Chapter 6
Ponyville was a nice place, it really was. Wide streets for easy passage through town, spread out buildings so that there was little to no crowding even on a busy day, a huge town square that connected to the main streets and allowed all the town's citizens to fit inside in case of a important announcement or perhaps one of Pinkie's extravagant parties, and bright colored paint jobs on cute little shops and houses.
Yes, a nice place to live, but a terrible place to want to try building defenses in. The wide streets meant that if someone came in force they could circle around small groups of defenders easily and have plenty of maneuvering space. The spread out buildings meant that defending a single block of street would take far more effort than it was worth. The huge town square offered no cover of any kind unless you put something in place yourself, and once the center was taken an opposing force could spread out to fill the entire town within minutes. I had never been in a middle-ages battle, but I'd read enough books and seen enough video documentaries over my lifetime to tell that 'fort' and this location were not related by even the loosest definition.
“This place is a death trap!” I muttered as Twilight pointed out the road that led towards Sweet Apple Acres. No wonder Celestia could not spare the troops to defend this place! It would take her entire army to hold it! Not that her entire army could fit. Right now the safest place on Mythica is probably Cloudsdale. At least they'd only have to deal with the Griffons! I rubbed my face with my hands, then stopped and looked at them. Wrinkles! I guess I really am getting old after all. Where did the time go? I shook my head and lowered my hands. Time for that later. Right now, we need a miracle. A few hundred thousand of our world's soldiers armed with assault rifles and Unihorn point 2's would be nice. I looked around me. Nothing. Darn.
“Are you listening?” Intruded Twilight's voice into my useless thought train. I jolted and looked down at her.
“Sorry, what were you saying?” Twilight frowned.
“I was saying that I think we should tell Applebloom and her family that they should come into town where it's safer. Applebloom is as strong as Applejack, and her husband is pretty tough too, but they still have one foal to look after even though their two other kids are grown.” I shook my head.
“If we do anything we should move everypony here to another location. This town is too spread out. We'd have to cut down a good portion of Everfree forest- or maybe Sweet Apple Acres since they're closer- to make a wall around the town and spikes to slow any invaders. Heck, we'd probably be better off going to the royal palace ruins in Everfree forest to defend ourselves rather than here.” Twilight looked at the town next to us, and then looked up at me.
“You really think so? We forced out the last raiders pretty well.”
“With Celestia's help, yes, but I saw some of your people from the infirmary, Twilight. Most of them did not try to fight, most of them ran. If we're raided again, there's a good chance that the same exact thing will happen, and without Celestia being here, how well do you think we'll do?”
“I'm pretty powerful, and you use magic. We could fight them!” She said confidently.
“We can't be everywhere at once, Twilight. If the town is attacked on all sides, they won't need to beat us. All they'd need to do is distract us for about fifteen minutes, and then their job would be done and they could run.”
“Well I know for a fact that the Apple family won't let you use their trees, and neither will I! They make their living with the apples from those trees, and it was the Apple family that put this town on the map in the first place. Cutting down their trees would be like spitting in their faces!”
“Alright. What's the condition of the royal palace in Everfree in your world?”
“At this point it'd probably be better to tear it down and start again from scratch, and it's rumored that the Humans are coming out of there anyway. Wouldn't we just be putting ourselves in more danger that way?” She was right. I'd forgotten about that little tidbit of information.\
“Okay, so that's out too.” I looked up in the sky and saw a house perched on clouds above it. Putting out of my mind who it belonged to for the moment I considered the idea of having Pegasi gather clouds above the city and then have the Unicorns lift the houses up onto them, but that then left the problem of the non-Pegasi needing a spell placed on them in order for them to walk on them. That might work for a little while, but eventually the spell would wear off, and those without it cast on them again would fall through and either die when they struck the ground, or they'd break something and be stuck until somepony came to get them. I supposed that it might work as a temporary hideaway if a raid occurred, but that tactic would probably only work once, and then the next time we were raided they would send Griffons, whom, if I recalled correctly, could also walk on clouds, thus defeating the purpose.
“Is there any chance that we could convince the townfolk to leave?” Twilight shook her head.
“Even Canterlot has been attacked once, and most of the ponies that live here now grew up here. They're not just going to leave a place they've called home all their lives.” So much for the easy way out, then. I sighed.
“Well, then if we're going to make this town defenseible we're probably just going to have to focus on fortifying only part of it. Say maybe...half. Doing the rest of it would take too much time, and we probably don't have enough ponies to secure it all anyway.”
“Only half? But what about those that live outside that area?”
“They would retreat behind the wall we're going to build and hold out there. If we have the time to build more later, then we will, but we will have to focus on needs first. Do you know where I can find an ax and a shovel and some rope? Vines can work too, but I'd prefer rope. Maybe a cart too?”
“What for?”
“Tree trunk transportation.”
“But you use magic. Can't you just teleport it or move it with telekinesis?” I knew this would come up again eventually.
“I could, but unlike you and Alicorns I have a limited supply of it. Once I run out, I need to get my hands on a-” I hesitated. Not ready to reveal this just yet. “a certain object in order to restore it. Without it, I may as well be an earth pony.”
“Can you use magic now?” She asked. I nodded. “And it's an object, not an innate skill that grants you magic?” I nodded again. “I see.”
Without warning, Twilight picked me up and threw me back several feet.
“Hey! What are you-”
“Defend yourself!” She commanded, and hurled several small stones at me. I prevented the stones from striking me by using my own telekinetic abilities to change their trajectory so they'd miss. She lifted them again and I began to run in a loose circle to physically dodge them.
“Stop it! Why are you attacking me?!” She didn't answer and tossed the stones again, but when I raised my hands to direct them away again (I did not really need to, but it helped me focus better) she suddenly dropped them and I felt a tugging sensation on my legs. My feet were pulled out from under me and I was lifted into the air feet first. She did it so quickly that my head missed striking the ground as I flipped over.
My head started to hurt as my blood drained into my upper body and bit I soon noticed another problem: my Twilight's horn was slipping in the knife sheath as my body swung back and forth. In a few seconds it would fall out, and if I couldn’t catch it I'd be helpless. Wait...Rarity saw me stow the horn in that boot earlier... Twilight knew. She had to, or she had to at least suspect.
Using my stomach muscles and some momentum I swung up and reached a hand into it and shoved it deeper in.
“What's in the boot, Jacob?” She asked, sounding mildly suspicious. I widened my eyes and pointed behind her.
“What's that coming right at you?!” Nothing was, but I hoped it would distract her long enough for me to counter her magic and break free. Twilight snorted.
“I'm not a foal, Jacob. I'm not going to fall for that. Now,” She focused her gaze on the boot and surrounded it with a heavier dose of her magic's aura and pulled it off. Thankfully the horn did not fall out, but now I may as well have been one of my predatory cousins of this reality. Twilight lifted the stones again and tossed them at me with significantly less force than she'd been using before. I caught one with a hand, blocked another with my other arm, and the third struck one of my legs above the knee and bounced off. She nodded as her apparent suspicions were confirmed.
Twilight pulled the boot to herself and tilted the opening towards her face. She made a face at the smell of stinky feet, but found what she was looking for and withdrew it. She dropped the boot and turned the horn over several times and rotated it all the way around several times as well. Then she nodded.
“Rarity told me that you'd had more than one horn and one of them was hers. I found that more than a bit odd given that her horn had been removed a week before you'd gone there. When she told me that her magic feels different when she uses it now I told her that it was probably because you had used your blood and a Human's magic to heal it. But that's not why, is it?” I didn't answer. The Twilight of my world could over dramatize things at times, but she had never been stupid.”You said that there were versions of all of us where you came from and that all of us had died of old age in your world. That horn is Rarity's, but not our Rarity, is it?” I shook my head. Twilight looked at the purple horn in front of her. “This one's mine, isn't it?” I nodded. “How did I die in your world?”
“Peacefully, and in the company of what of your friends and family that were still alive.” She nodded.
“And how will I die here?”
“I can't answer that. Hopefully the same way.”
Twilight lowered me to the ground and returned the- her horn (and the boot) back to me. I placed the boot back on my foot and returned the horn to the knife sheath.
“What about your staff? I had not thought about it before, but if I recall correctly it also had a spiral groove running through most of it. That could not possibly have been from one Unicorn.” I nodded as I walked closer to her.
“The story behind that is a long one, and in truth I'd rather not discuss it.” I had the feeling that everything that we had been discussing Twilight would report to Celestia later, and though Twilight had reacted better than I'd feared I had the feeling that Celestia would not look on me too kindly if she learned that her father had been killed not once, but twice by Humans, and by one of my ancestors in my world no less. “But I will say that that staff is part of the reason I knew how to reattach Rarity's horn.” I didn't ask Twilight to keep what she'd figured out a secret. Either she would tell somepony, or she wouldn't, and it was likely she'd ask Celestia what to do first.
The sound of a cart's wheels coming from the road that led to the Apple family land caused us to look towards it and see a pony of familiar coloration coming up the road. Along with the pony pulling the cart our way sat a second pony next to a pile of apples that had been loaded onto it.
“Hey Applebloom!” Twilight hailed her, waving a hoof. Applebloom focused on Twilight first, and waved, then saw me and whinny-screamed.
“Twilight! Run!!!” She shouted. “There's ah Two-Leg in front of yeh!” Twilight replied that she already knew that and informed her that I was the Human that Celestia had sent on the mission. Applebloom cautiously pulled her apple cart closer and stopped next to Twilight and to get a closer look. The pony sitting next to the apples pointed at me and exclaimed that she'd seen me before a few nights ago. Applebloom looked at the second pony and then asked what she was talking about. The pony explained that I had been the Human with the big stick that had gotten her away from her would-be abductors. Actually, now that she mentions it, she does look familiar.
“Ah suppose ah should thank ya fer saving mah girl.” Applebloom said. “Thank ya.”
“You are quite welcome, miss Applebloom.”
“So what brings you two out here?”
“Princess Celestia gave him his next assignment. He's supposed to find a way to make Ponyville more defensible, so I'm showing him around. So far though, it's not looking too good.”
“Wut seems to be the problem?” Applebloom asked. “Just go cut down some trees from Everfree and build a big wall around it!”
“That would not be practical. Ponyville is too large an area to encircle entirely.” I explained. Applebloom laughed.
“You've never been in Everfree forest, have ya? There's plenty enough trees there for that!”
“That's not what I meant. We'd have too much area to have to have watched at all times. Most likely they would attack us at night so as to cut down on visibility for the defenders, and all it would take is for one sentry to doze off and the raiders could get in with almost no problem and the walls would become worthless. That's not the only problem though. Your town's streets are too open. For what it was made for your town is perfect, but not for what we need.”
“Then why don't you just put up walls between some of the buildings from wall to wall instead?” Applebloom's kid asked. “Some of the streets get restricted, the town becomes the defense, and it takes less time and trips to the forest!” My mouth dropped at the sheer brilliance of so simple a plan. Outsmarted by somepony less than half my age! I felt like an idiot. Twilight apparently felt the same way because we shared the same expression.
“Looks like ya stunned the sorcerers, Juice!” Applebloom laughed again. “If'n ya'll stand like 'at too long you'll catch flies!” She teased-warned. One flew by my face and I snapped my mouth shut followed by Twilight when she also saw it. “Ahv got werk ta do now Twi, but I'll talk to ya later.” Applebloom looked up and me and made a 'hmm' sound. “Ahv learned as I've lived neva ta judge a'one by their family or specie's actions alone. If'n Celestia trusts ya, then ah will too.” She held up a leg. “Nice ta meet ya, stranger.” I took it in my hand.
“And you as well, miss Applebloom. I'm Jacob P. Lighthand.”
“Just Applebloom is fine.” Applebloom turned and pointed her leg at the pony on the cart. “You've already met Juice.” I nodded at Juice and smiled. She waved. “We'll be headin' on into town now. Ah'll see you two later!” Applebloom continued pulling the cart forward by us and headed into town. We watched her go, and then followed after her. After all, Juice had just handed a perfectly good strategy to us, and we with all we had to do ahead of us, time wasted was not a good thing.
As per Celestia's advice in her letter, Twilight relayed the princess's command of making the town more safe to the mayor and then informed her of what needed to be done. The mayor gathered the town together and then explained to them what Twilight had explained to her and asked for volunteers. Nearly everypony in town raised a hoof saying they'd help, though some had to be turned away because they were either too old or were injured during the raid that had occurred earlier.
I watched the proceedings from the inside of the town hall behind a door along with Twilight and Spike, who had joined us where Applebloom had set up her cart. The reaction of the ponies had not really surprised me. What had was when the mayor called me out to stand on the deck of the town hall. I came out to a mix of unhappy mutters and waves from a handful of the ponies I'd freed.
“What can you suggest for stopping them from getting in? The walls are a nice idea, but that will only do so much.” I nodded at her and looked out at the multi-colored crowd of ponies. I had not seen so many of them all in one place since the one of the Gala events that I'd been required to attend back on my Mythica.
“If there's anything I've learned about Humans, regardless of their breed, it's that when we want something we don't give up easy. A wall on its own will likely not stop an invading force if they are determined to get in. I would suggest also digging and concealing pitfalls outside the walls for them to fall into before they reach it, as well as keeping the wood of the wall as rough as possible such as perhaps by leaving the bark on it.” I paused and lifted my hands up, fingers splayed. “Human hands are far more sensitive than a Diamond Dog's, Dragon's, or Griffon's, and are also far better built for climbing. However, if what they try to grab hurts or, even better, injures their hands then they won't be able to get over the wall as easily or use them for much else until they heal. Another idea is digging a trench filled with spikes along the inside of the walls so that any who try to climb over them to get in have to land on those first.”
The crowd gasped or made groans of pain or whistled as they imagined they themselves landing on a row of spikes and being impaled from a height taller than me. “I know it may seem brutal, maybe even heartless, but make no mistake, it's them, or you. My breed of Humans have been fighting and killing one another for thousands of years. Perhaps even farther back than when Celestia and Luna came to your world. If you want to stop them, you're going to need to be more ruthless, more inventive with your tactics and weaponry, and willing to do whatever it takes to stop them. From what the one of the captors of the ponies I brought back from the Human encampment in the Griffon lands claimed, they were only members of one town. If you thought that being attacked by twenty of them was bad, wait until you've got an entire country coming after you.”
The mutterings of the crowd became a cacophony of voices, and the mayor had to yell over them several times to regain silence. She glared at me as some of the crowd started leaving.
“I'm not done!” I called out over the few remaining voices. This regained their attention. “If what I just said has discouraged you, this was not my intent. To quote an actor from a video play back home, 'numbers do not win a battle.' If we cannot win with numbers then we must defend ourselves by other methods.”
“Yeah?” One of them yelled from the crowd. “And what would you suggest? We're not fighters, you know!” Others voiced their agreement.
“I'm not asking you to be. My people have weapons that make close-combat unnecessary. I can't make the same quality of weapon, but I can improvise. Tell me, do any of you know what a cannon is?”
There were many, many shakes of a head indication that no, they did not know. One voice called forward from the rear of the crowd, however, and a space opened up around the single pony that spoke up.
“I once dressed up as a pirate for Nightmare Night when I was still a colt!” He said, sounding excited. “A cannon is a metal tube-like weapon that uses black powder that, when lit with fire, can launch an object from it at high speeds! Pirates used them to fight when sailing on the ocean!” I nodded.
“Good. Then that at least has remained the same from my world to yours. Are there any metal wind-chime or cylinder-bell makers here in town?” This time there was no response at all and I sighed.
“Alright, never mind. Are there any Unicorns here that are good with telekinesis?” This time I got many responses. I nodded. “Good. That will have to do, then. Offense can wait for now, though. First must come defense, which your mayor has already suggested.” I thanked the mayor for having me speak, (though in reality I had not really felt it necessary and suspected she just wanted to put me on the spot) and then retreated inside of the building again. She really does not like me. I would wonder why, but I can probably guess.
I asked Twilight when I reentered the city hall if there might be any cannons here in town anywhere. I highly doubted it, given that this was Ponyville, after all. She thought about that for a minute, then shook her head.
“Not that I know of. Of course a pony might have brought one here when they moved in if they had been descended from one of those pirates you mentioned. There's a bunch of strange family heirlooms that sometimes turn up in yard sales around here.”
“Oh well. That was about what I expected. Not that it would matter anyway.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don't know how to make Black Powder.”
“Black Powder...” Twilight spoke wile she upturned her eyes, thinking. “explosive powder often used in the creation of fireworks and is most commonly made from-”
“Yes, yes, I know that part.” I interrupted. “There are several things that can be used to make it. What I don't know are the measurements.” I sighed. “If only Trixie had come with me instead of staying behind, I would not need to know how to make it!”
“You and her became close? I find that hard to imagine. I don't like being rude, but, she's kind of...” Twilight paused while she searched for the right word.
“Stuck up? Self-centered? Arrogant?” Twilight nodded. “She used to be that way, and even now sometimes it peeks through if you insult her ability with magic, but when she leaped without looking and transformed her horn away and lost her ability to use magic it somehow changed her, and for the better. I had half expected her to go back to the way she had been when she could use magic again, but she didn't.”
“Well maybe our world will be as lucky! Hmph!” We turned at Rarity's voice to our left. Rarity was wearing a- actually, I was not sure what it was. It made her look like a nun. I raised one eyebrow and lowered the other, giving her a puzzled look. Once again, Twilight imitated.
“What is that, Rarity? It's rather...bland compared to what you normally wear.”
“Why, this is a traditional mourning outfit, my dear! Though I may not show it on my face, I am rather upset by recent events!” She gave Twilight a critical look. “Actually I'm a little surprised that you are taking it so well.”
“I'm trying to keep busy.” Twilight explained, the muscles around her eyes tightening slightly. “There are things that need to be done, and according to what I've read, so long as one keeps their mind focused on other things, sadness doesn't have time to set in.” Rarity looked up at me.
“I am much of the same mind. I'd rather not think about it. So, if we could talk about something else for now?” Rarity nodded.
“How about lunch, then? I've been in want of a decent meal for over a week!”
“Lunch sounds good to me. Jacob?” I nodded.
“As long as I get to cook my own meal, lunch sounds good to me too. I haven't had a cooked meal in days, and I feel like I could eat a hor-” I halted my sentence, which would have ended in 'horse'. No doubt they would not have found this humorous given what was going on in the world. I ran my tongue over my upper lip and chose a new word. “whole mushroom and pepper omelet.” Rarity and Twilight traded curious expressions at my hesitation, then shrugged and led us to what I took to be a small cafe where we ate.
During the next few days the town was filled with the sound of work and saws cutting through thick wooden tree trunks and calls from one pony to another as assistance or tools or water were needed. My role in the construction of the 'street walls' was minimal and most of my time was spent pondering what kinds of weapons, if any, the ponies could use in more direct defense should the walls fail to deter raiders.
I knew from the fight with the Dragons back home that they used spears, their heads and hoofs, and of course, magic, but not much outside of magic was going to be much good if this 'king' that Jackylin had mentioned decided to bring a well-equipped campaign army complete with siege weaponry.
I have to wonder if the Diamond Dogs are taking part in this conflict at all or they're just staying underground for the most part and are waiting for things to settle down. I thought while browsing through Twilight's book shelves sometime after dark. If they're not taking part then that I suppose is a good thing opposed to them joining our enemies, but I would think that this would concern them just as much as it does every other race. I'll have to ask Twilight about that later after she comes back. In the meantime I pulled a book from the shelf and skimmed through it. It was the same book that I'd read when I'd first entered Equestria, but there were several differences, the main one being that Everfree forest had never become twisted here, which mean that Mace (or his equivalent) had never found his way here and befriended Thanatos. I lifted my eyes from the page a moment and looked to one side like my father often had when he was pondering something. It was one of many little quirks I'd picked up from my parents.
Does this mean that Thanatos is still alive here? Judging from what of him I'd seen in action on Earth when he was in a crazed state he had once been very dangerous to have as an enemy. How much more powerful a foe would he be now? Could I perchance set this time line to follow in mine's general footsteps? Could we, if we worked together, destroy the Stone Arch Gateway and prevent more Humans from crossing over to this world?
I thought about this for a few minutes, then shook my head and sighed. No. Even after the solid form itself had been destroyed the passage still held up for me to open again later. Since the Carnivore-Humans were using Mantle's horn to open the passage from their side they'd already have a key. All it would take to open it back up again would be the right command and the right mindset. If we want this to end with as few deaths as possible we will have to go into Gaea and steal back Mantle's horn first. Then we could destroy their gateway and trap them in their world, but only I would be able to go without their Humans paying much attention, and unfortunately I knew little to nothing about their way of life other than them having their strongest or smartest (or a combination of both) rule or lead.
Returning my thoughts to the book once more I skimmed through it for any other differences. One other mentioned was that Celestia had had child named Sol, who was was being taught how to use magic by his uncle, whom was more skilled than either princess. I don't recall Celestia ever mentioning a child back home...perhaps he died due to some illness there? An illness that in this world Thanatos was around to heal? The only way I'd find that out would be to ask one of the royals, but idle curiosity was not worth interrupting their daily schedule.
Twilight's door opened to admit Spike, two male armored Pegasi, and one female earth pony, and one unarmored blue female Unicorn that looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place her. The top half of her horn was missing. Spike stepped forward and introduced the ponies that he'd brought in, saying that they were here as per Celestia's instructions.
“There are three more to our party, but they stopped on the way here to admire the industriousness of the ponies of this town.” One of the soldiers added. “They should be along shortly.”
“Three healers?” I asked. The same soldier nodded. “So I take it that you have her tip with you, then?” Again, he nodded.
“One of the healers has it. While they feel a bit nervous being in the presence of a Human, they are eager to learn your method of reattachment.”
“And I, the Great and Powerful-” I knew that voice and title! That's why she looks familiar! That's Trixie's original body!
“Trixie.” I interrupted and finished. She stopped speaking in the middle of her next word and frowned at me.
“It is rude to interrupt the Great and Powerful Trixie when she is speaking!” She declared haughtily.
“It's also rude to talk about one's self in third person rather than addressing those you are speaking to directly. You've no one to impress here, Trixie. Lose the self-narration.” Trixie frowned harder at me, then ceased her stage-speech.
“Very well!” She replied. “So you are the princess's pet Human. I had thought you'd be a little...younger.” I chose to ignore the insult.
“As my mother used to say, 'Never assume.' Assumptions can end up with you being humiliated, injured, or even dead.”
“Much as this pains me to admit it, The Gre- I know this all too well.” She poked what was left of her horn with a hoof. “I was not cautious, and I paid for it. But once you've healed me, I shall not make that mistake again!”
“What did you do to yourself in the first place?” Spike asked. I was a bit curious about that myself.
“I was trying to make fireworks that would explode when a little magical energy was applied to them rather than having to make a flame.”
“Let me guess, you were curious why it wasn't working and then without thinking moved it closer to you for study using your magic?” I asked.
“Yes.” Trixie nodded, and frowned while aiming her eyes up at the broken ivory spike jutting from her forehead. “Now I can barely lift a candlestick!”
“If only it had also made you quiet while we were traveling here!” The earth pony soldier said with a female's voice accompanied by a strong southern drawl. I know that voice! I thought, my eyebrows raising as I looked at the speaker. I had not recognized her because of the armor she'd worn that covered most of her body, but I was pretty sure I knew who it was.
“Applejack? Is that you?” I asked the female pony. This is an odd coincidence...did the princess plan that we meet? Probably, but for what purpose?
“Yeah, I'm Applejack.” She replied, looking me over. “The princess said that you migh' already know me. She wouldn't say why, though.”
“Long story. Did she also tell you about Rainbow Dash?” She nodded.
“I'm sad, but ah don't blame you for it.”
“You don't?” I asked, surprised. I'd expected at least somepony to be angry with me, but so far the only pony to obviously express their dislike for me were the mayor, and the ponies that had guarded me at the infirmary.
“Ah blame mahself.” I raised my eyebrows and she explained. “Me an' Dash were assigned together to spy on the enemy camp base and we were discovered one night by a pair of patrolling griffons. We tried to fight them but one of them shrieked and alerted those in the camp. Rainbow told me to run and report back to the princess while she'd try to hold them off.” Applejack shook her head and looked away form me, looking ashamed. “I left her there alone, and now she's dead.”
The other soldiers placed a hoof each on her back and patted her twice before removing their limbs from her. The stern serious face never left them, but their eyes softened a little while they patted her back. Applejack looked at them, smiling sadly. “I don't know how I feel about a Human defector working for the princess, but she seems to trust you, and she's not been wrong yet.” I wasn't a defector, but I was tired of correcting ponies, so I nodded instead. Applejack looked next at Spike, who was impressed by the shininess of her armor and whistled.
“Wow! You're looking good, Applejack!”
“Hello again Spike. It's nice to see you again too. How has everyone been?”
“We just got raided a few days ago, but Celestia saved us, and he brought back everyone that was taken, along with a few others not from here. Twilight and Pinkie Pie are about the same as always, but all the stress from being busy every day is starting to wear them out. Rarity was one of those rescued, as I'm sure you know already, and is very happy to be back.”
“That's good to hear. Well, aside from Twi and Pinky being stressed, ah mean. How's the Apple farm doing?”
“About the same, though the last few days Applebloom has made three trips a day selling food to the ponies working on the town's new defenses. I think she's made more money this week than she has in the last two!” Applejack's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head.
“Goll-lee!”
Further friendly conversation was prevented by the arrival of the three healers, who came in chattering with each other like three friendly old ladies (this would have been a statement of being and not a comparison if they had been female). Even after they'd stopped in the middle of the room they ignored the rest of us completely and continued chatting away. It wasn't until one of the male soldiers cleared his throat loudly that they stopped and turned their heads towards us. They looked first at me (as usual) and then at Spike, who they looked at longer, and clearly with more interest even though they supposedly were to be here to learn from me.
The triad trotted to us and first asked Spike several questions about his origin, his breed, and if they could have any of the scales from the spines on his back. He told them they could not, and visibly disappointed they turned to me.
“So you're the Human healer.” An annoyingly-obviously unneeded question.
“I take it you are the three healers.” Not a question.
“It is about time you three got here! The Great and Powerful Trixie wishes to be healed as soon as possible so that she can get back to performing for her adoring fans!”
“Yes, yes!” One of them waved a hoof at her in a shooing motion. “We'll get to that in a moment. First we'd like to ask him a few questions.”
Many of their questions I'd already answered to Twilight as well as several other ponies around town that had plucked up the courage to approach me. Not wanting to have to repeat myself (again) I replied that if they wanted to know anything important about me they could ask Twilight Sparkle, and then in an annoyed tone asked if we could get on with the demonstration as I did have other, more pressing things to take care of.
The shortest one brought out a small roll of cloth from a saddle's bag that one of them wore (all three of them had their own pair of saddlebags but shorty had carried it) and unrolled it on the floor the reveal the upper half of Trixie's horn. I picked it up off the cloth and examined the end. Unlike with Rarity, this one was rough and several small pieces stuck out from it like little spines. Realigning it would likely have to be my first step.
“Trixie, come closer to me, would you? I need to examine your stump.” Trixie came closer as I'd asked, but not quite close enough. “Closer.” She took two steps closer. Good enough. I leaned forward and examined her stump. Unlike the horn it looked a little more smooth as if her body had already tried to heal itself on its own. I would probably also have to smooth out the base of the horn a little unless I wanted it to stick out at a crooked angle or extend its length, and I had no idea what effect that would have on a living Unicorn. While this might be funny for awhile it would only earn me Trixie's scorn, and make me look an inept fool in the healers' eyes.
I nodded and reached my other hand for the knife.
“Shall I use my blood, or yours for this, Trixie?”
“Use yours, of course! I cannot go back onto stage with a cut on my head!” She frowned once more at me, as if this should have been obvious to me. I frowned right back this time.
The procedure went the same way that Rarity's had, including the red stain that ran from the base of her horn to the tip. The moment I finished Trixie grinned in delight as she sensed the increase in her horn's restored output and levitated multiple objects from various locations around the room to whirl around us, much to Spike's protestations. Trixie dropped the objects a few seconds later and laughed triumphantly.
“Trixie is powerful once more!” She whooped.
“Well ah'll be darned!” Applejack exclaimed.
Two of the healers were grinning like children going on Christmas break. The third, and the one that looked the oldest, looked like he was feeling conflicted. While the first two tried to convince Trixie to hold still while they examined her further for any imperfections the third asked me what area of study had taught me how to do that.
“It is not often that fresh blood is used in healing others.”
“Why not? The body needs a certain level of blood content in order to live, so why not heal?”
“While the body naturally needs blood in order to heal, magic that requires the use of blood sacrifice- and don't try to tell me that that's not what we just saw- often are related to the dark arts. But what I saw contradicts what we are warned about as far as the dark arts are concerned. Who taught you how to meld bone?”
“An Alicorn from my world by the name of Melinda Jones.” The room became very quiet and the occupants stared at me.
“There's more than four Alicorns?” Four. That means that Thanatos is indeed alive here. I shook my head and said that Melinda had been a shape-shifter. It wasn't true (she'd not chosen that form and could not transform on her own that I knew of), but the exoticism of it seemed to satisfy that bit of their curiosity. More questions followed however, such as whom I had first tested it on after being shown. I replied that I did not know their names because they had been strangers. Then I was asked if those I'd tried it on had also gotten a red stain in the groove of their horns. I said no, and added that I had only one idea as to why it was different here.
“Perhaps it is because I used my own blood for these healings. The two volunteers that I had practiced on back home used their own blood.”
“We won't know for certain without experimentation.” The oldest stated. “Hopefully, however, we won't have an opportunity to test it.” Gathering up his two comrades, the eldest bade me good day and said that there were others that needed their attentions beyond satisfying curiosity. Trixie was ushered outside by the soldiers excluding Applejack, who had remained indoors with Spike and myself.
“So how long are you going to be staying now that Trixie's been healed?” Spike asked.
“Until the princess gives us orders to go someplace else.” She replied. “We're supposed to be helping the ponyfolk round here stay safe, so we'll prolly see more of each other in the future. Ya'll seem to be doin' a good job of it yerselves, though!”
“Yeah!” Spike agreed. The town wall is nearly done now, according to Twilight! By the end of the day we'll be ready!” I snorted and they looked at me.
“The wall might be ready by the end of the day, but like that pony in the crowd said, they aren't fighters. If we get raided, we should be able to handle it, but if we get seriously attacked, we're toast, and with us being on Everfree's doorstep and the Stone Arch Gateway being somewhere inside it's only a matter of time.”
“Ah was with Princess Luna and her forces a'fore we were sent here as an escort for Trixie. If any Humans come from that place we should have some warnin' first.”
“Everfree is a big place, AJ, and this town has already been attacked once with no warning.”
“Yeah,” Spike interjected. “but those Humans came from the Griffon kingdom, not Everfree.”
“Yeah, that's true.” I admitted. “Still, we need something more than what we've got. The walls will keep Humans out, but it won't stop the Griffons.”
“Hmm.” Spike grunted. Then he had an idea. “What about those cannon-things that you brought up a few days ago? Pipsqueak said they were used for fighting between two pirate ships, which means that what they fired had to fly a distance! We can use them!” Pipsqueak? I oh, the pony from the other day. What possessed his parent to name him an insult? I hope that's just his nickname
“Hmm...not a bad plan, but Twilight said that it was doubtful that we had any here in town unless they were in an antique shop or something. We can't use that which we don't have, Spike.”
“A cannon...wait! Pinkie Pie has one of those!” Applejack exclaimed. I stared at her in disbelief. A pony that parties as a way of life has a tool of death and destruction?! “I think I ken guess wut yer thinkin', and the answer is no. She uses it to launch confetti and other party supplies inta a room to decorate it in seconds.” I wonder if she might be willing to part with it...only one way to find out.
Twenty five minutes later I was knocking on the door of the Sugarcube Corner. The door was opened by Mrs cake, whom informed me that I'd left my money behind on the table. I replied that it was a reward for excellent service and said she could keep it.
“Is Pinkie Pie around? I need to ask her if I can use something of hers.”
“I'm afraid that you just missed her, deary. She and young Pip left a bit ago wheeling her blue party cannon ahead of them.”
“Any idea where we can find them?” Spike asked from my feet.
“Try going to that area where Rainbow Dash used to-” She paused when she saw all of us (Applejack had followed us too) avert our eyes. “...practice for competitions. I'm sorry, it's just that I sometimes forget...” She stopped again and looked away from us, her face becoming one of pity and remorse. After a few minutes of silence she apologized again and wished us good luck in a tone of false cheer. We thanked her and then headed for Rainbow's old practice grounds (or skies). The sound of a large amount of gunpowder detonating made me break into a run, followed by Applejack, who had picked up Spike when she too began running.
“Wow! Do that again!” Came a familiar voice followed by the laughter of Pinkie Pie as we left the dirt road and headed across the grass towards two colorful figures lying on the ground. Pinkie's party cannon had apparently launched itself backwards and had knocked both of them over when Pinkie ignited the gunpowder to launch whatever she'd stuffed in the barrel.
“Are ya'll okay?!” Applejack asked, checking them for injuries.
“AJ!!!” Pinkie Pie shrieked in delight half a second before going from her back to her hooves faster than my eyes could register. She glomped AJ armor and all and squeezed so hard I thought I could hear the metal begging for mercy. “You came back!” AJ's face was bulging as she tried to hold what little oxygen she'd managed to save from Pinkie's embrace inside her.
“Um, miss Pinkimena? I think you're crushing her...” Pipsqueak said, tapping Pinkie on the shoulder. Pinkie's eyes popped back open and she looked at Applejack, gasped, and released her. Applejack gulped down breath after breath, looking clearly relieved.
“Sorry 'bout that AJ!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “What brings you back to town?”
“Babysitting.” She replied, frowning. She briefly explained who she had been escorting and why. Pinkie rolled her eyes and made a 'bleh' sound.
“Why would Celestia want you to heal that pony? I'm sure there are better ones.”
“Don't judge her purely on her personality, Pinkie.” I said. “The Trixie I know is extremely talented. All she needed was a few years of tutoring under princess Luna and she became one of the best magic-users in all the world. She has the potential, she just needs a good teacher.”
“Well, please don't tell her that!” Applejack begged. “We'll never hear the end of it!” Applejack looked down at the ruts left by the wheels of Pinkie's cannon, and followed them back to the overturned cannon. It had apparently hit a rock while it rolled backward and was now lying on its side. “What in tarnation were you two doin' anyway?”
“Duh! We were trying to launch that big rock-” Pinkie pointed at a large tree about thirty feet in front of where the cannon had been positioned that had a chunk of stone sticking out of it. “into that tree! It worked, too!” Pipsqueak sighed.
“Unfortunately it also knocked us over and rolled all the way back there.”
“Yer cannon's never done that before, though.” Applejack stated.
“Firing party supplies out of a cannon is a lot easier than firing a big rock, AJ. We needed to pack more black powder into it first!” I looked at the rock jutting out of the tree trunk.
“I'd say it works.” Pinkie bobbed her head up and down several times.
“Yup! Now I just need to find a way to keep it from killing somepony when it flies backwards, and we're set!” She looked at Pipsqueak. “Any ideas, captain?” Pipsqueak looked at the cannon lying on its side and scratched the side of his head with a hoof.
“If we had something to chain it to, that would solve the problem, but we'd need to build a new frame for it first. Your party cannon was obviously built to be easy to move, and that isn't good for what we'll be using it for now.” This time it was Pinkie's turn to scratch. With thoughtful expression Pinkie trotted to her cannon and righted it and looked at the wheels. One of them (probably the one that had struck the rock) was cracked and would need to be replaced. The other was bent on the axle. Pinkie 'tched' and shook her head, then promptly removed both wheels and threw them over her shoulder. She then picked her cannon up like I would have, and, walking on two legs, ran to a wagon carrying more tree trunks on it that was on its way back to town and stopped the team of ponies pulling it. Pulling a saw and hammer from her mane Pinkie leaped onto the wagon and a cloud of sawdust appeared accompanied by the sound of a hammer striking wooden planks.
We looked at one another and shrugged as one, and then looked back to the cloud of sawdust. The team of ponies unharnessed themselves and moved away from the wagon, coughing and frowning at the pink and tan cloud on top of their haul.
Thirty seconds later Pinkie Pie, looking proud of herself hopped off the wagon carrying a boxlike frame with the cannon inserted in it on her back and the two tools in her mouth, somehow untouched by artificial cloud she'd created and not straining from the additional weight. Pinkie spit the tools out onto the ground, thanked the team of ponies and then picked the tools up again and trotted back to us. She crouched down and tipped her shoulders so that the cannon and its frame would slide off her back and then put the tools back in her mane.
“Will this work?” She asked Pipsqueak, who came closer to examine it. He tried to move it and found that he could not.
“How did you carry this?!” He asked, incredulous. Pinkie shrugged. Will that pink pony never cease to amaze me?
“Is that a yes?” Pipsqueak tried again to move it, straining his muscles. Finally he gave up and nodded.
“It certainly is much harder to move than when the cannon was on wheels!”
“But now how are we s'posed to move it at all? A weapon stuck out here when we need to be behind walls ain't gonna be of much help, ya'know.”
“Why not just have Jacob move it? He can use magic.” I did say I'd put Twilight's horn to good use. It's not doing anypony any good if I refuse something so simple as this, and my Twilight would prefer it being used constructively anyway. I nodded and said that I'd be happy to help.
“Might I suggest not using rocks as ammunition, though? Not every rock is going to fit in your cannon, and you never know when one of them will just be blasted apart by the black powder. If that happens it might damage your cannon.”
“Oke-dokey-lokie!”
“Though if the cannon idea is going to be of much use we're going to need more of them. Cannons are like cakes: one is good, but more are better...other than cakes can be eaten and war cannons are used for killing...”
“No problem! I've got six spares under my bed!”
“...” Me.
“...” Applejack.
“...” Pipsqueak.
“...Do we want to know why?” Spike asked hesitantly.
“In case my first six break! Duh!”
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This one's nothing special, I'm afraid, but it'll start getting interesting again in the next chapter. I got's a new idea!