//------------------------------// // Chapter 107 - Invitation // Story: A Pony Displaced: Homeward // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// The warm afternoon sun was beaming down upon Vanhoover as Barrier and Verdant stepped out of Strawberry Sundae’s Sodas, Scoops and Sweets, the latter balancing a large four tier blue cake with silver piping. “Do we really need to get another cake? We still have some left over from yesterday’s party,” Barrier asked as his horn glowed, at the ready if the cake started to falter. “Of course. That’s Hatty’s birthday cake and this is for Swift,” Verdant matter-of-factly stated. “It’s not her fault her mother squeezed her out two days short of a year before him.” Barrier sighed as they trotted down the street, drawing the eye of several ponies as they walked by. “This week is gonna be terrible for our diets.” “Well after Gem’s birthday on the first, it’ll be a couple months before we have to get to mine in July,” Verdant cheerfully replied. “And then we have Fleet’s less than a week later,” Barrier added. “Still, I’ll relish the break from the excessive amounts of desserts.” A few minutes passed for the pair of stallions as they walked along the city streets before the shamrock stallion broke the silence between them. “Say Barrier, does killing zombies count?” Verdant asked, making the charcoal unicorn’s eyebrow rise. “That’s… a bit of a surprising thing to ask. Pray tell, what brought this question on?” Barrier asked as the pair of them cautiously rounded a corner. “Well, I was talking with Storm Cloud when we were sparring the other day and she brought up whether or not we have body counts. This means I either have a body count of zero or…” Verdant paused to think as he seemed to be doing some calculations in his head. “One-hundred and three.” “That’s… surprising. You kept track of that?” Barrier asked, somewhat unnerved by what the young stallion said. “Yeah… Well, many of those I had to take down were friends or acquaintances I knew in the guard,” Verdant glumly said as his gaze fell down towards his hooves. “After I had to take out Sugar Twinkle after she turned…” The stallion fell silent for a second. “Her blood was still warm when it covered my cloak… I got sick before we had to run away.” Barrier pulled out his flask and held it out to Verdant, but he gently pushed it away. “I understand. I had a similar reaction the first time I killed a griffin,” Barrier said as he slipped the flask back into his saddlebags. “At any rate, I wouldn’t say you’re a killer, Verdant. What you did was destroy a corpse that was being moved about by dark magic like a puppet on its strings. Your body count is zero. If anything, you were doing your former allies a favor so they could rest in peace.” Verdant held silent before he slowly looked the obsidian unicorn in the eye. “Barrier, what would your body count be?” The tall unicorn sighed once more before running a hoof through his mane. “I don’t keep track, Verdant. It’d be akin to torture if I did. I recall very few of those whose lives I’ve claimed clearly. The first griffin I killed and a few others. However, it’s safe to say that I’ve taken some twenty five lives at minimum, not counting those who had the opportunity to fight back.” “I… I see,” Verdant said before swallowing. “I appreciate what you said.” While Barrier could hear some relief in the earth pony’s voice, he could still tell he was feeling rather uncomfortable with the whole topic. “So, any plans for tonight?” the unicorn asked, hoping to change the uncomfortable subject. “Well, Erica, Storm and I have plans for dinner and to watch some movies at Erica’s. I’m gonna try cooking this pseudo pork roast thing Erica got from a manga,” Verdant replied, sounding a bit more chipper than before. “Oh? Interesting,” Barrier said as he brought a hoof to his chin. “Is there something going on between you, Erica and Storm Cloud?” “Well… I’m not entirely sure,” Verdant replied as he and Barrier turned another corner. “I know she finds Erica attractive and we enjoy spending time together, but I’m not sure what exactly describes the three of us right now.” “Well, whatever happens, I wish you well,” Barrier said as they passed by several more ponies. “She seems like a rather nice young mare.” “At any rate, do you have any plans?” the shamrock stallion asked as the two spotted the sight of the manor coming into view. “Besides a date at a fancy restaurant with Fleet and Daring next week and reading some books I’ve gotten, not particularly,” Barrier answered, earning a nod from Verdant. After a few minutes, the two entered the manor and put the cake in the fridge. Just as the refrigerator door closed and Verdant wiped his brow, a tingling sound reached their ears as a wispy light flashed above the kitchen table. The light vanished as a rolled up piece of paper landed upon the table. On it was a wax seal of the royal coat of arms. “Gather the household, immediately,” Barrier quietly said, Verdant acting on the order before Barrier could even finish. Barrier’s horn glowed with a gentle blue as he picked up the letter. Though he didn’t know what the message was about, it had to be something of importance to have the royal seal placed upon it and to be delivered directly. In a matter of minutes, the adults were all gathered within the manor’s living room. Fleet and the privates all standing at attention, looking like they would be ready to mobilize at a moment’s notice. Barrier was standing in front of the coffee table as he cautiously looked upon the wax seal. “Don’t keep us in suspense, big guy. Open it up,” Daring said with a mixture of impatience and anxiety. Taking a deep breath, Barrier slowly broke the wax seal and unfurled the letter. The obsidian stallion quietly read over the message. “Barrier, please don’t keep us in suspense. What is it?” Fleet inquired just before Barrier let out a sigh of relief. “It’s a wedding invitation.” A small smile appeared on Barrier’s muzzle as he looked over the note. “All eight of us have been invited to the wedding of Empress Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor.” “Thank Faust, I was worried it was draft orders or something.” Hatty wiped his brow as his fellow privates relaxed their stances. “The wedding is set for the twenty-fifth of May in Canterlot. Each of us is allowed a plus one and we’re asked to respond to the invitation so the wedding accommodations can be properly set up.” As Barrier took his eyes off the letter and set them onto his housemates, he saw that all of them, save for Daring and Swift, were looking somewhat apologetic. “Is something wrong?” “Well, Snow and I already have plans. He got tickets for the hockey playoffs in Baltimare, so we can’t make it,” Forge said as he had trouble looking Barrier in the eye. “He’s had his heart set on this game for months and the hotel’s already booked. I couldn’t just cancel on him.” “We can’t make it either,” Gem spoke up, drawing Barrier’s eye from the cobalt unicorn. “The wedding date is right smack dab in the middle of the trip to Las Pegasus Punch gave us.” “Erica got news last week about the Equestria Games,” Verdant said as he stepped forward. “Apparently, that’s when there’s going to be some sort of qualifiers for the Vanhoover athletes, so I promised her I’d be there when she heads to Rainbow Falls.” “And I’ve volunteered to chaperone Windy’s upcoming overnight school trip to Manehattan to see the zoo,” Fleet said as she rubbed the back of her head with her wing. “I can’t just cancel on her. It’d break her heart.” “How unfortunate that you’ll be missing this historic moment, my friends.” Swift took a step towards the table and the charcoal unicorn. “I am rather fortunate to be free, so I shall be able to attend. Hopefully I’ll be able to spend some time with Minty during this.” “And what about you, Daring?” Barrier asked the golden coated pegasus as she rubbed her chin in thought. “Hmm… I’m pretty sure I’m free,” Daring cheerfully answered. “Besides, it’d give me an excuse to pig out on the crown’s bit.” “Very well. I’ll send a response immediately,” Barrier replied as he rolled up the letter and started to head for the study. “Now, I suggest you all think about what you’d like for dinner tonight.” *** One week had passed since the household received the invitation to Cadance’s wedding. Save for Swiftsword trying to cut her cake with her swords and her needing to replace the bifurcated table and broken plates, the week had been uneventful.  This was rather frustrating for the charcoal unicorn as he walked home after finishing his class.  How Faust damned long does it take for them to do that bloodwork? A grimace stretched across Barrier’s muzzle as he made his way to his front door. Shouldn’t they have gotten their results by now? As Barrier stepped into the house, he saw Verdant at the kitchen counter, expertly chopping up a variety of vegetables while humming a tune to himself. “Hey there, Barrier,” the shamrock stallion said as the unicorn drew closer to the kitchen. “How’s your day going?” “Not much different from last week, and that’s the problem, unfortunately.” Barrier sighed before he sat down at the table. “Well, if you want, I’ll have plenty of stir-fry done in a bit,” Verdant said without looking at the unicorn. “With Melony’s birthday and the rest of the house on dates, it looks like it’s just the two of us tonight.” “Thank you. I could use something like that,” Barrier replied as he leaned back in his chair. Taking a deep breath to try to release some stress and irritation, he coolly exhaled before looking over to the vest-clad earth pony. “Verdant, do you know how long blood work tends to take?” “Hmm… Sorry, but no,” Verdant replied as he started to chop up some celery. “The best guess I could offer would be based on how to poison ponies. Waiting for some test results?” “Yes. Dr. Sound Mind asked me to have some blood work done after I talked to her about Grimhilde and the Lemon Stallion. It’s been over a week and I haven’t heard a single word from her or anypony about this.” Barrier rubbed the bridge of his snout with a forehoof. “Well, hopefully the results come soon,” Verdant said as he kept up his chopping. “At any rate, wherever this mystery unicorn is, he’s probably a million miles away or something. Nopony’s seen hide nor hair of him in months.” “Verdant, you know I saw him in Trottingham, remember? You tried looking for him after he ran off.” The kitchen fell silent as the young pony’s chopping suddenly stopped. Slowly, Verdant turned to face Barrier with a perplexed look on his face. “Barrier, what are you talking about?” Verdant tilted his head as he saw his former commanding officer’s eyebrow rise. Sighing, Barrier rose out of his chair and looked at the young stallion with a look of clear annoyance and frustration. “Don’t play dumb, Verdant. I ran into you after I chased him down an alley near the hotel. You jumped onto a news stand and tried to spot him and said you’d try to hunt him down while I showered off.” “When did this happen? Was I with anyone else?” Verdant asked as he leaned against the counter. “Oh, for the love of…” Barrier rubbed the bridge of his snout before glaring at Verdant. “It was around a quarter past eight on the second night we were there and you were on your own.” “Barrier…” Verdant sounded nervous as he tried to look the unicorn in the eye and swallowed. “I wasn’t there.” The charcoal stallion tilted his head, shocked but what the earth pony had said. “What? What do you mean, ‘I wasn’t there’?” “I mean, I didn’t get back to the hotel until eleven. Erica, Toil and I were spending the night on the town with restaurants and sights before we returned for the night. And even then, I never left their side.” “I… but… that’s impossible…” Barrier muttered to himself as he brought a hoof to his forehead. “I know I met up with you. You told me you’d tell me if you found anything. When you didn’t say anything, I thought your search came up negative.” “Was there anypony else there that saw you?” Verdant asked as he stepped away from the counter. “I…No.” Barrier’s shoulders slumped as he answered. “After that talk I had, I returned to my hotel room and waited a few minutes before Daring finished using the shower.” “Well, I don’t know what to say,” Verdant said before putting a hoof on Barrier’s shoulder. “All I know for sure is that I didn’t see you that night. I’ve got two ladies that can confirm that.” Closing his eyes, Barrier took a deep breath. As he exhaled, Verdant felt a tired shakiness in the strong unicorn. This doesn’t make any Faust damn sense! How could I see Verdant alone while he was with Erica and Toil?! None of this is adding up! “How about I finish making this stir fry and we have a nice dinner?” Verdant tried to comfortingly say as he patted Barrier’s shoulder. “I… That would be nice,” Barrier said as he pulled away from the earth pony and sat back at the table, his thoughts going a mile a minute. While the meal was a delight, it couldn’t dispel a thought that gnawed at the back of Barrier’s mind for the entirety of the night. Am I going mad?