//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3, The Calm Before the Storm (The First Mission, Part 1.) 
// Story: Meta Gamer in Equestria: The Blight of Bane. 
// by reflective vagrant 
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"I don't want you on the mission," I told my familiar, "I don't really trust you.  Just stay here and help whoever is running the cottage while Fluttershy is away."
I watched him hop from Fluttershy's head and fly to the custom owl house in the rafters Fluttershy had made in anticipation of his return from Canterlot.  The Speaker hadn't caught on to the connection between me and the owl yet.  For that, I could thank Fluttershy going along with pretending he was just one of her animals when I told him to act like it.
"You won't have any argument from me," he responded.  His tone was once again flat.  "The Fey of the other world were never particularly fond of celestials.  I doubt these Fey will be any different when they realize I am more than just an owl."
I heard Scraps rummaging around in the kitchen, looking for whatever he insisted on bringing.  I saw him collect things like vinegar and baking soda from the pantry, charcoal from the fireplace and whatever other odds and ends his obscure mind thought might be useful from his collection and around the cottage.  I could see an old vest with lots of closable pockets and a small row of jars attached to it steadily being filled.
Tempest said he would be doing this and insisted he knew what he was going to be doing when we just arrived at the cottage.  I couldn't help but have my doubts, but she had immediately went off to the guard station to pick something up after she said this.  So I couldn't argue.
Other than collecting my old makeshift knives, getting my original outfit of furs out again, and putting my old backpack together with the supplies I had all but forgot about when I came to live at the cottage, I didn't really have much to do while the others got ready.  My old supplies kept well and pretty much had anything I might need while traveling.  So I took my time and tried to mentally prepare myself for the task ahead while thinking of how to fill in the one potential gap in my supplies.
Diplomacy didn't really need weapons and, while I didn't like the idea of the situation devolving in the slightest, Moss' build didn't really use weapons in a fight anyway.  Even without the spells his build had access to, I didn't need a weapon with my shape shifting.  But just in case my shape shifting ran out of juice before I had a chance to recharge, I picked up a sturdy stick from outside and made sure I could put my flint knife on the end after we left town to turn it into a crude spear.  It wasn't ideal at the table, since it used Moss's dump stat of strength.  But this wasn't the table.  It would still be better than relying only on my other knife.  Hopefully, I'd just wind up using it as a walking stick and nothing more.


After I had my things together, I saw Fluttershy going over notes with an orange pony while the Speaker admired the wooden structure of the cottage, briefly muttering to himself in awe now and again.  He did a mild nod of courtesy when he saw me looking at him, but thankfully he didn't start up any conversation.
When I looked back over to the living room table, I saw the worry in the eyes of the pony across from Fluttershy, as well as the nervousness I could tell Fluttershy was powering through.  She was determined to support me, but I could tell she was terrified.  I couldn't blame her.  She wasn't a fighter, but she was effectively going into a potential battlefield scenario.  I mean, I wasn't exactly either, but at least I had my shape shifting.
I wanted to pipe up, say something along the lines of she didn't have to go, but I could see that fire in her eyes.  I didn't know what was causing that flame, but I could tell it was something she had to do.  That desire to go the extra mile in the care of others.  That was the part I had fallen in love with like an adopted puppy.  A part of me twinged at the idea of stifling that part of her.
Besides, she was technically right.  Other than when I was at the cottage or the workplace or going to and from them, I had to be with her at all times.  Combine that with the fact that I had only a bad luck charm remaining that day, I couldn't even artificially steel myself to tell her she needed to stay.
But another part of me still insisted I needed to do... something about it.  Something to help her be safe.  I looked around and weighed my options.  Ultimately, I decided to go into the kitchen and discreetly get Scraps' attention.
"Hey, Scraps," I called to him, briefly fiddling with my fin ear in nervousness after pressing my amulet.  "You remember when you used to call me 'fish friend' when you first came to the cottage?  Well, your fish friend kinda needs a favor.  Could you-"
At that moment, the door slammed open, revealing Tempest fully clad from broken horn to hoof in a very darkly colored and well fitted armor with an uncharacteristically brighter crest of Equestria on both of her flanks.
"I've retrieved my old things from storage and am ready to go once all of you have your supplies together," She called out as she came in.  "Scraps, do you have your vest packed and ready?"
He perked his head up and turned from me at Tempest's voice.  "Almost ready, boss Tempest.  Scraps have only a few things left to grab."
"Well, be sure to get a normal travel bag ready after you're done too," She ordered him in an odd blend of caring and distant militaristic orders, "Take what time you need, but don't you dare be the last one ready!"
He then went back to obsessively examining a large metal button from Fluttershy's sowing kit like I wasn't even there.  And with that, my window of opportunity was gone.


A little bit of time passed and I did my best to contemplate on what seeing another humanoid could mean, and getting ready for it inevitably devolving to trouble.
After speaking with Fluttershy and the Speaker for a bit, Tempest called out to me, "Moss!  I need you to come here."
Surprised, I got up from my cushion on the floor and came to her.
She looked me right in the eyes and took a deep breath then let it out in a sigh.
"When you first crashed here, some of your things were scattered.  We collected them and studied them alongside the items we confiscated from you when we captured you."
She signaled the guard, who went outside to retrieve something.
"I ran into one of the researchers assigned to study them on the way to pick up my stuff.   Now that we are on better terms, the researcher felt she had something you might find useful."
The guard came back  holding a rather large bag that was hanging off of his far side oddly.
"One of the items was badly damaged, but we managed what we think was a fairly accurate recreation of it for better understanding of enemy equipment.  The researcher thought you should have it for the mission."
The guards brought out a large wooden kite shield and presented it to me.  It was big enough for him to completely hide behind if he crouched down, so I could tell it wasn't meant for them.
"And, before you ask, no."  She gave me a cold and distrusting glare she had used on me often enough for me to recognize as her grudge glare.  "We do not have any intention of giving you any of your magical items back."
I only gave her a quick glance and said, "I wouldn't know how to use them anyway," before looking back at the shield.
I was taken back at the quality build.  It wasn't metal, but it was strong.  It looked strong enough to handle multiple hard blows without breaking.  When I looked at the front, I could see the outside had been heat treated so as to better deflect blows from blades rather than catch them, at least most of the time.  Putting some metal on it still might have made it better though.
"Its missing the emblem," I heard my familiar call to my mind.  I could almost feel him from behind, staring over my shoulder at the shield from within his bird house.
"The holy symbol spell focus?  Good!" I quipped back while almost failing to turn a glare into the start of a teary eye smile to hide the conversation I was having in secret.  "I have no intention of following your god anyway.  So I don't need it.  Bah-humbug!"
I gave the shield a try and slipped my arm in, finding it to be rather well fitted.  "Aw, thanks for caring for my safety, Tempest."  What few shields I had seen ponies use weren't exactly compatible with human arms.  I had to admire the quality of their handiwork on something so alien to them.
I didn't have to keep faking my smile after I saw her face go from bland to positively disgusted.
"Don't thank me.  I'm just following orders to deliver it to you."

A few minutes later, Scraps had declared he was finished and Fluttershy's friend gave her a firm hug goodbye.  We then went back outside to start our trek.  Our first goal was to meet up with Zecora again at her hut in the woods.