Act II:
“The Journey Begins”
Chapter Six:
“Darkness Rising”
The vehicle came to a stop outside the old stone building, the bright headlights focused on the doorway. The front door swung open, revealing a tall, golden eyed griffin dressed in a jet black uniform. He eyed the ancient building with disdain, before walking around the large, ornate limousine to open the passenger door. Seated inside, wearing an equally jet black uniform and a pair of sunglasses, was a slate grey earth pony with a very finely coiffed white and silver mane .
“Danke schoen, Gustav,” the pony said, stepping out of the limousine and nodding tersely towards the griffin. The griffin nodded in return.
“Jawohl, Mein Fuhrer,” The griffin, Gustav, saluted, stepping asides to let the stocky earth pony stride past, head held high. “I trust you enjoyed your journey here?” he asked his superior, his pulse quickening as he began to feel a slight twinge of nervousness next to his leader.
“Where’s Alister?” The earth pony asked, seemingly studying the ancient walls or the complex and admiring the scorch marks and the runic markings alike on a nearby wall of the building and ignoring the greeting from his subordinate, not at all here for the pleasantries.
“Inside,” Gustav began. “He is trying to get a so called ‘priest of Bor’ to be cooperative.” Gustav replied, his voice carrying with it a noticeable aura of disdain at the mention of the priest.
The Earth Pony nodded tightly. “Then let us continue,” he declared as he moved from the rather intricately inlaid wall, feeling a small tinge of disappointment at having to leave the ancient marvel, but otherwise having other obligations to attend to. “No reason to keep revered priest waiting.”
WIth that, the pair walked inside, with the Earth Pony impassively studying the damage around him, a small measure of disappointment entering the back of his mind and feeling disgust at the level of wanton destruction that had ruined what had been such a prime example of ancient architecture, idly nudging aside the occasional charred body of a pony who had probably died defending this once proud house of worship. He looked up at the ceiling, studying the runes and etchings inscribed along the ceiling.
“Take note, Gustav,” the leader commanded, forcing Gustav to raise an eyebrow and look towards the ceiling.
“What is it, Fuhrer?” he asked, not really seeing anything particularly special with the ceiling.
“This building is the ultimate example of the foolishness of these Equestrians,” he said sternly, before continuing forward, flaring his nostrils in disdain.
“Mein Fuhrer?” The young griffin asked, still not certain what his elder was saying.
“ Do you not see how they choose to waste these gifts?” They came to a stop in front of a staircase that lead down to a subterranean level, where the pony and griffin could hear the thin, reedy, Albion accented voice coming from down below. “Do you tell how they desecrate this once mighty temple? I tell you now, my student,” he cast a brief glance towards his younger counterpart. “This is why they shall lose: because they squander their talents,” he then raised his gloved right hand to stop his apprentice. “Now watch, Gustav, and learn.”
“Why do you fight?” A voice, high pitched for a stallion, sounded off from the red fire light, carrying with it the voice you’d expect to hear from a spider, if they could talk. “Your god is long dead, mien reverend, so stop hiding The Heart from those of us with the conviction to wield it,” the voice hissed, before the sound of a blow being sharply landed against something greeted the duo’s ears. They began to walk down the staircase, their footsteps echoing slightly.
“It is not meant for us,” said an old voice meekly. “We are only to be it’s custodians, no more,”
“Then your watch has ended, Wirén,” a sharp, tittering laugh was released by the earth pony standing above him. “Allow me and my friends, the ones with the sacred knowledge, take over your vigil, and perhaps,” he began to stroke his beard. “We will allow to live, and to live out the rest of your days in happiness. There will be many spoils after the war, after all, and your share would be but only a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.”
The griffin and earth pony finally reached the bottom of the staircase, revealing a small, stone chamber, where they were greeted by the sight of a wormy, finicky spectacled zebra slowly stalking around an older looking unicorn whose horn was broken off and lying on the ground next to him. The unicorn was tied to the pillar, seemingly unable to move, and several black and blue marks, and several small open knife wounds indicated that the zebra had been at work for some time already.
“Aleister!” Gustav called out, his voice echoing in the chamber. “Report!”
The zebra whipped his head around, his bright green eyes seemingly glowing with a strange, unsettling sense of chaos and maliciousness.
“Mein Fuehrer!” He buzzed, bowing his head towards the earth pony before turning towards Gustav. “Wirén is a pitiful excuse for a hedge mage,” he hissed, looking towards the disabled unicorn with an almost fanatical loathing before whipping his head back to Gustav. “But, the object we seek is here. Of that I have no doubt.”
Aleister then paused to rub his muzzle briefly and he sniffed as if he had a head cold. He then twitched slightly, his eyes starting to dart about wildly.
“So what?” Gustav asked, not having much patience for the zebra’s pretentions. “We tear this place down?”
“No!” Aleister replied sharply, shaking his head violently, before darting over to Gustav’s side and leaning close. Gustav tensed slightly, but Aleister seemed unfazed, his wild eyes staring straight at the griffin, while his ears flickered about wildly, as if searching for sounds. “Gustav, The Heart is probably locked in a small pocket of our world that is ever so sl-slightly out of phase with us, whatever we do, we should most certainly, undeniably, NOT tear the place down. It’s preservation is of utmost importance until The Heart is located.”
The zebra suddenly twitched, letting out a odd yelping sound before reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out a small paper bag, which, inside, contained a fine white powder. With an abrasive and vulgar snorting sound, he inhaled the powder, his pupils dilating briefly before he shook his head rapidly, letting out a satisfied shout.
“Then Aleister, what is our move?” the Earth Pony asked, raising an eyebrow.
Aleister leapt towards the earth pony, lowering himself dramatically before him before speaking. “Simple, Mein Fuhrer,” he whispered, his eyes darting upwards for a fraction of a second. “We use the powers of the Blood Stones I brought to our own ends, oh High One. Give me three minutes, and I shall have the Form of Mantoruk crafted and the priest’s horn prepared as an item of focus.”
The Earth Pony nodded, and Aleister clapped his hooves together like a school filly, quickly scampering over to a large saddle bag and pulling out several translucent stones filled with a dark red liquid. He bundled them up and skittered to the center of the room, setting five of them down on the ground at equal distances. He then pulled out a long, refined dagger with complicated symbols and runes inscribed, and, with a series of strange, guttural mutterings, began to trace lines between the five stones, revealing a perfect pentagram. He then drew a ring around it, before hopping to the center and sitting down.
Gustav shifted uncomfortably, looking for something to distract his attention as the zebra continued with his increasingly bizarre ritual. Every so often however, an arc of black energy would bolt outwards from a point of the pentagram, seemingly searching for a location. To Gustav however, he only saw an intoxicated zebra babbling away wildly in some strange tongue.
With a sudden yowl of triumph, Aleister pointed a hooves towards the northern wall of the chamber, his babbling and chanting ceasing, and instead being replaced by a low hum.
“Gustav,” he droned, causing Gustav to roll his eyes in disinterest.
“Yes, Sir?” the griffin asked back.
“I have found The Heart!” He declared, pointing his hooves high up in the air. “Take care of the priest, will you?” Aleister laughed, a large, toothy smile spreading across his face. “And do try not to make a mess. These ruins have been damaged enough today, me thinks. T’would be a shame if they became stained with blood, would it not be?”
Gustav looked towards the elderly unicorn, a pleasured smile spreading across his face as he slowly walked over to the unicorn. He leaned in close to the restrained pony, holding a claw under it’s throat.
“You’re services are most appreciated my friend,” he whispered as he place his beak right next to the trembling holy stallions ear. “HYDRA is forever thankful,” he finished, plunging his beak into the throat of the stallion, ripping out his throat and unleashing a floodgate of blood upon the ruins. Gustav smiled. “So much for not leaving a mess.” he added, wiping his beak with a cloth from his jacket.
Aleister meanwhile, had already stood up from the pentagram, walking over to where the Form of Manouk had indicated. As it turned out, it was a large, surprisingly ornate and well carved diagram of Yggdrasil, the tree that connects the nine realms of the cosmos. He then placed his hooves on the image of Asgard, slowly and steadily trancing it along the labyrinthian branches before ending on the image of Hekkerheim. With a wild eyed grin, he pulled out the severed horn and placed it on the image of the mythological realm. Just as he had predicted, the wall began to melt and fade away, unmasking the previously hidden chamber.
Sitting on a pedestal, with a fine coating of ancient dust, was a large, crystalline chest covered in Asgardian runes.
“Hans! Fritz! The Trolley!” he shouted, cackling gleefully as he hopped from hoof to hoof. As he did so, two burly griffins in khaki uniforms trundled a small trolley in place. Aleister giggled and chuckled as he daintily lifted the chest off of it’s pedestal, muttering and chanting in another ancient tongue as he placed the chest on the trolley.
As the zebra’s chanting increased, the chest began to glow a gentle, icy blue and a huge smile exploded across the zebra’s face.
“Excellent! Excellent! The Chest has responded to the spell! Quickly, we must bring it to Hoch Spitze!” he pulled out the small paper bag and took another snort of the powder before running over to the grey earth pony.
“How long will it take you to open the chest?” The earth pony asked, his voice low and commanding.
“If it’s safeguards are like those of the mural? Approximately a week in my private library will suffice. Possibly longer if I run into a different enchantment. But trust my word, oh Great One, I shall open the chest, and you shall be able to finally ascend to your rightful place on the throne of the universe,” Aleister replied, bowing low.
The Earth Pony smiled confidentially.
“Soon HYDRA shall stand victorious, and I shall rule over all.” he said, before turning around and heading out of the chamber, followed closely by Aleister, Gustav and the other underlings.
//////////////////////////////////////
Twilight Sparkle leaned forward slightly, spotting the tell-tale smokestack of the oncoming locomotive. She reflexively looked down at the carefully written, carefully researched list that she held in her arms, once more attempting to memorize the list of names. She had already done this of course, at least six times already, but to her, double checking was always necessary.
She lifted a thermos to her lips, taking a sip of the fine, ultra caffeinated minotaur coffee that always managed to keep her going, even if she’d been up since 9:30 the night before, memorizing the list. As if on cue, the train finally came into the station, a massive cloud of steam forming as the brakes screeched and moaned as the massive iron and steel behemoth came to a stop.
Twilight cleared her throat, her horn glowing magenta, readying her voice amplification spell. She glanced over towards one of the other officers standing on the platform. The officer nodded, and Twilight gave him a nod just as the doors to the train cars swung open.
“Would the following ponies please follow me to the airfield: Apple, A; Barrett, A; Bronson, C; Conners, C; Fitzgerald, F.S.; Herb, J; House, G; Lightning, S; Ludwig, C; Miranda, B; Pie, S; Shine, D; Waters, E.F.; Whooves, D; Williams, B.”
Her horn flickered off, causing the spell to cut out and returning her voice to it’s natural levels. She idly watched as the eclectic mix of stallions and mares all grabbed their saddlebags, or traded goodbyes with their respective loved ones or friends. Twilight raised an eyebrow however, at the sight of a shockingly thin looking golden earth pony attempting to drag a steamer trunk that was at least one and a half times heavier then she looked, all while being aided by a white pegasus mare with a firecracker cutie mark.
Twilight furrowed her brow slightly. I’d better help them, she thought, trotting forward. They look like they need it.
With that thought in her mind, she trotted over to the pair, already prepping herself to be as gregarious as possible.
“...lift with yer legs, damnit!” the skinny orange one said, while pushing against the large steamer trunk. The white one nodded rapidly, her bright yellow mane bouncing like it were cotton candy.
“Yeah! I know, AJ!” A now kind of agitated white coated, blonde maned mare of maybe 21 asked. “But what in the nine rings of hell do you have in here? A gaggle of fillies?” She groaned, struggling to lift the steamer trunk. Twilight bit her lip slightly, lighting her horn and attempting to help steady the trunk, much to the other ponies’ surprise.
“Um, hello there,” Twilight said, extending a hand in greeting towards the orange mare, who was quick to make herself look visibly smaller.
“Howdy, ma’am, sorry fer causin’ trouble,” the earth pony said humbly, rubbing the back of her neck.
Twilight simply shook her head. “No, no…” she looked at the struggling ponies in front of her. “That’s perfectly alright. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” she answered, extending a hand to shake the orange earth pony’s own. The orange earth pony looked down at the hand with visible surprise. “One of the officers in charge of this divi-” she was abruptly cut off by her hand being taken by the now excited white pegasus.
“Well, it's nice to meet you, Twilight! I’m Surprise Kaminski Pie, but most just call me Surprise!” The white pegasus said, shaking Twilight’s hand with vigor.
Twilight gave Surprise a smile. “Alrighty then, and what about your friend here?” she asked, looking towards Applejack again.
“Her? That’s my new bestest best friend, Applejack Ashleigh Apple!” Surprise said, swinging an arm around the orange earth pony’s neck. “Say hey, Triple A!”
“Um…” Applejack stuttered, seemingly taken aback by how extrovertive her friend was. “Howdy?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow at the name. “So you’re the pony the Professor wants?” she asked, looking at Applejack, who nodded self consciously. “Well, you’re a lot thinner than I expected.”
Applejack visibly shied away slightly and look down at the ground, which led to Twilight realizing what she had just said.
“Oh gosh, I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t have said that!” she said with wide eyes while waving her hooves in penance. “I mean, if Professor Schultz thinks you're the one, then I guess you’re the one!” the officer let out a fairly awkward laugh, immediately regretting what she just said. “Sorry.”
Applejack glanced up at Twilight, and the lavender unicorn put on her best apologetic smile, complete with a heartfelt squee. It seemed to work, much to Twilight’s relief.
Applejack nodded her head slightly. “Nah, that’s alright, ma’am. It’ ain’t yer fault. Ain’t tha first time I heard that.”
Twilight nodded slightly. “Oh, thank goodness,” she began rubbing the back of her neck, her embarrassment now showing profusely. “Well, either way, I shouldn’t have said that. Here,” she lit up her horn and hefted the bag up into the air. “Let me help you with your bags. We’re going to be taking a zeppelin to our destination, are you two okay with that?” she asked, already having dropped the surprisingly heavy steamer trunk into the back of the vehicle. “I mean, you two aren’t afraid of heights or anything, are you?”
Applejack and Surprise shook their heads. Twilight glanced towards the steamer trunk.
“Alright then, that’s good. But, for future reference Ms. Apple, you were told to only bring the essentials,” she began again as she realized all the extra prescriptions that must have been in Applejack’s luggage. “Do you have anything else in there I should know about?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. Applejack shook her head again.
“No, ma’am” the earth pony mare answered, shaking her head and trying her hardest to sound like she belonged there. “It’s just mah clothes, extra meds and paddin’ ta keep some keepsakes safe fer tha trip. I swear.”
“Anything else that we should know about?” Twilight pushed further, wanting to know for sure whether or not this sickly mare was going to be any more of a problem than her luggage.
“Well, ma’am, I work on a farm, so I’m thinkin’ I’ll be just dandy with the bugs and whatnot, but if I do run inta any problems, I got mah medicated cigarettes for mah asthma.” Applejack answered, adjusting the old cowboy hat on her head slightly.
Twilight nodded, making a note along side the jotted down the information to have some of the medicine stocked up at the base, and then she turned to Surprise, who was slightly worrying her now since her massive grin had yet to fade.
“And what about you?” she asked. “Any meds? Teddy bears? Chocalate that you’re going to keep stashed away from your bunkmates?”
Surprise’s expression got impossibly brighter. “Me? Well, I’m from Cloudsdale, so humidity and bugs are like that weird uncle who comes over for a visit and then stays for six months and eats all the food in the fridge and eats all your candy bars, so then you’re forced to hide it in a place nopony would think to look and sometimes even yourself forget about because the hiding place to so great.”
There was an awkward pause.
“So... is that a yes or is that a no?” Twilight asked, arching an eyebrow more than just slightly, trying but failing miserably to take this mare’s personality in stride.
Surprise nodded. “Yes siree bob! Just fine with it. Why?”
“Well, I can’t go into specifics yet, but we’re heading out to a place with a lot of moisture and bugs and-
“THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!!” Surprise blurted out, her face now showing to be barely holding back the laughter. “Sorry! Couldn’t resist!”
The two others just stared at her for the next few seconds. “So yeah, we’re headed to a swamp. Will you be fine with that?” Twilight asked, turning to face the road as the vehicle lurched forward, driving towards the airfield in the distance.
“I guess so, yeah…” Applejack said in a subdued tone.
Twilight took that as just pre-basic jitters, and ignored it, her mind turning to the task at hand, which was driving. Meanwhile, in the back seat of the bumpy ride, Surprise cast Applejack a slightly worried expression.
“Applejack?”
Applejack glanced her way. “Ya Surprise?”
“This is gonna suck isn’t it?” the white pegasus asked, rubbing the back of her neck slightly.
Applejack shrugged and sighed. “Maybe a little,” then she looked at the size of the blimp. Or a lot, she finished in her head.
/////////////////////////////////////
Gustav ironed out the wrinkles in his uniform as he made his way towards Aleister’s office. Ever since they got back to headquarters, Gustav had been feeling uneasy. For one thing, even though he always knew Aleister was a strange fellow, Aleister’s actions in the old temple had introduced Gustav to a side of the zebra he had never seen before. On top of that, for the past few days, Gustav had been plagued by strange, disturbing images of the zebra sitting in the middle of the pentagram, chattering and babbling incoherently while being surrounded by what looked like monsters made of shadow.
He stood outside the door of the zebra’s private study sharply, and was greeted by the zebra’s voice.
“Come in,” came the accented voice of Aleister, noticeably lacking it’s normal frenetic energy.
Gustav opened the door and stepped inside, his eyes widening and eyebrows raising slightly at the sight of hundreds, if not thousands, of tomes and books that covered every possible object. Along with them, and giving the room a strange, helter skelter aura, were dozens of strange and arcane devices, including beakers, vials and even a small cauldron, which contained a mysterious, bubbling liquid. The only light seemed to come from the dozens of scented candles that were clutched around the large, diamond shaped chest sitting on a large oak desk. The chest itself continued to emit the strange, otherworldly pale blue glow that it had been emitting since their return.
Gustav found Aleister sitting in a large, elegant chair, sipping a glass of what Gustav was hoping to be tea, for the sake of seeing something normal in the office.
Gustav raised an eyebrow slightly, blinking in shock at seeing the normally fanatical zebra so static. His green eyes were now gaunt and sunken in, with heavy bags hanging underneath them. His complexion had paled significantly, and his normally carefully manicured mane was now wild and unkempt.
“I take it that you are surprised to see how I look without my medicine?” Aleister asked, arching an eyebrow and shooting a sharply bloodshot eye up at Gustav. HIs voice carried with it a venomous sense of sarcasm.
“I always considered you unattractive, Aleister,” Gustav shot back, his voice matching Aleister’s in venimonisty. “But even I find you looking particularly ugly this morning.”
Aleister let out a sharp snort, his nostrils flaring briefly, before he shifted into his chair a little more.
“Gustav, surely you must have better things to do then slander the looks of a superior officer?” he motioned towards the chair opposite of Aleister. “Please, take a seat. I would be a terrible host if I’d simply let you stand there like some sort of underprivileged plebeian, no?”
Gustav rolled his eyes and stifled the urge to spit back an insult, but instead, took a deep breath and sat down tersely in the chair across from Aleister, crossing his arms in frustration.
“Would you care for some tea?” Aleister asked, motioning towards the kettle sitting on the small table next to him. Gustav simply let out a dismissive snort, which Aleister apparently took to be positive, as he reached over and poured the contents into a teacup, passing into to Gustav.
Gustav gave it a cautionary sniff, knowing full well that Aleister had a strange habit of spiking his drinks with all sorts of strange chemicals and drugs.
“It is clean, if that is your worry.” Aleister said, seemingly reading Gustav’s mind. Gustav glared at him briefly before taking a sip of the tea, which was, surprisingly, quite tasty. He caught sight of Aleister pulling a small eyedropper filled with a clear liquid, which Aleister then squirted into his own cup of tea.
“So what do you need, Gustav?” he asked, taking another small sip from his warm drink. “You know full well that I detest and loathe company whenever I am low on powdered coca leaf extract. Not to mention that I’m rather low on most of my other medicinal aids”
“Oh please, Aleister,” Gustav scoffed, showing nothing but disdain in his voice. “You know exactly what I’m here for. I’ve come for answers.”
Aleister nodded slightly, a wry smile on his face. “Really? Answers? About what?”
Gustav grit his teeth, angrily clenching his talons once or twice. “Stop playing with me, Aleister. You know exactly why I’m here. What have you done to me? To my mind? My memories?” he growled, pointing a talon at his head as he spoke.
Aleister was silent for a moment, his green eyes staring intently at Gustav. Gustav noticed that his eyes seemed to regain some of their fire, and a dark smile slowly spread across the zebra’s face.
“So you did see the spell work in the temple? Most surprising,” he remarked, adding some sugar to his tea. “I half-expected you to be too ignorant and blind to see such things.”
Gustav tossed his teacup asides, causing it to shatter as he stood up. “Stop it! I’m sick of your silly games, you inane drug addicted swine!” he insinuted, his talons now digging deep into his superiors desk. “Tell me what you’ve done before I rip your throat out same as that priest!”
Aleister simply rolled his eyes, seemingly unfazed by Gustav’s outburst. “I have done nothing to you, Gustav. You’ve simply been given the unique opportunity to have a peek behind the curtain of our reality. What you are currently experiencing is simply due to your lack of understanding of what you’ve seen.” He let out a small, tittering laugh as he finished, taking another sip of his tea. “Now please, if you would be so kind as to leave, I wish to rest before returning to work.”
Gustav couldn’t believe the sheer, unadulterated arrogance that the thin and sickly looking zebra exuded, and, in a fit of anger, Gustav readied his revolver to dispose of the ‘scientist’. However, before he had a chance to fire, his arm froze solid and he heard Aleister’s voice echoing in his head.
“Gustav la Grande le Shaw, I command you to put that gun away and return to your seat until I excuse you.” Aleister ordered, his voice taking on a strange, almost supernatural aura. As much as Gustav attempted to remain standing, he found himself sitting down against his will. He clutched the arms of his chair as a surge of panic overwhelmed him as he was now seemingly utterly helpless against Aleister.
Aleister meanwhile, let out a long sigh, clicking his tongue in a condescending manner as he stood up from his chair. “You must remember, Gustav, that the power of names is truly one of the most dramatic, albeit ineffective, forms of magic. Yes, you might be able to cause somepony to do your bidding, but you first have to hear their name from their own voice first in order to have any power over it.” He paused, idly glancing down at a small stuffed toy that vaguely resembled Gustav. “It’s a very feeble spell matrix as well, and, by Tirek, don’t even get me started with how many things can go wrong if somepony has truly reinvented himself.”
Gustav stared daggers at Aleister, whom, if his babblings were true, had apparently just taken control of Gustav’s entire body without lifting so much as a hoof. A whole assortment of disturbing childhood memories ran through Gustav’s mind at the feeling of restraint, and he tried to trash around and break free, but was halted with a dominating glance from Aleister.
“Stop this now, Aleister! Stop this stupid game of yours and let me go!” Gustav spat, acid coating every word, and Aleister only shook his head.
“Weren't you listening?” Aleister asked nonchalantly, looking at his own, perfectly groomed hand without a care in the world. “I used ancient sorcery and your own name to make you be a good guest. Don’t be so insufferably dense, mein freund.”
Gustav’s eyes darted around. “It’s mere hypnotism nothing more!” he shouted, more to console himself and try to ease his oncoming panic attack then anything else.
Aleister let out a sharp laugh. “Oh please! Hypnotism can’t make the victim do anything they would not otherwise do themself!” For instance, if you were hypnotised, I wouldn’t be able to do the following,” he cleared his throat, and grabbed a doll in his hand while smiling deviously at his victim, “Gustav la Grande le Shaw, if you would, please stop breathing.”
Gustav was about to voice protest when his jaw clamped shut. He tried to open it, to show that he was beyond Aleister’s control, but found that his lungs seemed to have been sealed shut, blocking off any air. His vision slowly began to grow darker, and he could feel his lungs beginning to burn. He grew light headed and was about to pass out when Aleister spoke again.
“You may breath now, Gustav la Grande le Shaw.” he said slyly, and Gustav’s lungs opened up, and the griffin let out several heaving gasps as he desperately attempted to regain his lost air. His eyes fixed on the thin zebra, who simply sat in his chair with a dominating smile. Gustav took this opportunity to leap out his chair and bolt out of the room in a panic, the sound of the zebra cackling madly filling his ears.
Gustav scrambled through the halls of the base, ignoring any sounds of protest or shouts for him to look out. He wanted to be as far away as he could possibly get from that strange fanatic. His sprint, however, ended when he impacted a pony. He was about to spit out a violent tirade towards whomever had stopped him, but instead snapped his beak shut at the sight of the Fuhrer.
The grey earth pony cocked an eyebrow in suspicion, idly adjusting the seemingly limp skin around his face before turning to look directly at Gustav.
“Gustav, my friend what has you so panicked?” the Earth pony asked, putting an assuring arm around Gustav’s shoulder. Gustav swallowed in an attempt to make his throat less dry before speaking.
“It w-was Aleister, sir.” Gustav answered, reflexively looking around to make sure his voice hadn’t accidentally summoned the zebra.
The Fuhrer nodded steadily. “I see... I take it that he demonstrated his abilities to you?”
Gustav nodded, a fearful expression on his face, swallowing again, and the Fuhrer smiled slightly.
“Good. I feared you might have seen fit to kill him for being a charlatan or something.” he said, giving Gustav an asides glance.
Gustav exhaled. “But, mein Fuhrer, you’ve said-”
The Fuhrer held up a hand, silencing Gustav. “I know what I’ve said, Gustav. And I’ll repeat it again: I don’t believe in gods or devils, my student, but I do believe in one very important thing. Do you know what that thing is, Gustav?”
Gustav shook his head slightly. “No, mein Fuhrer, I do not.” he answered.
The Fuhrer smiled proudly. “Power, Gustav. I believe in power. Power to bring one’s enemies to their knees, power to bring oneself to a higher place in life. And Aleister, even in his drug addled haze, has the best method around to bring me that power. Understand?”
“Yes, but how am I to avoid-” Gustav was once more silenced by a fatherly hand being held up.
“Here, take this,” the Fuhrer reached into his uniform and handed Gustav a small, ornate medallion in the shape of a triangle formed out of many smaller ones. “This will prevent his spells from having any affect on you. I wear one myself.”
Gustav took the medallion in hand, observing it with reverence before slipping it on. “Thank you, mein Fuhrer,” he said. “I will not forget this!”
The Fuhrer once again smiled.“Of course you won’t,” he smugly replied. “Also, I suggest that you also change your name. He did use that silly name trick of his didn’t he?”
“I...” Gustav began, remembering how much pleasure the deviant zebra seemed to have in using Gustav’s name against him and feeling embarrassment at having to admit it to the one pony the griffin had any respect for. “Yes.”
The Fuhrer nodded again. “Then drop the ‘la Grande’. Just be ‘le Shaw’. We don’t want any more occultists or witches to be able to gain power over you, do we?” He smiled. “Le Grand Le Shaw was always such a mouthful, anyway.”
Gustav shook his head. “I understand, Mien Fuhrer.”
“Good!” the Fuhrer said, giving Gustav a fatherly pat on the back. “Now, next time Aleister tries anything of this sort, I want you to come straight to me, and I will handle it. I have my own methods of keeping that maniac in check.” He gently tapped the front pocket of his uniform. “Does that reassure you?”
Gustav nodded resolutely. “Yes, yes it does. Very much so, Thank you, Mein Furher”
The Fuhrer smiled. “Excellent. Now, I want you to prepare a strike team. There is a village to the north of here that has tactical value, and may be an Equestrian spy base. I want you to take it out. Understand?”
Gustav nodded. “It shall be done sir.”
“Good. Off you go, my boy, and please.” he added as an after thought. “Do make it back alive. Finding underlings you can rely on is something of a challenge, you know?”
And with that, Gustav spun around, his previous fears abated and his mind now focused on preparing for the mission ahead.