//------------------------------//
// 17. Battle Plans and Moonlit Strolls 
// Story: The Tears of Gaia 
// by Redback Spino 
//------------------------------//

There was little rest for the blightlings stationed at Maudhul.

The previous day, Laga had come out with new orders from Burzkala High Command, to enlarge the outpost to accomodate more soldiers. All through the afternoon and night, they had been busy putting up new palisades of logs and stone, digging more tunnels and barracks underground and generally leaning the entire fortress up. The whips and canes of officers and captains had them working double time and without breaks. By morning, the expansions for Maudhul were completed in record time, but the entire platoon was exhausted.

But did they get any sleep or any rest as a reward for their hard work? Indeed not! Instead Maugoth and his subordinates had them lining up in the courtyard. A few score Blightlings were stood in rows and columns, each headed by an officer, on either side of the parade ground, facing inwards at a gap between them. And after a good few hours standing to attention, there came a pounding sound on the gate. As the gate was swung open, Dushtala's platoon entered.

In the few years of their activity, Dushtala had become somewhat notorious among the legions of the Blight. A harsh creature that had once been a griffon, his wings were now decayed down to bony constructs held together by a few strings of sinew and flesh. His dull brown fur was dotted with pink scars and scratches from countless battles. One of his hind legs was twisted from a particularly hard-fought battle against a Buffalo tribe. He had lost all his claws in that foot. The buffalo had lost its life.

he had quickly risen through the ranks due to his viciousness, obedience and cold no-nonsense efficiency.  When he led his forces, there was always victory. No questions asked, no skirmishes, no spending days getting into position for an attack. Just a swift charge, lots of carnage, and another victory for the Blight with new converts aplenty.

He strode through the gates into the parade ground, followed behind by tenscore blightlings of all shapes and sizes, all clad in the same black and green armour, carrying all manner of spears, swords and clubs strapped to their sides or gripped in clawed hands. A far cry from the cloaked and lightly-armed scouts and spellcasters under Maugoth's command, Dushtala's troops were soldiers through and through.

Maugoth gulped and strode through his soldiers to meet the new arrivals. "Dushtala, welcome to Maudhul. Ashdautas Vrasubatlat," he said with a low bow.

The winged commander did not return the greeting. Looking around the outpost with a keen, critical eye before turning back to Maugoth. "You are Maugoth, the commander of this outpost, then?"

"That's me, sir. Reporting for duty," he replied.

Dushtala grunted in what may have been condescension. "The higher ups at Burzkala tell me you've been having some trouble with prisoners, Maugoth? That the local Deerfolk have been giving you trouble?"

Oh sure, rub it in my face why don't you, he thought. "Well... yes, we have. Kind of a given when this outpost is right on their border. The previous platoon stationed here told me that those deer had been harassing them for some time now."

Dushtala looked then to the troops that stood to attention around him. Striding down the line, he took every soldier in. A few dozen skirmishers and trackers. Hardly any armour worn by any of them, and barely a single weapon among them. A good many spellcasters and plenty of claws and sharp teeth, but nobody truly built or trained for war. This is going to be difficult. "And why has nothing been done about this?"

"Well, with all due respect... sir," Maugoth spat out the word as if it were a bad fruit. "We are a handful of advance scouts going up against an entire civilisation. We can't exactly just storm the forest and take their land by force. The forest is too well protected."

"Hmm, you may be right," the commander replied. "Well then, it's a good thing I've been sent then. Come, let's talk somewhere private, while our soldiers get better acquainted."

Maugoth nodded and turned to his troops. "Alright then, you're dismissed everyone. Show Dushtala's soldiers about, make 'em feel at home and all that."

His troops gave a quick 'Akhoth!' and broke rank. Many returned to their barracks, went back up to guard duty on the walls, or mingled with Dushtala's platoon. Before Maugoth could lead Dushtala to the keep, Laga trotted up to him, beckoning for a quick word.

"Excuse me a minute," Maugoth said to Dushtala, before hurrying to join his soldier. "What is it, Laga?"

"How in Tartarus are we supposed to fit this many new arrivals in here?! This Dushtala guy's brought nearly two hundred soldiers with him! And they ain't exactly on the small side either," Laga whispered frantically.

"Just do what you can," he replied. "In the mean time, have some of the grunts dig some more tunnels. It doesn't have to be comfy, we just need room to put 'em."

"I'll get 'em right on it." Laga gave a quick salute and hurried off to find some help.

"Are you quite done?" Dushtala called.

Maugoth nodded and led him to the keep. "Just a minor report from one of my officers, nothing to worry about. Now then, let's talk a bit, eh?"

The inside of the keep was as dingy and ramshackle as the rest of the fort, with grime and dirt and filth caking the walls and floor. Dimly lit by only a few candles and lanterns here and there, only a few benches and tables scattered around to punctuate the otherwise empty hall.

Sweeping some old plates and tools off a table, Maugoth laid out a crudely-drawn map of the surrounding area. "So then, what is the situation? And don't spare me the details," Dushtala said in his no-nonsense way.

Maugoth frowned at him briefly, but obeyed. "Well, this outpost is here, just on the edge of the Prancing Plains. North of here is the vast woods the locals call the Forest of Leota." He pointed to a vast area of woodland, just south of a wall of mountains. "And further north still is the mountains and mines, and beyond that, Equestria itself."

"Our ultimate goal," Dushtala added.

"Well yes," Maugoth replied. "But so far we've only got a few scouting parties in there. It's far too well-defended to even attempt invading by force right now. My troops and I were stationed out there, where we found those ponies we took prisoner."

The commander nodded. "And then lost them. So where are these prisoners now?"

Resisting the urge to punch the smug Dushtala right in the beak, Maugoth continued "Well, y'see when we first found them, there were seven of 'em. We almost had them all, but four of them escaped us. We brought the remaining three here, hoping to get some info out of them..."

"About what, exactly?"

"Well, where we could find their friends, which one of them had the weapon we sought, how we could contact them, that sorta thing," he explained.

"And then you got ambushed by the Deerfolk and lost all of them, correct?"

"Uh... yeah," Maugoth said, his ears drooping in embarrassment. "So we know that those three are somewhere in the Deer Forest, but the other four, we dunno."

Dushtala leaned over the map. "From what the higher-ups said back at Burzkala, this is the only big outpost we got in the area, and most of our troops are moving out from here. We got a couple small villages under our control in the area, but the Deer are giving us grief. Tell me Maugoth, did Allfather tell you why my soldiers and I were sent here?"

Oh here we go. "Well, it was because they thought I was... well, not exactly working at a... satisfactory level to them."

"You failed them too many times, you mean." Dushtala callously responded. "But also because Burzkala has been planning something for the last few weeks. Those Deer have been a thorn in our side for far too long."

"So, what do they plan to do?" Maugoth asked.

In silent response, Dushtala stabbed at the map on the table with a particularly long claw, gouging a long, ugly scratch right across Cervidas. "We're gonna take them once and for all."

"What?!" Maugoth shrieked, forgetting for a moment who he was speaking to. "Are you insane?! We've lost hundreds of our brethren to those woods, what makes you think you have a shot?"

Any further word were silenced by Dushtala's hand around his throat, pinning him to the fall. The avian Blightling snarled in his face. 

"Be mindful of whom you're addressing, Maugoth. You're not exactly in Burzkala's favour anymore, and yer sure as Tartarus not in mine! Clear?"

Maugoth sputtered and gagged, nodding frantically "Yes...Rrghh, yes, we... very clear...!"

Dushtala let go and Maugoth slid to the floor, hacking and coughing. "What makes me think we have a shot? Simple. We're not the only ones making the big push."

Returning to the map, Dushtala took a few small fragments of bones from a plate of table scraps. He placed each piece of bone around the forect of Cervidas on the map, each at one point of the compass. "Burzkala has been sending out small groups of our soldiers to four camps around the Forest. They've been going in small forces, about fifty at a time, so the Deer don't suspect anything. Mauhur's stationed up in the north camp, Shag has the East side, Sulmurz is down in the south, and I was sent to lead the troops from here at Maudhul, the western outpost."

With a clawed hand, he pushed each of the fragments of bone inwards, until they all rested above the dot on the map labelled 'Ostaure'. "Altogether, there's a good few thousand of us. We push forward from four fronts all at the same time, force them to divide up their forces, and aim straight for their capital. No more converting either. The Deer have made it obvious they don't want our gift, so why waste it on them. And if those little escapees of yours are still in there, then we'll make sure to scoop them up."

He scratched at the map again, slashing right through the marked forest. His normally impassive face broke into what may have been a grin, or possible a leer, it was hard to tell. "The Deer will stand no chance. We will wipe them out and they will not bother us anymore. From there, it's on to Equestria itself."

He turned to Maugoth, awaiting his reaction. The Blightling had sat down in a rotting old chair by the table. "How long has this plan been in the works?"

"A couple of days now. The other camps are all ready to go. I was the last piece to position before we made our move," Dushtala replied.

"And why wasn't I told any of this?" Maugoth asked.

"Why would you need to know? Even if you weren't falling out of favour with the higher-ups, you're still just a scout commander. Little more than an errand boy."

Maugoth snarled, but held his tongue, so as not to risk another set of claws around his throat. "So... when does the attack begin?"

"First thing tomorrow morning."





By the time the walking tour of Ostaure had finished, the sun was already beginning to dip below the horizon, sending pillars of fiery orange light shining through the trees and clashing brilliantly with the silvery glow of the forest. Yarrow had led Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Gordon all around the treetop town, showing them houses, workshops, training grounds, even some of the small forges they had set up on the lower levels. Everywhere they went, deer would stop and watch them, some waving and saying hello, some giving a simple nod, and a few especially curious onlookers joining them for the walk, asking them all sorts of questions about where they came from, what they were doing out here, who they were and endless other inquiries. The little fawns were curious most of all, many of whom being so young they had never been outside the forest's borders or even seen a pony or a griffon in real life before. The four guests were flattered, and answered as many questions as they could, though Gordon remained reluctant to speak to the deer any more than he had to. But from all the questions, and from the apparent awe with which the deer seemed to regard them, the ponies could not help but get an impression that the Deerfolk, for lack of a batter term, did not get out that much.

Having finally lost their curious hangers-on, Yarrow had led his guests to a small platform, where the branches hung over the ledge like a domed ceiling. There, at a small table the five enjoyed a simple, but much appreciated supper.

"Mmm, this is pretty good!" Rainbow Dash said through a mouthful of salad.

Yarrow smiled. "Eat all you want, friends. I'd imagine our long walk will have given you quite the appetite."

"Ya got that right!" Applejack replied. "Thanks for the tour though. It's sure a nice place y'all got here."

"It was lovely, Yarrow," Fluttershy added, taking a sip from some sort of sweet drink. "I've never seen such beautiful trees before, and the view from up here is amazing."

"Thank you, Fluttershy," Yarrow replied. "We do rather take pride in our trees, there are none like them anywhere else in the world. But they are even more beautiful up close. Maybe tomorrow, if you'd like, I could show you deeper into the woods?"

"Sure, if ya like," said Applejack, taking a bite out of a flat piece of bread. "I mean, this ain't the only town in Cervidas, right?"

Yarrow shook his head. "No it is not. Ostaure may be the capital, but there are also four major settlements surrounding it. Harlond, Forlond, Annulond and Rhulond, the Four Havens, four more larger trees that each serve as town, fortress and outpost in the forest. Then there are many smaller villages and little heaths and sanctuaries scattered all around as well. A day trip to a few of the Havens, perhaps? A few teleportations and we can be there in no time."

"Sounds good," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, the capital is great and all, but it would be cool to see the rest of the place while we're here."

For the remainder of the meal, the small dinner party indulged in idle small talk, reflecting on what they had seen on the tour, sharing a few stories and jokes. Yarrow and Gordon made a few requests of the ponies for stories of their own adventures. And with as many amazing stories as they had, the ponies were all too happy to oblige.

"... And then, I swooped down through the arena! I could see the Wonderbolts and Rarity down below me, plummeting to their dooms!" Rainbow Dash said in an excited voice relating her tale of the Sonic Rainboom and the Best Young Flyers Competition.  "They were getting closer and closer to the ground, and I wasn't sure I'd get them in time. But then, it happened."

"What happened?" Yarrow said, leaning forward on his cushion with rapt attention.

"KABOOM!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "The Sonic Rainboom happened. A huge boom, a flash of rainbow light, and I was flying faster than ever before! I grabbed the four ponies, swooped up away from the ground and before I knew it, I was back in the arena, safe and sound."

"It was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen," Applejack added. "And I've seen some doozies!

"It was no wonder you ended up winning the competition," Yarrow said in wonder. "This 'Sonic Rainboom', how exactly does it work?"

Rainbow Dash patted her chin a moment. "I'll be honest, I'm not sure. I mean, a sonic boom is when I break the sound barrier, but I dunno where the rainbow shockwave comes from. Something about the refraction of light in the water particles in the air or something... I gotta ask Twilight again next time we see her. She knew the science of it better than I did."

"I would love to see it for myself someday." Yarrow leaned back, gazing up at the canopy. "It sounds like a sight to behold. So anyway, what do you have in mind for after dinner?"

Applejack stood up, brushing crumbs off her front. "I'll probably head back to our house for a lie-down. That food was sure fillin', and I didn't even eat that much of it! And maybe later I'll check out some of the shops. I saw a couple sellin' seeds and plants, maybe I'll take some back home as a souvenir."

"Well, I'll probably head up to one of the higher platforms, do a little flying. Don't wanna get out of practice and all."

"And by that you mean you want to show off your amazing flying skills to the locals?" Applejack said with a wry smile.

"You know me all too well Applejack," Rainbow replied, flying out of the canopied chamber and heading upwards.

Gordon took to the air as well and followed. "Wait up Rainbow Dash, I'll join you! I could use a bit of flying too, my wings are starting to get a little stiff."

So he flew away as well, leaving only Yarrow and Fluttershy behind. "So, what about you, Fluttershy?"

"Hmm? Oh, I don't really have any plans," she replied. "I mean, I don't know if I want to be wandering around the capital by myself, I don't want to get lost or anything. I might just go back to the house as well."

"Or perhaps," Yarrow said with a quick sideways glance towards the doorway. "I could give you a little... preview of tomorrow's tour?"

"A preview?"

"I could show you around the forest a bit, maybe go visit one of the Havens. A little private evening walk in the woods, just for you," he replied. "How does that sound?"

Fluttershy's face lit up into a wide smile. "Oh my, that sounds wonderful. But it's getting dark soon, would it be safe?"

Yarrow nodded. "Of course.  The trees always have a bit of a glow to them, so we'll be able to see easily enough. And there aren't really any dangerous wildlife in here either. So, would that be a yes then?"

"Of course, yes! Let's go!" Fluttershy said, swooping out the doorway, before doubling back and peeking around the frame, a bashful grin on her face. "Umm... Maybe you should lead the way?"

"Heh, happy to oblige," he said. "We can teleport and be there in no time."

The pair headed down the stairs from the platform, down through all the lower levels, past the markets, the forges, the workshops, the barracks and armouries, until they were at a quiet little ledge overlooking the western woods.

"This will do nicely," Yarrow said aloud as they stood on the ledge. As his horns began to shimmer and glow, the stag put one of his forelegs around Fluttershy's. "Hold on tight, here we go!"

Fluttershy gripped Yarrow's foreleg tightly as suddenly, like before, all sensation was muted for the briefest of moments. No sight, no sound, nothing but a black void. Then, an instant later, they were on the forest floor, at the edge of the clearing that surrounded Ostaure. Before them lay nothing but an endless expanse of silver trees.

The stag smiled at Fluttershy, with his familiar warm smile. "Shall we then?"

The pegasus smiled and nodded back. With Yarrow leading the way, the two strode through the forest, inbetween the enormous glowing treetrunks. On the walk, they passed many small structures, either built from the same silvery wood as Ostaure, or from white stone. Several of these little sanctuaries were populated by other deer who went about their evening meals out in the open or inside their little wooden cottages. But many of the sanctuaries and buildings stood empty and abandoned, a few apparently for quite some time, as vines and ivy had begun to reclaim the structures. Every so often, Yarrow would ask Fluttershy to hold onto him as they teleported to another faraway spot in the forest. The pegasus could not see it in the low light, but every time she held onto him, the ever-so-slightest hints of red sprung up on Yarrow's cheeks.

As they whiled away the hours exploring more and more of the forest floor, the daylight faded until it was nearing midnight, and the only light was the gentle silvery glow of the trees.

"Hey Yarrow," Fluttershy said in a low voice. "It seems awfully quiet doesn't it?"

Yarrow's ears pricked up as he listened to the silence. "Does it? This is how it usually is in Cervidas. Why, what is it like out there where you are from?"

She replied, "Well, the thing is I live with all sorts of animals living around my home, so it's never really quiet. There's usually owls hooting, crickets chirping. But here, there's nothing. Not even the wind blowing in the trees. It's kind of eerie, don't you think?"

"Huh... I suppose it would be. But I've grown up in Cervidas all my life, so I don't know anything different. In fact, to me, the world outside the woods seems rather noisy," he said, as they strode down a small path.

Fluttershy watched him walking ahead, before asking, "So have you ever, you know, considered leaving the Forest?"

"Leaving Cervidas?" Yarrow twisted his head around. "You mean, for good?"

"Oh no, no, nothing like that!" Fluttershy quickly replied. "I just mean, maybe go out to see what's out there. You know, like a holiday or something."

"Hmm..." Yarrow said as he thought. "I suppose it could be a rather interesting adventure. But where would I go?"

The pegasus shrugged. "Anywhere, really. There's a whole big world out there beyond the forest, Yarrow. My friends and I have seen all sorts of amazing things on our journey... Heh, my goodness, listen to me! Back when we started this, I was kind of worried about leaving to go off on this big adventure for the Tears of Gaia, and now here I am talking about how amazing the big wide world is!"

She giggled a little, and Yarrow laughed along with her. "Well, it seems some good has come out of this whole journey of yours. If nothing else, you'll have memories, and some amazing stories to tell back home."

"Yeah, that's true... Hey, um, Yarrow?"

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy pawed at the forest floor with a forehoof. "M-maybe sometime, you know, when this is all over and I've gone back home... maybe you could come and visit me in Ponyville sometime? I'm sure all my little animal friends would love to meet you!"

Yarrow smiled, the blushing on his face returning. "I'd like that... though I imagine it would create quite a stir in town to see someone like me there."

"Heh, I suppose so. I don't think we've ever had deer in Ponyville before," Fluttershy replied. "Still, it would be nice to see you again after all... you know, this, is over and done. Once the land is safe and I've found my friends again."

Yarrow nodded. "That would be nice."

A gentle silence fell upon the two as they continued their walk through the woods, the padding of their hooves on the ground as the only sound. Yarrow led Fluttershy down the woodland path, through clearings, inbetween treetrunks, passing more deer-built structures and empty shrines and temples scattered along the roadside.

After what must have been walking for hours, they came to a stop at a small structure, like some sort of old shrine of white stone. A large circular platform surrounded by stone pillars, with a raised platform in the centre. "This is as far as we can go this way. This is the safest minimum distance from the forest edge."

Fluttershy walked up the steps that wound around the circular platform, her hooves making little clack sounds as she went. "It's lovely here. What is this place though?"

"You mean this structure?" Yarrow asked in reply, tapping the ground with his own hoof. "I'm not too sure... There are alot of old abandoned buildings in Cervidas, ever since most of us live deeper in the forest where it's safest. I guess this used to be some old temple or meeting place. I like coming to these old places sometimes. Something about them just... sitting here in the middle of the forest is oddly compelling."

"Hmm, I know what you mean. Ooohh..." Fluttershy stifled a yawn as she sat down on the raised dais in the middle of the old temple.

"Tired?"

"Mmm, a little," Fluttershy replied. "It's funny, I didn't really notice until now just how long we were travelling."

"Yes, I'm feeling a bit tired as we..well... Oohhmmm..." Yarrow yawned back. "Hmm, this is a bit of a predicament. It's never a good idea to teleport when you're tired. You can't focus your mind on where you're going, you could end up anywhere... But it would take hours to walk back, and I don't think either of us is up for that, correct?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Is there anywhere nearby we could go?"

"Not that I know of, no," Yarrow replied. "Hmmm... Well, I suppose we could just camp out here or something. It won't exactly be the most comfortable sleep or anything but..."

"Oh no, that would be fine, no!" Fluttershy interrupted. "I mean, if you're sure it's safe."

"We should be safe. We're still a good mile away from the edge of the forest, and if anything comes our way, we'll hear it before we see it for certain," he replied. "Just let me send a message back home, letting them know we're okay..."

Nimbly hopping up onto the dais, Yarrow them jumped onto one of the tall pillars surrounding the platform. Clearing his throat, he sang out, "Mellon tin lobor posta barn na forvonin!"

His voice echoed through the trees, fading into silence. Then on the breeze there came a response, "Henion! Aur fuin vaer!"

Yarrow chuckled and sang back, "Aur Fuin Vaer!", then jumped down to the stone floor again. "There we go. Now they won't panic when they find you're not at Ostaure tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," Fluttershy said. "Um, Yarrow? What was that you said at the end? You repeated something they called to you, what was that?"

"You mean 'Aur fuin vaer'?" he asked. Fluttershy nodded. "It means 'have a good night' in our language."

"Oh, I see," she replied. "It's a really pretty language you have. Everything you deer say just sounds so... I don't know, elegant or wispy or something."

"Heh, I don't think I've ever been complimented on how I speak," Yarrow replied with a chuckle. "But with that said, le hannon, Fluttershy... that means 'thank you'."

"Oh!" Fluttershy giggled again. "Um, Yarrow...?"

"Yes?"

"Do you... do you think I could, um... hear you maybe... sing? It's just that your language sounds even more lovely when it's sung... I mean, if you don't mind..."

Yarrow blushed again, this time unable to hide it from Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, it would be my honour." Clearing his throat, he sat down beside Fluttershy and started to quietly sing, rocking gently from side to side to the rhythm: 

"...Meleth elei nin,
Anim isoon kuil,
Lin ilf ikala uf ianor,
Im henn iestal uf tinnu,
Im faigli rhimp mavilhagr gwaew,
Meleth elei nin,
Isoon mil..."

Fluttershy listened in awed silence at his singing. His own singing voice was rather quiet and quavering, it was obvious that he was no expert, but the song still had a strange beauty, as if the words themselves, whatever they may have been, had a peculiar, ethereal quality all in their own.

She found herself smiling as she watched and listened him walking ahead and singing. I wonder what the words mean, she thought to herself. Perhaps he could teach me some more Deerish language sometime. It is a lovely language to listen to... especially when he speaks it...

Her smile only widened as she continued listening. A nice voice, and he's really friendly and... he's kind of cute when he blushes like that...

Fluttershy could feel her cheeks warming up as she thought more and more about it. Oh! Oh...my...Am I...? I mean, do I...? She buried her face in her hoves to hide how red she had gone. I-I mean, I do like him, he's really nice and all, but do I...? N-no,  can't! I've only just met him! I can't like him, I-I mean I do like him, but not like that!...

She peeked between her forehooves at Yarrow, who was still singing beside her. Then why do I feel so warm around him?

So buried in her own thoughts was Fluttershy, that it was a few seconds before she realised that Yarrow had stopped singing. She opened her mouth to compliment him for his song, but she found no words came out as she looked at him.

"We should probably get some sleep," Yarrow said, folding his legs beneath his body and lying down beside one of the pillars.

"...Hey."

"Hmm?" He cracked an eye open.

Fluttershy scooted closer to him until she lay beside him. She smiled, and leaned close to his ear, whispering, "Aur fuin vaer, Yarrow.", before quickly pulling back and hudling down to sleep.

Yarrow smiled sleepily back at her. "Aur fuin vaer, Fluttershy."

And so, in the midst of those ruins, the two of them then lay their heads down to a restful, if not entirely comfortable, sleep. Blissfully unaware of the myriad of campfires that burned low in the night just outside the borders of Cervidas, barely a mile from where they slept.