//------------------------------// // Iron Pony // Story: Memories // by HuskSummers //------------------------------// Okay, next chapter! Poor Waya hasn't had much luck lately... Maybe that'll change in this chapter. As always, I appreciate anyone pointing out mistakes, and your comments are always enjoyable for me to read and use to improve my writing. Have a nice time reading! I turned around to see a very large wolf standing over me. I bolted from my hiding spot, and he gave chase. I wasn’t about to let this wolf embarrass me, so I turned to meet him. Luckily, he was right where I expected him to be, and, without a second thought, I put myself into a controlled backwards fall. The wolf definitely did not expect this, and he continued running right into me. I then rolled, using his momentum and my legs to catapult him over me, muzzle first, into the ground. I heard a yelp and I sprung to my feet to finish the job. As I rushed to him, I raised my hoof, ready to strike. Luna’s voice rang out from her spot beside Celestia, and she stopped me. “Stand down Pathfinder.” She calmly ordered of me. I looked to her, slightly in disbelief. This wolf had just attacked me, and she wanted me to let him go, but I understood after a moment. Peaceful actions were likely to beget peaceful actions, so I dropped my hoof to the ground and backed away. The large wolf stood up, and was ready to fight when Crazy Ghost spoke. “Get back in ranks, Atsosestanv(Dizzy).” The large wolf in front of me quickly obeyed, and he returned to the others with his tail down. I snorted in defiance one last time to show I wasn’t afraid, and that I would have taken him if Luna had not restrained me. He started to turn back, but a quick low growl from Crazy Ghost put that idea to an end. “Now that is cleared up, I wish to say something as well.” Princess Celestia seemed almost amused by the events that had occurred, but then she turned serious, “We won’t tolerate spies either.” There was a sudden yelp and a very slender wolf was shoved out of his hiding place and into the open by a member of the Dawn Guard. “It’s good to know we trust each other so well, isn’t it?” Crazy Ghost’s question was undoubtedly rhetorical. This situation was becoming much too familiar to me. I once again stood between the Princesses and a leader of a band of Lupine. That leader took interest in me, and he remained quiet for a moment as he studied me. “I’d know you anywhere. You are Pathfinder aren’t you?” I was so stunned that he knew my alias that I almost forgot to reply. “Yes I am.” I finally gathered myself enough to answer him. He chuckled at my obvious surprise before he explained himself. “Yes…Their description of your features was spot on.” He tilted his head to the side as he studied me for a second time. “You see, you’ve got quite the price on your head amongst the Lupine. They say that you managed to subdue Blood Warrior, if only for a moment.” I was not happy to learn of the bounty, especially from someone who might be likely to take it. “I did manage to tackle him, but I hesitated, and he kicked my flank all across the room because I did so.” It was the pure truth. I hesitated, and he capitalized by wiping the floor with me. Crazy Ghost started laughing, and I wondered what was so funny. “I apologize, but your description does fit, and I’m imagining the look on his face when a pony managed to take him down. From my wolves and myself, I congratulate you, and hope that the next time you face him you kill him.” The coldness of his hope surprised me. This meant he didn’t like Blood Warrior. Celestia voiced the thoughts that gradually worked into my mind. “You do not support Blood Warrior?” It was the question on everypony's mind. “We do not, my Princess.” The answer everypony wished for. “So then, what do we call you? Are you rebels to the Lunar Empire, or are you loyalists to Equestria?” The question was a good one. If they did not wish to fight for Blood Warrior, could we count on them to fight for us? An addition of even a platoon’s worth of Lupine would add another dimension to the forces already at our disposal. There was a short silence as the pack leader contemplated how he would respond. “We are both Princess. We, as the Aniyawisgi vhnai hia Aniwaya, Army of the Wolves in your language, fight for the good of our wolves. We will no longer fight in support of Blood Warrior’s ongoing feud with the Griffons, nor will we fight for a rebellion that will only serve to kill many Lupine.” I could see why he was the leader of this army. He was charismatic, cared for his warriors and his people, and he was dedicated to a cause. All of these things made him an extremely dangerous wolf. Celestia understood this as well, and as such, she considered her next words before speaking. “I see. Why then, have you come to me, come to us? If you wish that no Lupine blood be spilled, why come to the very ponies that will, regrettably, have to give the order to spill that blood?” Her words were true. I could tell she wished there was a way to end this peacefully, but Blood Warrior had made it clear that there would be no diplomacy. He only wanted war, and a good leader never went out of his way to find war. “We have multiple reasons, but there are a few among them that shine brighter than the rest. First, we know that Lupine blood will be spilled, no matter what we do. Therefore, if it is to happen, we must be there to ensure that it wasn’t for naught. We may also be able to convince many warriors to join our ranks and prevent bloodshed that way.” This was noble of him, but I could not see that happen. These Lupine were too stubborn to admit they were wrong, but I did not say a thing, and instead I let Crazy Ghost continue, “We also fight for our former leader, Elawei Waya. Quiet Wolf was the greatest leader to live. He was loved by his warriors, and I was his second. We lost him during a diplomatic mission. The Griffons descended upon us while we flew the banner of peace. We drove them off, but when we looked, we could not find our leader, nor was the enemy leader visible, and I knew that leader all too well.” The field was quiet, all waited to hear his story, and he obliged, “Their leader was the Deadly Shadow. The one named Talia. Their soon to be Empress. From what we understand, neither of them have been seen since that day. But they aren’t gone. I’ve been friends with Elawei too long, and I would know if he was dead. The last I saw of them, Talia had tackled Elawei. I was about to help when I too was hit by a Griffon warrior, and the battle after kept me from getting to my friend. We are dedicated to him, and we will find him.” I felt for this poor wolf, but I also couldn’t help but feel bad for myself. I couldn’t be absolutely sure, but every piece of evidence now pointed towards the fact that I was the missing Elawei Waya, despite the fact that I remembered my name as Dohi Waya and the obvious fact that I was a pony. “You have my condolences for your loss. I agree to give you and your wolves a place in our military. You must fight separately from our ponies, because most will not trust you.” Celestia spoke once again like a head of state must, but her words did ring with true emotion. She felt bad for the wolf in front of me, as did I. Crazy Ghost nodded his agreement to the plan, but then he spoke. “It may have been deceitful, but I have hidden one thing from you in order to judge your openness.” He looked as though he regretted doing so, but what has happened cannot be changed, so I brushed it off. Celestia raised an eyebrow and asked, “What would that be General Crazy Ghost.” The addition of the new honorific wasn’t surprising to me. He was, after all, now a member of the Equestrian military, and as such he had to be in the rank structure. “This is only a third of my warriors. This is merely one of the three packs, or platoons as you name them.” With that, he produced a long howl. After only a few seconds of waiting, there was a return howl. “They come.” I had only one idea of where they could be, so I turned my head to the Everfree Forest. I was met by a sight that was both frightening and awe inspiring, close to a hundred wolves sprinting along at full speed from the tree line of the Everfree. Celestia’s surprise was evident on her face, but she quickly brought it under control and spoke. “While I do not appreciate the deception, I do admit it was a smart ploy on your part. This is a good surprise as well. You now have an entire army under your command. I will see to it that they are given uniforms so that we may distinguish your warriors from those of Blood Warrior.” We definitely wouldn’t want our ponies to attack our allies. The wolf army was impressive. This was a definite advantage we now had. We would know tactics, psychological profiles of enemy commanders, and we would have scouts who knew the land. That would come in great use when we pushed into the forests. While I was thinking, Celestia turned to me. “You, Pathfinder, shall be appointed as envoy and messenger to our new Lupine army. That is, if you accept a spot within the 1st Earth Pony Division.” I couldn’t believe I was being offered a position amongst the top fighters in Equestria, and it took me a moment to respond. “I’m honored by this offer. I’d proudly serve in your names.” I was still stunned at the sudden offer. It meant that I’d be in the hardest battles to come. I would fight alongside the greatest warriors of both the Lupine loyalists, and the Equestrian Royal Army’s 1st Corps. Then another thought crept into my mind. It meant I’d likely serve alongside Quicksilver. I shook the thought from my head, because it wasn’t proper for a setting such as this. “Good, we will have you report to General Gale Force once we arrive back at the castle.” She switched back to Crazy Ghost and said, “We will have orders for you soon. Please do keep out of trouble. The Everfree is a dangerous place.” “My wolves will stay away from pony towns, including Ponyville. We will maintain our main encampment in the Everfree, and we will remain watchful of danger. We thank you for giving us a chance Princess.” I was positive that these wolves could hold their own. They seemed like a very crisp and dedicated fighting unit. They would not easily be broken. Before either side left, I approached Crazy Ghost to speak with him. “I’m honored to report to you, sir! Once I have been officially made a member of the Iron Ponies I am sure I will be sent to you in order to establish line of communication. I guess I’ll have to get used to flying a bit.” I shuddered at the thought, and I could tell it disturbed him as well. Flying was something neither of us was born to do, and he could appreciate my fear of it. “Good. I’m sure you will serve well, and I cannot wait for our first true conversation. I assure you there will be no ranks. We will speak as equals, because what you managed to do in Canterlot is something no wolf has ever done, let alone a pony.” I smiled at the compliments, and nodded that I understood. With that I turned around and walked to the already filling chariots. Once again I took my spot next to Luna and Fluttershy. I had a question for Luna, but I needed to wait until we were underway to ask it. Finally, we were going fast enough, too fast in my opinion, to ask the question without being overheard. “Princess…you knew that would happen, didn’t you?” It was a straight forward question, and one she likely expected. “What makes you think that?” Her question made it obvious. She definitely knew it would happen, and it had to be a part of her plan. I raised my eyebrow while watching her, and then I shook my head. “You always have a plan, and that was clearly a part of your plan.” She smiled and then laughed at the facts I placed forward. I was right. “Yes, Pathfinder, you are very perceptive. I did plan that, though I didn’t expect that one wolf to chase you. You performed better than I had expected you to. Especially considering the addition of that wolf, Dizzy.” I just rolled my eyes, and then caught myself. That was not something to do in front of a Princess, let alone at a Princess. She merely laughed some more at the look of shock I had on my face from my own actions. Thankfully, this little conversation helped get me through most of the flight and it kept me from getting air sick. I was getting better at this flying thing. When we landed I was told to go to the very back of the hangar, and follow a series of hallways to the barracks. It took me several minutes to follow the directions correctly, almost getting lost a couple of times along the way. Finally, I arrived at the doors to the barracks, and the guards in front challenged me. “What is your business here?” They clearly were not happy to see a civilian this far into their domain. “I am here on orders from Princess Celestia to see General Gale Force. The Earth pony guard that had spoken looked to his Pegasus counterpart. I noticed an almost imperceptible nod from the Pegasus. I quickly went on guard, and I was right to do so. Without warning the Earth pony guard charged me. I sidestepped and swept his legs from him. This move spun me around, and I was tackled from behind by the, now airborne, Pegasus. I let our momentum carry us into the ground where I curled into a ball and rolled. I landed on my feet at the end of the roll and in the process I tossed the Pegasus against the wall. I turned just in time to block a hoof aimed at my face by the Earth pony, but I wasn’t lucky enough to block the second. It connected with my sternum, and I could feel the air leave my lungs, but I wasn’t about to give up that easily. While he took a step back to gain leverage, I stepped forward and struck him in the throat. I didn’t collapse his trachea, but he would definitely have trouble getting air down with the convulsions in his throat. I was about to hit him again when a voice I recognized stopped me. “Very good. You did extremely well Pathfinder.” I turned to see the officer that had brought the Elements and I to Canterlot from Ponyville. I was surprised at the least and dumbstruck at the most. “We’ve met before, but I didn’t introduce myself, which was very rude. I am General Gale Force, and you have just passed your first test as a member of the Iron Ponies. Congratulations, Corporal.” Not only was I now a member of the most elite fighting unit in the Equestrian Royal Army’s conventional forces, but I was also a corporal. Things were moving way too fast for me to comprehend. I had gone from somepony with no memory to a top fighter in the matter of a single week. It just didn’t seem right. “Th…thank you, sir.” I could barely manage to talk, not for lack of breath, but for lack of the ability to think clearly. “It’s good to know that the rumors about you are true. You won’t need training, because somewhere in your past you were trained extremely well. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to speak to you in private. Follow me.” It was a clear order, he was only being polite, besides, you don’t say no to a superior, especially not a general. We went within the barracks, and crossed to the very back of the room. Everypony that wasn’t asleep looked up from whatever they were doing to watch us. I was an object of fascination, as I looked to be a civilian in the heart of the barracks. There was one pony in particular that I looked for as I walked through, and when I found her, I couldn’t help but smile at the look on her face. I only got to revel in it for a moment however, as we were soon within an office. Once inside, the General locked the door and turned to me. “Okay, I want to know anything you can tell me. I dislike not knowing about the ponies under my command. You were clearly trained by a military group, and to be honest you are too well trained to be conventional Royal Army. You just took down two of my top ponies in an uneven fight. If I were to guess, you could have easily disabled them if I had given you a couple moments more.” He was both impressed and disturbed by this, judging by his expression. He shook his head, paced a moment, and then spoke again, “I looked it up, there isn’t a single file on you. Nothing acknowledges your existence. You’re a ghost. Now, I am a General, and that means I get top-level clearance, and everything about you screams black ink. That is, if you had a file. My guess, is that you are Lunar Special Forces, or maybe even Celestial Swords, and those may not even exist. I may be General of the Army, but there are groups that operate outside of my control. What and who are you?” He had every right to interrogate me. He was smart not to trust me. I wouldn’t have if I was in his place. His anger at a soldier he had no knowledge about being forced upon him was righteous. Unfortunately I couldn’t tell him much, because I didn’t know. “Sir, I am Pathfinder, I am an Earth Pony, I am loyal to the Princesses, and I have been found to be an extremely capable fighter.. I don’t know anything else about myself.” The lie was a good one. If I revealed to him that I may be Lupine, he would have me executed on the spot. I would be a major security risk, and he would be smart to get rid of me. “By Celestia! You’re telling the truth! I honestly can’t believe it, but you are telling the truth! If there is something you learn in the military it is how to tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and that was the honest to goodness truth.” His incredulity amused me, but I kept it to myself. I didn’t think angering him would do me any good. He sobered up finally, and then he spoke, “Okay then. You’ll need to be outfitted. I will see to that, but for now, I just have one thing to say to you.” I tilted my head to the side unconsciously as my interest was piqued. “Conratulations, you are now an Iron Pony.”