That morning, Port had received a futile distress call from the Equestrian Navy. As the wind died down, their own ships were dead on the water. Equestria’s ships were smaller, faster… but they lacked something the Centauri Navy possessed: oars. With no wind, their fate was sealed.
So about 150 miles offshore, the Equestrian Navy was obliterated in moments. The Centauri Navy was still coming. Their progress would be faster than before, with or without wind driving them and now unencumbered by the Equestrian Navy harassing them. It would be two days before Centauri flags would be visible from the harbor.
With this heavy realization dropped upon them, the soldiers in Port had been given until 18:00 for a little time to their own devices… to make peace with themselves, each other, their maker… to sort themselves out… whatever. Once the afternoon was over, they’d be making final preparations for the defense of the port, and their subsequent retreat south. It was likely they’d still be able to surpass the desired 85% distribution, so they had that on their side. Things had gone as well as they might’ve, but the time had come.
But that was a later concern. Having been fed noontime chow, the ponies in the port had just under six hours to do what they wished.
So, Zip took Jacinta out for a walk in the hills… just the two of them.
Jacinta, in one of her poofy sweaters, having dropped her uniform for the time, still winced a little at the sunlight as she grimly went along, “Bah… I’m friggin’ never drinking that much again, Lieutenant…”
Zip, still in uniform, kept his pace slow to make it easier on his friend, “You’ll feel better later, Jacinta… Just look forward to that.”
She smirked, “Then again, that might have been my last taste of booze. I never expected the possibly last five hours of contentment of my life would be spent this hungover… If I’d known things would wind up this way, I’d have just gone to bed early.”
Zip knew she didn’t mean to be so cynical, but they had suffered quite a shock that day, and Jacinta got rather grumpy when hungover, “No point in regretting it now, Jacinta…”
“I know, sir…”
They walked a few moments in silence. Jacinta then perked up, if only very slightly.
“Hey, why don’t you just tell me? Given my track record for my… drinking… I don’t believe for a minute I entirely behaved myself last night… Amethyst wouldn’t tell me a thing… other than you were a total gentlecolt about it… What did I do?”
Zip could see she was reaching; he wasn’t sure what she’d get out of him telling her just what she’d gotten up to, but he noted the little smile that graced her lips. The lieutenant chuckled to himself. He had plenty to tell her and plenty of time to do it. They may as well have had a laugh.
Zip stopped, “Smell my mane.”
Jacinta gawked for more than a few seconds, “…What…?”
He snorted, trying not to crack up, “Just do it.”
Hesitantly, she leaned in; she gagged, “Oh, ish!”
Zip laughed at her as she rubbed at her muzzle. Amethyst had cleaned the worst of Jacinta’s stomach revolting, but Zip hadn’t had a chance yet to bathe; his mane still smelled of sick.
“Oh, sir… I didn’t…”
Zip shrugged, still hiccupping laughter occasionally, “It was… an accident.”
She blushed, no longer smirking, “Oh, I’m so sorry… How embarrassing.”
He jostled her, “Wanna know more?”
She wasn’t sure, “No…?”
He nudged her along, “C’mon, Jacinta, let’s walk off those hangover blues.”
The little mare gave in and resumed walking.
Jacinta said nothing for a moment or two; she was mortified, knowing she threw up on her direct superior, “Lieutenant… I… wish I could make up for that. You laugh about it, but it’s so wrong…”
Zip mused to himself, trying not to guffaw... Jacinta, if you knew half the things you did last night, I doubt you’d be able to look yourself in the mirror… It was much funnier, the next day, considering how scared he’d been when she spouted the line about “not asking for a kiss”, or whatever she’d said. That was possibly the new winning entry in his “list of scary things Jacinta’s done”.
The lieutenant was less optimistic about his stupid, little game; it seemed cruel to jerk around his best friend… the mare he’d fallen in love with. He’d decided when he asked her out, he’d let her know he reciprocated her feelings. Perhaps it would be best to just tell her.
But Jacinta was willing to play, “I can see you’re dying to rub it in a little, so… what other fairy-tale shit did I come up with last night?”
Zip hadn’t expected this… at all. He was about to drop his game and just tell her, but the little smile returned to her lips; her eyes were clearer and showed enjoyment. She wanted to keep his game going. Whether she was onto where it led or not, she was up for it, so he chose to indulge her.
“You… asked me away from the kegger… You said you wanted to go back to your room, so I meant to escort you there.”
She nodded sagely, “Yep… that was my plan… to get you alone when we were off-duty. Let’s see just how well it panned out.”
Zip continued, just a tad reluctantly, considering her, “You wanted to tell me something… I knew pretty quickly what it was, but I was… scared.”
She glanced over, “Scared, sir?”
“I’m scared, Jacinta… They’re right… all the ponies that say I’m a cold fish, and I wouldn’t know what to do with a mare... And then when I finally get an idea about things, we’re suddenly facing an invasion… It’s a lot to process.”
Paddling alongside him, she decided to let him speak.
“I… tried to walk away from it… I could say it was because you were so drunk you wouldn’t remember… but I was just scared. I wasn’t ready to hear it. But you called me… by my name.”
Jacinta halted, gasping and blanching, “I didn’t…! Did I?”
Amused by the reaction of the little fusspot, he chortled, “You surely did.”
“I… uh…”
“I was happy to hear it, Jacinta.”
She cocked her head, the nervousness less evident in her face, “You were?”
“I was very happy to hear it… You see, I’ve been dreaming about it… your calling me by name.”
Jacinta flushed, “…Dreaming?”
He’d spare he the details unless she asked, “Yes.”
She looked to the ground, “I see… I’m guessing I said something else stupid…”
“You said something, but it wasn’t stupid… that comes later… the stupid part.”
The ghost of a smile still on her lips, she closed her eyes and sighed, “I’m guessing it was three words… just three little words. Am I right?”
“Yes.”
She grinned rather widely and took on a dreamy mien, still staring at the ground, “Then what?”
Zip stifled a laugh, “You said you wanted to kiss me.”
She stopped, looking at him with mirth, “Well… at least I asked this time.”
“Oh, no… You weren’t asking,” Zip chose to spare her further and full knowledge of her ungainly sexual assault upon his fragile being.
She actually giggled, though she wouldn’t if she knew much more, “Was all of this before or after I got sick?”
“Don’t worry… you planted one on me before that… That wound up being the very last thing you did last night.”
Again, she halted, this time noting the lack of breeze; the air was positively stagnant, despite the temperature being divinely comfortable, “Then what happened?”
Zip sighed, “Predictably, Amethyst showed up.”
“She must’ve been following her ‘Jacinta sense’…”
He looked to her oddly, “Her what?”
Jacinta tittered, “That’s what she calls it when she follows my ‘signal’… She looks for me, sometimes, when she’s worried… or when I’m sad… or when she’s sad… Sometimes she just wants to talk.”
Zip knew about this, of course, “You two are better friends than I’d guessed, really.”
She nodded, “Yes… she’s been quite a friend, sir.”
Zip suspected a touch of sarcasm there, but Jacinta’s earnestness shined through; it had him doubting there was any untruth to her statement.
“She’s been quite a friend to both of us, Jacinta…” Zip replied, before laughing. “She suggested I take you out like this when you weren’t hungover… I’m sorry I couldn’t accommodate that. ‘Time’s never on our side’ she told me.”
Jacinta looked encouraged, choosing then to lay on the acerbity, “So… what exactly did you drag me out here for? I could’ve taken a nap and slept off my fuzzy-headedness.”
Zip knew his time had come, “I wanted to tell you that I love you, Jacinta.”
She could’ve laughed, cried, or done a lot of things; after a few seconds she smirked, a gleam in her eyes, “I was hoping that’s what was gonna happen.”
Feeling pleased, Zip grinned at her, “I can’t say when it happened, but at some point, I fell for you.”
He nervously hoofed the back of his neck, suddenly finding it hard to keep eye contact.
Moving in closer, her eyes went half-mast, “So… can I have that kiss, now?”
This gave him the upper hoof; Zip waggled a hoof at her playfully, “Oh, I think you met your kiss quota last night.”
“Last night…?” her eyes widened, dawning (false) comprehension.
“You really let me have it.”
She blustered, red as a cherry, “You said I only spewed in your mane! Please tell me I didn’t puke in your mou-!”
That wasn’t even close to what Zip meant, and Jacinta never got to finish that sentence. He pulled her in and pressed his lips to hers. He felt her turn to jelly… He himself was feeling pretty good, too.
Separating from her, he saw Jacinta’s eyes shine; a few tears appeared in them. It was as if she’d turned a corner.
Looking as if her dreams had all just come true, she breathed, “I love you, Zip.”
With that, she pressed herself into him and put him on his back; she looked into his eyes, closed hers, and she kissed him.
Things got no further than a few kisses; neither was game to take the plunge, and Jacinta was still feeling pretty lousy. Having left the woods, they lay on a grassy knoll overlooking the city, east of town.
“I remember this sight,” Zip reminisced. “This was my first sight of Vanhoover, from the locomotive car.”
Jacinta snuggled up to him, “It's quite a thing to see, Lieutenant…”
Zip grinned, “Back to treating me like an officer, eh?”
She cuffed him, “Do you really want me to let your name slip in front of everypony? I still can’t believe we’re doing this, sir…”
“Well, what are they gonna do? Ha-?”
She cuffed him again, “Don’t even joke about it, sir… Nopony’s getting hanged… probably. They need the bodies, and you’re an officer. And I’m kinda an officer…”
Zip rarely gave much thought to the future, but, “I can’t bring myself to say ‘when’, but ‘if’ we get out of this… what do you plan to do, Jacinta?”
She answered at once, “No idea, sir… I’m career like you, so I guess I’ll just wind up assigned somewhere else, doing the same kind of stuff… I hope it’s not another port…”
She pondered a moment before continuing, “Three guesses where you’re going, sir… I think most of us forget you’re with the air force, and you haven’t even been around that long. I suppose they’ll call this an acceptable ‘breaking in’, and you’ll wind up as a lackey for some other captain.”
Zip chuckled at the last part; it was probably true, “You’re certainly right. When they sent me out here to vegetate, they sure weren’t expecting a war to land on our shores. I heard different wings are fighting over a crack at having old Zip around…”
“What’s a wing? Is that like a battalion, or something?”
“I really don’t know, Jacinta… I think it’s on the same tier as a brigade.”
She broke off her nuzzle and went back to lying on her back; she wished the sky had some clouds to watch, “Then I guess the squadrons will have to duke it out after that…”
Zip snorted humorlessly, “Maybe they’ll make me a captain… I already practically skipped a rank, so it’s at least possible.”
Their conversation was getting nowhere at this point; they’d already tossed around a few ideas regarding their relationship and got nowhere fast. The troubles and complications of dealing with the situation were the very same reasons they’d avoided pursuing the inklings they’d begun to feel towards the other… at least when both were clear of mind. Still, they had to keep trying.
“Zip… I wish there was a way to make this work, but… I don’t know…”
He scooched closer and worked a hoof under her back, pulling her in, “Well… it’s a shame we don’t have the luxury of time.”
She nuzzled him again, “Amethyst gave me some guidance… maybe we could go with that…”
Zip jostled her, noting the nasty, little shit-eating grin she presented, “Knowing Amethyst, it was something crazy, slightly profane, and still sensical.”
“It sure was…” she bubbled.
He surprised her, “She told me she gave you some advice. I think she used the term ‘mortified’ to describe how she felt about it when she thought about it some more.”
Jacinta could’ve told him why she’d been so discomfited at her own words, but Zip didn’t need to know Amethyst was possibly willing to drag him off to be her boy-toy. She’d honor Amethyst’s feelings and keep them quiet, but she could still laugh about it.
“What’s so funny?” Zip was uncomfortable at her sudden burst of giggles.
“Nothing you need to know about, Lieutenant,” she answered mischievously.
Zip could tell she wasn’t playing a game, so he let it go. He didn’t really want to bring it up, but something had been bothering him.
“Do you think Amethyst is happy, Jacinta?”
The question wasn’t expected, and she didn’t have an immediate answer, “I… don’t know, sir.”
She knew some of the things Amethyst told her were to be kept between the two of them.
Taking a moment, she pondered, “She hasn’t really had a happy life, Lieutenant… But you know that very well already. Stuck with magic of her level… ‘hearing’ all the things she did... You know she never really had anypony to help her control her power… not until she was older than you are now. That’s a long time to put up with something like that. Three marriages—two of them duds—and none with happy endings. And… losing her filly. She was just a child when that happened, sir… And then she was stuck doing whatever they do in central intelligence…”
Zip’s mind wandered a moment. He had to remind himself—yet again—he was possibly the only pony in Vanhoover to know what Amethyst was besides the mare herself. He remembered opening her file and finding a rather boring tale… one he knew to be very, very false. Realizing Jacinta was still talking, he managed to redirect his attention.
“…but I think she’s happy here. I’m sure it’s not as exciting as whatever she was doing, but she seems fine. She has the platoon… she has me… and she has you, sir.”
Zip nodded a little, “I wish there was something I could do…”
“Just be her friend,” Jacinta rested her cheek in his chest floof. “Be a friend to everypony… We’ll need it more than ever, now.”
“Aren’t you worried that sounds corny as pig shit?” Zip buffeted her playfully.
“Shut up,” she sunk her hoof into his gut, knocking the wind out of him; she relished in his momentary anguish. “Sure, it’s a little corny, but you can’t say it’s untrue.”
Zip gasped, wheezing as he tried to catch a breath, “I guess… You didn’t… have to… hit me!”
“Suck it up, big fella,” Jacinta reprimanded; she sat up. “So… how do you want to spend your last afternoon as a ‘free’ pony?”
He sat up as well, now coughing, “As much as I’d like to continue discussing how wrong you and I are, I’d like to head back… maybe spend some time with our friends.”
“I’ll forget that crack about us being wrong… and I’d like that. I’m sure we can find something to do.”
It didn’t really matter who they came across… they just hoped to see somepony else from the platoon.
“Make sure all charges are submerged 10 ft. below the surface! We need consistency!” an Earth pony in a little boat called out to his own group of divers.
It was about 24-hours since the bad news they'd received regarding their navy. All across the cove that made up the Bay of Vanhoover, ponies were setting up explosives, tethering them to anchor points driven into the seabed.
“Hurry up! It’s not like they’re made of glass! They won’t go off without the magical catalyst! They’re meant to stand a buffeting!”
Zip leaned against a shed facing what used to be the docks. Amethyst stood beside him. They were taking a break from similar preparations within the city itself.
“So that’s what they had you doing that night… That musta been miserable…” Zip couldn’t even begin to sympathize with her.
“Yes… I’m pretty magical, sir, and this was still a chore. Thank goodness I’d done this crap before…”
“But 5,000!” Zip exclaimed. “You managed to drill 5,000 anchor points into the seabed—down to bedrock—in three hours.”
“What, do I get a cookie?! Or maybe a kiss?” she hoofed his shoulder, half-jokingly. “I told you I’m pretty magical… Still, it was so fuckin’ cold down there, I thought I’d die…”
“I can’t… well, yes I can believe they’d lie about being ready for such an undertaking. It’d be hard to put all those charges down without something to tie them off to. How many of our ports aren’t ready, anyway?”
She hummed, “Most of them… I set up Baltimare after we destroyed those pirate dinghies. That though… wasn’t anything like this.”
“It’s good to know all it takes is one beautiful mare freezing her ass off a few hours to get ‘up to code’.”
She actually blushed, “Oh, pshaw…”
“I’d ask you what kind of boom we’ll get, but I’d like to be surprised,” Zip muttered.
“Nopony will be disappointed, sir,” Amethyst yawned, scratching herself. “We’ll be glad to be a fair distance away.”
Zip knew the surprise they had waiting in the city would be rather dazzling as well; the city was wired to go up, from the port to the sprawl.
They’d done what they could in getting the goods out of the city. To the astonishment of many, 91% of their stores had been emptied; they’d probably overfilled a few locomotive cars, but they’d more than achieved their goal. All they had to do now was keep the Centauri Army to a crawl once they’d made their way inland.
Zip and Amethyst made it back to their platoon and went about the sad business of setting up the detonation of the Old Oak Pub. They’d had plenty of good times there, but it was just another building in the grand scheme.
Zip had asked Amethyst how the fuck they got 100,000 magical explosives in such a short time, but she smiled and gave him the line about “having to kill him if he found out”. So, he didn’t worry about it, and they finished up.
Walking along with Amethyst, Zip could tell she was up to something. He was no psychic, but he was sure she was more than curious about his pulling Jacinta away the day before.
“Out with it, Sergeant,” he put on an authoritative voice, trying hard to not smile. “You have something on your mind.”
“What gave me away?” she simpered. “Was it your 'E.S.P.' picking up on my rooting around in your mind? Or is it just my smiling like an idiot getting the biggest slice of cake?”
“Neither,” Zip snickered. “I just know you well enough.”
“I suppose,” Amethyst cast her gaze skyward. “Did you know your mind’s not the easiest thing in the world to sneak around in, anyway? Your ancestry-”
“I know, I know…” Zip still wasn’t sure he believed such a fairy-tale. “How often do you actually poke around in our heads, Amethyst?”
He believed her when she said, “Not much, sir. But we’ve covered the topic. What do you think they’re serving for chow?”
The 91% was still a projection; they had two more loads to send away, but barring trouble they’d be able to do so. With all the food that would otherwise “go to waste” when they turned their own city to ash, they’d been eating like kings the last day or so.
“Whatever it is, it’ll be good. I tell you though, what I wouldn’t give to try the ‘Teno-something’ place again…”
“The Tenochtitlan restaurant, sir,” she replied. “I’m still sorry for ruining lunch that day.”
Zip realized he’d hit a possible sore spot, “I’m… sorry Amethyst. I wasn’t thinking.”
She shook her head, a sad smile upon her lips, “Don’t worry about it, sir. But it was quite good. They closed shop and were gone within 12 hours of the evacuation order.”
“I do remember that…”
Amethyst tired of the game and went for the throat, “Lieutenant… how’d things go with Jacinta?”
Despite expecting it, he was unprepared to answer, “I think we… understand each other.”
She pouted, “That’s a weak-ass answer…”
“Well, it’s true,” he flushed some, surprising even himself. “It was nice…”
Goading him further, she poked him, “You two are like a couple of teenagers, sir. Take some advice from Pvt. Rise, and go from there.”
Zip wasn’t wholly amused, “Oh, shut up, Amethyst.”
She giggled and jostled him some, recalling how the private’s immune system had displaced herpes like telling a naughty foal to sit in the corner for talking back.
“About Mercury…”
“You’re calling him by name, Amethyst?”
She ignored that, “He’s really such a dear, sir… Somepony like him will make some mare very happy, someday.”
He knew she was still goading him, and he wasn’t falling for it, “What’s the punchline, Amethyst? With him, you’d very nearly be robbing the cradle.”
Displeased with his disinterest in her playing and his crude remark, she glowered at him, “I’m only saying he’s a gentlecolt… but that’s beside the point. I’ve managed to learn a little more about him. It’s something I wasn’t expecting at all.”
Zip perked up, “Really? Where’d you go snooping this time?”
This time, she didn’t ignore the dig he took at her, “I didn’t have to ‘snoop’ around for this… Tell me sir, what do you weigh?”
This was an odd question, but he answered, “I weight about 215 lb., Amethyst.”
She blushed, “And I weigh… about 185 lb.; that’s normal… for a mare of my stature and build. You’re pretty normal for a Pegasus stallion… You Pegasi are built quite differently. Do you recall what Mercury weighs?”
Zip had read his file over and over, trying to find something, “Uh, no… but he’s very average himself, other than being in impeccable shape. An Earth pony stallion of his stature and build… he’d weigh right around 240—no… 250 lb.”
Amethyst smirked, “Close… but I don’t have to guess… According to that joke of a file he has, he weighs 247 lb.”
“So?”
“Just watching him… the way he moves, the way he can bowl over other ponies when they play… It’s not just his strength, which is high but not unheard of… I suspected he weighs a lot more than that, so I got him onto one of the special scales when nopony was looking, and he wasn’t paying attention. I can’t believe nopony—not even him—has realized it, but he weighs 330 lb.”
Zip hissed, lowering his voice, “What? That’s impossible… he’s my size… exactly my size! How is it nopony's noticed?”
She shrugged, “Luck...? It's hard enough to lift a pony anyway, so telling the weight...? Who knows? Maybe he has a spell cast on him to fool non-magical scales. We use those special scales on the docks because they're hard to tamper with... It saves us when merchants try to trick the scales. Whatever they did to him, they enhanced his muscles, sir. No metal inserts or anything, but they had to have reinforced his skeletal structure and attachments as well. His muscle density… is crazy.”
“You could say that,” Zip nodded dumbly. “So, what the fuck’s going on?”
“I don’t know. But I have his file,” she smiled.
Zip blathered, “You stole his file?”
“Sure… It was easy. Actually, I pinched a fair few files of concern… and not just pertaining to us. Cpt. Weaver wasn’t the only pony to realize we’ve been getting some wonderful weirdos in Port over the summer. Nopony’s gonna miss them; all the files that weren’t shredded and burned were packed up and sent to Canterlot a few days ago, and they won’t see daylight until well after this is over, if that. Really, it might be years before anypony opens up those crates.”
Amethyst’s sneaking around never sat well with Zip, but he’d made up his mind to trust her with it, “Just be careful, please.”
His concern flattered her, “I will, Lieutenant. I just want to be ready.”
That afternoon, the artillery was outfitted with all the shells they had. Stationed around the city—Zip barely noticed after being around a while—every couple of blocks was a large gun pointing towards the sea. Rather than placing the big guns at the shore, they were relatively protected from anything on the sea. All had been tested and prepared. Once the Centauri Navy was in range, they’d be able to pick off a hoofful of ships; their stationary positions allowed for some serious firepower and distance.
In fact, just about all preparations were complete. The wagons with all the supplies they could manage to carry were loaded on the edge of town, under guard. The bay would see some nice 'fireworks' soon enough. And the city was ready to light up like a Hearth’s Warming tree.
About all there was to do was wait. The Centauri Navy would arrive the next morning, probably before noontime chow. Being as ready as they’d probably be, the ponies in Port were given the afternoon off, other than those on guard duty. It was unexpected, but better than standing by. So long as they didn’t drink, all was fair game.
No civilians remained… just the division and a hoofful of military police. In the night, one last locomotive would haul away the last of the supplies they’d managed to save. They’d done their duty admirably thus far.
The 52 ponies of 3rd Platoon’s four squads milled around in the park near company headquarters. Some ran around, burning off a little energy and enjoying not laboring over some crate out of a warehouse or lugging around whatever the army needed them to. A few told stories, laughing. Some even slept, if their duty had tuckered them out. But a lot of them just sat. They sat and enjoyed the weather, still most unseasonable. It felt like spring had come again.
The two leaders were elsewhere; with time, they determined to spend a little of it together. They’d had a chance to sleep on what they’d communicated the day before.
The blushing Jacinta leaned on her lieutenant… her dubiously labeled coltfriend, on the familiar path in the forest, “I don’t wanna talk about it, but I’ll feel better when we do.”
“What is it?” Zip figured it could be anything; he was rather nervous.
“Don’t let this get in the way of your job,” she looked into his eyes, hers full of longing.
Zip wanted to say 'that’s a given', but he found it hard; he knew what they’d begin to face the next couple days, “I wish I knew how… I wish I could make such a promise.”
“Hmm. It’s easy to talk about leaving personal feelings out of it. I think—Lieutenant!”
Her bark had him jump out of his skin, “What?!”
“You keep darting your eyes around. Are you even listening?”
Zip said truthfully, “I am… I just have a feeling-”
She slugged his shoulder, breaking out in a grin, “Sir… Amethyst isn’t following us.”
He wasn’t convinced, “How do you know?”
“Because she’s right there…” Jacinta pointed up the path.
And indeed, she was standing there, having left the rest of the platoon, looking the part of a nervous teenager.
Zip glanced to Jacinta, “What’s going on?”
Jacinta simply said, “She wants to spend a little time with you, sir. She asked me a while ago… Please go.”
Without another word, Jacinta paddled back towards town. Zip looked after her nervously. He’d rather stick his pecker in a beehive than face Amethyst, simply because he was at a loss as to what he should do. But Amethyst was his friend… probably his closest besides Jacinta; he wouldn’t turn her away.
Heaving a sigh, he began moving towards her. It was still unfamiliar, seeing her so unsettled. He’d seen it a few times, but he’d never gotten used to it. Despite knowing his friend was far from perfect, he’d still maintained her on a pedestal; he couldn’t help it for some reason.
What really had him disconcerted was her fearful appearance. He’d seen her at (probably not) her worst, but she’d always radiated a certainty he could never emulate, even when she was bawling her eyes out to him. She looked about as anxious as… well, Zip was at a loss for a metaphor to validate this.
Despite knowing games weren’t going to work here, he couldn’t help but fall back on the playful nature he’d refined since coming to Port, “I don’t suppose you’re here to tell me Pvt. Rise is a jazz singer, are you?”
Despite her apprehension, she snorked at that; she’d never been able to keep her sense of humor from popping up around Zip, not that she was trying, “Of course not… I… just want to talk.”
Not really meaning to, Zip led her on the path he and Jacinta had taken a few times since they’d started trying to sort out their feelings. He supposed Amethyst had some feelings of her own to sort out. Trying to keep his mind calm, he knew his confused thoughts must have been as loud as a siren to the psychic mare.
“You really need to relax, sir… You’ll live longer,” wearing the sad smile he’d seen more times than he cared to, she kept her gaze downward as they moved along.
Much of Zip’s reason for his tenseness lately was his dealing with the mares in his life. He still maintained dealing with a dragon was less frightening—in all the ways that mattered to him—than dealing with a mare. This was especially true when dealing with a leviathan among mares, such as Amethyst.
Demurely turning her watery gaze his way, she said, “It’s okay if you don’t want to say anything… but I’d love for you to listen. Please?”
Zip was relieved she was helping him along in the matter, “Sure.”
It was a short answer on his part but broke the seal.
“It’s never been easy, living with my ability. When I was a little filly, I didn’t have many friends, if any. They all thought I was weird, being able to read them all like a book. So, I spent more time with colts and stallions… older than me. I’ve always been quite the beauty—not to toot my own horn—and it took me many places. They didn’t care too much about my magic as long as they got what they wanted; they’d use me and then dump me off. I only did what felt good, and one day was the same as the next, so I didn’t really care. You name it… I tried it…
“I’ve already told you a little about my first husband. His name was Green Tea. He was a captain in the army, and he had quite a career ahead of him. When I got pregnant, I didn’t marry him out of love; I married him because I’d been kicked out by my parents and that I let him get me pregnant. It would’ve caused trouble, so we waited until my 18th birthday for the wedding. I… grew to love him… to admire him, even.
“Close to the end of the pregnancy… that’s when the trouble started. I don’t even remember if the complications with the pregnancy or Green’s leg getting mangled happened first, but that was a terrible month. Rho was born prematurely… Green had turned into a waste of life… and I lost Rho. Then I ran away.”
She’d managed to hold back a little, but her eyes had begun to leak; she sighed agonizingly, “I hated myself, sir. I hated myself for a long time. I was only 19. I felt I’d failed as a mother… failed as a mare. My second husband was Lead Brick; he was no soldier… he was a laborer. This was long before I’d ever trained to be anything… I fed you some line about ‘falling in love again’, but that was shit. I was just a 19 or 20-year-old mare, trying to stay alive. I let him use and abuse me, sir; he beat me almost every day. I thought I was worthless, Lieutenant; if I could go back and knock some sense into myself, I would! He only let up… when he wanted me to get pregnant.
“He wanted us to have a foal; if we had one, we could get more money from the government than he could get working, so he tried. I can’t even say if I wanted it or not… but I convinced myself to try again. When I couldn’t get pregnant, after a few months of trying, he beat me unconscious one day when I dared talk back to him… Once I healed up enough to go outside, I went to get checked on. I still don’t know exactly what it was, but whatever gave me my problems with Rho had also probably destroyed my uterus. I was sterile… 20-years-old, good-for-nothing, and sterile. I was terrified to tell Lead, and I tried to hide it, but he found out anyway.”
Her face a mask of tragedy, she forced it out, “I’m still shocked he didn’t kill me, with what he did. I couldn’t move for two days, lying there in our little apartment. When I was able to move, I saw he’d left. He left me there with an impending eviction and not much else. I never saw him again, and I have no idea what became of him.
“After I finally got out of the hospital, I was in debt. I was desperate. I had no education, really. Then and there I decided: no more selling my body… no more being afraid. I hated myself, yes, but I was tired of being afraid. That’s when I joined the army. It didn’t take them long to see what I was capable of. The training was Hell, sir. They pretty much dumped me in Hell, having taught me a hoofful of things, and by the time I was 22-years-old, I was probably the deadliest killer in the 4th Equestrian Army.
“I did that for a long time… For seven or eight years, I just did what I was told. I didn’t let anything get to me… or so I thought. I was content—if you can call it that—with being what I’d become. I’d given up on happiness a long time ago… Then one day… I met an Earth pony named Rhubarb Leaf. He… was the first stallion I ever knew that wanted me for something other than… the things I’d been able to give so easily.
“He was a navy stallion… a commander and one of the finest ponies I ever knew. Whatever he saw in me… I’m still not exactly sure. But he loved me… and I loved him. It was the first time I was in love. He knew what I was, and he still somehow loved me. When he asked me to marry him… I think it might’ve been my first taste of happiness in my adult life. For the first time that I could remember… I loved myself. Maybe you can’t imagine what that feels like… I surely couldn’t find the words for it. We talked of adopting… I was ready to retire and leave all that misery behind me. But, of course, you know how it ended.
“His ship went down somewhere off the coast of Manehattan. I fell apart. I’d promised him I’d leave behind the army… do something I actually enjoy… But I just went back to hating myself… and the world.”
At this point, she could no longer walk; she sat down on her haunches, buried her face in the crook of her front leg, and sobbed. Zip, listening intently the whole time, could think of nothing to say… nothing to comfort his friend. He stood there dumbly.
Amethyst rubbed her eyes before continuing, “I went back to doing what I was best at… the only thing I was ever good at… with a vengeance. It wasn’t until a year ago that changed… It’s why I’m here now… And I still can’t tell you why.”
Zip could see something coming; he backed off a few paces.
She began to seethe, “I can’t. I can’t. I can’t! I CAN’T! I CAN’T!”
Amethyst had begun to scream, so worked up she began to tear at the forest floor. She fired her horn indiscriminately, blowing holes in the ground. Screeching her lungs out, she tripped herself up and collapsed.
She sat there, crying more softly, pulling herself up into a ball. Confident he wouldn’t get cooked by one of her bolts, Zip inched up beside her. Sitting down, he put a hoof over her shoulders. With a little coaxing, he was able to get both hooves around her as he sat her up. Bit by bit, she returned the embrace.
He lost track of time, hugging Amethyst. When she finally spoke again, it was almost shocking, the calmness.
“But coming here… with everypony… I’ve been happy.”
She broke off the embrace, pulling back to look him in the eye; she looked a mess, her mascara running like a broken faucet on a sink.
“What was even more surprising was meeting you. I never thought I’d fall in love again, much less with a stallion young enough to be my son,” she dimpled at that.
Zip knew how she felt, but hearing her say it was another matter; he felt his face heat up.
She hoofed him, “Don’t think about it… and don’t worry about me. It’s pathetic, I know, but I’m just happy to have met you. I’m happy there are still stallions like you in the world; you’re of a rare breed, Zip. Life would’ve been… very different… if I’d met a stallion like you, all those years ago.”
Zip’s mouth moved, but no words came out.
“Like I said,” she poked a hoof at him. “My time’s over… it’s Jacinta’s time. She’s my best friend, so… do your best. If we all get out of this, I hope you two can find a little happiness.”
With that, she gave him a little peck on the cheek, though she lingered a few seconds. She pulled away, beaming at him.
“So… We’re good? Lieutenant?”
Finally finding some words, he held her hooves, “Yes, Amethyst. Thanks.”
She giggled, “Thank you, sir.”
“You ready to head back?”
She surprised him by using a little magic on her face; the mess was cleaned up, and she looked as picture-perfect as she ever did, “Now I am.”
“I didn’t know you could do that!”
She hoofed him, “C’mon… You’ve seen me clean up worse than that…”
She had, he recalled. He remembered the first day he met her… and more recently, when Jacinta had tossed her cookies in his mane.
“Everypony sleep well tonight. Meet at the assigned location at 09:00 tomorrow. Dismissed.”
Upon Zip’s word, his platoon dispersed. Evening chow had been eaten, everything was ready, and all there was to do was sleep.
Zip didn’t have much as far as personal effects went; most of them didn’t. He’d taken what he wanted and needed from his quarters and had been holing up in his office the last few days. It was easier to operate out of there.
It was fairly early, only 22:15, but Zip was ready for sleep. Fluffing up the mattress he’d snaked from his quarters, he prepared to lie down.
Knock, knock, knock!
Zip hissed, mouthing to himself, great…
Having no idea whom it might be, he was stunned to see Sgt. Razor Wire, Spc. Trip’s brother.
“Razor? I’m surprised you’d come by.”
Zip had really grown to like Razor; he was about as capable a sergeant as he could hope for.
“I’d offer you a little whiskey, but it appears Amethyst finally took her bottle back,” Zip apologized, checking his drawer as he sat at his desk. “Oh, well. Have a seat. What’s up?”
Razor sat, “Lieutenant… there’s something I want to say.”
Zip might’ve laughed at Razor’s intense seriousness, if it hadn’t been so sincere, “C’mon, Razor… take it easy. We’re past that overly formal crap. Just say what’s on your mind.”
He didn’t drop the sincerity a bit, “Sir! It’s been a great honor to serve under you. It will be… an honor to fight beside you! We’ve seen very different careers, but I’m more than proud to call you my commander!”
The big lug was almost overcome with emotion; Zip just sat, too stupefied to respond, but he was touched at the earnestness.
“For being such a friend to my sister… for being my friend… for saving our dad… I’ll follow you to Hell and back.”
Zip put a hoof on his, trying to find words, “I’m glad to hear it, Razor. The honor’s been mine… But I think you might be overreacting; I don’t mean to put you down, but you’re talking like we’re already on our way to Hell… I don’t expect that.”
Razor took no offense, “Perhaps, sir, but in my experience, all roads in the service may lead you to Hell.”
Zip could understand that, “I know you’re right… but try for a little optimism.”
“…”
“So, is there anything else, Razor?” Zip didn’t mean to cast him off; he just didn’t understand the guy sometimes, and he wanted sleep.
After a moment, Razor spoke up, “You’re to value none of us above anypony else, other than what we’re worth to the fight-”
“Are you sure you haven’t been drinking?” Zip asked in all seriousness.
Razor didn’t even let the interruption faze him, “-That’s how it works in this life we’ve chosen… or we fell into… It doesn’t matter. Just promise me one thing…”
This gave Zip pause, “Yes?”
“If anything happens to me... and if you're able, I want you to take care of my sister... when this is all over. See her back home, and tell our dad what we did here,” Razor plainly stated.
Zip stood up, answering the steadfastness, “I will, Razor. Now… get some sleep. Orders.”
Looking satiated, the sergeant saluted, and Zip returned it; Razor left a moment later.
Zip had half a mind to lock his doors and plug his ears. He didn’t want to put up with any more weirdness that night. But he had another visitor before he’d made up his mind on the matter.
“Jacinta… what are you doing here?”
The little mare set down her saddlebags and her allotment of equipment, “I thought… we could just stay here tonight.”
Zip hated to sound like some scared kid sneaking in his fillyfriend under his parents’ noses, but, “We agreed to not push the envelope… I’m pretty sure you staying with me crosses that line…”
Irritated with his childishness, she nosed him along, “Stop talking like some little colt. You have to see this.”
Considering he was a Pegasus, it seemed strange to him he’d never been on the roof of company headquarters. This was where Jacinta pulled him.
He didn’t mean to be grumpy, but he was tired as Hell, watching her lay out a blanket, “Big whoop, Sarge… Can I go to sleep now?”
She casually used her martial arts prowess to drop him on his back; he landed with a thump, “Can it, 1st Lieutenant. Don’t you remember? Tonight, they’re dropping all the lights in the bay. It’s a new moon, and there’s not a cloud to block the view.”
“What view?”
Click! In an instant, all the lights for miles around fell off.
Like many things in his life, Zip had taken the stars for granted. He saw them every night in the desert, living in shacks that did little to keep out the cold of the night. But at the northern latitude, with autumn fading fast, he’d never seen the sky lit up quite like this. He could even see the aurora, some distance into the north. The sky was incredible.
There was only one way to describe the sight: it took the breath away.
Looking up with astonishment, he realized how small and insignificant he was; it took a few seconds to gather a cognizant thought.
“Oh, wow! That’s amaz-!”
But he never got to finish his sentence or further reminisce on his pansy-assed ideas about how small and meaningless everything was, for Jacinta pressed her lips to his.
Zip, as Jacinta did, gave in, and under the stars, they let the mood take them away to whatever or wherever it led them.
If the young lieutenant, having finally done the deed with the mare of his short-lived, but very much alive dreams had more time to think about things, he’d have reflected on how fucking spectacular it was to wake up under a toasty blanket in her embrace. Naked as the day he was born—which wasn’t a far stretch for a pony—there he lay, their uniforms cast aside.
There were other things to concern themselves with. The big guns were armed and ready. The charges in the bay were set. The city was ready to go poof at the glow of a horn. Their wagons were equipped. And unless their locomotives broke down somewhere along the line, they’d secured 91% of all the goods within the city.
Other than the ponies operating the big guns and directing the firing, the division was up in the hills northeast of the city. Out of range of any guns from the sea and out of plain sight, they’d wait until the right time and begin the retreat. The Retreat to the Galloping Gorge was only the first stage of many planned.
It was around 10:30 that they got their first view of the Centauri Navy. Coming towards them over the horizon were more ships than could be counted.
If any faint hearts existed, none of them made it known. But a lot of ponies wished they’d never joined the army—even supply—upon seeing that.
Zip stood out from the woody cover, his sergeants behind him and Jacinta by his side.
Amethyst walked up to stand abreast, “They’re still a couple miles off the range of our guns, but you can bet we’ll be able to do a little damage before they hit the charges in the bay.”
Zip knew Amethyst had a dark side to her, and he saw it come out in force... but not fully; that fun was for later.
“Lieutenant… have you ever seen what a 10-inch gun can do to a ship?”
Even by Amethyst standards, she was getting a little out of hoof; Zip managed a reply, “Uh… nope.”
A glint showed in Amethyst’s eyes, unsettling Jacinta as well; the belle glared at the horizon, “They’re gonna pay dearly for coming to our shores. We’ll give them the very purest Hell we can conjure up… By the time we make our way to Canterlot, they’ll be bled to ruination. Then we can wipe their fucking carcasses off the face of this Earth!”
Eying her visceral grin, everypony wished to share her confidence. The battle would soon begin.