//------------------------------// // IX // Story: Stories of a Warden // by Rosencranz //------------------------------// The road is long, dusty, brutal. Heat waves flow off the dirt. A young colt baking in the rays of the sun. But still he keeps walking. And walking. And walking. A broken wing, a strained leg, but he has to keep going. Canterlot is before him and his home is behind. Canterlot will be safe. The Princess is there. But here, on the road, he is vulnerable, weak, tired. Dried trees and burnt bushes line the path. They swelter in the sun-cracked dirt. A lizard skitters past him. Charred. Everything is charred. A speck on the horizon. Coming closer. A dark patch floating before the sun, a long shadow cast across the ground. It calls his name. “Roads!” The voice is dark. Malignant. Hate filled and vicious. He fears it, he knows it. Far away, faint, but getting closer. He hears it again. “Roads!” He starts to run. Stumbles over his hooves. Can’t get up off the ground. He trembles, cowers. His wing hurts. “Roads!” The voice is close now. On the ground. Just behind him. He turns. A stallion, tall and black and powerful, towering over him. He blocks out the sun; the colt is cast in the stallion’s shadow. There is a scowl on his face, whiskey on his breath. “You ran, boy.” The stallion takes a step forward. No please no Celestia help me. “Now you’re comin’ back.” The stallion grabs his forehoof. Wrenches it. Pulls him off the ground. Twists it further. A terrible crack fills the air and pain overwhelms him. He cries out. His father jerks the leg, facing him towards Cloudsdale. The city is black against the sun. A push. He falls to the ground. His leg hurts. His father reaches for him once again. “Don’t touch him!” The voice behind him is furious, feminine, burning with rage. He turns. So does his father. A Princess in the road. Brilliant, white, regal. Materialized out of thin air. A teleportation spell, but he doesn’t know that yet. Two guards at her side. One brown, one grey. An earth pony and a unicorn. The father flares his wings. One of them is at an odd angle. Working, but crippled. “He’s my son. I’ll do with him what I want.” “Not anymore. He’s coming with me.” “You can’t do—” “I know what you did to him.” She holds up a Librarian’s letter. “Your custody of Roads has been revoked. You are wanted on charges of foal abuse in Cloudsdale. He’s not going anywhere with you anymore.” A look of twisted horror, of restrained rage crosses the father’s face. The Princess turns to the brown guard. “Chestnut, I’m sending you both to Cloudsdale. When you get there, hand him over to the guards there.” She floats him the letter. “Give them this. They’ll know what to do.” The brown guard nods. Trots over to the father. In a flash, they are gone. The other guard, a unicorn, glances around, then vanishes as well. The foal and the Princess stare at each other for a long, long time. Silent tears on the colt’s face. She walks over. Places a hoof on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Roads. This should have been taken care of a long time ago.” At her touch he softens. Stops crying. Looks up at her. Awestruck. A slight, quivering smile on his face as he wipes away the tears. “So, somepony tells me you like studying magic...” He nods. “Well, when we get back to Canterlot, I have a very special test you can take, one that I think you’ll do well on. It involves a lot of...” She is drawing away from him, still talking, her voice fading. He looks at her, confused. What’s happening? Everything is growing darker. Wetter. Softer. He is in a forest, shrouded in night. Trees all around, the ground soft under his hooves. Something lays on the ground before him, under a trunk spattered with blood. It is black, shifting, curling. It coils, surges, rises above him. Gives off black smoke. Its eyes are closed, but he feels it glare at him. He looks down. He is no longer a colt. His forelegs are wrapped in copper. He tries to move. The metal holds him in place. It wraps around him, binding, constricting, taut around his neck. The hovering shadow twitches, opens a mouth that isn’t really there. Speaks to him in a voice he only hears in his head. “Did you really think your Princess could save you?” it asks. A horrible fear pounds through him. He struggles against the wire. It bites into him, opening cuts all over his body. His own blood spills across him. Warm, slippery, horrifying. He cries out in pain and terror. He must get away from the shadow. It is going to hurt him. It is going to hurt everyone. He has to get away, has to warn them. The shadow gestures to the bloody trunk he broke himself against. Broke the mare against. Broken, broken, broken. “Did you really think your Princess could fix you?” it asks. He jerks, writhes, coat matted with blood. His own and somepony else’s. Get away, get away, get away. Fear overwhelms him. He can’t move, can’t think, can’t breath. The wires are choking him. He can’t move his head, can’t look away. He stares into an overwhelming darkness. “I’m going to kill them, Roads. All of them.” No... “You.” No, please... “Chief.” No, don’t, please... “Summer.” No! It opens its eyes. They are cold. Yellow. Dead. A horrible, blood curdling scream he only barely realizes is his own. Volume 1 IX “Of the terrible doubt of appearances, Of the uncertainty after all—that we may be deluded, That may-be reliance and hope are but speculations after all,” -Walt Whitman, Of the Terrible Doubt of Appearances It was the screaming that woke Summer up, the kick in the face that got her to leap to her hooves. Alarmed, she darted away from a screeching ball of flailing limbs. “What the hell?” One hoof pressed to her right eye, she turned and peered down, realizing Roads was the source of the noise. He was on the ground, thrashing and jerking, shrieking into the night. His eyes were screwed shut, a grimace across his face. “Roads! Roads, wake up!” She nudged him with a hoof, trying to avoid getting hit again. She heard heavy hoofsteps behind her. “What’s going on? Did they find us?” Chief asked, tense and alert, head jerking as he glanced across the entrance to the cave. “Nope,” Summer replied, gesturing down to the pegasus. “It’s just Roads.” Chief rolled his eyes. “Hey!” she shouted. “Wake up! Come on!” His eyes snapped open and he sat up with a jerk, one last shout echoing through the cave. Roads glanced up at them, pale and sweating, trembling heavily. Chest heaving, he wrapped his forelegs around himself, utterly terrified. “Th-there’s someone—something—i-it’s gonna—I saw it—” “Calm down, Roads. It was just a dream,” Summer said, grimacing. This was bad. He was more shaken up than she thought. “—G-gonna do bad things—horrible things—can’t stop it, I c-can’t—” “Roads!” Summer said sharply, cutting him off. He quieted, quivering slightly, nodding to himself. “A d-dream. J-just a nightmare...” “You gonna be alright?” she asked. “Y-yeah. Yeah, f-fine,” he said. “Probably good you woke us up,” Chief said as he walked to the entrance of the cave. “Looks like Summer’s tripwire spell must’ve faded.” “Oh, no, I, uh... never put one down,” she called to him. He turned and gave her a sharp look, narrowing his eyes. “C’mere.” Summer glanced down at Roads, who had managed to regain some semblance of composure, and was sitting back against a rock. He stared pensively into the coals of the fire. “You good?” “Yeah.” “Be right back.” Roads nodded. Summer trotted over to meet Chief just outside the cave. He looked at her sternly as she approached. “You said you were going to stay up until you could cast the tripwire spell.” “I forgot. I fell asleep.” Chief stared at her for a moment, silent. Thinking. “Roads hit your eye,” he said finally. “Yeah. He was really freaking out.” “He was laying on the ground and he hit your eye.” Oh, no. She knew where this was going. “Yeah. So?” “Ever notice how short his legs are?” he said. “Compared to yours, maybe.” Chief snorted. “You were close.” “And?” “Didn’t see him hit you. Must’ve been while you were sleeping.” She sighed internally. She thought about making something up, but Chief would probably just see right through it. Oh well. She had figured this would come, eventually. Just not this soon. “Yeah. I was sleeping close to Roads. What’s your point?” He ignored the question. “Close to, or with?” “No! Well, yes, I was sleeping and with him, but...” Chief raised an eyebrow. Summer was quiet for a moment, wondering how much she should tell him. Wondering how bad the fallout would be. What was the worst Chief could even do? Scold her? She was no schoolfilly; she could do what she pleased. With Roads, or anypony else. She had nothing to hide. “It never went that far,” she said finally. “But it went.” Summer shrugged. “What if it did?” “You didn’t put up the tripwire spell,” “I didn’t stay awake long enough.” “You got distracted.” She sighed. “Yes.” Chief gave a frustrated growl, stamping one hoof on the ground. “Dammit, Summer. I’d expect this from a rookie. From a spec. This is the kind of crap that gets ponies killed.” “That’s a bit far—” “No distractions,” Chief interrupted. “No getting involved with coworkers. That’s your rule.” “I can handle this.” Somewhere in the back of her head, she knew she couldn’t. Or shouldn’t. But she wasn’t about to tell Chief that. “You already showed you can’t. We could’ve gotten ambushed because of this. Could’ve died, already.” “I can manage it. I won’t let it distract me again.” “Doubt it. Even so, makes this expedition complicated. No place for that at work.” “Work?” she said, her temper rising. “You think we’re still working?! I’ve got news for you, Chief, we’re not working anymore. We’re surviving. We might not ever get off this island. This might be all that’s left for us, and I’m going to spend what precious little time I have left however the hell I please!” “Even worse. Attachment makes it harder to survive,” he said. “Yeah?” “Honey always said so. You always said so. ‘Don’t get attached.’ You’re breaking your own rules.” “Yeah, well, how did they work out for Honey? Huh? How did all her little rules and tricks work out for her when she was bleeding out in a hospital room?” Chief winced. That was a low blow, but Summer was pissed off. At him, at the island, at all of it. “What did they do for her then, Cheif? What did they do for me on this island? I should be dead. I did everything right, Chief, and I still should’ve died. You think this island gives a damn about rules? You think the world gives a damn about the rules?” “You’re still alive. Means they’re working. “They didn’t save me. Roads did. And I’ll do what I want with him. And I’m not gonna stop because Honey Dew might’ve had a problem with it.” Chief gritted his teeth, seething. “Don’t say her name again. I let it go the first time. Won’t the next.” Summer’s jaw clenched. She almost wanted to, just to spite him. But that would be... dangerous. Pissing off Chief without good reason was what had lost Green Touch a leg. And while Chief might’ve liked Summer more, getting on his bad side was still not a good idea. So she held her tongue. “Fine. But don’t tell me what to do with Roads. I’m not a foal.” “It’s a mistake.” “That’s for me to decide.” “It might get us killed.” “I don’t see us getting out alive, anyway.” “It’s possible. I have a plan. Will tell you in the morning.” “Fine.” Chief glared at her, one last time, before he began to walk back into the cave. “Whatever you do with Roads... don’t slip up again.” Summer sighed with as she watched him walk away. She was so tired. Tired, and utterly pissed off. You’re breaking your own rules. She grimaced. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, but knew it was true. He was right. She had only argued to try and save face. It was frustrating that he thought he could tell her what to do, but he was right, regardless. Roads was a mistake. A fun mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. If she wanted to survive out here, there wasn’t room for distractions. She hoped he would see it that way. It was doubtful. He’d probably be hurt. Which would make things more complicated. Great, she thought, as she channeled her—now restored—magic into a tripwire spell. Way to alienate Chief and Roads all in one night. Which shouldn’t have even mattered to her, given that she wasn’t supposed to care all that much about either of them, in any context. But then, she’d broken that rule for Chief a long time ago. And blown it to hell in Roads’ case. Ironic, given that the first thing she had said to him when they’d met was “I don’t get involved with coworkers.” And that was, what... four days ago? Five? It seemed like forever. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that the monsoons were probably approaching. It would only be a few more days before they hit. If only Roads hadn’t ripped the engine out of the zeppelin. Then they might already be on their way home. Screw making a map. The Aggregate would have to take its losses for sending them somewhere hostile and occupied without a full military escort. Not that they could have foreseen anything like this but still... She wished Roads could have found some other way to save them. Which, she realized, wasn’t fair at all. What he’d done was... heroic. Regardless of what he’d had to break, he had saved them. And, dear Princesses, was that a turn-on. It wasn’t everyday that she met a stallion who would take on an entire village full of armed guards and an insane sorceress using only a hoof-full of zeppelin parts—and wasn’t as crazy and messed up as, say, Chief. Which, of course, made keeping her distance that much more frustrating. But it would have to be that way, if they wanted to minimize risks. ‘No distractions,’ and all. Still, did have to stay that way? Maybe once they were back in Equestria... Summer smiled to herself while finishing the tripwire spell. It was a nice thought, but she doubted it would work out in the end. What if the only reason anything had happened in the first place was because of her fear and his indifference? If she hadn’t been panicked out of her mind about dying, if he hadn’t still seemed incredible from the rescue... Oh, hell. She probably still would’ve liked him. Even as whiny and annoying as he could be, he had always been... likeable. At least. It wasn’t until tonight that she had realized he had any real substance to him, anything she could really value, but she’d seen a side of him that she hadn’t noticed was there before. Still, Roads was definitely not worth dying for. And still way too whiny. But it didn’t mean she couldn’t give things a shot. After they got off the island, that is. Until then... it was best not to think about it, she decided. She had indulged herself, mulled over what happened, and now it was time to move on. She just had to tell Roads... Summer walked back into the cave, glancing over to the sleeping body of Chief. She found Roads still sitting against his rock, and, after re-lighting the fire, she plopped down beside him. “Hey,” she said. “Hey.” “You look like hell,” she said, looking him over. He was still pale, his eyes sunken and reddened, his ears sagging with exhaustion. “Gee, thanks. Just what I wanted to hear.” “Anytime,” she said with a tired smile. “I think I might be cracking up,” he said, not taking his eyes off the coals. She cocked an eyebrow. “I doubt it. You had a nightmare, right after your first kill. It happens.” “Sounds like you speak from experience.” “Yeah, well... when you’re the sheriff's daughter out in a frontier town, you get that kind of experience. You grow up fast.” “What happened?” Summer laughed. “What didn’t? I don’t think I’ve got the time to go over everything that happened back then.” “No, I mean just the first time.” “The first kill?” “Yeah.” She swallowed, trying to remember the exact details, and not just the flashes of horror that usually came instead of true memories. “Well...” she started. “It all started ‘cause my dad got sick. Hoof and mouth, or something, I don’t remember. Anyway, he was laid up in bed for a couple of weeks, and word got around he couldn’t defend himself. Just about that time, a guy he put in jail for a bit for petty theft got out, and decided he had a score to settle. So, he got real hammered and headed out to the edge of town. Right out to our house. Dad was unconscious, at the time.” “Was your sister there?” “Nah, she was already gone. It was just me, dad, and my younger brother. I think he was nine at the time. So this stallion staggers on up to the house with a machete and busts in the door and starts tearing the house apart, and I come downstairs and yell at him to get the hell out.” “What’d he do?” Roads asked. “Well, he started talking about how we was gonna kill dad and do...” she cleared her throat, “things... to me. I tried to reason with him, but he was either too mad, too drunk, or both, so he starts charging down towards my dad’s bedroom. And I’m just about to try and stop him when my brother comes out, still in his pajamas, and gets in his way, because he doesn’t have enough sense in his head to fill a thimble. “Well, my brother said something—I dunno what—and then...” she cleared her throat, glancing away from him. “Whatever it was, it pissed off the stallion that much more, and he cut my brother across the face with the machete. So, he hits the ground and blood goes everywhere, and the stallion starts down the hall again and I just panic.” “I know how that feels...” Roads said. “I was freaking out, I didn’t know what to do. I’d been in some rough spots before, but never anything like this. So, I levitated an oil lamp off the back table and broke it over the stallion’s head. He turned on me and started coming after me with the machete so... so I lit it. The oil. Let off a spark with my magic and ‘whoosh.’ Up he went.” “I was afraid he was gonna get the house burned down so I grab him with my magic and shove him out of a window and he lands just next to the porch. And he just stayed there. Thrashing and screaming and burning. I wanted to look away, but I just couldn’t. I just sat there and stared at him until he stopped moving... Until he stopped burning. “I was twelve.” Roads glanced over at Summer. Her brow was furrowed, and she was staring hard at the glowing coals, a strange look on her face. “Did you ever... y’know... get over it?” Roads asked. Summer nodded slowly. “I had nightmares about it for a week. I would wake up in the night and I could just smell burning flesh... but, yeah. I got over it. It took me a while. But now... it’s not so bad. Still don’t like to think about it but... It doesn’t bother me. Not as much. “And I’ve done worse since,” she said. “Like what?” “Like I’m not talking about it right now, that’s what,” she said, with a gentle nudge. “Okay,” Roads said. “Fair enough.” Summer reached over and wrapped a foreleg around him. “You’ll get over it. Eventually. Before that, though... it’s gonna suck.” “And at least I don’t have to go it alone...” he said, planting a light kiss on her forehead. She winced. “Well, actually... I need to talk to you about that.” She noticed his face darken. Oh, no. This wasn’t going to be fun. She would rather just kiss him. “Out here... with everything that’s going on... we can’t really afford to have any distractions. It’s dangerous. Surviving from this point on is gonna be tough, and we don’t need anything else to worry about in the meantime, so... until we get back to Equestria, tonight never happened.” He winced at that. “You sure?” No, she thought. “Yes,” she said firmly. “I don’t understand... What distractions? Are you sure there isn’t a way to make it work?” “Do you want to live, or not?” she asked him pointedly. Cutting him down like this was painful, but she couldn’t let up. They might not survive otherwise. Roads was quiet for a moment, thinking. He sighed. “Okay. That’s... not what I would’ve wanted to hear but... I want to get off this island intact as much as you do. And if that means that... uh, if that means no distractions... so be it. But when we get back to Equestria...?” A slim smile crawled across his face. “After that, we do what we want. But before then, we ignore tonight.” “All right. I can live with it.” “Although...” Summer said with a grin. “The sun’s not up yet. Tonight isn’t exactly over.” Roads’ face lit up as she leaned over and kissed him, hard. Oh, how she hoped Celestia would be running late tonight... _________________________________________________________ “...all I’m asking,” Aspen was saying, “is doesn’t it bother you—just a little—that absolutely none of this makes any sense?” “Nope,” Willow replied. “How could that not bother you?” Aspen asked, incredulous. Sometimes he just couldn’t understand how his friend’s mind worked. “Well, it’s not really any of my business.” “Are you kidding?” Aspen gestured to the forest around them. “Look where we are! Of course it’s our business! It’s always been our business! How d’you think we ended up out here?” “Because Princess said it was our fault Roads escaped, so we have to go find the prisoners, duh. So we headed out to where we knew they would go—the forbidden side of the island,” Willow said. “And there’s another thing! Why should this entire half of the island be forbidden?” “Because it’s dangerous!” Willow replied frankly, as if stating the obvious. “But is it, though? It’s exactly the same as all the rest of the island.” “Well, Princess said it was.” “How do we know she was right?” “We don’t.” “And that doesn’t bother you?” “Of course not! Because it doesn’t make a difference. Because we’re out here anyway. In fact, it helps if Princess is wrong, because that means we’re in less danger,” Willow said happily as he trotted through the forest. Aspen followed, spear bundle rapping against his back, frowning as he tried to make Willow understand. “It doesn’t bother you that Princess might be wrong?” “Should it?” “Yes. And not only that, but it should also bother you that you’re taking orders—once again—from a murderer. Do you remember what she did to Maple Blossom?” “She says she didn’t do anything. She just sent her off to the bad side of the island.” “Willow, she probably killed Maple.” “Probably. But not necessarily. Besides, if Maple hadn’t tried to start that revolt, it never would have happened.” “You really think Maple deserved it?” Aspen asked, incredulous. “Of course not! But what I’m saying is that she got on the bad side of Princess. And that’s the side that we’re not on.” “And yet we’re still on the bad side of the island. The side nopony ever comes back from.” “Maybe they’re just hiding. Or maybe they like it here better,” Willow said. “Or maybe Princess killed them and just said she was sending them to this side of the island.” “Which would mean that we have nothing to worry about!” “Except for the fact that Princess might be wrong,” Aspen said. “Should that bother me?” Willow asked. “Yes! If she is wrong—which she very well might be—then that means one of two things: either she’s very, very ignorant to have not realized her mistake after two hundred years of life on this island—which is not likely—or she’s hiding something from us, and everypony else.” “So what if she’s hiding something from us?” Willow shrugged. “I can think of plenty of things we hide from her,” he said with a wink. “Right, but we’re not the ones sending her out into the woods to search for potentially dangerous Equestrians.” “Well, they might not be dangerous. Strongsteed says they’re good ponies,” Willow said innocently. “Strongsteed is crazy,” Aspen said. “So is Princess,” Willow replied. “Exactly! So, both of the ponies who are telling us what is supposed to be going on are crazy!” “Yes.” “And that doesn’t bother you?” Aspen asked. “Not even a little,” Willow said. “Why not?” “Because either Stronsteed is right and the Equestrians aren’t dangerous, and neither is this side of the island, or Princess is right and the Equestrians are trying to invade. Which means we need to help stop them. Either way, everything works out for us,” Willow said. “Except for the fact that even if we could find the Equestrians, there are only two of us, and three of them. And last time they were in town, they nearly burned the city down, all by themselves. Which, I think, proves that they are everything Princess says,” Aspen said. “Not necessarily. Princess also helped burn the town.” “Which means that she could be just as bad as they are!” “Or just as good as they are.” “Which means that we’re screwed either way.” “Or we’re safe either way.” “So, we’re powerless, then,” Aspen concluded. “No matter who we help—Princess or the Equestrians—the outcome is the same.” “Exactly!” “The fact that you’re totally helpless should bother you.” “Why be bothered? It won’t change anything,” Willow said. Aspen blinked. He wasn’t sure what to say. It seemed Willow had out-argued him once again. But then, it was his own fault for once again forgetting that his ditzy, happy-go-lucky friend was as intelligent as anypony else on the island. “All right, fine. We don’t question, we don’t ask. We just go along with whatever’s easiest. But I’d like to put it down for the record that I have no confidence in anyone involved.” “Not even me?” “Except you. Obviously.” Willow smiled at him, and Aspen felt something in his chest rise. It was comforting to know that whatever happened between Princess and the Equestrians, Willow would always be there to tough it out with him. “There’s just one thing I don’t know about...” Willow said, furrowing his brow. “Yeah?” “Assuming we’re able to capture the Equestrians—then what?” “Well...” Aspen thought for a moment. “We question them. Maybe they have a perspective on things that we don’t. Maybe they could help us understand what we need to do to help stay safe through this whole thing.” “What if they’re as crazy as Princess and Strongsteed?” Aspen cocked his head, thinking. “It’s possible. The one with the wings—” “—Roads.” “Roads, right. He hit you.” “Yeah, but it seemed like he felt bad about it, afterwards. Did you see how he ran away?” “Willow, he was escaping.” Willow shrugged. “Same difference. Now that I think about it, I doubt he really meant it. Besides, if you were escaping, wouldn’t you do the same?” “I wouldn’t hit you,” Aspen said firmly. “But would you hit one of them?” Willow asked. “I dunno. I’ve never been in that situation.” “I’d bet you would,” Willow said, nodding to himself. “Wait, didn’t you just say they were crazy?” “I said they might be crazy. Which means it wouldn’t help to question them.” “It might. Maybe they’re a different kind of crazy than everypony else,” Aspen said. “Okay, but even if we do question them, what do we ask?” Willow asked. “What they’re doing here, why they attacked the town, what they plan to do next, that sort of thing.” “I dunno...” “Okay, here, how about this, I’ll pretend to be the big one—” “—Chief.” “Right. I’ll pretend to be Chief, and you ask me questions.” “Well, who am I, then?” “You’re yourself,” Aspen said. “So, Chief’s you?” Willow asked. “No! For the purposes of this exercise, I’m not here. It’s just you and Chief,” Aspen said. “Oh, okay.” “Are you ready?” “Yes.” “Well, go ahead, then,” Aspen said. “How should I start?” “Ask me what I’m doing here,” Aspen said. “Right. Uh... What are you doing on this island, Aspen?” Willow asked. Aspen put a hoof to his face. “You forgot, didn’t you...” “Oh! Right, sorry. What are you doing on this island, Willow,” Willow said, looking proud of himself. Aspen sighed. “No, you’re Willow, and I’m Aspen.” “I thought you were Chief?” “Then why didn’t you address me as ‘Chief’?” “Because you’re Willow, silly.” “No, I—urg, never mind.” Aspen shook his head. Whatever flash of prescience Willow’d had was now passed. “Don’t worry about it.” They trotted in silence for a few minutes, until Willow’s face lit up with a sudden realization. “Oh, you mean you’re pretending to be Chief, while I ask you questions.” Aspen sighed. “There you go.” “I was confused.” “I could tell.” “How should I start?” Willow asked. “Ask me what I’m doing here,” Aspen said. “What are you doing here, Chief?” “Just scouting out the island, Willow,” Aspen said in a faux-deep voice only vaguely reminiscent of Chief’s. Willow paused, raising an eyebrow. “Am I pretending to be you?” “If you want to. Should we keep going?” Willow sighed. “No. I don’t think I’m very good at this,” he said dejectedly. Aspen’s heart sunk at Willow’s tone. “Well, you just haven’t had much practice...” Willow glanced up at him. “Alright, then. We should play the question game.” “What good would that do?” “Practice!” Aspen grinned. He was winning already. “Statement. One-zero.” “Hey! That’s not fair!” Willow objected. “How so?” “I hadn’t started yet,” Willow said. “Statement. Two-zero.” “Are you gonna count that?” “What?” “I said, ‘are you gonna count that’,” Willow said. “Statement. Three-zero. Better get it together, Willow.” “Fine. Who’s turn?” “Huh?” “Hah! No grunts! Three-one,” Willow said. “Does it matter?” Aspen asked. “Why wouldn’t it?” “Isn’t there a point?” “To what?” Aspen was quiet for a moment, trying to think of an answer. “Foul! That’s a pause! Three-two.” Aspen frowned. He had never lost to Willow before in this game, and he didn’t intend to start. Then he had an idea. “What’s your name?” he asked. “Mine?” “Who else would I ask?” “Who else is around?” Willow asked. “Why do you care?” Aspen countered. “Why shouldn’t I?” “Haven’t you seen what’s going on?” “Have you?” Willow asked. “Have I what?” “Have you looked?” “Look at that!” Aspen cried. “Statement! Three—” “No, Willow! Look!” Aspen said, pointing to a cave mouth that opened just under a hill. A flickering light danced just inside it. “The Equestrians!” he said with a smile. Aspen just shook his head. “What exactly are we supposed to do now that we’ve found them?” Aspen shrugged. “I dunno. We could turn around and go tell Princess where they are, but by the time we get back here again with everypony else, they could already have left this cave.” “We could do something ourselves, then!” Willow offered. Aspen nodded. “There should be some Lotus extract in my pack, under the spears. We could sneak in and knock them all out before they even realized we were there. And if that doesn’t work, there’s always the spears.” Willow frowned, his brow furrowed. “I don’t actually know how to use a spear. Nopony ever taught me. They all just assumed I already knew.” “Well, let’s just hope we don’t have to use them, then,” Aspen said with a sigh. He set down his pack and rooted through it to find the extract, a thick, oily liquid in a hollowed out gourd. After uncorking it, he poured the contents across two coarse linen cloths and then handed one to Willow. Slinging the pack and both spears back over his withers, he crept silently down towards the cave, Willow in tow. _________________________________________________________ Roads was having trouble sleeping. By all accounts, he should have felt perfectly at ease. The invisible tripwire spell was hanging reassuringly across the mouth of the cave. Chief was dozing by the entrance, ready to spring to their defense at a moment’s notice. Dawn was just beginning to break over the horizon. The air was cool and still and quiet, its silence broken only by Summer’s soft, contented breathing as she slept peacefully, snuggled against his chest. She was wrapped in his forelegs, her mane tickling lightly across the underside of his chin as her kisses faded from his lips. And she was driving him crazy. He just couldn’t figure out what was going on. One moment, she was all over him, the next she didn’t even want to talk about anything until they got back to Canterlot. And right after that, she was all over him again. It was downright confusing. She seemed so worried about “distractions.” Distractions from what? They were safe from Princess now, all they had to do was patch the Zephyr back up in the morning and they could head home. Her tools had been confiscated by the islanders, but she definitely knew enough fusion and soldering spells to fix the Zeppelin without them. Which meant that by tomorrow evening, they should all be back in Equestria—which was precisely why he hadn’t been bothered at first when she had told him that everything could wait until then. It was only going to be a day. So what was Summer so worried about? What was going to change in between now and then? She had sounded so wrapped up in ‘survival,’ but so far as he could tell, survival from this point on should have been easy. So... what was the problem, then? Was she lying to him? Perhaps she just didn’t like him. That made sense, in a depressing sort of way. Early in the night, she had been scared, vulnerable. Looking for something to fix that. And there he was, the only eligible stallion in a hundred miles. And she must have known he couldn’t reject her. So she had gotten caught up in all the fear and excitement, and he had been just convenient enough. And... And she had made a mistake. And realized it, probably, when she woke up later. Realized just how unattractive he was, how much better she could do. But she wouldn’t have wanted to hurt his feelings, not while they were still going to have to work together. That would make things needlessly uncomfortable and messy. It would be... inconvenient. But she still needed to avoid putting up with him, so she had done the next best thing to confessing her distaste. She’d told him to wait. Until they were back in Equestria and she could get away from him and find herself a real stallion. Yes, that made sense. Except for the fact that if she actually was making a mistake, she had made it twice. And she had seemed so... earnest, too. He could have sworn that he could see care—real, genuine care—for him flicker through her face several times that evening. Maybe even care that she didn’t want to show. But... maybe he was just imagining things. A mare like Summer, interested in a stallion, like, well... him? It was almost laughable. They were so different, he was so... Roads. It couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be genuine. And yet... And yet when he looked down at her, cuddled against him, hot breath ruffling softly through his coat, he could swear it was. It just didn’t make sense. He let out a sigh that tousled her mane, and kissed her forehead lightly. He thought he saw the corners of her mouth curl up slightly at that. She gave a small contented sound and snuggled more tightly against him. Even as his heart leapt a little in response, somewhere in the back of his head a detached, clinical part of him noted that this couldn’t just be an act. Summer would have to be quite the thespian to perform so well when only semi-conscious. Maybe she was being truthful after all... Something still didn’t add up, but... his eyes were growing heavy and it was hard to care... hard to think... he could figure it out in the morning... A high pitched magical screeching filled the cave as the spell at the entrance of the cave was tripped. Roads sat up, adrenaline shooting through him as Summer scrambled to her hooves. Rising, he turned to see two stallions, one brown, the other dark green, frozen with shock at the entrance to the cave. For a second, neither moved, looks of shock painted across their faces, as Chief came barreling towards them. And then they were running. Chief caught up to the green one before he made it even a few meters, knocking his legs out from under him. He gave a cry as he fell, and his companion skidded to a halt, whirling around to face them. The islander drew a spear from the bundle on his back and leveled it at Chief. Chief stopped, stock still, just outside the other pony’s reach. After a second of hesitation, the islander jerked forward, lashing out at Chief. There was a blur of movement Roads couldn’t track, the sound of wood snapping, a pained shout, and then the islander was on the ground. His spear was cracked in half and his nose was bleeding. “Aspen!” his companion cried, struggling to his hooves. Roads blinked. Willow and Aspen? He hadn’t recognized them at a distance. What were they doing here? Willow stumbled over to his companion and knelt next him, trying to stem the bleeding with a piece of cloth. He cried out in horror as the other pony suddenly went limp, completely unconscious. Then he looked down at the lotus-drenched cloth, and realized what had happened. He gave a sigh of relief as Chief dragged him away from his friend. Within moments, both were tied in the hemp ropes Chief had taken from Aspen’s pack, and set against the cave walls. Chief moved over to Willow and opened his mouth to question him when Summer dragged him aside. “Leave him for now. You won’t be able to learn anything until Aspen wakes up. And besides, we need to figure out what to do with them, first,” Summer told him. “Question them,” Chief said gruffly. “No, I know that. I meant after.” Chief shrugged. “Kill them.” Roads felt a cold shock run through him. “What?!” he asked. “Can’t let them go back to Princess and tell them where we are.” “So you’re just going to kill them?” he demanded. “Yes.” “No. No way. Not Willow and Aspen. We’ll just have to find somewhere else to hide.” Chief shook his head. “Don’t know of anywhere. Killing’s easier.” Roads clenched his jaw, a pit of anger forming in his stomach. There would be no more murders, not while he could help it. Not after last night. “I’m not going to let you do that.” He fixed Roads with a cold glare that would have sent him scurrying two days ago. “You can’t stop me,” Chief said with a low growl. Roads felt a pang of fear flash through his chest. He knew what Chief could do to ponies. Knew what Chief could do to him. But he didn’t have a choice. “I will if I have to. It’s Willow and Aspen, Chief. They’ve shown us nothing but sympathy, and this is how you repay them?” “They intruded,” Chief grunted. “They deserve it. It’s us or them.” Summer shook her head. “Roads is right on this one, Chief. If it weren’t for those two, I would be dead right now. They’ve saved my life twice, and now I’m repaying the favor.” Chief narrowed his eyes, looking down at her. “Sure,” he said through gritted teeth. “Side with your coltfriend. Get us all killed. That didn’t take long.” Roads flashed a sideways glance at her. “He knows?” he asked. Summer ignored him, glaring up at the earth pony. “That has nothing to do with this, Chief. Survival is one thing, murder is another.” “No law here,” Chief said. “No murder. Only killing.” “I said ‘no,’ Chief.” Chief gave Summer an appraising stare. “You’re getting soft. Summer I knew would let me do it. Maybe would help.” What did that mean? What had Summer been like before? Roads glanced over at her, horrified. “I’ve done worse since.” Was this what Chief was talking about? “Let this go, Chief,” she said, ignoring the look Roads was giving her. “If you ever want to get contracted by the Aggregate again, let this go...” Chief snorted. “Second time you’ve pulled rank in two days. More than you have in years. You’ve changed.” Summer shifted her weight, giving him an authoritative glare. “Maybe so. It doesn’t matter. The fact remains that I’m not letting you do anything to Willow and Aspen. Not without good reason. And being too lazy to find somewhere else to set up camp is not a good reason.” “They intruded,” Chief repeated. “You don’t know that. You don’t know why they’re here.” “You didn’t let me ask.” “You’re going to get us all killed,” Chief said. “First you let them go, maybe next you let Princess go.” Roads’ ears perked up at that. “Let her go where, Chief?” He rounded on Summer. “What are you two planning?” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Chief smirking. “Marefriend didn’t tell you?” “Tell me what? Summer?” He looked at her questioningly. “What’s going on?” “Look, Roads, there’s only one way off this island, and Princess is standing in the way of that,” she said. “Summer...” he warned. “Let me finish. The only way we’re getting out of here alive is on that zeppelin, and we have to go by tomorrow before the storms hit. And in case you hadn’t noticed, the engine is sitting over by the fire, while the rest of the Zephyr... isn’t. I know you know enough about aircraft to know what that means,” Summer said. “We’ll have to fix it,” Roads said. “Right, but all of my tools were confiscated with the rest of our supplies... which are currently sitting in the corner of Princess’ throne room.” “So? Precision telekinesis and a few specialty repair spells can do anything they can do,” Roads said. “Well, I hope you can perform some, because I sure can’t.” “How could you not know those spells? In your line of work?” “Like I said, I’m not big on magic. I know a few dueling spells, a cartological spells, and some utility stuff I picked up over the years and in vocational school. That stuff is beyond me,” Summer said. “So your next logical step is killing somepony?!” “Well, yes.” Roads gritted his teeth, stamping a hoof on the ground. “You didn’t think of maybe just sneaking in and stealing your tools back?” “In the middle of the city? Right after you attacked Princess? Her quarters are going to be swarming with guards, and even with my magic, I still can’t risk combat so soon. Not with that many ponies and Princess.” “There’s still Chief, and I can always use the engine again.” Summer shook her head. “No, you can’t, actually. You told me last night that after you left the city, the engine was nearly half-empty. And since your wing is broken, so you can’t charge it in the nexus again. We still have to use that engine to run the Zephyr, and we’re going to be hard-pressed to make it back to Canterlot again as it is. We can’t risk you draining it anymore. And Chief is good, but you saw what happened last time he tried to take on Princess.” Chief snorted. “She got lucky.” “She beat you, Chief,” Summer said. “Once.” “And if it happens again, we’re all dead.” Chief fell silent, brooding. “Besides,” Summer said, leveling her gaze at Roads, “you didn’t seem too keen on keeping Princess alive before.” “That was different. I didn’t have a choice.” “We don’t have a choice now, Roads.” “There has to be something else. Nopony else needs to die!” he cried. “Deaths are necessary for our survival,” Chief said. “You’re not helping,” Summer told him. “Look, Roads, I know what happened in the forest shook you up, but you have to understand that this is—” “No. No! There’s been enough violence already. Enough death. Never again.” “Roads—” “Never again!” “You don’t have to do it. Just let us take care of it.” Roads looked at her pleadingly. “I can’t... I just can’t...” “Do you even remember what she did to us?” Summer asked. “Summer...” “Do you even know what she does to her own people? According to Willow and Aspen, she’s been butchering anypony brave or stupid enough to go against her for years. The natives are terrified of her—anypony who defies her gets exiled and ‘disappears.’ Apparently they’ve even tried staging coups and revolutions, but a bunch of earth ponies without proper weapons don’t stand a chance against a unicorn with two hundred years of magic under her saddle. Look, if we kill her, we save the islanders,” Summer said. Roads furrowed his brow. It was all so confusing—whatever they did, it seemed, ponies ended up dead. Maybe this wasn’t as black and white as it seemed. He was quiet for a moment, mulling over what Summer had told him. “Fine,” he said finally. “Do what you have to. But how will this help anything? Even with Princess gone, your supplies are still stuck in the middle of a city that hates us.” “Weren't you listening?” Summer asked. “The only thing that keeps the islanders on Princess’ side is fear. They’re more afraid of her than they are of us, and so they do what she tells them. But if we get rid of Princess, they don’t have the guidance or will to oppose us. Not to mention the fact that we would have just outmatched somepony they consider a deity. With Princess out of the way, we could march right into that city, and I doubt anypony would do anything.” “And even if a few loyalists did try something, I could handle it,” Chief added. “All right. So that part of the plan works. But if you can’t hold off Princess long enough to so much as grab supplies and run, how do you expect to actually be able to kill her?” “Simple,” Chief grunted. “Don’t attack her in the city. Wait. Surprise her. Catch her when she’s not expecting anything.” “And how are we supposed to do that?” Roads asked. “Didn’t you say she would have to make regular trips to her special nexus to stay alive?” Summer asked. “Well, yes...” “And if she wants to be seen as a Goddess, I doubt she brings any guards with her...” Summer said. Suddenly, it made sense. But it wasn’t going to work. Roads shook his head. “Nope.” “What?” “You won’t be able to do anything near that nexus. I’ve dealt with that sort of thing before. It’ll heal wounds for as long as it still has energy left. Which means that if Princess manages to get to it, as long as she’s standing within it, she’ll be invulnerable, for all intents and purposes.” “Well, I’ll just have to hit her before that. When she’s on her way,” Chief said. “Princess can teleport, she won’t just walk to the nexus.” Chief frowned at that. “...and even then,” Roads continued, “she has an arcano-resonant gem in her crown that can hold the nexus’s restorative energy for long periods of time. I doubt she has to visit the nexus more than once or twice every few weeks. And if we really have to get off the island, we can’t afford to wait for that long. “And even if we could, we would have to keep the nexus under constant watch—she could make trips at night—and if we missed her a single time, we would have to wait weeks before we could get another chance,” Roads said. “It might be the only way—we may have to stay on the island for a while...” Summer said. Roads’ heart sank in his chest. The idea of spending months, or even years on the island was beyond unbearable. There had to be a better way... A thought occurred to him. A way to kill Princess. He opened his mouth to tell Summer and Chief, but stopped himself. If he told them, he would be directly responsible for her death. It wouldn’t be just standing aside and letting them do the work, it would be actively enabling another pony’s murder. But it wasn’t just another pony, though, was it? It was Princess. The lunatic who thought she was at war with Celestia. The pony who had almost killed all of them. The despot who butchered her own people. Her death would be no crime. But a death was still a death, wasn’t it? It would still be taking another pony’s life. But how averse was he to that, really? When it all came down to it, was he any better than Summer or Chief? Or even Princess herself? When he had cast his spells at her in that burning field, he hadn’t been aiming to stun. He hadn’t been trying to incapacitate her. He had been trying to kill. And look where that had gotten him. An innocent pony, the island mare, dead at his hooves. A blue figure turning red... an earth pony’s eyes, robbed of color and vision... a mare laughing maniacally with his father’s voice... Princess was no innocent pony. Summer was right. This had to be done. “Actually...” Roads said, glancing at Willow and Aspen. “I might know something we can do...”