//------------------------------// // XXVII - A Hero's Unwelcome // Story: A Beginner's Guide to Heroism // by LoyalLiar //------------------------------// XXXVII A Hero's Unwelcome When I limped into the cracked and mud-stained raised platform that served as the ‘town square’ for Platinum’s Landing, I was greeted by the wide eyes of at least six hundred ponies.  They poured out of half-ruined buildings and skittered back and forth, doing everything the could to repair the damages of Wintershimmer’s terror. The sky was thick with gray clouds gathered by the city’s soldiers, and the rain struggled to put out burning puddles of pitch and sticks that had once been golems.  In other places, Wintershimmer’s golems were frozen solid midway through their assault on the city. A few ponies were being nursed or bandaged from injuries, but I saw no indication that the attack had harmed anypony, save the mare I carried on my back. That realization niggled at the back of my mind, though I couldn’t explain it.  Wintershimmer was never the kind of pony for clumsy attacks like this. If he wanted somepony dead, his strike was most often surgical, and unseen until the moment of truth.  I needed to know what he was playing at, but in that moment my mind was too overwhelmed and my body too drained to think further. “Morty!”  Blizzard was the first pony I recognized in the crowd, making herself obvious as she flew forward.  The smile she wore seeing me faded quickly when she realized the burden spread across my back. “Is Silhouette okay?”  Concern broke into outright fear as I drew closer, and Blizzard rushed forward. “Her leg! What happened?” I hesitated, for want of the right words.  I’d given the entire right sleeve of my jacket, and yet compared to her gift to me, it seemed like nothing.  “She’s… still alive,” I finally answered. “But like the others from the swamp. She saved my life. I’ll tell you more when I can sit down.  Do you know where the others are? Graargh? Angel?” Blizzard simply nodded at the question, and though she turned to lead me through the crowd, her eyes kept darting back toward Silhouette’s slack form and the stump that remained of her shoulder.  Other ponies noticed the crystal mare as well, though without knowing her, most only offered nods of condolence or sympathy. Blizzard led me to the cathedral of Celestia where I had parted ways with Tempest.  Part of the beautiful stonework had been smashed away, and one of the doors hung loose, but the damage looked like it would be fixed within a week.  Without a word, Blizzard and I stepped inside. The cushioned pews of the main chamber looked up at an enormous stained glass picture of the divine sisters in the traditional unicorn style, lacking accuracy both in absence of wings and in anything even remotely resembling accuracy of color.  In the light of midday, the window cast colored light across the dozens of moderately injured soldiers and volunteers who now rested on the long benches. Wandering among the aisles, I fairly quickly picked out Graagh, for reasons I doubt I need to explain.  As I had directed, Angel floated beside the grizzly, and to my convenience, Tempest was not far away. Not wanting to create a large disturbance among the wounded, I lifted a hoof and waved them over. “Master Coil!” “Morty!  Am back!” I sighed.  So much for avoiding a disturbance.  Without speaking up much, and while enduring the glares of the medically minded in the otherwise quiet room, I gestured back to the door.  Tempest and Graargh alike seemed perturbed by the sight of Silhouette on my back, three-legged and unconscious. Thankfully, neither elected to interrogate me until we were outside in the open square. “What in Tartarus happened?” Tempest demanded, surprisingly fiercely.  His hoof stung against my chest, though the gesture was more of an accusative point than an actual punch. “We saved the city, just like we planned; I think that should be obvious.  But… it wasn’t without cost.” A distinct ripping noise told me I’d lost even more of my jacket when Tempest grabbed onto the collar with both his forehooves, nearly smashing his face into mine.  “You got her killed!” “What?” I shoved Tempest back, tearing my jacket further in exchange for the space.  “You’re blaming me? I understand being angry, but how is this my fault? She knew exactly what she was getting into.” “So everything you said about her amulet?  That was all just your egotistical bullshit?” “It’s a hoof-sized rock, not a suit of armor!” I stood up to Tempest—or at least, I did my best to.  I was taller than Tempest, but drained from my magic and scrawny compared to the strength of the career soldier, I didn’t feel it.  For the first time since I’d met him, the scruffy soldier stood up properly and glared down at me. “You were supposed to stop him with your magic!” “I know you probably don’t understand unicorn magic, but it isn’t that simple.  Silhouette knew exactly what she was getting into, fighting Wintershimmer. She’d seen him kill dozens of ponies in the Union.  Frankly, it’s a miracle she lasted as long—” Tempest’s uppercut was accompanied by a crack of thunder, picking me up off my hooves just a bit.  Silhouette bounced off my back, and a moment later I landed on my mane, with my hooves well above my head. “Why you hit Morty?” Graargh demanded, lunging up to my side.  Angel likewise floated over defensively, though his form seemed far less imposing in comparison to Tempest. Before he could answer, I reached up a hoof to restrain the cub in a grizzly’s body.  “Let him be, Graargh. He’s pissed off.” “She’s dead!” Tempest yelled, flaring his wings. “Mostly dead.”  I massaged my jaw, where I could already feel a sizeable bruise forming.  “I can fix it. I just need to get her soul back. Which is why I came and found all of you in the first place.” “What?”  Tempest blinked.  “No, we’re not all going hunting for Wintershimmer.  I’m not letting you get anypony else killed for your revenge—” “Not what I meant.”  I shook my head. “All those ponies in the swamp?  The ones he took? I rescued their souls. Now I need to put them back.” “That’s it?  You want to run off for those ponies, and—” I felt my eye twitch as I grabbed onto his muzzle with telekinesis.  “Tempest, I know the pegasus mindset is to keep brains small so the energy can go to your other muscles, but please at least make an attempt to shut up and listen so somepony with a functioning cerebral cortex can fix things.”  Looking back, I’m honestly surprised Tempest didn’t take another swing at me. “You’ve known Silhouette for a month or two at most, and sleeping with her makes you about as close acquaintances as your jaw and a razor. If you honestly want to help her, get off your soapbox, fly back to Everfree, and bring Star Swirl here.  If that’s too complicated, feel free to just do the first part.” “Morty…” Blizzard whispered over my shoulder. I let go of Tempest’s muzzle, shoving him backwards with the last of the magic; I nearly surged and passed out from the force of it, and I nearly didn’t care.  “I’m about to bring a collection of innocent ponies back from the dead, Blizzard, and the last thing I need is some imbecile guardspony distracting that delicate work.  Enjoy your flight.” Tempest scowled, but he proved control over his emotions when he spread his wings and flew away then and there. I made more of a show of sighing in relief that was strictly appropriate before turning back to my remaining companions.  “Graargh, my back needs you to take Silhouette.” “Oh!”  Graargh nuzzled against her side, and the burden of a mare whose skin was made of gleaming stone finally rose from where I’d dropped her at time of Tempest’s uppercut.  “Graargh carry. Take where?” “Blizzard, can you find somewhere for her?  She’ll need to be fed and given water, and all the rest of the necessities for somepony in a coma.” The mare gave me a firm nod.  “I’ll ask the guardsponies.” I stopped her before she walked off.  “We’ll have to take her with us when we leave, at least until I’m able to track down where Wintershimmer ran off to…”  That earned a few nervous looks, which I waved away with my hoof. “He’s not coming back tonight. Frankly, I’d be surprised if he came back here ever.  He’s got to want something more than just peasant souls to power his magic.” With my back unburdened, I sat down on the planks of the street and sighed. Something at my haunch distinctly clanked against the road.  “Oh. Right. I’m not really sure what to do with this…” Blizzard recoiled when I pulled Silhouette’s severed leg out of where I had stored it in my torn and frankly tattered jacket.  Carefully, I unwound the void crystal amulet from the dead limb, and tucked it into a pocket where at least it wouldn’t be touching me directly. “Can’t you stick it back on with magic?” Blizzard asked. “Magic doesn’t work that way,” I told her.  “At least, not any kind I’ve ever heard of. For now, I guess keep it with her body.  If it starts to rot… bury it? You can’t really burn crystal corpses, so that’s the best idea I have.”  I set the limb down and waved Blizzard away. My vision swam with the motion, and I quickly forced my own foreleg to the street to steady myself. Blizzard laid a wing on my shoulder.  “Are you okay, Morty? You don’t look hurt, but—” “I’ll be fine.  Just worn out. I need to sit.  Just go find somewhere to put her,” I interrupted.  “And then come find me. There’s a lot more work to do.  Tartarus...” I watched Blizzard and Graargh as they walked away from the open square.  When they passed out of sight, I laid back my head, scrunched up my eyes, and tried to cry for the mare that gave her soul to save mine. But feeling like I was supposed to be heartbroken didn’t mean that I was.  The tears never came. “Mister Wizard!” I stirred in my nap, feeling my vertebrae shift against my stiff bed of the wooden street, and opened my eyes.  Hare was standing over me, looking straight down. “I heard you won!” “Ah.”  I slowly sat up, and realized abruptly that I was surrounded by probably the entire city of Platinum’s Landing.  I literally could not see the end of the crowd. “Oh. Wow. Nopony thought to wake me up before that.” “We try,” Graargh growled, a few feet behind me.  I jumped, just a bit. Thankfully, the voice belonged to a far smaller bear since my last sight of my young companion.  “You sleep heavy.” “I took the liberty of informing them, Master Coil, that you need sleep in order to build up your magic reserves.”  Angel took to floating beside my head for a moment, and then darted over to the limp bodies of the ponies we had extracted from the swamp.  This time, pleasantly, they were spaced out in a line, instead of a single pile of faintly twitching limbs. “I hope you didn’t explain that in too intimate of detail,” I grumbled.  My first action was to wipe the sand of sleep from my eyes. Then I rolled my neck, eliciting a pair of distinct cracks, and muttered a bit more to myself.  “Audience. Right. I can do this.” I didn’t have the magic back that I would have needed to amplify my voice.  A few hours of sleep really weren’t enough, especially not on the literal street.  I’d have to shout. “Ponies of Platinum’s Landing, my name is Mortal…” Off to a great start, my introduction trailed off.  I coughed into my hoof. “My name is Morty.” More than a few ponies cocked their heads at the nickname, but I ignored them.  “First, let me offer you my condolences. What happened here today was not your fault. None of you did anything to provoke this attack.  Blame lies solely with one dead stallion. The ghost of an evil wizard, Wintershimmer the Complacent.” I think two ponies gasped, which to be fair, was two more than I really expected to recognize the name so far from the Crystal Union border. “Wintershimmer wanted to steal the souls of you and your neighbors to fuel his evil magic.” At that, everypony gasped. “Rest assured, I wasn’t about to let that happen.  Just a few…” I glanced back to Graargh “How long was I asleep?” Graargh raised a paw.  “Sleep when sun there.” I blinked twice in surprise, and once more in physical agony when I accidentally looked straight into the sun.  “Well, alright. About three hours ago, my associate Silhouette and I fought Wintershimmer.” I swallowed heavily once.  “We were victorious, but it was not without cost. Wintershimmer took Silhouette’s soul.” The crowd turned silent. “I know most of you have never met her, probably never even heard her name, but Silhouette is the reason I’m standing here in front of you.  She saved my life. And she helped me save something else.” I gestured at the ponies laying in the afternoon sun. “We took back what Wintershimmer stole.  We’re going to get your families back.” The crowd roared, and something strange happened within me.  Since my duel with Clover, I had felt the rush of adrenaline in battle, the pressure of the threat of death, and the exhilaration of mystery.  But none of that compared to the surging warmth in my gut I felt as the ponies of Platinum’s Landing roared and stomped their hooves in a cacophonous cheer. I waved over Angel.  It took only a little verbal guidance to start the souls on the way back to their respective bodies.  Ponies gasped in awe at the half-transparent forms of their friends and loved ones as they floated back to where they belonged.  And then, after a moment of bated breath, the dead rose. I raised a hoof, almost without thinking, smiled, and bowed.  “For those of you who’ve just returned to life, you’re going to feel somewhat strange at the moment.  You might not be able to use your magic immediately. In the next few days, I’ll have a few of you meet with me each morning and we’ll make sure you are back to your old selves.  Until then—” That was as far as I got before the rampage of tearful, happy reunions overtook my ability to shout at the crowd.  As I grinned and gave up on issuing my necromantic advice, more than a few ponies swarmed around me. Before I had time to react, I was being carried on a platform of others shoulders. Not unlike the ponies I’d restored, I felt alive. I won’t force you to sit through a week and a half of my recounting the celebration, laboriously binding the souls of Wintershimmer’s victims back to their bodies.  I could only do two a day, and each spell only took me about two minutes. That left full days of feats, storytelling, and treatment to the finest luxuries Platinum’s Landing could afford a young stallion.  I ate with the mayor and slept in a bed stuffed with pegasus down—at that time, far and away the most comfortable night of my life. The motion of the whole thing just swept me away. It was sometime the next week, when I found myself posing for a marble sculptor, that it all came crumbling down. My hooves were spread out, one foreleg a step up from the others on a wooden crate that had been provided specifically to accomodate my pose.  Some stitching had been afforded to my jacket to at least keep it from falling apart, but it was obvious the shoulder I’d torn away for Silhouette wasn’t quite aligned right, and the collar was on the verge of tatters itself.  Still, with my jaw in the air, I convinced myself the resulting statue would convey an air of martial bravery, as though I’d survived the damages to my apparel and come out stronger for it. As I held my posture, listening to the clicking of a chisel on fine marble, I felt a distinctly cold hoof tap me on the shoulder. The hoof I turned back to look at was metal.  Not just a shoe at the end of a flesh-and-blood hoof, mind you, but an entire hoof and foreleg of a dark blue steel like the color of ice in the depths of a frozen lake.  It had been attached to the foreleg of a buckwheat mare of no substantial size, but of considerable physical presence. The gleaming jet black armor certainly helped. “You’re Mortal Coil.”  Though it must have been a question, it didn’t feel that way to me.  Her tone was steel made audible, like a blade being unsheathed, and I could practically feel her voice held against my throat. “Commander!” the sculptor bowed and stepped away from his block of white stone.  “Lord Morty, I will leave you to your business.” I stepped off of the wooden crate I had been balanced on, turned around, and got my first really proper look at the mare… and my first glance at the twelve steel-plated pegasi following her as an escort.  They had approached frighteningly quietly, all things considered. “All my friends call me Morty,” I told the mare.  “Judging by the armor, and the fact Dawn Tello called you ‘Commander’, you must be Tempest’s mom.” “Commander Typhoon,” she completed, with a nod.  That reminded me that ‘Tempest’s Mom’ was one third of Equestria’s leadership, and a blatantly deadly mare in her own right.  The subtle motion on her face somehow conveyed that she didn’t like me, or at the very least that she did not trust me. “I know about your nickname.  Gale’s told the story at length several times since her return.” “Well, Commander… I thought I told Tempest to send Star Swirl, but in retrospect, you’re probably more helpful anyway.  The void crystal armor should keep you safe. I’m assuming you’re here to help me hunt Wintershimmer?” Typhoon glanced around at the festival going on.  “My first concern was for the city’s safety. I see that threat has been dealt with.  Beyond that, I’m here to escort you the rest of the way to Everfree City.” She gestured back to her escort.  “We have a skywagon waiting.” “I’ll need to gather my friends,” I told her.  “I can meet you here in a few hours, though I’m sure if I asked nicely, I could get the mayor to find you a room, and we can fly off tomorrow morning.” Typhoon’s brow lowered slightly.  “You’ve already kept us waiting. Tempest will arrange safe passage for your friends.  My troops have just finished loading up the remains of the Crystal Union's late commander. You and I are leaving now.”