Solar Sails: Marooned In Equestria

by Bluecho


10 - Cabin Fever

Ch. 10 - Cabin Fever


“What's wrong with your face?”

A Fatae girl with long twin braids pointed her finger right into Sarin's face. Sarin shrank back from the digit.

“She's a freak is what's wrong with her,” said a Fatae boy, a smug expression on his face.

“N-n-no I'm not a...” Sarin whispered, but her voice couldn't carry, and the other kids ignored her.

“Yeah,” said another girl. “Why's her skin so white? Or is she one of you, Bronner?”

The one called Bronner – endowed with a much lighter complexion than most of the rest of the kids – shifted that light skin to a beet red hue. “No way! I'm nothing like her! I don't have blue all over me!” He stepped towards Sarin. “And I don't have ears that look like they were chewed on by a dog either!” He tried to grab Sarin's ear, but she dodged away.

Did this kid really want to avoid guilt by association so much he'd throw Sarin under the bus to do it?

“What's the matter, blotch face?” mocked the braid girl. “You'll let a dog chew on your ears, but not let one of us touch them?”

“You think you're better than us?” said a boy.

“No, I really don't...” Sarin said quietly, gripping arms around herself as if that would protect against their verbal assault.

“Maybe she does think she's better than us,” said another boy, coming up from behind the main group of kids. “I heard she was one of those fancy new misses. Ones with freaky powers.”

The braid girl turned back to Sarin. “Oh you think you're hot stuff cause your a new misses?”

“P-please...” said Sarin, trying to raise her voice above the din of the encroaching crowd. “Someone...a-an-anyone! H-help me!” Hher voice quivered, which set some of the other children laughing.

“No one's going to help you, dog chewed!” said a boy with big, beefy fingers. “You're all alone! Ain't no one like you here!”

“Yeah!” Bronner said, visibly desperate to distance himself categorically from G7-H3. “You're a real freak with no one like you!”

“That's not true!” Sarin said, eyes growing watery. “I'm not the only one!”

“Then where are all the other kids with blotchy faces and dog chewed ears and skin white as dog bones?” said the braided girl, smiling smugly.

“I...I don't...” Sarin said, looking around. In truth she'd only briefly met other members of the G7 series, and only one true G7-H. All were adults. Sarin had never met another of her kind of her own age. No kids with blue blotchy faces or blue dog ears.

“She doesn't have any! Nobody's like her!” said the fat-fingered boy.

“She's a freak! A freaky blue blotch face!”

Tears began rolling down little Sarin's face. She tried to find a way to push past her tormentors, but the crowd of children was too thick. She could only stand on her tippy toes and peak over the crowd. A short distance away, a line of caretakers and adults stood watching. A couple were turning away to avoid Sarin's crying eyes. None moved to help her. Not even the regal looking one with the wings and horn and flowing blue mane that shone like stars.

She looked visibly the most disgusted and tormented. But she didn't move either.

Why wouldn't they come help her? Aren't adults supposed to stop these sorts of things?

“Dog eared!”

“White wash!”

“Pointy forehead!”

“Blunderer!”

“Monster!”

“MURDERER!”

“IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!”



Sarin shot awake, drenched in sweat. She shivered on the floor of her cell, panting heavily. The chains that bound her arms clinked as she shuddered.

Just a dream! She shook her head frantically to dispel the memories. It's just a dream, you stupid girl! Stop being a crybaby! It was years ago. All of those kids went on to join the military. Probably forgot all about you.

Sarin pulled her knees in and she rested her face onto them. She stifled the tears that threatened to push out. Breath in, breath out.

It doesn't matter anymore. They can't hurt me anymore. Can't mock me. Some of them might even be dead, killed by insurgents or enemy armies or wild beasts. So stop being stupid. You crybaby. You stupid freak...



Sarin Miles took her seat again. She'd realized that morning that she hadn't had a chance to bathe. The guards would probably have acquiesced if she asked, hosed her off at least. But as soon as she considered it, she rejected the idea.

If I'm to meet her majesty every day, she thought, I'll be as filthy and foul-smelling as I can.

Assuming she noticed the odor, Princess Celestia gave no signs of it bothering her. She simply sat opposite the modified soldier and smiled that infuriatingly pleasant smile. “Did you sleep well again? As I said yesterday, you can ask for anything if it makes your stay more comfortable.”

“I'm fine.”

“Are you sure? I could also arrange to let you walk around the courtyard if you'd like to stretch your legs. How about it?” Celestia's smile faltered a shade, eying the stiff manner in which Sarin sat.

Honestly, Sarin would love the chance to run around. She had enough space in her cell to perform sit-ups, an activity she'd practiced the rest of the day until dinner was brought in. The chance to really stretch out, even under the watchful eyes of the guard, would content Sarin immensely.

“No thank you.”

A sigh escaped the princess' mouth. She shook her head, “Very well. Later perhaps. Moving along, would you be so kind as to tell me how you came to Equestria?”

“No, I would not be so kind.”

“I see. If you would permit me, I'll try to puzzle through what I know about you, Sarin Miles, and see if I can't figure it out on my own.” Celestia tapped her regal hoof against her chin. “Do feel free to correct me if my assumptions are too off-base.”

Sarin grunted in neutral acknowledgment.

“That you were so interested in a ship floating in the sky meant you came from somewhere beyond this world,” said Celestia. “I admit the prospect of there being creatures beyond my sphere is daunting. But that's for later.” She cleared her throat. “I can only assume you were separated from that ship, and sought out the astronomer in an effort to find it again. You wanted to return to it. Am I correct so far?”

The modified soldier merely stared.

“...I can also say you spent at least a little time in the forests north of Ponyville,” continued Celestia. “We found the body of the Leucrota, killed with a sharp instrument. One like your fine knife.”

“I know,” said Sarin. “I saw the notes in the other princess' house.”

“Indeed. You might not know that Twilight Sparkle found the bodies of the other...uh...”

“Fatae. I'm a Fatae,” Sarin said. Giving the regal mare a name for her species wouldn't hurt. It said nothing about the Empire. Nothing those bodies wouldn't tell. Sarin frowned at the thought of their capture. “They were Fatae too.”

“Yes, that is interesting,” Celestia said, before returning the frown. “I'm afraid we did need to unearth what I can only assume are your fellows. I apologize if I disturbed any sacred burial rights.”

Admittedly the act annoyed Sarin, but she merely grunted noncommittally.

“And we found what I can only assume was the wrecks of your landing craft in a cave,” said Celestia.

Sarin grimaced. Everything she'd worked to accomplish was coming apart piece by piece while she remained locked away. An absolute disgrace.

“From all this, I think I can hazard a chain of events,” Celestia commented, stroking her chin. “Your party was sent down to the surface of our world, but crashed for unknown reasons.”

Sarin considered naming Rainbow Dash as the cause – out of spite if nothing else. But the thought of Celestia realizing their solar sailed ships had a weakness to sonic rainbooms, and figuring out how to master that advantage in the future, gave Sarin pause. She held her tongue.

“Your fellows didn't make it – I'm sorry for your loss by the way – so you attempted to hide evidence of your presence yourself,” Celestia continued. “You were attacked by a Leucrota...and slew him in self-defense. Or at least I hope it was in defense.” Celestia eyed Sarin apprehensively. Sarin could tell this was one of the primary reasons Celestia held these meetings with the Fatae. Threat assessment.

“From there, you left the forest,” continued Celestia, donning again her kindly mask. “One of my subjects professed knowledge of your presence in Ponyville for a number of weeks, so I hazard you left because you harbored concerns for danger.”

Danger? Sarin only ever fought the one beast in that forest. The rest of the place was empty, and it seemed it could only support one starving predator anyway. One that subsisted on ponies wandering or being tricked into it. If she could have found a reliable food source, Sarin supposed she could merely have remained in the forest indefinitely.

“I must profess shock at hearing about the Leucrota in that forest,” said Celestia. “Most Crocotta and their progeny were herded into the Everfree forest long ago. By me.” When she saw Sarin's skeptical expression, she said, “It may seem hard to believe, I know. But it truly is surprising one managed to dodge me for so long. I apologize that my lack of diligence threatened your life.”

What is wrong with this woman, Sarin thought. Mare. Whatever. She's apologizing for being a threat to me when I'm the one who is the greatest threat to her subjects. I took one of her citizens hostage. Why is she ignoring that?

As Sarin mulled over those thoughts, Celestia kept talking. “I've received scattered reports of minor thefts in Ponyville over the last month, but nothing significant. Mostly of food or newspapers, bits and bobs. Your most significant crime was breaking into the home of Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia tilted her head. “You were trying to make off with books. I can only assume your mission originally was information. Either that, or your team was sent for resources on the planet, and when stranded you sought as much information of Equestria as you could to survive. But I'm inclined towards the former.”

“...wait, why?” said Sarin, genuinely puzzled.

“Because if your goal was mere survival, and returning to your ship so you could return home,” began Celestia, “all you needed to do was reach out to ponies and explain your situation. If you had asked me upon arriving, I could have mountains moved if they would help. I would be a poor host otherwise.” Celestia shook her head. “You never did, never tried, which means you were trained or under orders to mask your presence. Meaning you had goals other than mere survival. You were after books – and Twilight's research – so I can only assume it was a scouting mission.”

“You don't know that,” responded Sarin, taking the initiative for the first time that day. She scowled, sweat collecting like dew on her brow. “I could have come here for more aggressive purposes. I might even be here to assassinate your heads of state.”

Her guards flinched, but Celestia waved to them reassuringly. “I don't think so,” said Celestia, smiling. “If your purpose was deadly in nature, you would have killed far more than a lone monster. The fact that you knew Twilight Sparkle was a princess means you would have had reason to kill her while she slept the other night in her home. It would even have aided you, since it was Twilight who caused your capture in the first place.”

“That could have been caution,” retorted Sarin. “Kill a princess, and ponies would descend on the town. There would be inquiries. Investigations. The countryside would be torn apart looking for the killer. I'd be on the run with no safe havens. And the other princesses and nobles would be guarded more thoroughly. I gain nothing but trouble by taking her out then and there. That doesn't mean I'm not still out to kill you all.”

Celestia pondered these words. Then her brow raised slightly. “Tell me, Sarin Miles,” said Celestia. “This is the most you've spoken of regarding your potential motives. And you use it to argue against yourself?”

Sarin paused. “What?”

“I was willing to believe your activities were of a sneaky but nonthreatening nature. In fact, I would very much like to believe that. Yet here you are, advocating the interpretation that you very much mean harm to me and my little ponies. If you truly did, you would gladly accept my misunderstanding and use it to your advantage.” Celestia's eyes narrowed. “But if your mission is not one of harm, why argue it so strongly?”

“...well...I...what about the astronomer?” Sarin sputtered. “I took his hostage. How is that not harmful?”

“Took him hostage after being caught in my student's...my former student's home,” Celestia stated, correcting herself as she went. “Moreover, you were shown evidence that your escape could still be possible. You were stressed, alone, on an unfamiliar world. You were not likely in your right mind.” The princess smiled warmly as the modified soldier puffed her cheeks, frowning indignantly. “Besides, you seem like a good, careful individual. A disciplined one as well. I don't think you were capable of going through with killing-”

“YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF DOING!”

Pony guards were rushing forward to seize Sarin, the girl having shot up to her feet in order to shout at the diarch. It was only at the raised hoof of Celestia that they stopped. They didn't move back into place. They kept near, waiting for the situation to grow worse.

For her part, Sarin didn't escalate. She stood panting there, leaning over the table so she could meet Celestia's eyes close up. Sweat dripped off her. The chains binding her were tight were she squeezed against them, muscles tightened.

“You don't have any idea what I've done,” she stated, hard words cutting forth. “You don't know what atrocities I committed. You don't know me, or my sins. You. Know. Nothing.”

At last her surge of strength wavered, and she stumbled back. “Take me back to my cell,” she mumbled. The guards took this as a good suggestion, and grabbed her by the chains.

As the guards started pulling Sarin away, Celestia said, “Very well. I guess that's fair.”

There's nothing fair about this, Sarin thought. Nothing in my life has ever been fair.