//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Nine Millimeter Vorpal Sword // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// The castle in Ponyville was much smaller than the one in Canterlot, so the bedrooms were almost what Nancy would consider a normal size.  Like the rest of the building, though, the walls and a lot of the furnishings seemed to be solid crystal, which made her all the more grateful for a decent mattress. In the morning she got dressed, her clothes freshly washed and smelling much nicer than they did the day before and also better whenever they came out of the ship’s laundry. Nancy joined Starlight and Sunburst for breakfast.  She was still trying to figure out what was normal pony food and where it crossed over with food she was used to. “I need to get going soon,” Starlight said around a mouthful of breakfast.  “I have a feeling it’s going to be a busy day.” “You wouldn’t want Nancy for any kind of guest lectures, would you?” said Sunburst. “No,” Nancy and Starlight replied simultaneously. They glanced at each other, and Starlight said, “At least not today.  We have students from all over Equestria, not just ponies, and there’s enough of a menagerie to manage at the moment.  Not to mention sorting out the pig incident from yesterday, if any students were involved, which is generally a high likelihood.” Nancy had no idea what she would even talk to students about anyway.  She wasn’t a recruiter. Starlight left for work.  Sunburst said he had things to do back in the room with the hologram table. “I’ll work a few things out and hopefully that will get us started towards a solution to getting you home,” he said.  “I’ll set up some spells, and if they require a heavy lift, I’ll have Starlight power them up when she gets back.” “Do you mean magic?” Nancy asked. Sunburst chuckled.  “Don’t tell her I said this, but I’m kind of the brains and she’s the brawn.” “Even as a school principal?” “Well, with as many little incidents that happen, it certainly doesn’t hurt that Starlight is one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria.” Nancy hadn’t known that, not that she would have been able to tell. She left Sunburst to his work and headed for the front door.  Outside, it was a sunny day.  Nancy stood there for a moment, looking back and forth up and down the street.  A couple of ponies walking by eyed her. There seemed to be a building up in the hills outside town.  At first, Nancy thought it must be another palace, but the place seemed more rectangular and practical, or at least as pragmatic as any building could be in Equestria.  It was still purple, though. Wondering if it was the school she’d heard about, but remembering Starlight’s warning, Nancy decided to save it for last in her tour of town.  She turned the other direction, doing her best to avoid the detritus from the previous night’s pig stampede. Her initial assessment of Ponyville being much smaller than Canterlot proved correct.  It wasn’t a hamlet by any means, but proved very walkable.  A few buildings stood out.  The large one next to a central square seemed obviously some kind of office. Looking around, Nancy noticed that everything seemed to be constructed with much less care than in Canterlot.  In the larger city, many things had been stone.  Here, not even the street was stone, just dirt and grass.  The houses seemed almost like mere models, or constructed with paper like a stereotype of Japan.  Many of the roofs seemed covered in straw.  That type of construction seemed both flimsy and a fire risk. South and east of town there seemed to be a dense forest.  The trees began abruptly, and seemed quite tall.  At least Nancy thought it was southeast.  She’d made her judgement based on the sun, and she’d already seen that it didn’t exactly follow a regular pattern. That thought brought her back to unicorn power.  She’d seen Princess Twilight literally moving the heavens.  She didn’t take Sunburst for much of an exaggerator, so Starlight must also be capable of some impressive feats.  In the peaceful town, she’d practically forgotten that she was wearing both her guns, but was suddenly unsure how much help bullets were going to be compared to magic.  If it came down to it, better to get some assistance. That was why she made a careful inspection of town, at Captain Magnus’ request.  Not that Nancy was a security expert, but maybe she could offer a different perspective. Ponies kept staring at her, but none approached. Maybe that would be different after school let out for the day. They gave her a wide berth, and Nancy didn't go out of her way to close the distance, either. She wasn't sure how much the residents of Ponyville had heard about her. That morning, she had finally managed to sync her watch to local time and was almost done with a walkaround of the town by lunchtime.  She passed what was very clearly a diner of some kind.  The sign out front had pictures of a sandwich and a drink. Nancy had a few of the golden bit coins with her and walked into the restaurant, spending a long minute staring at the menu board above the cash register.  The fast food cashier, even in Equestria, resembled a pimply teenager, and she stepped forward and asked him, “Do you have anything without hay?” “Uh…”  he glanced up at the board.  “We have fried potato sticks.” French fries?  Maybe the translation spell didn’t know what France was.  “Okay, give me that.” Sure enough, they were french fries.  There was also a place in the restaurant to self-serve ketchup.  Nancy sat down with one meager order of fries, knowing she was probably going to have to order more later, and realizing she had also forgotten to get a drink. At least the fries were pretty good.  Nancy didn’t know what they were fried in, but her guess was not lard. She was just getting up, when through the front windows of the restaurant, a wagon landed on the street.  Was that the right word?  It only had two wheels.  Chariot? Nancy shook her head.  Equestria had really scrambled her brains if, when she saw a pegasus-powered vehicle, her first thought was what to call it.  More importantly, Captain Magnus stepped off.  Nancy went to go meet him.