Chapter 39: Confrontation With The Heart
After traveling all night and through most of the next day, the task force finally arrived at the nation's capitol. James immediately stormed straight to the castle, barging past any guards that tried to bar his way. Shouts were heard and threats of arrest were made, but these were quickly silenced by the entourage that followed close behind him. Celestia was hosting a full court when the human shoved the large throne room doors wide open. Gasps and expressions of shock made their rounds around the room of dignitaries at the sight of his entrance and disheveled appearance.
"Princess Celestia, we have to talk." James said sternly.
"Commander, I am glad to see that you have returned and are well, but this is highly irregular and I must ask you to--"
"My apologies ma'am, but this is highly important." James interrupted, "I need to talk with you, Captain Armor and Admiral Darkwing. Now."
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"... and that's what we're up against here. There is an invasion force staged somewhere in the seas to the west. Possible landing areas include the steppes north of Van Hoover, the coast just south of the Smokey Mountain and the San Palomino Desert. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say the two most likely choices would be the first two. The Steppes would be easier to navigate than White Tail Woods, but the Smokey Mountain site would allow them to advance more quickly to the capitol and end the fight faster."
The two Princesses, the Captain and the Admiral studied the spots on the map that the human had marked off with expressions of deep concern covering their faces.
"Is there any way we can hit them first?" The Admiral asked.
James looked over his shoulder, "Myst..."
The foggy gray unicorn stepped forward and began tracing lines on the map, "During our search, we came to the coast at the Smokey Mountain via Unicorn Range. That's where we lost the trail. We spent the next weeks going north and south along the coast, intercepting any suspicious vessels on the ocean. Four carried hostiles. This is where we found them;" she marked spots off the coast from the desert all the way to the Frozen North,"the boarding parties reported scant supplies on board indicating these were short range patrols."
When she finished, she went back to her place with the rest of her team. As she passed James whispered, "Good job," then he addressed the rest of the counsel.
"From what I've been told, the island I was incarcerated on was only one of many. Our opponent is smart, he's scattered his assets so that if one spot gets hit, the vast majority of his operation will survive." James informed them.
"You said 'he', do you know who's responsible for all this?" Shining Armor inquired.
"Yes, I do."
"Then who is it?"
"I don't want to say yet. Ma'am," James looked to Celestia, "I'd like to speak with you before I divulge that information."
"Very well, Commander." She replied.
Luna looked up from the map, "Commander, from what you have seen, how long do you think we have before our enemy takes action?"
"I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't say for sure. It could be a few months, it could be a year. The best we can do is try and locate our enemy's resources and in the meantime, prepare to defend the country."
Celestia gazed around the room and in an authoritative voice proclaimed, "Very well, we shall mobilize at once. Luna, Captain Shining Armor, please see to it that the Guard is informed and ready for tasking. Commander, please come with me."
The room's occupants set to their tasks, Shining Armor and Luna went out a side door, followed by Admiral Darkwing and James' team. James, on the other hand, followed Celestia as she left through the door behind her, entering a long hallway the almost went the length of the castle. She led him up a tall spiral staircase to an area of the castle James had never been to before.
Together, they walked down a long passageway lit with sunlight through intricately wrought and colorful stained glass windows on either side. James studied them as they passed by. He saw depictions of Equestria's past. Celestia and Luna arriving to the land, the two sisters defeating some strange dragon looking thing with body parts from multiple animals, Luna's fall into darkness and subsequent imprisonment, the return of Nightmare Moon and her redemption at the hooves of six very familiar ponies.
James stopped and stared at the window, "Ma'am, are these..."
"Yes James. And please, while we're here, you can drop the formalities."
"Yes ma- uh... ok."
"Yes, these are your friends. For the past few years, they have been the defenders of our nation, especially with threats that dealt with matters of the heart. They are the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and you'll need their help." The solar princess explained to him.
"I'm sorry, but this isn't a 'matter of the heart', this is war. Unless there's an element that can cure death, I want them far away from all this."
"I don't mean for them to fight like you do. Rather, you'll need their help in your battle against yourself."
"Princess..."
"James, you are not well. Your heart is fractured. You lie to yourself, you may be quick to laugh, but rarely is it sincere. You show kindness to others, yet are filled with such hatred. You give all of yourself to the point that it does more harm than good. You've lost the magic of a positive outlook. Your only redeeming aspect is your fierce loyalty to those you care about."
James just stood there, at a loss for words. In a single masterful stroke of a verbal blade, she had cut him straight to the core. His mouth acquired an angry scowl. The human's hands balled into fists as they began to shake. Remembering who he was with, James calmed himself down, however, his right hand continued to tremor.
He started to turn to leave, "If you'll excuse me ma'am..."
"James, stop!" Celestia demanded with all the authority of one befitting her post.
The human halted in mid step.
"You shall not run away from your insecurities this time, you will stand and face them! I'm sorry I must be so coarse with you, but the lives of my subjects are at stake and I need you at your best. You need to get help. Please don't make me order you again, but I will if I have to."
Whipped around violently to face the large regal mare, "Fine. What do you want me to do then, huh? See some condescending shrink who'll tell me that it's all in my head? The last time I talked to one, he almost declared me unfit for duty! Almost took away my job, my friends, the only real family I had!"
Suddenly, Celestia's voice took on a softer tone and her eyes projected a warm kindness, "James, that is not what I want at all. The only thing I want you to do is return to your home. Spend time with your friends. You have been a great service to my country and its subjects, but you have done enough for now. Go rest and enjoy life a little. We shall keep the watch."
"And if there is an attack?"
"You have trained many capable ponies, they should be able to handle anything short of an all out invasion on their own. Go now and find your peace."
James bowed his head in thought, eyes gazing forward, yet focused on nothing. Then he slowly raised his head to give his reply.
"Fine then, I will."
"Good. Now please, tell me who is responsible for the plight of my ponies?"
"It turns out I'm not as alone as I once thought. His name is Kraster. John Kraster. He was trained by the same government as I was and in the same ways of combat. He is a very dangerous man." James warned.
"How so?"
"First you have to understand something. In my profession, fewer than twenty five percent of the people who make it to retirement do so without any serious mental issues. They may appear fine and interact with others fairly well, but they still have problems. Kraster is not part of that number."
"What do yo mean by all this?"
"What I'm telling you is that he's lost his grip, he let's his violent nature run free without restraint."
"Is that how you got your new scar?" Celestia asked while eyeing the two thick four inch long lines that ran parallel on opposite sides of the human's forearm.
James gripped his arm with his right hand, covering the scars, "Yes, it is. He described torture to me as something of a sport for him."
Celestia looked absolutely horrified, "That's terrible!"
"Yes, and this man has an army under his control." James said seriously.
"Then we must be extra vigilant. Such a twisted mind can be unpredictable. Thank you, James. We have much work to do. Now please go and return home, we shall contact you if the need arises. Oh, and just one more thing," magically, she produced an ornate envelope, "please take this with you, as a gift."
James reached out and took it, stowing it in a pocket on his borrowed shorts.
"Thank you ma'am." He stood at attention before saluting and tuning on his heel and striding back down the spiral stairs.
With quick steps, he made his way back through the castle. In no time, he was in the main corridor leading back to the grand foyer where his team was patiently waiting. As he strode into the room, they all got up from where they had been sitting and lined up at attention.
Sparks stepped forward, "Orders, sir!"
James looked at each of them. They all looked ragged and exhausted. Baggy red eyes, uniforms ripped, manes a mess. From what he had been told, they'd rarely slept a wink while they had been searching for him. Even during the entire time they'd been here at the castle, they'd stayed awake and alert.
"Guys... let's go home."
They all seemed a bit confused at James' words, expecting to be tasked with some difficult assignment. However, not one of them said a word in reply, instead just nodding slightly, shoulders slumping subtly as the finally relaxed. Myst led them all back to the Clipper where they boarded and began preparations for departure. The sun in the west began its march towards the horizon as the engine spun up. The three stallions took their seats right next to each other, leaving an entire fold down bench for the human. James plopped down onto it and swung his legs onto the bench, understanding what they were doing.
James let the vibrations and gentle movement of the craft as it took off lull him into a drowsy state. Then, even though it was still cold, he gently dropped into a dreamless sleep.
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About an hour later, James was woken with a soft shake. He sat up and was slightly surprised when a parka slid off his torso. He gave his eyes a rub and looked around.
"We're home." Feather said from his side.
James swung his legs to the deck and hopped out of the small aircraft. He began to sluggishly plow through the deep snow to the ready room and his locker.
"Uh... boss? You need us to do anything?" Myst inquired of him.
James looked back over his shoulder to see all four ponies standing tall and waiting for instruction in the cold dark of night.
"Just... go home for now. Rest up and take some time off, that comes down from the Princess herself. I'll find you If I need you."
Then he resumed his trek. Behind him, the four ponies just shrugged and parted ways. James entered the building and opened his locker. Inside was a couple sets of uniforms, his cold weather gear -- which he removed -- and some tools for cleaning his equipment. He donned the warm clothes and retreated into Sparks' workshop where he took out his pistol and began stripping it down. It had been exposed to sea water and the elements and needed a good cleaning before he felt confident he could use it without causing it further damage.
After reassembling his sidearm, he began to polish the rust and grime off the cutlass he had brought from the ship he had spent those weeks on. It was a fine weapon and he had decided to keep it. It wasn't a fitting replacement for his knife, but could prove to come in handy at some point. He was in the middle of honing its edge when he heard a soft knock on the front door of the building. James didn't know what time it was, but he estimated it to be pretty late by now. Thinking it was one of his teammates come to ask him a question, he grumpily pulled himself from his chair and strode to the door.
Swiftly, he grabbed the handle and pulled it open, "I thought I said go ho-- Oh, it's you..."
Standing in the snow before him was a cyan sky blue pegasus, a colorful scarf wrapped around her neck.
"Hey, I saw you guys coming back. Is it ok if I come in?"
"Uh... sure." James stepped aside and allowed her to enter. "Oh yeah," he said in sudden realization, "here, I brought this back, safe and sound." He told her, removing the small gem from around his neck and offering it to the mare.
"That's ok, keep it. You came back safe, so it must be good luck for you."
"Alright then." James returned it to where it had been hanging on his chest. "Where did you get this anyway? I don't think I've seen anything like it." He asked, examining the curious gem once again.
"That's what happens when certain gems are exposed to liquid rainbow concentrate. A long time ago, there was an accident at the weather factory in Cloudsdale and a bunch of it was spilled all across the ground below the city. It seeped into the soil and contaminated the dirt. A few years later, a treasure hunter was digging around there and found one of those. A lot of ponies started to dig up the place to find more, but it turns out they're pretty rare. Speaking of, Rarity actually found that one."
"It's pretty, I can see why she gave it to you."
Dash blushed a little, "What's with the flattery? You tryin' to butter me up for something?"
James went and sat down on the bench in front of the lockers. "Just an honest thought. I do need to talk to you though."
"What about?" Dash took a seat across from him.
He took a deep breath, "Dash, I don't think we should see each other."
The two just looked at each other for a moment, the words hanging in the air between them. Then James winced as Dash practically exploded.
"What!? Why!?" She shouted angrily, "Am I not good enough or something!? Is it because you're not a pony!? I'm sure Twilight could probably find a spell somewhere that could--"
"Dash! Please, let me explain!" James shouted over her protests.
The rainbow maned pegasus crossed her forelegs and glared angrily at the human as he began to describe his reason, "I understand you're upset, but please hear me out. First of all, I love spending time with you, really, I look forward to it. Secondly, me not being a pony isn't the issue. Plus, I'm sorry but I like my body the way it is and I don't like the idea of getting used to a new one."
James briefly paused, but Dash just kept glaring at him, so he continued, "The problem is that there's a person out there that knows what I look like and wants to hurt me. That wouldn't be much of a deal to me, but this person has no problems using the ones I'm close with to get to me. That's why. I don't want you to become a target."
"Is that really the reason?" Dash asked suspiciously.
"As Pinkie would say; 'cross my heart, hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye.'" James promised while going through the motions.
"Well, that's not good enough!" Dash replied stubbornly.
"Dash, please, just being around me could potentially be hazardous." James pleaded.
"Don't care!" She sniffed.
James thought for a moment, trying to figure how he could persuade her to go. He knew she was as stubborn as he could be sometimes and wouldn't go without a fight. Then an idea popped into his head.
"Ok then, we'll keep seeing each other, but only on one condition." James told her.
"Oh? And what's that?"
James smiled menacingly, "You let me teach you how to fight properly. That way my mind can rest a little easier knowing you can at least defend yourself."
The weather mare smirked, "You kidding? That's it? Bring it on then, tough stuff! I'm a champ!" She proclaimed smugly.
James expression didn't change, "Oh, this ain't gonna be just some walk in the park, you're going through boot."