Seventeen
The dreams were becoming more frequent. Each individual trip into this continuous dream provided frustratingly little information, but when strung together in my journal, a definite story began to take shape, even if I was missing a lot of details. In my dream, I finally began the game that I had heard about before, and left the chaos around me behind. I entered a land truly befitting a dream world, a Land of Storms and Balance. With me was a being that scared me to no end, a terrifying machine with no real form. I hated it, but I could not rid myself of it. I needed it. It was the only thing that knew about the game, and could help me and my friends.
It didn’t quite make sense to me, but I knew that it was coming together, and that it was going to become more complete with every dream. Finished transcribing my last dream, I packed away my two journals and made my way out of the inn. Today was the day Octavia could leave the training grounds, and I wasn’t going to be a minute late to greet her. I swiftly made my way to the street housing the entrance to the barracks, and leaned against the wall opposite the gates. Several other people were milling about, with the same idea of greeting their newly recruited loved ones in mind.
After almost an hour of dutiful waiting, the new recruits began to make their way out of the barracks, stretching and taking their time for what must have been the first time in two months. I kept my eyes on the gates, waiting to see Octavia exit, and after a few more minutes, she did. She looked different than the last time I saw her: skinnier, but with more muscle on her exposed arms. Shortly after I noticed her, I noticed Lyra, beside her as always. She looked about the same as she ever did, but in a much better-fitting trainee uniform than anything she used to wear back at Ponyville.
As it happened, Lyra noticed me standing against the wall first, and a knowing smile dawned on her face when she recognized it was me. Octavia had been saying something to her, but when she saw Lyra’s smile, she turned to see what it was. Even from where I stood, I could see her eyes light up, and a huge smile grew on her face. We both stepped forward, slowly at first, but soon broke into a run. I caught her as she leapt into my arms, and after gravity took over and we spun around a bit, we kissed. It wasn’t a long, drawn out kiss- just a peck on the lips that lasted two or three seconds- but I still thought it was absolutely perfect.
“Vinny!” she exclaimed happily, nuzzling her head against mine. “You’re back earlier than you said. How’d it go? Oh, where’s Doc?”
I frowned slightly. “Tavi, can we… go somewhere a bit more private to talk? Lyra, you’re welcome to come too…”
“Nah.” she said, waving my offer. “I’m the third wheel for you guys enough of the time anyway. I’m going to hang out with some of the other recruits for a while, and I’ll catch up with you two later. But hey, Vinyl!” She nodded. “It’s good to see you again.”
I nodded back. “You too.” She left with another recruit, and Octavia took me by the hand and led me down the street. Eventually we ended up at a small restaurant tucked between two bigger buildings. After ordering a pair of drinks, I cleared my throat and began.
“Tavi… Doc’s gone.” Her face adopted an expression of concern, but I continued. “We were fighting against a group called the Order. We were looking for a weak point, first. A glimpse at their plans that would let us become a serious thorn in their sides. They found us first, though. Doc was able to save me by sending me back to this time and locking me here, but he… He didn’t make it. I have to fight back.”
“Oh, Vinny…” she said, eyes wide. “I’m so sorry… Oh, but, if you’re locked here, how are you going to keep fighting them?”
“It’s the Time Tables that are locked, not me. I think I’ll be able to unlock them, but it’s going to take some time to figure out how. I thought I’d stay with- or at least around- you until then, because this time… I really can’t guarantee I’ll come back again.”
Octavia frowned sadly, reached over and hugged me tight. “I believe in you, Vinny.” she said quietly. “You won’t let them get away. And you’re strong, I know you are. You’ll be alright.”
I hugged her back after a moment. She was already stronger, and not just physically. Six months ago, she had burst into tears when I told her nearly the same thing. But now, she had faith in me that I would succeed and return. I, conversely, didn’t feel very strong at all. With Doc gone, only one friend who I know I could both allow and count on to watch my back, and having the might of the Order still fresh in my mind, I wasn’t feeling very confident. But maybe, if I could borrow some of Octavia’s newfound strength, it would be enough…
Wistarian Waters
Year 930 Ivoire Calendar
Scootaloo
Drew’s boat bobbed up and down on the waves, as we sailed in relative silence back to Monetopia. Drew was staring out at the waves, guiding the vessel with one hand. He had a thoughtful look on his face, probably wondering what do to first if the paints worked. I sat against one wall with Applebloom on one side, and Angel on the other.
“Hey, Scoots… I’ve been meaning to tell ya’ somethin’…” Applebloom started, breaking the silence.
“Mhm? Sure, what is it?” I responded.
“Well…” she began, “I’ve been havin’ these… weird dreams lately. All the people in ‘em are these… these weird, four-legged things. Some of them have a horn in the middle of their heads, some’ve got wings… I think I’m one too, but I haven’t seen myself, so I can’t be sure. I’m not too sure what’s going on in the dreams, but I keep hearing somethin’ about a game… and there are these paper packages that have a picture of a house on them, I think they’re important, too.”
“Huh… That is pretty weird… Is it the same dream every time?” I responded.
“No, it’s more like… like one big dream, broken up into pieces.”
“Uh…” Sweetie Belle started, drawing our attention. She poked her head in from outside, on the deck of the boat. “We’re in range of seeing Monetopia… But that thing on the horizon doesn’t look quite right…”
Drew looked away from the waters and checked several readouts on the dashboard of the boat. “Something’s wrong.” he said, his voice low. “There’s smoke coming from the city. And… distress beacons. Lots of them.”
I nodded to Applebloom, and we both rushed out to the deck to see for ourselves. We could see the outline of the city from here, but as Drew said, there were several columns of smoke rising from below, and at least one of the taller buildings that was there when we left, was simply gone.
“You reckon it’s the Order again?” Applebloom said, her voice quavering slightly.
“I don’t know anyone else it could be.” I responded. “They’re either just destroying everything, or they’re trying to kill us. I can’t imagine why they’d want to, though. We haven’t done anything to them, we don’t have anything of value to them, no information they need to protect…”
“I think the question should be less ‘why’ and more ‘what are we going to do about it’.” Sweetie Belle commented, joining us on deck. “They’re attacking Monetopia. Are we going to run, or are we going to fight back?”
“I don’t know how much we could do to fight back…” I said sadly. “Equestria’s finest couldn’t take them down, let alone us, and we haven’t gotten any stronger since then…”
“I haven’t seen ‘Equestria’s finest’ in action…” said Drew from the helm, “but I’d like to see them stack up to the White Wolf Army. I can see two of their longboats already at the docks.”
I slipped back into the helm. Angel was already prepared to explain. “The biggest Raven clan in Ivoire. The best of the best. If anyone’s going to stand a chance against the Order, it’ll be them, or the Fighting Beasts. They’re the closest thing Ivoire has to a military, but the fact that they work on their own terms means they can get places a lot faster.”
“So then, it is not a matter of whether or not we will fight them, but whether or not we will help fight them.” Luna concluded.
I nodded, and without hesitation said “I’m in. We’re not going to run from them forever, and this seems like our best chance to do some damage.”
“I agree.” Sweetie Belle added. “We won’t have this kind of firepower again. Let’s give everything we’ve got to stopping them.”
The others hesitated, but after a few moments, Applebloom voiced her agreement as well. “Luna?” I asked.
She sighed. “You know that we try to oppose fighting…” she began, “But if returning will help us to assist those who are in danger already, then we see little other choice.”
“Yeah.” Angel agreed. “A lot of people are probably gone already, but there’s got to be a lot of survivors over there that need any help they can get.”
I looked to Drew, and he sighed. “I’d rather just get away from this, personally, but I’m outvoted. We’ll go, but you’ll tell me about this Order while we sail. I want to know exactly what’s going on here.”
I hadn’t thought to keep talk of the Order quiet, but it was too late now. So as we sailed, we told Drew all the basics: what we knew about how the Order operated, their attack on Eclipse city, our exile from Equestria after being branded traitors, and of who was leading the organization, Lord Discord.
He exhaled a heavy breath when we were finished, clearly shaken. “So, that’s what we’re up against…”
“You aren’t.” I corrected. “Just us, for some reason.”
“Save me the heroics, kid.” he countered. “All of humanity is up against this. If that demon Discord is half the monster you say he is, he’s not going to stop when you’re dead. He wants something out of this whole world. Control, or destruction, it doesn’t matter. He’s the enemy of all people.”
I sighed, but nodded. He was right. Looking at the bigger picture, Discord obviously had much bigger goals in mind, but for some reason seemed to be trying to get us out of the way. Did he think we could stop him? I couldn’t imagine how we would be involved at all, since we weren’t that much more skilled than anyone else like us. Surely there were more threatening people to his plans than us.
But in targeting us, he may have just ensured that we would be a threat. By avoiding his attacks on us and retaliating against the Order, he may have caused the very problem he was trying to avoid. However, that still didn’t answer the question of what he was trying to stop us from doing in the first place…
“Look sharp, we’re here.” Drew updated us, pulling the boat up to the docks of Monetopia. This part of the city was mostly unharmed, but we could see the smoke rising from deeper within the island. The few boats left in the docks were being loaded up with people, running for their lives.
“Drew, take Cody and stay behind us.” I ordered. “Applebloom, Angel, you’re at point with me. Sweetie Belle, Luna, stay close behind us. Let’s move!”
Scratch’s Journal
Year 490 Equestrian
Two months had passed since Doc sent me to this time for safety. I hadn’t put anything else in this journal since, but the dream journal was filling up. Especially after the most recent dream: the game we were embroiled in took a turn just as we thought we were about to win, and it had cost us one of our companion’s lives.
At last, while tinkering with the controls, the Time Tables became responsive again. Turning the discs gave me a time and place destination, and all the other readouts were just the same as the had ever been. I gave a mixed sigh, partially in relief that it was finally unlocked, but partly in sadness for the same reason. I had to leave. I had to leave Tavi again.
I waited until the end of the day, when she was free from training, and met her at the gates. She emerged and jogged over to greet me, but the smile quickly faded from her face. I had removed my sunglasses, and she could see by the look in my eyes that my time had come to go.
“You’re leaving?” she asked, her voice quiet. I nodded, and she stepped forward and embraced me. “Just come back safe, okay?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’ll try my best.”
She smiled, and gave me a soft kiss. “Then go on. Go save the world. We’ll hold down the fort here.”
I smiled and nodded. However, as I was walking away, I turned back. “Hey, one last thing. If you see any signs of trouble around here, just keep Lyra with you and stay safe. I’ll get back here as soon as I hear of it.”
She nodded dutifully, and I turned my head back forward. Once again, it was painfully apparent to me how much Tavi had grown already. How many times would I be able to see her again before the Equestrian Civil War, and the end of our friendship? Would I be able to see her again at all?
I didn’t turn back around, for fear of her seeing my eyes watering up. The Time Tables hovered at my sides, and with a quick spin, I made the jump through the time stream, away from safe territory and back into the fight. I was deposited from the streets of Equestria to the dirt roads of Forestia, year nine hundred thirty of the Ivoire calendar.
I entered the nearby town- the main settlement on the island- and looked around to get my bearings. The last I had heard of Raphael was that he was staying in this town, watching over the area. It may have been out of paranoia, but I felt the pressing need to move, to get Raphael and get back on the offensive. I felt that the Order was going to know I was back before long, and I needed to be ready.
It didn’t take me too long to find someone who knew where Raphael was staying. There were a few other humans in the town, but the majority of the residents of civilized Forestia were Scrabbits. Out in the wilds, though, the population was mainly Zombies: a misleading name, seeing as they aren’t actually dead, and are simply a race unto themselves. However, due to their ghastly appearance, relatively low average intelligence, long life and ability to sustain incredible amounts of physical damage, the mistake is an easy one to make.
The bottom line was that when a new human face was in town, it was hard to miss them. I was directed to an inn, and leaned against the outer wall for several minutes. I didn’t think I’d have to wait longer than that for Raphael to find me there, and I was right. From the street across from the inn, a tall figure in light leather armor, with bedraggled brown hair, a sword at his hip and a vague smile on his face approached.
“Scratch!” he greeted, standing before me. “It has been a long time. You look well though.”
“Thanks.” I commented. “It has been a while. Guessing you’re still here to try and get the attention of the White Wolves?” Raphael had always wanted to join the White Wolf Army, ever since he was young. He had this idea in his head that, since most people who just asked to join were rejected, he would prove himself in the fields of battle to them, and they would have little choice but to welcome him to their ranks.
“Indeed. There have been reports of pirates in the waters to the west. Likely to be of Tellian origin. A few White Wolves are in the area, watching for the next raid. I thought it prudent to station myself here and provide reinforcement if necessary.”
“Sounds like a solid plan,” I said, “but I might just have a better offer for you. C’mon, let’s walk, I’ll tell you about it.”
He nodded. I detached myself from the wall of the inn, and we strode down the dirt road. “So, where have your travels taken you lately?” asked Raphael, curious. He hadn’t seen me for six months, so it was understandable. “And where is Doc?”
“That’s where it all starts.” I replied. “For the first six of past eight months, Doc and I have been working against someone. A group of incredibly dangerous individuals called ‘the Order’. I have only seen three of them, and only two of them in a combat situation. There are at least ten of them, excluding the late Numbers Five and… and Four. Upon the end of those six months, we were confronted by Number Two, and… Doc didn’t make it. He was able to save me by sending me to Octavia’s time, but he is certainly gone.”
Raphael gave me a sympathetic look and clasp on the shoulder. “Two more months passed while I got the Time Tables, our vessel through time, working again. I bade Tavi what might be my final farewell and came here.” I gave him a smirk. “Because I’m getting back into the fight, and I can’t do it alone. I need someone I can count on watching my back.”
He nodded vigorously. “Of course. Any group that is capable of stopping Doc in his tracks must take top priority. You have my sword, old friend.”
“Oh, speaking of which…” I paused and reached into my pack. “I know you’ll probably say something about wanting to stay honorable in combat, but honestly, it would make me feel better if someone who could actually use this thing had it.” I pulled forth Caledscratch, and handed it to him. I watched as he examined the broken blade and the dial on the hilt, just as I had. “It’s a very advanced weapon, yet an artifact from a long time ago. We needn’t worry about temporal instability as a result of using it. Turning the dial to the left will repair it completely, while turning it to the right will generate electric energy in place of a blade.”
He tried both and nodded, impressed. He then sighed and turned to me. “I will meet you halfway. Should a battle be too perilous, an opponent too formidable, for traditional honorable swordplay… I will use this weapon. Now, where will we find this Order?”
“Don’t worry.” I said, folding my arms. “They’ll find us before long.”