Chapter 7
That pony is so random! I thought after I'd set the cannon down. I recalled on several occasions back home that her friends had often said the same thing, but at the time I'd just laughed and rolled my eyes. I have to wonder if my Pinkie Pie had six extra party cannons? I considered briefly checking at the Sugarcube Corner when I got back to my Mythica, but that was a thought for another time. First I had to actually get back.
:Hmm...more to the right!” Pinkie said, staring at the spot on the ground where I'd set it critically.
“Really, Pinkie Pie? We're outside right now! I don't think it really matters where I put it as long as the thing's out of the way.”
“Ah'm inclined to agree with 'im, Pinkie. We can make em look nice later, right now we need to give your other cannons a new heavy frame too.”
While the ponies trotted toward the Sugarcube corner to retrieve Pinkie's other cannons I once more began walking through the town to check on everypony's progress. As Spike had said, it would soon be complete. Sawdust and chips of wood and bark coated the roads, and everywhere somepony was hard at work. I felt a smile creep across my face as I witnessed three ponies working together to haul a thick pole of wood taller than I was and four times the thickness of an arm from one side of the street to an incomplete wall and slide it into the hole in the ground dug for it. A Unicorn then used its magic to secure it to the two thick poles next to it. The Unicorn looked away from its completed task looking satisfied, and then noticed I was watching them. He raised an eyebrow at me and I started walking again.
“Keep up the good work, gents.”
I continued inspecting the ponies' progression until I reached the town center. When I did reach the town center a large bell at the top of the town hall (That's new!) began tolling loudly and I covered my ears, feeling the vibration of the clapper striking the bell in my feet. What's going on? I wondered as nearly ever nearby pony began to panic and run for the nearest houses. Is that an alarm bell? I uncovered one of my ears and grabbed a random pony and asked what the bell was for.
“Raiders are coming! Let go!!” He kicked at me and I released my grip. The pony fled to the nearest open door and dove through it, slamming it shut behind him. I shook my head at their choice of defense. Brilliant, ponies; 'Let's all go into the buildings where they can get us easier because we're in smaller groups! Yay!' I rolled my eyes and asked another passing pony where the raiders were coming from.
“Actually, we're not here to raid.” Came a man's voice from behind and to the right of me. The pony forgotten, it slipped free of my fingers as I turned my body to face the newcomers and was greeted by the sight of the Hunter-Humans. “Right now we're the only three here. To get to the point, Jackylin has sent us to get you. Will you come?”
I looked around the empty-of-life town center. Other than the two men and one woman that stood near me waiting for a response, I was the only one still here in the open. I was the only one nearby that had not run for cover. Twilight said she'd fight them if it came to it, and Applejack and the other guards are supposed to be here to help protect it... I had confidence in Twilight's abilities, and I knew from my reality how strong non-soldier Applejack had been, so I wasn't worried about them. And that guy I set on fire said that they had paid to get permission to take from this area, so as long as Jackylin keeps her word it should not matter if I'm here or not. I looked at this reality's Humans again and nodded.
“Yes, I'm coming. Lead the way.”
A day and a half later we arrived at the encampment. I had been surprised at this given that last time it had taken three days to arrive the first time, and the messenger explained that they'd moved the encampment after Jackylin's father and his hunting team returned from a forest within the Griffon lands.
“Though we do occasionally also partake of the ponies that we abduct from the villages and towns, our primary food supply comes from the smaller and larger animals.”
“Yeah,” The woman agreed. “We had once tried taking some of their largest animals captive, but they proved to be more trouble than they are worth.”
“Really?” I asked. “Which one was that?”
“One of them was this weird, huge blue bear with a star on its forehead. When we finally managed to bring it down, a much larger pink monster attacked us.”
“Ah. I see you encountered the rare and dangerous Ursa Minor and Ursa Major. You're lucky to be alive.”
“Oh, none of us were there for that little fiasco.” The first one explained again. “That happened to the first raiding team from our town that came from Gaea. We're the second.”
“How many did you lose?” He sighed.
“Nearly everyone.”
“And the Ursas?”
“The larger one freed the smaller, and after ripping most of the retrieval team to pieces, retreated back into the forest. Since then, the Darkfist elder has been leading us in this world. Jackylin hopes to one day lead as well, but she wants to earn it rather than inherit it.” In this manner, we feel the same. We want to earn, not simply receive something.
I would have stopped conversation at this point, but then the third of their group asked if it was true that I could use magic.
“Where did you hear that?”
“You're the talk of the camp! After you came to our camp and Jackylin let the taken go, her grandfather shouted at her so loudly that everyone within the camp's limits heard it! According to rumor if you can prove to him that you use it then he won't have her flogged and sent back to Gaea. So can you?”
“Yes.”
“How?!” The woman asked, excited. “We've tried chanting random words, waving our hands and fingers, sacrifices, and a number cultist rituals back home, and nothing!”
“Teaching your kind how to use magic was not part of mine and Jackylin's deal, and if I did teach you how, then she'd have no need to keep her word to me.”
“Our kind?” she repeated. “Have you ever seen your reflection, gramps? You're one of us too, you know!” I removed my pack from my back and pulled an apple from it before replacing the pack on my back again. I took a big bite from it and chewed, and then swallowed it, much to the surprise of my guides as we reached the edge of the encampment and stopped to be identified by the border guards.
“We may look similar, but the resemblance ends there.”
The two men left myself and the woman and went ahead of us at a faster pace to report that they'd found me and I'd agreed to return. In the meantime I followed the woman at a slower pace and continued to eat my apple down to a core. When I'd finished with it I tossed it to the side of the the walkway for the inhabitants to puzzle over and dispose of. We eventually stopped in front of a small and simple tent and the woman clapped her hands together three times. We waited for about three minutes, and then the flap that served as a door was pulled to one side and Jackylin looked out. She had been frowning, but when her eyes landed on me her face lit up.
“Ahhh! Excellent, you've wasted no time! One moment.” She dropped the flap and the sound of something being moved came through the blue cloth walls, along with the sound of metal sliding on metal. When she stepped out again she was wearing a belt with a short sword hanging from it. “So, are you willing to help me?”
“I'm willing to hear you out. Whether I'll actually willing to help you or not, we'll see.” She nodded and then told my last guide that she could go.
“My grandfather says that only fools jump into something with both feet before knowing what they're jumping into. Good to know you're not a fool, but we can't talk here, it's too open, and I don't want to have to explain my plan twice.”
“Twice?” I raised an eyebrow, curious, and followed her down the worn path of packed dirt and grass.
“My grandfather knows that I plan to advance myself in our society, but he doesn't believe that I can succeed where I've set my gaze, and so is refusing to help me except to not say anything to anyone about it. You're my trump card. Once he sees with his own eyes that I've really got a chance at succeeding he'll be more willing to help me.”
“And if he's not? He may just be trying to protect you, you know.”
“I know, and he is, but I'll never get a chance like this again. We've recently heard from another town's raiding team on their way into the far side of the Griffon kingdom that the dark blue princess has been receiving reinforcements in large numbers over the last few days. I'm guessing that she'll be running a sweep of Everfree forest in an attempt to find where we came in from soon, and it is unlikely that this information is not being reported back to Gaea. The king can't afford to let the passage be taken by the enemy, so he'll send a large force to counter the ponies.”
“I'm assuming that this is where I come in?”
“Just wait a bit; I'll explain my plan after I've introduced you to grandpa. He should be in the dining area. You hungry?” I grimaced and she made a sound of realization. “Oh. Right. Your friend...well, we have other types of animal here. Unless all you can eat are plants.”
“No, I can eat meat as well, but I'm fine for now.” She raised her eyebrows.
“That works even better to my plans!” She grinned.
We found her grandfather inspecting the equipment at the armory and speaking to another Hunter Human.
“No, no. This one can't be saved either.” He sighed and handed some leather armor to the person he was speaking to. When Jackylin cleared her throat he looked at us and asked what she needed.
“He's the one, Grandfather.” He blinked and then told us to follow him into the structure that was the armory. He then told the other Hunter Human to leave them, and inform the rest of the encampment that they were not to be disturbed. When we were alone with the exception of one anothers' company he looked me over and snorted.
“He is your assured success? He looks older than I am, Jackylin.”
“He very well may be, grandfather. This is the man that can use magic; there's no telling how old he is, or how long he may live. But his looking like an elder grants us yet another advantage if he is judged first by outward appearances.”
“As I said before, Jackylin, prove that he uses magic.” Jackylin looked at me and nodded.
“What would you like me to do?” I asked. “From lighting your people on fire to teleporting to tearing this encampment from the ground and lifting it into the air; I can do many things.” He snorted again.
“Talk is cheap, and thanks to that deal my granddaughter made with you about not raiding the pony lands we're left to feeding on the local smaller animals because the larger creatures are too dangerous. That's why we had to move our encampment.” He looked at his granddaughter. “If you want to prove to me that he's worth that deal, I want you to bring that big blue bear that we tried to capture back to camp. Alive.” Jackylin's eyes became wide open and her mouth dropped.
“But grand father-!” He waved a hand and she shut her mouth.
“I've named my terms. I've already told you that setting your sights so high is dangerous, and not just to you. If you attempt your plan and it fails, it won't just be you that gets executed, it will be our entire family!”
“You want me to bring you an Ursa Minor. Alive.” I stated, hoping I'd not heard him correctly. I'd never tried fighting one of them before, but I'd heard it was dangerous even for a group of experienced magic-users, and even more-so if it had a mate or still lived with its mother. Ursa Minor was the term used for the male Ursa bears. The Ursa Major were female. “You haven't even told me what specifically it is that you want me to do in your plan.”
“And she won't, either, unless you bring me that...Ursa Minor, as you called it. I've seen Unicorn magic, and while it causes problems for our raiders, I was not overly impressed. I won't put my entire family at risk unless I'm certain you can succeed.”
I was annoyed that I'd come here just to be told that I'd have to risk my life so that I could risk my life again in a scheme that I'd not even heard yet. But it kept them from attacking Equestria, which lightened the princesses' work loads a bit, and I wad doing what Celestia had commanded me to do, so I was willing to jump through a few hoops.
“Look at the bright side!” Jackylin said while I waited for the several townsfolk that had been assigned to help me get the Ursa back once I'd subdued it to join us at the edge of camp. Supposedly. In truth I doubted that they'd be of any help in that regard and suspected they were meant to be witnesses in case I failed and was killed. I hope that's not what's going to happen!
“What bright side?”
“He's giving you the opportunity to do something that will earn you the respect of our entire town! When you succeed at this you'll have the opportunity to have actual standing in our society as a whole. It'll make both our jobs easier in the end.”
“I take it until I meet your grandfather's approval that you won't tell me your plan either?” Her confident expression lessened a bit.
“He already gives me more leeway to do things my way than he does others. The townsfolk expect this because he's named me his apprentice and he teaches others to use their heads more than their muscles, but if I ignore a command that's given by him it will be seen as a challenge to his authority in the eyes of others and we'll be forced into a contest by laws of tradition. I have no desire to challenge my grandfather. He's been my mentor, and my role model ever since I was a child.”
Hearing Jackylin say that about her grandfather began to shift my opinion of her kind a little. When I'd first learned that Humans were invading Mythica and eating the residents, I had instantly assumed that we were nothing alike and had geared my mind towards seeing them as monsters and only using them as a means to an end. Everything needs to eat, and a starving person will eat anything if they're desperate enough. I had once heard a story about a few hikers that had taken a dog along with them that had become trapped in a cave after an avalanche they'd been staying in. When their supplies ran out, they ate the dog. When they'd finally been dug out the owner was crying, and said his pet saved their lives.
I had lived amongst Ponykind for more a long time, but for a race that was predatory because of their digestive system and was starving they likely would choose to eat another race they were not familiar with over their own any day. This is probably what's going on now. I wonder if there's a way to stop it without further violence... I looked behind me at the sound of multiple loud clanks and watched as five Hunter-Humans joined us, heavily armored and armed to the teeth (and that's not an exaggeration, given that their teeth had points and were probably much sharper than mine). They looked more like they were about to march to war rather than track and capture an animal. Maybe not.
“Overkill much?” I asked them as they came to a stop behind us.
“Nearly every time we underestimate the wildlife here we pay for it. Not this time!” The most muscular of the bunch declared. The others nodded.
“Against something like an Ursa, you're probably better off not having any armor at all so you can dodge its attacks faster. That holds the same for fighting Dragons.”
“We'll keep that in mind if we ever have to fight a Dragon.” Another of them replied dryly.
“Good hunting!” Jackylin blessed as we left the encampment.
Once more it was them who took the lead and I followed along behind. This was fine with me because I was not particularly familiar with this part of the Equestrian kingdom and they already knew where to go to find the Ursa bears anyway.
We walked in silence (or as close to it as we could get with their armor clicking and clinking more than a truck bed full of loose metal camping plates), not saying a word to one another until a woman among the five (the same one that had come with the trio that guided me from Ponyville to the encampment) said that we should stop for a brief rest. Agreeing with her, the other four removed their helmets and sat down on the grassy ground. I too sat down, and then laid all the way down on the ground and watched the clouds pass overhead in the gentle wind. It was nice to just be able to sit after being so busy for the last few days, but sadly it did not last long. Before I even had a chance for laze to set in muscle-man declared that it was time that we be up and moving again. I inwardly groaned, but got back to my feet and resumed walking as soon as the others also stood.
As night began to fall several hours (and one brief meal break) later we again stopped for the night. The wannabe soldiers set up a small tent each that fit only one person, and I was content to lie on the ground, which was good because I'd not had time to grab my things before I'd left Ponyville. There had been very little with which to build a fire and it fortunately had not been a cool night to begin with, but even with it being a comfortable sleeping temperature, it did nothing to stop the nighttime insects from pestering us while we slept and when we awoke again the following morning I had enough itching mosquito bites on my body to draw out a constellation on each limb. But unlike the others in our little team, I had a way to get rid of the itch and simply healed myself using magic while they scratched themselves for nearly ten minutes straight before resigning themselves to being miserable and putting on their armor.
Suppressing a smile I ate some berries growing within a small patch of trees while they strapped their various armor pieces on again, and then waited while they ate some of their provisions. We passed around a ring of yawns several times, and once they were done eating we were up and moving again.
An uneventful day later (after another night full of insect bites that I silently healed away the following morning) we arrived at the edge of a dark-green topped fur-pine forest. Muscle-man went through basic forest-travel knowledge such as not going out of vision of everybody, remaining as quiet as possible, and telling everyone else if you saw something- anything large moving and then led us in.
__ __ __ __ __
Applejack frowned at the Human encampment ahead of her. It was clear that the guards at the nearest entrance saw her, but they hadn't done anything about her, which was vastly different from the first time she (and Rainbow Dash) had been spotted.
Feeling more than a bit nervous she put on a tough-girl face and cantered closer and stopped in front of one of them. He looked down at her with a mildly curious but mostly-bored expression.
“Is there something you need, lunch?”
“Ah ain't yer lunch!” She spat at his feet. “Ah'm lookin' fer an older Two-leg that some of ya'll brought here a short time ago. He's the one that uses magic.”
“He's not here.” He said, then raised his gaze to scan the area in front of him again, having lost interest in the orange armored pony just below his waist. He looked down again a moment later when she tapped his armor. He frowned and asked what she wanted now.
“Where'd he go?”
“Probably to his fool death. He left a few hours ago with five others to try and bring back one of those gigantic blue bears that live in a forest near here.” He shrugged. “If we see any of them again it'll be a miracle.”
“He went to hunt an Ursa Minor!?!” Applejack stared at him in shock and disbelief. She recalled the first and only one she'd seen back when Trixie first came to Ponyville. It had been almost as big as her barn, and it had taken all of Twilight Sparkle's concentration to get rid of it. And he didn't fight it, she just put it to sleep! Is he out of his mind?! “Which way did they go?!” The guard pointed vague to the north-west. Applejack frowned and asked if he could be any more specific.
“Look, pony, I wasn't around for the first encounter we had with it, and I sure as steel wasn't going to be around for the second. If you want more details, you're better off speaking to Miss Darkfist. I wouldn't do that if I was you, though. Miss Darkfist is in our camp, and we've been running short of food as of late.” He leered at her and licked his lips. Applejack scowled back, spun around, and bucked his tree. His eyes went wide and he gasped and fell to the ground, moaning. The other guard had been watching the proceedings, and when his 'friend' got kicked, he also fell to the ground, but he was laughing instead of moaning.
“I told yo- ha ha ha ha! I told you to wear armor over your crotch, you dumbass!” He laughed again.
“I-” his companion grunted as Applejack trotted by them and into the campgrounds. “I was wearing armor there!”
Ignoring the stares from the Humans she passed, Applejack stopped at a smithy when she recalled that she had no idea what 'Miss Darkfist' looked like and asked the smith where she could find her. The smith rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and then said to look for a blue tent. She thanked him to be polite and then continued her search until she found it. When she did she yelled for its owner and then waited. When nobody came out she reached out to push aside the flap but halted at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her. Applejack turned to see a Human woman looking down at her.
“Looking for me?” She asked.
“If'n yer that Darkfist-woman your sentries mentioned, yeah.”
“What makes a pony want to come into a Human camp? Do you have a death wish?”
“Ah kin take care of mahself! I'm here lookin' fer an older Human. He kin use magic.”
“You missed him. He left a few hours ago.”
“Ah know that. I need to know which way he went.”
“Why?”
“So I kin follow him.” The woman raised an eyebrow.
“Again, why?”
“Ah-” Applejack stopped. Why did she want to follow him? They weren't friends (that she knew of), they'd never served in combat together, he wasn't her species, hay, he wasn't even from her world! why was she pursuing him? Applejack shrugged. “Ah don't rightly know, to be honest.”
“Well, while we're being honest, let me say that I have a personal interest in ensuring that he survives as well as seeing him in action so I can better judge his capabilities in battle. I am going to assume that we want the same thing, so I'll do better than tell you; I'll show you. Give me a moment to collect my things.”
__ __ __ __ __
“Miss Pinkimena, are you sure this is a good idea???” Pipsqueak asked nervously, looking down from the top of the very tall ladder he was perched at the top of.
“Just Pinkie Pie, Pip!” She called up to him, placing her hooves on either side of her mouth. “Not really, but like you said, cannons were used by sailing ships! We don't have an ocean, but we have a sky, and if we do it this way, it's like Rainbow Dash is still helping us!” Though Pip could not see it from where he stood on his hind legs, Pinkie's eyes became a little more moist at using her best friend's name.
Pipsqueak (who was taller now as an adult and no longer lived up to the name his parents had given him) licked his lips and grabbed onto the sill o f one of the windows on the side of Rainbow Dash's house and pulled himself up over the sill and into the house. Thankfully Rainbow Dash had a solid wooden floor so that should non-Pegasi choose to visit her, they could have somewhere to stand without needing magic to keep from falling through the floor.
Pipsqueak looked around and then walked from the bedroom to the front door, which he unlocked and opened.
“Okay, Miss Pinki- er, Pinkie Pie! I've got the door open!” Pipsqueak jumped at the sound and sight of Pinkie Pie moving behind him. She probably came in the same way I did... “Wouldn't it just have been easier to have the other Pegasi lower her house to the ground?” Pinkie Pie blinked.
“Oh...yeah, I guess it would have been!” Pipsqueak stared at her a moment and then Pinkie Pie “But we're here now, and us here we have this wonderful view!”
“I still don't see what we're supposed to doing here, Pinkie Pie. How does this help with cannon positioning?”
“Follow me!” Pinkie Pie trotted from the front door to a small deck to the left of the front door (when you're facing the inside of the house) and placed a hoof next to her mouth. “Okay Derpy! We're ready!!!”
“Derpy?” Pip asked, and joined her at the wooden railing to look down below them. Three Pegasi rose up from side and placed their hooves against the side of the cloud that Rainbow Dash's house was built on. Slowly the cloud began to be moved from where it had 'rested' for more than two decades. Pip's eyes became wide as Pinkie's Plan was realized in his own mind: They could turn Rainbow Dash's old house into a flying fortress or battleship from which to safely rain cannon shot or spears or stones down on any attackers. His face was split with a grin and he turned his head to look at Pinkie Pie, who grinned right back.
“Pinkie Pie, you're a genius!” He said excitedly. “Now we just need to get the cannons up here!”
“Nope, there's something else we need to do first.” She replied. Pipsqueak gave her a puzzled look. Wasn't arming the house while they had time the most important thing? “We need to name our vessel.”
Pinkie Pie looked away from Pipsqueak and turned her face to her left. No one stood in that empty space, but she smiled and winked. “Any ideas?” She asked her unseen-audience.
Pipsqueak gave her a look that wondered if Pinkie Pie wasn't just the tiniest bit insane, and decided to wait for her to say something else just to be safe.