Soulitude- second season

by JC Borch

Chapter 1: Establishing The Mine/Rebellion At The Fort

The rhythmic beeping bore into Lars Leland’s dreams, stirring him from his slumber. He groaned and tried ignoring it by rolling over but the beeping continued. He swatted out at the annoyance. A ringing followed, like the sound of metal clinking down on wood. Annoyed, he sat up in his simple bed and was immediately assaulted by the sunshine streaming in through his holed curtain.

There was no much else to his simple hovel. A divider made from reeds separated his bedroom from the kitchen/dining room where he prepared all his meals and also ate them. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his nightstand. It, like almost everything else, had been made by his own hands from wood.

He put a hand through his thin corn blonde hair and stepped into his golden boots. The mirror next to the window showed the aged, smooth face. A deep purple one piece suit was his uniform, a little dirty and with a blood-stained hole near his exposed chest. The beeping brought him back to why he stood up, having by then rolled down under the round dinner table. He shuffled after it with a groan.

It was a ring, a piece of jewellery that took him a moment to recognise. So long ago it had adorned his finger along with the bejewelled cross around the mirror. The ring, on the other hand, was plain and contained only a knob instead of a gem. Its sides were decorated with numbers. The beeping was concentrated on a new number flashing brightly orange.

“I could swear this thing only went to three before…” he mumbled, still drunk with sleep. He equipped the ring and tried turning the dial arrow to the new number four. Nothing happened, prompting him to scratch his chin. He grinned, shrugged and went back to his bed. The beeping had stopped at his failed trial and sleep soon claimed him again.

That was the first sign of the troubles to come. The second sign came as he sat outside with his feet in the murky waters. Two figures drew long shadows past him. He turned his head and saw two guards behind him, wearing the same armour as that of his boots. His whistling ceased at the surprise of seeing two purest white stallions in the bog. More so at the spears that they leant up against.

“You are invited for a private audience with Princess Celestia,” the left one said. The right one remained quiet, but his hard gaze confirmed the statement.

“Are you inviting me? Or forcing me?” he asked and kicked his legs gently around the water.

“It would be best if you didn’t try to find out.” The right one shifted its spear, and Lars sat up on the grassy bank.

The guards were quiet for the duration of the trip. They escorted him from the bog to the Ponyville train station with him sandwiched between them. On the train one always kept an eye on him. When he wanted breakfast and lunch, it was brought to him while he sat in his carriage. Lars enjoyed the treatment, exploiting it even.

“I thought I said no mayo in my sandwich. Bring me another.” He smirked as he pushed the plate back into the guard’s mouth and crossed his legs.

Thus the trip went on all the way to Canterlot. The guards were more than happy to leave him at the station. Another guard was waiting for him and waved enthusiastically. His armour was purple quite unlike the others and his helmet was adorned with a blue brush. His emblem was a shield surrounded by stars.

“Welcome to Canterlot, sir. My name is Shining Armour and I’m captain of Celestia’s guard.” He saluted, but Lars merely sized him up.

“What happened to the last one? Green fellow by the name of Loyal Crescent?” Lars asked, almost disappointed.

“My predecessor retired a few years back. Now if you’ll follow me to the castle, Princess Celestia is waiting for you.” He was a smiling kind of stallion, and trusty as well. Not the arrogant kind that expects people to follow at every command out of fear or respect, but the helpful lot that believed only in the best in others. As it so happened, Lars did not make any attempt at breaking the trust and followed obediently.

“I thought for sure they would have to bury Crescent in his uniform.”

Shining Armour lowered his head. “Captain Crescent resigned out of disagreements with the court. He saw some things that he could not believe in.”

“What kinds of things?” Lars asked curiously and put his hands behind his neck. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining from a clear, blue sky. Ponies out on the street were all wearing their finest summer clothes. They had to look twice, first at seeing the guard captain and then at a creature none of them had seen before. Shining Armour shook his head.

“I think it was the appearance of Princess Luna. Captain Crescent is a stallion who cares about his family. That Princess Celestia should have been forced to banish her sister for so long. It makes even me shudder, but I firmly believe that she did the right thing… ah, sorry sir for talking your ear off.” He grinned in embarrassment and scratched his neck. “I just heard that you knew my former superior.”

“I had the pleasure,” Lars said sarcastically. The two of them swapped stories for the rest of the trip up to the castle. He bid Lars farewell by the doors outside and marched straight to the barracks on the opposite side, whereas Lars went inside.

When he had been there last, there had been a receptionist behind a desk on the right side. Granny Pie had perished a long time ago however. Age had caught up with her and she had been the last to occupy the position. Lars knew where he was going anyway. He just needed to go up the stairs and then through the double doors.

Princess Celestia was not in her throne room. Another alicorn her size, who Lars recognised sparingly from newspaper pictures, greeted him instead. She was a darker colour than sister and with a sterner mien.

“It pleases us that you could come on such short notice, Lars Leland. We are Princess Luna!” she bellowed, making the window rattle in their frames. Lars had barely gotten through the doors and already regretted following voluntarily.

“Princess Luna, I was told Princess Celestia wanted to see me?”

“Our honoured sister awaits you in the Hall of Elements. It shall be our pleasure guiding you there.”

“She sure has a roundabout way of meeting me,” he mumbled under his breath. Princess Luna suddenly stood before him. Like Celestia, Luna was as tall as Lars where other ponies reached him only to the waist. A taller man might even have dwarfed the princesses, but Lars had always been short with broad shoulders.

“Grab around our neck. We will instantly transport you there.” Lars was too shocked to do anything but comply and quickly threw his arms around her. She spread her wings and they disappeared with a flash.

Princess Luna came to an abrupt halt, if she had ever moved at all, and Lars tumbled off her and rolled down the carpeted hallway. Stained glass cast the elongated room into a purple hue while telling epic stories. As he had almost expected, his own adventures went undeserving of such honour. He had defended Equestria from Swirl the Smart whose vague ambitions had left him enough power to destroy the world and enough insanity to do it.

Princess Celestia stood majestically before him, with her eternally wise and compassionate smile. He had come to hate it. It was condescending and spoke volumes of the secrets she hid. Lars had accepted her invitation knowing full well that there was something ulterior behind it. He got up on his feet and dusted himself off as Luna vanished behind him.

“I am delighted you could come,” Celestia said, but Lars held up a hand.

“Just get straight to the point. If you’re going to use me again, then please don’t sugarcoat it.”

“Not many would dare such a tone with me. It’s refreshing. You haven’t changed at all in all these years.”

“I could say the same. It’s almost spooky.” He looked her up and down. Not a thing was different from his last visit, right down to her preened feathers, shining horn and glimmering jewellery. Except for one thing. “You look… I don’t know, you look a little happier?”

“Many things have happened since we last met,” she said in her calm voice and turned around to walk down the hall. “Twilight has fulfilled her promise of a great destiny and brought many bounties to Equestria. Standing above them all is the return of my beloved sister. Of equal merit, though my heart will not value anything higher than Luna, is the freeing of the Crystal Empire. Have you heard of this?”

“No, nothing,” he said offhandedly and admired the many stained glass windows of the hall. “What does it have to do with me?”

“Shining Armour is returning there to his wife, having been here briefly to pick up a few things. He shall explain to you in greater detail. For now a brief summary will suffice as this pertains very much to your situation, so listen well.”

The red carpet ended by a magnificent arched door in purple colours and framed with gold. Celestia observed it with fond memories before inserting her horn into a hole. Light spilled on to the floor chequered in grey colours and melted the doors away. A large room was revealed which could be described as nothing short of a treasure trove. Though containing many beautiful items of gems and precious metals, many of the contained things were also worn and unseemly. Ancient weapons and shields that had served in wars long ago mingled with dreary-looking suits of armour and even common tunics, which glimmered ever so slightly from the right angle.

“So this is where you keep your loot?” Lars asked and looked around. Celestia chuckled as she went inside. There was a careful order to the artefacts. They were being looked after with great care and love, and stood neatly on long rows. A square was cleared in the middle where the two of them could just stand with a spindly, round table between them.

“Just a few things I’ve picked up over the years.” Her horn glowed and a few items flew up from somewhere in the room. A map unfolded itself on the table and a ring slid down her horn. She looked up at him with a serene smile. “A little secret between friends, Lars Leland. This room can be anything I will it to. The royal treasury and the Elements of Harmony are likewise stored in here.”

“Nifty,” he said with a sincere air of being impressed. “I hope this wasn’t why you brought me here, however much I appreciate the gesture.”

Her horn glowed, and a light shone from the ring as if scanning the map. Then it projected a small circle that adjusted for Celestia’s movement so it always stayed in the same place.

“This is a map of the Crystal Empire from over a thousand years ago. There’s no time to wait for a new one to be made. Things haven’t changed anyway. The large city up here is the Crystal City, just for reference. Your destination is down here.” She traced a hoof from the large round city at the northernmost part of the map almost to the very bottom to a small dot labelled Fort Frostmoth. “This fort once marked the border between Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and now it does once again. The teleportation ring shows where the new facility is. As you can see, it is no more than an hour’s walk away, even shorter if you can find a boat.”

He followed with a finger the distance from the fort to the placement marked by the ring. It was indeed right next to an unnamed river.

“How could such a facility just appear though? That’s the part I have the hardest time understanding,” he said without taking his eyes off the map.

Celestia took a moment to answer, as if composing herself. Her voice was a little more pained when she spoke again. “When my sister and I vanquished King Sombra, he put a final curse on the Crystal Empire. It literally vanished and created in its stead a dreadful, frozen wasteland. Another side effect, which I hadn’t even considered, was how it also became a void to my eyes. Swirl the Smart exploited this by building another facility there, one that I would never be able to discover. I’m guessing he either finished whatever experiments he was conducting there or simply couldn’t stand the cold.”

Lars bent up again and cracked his back. “So if I’m reading this right, no signals of any kind could escape the Frozen North because of this King Sombra. That means the curse has been lifted?”

Once more, cheeriness filled Celestia. She nodded. “Exactly.”

He gave that some thought, then patted his suit and looked back up at her. “So why can I still not teleport to the facility?” He held up the ring that he kept away in a pocket. “I tried using the ring when I first noticed the signal.”

“It is likely that the transporter devices are broken.”

“I was thinking that, but you never know with Equestria,” he said and added more muttering while scratching his stubbly chin: “Even if the teleportation pads are broken they could still send out signals.”

To bring the conversation back on track, Celestia cleared her throat and again fixed her eyes on him. “The East Empire Company has sought permission to mine for ebony there, a volcanic glass that’s extremely durable and extremely hard to find in Equestria.”

“And let me guess, you want me to help them?” He didn’t know whether to be excited or fearful. On one hand, it could be his chance to find other humans that Swirl the Smart had taken from his world. On the other, he was all too familiar with Celestia’s roundabout ways to get things done.

“They are already waiting for you. Imagine, a whole facility untouched for a millennium. Who knows what you will be able to find.” True enough, he recognised the smile and the way she turned her face so he could only see one side of it. “I’ve also gotten a few problem reports from the fort that you could look into, if you find yourself unoccupied.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll do it. But I want to make it very clear that I’m doing this for myself.”

“You still haven’t found another one of your race frozen down anywhere,” she stated and pierced him with her clear eyes.

“No,” he replied bluntly. None of them said anything for a while longer, before Celestia broke the silence again.

“Have you at least kept up with your daughter? I couldn’t help but notice that you had moved to Froggy Bottom Bog.”

“I have, and I did.” Again he was quiet, but this time it was because of a question that had bothered him for a while. He rubbed his left arm with his right hand, trying to find the proper way to ask it.

“Your daughter is the element of laughter, Lars Leland. Such questions as ‘What would have happened if I hadn’t brought here’ are irrelevant. The elements would have found a way, they always do. Was there anything else?” she asked with a warm smile.

“No, Princess,” he replied. “I’ll make my way to the Crystal Empire immediately.”

He was almost out of the door when Celestia called out to him again. “I hope you will find your friend. That’s what you are really working on, isn’t it?” He nodded, but did not otherwise reply. He simply kept his head low and walked out.

The guard captain, Shining Armour, awaited him outside the hall with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Together they made their way back to the train station. The ride lasted for several more hours and Lars enjoyed his lunch on the way.

Fort Frostmoth was a thick wall of stone forming a square with large wooden gates on opposite ends. One opened up to the train station and from there one could see all the way out of the other one to the docks. Several guards walked around the inner courtyard where a well made up the only other feature. All other buildings were built into and a few stories higher than the wall.

The building that Shining Armour had directed him to was on his left as he entered. A couple of steps led up to a heavy wooden door. An earth pony in thick, but otherwise civilian, clothes greeted him. From his strong build he could have had something to do with the guards, but the way he carried himself and his mannerism gave him a more elegant demeanour.

“Can I help you, uh… sir?” he asked and looked up at Lars.

“I was told to come here… this is the office of the East Empire Company?” The stone hallway was draped with carpets and tapestries, while blazing torches provided the light.

“Ah, you must be the human we have been expecting. Yes, my brother is waiting for you in his office upstairs.” The lavender-coated pony stepped up against the wall to allow Lars passage.

“Then what’s down here?” Lars asked and only slowly began moving again.

“The room on the left is reserved for the Princess on her rare visits and is kept ready at all times. The room on the right is my chamber. I’m just a simple steward, but if you ever need me, then Tough Gunner is my name.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lars said with deference and bowed shortly to the pony. Not wanting to find out whether he had embarrassed himself, Lars quickly strode to the end of the room. A winding staircase could be spotted through the archway. It was cramped and he had to stoop, as it was clearly made for shorter creatures than he.

The first door he encountered sent him out into a shorter hallway, but much wider and with oval splotches of carpet in some greenish-bluish hue. As before, the hallways contained a few doors. He tried the first one on his right but found it locked. Then he heard a whistling. Looking up, he saw a lanky earth pony by the far wall tossing his head towards the last door on the right.

“Oi mac, in here, wot?” he sniffled. He had the air of a lowlife about him but was dressed in a fine doublet matching his hunter green coat.

Lars followed the directions and stepped inside. Another earth pony greeted him from behind his fine wooden desk and swung a lavender hoof at the many chairs assembled in his room. On the left side was a writing desk and on the other was a bed just barely visible behind a screen.

“Lars Leland, such an honour to meet you! Your rumour quite precedes you, you know?” the earth pony said and scratched at his moustache. He was almost the spitting image of the steward, but looked older. Could just have been the moustache.

“You know who I am, but I don’t know who you are,” Lars replied and remained standing.

“Of course, of course, where are my manners? The name is Trusty Gunner, and don’t you forget that, my friend.” He winked and waved the hoof again, but Lars only grabbed the back of the chair most opposite Trusty.

“I understand you’re in charge of the mining operation,” Lars pressed in his best business tone. The earth pony scratched his moustache again.

“Quite right, sir. I am the financial supporter of this endeavour, so to speak. I would not otherwise be caught dead in this dreadful place but it might very well turn out profitable for us all.” He put a hoof through his short, slicked-back mane green as a lime.

“So what will be my job here? Do you want me to help out with the mining?”

Trusty chuckled slightly. “By no means, we have ponies for that sort of manual labour. But from a lifetime of experience I know that things are bound to go wrong, so it’s always good to keep an expert on troubles close at hand. I’m afraid I can’t guarantee you a regular salary either, but I will pay you per job.”

“That’s quite all right,” Lars ensured and stood up straight again. “I’m not here for the bits.”

“The adventure then? Or the excitement? Doesn’t matter. Why don’t you pop on down to the docks? A couple of workers need an escort to Raven Rock so we can get the mining started. You can check back in with the commander afterwards to set up your quarters.” Lars turned to leave, but Trusty cleared his throat. “And before I forget. Your down payment of one hundred bits.” Trusty pushed a leather pouch across the table and Lars picked it up, his face full of surprise. “I know it isn’t much for a mercenary, but even I could do a simple escort mission. If I weren’t so ruddy busy. Now off with you, and do be a gent and take the boat. Can’t have the workers die before they get to the actual work.”

Lars put the pouch inside his deep purple one-piece where it didn’t even leave so much as a bump. He hastily exited the office without another word. He could scarcely tell the sponsor how he usually only made a tenth of that amount on what odd jobs he could find. On his way out, he passed the assistant again and finally figured out what he reminded him of. With his protruding front teeth and skinny appearance, he resembled above all an oversized rat. Lars nodded at him but received no gesture back.

The dock was small and made of large stones, and could only accommodate a single boat. It stood at the foot of a small slope where a path had been ground into the grass by many hooves. A pegasus stood on the boat, shivering slightly. Lars had not noticed the cold, being well-protected in his suit and golden boots. But a chill wind blew into his face. He closed his eyes and let it wash over him.

“Will you be our guide, outlander?” a unicorn asked him. Two of them and an earth pony wandered around the pier.

“We can just go by boat, right?” Lars looked up at the pegasus on his ship.

“Sure, but there ain’t no port in Raven Rock. You will have to hoof it back to the fort,” he replied with teeth starting to clatter. “Wish I had brought some shoes. Or a sweater.”

The workers were equally naked but did not complain. They followed Lars on board and after ten minutes, in a natural bay, they arrived at their destination. With no port, they had to jump into the water with materials and tools over their shoulders and wade knee-deep to the coast.

Raven Rock was a small area of snow with green grass surrounding it. That was all to it except for a few stones jutting out of the ground and sporadic trees. The workers, likely instructed beforehand, went about their business and settled their boards and nails and other items in the snow.

Another earth pony galloped up to Lars. He was muscular built but had a kind face; his coat was violet and his cropped mane was pale orange. He wore the same doublet as the earth ponies from back at the fort, but his was more worn and dirty.

“I have been expecting you, human. Celestia sent word about you in advance,” he called out and came to a screeching halt. “The name is Watermelon Napoleon, but everyone just calls me Melon.”

He put out a hoof, and Lars put down his share of the burden to shake it. “Lars Leland.”

“Well that’s a mouthful and a half. Can I just call you Lars?” Melon did not wait for a reply but instantly pushed behind Lars to move him up towards the snow and trees. “Here we’ll make our mine, Lars. It doesn’t look like much right now, but give it some time and there’ll be swinging and singing and life, I tell you.”

“So why was I asked to escort the workers? They could have come here fine by their own.” He noticed one of the unicorns use his magic to pick up the boards that he had just dropped.

“Because I want you to see the colony for yourself. Well not much of a colony yet, but in time you will see. And, I also need someone to go back to Trusty Gunner with some samples. I swear, I only trust that pony because he was willing to fund this project. And unless we bring him back some proof, we won’t see a single bit.”

“About that, I’ve been wondering what this ebony is?”

Melon ran ahead to a large rock filled with shards of dark glass. He patted it and then took a stone from his inner pocket that he tossed to Lars.

“Ebony, you see, is this wonderful volcanic material only found here in the Crystal Empire. Not exactly glass, not exactly stone, it’s a delightfully strong type of crystal that can be a little heavy but beautiful to look at. It can be a right pisser to come by in Equestria these days so we’ll be sure to make a lot of people happy. Be a darling, Lars, and grab a pickaxe. We need at least four more samples to convince that hardheaded pony back at the fort.” Melon winked when they heard loud yelling coming from the workers. The unicorns were squabbling over what looked like a piece of paper with the earth pony. “Meanwhile, I better make sure no one gets killed.”

Lars smiled, and was actually beginning to look forward to working with Melon. He grabbed a pickaxe that had been dropped in the snow went to work.

The trip back through the forest was less than cosy. A supernatural darkness seemed to cling about the crowns of the trees and unknown animals cried somewhere in the distance. The snow crunched under his gilded feet. The wind howled bitterly and colder than before. After less than an hour, the fort appeared before him but the distant cries grew less distant. Figures moved in front of him. He looked behind and saw shadows falling out of the trees.

Wolves, and a whole pack of them, surrounded him on all sides. Their mangy coats were flea-bitten and coming off in great locks. Their eyes were filled with madness, their mouth foaming as they snarled at him.

Lars quickly found his gun. The wolves were not impressed. They barked loudly again. “Come on,” Lars tempted them. One broke from the ranks. It pounced him but Lars turned the round end on his bulb horn gun. The beam blasted a large hole through the wolf and it dissipated into a flurry. The wolf had barely disintegrated into snow before another one and another one charged him. He blasted one and endured the bite of another to his arm. The suit would not break even at their jaws. He shot that one as well, and it too dematerialised.

Two more jumped him from behind. He toppled down to the ground. He kicked out at one, catching it across its chin, while shooting the other. The first wolf snarled and jumped back. All of its comrades had fallen. It was just it and Lars. Any saner creature would have fled, but not that diseased mutt. The ticks practically sprang from its bristling fur. He squeezed the bulb of his gun, getting only a tired cough from the nozzle.

“You can’t be dead already, I charged you not even twenty years ago!” He pounded a hand against the gun, but all it could do was sputter lifelessly. The wolf caught on to his struggles. It licked its lips greedily and stalked closer to him. It sprang into the air. Lars put his hands up. The expected contact never came. He looked up again to see a spear stuck to the ground.

“The snow wolves are riddled with diseases. Getting bitten can have… unforeseen consequences.” A guard adjusted his helm behind him, then tossed his head towards the fort. “You’re lucky I decided to check on you. Those wolves are only getting bolder.”

“Thank you. I’m not sure what I would have done without you.” Lars put the gun back, as a precaution screwing the bulb to its safe position.

“Don’t mention it,” the guard said and turned around

Back at the fort, behind his desk, Trusty Gunner sat with a newspaper spread before him. Lars dumped the stones down on the paper. The sponsor looked with colour flushing his face. He was about to say something, probably rude, when he saw it was just Lars.

“Ah, there you are, my friend. I thought for sure you had gotten lost in the woods, taking this long to get back to me,” he said with a smile creasing his chin into dimples.

“Yeah, there’s something spooky about the forest. I was also attacked by wolves, so please tell me that they are the real deal?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes, these are a beautiful bunch indeed.” Trusty took one of the stones up to his eye. “I cannot tell you the value of just these five pieces. I’ll send for you if I need you again.”

The sponsor became caught up in the stones and dreams of wealth and power. Lars asked for directions instead from the rat-like pony outside his room. He wanted to visit the captain of fort. The general quarters were the building on his right as he stepped down into the courtyard again. Several guards walked around inside or sat and chatted by tables or played cards or otherwise passed the time until their shift.

Lars went up a winding staircase at the other end of the large room to a carpeted corridor with doors on all sides. Like the sponsor, the Captain had a desk and a bed shielded by a screen but his office was the last room on the left. The Captain was a strong earth pony with an air of trustworthiness around him. His uniform differed only with a red sash around the neck and a crest with a sun and sword. His coat, like his crew cut mane, looked as if it had been dyed in blood.

“Yes, what is it?” he asked without looking up from the many papers on his desk. The pen in his mouth darted across the paper.

“Lars Leland, reporting in for duty,” the human said with a clenched fist under his chin. The Captain looked up.

“The human? Ah, splendid!” He sprang down from his chair to properly greet Lars with a firm hoof shake. “The name is Captain Fall Crush, but everypony just calls me Captain Crush. Eh, duty, you say? Aren’t you just here for the mine?”

“Well yes, but I figured I could make myself useful here as well.”

Captain Crush released his hand again and nodded. “Yes, things here have certainly not been the same since King Sombra returned. Even now after he has been vanquished, it feels almost like his vengeful spirit is licking its wounds. The guards report back of disease-riddled snow wolves that mindlessly attack everything they see. This ominous feeling is weighing on my guards, and it is my responsibility to lift their morale. Just being stationed here in this cold, desolate wasteland is enough to get any recruit down.”

“Yeah, the snow wolves I’ve noticed,” Lars remarked and looked out of the slit windows behind the desk. He could still see shadows move among the trees even from the comfort of the fort. The Captain returned to his desk.

“I fear something else is worrying my guards, however. Through the thick of it I’ve never had this riotous vibe from any of them. If nothing is done soon I fear we’ll have a mutiny on our hooves. But as their Captain, they do not confide in me.” He folded his hooves and rested his head on it. “I have no one to trust with this mission, but you come with high remarks. Report back to me if you find something.”

“I was also wondering about my sleeping arrangements,” Lars added, making the Captain smile.

“This isn’t exactly a hotel, Mr Leland. You will sleep with the other guards and eat with them as well. I hope that’s all right with you, otherwise you’re welcome to find another arrangement.”

“It will be just like back on earth.”

Lars set to his assignment with cautious vigour. He knew well himself that the morale of the men was important. The guards he met were all brooding and curt, a trend he had noticed just wandering around the fort. He had only to exit into the corridor outside of the Captain’s office to be reminded. The trampling of a pony with golden boots made a rhythmic pounding among the stone walls. The clack of a spear being sporadically butted into the ground announced the coming of a guard. An earth pony in golden armour marched unheedingly up towards him.

“Excuse me,” Lars called out to him, but the guard chose not to hear. Not until Lars blundered out in front of him did the guard acknowledge him.

“Please step out of the way, outlander,” the guard said with his helmet drawn over his eyes.

“Can you tell me what the word is around here?”

“My throat seems to have gotten awfully dry. I have nothing else to say to you.” The guard made a half-circle around Lars and continued his patrol.

“And I was saving this for a rainy day…” he muttered. His hands began patting the suit, up, down, chest, thighs and side, until he found what he looked for. He slipped out a small glass bottle with Sweet Apple Acres’ finest cider. “If you’re thirsty, why not have one on me?”

The guard turned around nonchalantly and had to drop his spear to catch the bottle. He uncorked the bottle, putting his nose all the way down to the neck to get a good whiff. “Do my senses deceive me or is this a bottle of cold cider?”

“Perhaps you could tell me what’s bothering you? I could try and help. I’m good with that sort of thing”

“Well…” The guard paused to put the bottle to his lips. “If you really want to help us, why don’t you go back to the captain and ask why he has forbidden all the cider? The fort is dryer than the badlands. All we’ve had to live off is water.”

“I will, and thank you for your cooperation. You may keep the bottle.”

The guard didn’t look willing to relinquish it anyway. Lars turned back and entered the Captain’s office again. Crunch looked up with surprise. “Well that was fast, Mr Leland. Don’t tell me you’ve already solved the problem?”

“Your men are contesting your decision to forbid cider,” Lars replied in a neutral tone and went all the way back to the desk.

A pained grimace flickered over the Captain’s face. He spat out his quill again. “I didn’t exactly forbid it per se. The shipments just sort of stopped coming and now we’ve run through our stock. Had I only known it was that important to my guards.” Captain Crunch sprang to his hooves. “Well, high time we did something about it! Since neither I nor any of my guards would want to stop the shipments from coming, and since that Trusty Gunner only came here a few days ago, it just leaves his brother, the steward. Could you check up on him for me? It would be bad if I made a direct accusation and it turned out he was innocent.”

Lars felt the sincerity in the captain’s voice. He seemed like a good stallion willing to do anything for his guards. “I’m on it. I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting him.”

Scant moments later, Lars had crossed the courtyard and was back in the building he had first visited. Tough Gunner was not in the corridor, nor was he in his designated chamber on the right. Lars found him inside the room on the left, adjusting paintings and dusting off the surfaces.

“Back so soon?” he mumbled with the feather duster between his teeth and front hooves up the fireplace to reach the mantle.

“I was just wondering if you knew anything about the cider shortage.” He stood in the doorway, taking in the grandeur of the room. It was just a bedroom but had all the trappings for a princess of any kind. A canopy bed stood down in the left side of the room and thick rugs adorned the floor.

“Why would I know anything about that?” Tough Gunner replied surly.

“Maybe you heard something,” Lars pressed.

“Just that the Captain banned cider on the fort. Reasonable, if you ask me. The guards need to be alert at all moments and not goofing around.”

“The Captain never banned cider. It simply stopped coming.”

Tough Gunner froze. For a moment, he leant up against the fireplace before falling down on his hooves. He spat out the feather duster. “You can’t prove I have something to do with it. Now if you’re done, I suggest you leave me to my work. The Princess’ hearth needs to always be blazing and her room immaculate. The likes of you should not even be in here.”

After that, Lars was nudged out of the room and the heavy door banged shut. “Hiding something, are we?” he thought aloud while scratching his chin. Lars first checked out the steward’s own room opposite, but it contained only a rickety bed and a washing bowl. He stood in the near darkness from having no windows and only stubby unlit candles. He went back out in the corridor and nearly bumped into a guard on his patrol.

“Word travels fast around here,” the guard whispered while keeping an eye on the Princess’ door. “That room is only his sleeping chamber. You want to find his office, go to the upstairs armoury.” The guard passed as innocently as he had come and continued his patrol. Lars wondered if he was the same pony he had met before. It did not matter, they all looked the same.

The armoury was the last building he had yet to visit, placed opposite the general quarters. The floors and walls were lined with shields and spears and swords of all makes and sizes. Woven tapestries depicted ponies wearing full combat armour and gruesome battle axes. Amid it all sat an earth pony wearing black armour. On the flimsy table in front of him was a candle, a bottle of swig and his helmet. He wiped his mouth and nodded at Lars, but did not speak. Nor did any of his assistants.

“Seems like I have free pass around the fort,” Lars thought aloud to himself. The rest of the way was like the other two rooms. A winding staircase took him up to the first floor, a corridor lined with doors. Just as he wondered which door to bust in, a guard dropped his spear. The pony fixed his eyes on Lars’ and put a hoof on his spear. The tip pointed to the first door on the right. Lars nodded, and the guard picked up his spear and resumed his patrol.

The door was not locked. The office was made of stone as all the others. A thin, red rug attempted to give it some warmth. On his right was a desk and in the farthest left corner was a big closet. Lars put his nose close to the desk. It was the kind where a shutter protected the insides and when down could be used as a surface. Through the lock came the faintest trace of cider through parchment and ink. A large smile crept across Lars’ face.

He gave the desk a good kick. It toppled over and the thin wooden framing holding the shutter burst one. The clatter of bottles quickly drew the guard’s attention. Shocked, he looked first at the cider spilling out on the floor and then at Lars.

“Seems like the steward is treating the guards to cider,” Lars said and picked up one of the bottles. The make and content differed to produce three or four different brands, but the guard didn’t care. He grabbed the bottle Lars tossed at him and buttoned it up.

The entire guard staff soon huddled into the room and it was hard to get a wriggle room. Lars allowed the guards to get their fair share and then tried to get out. Many who had got a bottle didn’t choose to sit around. Some even hoarded bottles into their armour. The party really got going when they toppled the closet as well and the bottles literally poured out.

“So Tough Gunner wanted evidence. Well, I think I’ve got more than I needed.” Lars himself stuffed a bottle into his suit. He met the steward again outside in the courtyard, running about distressed on the spot.

“You!” he exclaimed with murderous calm. “This was supposed to be my ticket back to society. You think I like being stuck in this frozen wasteland? Care for a room that is never being used? If the situation got out of hand, the Princess would cancel the fort and send us all back home.” Tough Gunner put his hooves up to Lars’ chest so he could look the human almost in the eyes. Lars looked down at him with an angered look and slapped him off.

“Suck it up! We all have to do things we don’t like, but you recklessly endanger everyone on the fort just to get your will. You will probably get sent back now, though not quite as you imagined it.”

Tough Gunner gritted his teeth. “What do you want from me?”

“To make sure that the guards will be supplied with cider. Keep your head low and the Captain will not need to hear of this.”

“Fine. Do what you must. But if you truly will not tell the Captain of my involvement then I will keep my end of the bargain as well. Cider will flow again at Fort Frostmoth.”

Lars watched the steward before sighing deeply. He could feel his age creep over him slowly. So much of the day had been spent travelling that it was almost gone. Darkness was fast falling on the land and red bled through the sky. He went back to the general quarters to check up on his sleeping arrangement. He had gotten the bottom of a bunk bed. A chest was prepared for him for his convenience but was empty for now. On the sheets however awaited him a surprise. Wound in a red bow sat a shortsword with a little card attached.

“I heard your gun was having some trouble – Captain Crunch.” He flipped the card over and read the other side as well. “Sparkblade, a feisty shortsword made of silver and capable of zapping anypony you stab.”

“I have a feeling this is not going to be a vacation, if this day is anything to go by,” Lars muttered to himself.