//------------------------------// // An Unforbidding Land, a Familiar Face // Story: Legends of Equestria: The Long Road Back // by JimmyHook19 //------------------------------// In a bunker somewhere in the United States, a soldier entered a room where an officer was standing in front of a display. "Colonel Peterson, sir!" the soldier said. "At ease, soldier," the Colonel replied. "What's the news?" "Sir, one of our field agents reported seeing a pony in the Alaskan wilds near a flower, heading off towards North Pole, Alaska in the middle of a raging blizzard!" Peterson looked surprised. "Travelling through a blizzard? Not a smart move, given how fierce Alaskan snowstorms can get. But this also means our units cannot intercept as RADAR and communication systems won't work. I'll need to inform high command. Dismissed." The soldier saluted, and then left the room as the monitor in the center flickered into life. On it, appeared an image with the text AUDIO ONLY. "Greetings, my lord," Peterson began. "I bring news for you." "I expected good news from you," the voice continued. "And yet I hear news of a pony, one of the Pillars no less, on the move in the Alaskan bay. Which one?" Peterson consulted his clipboard of information. "According to our preliminary scans and acquired data, they have a curved horn and appear to be carrying a flower." "Mistmane," the voice said in disgust. "A unicorn who never understood when to stop interfering. I expect you are already on an intercept path." "Our military equipment will be unable to operate in those weather conditions effectively," Peterson replied. "The storm is wreaking havoc with satellite communications and infrared tracking equipment. It would be too easy for our units to get lost in the storm." "Then send in a unit that doesn't need your technological hocus pocus!" the voice said once more. "I imagine you understand the danger this situation puts us in. Remember the prophecy! 'Two shall become Six, and the Six shall Become One. Their might will become unstoppable, and their Victory shall Shake the Heavens!'" "And now there are five," Peterson sighed. "Five that we know of, at least. What of our assets on the Desert theater?" "They dispatched the issues with a few casualties, but that's about it. On the other hand, Mistmane must be stopped. The consequences if you fail will be dire. Am I understood?" "Yes, my Lord," Peterson replied. "Good. I await your report." As the screen flickered out, Peterson reached for the radio. "Dispatch Taskforce EMPRESS," he said. Mistmane continued to make her way along the blowy roads filled with snow and sleet. This storm didn't seem to be letting up, and the levels of snow and ice in fact helped to make navigation harder. Wind whirled around her like an angry demon of the night, and the ice and sleet, not to mention the snow, stung her eyes. Normally, she would have cast a shield spell or something to protect her eyes, but this was not possible. Her magic was weak, unfocused, and as a result there was little she could do to cast spells or much else, really. As she made her way down this road, unfamiliar with her terrain, she had to make a guess as to which way to go. She had taken a right just outside the hotel, and soon after encountered a junction where the road split into a Y shape. She decided to take the left fork, for some reason, and continued onwards, narrowly dodging an oil tanker pulling up into a layby for the night. As the land slowly changed to red, hard baked earth, the road split once more. One road went to the right, and the other straight ahead. Unsure of which way to go, Mistmane decided to go right. There was a short kink in the road up ahead, so she took that and headed off in that direction. Another right was the next direction she took, with the road once more splitting into several different directions. The terrain wasn't all too different to her native Chineigh's northern regions, so there was that. It didn't help, however, that none of the road signs were written in a language she could understand. After passing over a frozen river, the continued to follow the road, the landscape once more shifting from red earth to hard packed tundra. After a right turn through a town (again, Mistmane had no clue exactly where), she took a right and crossed another bridge, which passed over a pair or iron rails. Mistmane paused in fright when a great bellowing started up, and then a great iron monster passed underneath, taking several minutes to get clear. Once she was certain the monster was gone, Mistmane continued on her way, passing by a quiet area where the road met another, no clue as to what was causing her to go this way. She figured it must have been her gut. Speaking of which, she could do with finding a way station or somewhere to rest. It was very tiring. She must have been on the road for hours, and her little legs made walking a stretch, which was why unicorns teleported so much. She took a slight left, and saw the road curve around in a spiral ahead of her upon a great viaduct. "What makes these engineering marvels?" Mistmane asked. "Are they built by giants?" She ducked under another road and went another way, before approaching a town with a giant statue of a jolly fat thing. Mistmane had no clue what this creature was meant to be, and she took several more turns before seeing a large building, painted all white, with red lining and markings upon it, as well as a roof and skylights drenched in the harsh snow. She went to the door and pushed it open. The interior couldn't have been more of a contrast to the exterior. Inside was a warm, welcoming, gently decoured tavern, a welcome resting place for the weary traveler. As Mistmane closed the door behind her, she made her way past several tables of ponies enjoying cards and other games. Others were merrily swigging beer and other spirits while swapping stories of their adventures in the wilds. Mistmane stopped at the bar, and the bartender turned to her. He spoke again, but once again in that strange language she couldn't understand. "Excuse me, but I'm not sure we speak the same language," she said. The bartender looked equally confused. Then he said something she couldn't understand either. "Let me help," said a familiar voice, in a deep, but regal and gruff voice. Mistmane turned her head to see none other than Starswirl the Bearded sitting there, at the bar! "What would you like?" he asked. His Chineighse was a bit rusty, but it would do. "A warm drink would be nice," Mistmane replied. Starswirl nodded, and then turned back to the bartender before saying something in that other language. After a few moments, a mug of something was passed to Mistmane, and she and Starswirl decamped to a table. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Starswirl took out his spellbook, and layed it upon the table before his horn flashed brightly, and he spoke again. This time, his Chineighse was perfect. "I cast the Balelius Translaticon. We can now speak to one another without difficulty, as the spell automatically translates what the other is saying." Mistmane nodded. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I was conducting research with my followers, Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer, into strange magical phenomena that is happening across the world," Starswirl explained. "Strange events have been happening all across the world, and I believe it has some connection to this land's government." "I came here on the trail of a message left by Flash Magnus," Mistmane replied. "My Magical Communications is one of my few spells that is still working properly, but I can only receive messages, not send them. Anyway, Flash sent a message that I couldn't understand. It was in Latin, which I seem to have lost the ability to understand, but the message was badly garbled." "I'll take a look at it in the morning," Starswirl said. "Do you have your Glowpaz fragment on you?" "Sorry?" Mistmane asked. "Somnambula each gave us a piece of Glowpaz. One of its many properties is the power to instantly translate what another Glowpaz wearer is saying. It's how we talked to one another for, as you've probably picked up, none of us speak the same language." All of this was a bit much in one go, and Mistmane's head sank onto the table, exhausted. "I suggest we drink up, and then I'll look into hiring you a room for the night," Starswirl said, as he propped up the head of his exhausted friend. It was then he noticed something was off. Mistmane had her old and former beauty, which she had sacrificed to restore beauty to the world. "Does that have something to do with her magic being so weak?" the great wizard asked himself. "I guess such questions will have to wait until morning. In the meantime, some lively music please!"