//------------------------------// // Chapter 27: Mirimiri // Story: Meliora // by Starscribe //------------------------------// “I didn’t get most of that…” Liz muttered, as soon as the portal had closed behind them and they were standing in the Dreamlands. This was the enchanted wood, one of the safest parts of the Dreamlands—but this was a part that no human (or pony) dreamer would’ve seen. “But from their tone of voice, it sounded like we just got thrown out. With… a hostage?” She glanced over her shoulder towards the deer. Jackie kept her eyes alert to the forest all around them. This enchanted wood existed as the deer saw it, with seasons that changed so swiftly she almost couldn’t see them, with gigantic predators that stalked the weak but ignored the strong. So long as they acted confident and powerful, they should have no trouble here. Not that they would be staying. “This way,” she instructed in English, before nodding a little gentler towards their guest. “Forgive me, I must go. My sister will conduct you back to our city.” She summoned a brilliant flash of light—bright enough that even Liz looked away—and when it was gone, so was her disguise, and her clothes. All but her sheath and the dagger there, hanging always within reach. She couldn’t hide it in the Dreamlands, since this was where she sent it to hide. She didn’t bother summoning another modesty costume. “I am Jackie,” she said to the deer, lowering her head politely. “I am the ruler of Meliora, but not the king. I’m sorry about the, uh… abruptness of the transition.” The sultan’s daughter glanced around them with a deer’s usual furtiveness, then tugged the veil down from her face. It was only the three of them after all, no males to speak of. She was taller than either of them, even Liz in armor. The proportions were strange, but pretty enough in their way. Don’t even think about it, Jackie. If anything happens, it won’t ever be safe for her to go home. “I am Fatima Always-Watches-Rainfall,” she said. “But you may call me Fatima. Your brother is…” She glanced around, as though expecting to see him hiding behind any of the massive trees. It wouldn’t have been hard—these were bigger than any sequoia had ever grown, big enough to hide whole buildings. “An impressive creature. The court was awed by him.” Now you’re just trying to be polite. I don’t know what emotion that was, but it sure as hell wasn’t awe. “This is not a safe place for us to stay,” she said, starting off again with exaggerated steps. This time it was enough to get the deer to follow her. Fatima moved with bounding strides, getting ahead of her in just a few jumps, before resting again until she started to fall behind. Her eyes were never still, always watching the forest around them. No weapons on this girl, but she’s still a survivor. “So what happened?” Liz asked, her voice a little annoyed at being ignored. “You made… some kind of clever ploy? We’ve got her, and now… now they’ll have to help?” “More like the opposite,” Jackie answered. “They’re not going to help, and Ankaa offloaded protecting his daughter to us. If anything happens to her, then we’ll have a second invasion on our hooves even sooner than the first one.” Liz’s eyebrows went up. “You’ve got to be kidding. The deer think they can invade us? I caught some of it… but it sounded like they were just blustering with you. Not being serious!” She shrugged. “The last culture of deer I knew were religious too. I think it… well, ask a psychologist, I shouldn’t guess. Their reasons won’t matter if they attack.” “And lose.” Liz still sounded mocking. “Come on, Jackie. I loved The Last Samurai as much as the next girl, but you’ll notice the great warriors still lost. They can’t possibly win against Meliora.” “You are strange to have this conversation in front of me,” Fatima said, in thickly accented English. “Do you intend to send me back to my father with a warning of your power? You wouldn’t be the first to try. But it has never worked before.” “No.” Jackie actually found herself smiling, a little impressed with the deer. “I mean yes, we will send you home whenever you wish. Though we hope it will be after you see the enemy we’re facing. Your father doesn’t appreciate the amount of danger we’re all in. But perhaps you will if you see it.” Liz glanced between them, her eyes getting wider. “That’s the plan? Even if we can… Jackie, that’s not soon enough. If Athena invades, it’s too late to make new friends. We either win or we lose at that point, right? Either she finds the Heartwood or she doesn’t. Too late for another army to come help.” “Yeah,” Jackie said. “But if we can’t get the deer on our side now, they might still want to be friends after we win. No reason… not to hope for the best.” But her smile was a little strained, and there was no hiding that from Liz. Seaponies were too good with emotions. “You will… have to be patient with me,” Fatima said, not even trying to keep stride with them. She spoke in louder and quieter spurts, adjusting the volume depending on how far she’d fallen behind. But if they waited for her to catch up, she’d just remain where she was. “I have never even met a mageblood before. Your customs are strange. This manner of dress most of all. Or… lack of dress.” “Yeah, you’ll… probably have to get used to that,” Jackie said, her smile widening. “We, uh… we want to be your allies, but we don’t intend to give up…” She glanced towards Liz for help, but the seapony only shrugged. Maybe for the best, considering what Jackie herself was thinking. “Well, our culture. There are many differences… and you might enjoy some of them.” They didn’t have much further to go before Jackie could find somewhere to slice their way back into reality, close enough that the walk back into Meliora wouldn’t be much further. Once on the Earth side, she was able to relax, though there was still a persistent fear dwelling at the back of her mind. There would be no dream-creatures on the other side, but Athena could reach them. All they’d really done was trade one kind of threat for another. But they encountered none on the way back, and soon enough they were back in Meliora. Jackie went through the drudgery of explaining their new guest, assigning her safe quarters, and a few guards who would make sure that nothing happened accidentally while she was nearby. “I want her in our war councils from now on,” she said to city council, her only instruction that bothered them. “I want her to know what we’re facing, and what tools we might use to overcome it. She needs to convey some of that back to the deer.” Firelight stared slack jawed at her. “Excuse me, governor… but it sounds like you’re saying you want to do the job of inserting a spy into our ranks on behalf of our local warlord. Your meeting with him went even worse than we could’ve imagined. Your account describes him admitting to planning on invading us even if we win.” “And if we win…” Jackie lowered her voice with annoyance. “I don’t think that’s the story Fatima will bring with her. I think she’ll remember all the weapons we have, how powerful and well-trained our army was… and she’ll be the strongest force for peace we ever could’ve had with the deer. And if we lose…” She shrugged. “Well, doesn’t much matter to us at that point, does it? We’re all dead.” There were a few unsatisfied grunts from some of the other city council members, but none of them dared argue with her. Ever since she’d expanded their population by almost a million people all the standard rules of nation building seemed suspended. I’m becoming more of an Alicorn every day. Sure enough, when their war council met the next day, Fatima was there. Dressed completely in her all-body golden robes, watching from a back chair beside the door as though she might turn to gallop away at any moment. But she didn’t, and she didn’t interrupt their meeting even once. “These are the satellite images you wanted,” Lavender said, filling the screen between them with pictures of Mundi from above. Near the outskirts, where huge scaffolds had been erected and lumpy shapes were rising between them. Far from Athena’s perfect construction, Jackie could see at once she was looking at older techniques. “Zeppelins,” she said, tapping the screen with one hoof. “Why?” She glanced to Lavender. “What can the resistance tell us?” “Nopony knows when they plan to deploy,” Lavender said. “But I don’t have as many ponies in Mundi as I used to. Most of those with any ambition got themselves out during our… last operation. And Athena is crushing those who remained harder than she ever did.” “She doesn’t want another rebellion,” said Melanie. “Of course she’s crushing them. Or else tomorrow she might have ten million rebels instead of one.” Jackie ignored her. “How many airships are there? You must’ve been able to get that at least. These pictures are a good estimate, but I’m sure they’re using the interior airfields too.” “All of them,” Lavender Eclipse agreed. “And every air-fleet ship still functional. But most of those were scrapped after the last war, torn down to make more buildings. The mines are running overtime to crank out the iron for… well, a dozen it looks like. The lift-crystals are heavy enough for… ten thousand ponies in each one, maybe more.” “Archive did her job too well,” Jackie muttered, turning her back on the projection table and walking slowly up to one of the windows. Down below, work continued on restoring Meliora’s exterior to the beauty it had been before their flood of refugees. Gardeners swarmed with carts of flowers, and landscapers were never far behind. “If only they’d forgotten how to fight, we might be better off. Doesn’t look like they have. From here… it looks like we have maybe two months before they could launch. Probably those things will just be empty hulks for holding troops. The police fleet will probably protect them during the trip over.” “We don’t have an air force,” argued Satoru, her new leading general. He’d been one of the most experienced policemen they brought back from Mundi, one who’d put down plenty of rebellions. But now he was fighting for theirs. “Do we?” “Not yet,” Jackie agreed. “But we have a few months. We’ll have to come up with something to stop those zeppelins. If they land…” She did the numbers in her head. “One hundred twenty thousand troops… that’s almost one soldier to every ten ponies. We’re fucked. Lavender, you’ve done enough, keep your ponies safe. I’ll figure out their war plan. And the rest of you… I want something inventive from each of you. We’re getting invaded… probably before winter comes again. If you don’t get creative, we’re all dead.” She rose. “Meeting adjourned. I’ll see you all in a week.” She waited for them to file out, holding still near the window until she heard the door shut for the last time. Only Fatima remained with her, still sitting dutifully at her chair. “You can get up,” Jackie said, glancing back over her shoulder. “That’s it, we’re done for now.” “I… I don’t understand.” The deer didn’t use English, but still her voice was timid. “There are so many… so many mares on your council. They speak as though they have great power.” “They do,” Jackie said, drawing the blinds shut before heading back for the door. “Well, over their own domains. Each one is the best at whatever they’re running. Some of the best ponies are mares.” “And… and your brother, the king?” Fatima continued. “I haven’t seen him once since we got here. When I inquired to my escorts about it, they were terribly confused. I don’t think they even knew who he was.” “No one,” she admitted, grinning broadly. “He doesn’t exist. Meliora is a democracy, we don’t have a king. It means… it means we vote for our leaders. I was elected. Those others you saw, were elected too. Except for the military leaders, I picked them. And my brother… he was an illusion. I didn’t think your father would listen to a mare very closely. He didn’t listen to a stallion much better, but it was worth the attempt.” The deer rose from her chair, her expression unreadable. Her ears and tail showed emotion, but not in ways Jackie could read. Sometimes she wondered if deer even had the same range of feelings that ponies did. But her discomfort passed quickly, whatever it was. “I have much to learn before I understand you,” Fatima finally said. “But what I am most curious to see is whether your strange customs will protect you. Without Voeskender to help you… you must be terrified.” “Yes,” Jackie answered, without hesitation. “But that’s healthy. Fear inspires action. Sit in that chair over the next few months, and watch my city save itself. I think you’ll have a lot to report to your father once we’ve won.”