaneque only after Lady Guardia elbowed him – and a few of the smarter spectators were filling in the blanks. Traditionally, each tribe had always inserted itself into the story as the heroic tribe that stopped the war. Seabreeze opened his mouth, and then stopped. Why not? Was that not the plan in the first place? He took a deep breath. “The Breezies held the air piece on behalf of their three allies, but the leader of the Breezies hatched a cunning plan. The leader broke the rules and went into the sacred resting place of the Fey Ponies. And there” – he began to shout, as the tumult rose up against his reimagining of the tale and the translators frowned at their own words – “he found the magical armour, and he broke more rules, and brought out the suits.” Dragon Lily shouted something and pointed at him, but no one else paid her any mind. “He used bindweed and twigs to move the armour. During the second meeting of the court, a strange and terrible army appeared outside. They went to see, and were frightened, because they saw the Fey Ponies returning, and they feared their secret evil thoughts would be found out. So the leader of the Breezies stepped forwards, and pretended to be weak and helpless.” A dozen Flutter Ponies stepped out from the circle of bystanders. To their shock, Tailblade barked an order at them. Every leg stopped in mid-stride. Both Dragon Lily and Tailblade barked orders, each trying to drown out the other. Even the crowd stopped to watch. None of the Flutter Ponies moved. Their foreheads glazed with sweat. Seabreeze licked his dry lips. “The twelve tribes sought to look good before the Fey Ponies, and the Breezies were pushovers. All the pieces had to be passed on to a weak and feeble target, one that could be bullied into obeying but one that could draw the wrath of the Fey Ponies away from the others. The Breezies played along, and soon controlled all five pieces. It was the greatest trick ever pulled.” Piffle’s jaw stiffened, but his wasn’t the only one. Silence fell over the crowd. Each of the ambassadors whispered to their neighbours. Only the translators echoed across the clearing, and the distant crashing of the waterfalls framed rather than countered the quietude. Seabreeze tried a weak smile. “My tribe has made mistakes. We were not kind, and we did not think about what the rest of you were feeling or about what you wanted. But I am one of the Last Minuters, and I met a pony in the Big World who taught me not to lash out. She also taught me” – he added, for the revelation was dawning on him as he spoke – “that being kind could make you cruel, and being cruel could make you kind. It is a lot more complicated than you might think.” Here, he stretched to a beaming grin and aimed it at the two Flutter Ponies. After a while, Tailblade nodded once, while Dragon Lily’s frown narrowed in confusion. Then, he softened his expression into what he hoped was one of remorse, and kneeled down before the line of astonished ambassadors. “For all Breezies,” he said, “I am sorry. If it pleases the court, then I say I am guilty. I wish we could start over, but it is not up to me anymore. I am at your mercy.” Stumbling, sweating, and fidgeting, the translators stopped. The rest of the Flutter Ponies waited until the ambassadors had stopped whispering, and then clicked and chattered at the air. Altogether, they turned to face the Vox. Dragon Lily pointed at him. She barked an order. None of them moved. He could imagine what was going through their minds. When a campaign rests on the idea of the enemy being smug and beyond all reason, the sight of said enemy throwing himself at their feet and agreeing with them was not going to get the blood pumping. In any case, their idea of Breezies was already ripping at the seams. As one, the ambassadors nodded. Chief Sun Crow listened to their spiels one at a time, and nodded. “The ambassadors have heard your case,” he said gravely, “and the court has made its judgement.” Flutter Pony guards crawled around the backs of the crowd, converging on the puddle. Five of them stood behind Dragon Lily, who buzzed her wings impatiently. Chief Sun Crow smiled. “The verdict is: Guilty.” Dragon Lily smirked and waved at her gathering guards, but then the Empress shushed her. All the guards hung back. Chief Sun Crow barely suppressed the laughter when he added, “Yes! Everyone is guilty! Everyone here!” Puzzled looks ran around the circle. From somewhere within, Seabreeze heard his partner giggle and his baby start wailing through sheer boredom. “What fools we have been! The ambassadors agree – largely agree,” said the Chief, and here the Enchanter coughed and lowered his brim and looked away – “that the tribes have not been sensible about this. We are indeed guilty of harbouring secret, evil, envious thoughts. And for this heinous crime…” Most of the Joggers in the audience burst into laughter. “For this heinous crime,” continued the Chief with a laugh in his voice, “we are all sentenced to go back and try again!” It was just as well Seabreeze was kneeling down, for his legs went numb. Piffle slapped him on the back, and the chatter rose up again, and he felt the heat of a hundred strangers all trying to crowd around him. He barely had enough time to hear the screech of rage, and he barely had enough strength to see Dragon Lily surge towards him, stinger extended – Tailblade hissed something. The Flutter Ponies closed in, and at once Dragon Lily was lost to a ball of yellow and black. Some broke off and pulled the bindweed off of Tailblade. Then, they were lost to the mass of legs and feelers and hair crushing him.