//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Decisions and a Secret // Story: Dragoon Wars; Seven Lords Rising // by Crystalis McCloud //------------------------------// Not long later, as discussion brewed within the Carousel Boutique, Applejack and Fluttershy arrived with similar misgivings as to the presence of their canine guests. After mutual assurances and greetings from the partnered pony and diamond dog, the two seemed to allow themselves to relax a bit. Bowser’s polite and respectful decorum worked wonderfully to neutralize any sense of danger and hostility. He was a unique example among his own species, and he knew how to use that to his advantage to dodge the bad reputation his kind had gained over the years. When Applejack and Fluttershy were caught up on all the details, Bowser sat back at the table with legs crossed and staff at his side, watching as the five mares took seats as well. Playing the part of observer, he watched and listened as the friends discussed what they planned to do to help Princess Twilight. He took all the information in stride, having already gotten a basic run-down and learned about the Lord of Light’s arrival before coming to Ponyville. “Well, Rarity’s role is already decided. Once she figures out a design, she is gonna make some of this battle gear for me and Twilight to wear,” Rainbow Dash declared, slamming a hoof on the table. A fierce and confident grin flashed across the pegasus’ face as she boasted, “If any of us is capable of fighting in this war alongside Twilight, it’s me. I’d say AJ is first runner-up.” The mentioned farm mare tipped her hat up and waved a hoof dismissively at the claims, “Now hold on a second there, Sugarcube. I may be a rough and tumble rodeo pony. I may even be one heck of an applebucker. One thing I ain’t is a fighter. I may be strong, but I don’t have any real skills or martial arts training. Don’t you remember what happened when I tried to fight Spike a week ago? He knocked me right out like I was nothing!” Countering Rainbow with her own hoof slamming onto the table, she added, “These fights won’t be nothing like during the wedding in Canterlot. Heck, we even lost that fight too! This isn’t the kind of problem we can just smack around with our hooves to make it go away!” In an admittedly infuriating display of flippance, Rainbow just brushed her mane out of her eyes and smirked wider, “I don’t mind being the on my own helping her out. With me on her side, she can’t lose!” My, this mare certainly had an ego, didn’t she? At the same time, there seemed to be little argument from her friends as to her skills, so it must be at least somewhat well founded. “Darn it, Rainbow, this isn’t the time to inflate that ego of yours! We are in a mighty bad situation here!” “I’m not gonna just sit back and let this happen, AJ!” “I am not saying you should, I just don’t want your darn stubborn pride getting you killed for not taking this seriously!” “I couldn’t be more serious about laying my life on the line!” The two mares shouted back and forth stubbornly like that for a while. They certainly were an interesting group. These two were almost at each other’s throats, and yet there was a feeling of unfailing bond between them. This argument stemmed from care and concern, not some petty differences. It was enough to make a dog a bit jealous, don’t you think? After more fiery back and forths between the two of them, a softer voice raised up, surprising Bowser when it managed to silence the bickering. “Excuse me.” It was soft, almost like a whisper, but the immediate pause in fighting spoke for the voice’s weight. When all eyes turned to the timid Fluttershy, she hid with half of her face behind her outflowing pink mane, and continued, “I think I could go to Zecora’s house. I think she might know some potion recipes that could help a lot, for both Twilight and the soldiers. If there is a war, healing potions would be especially useful. Plus, I can probably get some of the bigger animals to help pick ingredients in the Everfree Forest.” An excellent maneuver to change the subject. Zecora? Sounded like a zebra name. Who’d have thought there would be a zebra alchemist in this area? They lived much closer to the griffon kingdom on the other side of the ocean. Perhaps he would have to pay this zebra a visit sometime. Mental note: Find out from Rarity where Zecora lives and pay a visit. “That sounds absolutely marvelous, Fluttershy,” Rarity encouraged her from behind a wall of floating papers at the end of the table. “If we can produce war gear and potions to help the army, Ponyville will be a lot safer. They will put more soldiers around our town to protect the production.” “An excellent point, Rarity,” Bowser joined in on the conversation, tapping a claw to his chin thoughtfully, “We should get the prototypes to Celestia as soon as we can, so she knows of the value of our new armor. The sooner she knows, the sooner she can give us some protection as a valuable asset production.” An expectedly skeptical voice rang to the side of the dog, glancing to see Rainbow giving him a skeptical look, brow arched high, “That is great and all, but just what is so special about these cloth outfits that makes them a replacement for the sturdy, lightweight armor of the royal guard? For me and Twilight it makes sense, she’s a magic user, not a close fighter, and I need as much flexibility as possible, plate would just get in my way. Why would the traditional equestrian armor need to be replaced?” Of course, the stigma rolls its ugly head again. This mare still didn’t trust him, but really, she didn’t have to, did she? It was a simple matter of showing. With a tap of his staff against the floor, he focused his thoughts and watched the amber glow spread from the tip and surround the table and the chairs they sat on. For only a moment, the furniture slowly lifted up a meter into the air, hovered for a second, and then gently touched back down right where they had been. All ponies save for Rarity were understandably perplexed as to the meaning of his little display, but one was expectedly more vocal about it. Need there be any guess as to who? “Am I the only one who doesn’t get what that was all about?” Rainbow Dash scratched her head quizzically. Seeing a small smirk tug at his muzzle, she got notably sassier. “Just showing off your fancy magic staff, Spot?” Oh, a verbal jab? Seems the figurative claws were coming out. Well, if she was going to be catty, he may as well reciprocate like any dog should, no? Taking the little verbal jab in stride, Bowser leaned back and spread his paws innocently. “What’s the matter Zap-Apple-Mane? Feel like you’ve been shown up?” He had her. The cocky mare’s mouth flapped open and closed wordlessly as she tried to come up with a snappy retort. He knew none would come though, and his grin grew ever so slightly. There was no counter she could make. Any stern rejection of his accusation would only make it seem all the more like he had hit the mark, and would make it look like she really did feel threatened in that way. She obviously didn’t, but he had trapped her in her own hubris. Not wanting her self confidence called into question, this prideful mare would not be able to say anything in retort, and be forced to drop the topic to save face. And indeed she did. After a few moments of indecision, she snapped her jaw shut and clenched her teeth, slinking back in her seat and crossed her hooves in front of her. It was so much fun to mess with others like this. He may be a refined gentledog, but he wasn’t above screwing with others in the most delightful ways with nothing but a silver tongue. And it was just so entertaining how they reacted. “Well what do you know, he actually left Rainbow speechless,” his sharp ears picked up the whisper between Applejack and Pinkie sitting next to her., The latter giggled, only to be silenced at a look from the vexed pegasus. Smiling with an intentionally grating level of charm, he explained himself, as though the previous exchange had never happened. Gesturing a paw past them all and into the main area of the boutique, he asked, “Would you all please look to that piece of fabric over there?” All eyes turned in the indicated direction. Resting upon a sewing table was a large cut of translucent silver cloth, identical to the uniforms the diamond dog guards outside had been wearing. Without a word, he pointed his staff towards the cloth and focused as hard as he could muster, summoning up all the magic he could as if shined brilliantly along its tip. Despite considerable effort from him, all the managed to muster was a faint glow flickering round the fabric, and a flutter as barely any force managed to move it. Releasing the spell, his brow was beaded with sweat from the exertion as his mind and magic were taxed. “As you can see, that fabric is special. It is woven from crystal thread, a specially spun thread that only the Crystal Empire knows how to produce. It is extracted in raw form from any gemstone, which since the Empire’s return, we have been supplying a significant amount of in trade for the thread.” Feeling his strength come back somewhat, he held out his staff and lifted a pair of scissors from a supply bin near the fabric and looked to Rarity questioningly, “May I?” Looking up from her papers, Rarity smiled, nodding, “Go right ahead, Deary. I have dozens of spares.” With no further urging, he opened the scissors and snapped them down on the fabric. The sound of cracking metal pierced high for a second, and bringing the cutting implements over, he showed that the chipped and cracked shears to the mares, “As you can see, not only does crystal thread offer a magical resistance, but it is incredibly difficult to cut. Only weapons infused with magic, or objects infused with the same essence that is extracted from gems to make the thread can cut through it. It is so tough that it can only be turned into clothing with those specially infused tools that are made in the same process.” A spark seemed to dance in Rainbow Dash’s eye at the explanation. “That’s perfect! Flexible like cloth, yet tough like solid metal plates!” She cackled in excitement, a hoof striking Bowser’s shoulder as she says, “You’re not half bad, I guess.” It was the closest thing to an apology that he assumed he would get, so he took it gladly. “Thank you,” he accepted politely, rubbing his sore shoulder. Man that mare could punch. She certainly was as strong as she boasted. “Well I don’t know what I can do to help. Working on the farm is a full job for me and my family,” Applejack smoothly returned the subject to its original point. “I can’t leave the farm for too long, or everything goes wonky. At the very least, if we can get a few extra hands, we can supply a hearty food supply to the army. May have to go through a bit of an apple shortage for non-military ponies though.” Fluttershy looked to Pinkie, who had been almost completely silent for the whole discussion. She looked as though she were in deep thought, “What about you Pinkie? What do you think you can do?” Ears perking and eyes coming back into focus, Pinkie brought her attention to the conversation. “Oh, um... Sweets! Apples are healthy and good for you, but a good supply of baked goods for the soldiers will help keep morale up! Nothing cheers up a pony quite like a perfect cupcake!” All present nodded in agreement, cupcakes and other treats would be a great contribution in their own right. It was decided then, everypony had their roles figured out. “I really need to get going,” Rainbow Dash clacked her hooves together, flitting into the air and flying to the door, “I gotta send a letter to my dad so he can send me my Casts.” “Casts?” What are those?” Fluttershy tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Really really old, awesome weapons. They’ve been in my family for a long time,” Rainbow explained to Fluttershy, repeating in summary what she told to Pinkie before, “You’ll all have to wait till they get here to see just how awesome they are!” Bowser’s brow perked at the mention of the weapons. He had heard of them before, mentioned in the old scriptures of his kind as a special weapon just for ponies. Such a weapon would indeed be of great use. One by one the ponies started to file out of the building, each giving their goodbyes to Rarity until Only she and Bowser remained. Setting down her papers, she batted those radiant sapphires at him, “So what’s next?” “I’ll be going to,” he said, standing from his seat, grasping his staff firmly in his paw, “While you work on the designs, I’ll go inform the seamstresses that came with me that you have agreed to the partnership. Since you can’t use your magic on these fabrics, you’ll definitely need a few extra paws on the job, and I can assure you that they will be able to keep up with you. They are the finest seamstresses of our people.” Summoning a skechbook, quill, and vial of ink to her side, the alabaster fashionista set her designing materials down and began to work meticulously. One could not help but admire her focus and drive. “That sounds wonderful, they’ll be here tomorrow morning, right?” “Yes.” “I’ll be finished with the designs before the night is through, then. Have a pleasant evening.” “You too, partner.” Stepping out of the boutique, Bowser was surprised to find that it was much darker than he had expected. The sun was setting on the horizon leaving a shadowy glow about the town in the dusk light. His guards stood at rapt attention, and no ponies seemed to be gathered outside anymore, having seemingly admitted the presence of his detail now. Looking towards the setting sun, he saw a rather strange sight, the poofy silhouette of an unmistakable mare, Pinkie Pie, walking out of town and along the edge of the Everfree Forest. She didn’t seem like she was just going out for a stroll, and if he recalled correctly, the only things in that direction were Froggy Bottom Bog and Ghastly Gorge. “Why in Soa’s name would she be heading out there?” he mumbled to himself before turning to his guards, “Gentledogs, we have an agreement with Miss Rarity. Go inform the females that they can come in the morning. I have something I wish to investigate on my own, so consider yourselves off duty once you get back to camp.” His soldiers knew better than to question his orders. With a firm salute, they formed into two lines of 3 and marched their way out of town, heading towards their camp on the eastern edge of the Everfree between Ponyville and their home under Rambling Rock Ridge. Bowser, on the other paw, turned to follow the pink mare who was slowly disappearing from sight out to the west. She didn’t seem to be in any rush, so he caught up to her in no time, but stayed out of sight out of curiosity, not wanting to miss a chance to see what the hyperactive mare was doing in what could be seen as a breach in usual behavior, from what he observed. When Ponyville was well out of sight, after nearly an hour of walking, the mare stopped, and a flash of light surrounding her forehooves revealed a shocking new development. Several hours later, in the dead of night as the moon rose high in the sky, Bowser stumbled into the hole that marked the burrow of their camp, grasping his staff tightly and leaning heavily on it for support. Gasping for breath, he was drenched with sweat, his pelt matted with the moisture and a light caking of mud on his hind paws. He was exhausted, and extremely thankful that he was uninjured after the startling events of the night. Finding his way to the small groove in the tunnel dug out for him, he looked to his sleeping guards and the seamstresses that had come along, and fell into his dusty cloth bedding with a pronounced yawn, falling fast asleep.