//------------------------------// // Dangers in the East // Story: Odrsjot // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// Beyond the hangar doors, night had fallen, and zeppelins puttered back and forth, forming pinpricks of flickering light against the bluish haze of the evening sky beyond. A dull hum persisted inside and outside of Gray Smoke, a city that refused to sleep just as much as it rebelled against gravity. Atop the docked Noble Jury’s deck, Eagle Eye was twirling about, practicing sword slashes and shield thrusts with his new weaponry Every now and then, he would pause and train an ear towards a group of ponies gathered closer to the bow of the ship. “So you spent all this time talking with Ledomaritan soldiers?!” Rainbow Dash’s voice cracked. “Dude, they could send their goonies after us any second!” “Former soldiers, ya vomit bucket,” Josho grumbled. “These guys would much rather pick up a tall bottle of gin over a rifle anyday. They’d soon toss themselves off the edge of this city than get back into action, after all the crud that they’ve seen.” “I’m surprised you got any words out of them,” Rainbow grumbled. “Instead of getting into a drunken bar fight at first sight.” “Jeee, thanks for the vote of confidence, ya sky scrub.” “Rainbow, give him an opportunity to share what he’s learned,” Bellesmith said. She turned towards Josho. “Did they know anything about the Eastern Front?” “A little bit,” Josho said with a nod. “Apparently the Xonans are pushing west, except for in one key position that’s being held by a stubborn old fool named Seclorum.” Belle gasped, her chestnut eyes shrinking. “Seclorum…” Pilate tilted his head towards her. “You’ve heard of him?” She gulped and nodded. “He’s got a secret alliance with Madame Nightshade. Or, at least, he used to. With Nightshade’s zeppelin having crashed and her stash of stolen airships having been stolen--” “Not to mention her precious flame and think tank confiscated,” Pilate added with a wry smirk. “And the Deep Ridge facility exposed. Hundreds of former employees defecting…” “Right.” Bellesmith nodded. “Her empire would surely have crumbled, both financially and structurally. I have no doubt that Seclorum had a lot to do with how she illegally confiscated so many airships to begin with, but for the most part the two were operating a long distance… erm… partnership.” “Undoubtedly Seclorum wanted the flame,” Pilate said. “From what Jasper Clark had said, it sounded like a part of the machine world had been exposed somehow to the surface world. I wonder how…” “Probably from a bunch of shelling and crap,” Josho grunted. “Seclorum always was a fan of using bombs like a cheap prostitute.” “You say that as if you know him,” Rainbow Dash said. “I do.” Everypony stared at him. Josho winced and sighed. “At least, I used to.” “You knew the guy who helped Nightshade steal a bunch of ships and kidnap a bunch of ponies?!” Rainbow Dash frowned. “How?” “Hey…” Josho frowned back. “I was in the army for a long, long, long time.” “Stands to reason that you would have brushed shoulders with quite a few individuals,” Pilate said. “Both low and high up.” “Oh, he’s high, alright,” Josho said with a bitter smirk. “Not sure what he’s been smoking to get him to think that this crap is acceptable.” “Erm… what ‘crap?’” Belle asked. “He’s holding up in a choke point, sacrificing a lot of good stallions in what can only be described as bloody stubbornness,” Josho moaned. “The Xonan Incursion is being halted in one spot, and because of this the Eastern Front hasn’t broken. However, it ain’t nothing to dance and cheer about. The Ledomaritan forces are suffering a lot from it. I’m pretty sure it’s gonna screw the Confederacy in the long run, and Seclorum’s at the heart of it.” “I bet that must make your skin crawl,” Eagle Eye said from where he was practicing his fighting form. “Ehhh.” Josho belched. “The Queen can choke on it. If Ledo was really as big as she thought she was, she would have chopped off the heads of Seclorum--and the Council for that matter--ages ago and have done something really smart about this war.” “Like what?” Rainbow asked. “Like ended it!” Josho spat. Rainbow sighed and said, “So, then, what do we do? Fly somewhere far north or south of this choke point? Cuz if the battle is heaviest at this Seclorum guy’s camp, then maybe there’ll be less Xonans where his soldiers aren’t hanging around.” “It’s not the Eastern Front that’s got my saddle in a twist,” Josho grunted. “It’s what lies beyond it.” “Hey, I’m not expecting Xona to be a flight through fluffy clouds!” Rainbow Dash tossed her forelimbs with a smirk. “But getting past the warzone has gotta be the hard part, right?” Josho was silent. “Right…?” “I just had a talk with a pony at the tavern,” Josho muttered. “A poor old skeleton of a dude who had seen the worst that the Xonans had to offer. He was part of a campaign called Blue Spear, ya see. He’s lucky to be alive. Or unlucky. Depends on how you look at it.” Belle leaned forward, curious. “Wh-what did he say?” Josho looked back at the group. “I’m telling you, it’s r-real,” Oporst stammered hours ago as Josho sat across from him in the tavern. “Their religion! Their spirits! Their karma or ghosts or voodoo or whatever the hell you wanna call it! It’s real! It’s all real!” Josho’s eyes narrowed. “How do you mean?” Oporst rubbed his forelimbs together as his eyes stared into a horrified space between the two stallions. “They don’t fight with manarifles or with blades or with tasers like we do. They… they…” His pupils shrank as he squeaked, “Th-they fight with demons. They summon them from someplace beyond. Their tattoos glow like pieces of the moon fallen to earth, and the air fills with banshee screams.” Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. “And then, your friends are screaming, for these… these things are clawing out their insides, munching on wh-what they had for breakfast, then turning everyone you love and tr-trust into hollow husks.” He began hyperventilating. “The demons come from the air… the ground… the rivers. And the Xonans… those evil witches and warlocks… they come in from the flank and finish off whatever shred of meat is left of you. And they’re praying the whole time. They’re praying and worshipping their demon goddess, and you’re the offering. You’re nothing but the morsel of some demoness, and that’s all you are. That’s all you ever are…” With a jerk, Oporst slapped his forelimbs across the table in a desperate attempt to grab his drink. Josho telekinetically steadied it for him, and the weary soldier took a hearty sip. He almost choked on the sudsy quaff as a sob ripped through him, and he dropped the glass altogether, burying his face into a forelimb. “Nnnnngh… blessed Spark, save me. I hear them at night. The demons are c-coming for me. They’re c-coming for all of us. Unnnngh… Spark alive…” The group was silent as Josho continued speaking across the deck of the Noble Jury. “He got through his hysterics just in time to tell me a bit more, for what it’s worth,” the obese stallion grumbled, pacing. “The Xonans were always well-practiced mana users. They fought with technology inferior to Ledomaritan weaponcraft, but at some point--very recently--the tide turned. Oporst said he was briefed on this before he engaged the enemy through the Blue Spear Campaign. They had heard of a mountain located a few hundred miles east of the front where a… temple of sorts had been established, a place of worship. Something inside this temple held the explanation for what had given the Xonans so much power as of late. A few tattooed soldiers had been captured and tortured by Seclorum, and they eventually spoke of a Xonan Monarch, a princess--Buch Tania Lasairfion--who had made her station in this temple. The Blue Spear Campaign was an attempt to charge through the lines, siege the Temple, and take this Princess Lasairfion chick for hostage. But… well…” “It didn’t succeed,” Pilate said. “I’m not sure that Queen Ledo would have won the war even if it did, but it certainly would have given the Xonans a run for the money,” Josho said. “But, before the attack force even got halfway towards their goal, the Xonans attacked. It was a small defense group, but somehow they overwhelmed all of the enforcers, including Oporst’s unit.” “With…” Bellesmith gulped. “...these demons?” Josho’s jaw clenched. “Look, I don’t know what the guy was babbling on about. Could be that he simply hallucinated half the stuff. I mean, he didn’t strike me as being right in the head. All I know is that something really horrible happened to a bunch of strong, well-armed Ledomaritan soldiers, and it only took a small amount of tattooed bastards to do it.” “So, we’re talking about extra-freaky-magic?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Instead of just normally-freaky magic?” “I’m not sure. However, if you ask me, it looks like the bad guys are a lot badder than we’ve anticipated. So long as this Princess Lasairfion has her royal flanks parked just east of the warfront, defense has gotta be tight. Demons or not, it ain’t gonna be easy to fly through that mess.” Pilate stroked his chin in thought. He tilted his head Belle’s way. Belle sighed and sat back on her haunches. “It’s not as if we’re going to have things easy in Ledomare or any of the places west of the warfront.” “Gray Smoke doesn’t seem half that bad!” Eagle Eye added with an optimistic smile. “I’m not inclined to stay here forever,” Pilate remarked. “It may work for the likes of Props and Ebon Mane, but even a blind zebra can see just how cutthroat this place is.” “And one way or another, the Spark needs to head its way east towards the edge of the world--” Belle began. “Hey, whoah whoah whoah…” Rainbow Dash stopped hovering and touched down besides the beloveds’ sides. “Let’s forget about my destiny and whatcrap for a moment. I’m not the only one on board this ship and all.” “But Rainbow…” Belle gazed at her with quivering eyes. “You’ve been traveling for so long and from such a grand distance--” “You think I don’t know that?” Rainbow smirked as she rested a hoof on the mare’s golden shoulder. “And one way or another, I’m gonna continue my flight. But you guys have done a lot for me, and I wanna repay the favor. If flying east is too dangerous for everypony at this point, then… then…” Her face grimaced as her words trailed off. Everypony gazed silently at her. She gulped and forced a smile. “We could--I dunno--go south! I mean, there’s an ocean down there and stuff, right? Maybe we can find a land somewhere beyond where you and Pilate and Kera could live peacefully and jazz.” “Don’t sell yourselves short.” Everypony turned and looked up. Roarke was perched on one of the support struts for the ship’s skystone. “You’re all made of strong stuff. You’ve battled zeppelins, evil corporations, and entire armies. Don’t pretend that you don’t deserve any less than a destination that will make you happy and whole.” “Hey, I want to find someplace safe and friendly to start a new life just like any other pony!” Eagle Eye exclaimed. She pointed towards Pilate and Belle. “But we’ve built something here that’s better than a home! We’ve got some really fantastic companionship going on, and it would be a shame to ruin all of that on an unnecessary risk!” “Don’t make me vomit anymore than you’re already tempting me to, breeder.” Eagle Eye stomped his hooves. “Darn it! Stop calling me--” Roarke landed before him with a thud. He jumped back with a gasp, his weaponry rattling. She leaned forward and hissed, “I don’t expect you to know what it means to defeat something. You’re a fighter, yes, but you’ve only ever fought while on the run from something or somepony. It takes a whole lot more courage and tenacity to invade someplace.” “Hey!” Belle frowned. “We’re not soldiers!” “And are you any less righteous?” Roarke swiveled about. “You speak of things you want and things you need, and yet you’re afraid to take the steps you need to seize it.” She paced through the group. “So long as we stay here, in this land, in this air, west of the stupidity and chaos that defines this horrible continent, then we’ll never get anywhere.” “You think I don’t know that?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a frown. “But you guys are my friends! And I’m not about to risk them over a daredevil attempt for freedom!” “Then you’ll never be free,” Roarke droned. “What kind of a friend would that make you.” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth-- “We all know you’re loyal,” Roarke continued. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be lame as well.” “I…” Rainbow fidgeted, her pendant rattling. “I’m not. I just… I just don’t want anything bad to happen to us…” “We have what it takes to fly beyond that,” Roarke said. “We can kick flank, outrun the enemy, and soar our way to freedom. This is the best team I’ve ever had the honor of being part of.” She stood straight. “And I mean it.” Pilate cocked his head aside at that. “Roarke…” Belle gaped at her. “We had no idea that… you actually thought so highly of us…” “I didn’t feel like it was necessary to speak the obvious,” she grunted. “But then you started talking like cowardly idiots.” “Heh…” Josho smirked. “I like you, lady, even if you are a bucket of greased-up servos.” “Tuck it in, soldier.” “Yes, ma’am.” “Look, I want to get us all out of this place,” Rainbow said, sighing as she rubbed her forehead. “I really do. But this is all so much! The Ledomaritans were one thing. But Xonans? A princess in a temple? Ravenous demons being summoned?” “Could be worse,” Pilate said with a smirk. “They could have giant centipedes.” “Hey.” Rainbow pointed. “Don’t even start.” Bellesmith giggled. “Wasn’t there something you said once, Rainbow Dash?” Eagle Eye remarked. “‘The stupid plans are the ones that tend to work the best?’” “Yeah!” Rainbow’s voice cracked. “And flying into this mess that Josho described is completely stupid!” Eagle Eye merely smiled at Rainbow with bright, violet eyes. Rainbow groaned and facehoofed. “I just… I just need to sleep on it. Really, guys. Is that too much to ask?” “Hmmph.” Roarke marched off towards the stairwell. Belle turned to whisper at Rainbow. “She means well, Rainbow. I, for one, would never call you ‘lame.’” “Yeah, well, after years of flying my wings off, I’m starting to wonder.” “I think some rest would be a good idea indeed,” Pilate said with a nod. “After all, we should help Props meet with her Uncle tomorrow.” “Yes. She’s supported us.” Eagle Eye grinned. “We should help her back!” “Agreed,” Belle said with a nod. “Let’s all get a good night’s sleep.” “Pffft… yeah…” Rainbow Dash fluttered away, rolling her eyes. “I’ll be sure to have some good dreams after this mess.” “Heeheehee…” Far away, inside the hangar, a lone figure stood, perched atop a lone strut besides the shipyard’s entrance. The robed equine had a hoof outstretched, gripping onto a tool with four soundstones outstretched on dimly glowing prongs. Aiming at the Noble Jury, the figure picked up the faint sounds of the group’s conversation from afar. Once the conversation had come to a close, the pony gave a flick of her hoof, and the prongs snapped shut. Three colors flickered across her forelimb in the cold starlight as she pocketed the tool away. Turning around, she aimed towards the edge of the strut, galloped forward, and dove clear off the side. Her body plunged into the open air, then disappeared from sight. Seconds passed by. Like a ghost, the cloaked figure rose again into view, gliding across the stars and banking left as soon as she cleared the mouth of the hangar. She then disappeared into the darkness.