//------------------------------// // Heroic Monologue // Story: The Olden World // by Czar_Yoshi //------------------------------// "Well, look who the bat dragged in," Selma drawled, standing at the head of his formation as the lift platform docked at the top of the shaft. His eyes widened with mild surprise. "You look ready to keel over and die at a stiff breeze. Don't tell me... you handicapped yourselves so Herman's mercenaries would put up a more interesting fight? You better not have shown mercy..." Valey, Maple and Gerardo stood, staring levelly back at him. Gerardo was in the best condition of the three, the fainted Starlight on his back and a worn-out Maple leaning against his shoulder, still limp and exhausted from the intensity of the magic. Valey stood on her own, concealing her limp and various bruises with a proud posture, and winked back at him. "Nah, we kicked their rears." Selma snorted. "Good. I couldn't stand that group." "Oh?" Valey perked up, having to deliberately summon strength even to lift her ears. "I did you a favor? Heh... oops. Sorry about that, pal. So why the party here?" "Preparing to defend the Water District in the event the mercenaries return," Selma replied, keeping his voice even. "Sundown is nearly upon us. Ambassador Herman is here, as is every active-duty member of the Defense Force we could gather. Intelligence says the Sosans are ascending the mountain from the north this very minute to make a move on our stronghold, and there is likewise a force gathering in Blueleaf. Tonight is going to be eventful, and the last things I need on my hooves are wildcards I didn't play. So, I'm here in case any mercenaries needed taking care of." Maple worked up the energy to speak, standing straighter on jellied limbs. "They said this was their last job before leaving Ironridge. I don't think they'd have done it otherwise. They're probably gone." She fixed Selma with her pink gaze. "Knowing you, I'd rather they be the ones who stayed." Selma gave an exaggerated wince. "Harsh words from a pretty mare... So we've come to blows before, but haven't I helped you as well? I'm a simple stallion, Maple. All I want is to protect my district and receive the accolades I deserve. Surely that's better than a group of honorless thugs whose only loyalty is to money?" "Y'know, speaking of wildcards..." Valey waved her burnt hoof. "You realize you're talking to yours truly, right? You know what I want to do. Is stopping me here really the most competent thing you could do?" She eyed the guards surrounding Selma; they looked decidedly nervous. "Stopping you?" Selma blinked at her in mock mortification. "Oh, I'd never. I told you, we're here to defend from mercenaries, are we not?" He stepped aside with a too-wide grin, leaving a clear path to the archway to the next chamber. "I have every intention of helping you on your way!" "...Right." Valey bored into him with her gaze, but he didn't flinch. The guards around him, at least, didn't seem at all emboldened by her weakened state, and the tension in the air between two commanders seemed to have them turned to just as much putty as Maple. If Selma wanted to stop her, he'd have to do so himself. Testing, she put a hoof forward, and then another. Perfectly on cue, Selma turned the moment she passed him, falling into step beside her. "Shall we walk and talk?" he offered cordially, nodding at Gerardo and Maple following along behind. "I'm sure these guards will be more than sufficient to hold this entrance." Valey raised an eyebrow. "Talk, huh? No bragging or gloating? Or did you realize I don't care any more what you're up to?" "Any more?" Selma smirked. "You mean you used to care about me? Why, Valey, I thought you only appreciated mares!" "Great." Valey rolled her eyes. "So you want revenge for that licking-the-camera thing. Gonna try and one-up me at being annoying one last time. Just so you know, I'm a little more concerned with bailing than giving you funny reactions right now, in case you didn't notice." Selma sadly shook his head. "Actually, you were right the first time. I just want to brag." Gerardo drooped, following close behind. "Of course you do. After all this time we've spent running around, trying to protect the lower districts from a flood, I imagine you're dying to tell us how we've either utterly failed or were never in any danger to begin with?" "Either?" Selma harrumphed. "You think I've stuck myself to a linear plan that relied on everything happening as perfectly as possible? That's no way to get what you want, Gerardo. Perhaps the Steel District will be flooded. Perhaps it won't. I'd prefer the latter, am prepared for the former, and either way have a path to victory." "Meh. Cool story..." Valey yawned, fanning her mouth with a wing. "You, on the other hoof, seem exceptionally single-minded on your current goal," Selma said, nodding to Valey. "Fleeing from Ironridge. Turning tail, showing your yellow belly, becoming the queen of cowards. I don't know whether to be envious or to feel pity. On the one side, abandonment of your duty is contemptible and vile. On the other, both Herman and I want you gone, and as a result I had little trouble obtaining a well-stocked airship with minimal crew requirements and anchoring it immediately south of the upper Water District for you to steal. Unless you were to try something immensely stupid, getting what you want is at this point a done deal." Valey blinked. "You stole an airship for me? Wait, seriously?" "Of course I did," Selma chuckled. "I loathe you. I want you gone, but you're far too tenacious to get rid of myself. You're annoying, force me to share power, and have a habit of messing up careful planning merely through existing. Now that the time has come for me to make my own plays, I don't want you in my way. You want to be gone, I want you gone... so for once I'm swallowing my pride and aiding you. And accepting aid as well, if you really did do in those mercenaries." "And Herman wants me gone too, huh?" Valey stared carefully at him. "You realize he's either getting you to do some dirty work that'll benefit him more than you, or else is lying and will screw you over at the last minute, right?" "Oh, perhaps." Selma waved a hoof, trotting beneath another iron archway that separated two damp, dark-blue caverns. "But you being gone is still a benefit to me, and I can make some bad trades if it still gives me the winning hoof first. From what I've gathered, though, Herman is more interested in seeing a certain underground project I'm not fully privy to be vandalized prior to the perpetrator making a clean escape from Ironridge. He seemed to believe there was some reason you would go down there immediately prior to leaving the city, and that you might think to take out some of your dislike of him on the project he was supposed to oversee while you were there, in hopes of ruining his career, or somesuch. Why, I haven't a clue, but it sounds like he wants you gone before he has to blame you." Valey shared a glance with Maple and Gerardo. Selma grinned. "You did exactly that, didn't you? That's another reason I want you gone. Herman can read you like a book, but to me you're more confusing than a fish flopping in the river. He can use you. I can only try. It evens the playing field in my favor." "Quaint," Valey grumbled. "So how do I know this airship isn't rigged to explode, or something?" Selma leered at her like he had just heard a particularly bad joke. "Why, that would steal my spotlight, of course." "I'm detecting you're about to ramble about the brilliance of your own plans, now?" Gerardo asked, head tilted. "Seeing as we'd have to be idiots to ignore your escape offer to stop you?" "You're quick on the draw," Selma drawled. "Herman thinks Valey will run away? Then she will, and you'll go with her. You won't do anything about it, so of course I'm going to gloat." His grin twisted. "Here's the big idea: the Water District has two dams. If one bursts, it will flood the Steel District and parts of the Earth District. That's the eastern one, with those mines you've all been freaking out over. But if the west one goes... it'll take a much larger chunk of the Earth District with it, including the edge of the Stone District and much more of the Defense Force base, including everything else that was going to go. Furthermore, it will be visible across all of Ironridge." "You can't be saying..." Gerardo took a step back, beak frowning in worry. "That anything's going to happen to the west dam? I hope not." Selma shook his head. "But that's what we've been telling the Defense Force. The Sosans have lost everything already. It's a common enough belief in the upper districts, and too few know Sosa enough to be credible voices of dissent. So, the Sosans are preparing to bomb the western dam, to make a statement. Everyone thinks it sounds crazy. Then, the Sosans abruptly evacuate the Steel District and low-lying Earth District towns, and there's all sorts of whisperings about a flood. Suddenly, it sounds a lot less crazy. And then a party of heavily-armed Sosans starts scaling the mountain..." Maple's eyes widened. "So you really were just trying to make them fight..." "I was," Selma admitted with a shrug. "Herman was, at least on the surface. Those mines on the side of the eastern dam? I cast an adherence spell to ensure they wouldn't go off, and renewed it mere hours ago. The last time I checked, another unicorn had done the same, likely in anticipation of me betraying them and dropping the spell. I have no intention of doing that, of course. All I want is a fight." Valey licked her lips. "Let me guess. All this boils down to you setting yourself up as a hero somehow so everyone goes 'Yay, Selma saved us!' and you're suddenly popular and famous and everyone wants to put you in charge?" Selma smirked down at her. "You know me too well." "If Herman is really as threatening and prescient as you make him out to be," Gerardo interrupted, raising a talon, "how are you intending to deal with him? Do you even know what he wants? How are you going to avoid playing straight into his own plans?" "Several ways." Selma strutted forward, hefting open a wide steel door with his telekinesis. "Firstly, by staying flexible. I'm not relying on anything to happen. Will there be a battle? Of course, but if it's somehow averted before it can even begin, at worst I'll be back to square one. What if Herman somehow destroys a dam even despite my efforts? I'll have tried. I'll have proof that I tried. There will still be a battle, I'll be innocent, he'll be guilty... If it ever comes time for the loyal minion Selma to realize what a dastard his master is, public opinion holds me in higher regard than Herman. I can beat him in a battle of loyalty, should we come to open confrontation. And I can beat him in a physical battle, too, thanks to a certain weapon a guard of mine happened to find laying around..." He winked at Gerardo, who gasped. "You purloined my sword while I was unconscious?" "No," Selma huffed, "one of my guards did. Regardless, I am well-kitted for any eventuality, including everything from peaceful resolution to epic betrayal to open confrontation. You could even decide not to take up this offer of escape and attempt to press charges against me... with what, property theft? I think you'll find I've not only tried to protect and warn my district of impending assault, but districts I am not obligated to protect as well. I may be self-centered, but I'm already a hero." "But you're preparing to blow up the dam!" Maple protested. "You're misleading the Defense Force that the west one could be blown up! You're-" "Weren't you listening?" Selma snapped, cutting her off. "I said I'm stopping those mines from being detonated! Herman could have other ways to take out the dams, or provide some other type of catastrophe, or not. If he does, I'll have nothing to do with it and will have tried my best. If he doesn't, no harm done. As for misleading the Defense Force..." He slowly raised an eyebrow. "True, perhaps the Sosans don't intend to blow it up. But someone could. And taking precautions in an age of high tension is not a crime, my little pony." Valey murmured, "You sure seem intrigued by the possibility that something's going to happen to these dams..." "If I wasn't," Selma said, "I would be severely underestimating-" He abruptly cut off. "Herman." The huge yak loomed down at them from the middle of a doorway, wearing an unreadable frown.