//------------------------------// // 01 - A New Mission // Story: Solar Sails: Adrift In Canterlot // by Bluecho //------------------------------// Ch. 1 - A New Mission “Give me another hot chocolate, Joe.” Sitting in the Canterlot castle donut shop, Sarin Miles stared at the shop's proprietor pleadingly. Before her, on the counter, was a plate adorned with a barely nibbled cruller. Her empty cup remained clutched in her fingers. “Please.” “I think you've had about enough, two legs,” said Donut Joe, staring at the sad display before him. He looked outside, seeing that the sun went down. “It's late, girl. Gotta close shop.” “...please...” reiterated Sarin, looking forlornly at her pastry. She sighed, picking up her donut and continuing her slow quest to finish it. It was a quest she'd embarked upon well before sundown, a last order to round out an entire plethora of pastries she sampled. One last order she made back when she still rode high on the taste of sugar, when the delayed reaction to food consumption hadn't kicked in and told her she was full. She'd never been allowed to consume so many donuts before. Not back in the military. Not back in the Empire. “Ugh...” grunted Donut Joe, shaking his head. “Look girly...girly...Sarin!” Sarin looked up with alarm. “Yes sir?” She shot a hand to her forehead in a salute. “This ain't the army kid,” Joe said. “And this has got to stop. You've been coming in here every day for the last week and wolfing down my donuts, like you got nothing better to do. Now I wouldn't have a problem, two legs, because the royal treasury is covering your tab. But there comes a time when you got to put down the hot chocolates and move on.” Donut Joe took off his apron, folding it. “I mean really, you got anything to do with yourself?” Sarin looked down again, this time pulling a hand close to examine it. What AM I doing with myself, she wondered. Sergeant Sarin Miles was, or had been, one of many Modified Soldiers in the Fatae Empire. A Fatae, biologically modified to serve as a super soldier. Born from a tube, raised to adulthood in the ways of combat, and eventually set to work against the Empire's many enemies. She fought from the shining hills of Ergoros to the Glencost system, and visited many worlds. Did I mention I was from space, she had said when talking to Donut Joe, the first day she came in. He hadn't been so sure about the assertion, but couldn't argue the evidence of his own eyes. Fatae were bipedal, with long, pointed ears. The average, capitol planet Fatae individual had skin like almonds, and hair white like snow, or golden yellow, or brown. Dark or light skins ran the gamut as well, but the “default” tone was considered brown, for as racist as that admittedly was. Sarin's skin wasn't like that. She was an MS, the product of genetic engineering. And genetic engineering was unpredictable as it was powerful. MS G7-H3 was her designation, denoting her belonging to the G7 series, a series of soldiers known for their specialized “tricks”, as well as for their appearances ravaged by side effects of the modification process. Sarin's skin was bone white, but was broken up by blotches of blue around various parts of her body. These included around her yellow eyes, one on her forehead forming a crude downward pointing triangle, and more at the splintered tips of her long ears. As well as in various spots around the rest of her body. Her hair was an off-white. Her body had lean muscle, but that was from years of military training. Not that she was as buff as she would otherwise be. A recent stint in the Canterlot dungeons, bound, wrecked havoc on her muscles, as brief as it had been. Every sub-series of the G7s had a specialty. An area they were geared towards. Some had tougher skin, some could absorb and discharge energy, some were made to be super strong. Some could even use magic more effectively than others. For Sarin Miles, sub-series H, she was rated for three things: Celerity, Dexterity, and Flexibility. When Donut Joe had, out of curiosity, asked for a demonstration of her flexibility, Sarin demonstrated her well-practiced contortion skills. He asked in no uncertain terms to never do it in his shop ever again. Scared too many customers away. One day, Sarin was assigned to travel to a newly discovered world and scout the surface. It had attracted the Empire's attention because of its unusual rotational and lunar movements, and for its abundant emanations of magical energy. When she jumped on the solar sailed ships, she arrived and was sent down. But complications – mostly having to do with an errant sonic rainboom – caused her and her landing party to crash. The rest died on impact, and the radio rendered inoperable. Sarin was stranded with no way to contact the main ship. By the time she learned the main ship had left the system on the assumption she'd died, Sarin had already spent a month on the planet. In the country called Equestria. And in all that time, she thought she had a purpose. Contact the ship, get rescued. She did many things on the planet in that time, like kill a hostile beast, sneak around, spy on ponies, break into the home of a scholar princess, and take an astronomer hostage. Among other things. It was for the latter two that she was eventually apprehended by the Equestria Royal Guard. From there she suffered a bit of an emotional breakdown. She was dealing with plenty of issues at the time. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna apparently thought her life and issues were sufficiently tragic, and took pity on her. Forgave her sins, past and present. And freed her. Sarin could come and go as she pleased. But with rescue long gone, all the imperial secrets she labored to hide from the ponies fully revealed, and even her own faith in her Empire shaken to its core... “...so?” said Donut Joe. Sarin shot back up. She sighed, brushing her hair back. “I really don't know. I spent so long on this planet with various goals or hang ups...and yet now...I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing.” “You don't have anything?” The modified soldier rubbed her chin. “Well...I did meet with Princess Twilight Sparkle and her apparently important friends. I made a bunch of promises and deals with them.” “No kidding? You know Twilight and her friends?” “Yes,” said Sarin. “More or less.” She looked down at the cruller again. Still not hungry enough to finish it. “I kind of stalked the princess for a while – it's a long story. Anyway, there was stuff I talked to them about...” She shook her head. “But one of them, helping the farmer with her harvest, won't happen for two months yet.” “Wait, why you helping her with farming apples?” “I stole some, back when I was in hiding,” Sarin responded. “It's a long story. Don't want to talk about it. The rest of the stuff I could do now if I wanted, but I should get in touch with them again.” She grimaced. How long before it would be appropriate to contact people – ponies – again after one punched one of their friends? Did it lessen or lengthen the time if the pony in question deserved it? Why should they be mad, Sarin thought. Rainbow Dash deserved worse, really, and that's an objective fact. They knew that as well. Should have hit harder, really. For Sorchess and Bidd. “So if you can't get your business with Twilight and her friends done yet, what are you going to do?” asked Donut Joe. He was busily cleaning things behind the counter. “I don't know,” said Sarin, shutting her eyes. “Sounds like you're devoid of an overriding purpose there, two legs.” Sarin opened her eyes again. She looked at the baker. “I guess.” “Well, since you're just spinning your wheels,” said Donut Joe, grabbing a cup and pouring some liquid into it, “maybe now it's time to just...do some small things. Errands.” “Errands?” “For example, have you seen Canterlot? Like, really seen it?” “...no, I haven't,” Sarin admitted. In truth, her own growing infamy amongst society – the biped brought in at early hours to the castle dungeons in chains – Sarin hadn't done much running around. In fact, there were any number of things she could do in the city, she supposed. “And you're an army girl, right two legs?” “Yes,” Sarin said, standing up straight. “Have you been working out since they released you?” “...no, I haven't,” she answered, eyebrows drooping. Her respect for her superiors in the army had dropped to an all time low, but to her dismay she stilled cared about what they would think of her then. Wallowing in doubt, aimless, letting her skills and body go south. Sarin Miles suddenly flushed, feeling an intense, personal shame. Where had her discipline gone? “And if, after you get through all that,” said Donut Joe, layering a fresh supply of marsh mellows in the liquid confection he concocted, “you still don't know what you're doing, maybe you should go out and see what a girl like you can do. Find yourself a new life goal. Cause if the donuts you're baking turn out too burnt to eat, what do you do?” Sarin blinked. The ponies on this world had a nasty habit of speaking exclusively in metaphors pertaining to their special talents. It was disconcerting. And confusing. “Um...” “You just take a new set of ingredients and bake yourself a new batch,” Donut Joe concluded, smirking. Finally, he examined his latest creation and handed it across the counter. “Here you go. One for the road.” Taking the cup gently in her hands, Sarin smiled. “Thank you, Joe.” “And I do mean road, girl!” Donut Joe said sternly. “So get going!” Sarin rose to her feet and stalked out the door. “And don't come back until you can look me in the eye and say you've made progress!” Joe shouted at the retreating Fatae. When she was gone, he looked down at her plate. At the abandoned donut. He grunted, picking it up. “I just hope that girl doesn't bite off any more that she can't chew.” He looked at the pastry, then shrugged, gobbling it up. No use letting good food go to waste. “We have now arrived at Canterlot Train Station. Thank you for riding with us, and enjoy your stay.” The doors on the train opened, allowing the flood of ponies to spill out onto the platform. Most were various varieties of native to Equestria proper, businessponies and tourists returning from the icy north. Their pastel plainness made them stand out in contrast to the Crystal Empire's shining brilliance. But back at home, amongst members of their own kind, they all fit in perfectly. It was there in Canterlot, beating heart of Equestria, that a lone Crystal Pony would truly stand out. A Crystal Pony like the one who wandered out last, laden with suitcases. Whole Heart was a thoroughly out of shape mare, thin of legs and pudgy of barrel. Great effort went into carrying her possessions; such that she had. She'd sold everything else back in the Crystal Empire, along with her house. Her coat was a mint green, her mane straight cut purple in two tones. A plain and serviceable style, to match a personality so at odds with her race's typical ostentation. Orange, gem-angled eyes peeked behind a countenance of melancholy. It was an affect fought against by the mare at every opportunity, to little success. Cutie mark: a blue heart “slotting” into an golden orange heart frame. In spite of her mark and her name, Whole Heart had no friends. She was thoroughly not a cohesive whole. That would be her flaw. As well as the result of her literal Flaw. She struggled across the platform and to the customs house, relishing the paperwork that would give her the chance to shrug off the damnable load. It helped that she relished the paperwork in and of itself. One of the few things I can do very well, she mused. Don't need to fit in to be good at clerical work. The processing was, unfortunately, brutally short. She sat the last of the completed forms on the customs desk, lamenting how easily the ponies of Equestria accepted visitors into their country. Then again, she supposed she was in yet another minority that truly enjoyed such things. Whole Heart sighed, taking up her burden again and exiting the station. Now, she thought, to find a hotel.