Oh yeah. Guess I didn’t explain exactly how I was up and at ‘em after having tanked a deadly attack for Pale in Tartarus.
Thanks to Twilight’s magic and some powerful healing, I was actually able to go out and fight again. But the curse still lingered. I was on borrowed time, and I was told that the voodoo-esque hex would possibly erode my soul if we didn’t find the castor and force it to be undone.
Easier said than done, but I refused to die. I had too much to live for. Pale, Cork, my father, their families...which is why I was glad to have Guttersnipe Poinsettia with me on this mission.
We were on a train ride. South. Towards the edge of Equestria beyond the Badlands. There lied several deadly areas such as Klugetown. Luckily for us, we weren’t headed that far. No. Where we were headed was a much more peaceful place.
Mt. Aris and Seaquestria. The land of the Hippogriffs and Seaponies. To be more specific, it was entirely possible that our next target could live in either area. So Guttersnipe and I were assigned this task while Pale took time to recover. Our edge came in regards to the fact that I had done plenty of research on the subjects.
And Gutsy? Well, she was certainly going to provide a destructive angle to this mission if it was necessary.
“So we have our objective. Seaquestria, right?” Guttersnipe asked with an excited smile on her face. “Heh. I actually dressed up as a Seapony for this past Nightmare Night and now I’m heading down there to meet up with them for real. Pretty damn amusing if I do say so myself.” She checked her mechanical wings to make sure they were loaded, and on safety mode. “What do you think, Quick? Quick?”
I had been too focused on looking out the train’s window. I didn’t hear her call me until the third or fourth time.
“Quick!”
“Huh? Wha?” I tilted my head upwards, and looked to my side. “Oh...sorry, Guts. I’m just having a bit of a hard time…”
She sighed and hit me with that knowledgeable look. “...You feel bad for what Pale had to go through, yeah?” She put a hoof around my neck to bring me in for a close hug. “I feel ya, trust me. I would’ve ripped that lady to shreds if it weren’t for the fact that we found out she was being controlled.”
I guess that comforted me a little. Gutters was always willing to take drastic measures to protect the ones she cared about. Even if those measures were a little...explosive? But we still loved her for it.
“Thanks. But what we really need to focus on is getting him some help. Do you think Inkwell will actually be able to deal with...that?”
Guttersnipe leaned back against her seat. “I’m...not entirely sure. It’s extremely rare for a mare to attack a stallion like that, so I’m not sure if she has much experience with cases like that. But even so, I know he’ll be supported by everyone around him until he can recover. We put too much emphasis on stallions being tough and just accepting whatever happens to them. That’s why they rarely tell us their problems.”
“...Huh. I never thought about it that way.” Flabber my ghast, she had a point. Mares were always way more emotional--at least from what I’ve seen--whereas stallions are just taught to roll with the punches. That wasn’t always a good thing since bottling up your emotions can lead to...lots of unsavory things like mental issues and suicidal tendencies. Yeesh. It was not a pleasant thought.
Of course, no one should just be an overly emotional wreck either. But everyone should be allowed to cry once in a while when they needed to.
Then she hit me with a question I wasn’t ready for. “Quick. Do you have romantic feelings for Pale?”
“Eh?” I tilted my head, “Not...no? I’ve always seen him as more of a brother figure. What makes you ask?”
She responded with a shrug. “I dunno--was just curious. I know you guys have been together for a while and he’s found someone now, so I just wanted to...ya know.”
I shook my head this time. “Nah. It’s good. I’m not really into anyone if I’m being honest. I’ve always been laser focused on my job to the point where I’ve never considered it. What about you, Gutsy?”
The red pegasus let out a small snicker. “Hehe...well let’s just say I’m not exactly a successful bachelorette or anything. Not once have I been asked out on a second date, but I got my friends so I’m not exactly hurting over it.”
“Well that’s good--the fact that you aren’t in any heartache, I mean,” I said with a wry smile. All of a sudden, we heard the train come to a stop. It was time to exit, and head out to Seaquestria.
Why? Well there was apparently a sighting of an unidentified being near the water. It honestly could have been anything and we weren’t about to risk anything for fear of Grogar getting a good foothold in our home. Not to mention the fact that this place was regionally close to Klugetown and was a risk unto itself.
We arrived at the shoreline that connected the realms of Seaquestria and Hippogriffia--the two separate, yet thematically united lands that contained Seaponies and Hippogriffs respectively.
“Alright, so how do we get under there?” Guttersnipe pointed a hoof at the water, “Isn’t there some kinda transformation thingy we can use?”
“Something like that.” I reached into one of my saddlebags, and pulled out a potion, “Starlight gave me this. It’ll allow us to become Seaponies and traverse the depths without issue.” Then I took a look at her with a concerned frown. “Are your wings gonna be okay? Since they’re metal and all?”
“Oh? These babies?” she said, and gave them a flap, “It’ll be fine. They’re made to be waterproof so I’ll be fine even if I’m transformed. Now let’s get moving.”
Heh. I couldn’t ignore how eager she could be. With that out of the way, we both drank the potion, turned into aquatic ponies, and took a dip into the water. I had to admit, the tailfin looked pretty good on me.
“Watch out!” Guts yelled as she put a hoof in front of me. “Take a look.”
We weren’t able to swim two yards through the water before we ran into some kind of danger. What sort of danger exactly?
Naval mines. A swarm of spikey, explosive balls littered everywhere.
This was beyond suspicious.