Chapter 3 part 3
Throne of the Tides part 1
The glooming mists of the dream realm greeted me yet again, for they knew why I was here. But there was something… off. And by off, I mean that instead of being greeted by laughter, or at least some sort of greeting, there was crying. Gloomy crying, mind you. The sort that reach into your soul and overpowers your emotions and makes you all mushy. The thing is, when I located the crying was coming from, I was baffled. Nightmare Moon, the nightmare, bringer of the night, the queen of darkness, was sitting, yes sitting, in front of me, crying.
Now kids, there are several ways to approach a mare that is crying. You can either be a douche and just stand there and clear your throat, or you can just stand there and watch like a creep, or you can just do the right bucking thing and try to cheer her up. Well, I did neither of those things.
I pulled her up and hugged her. No hesitations, no regrets and certainly no thoughts of the consequences. Strangely enough, she hugged me back. We stood there for quite some time, and mind you kids, the mare decides when the hug breaks. That way you know that she’s had enough hug time. And trust me, they need that hug time.
“We thank thee, Dread Wing, for this small gesture of cheer, for it means the world for me that there is someone would be brave enough to *cheer me up*.” She said has she stepped away to her usual distance.
“So, there have been other chosen people like me?” I asked.
“Yes, but they had always treated like some sort of otherworldly entity, of which I am thanks to my sister, and has always kept their distance.” She said with a frown, “But no one hast ever been like thee, Sir Wing.”
“Like me?”
“Yes, doing this quest for the sake of another, and not just for thine own greed, and for approaching us in our most vulnerable form. All other had just stood there, looking like the idiots they were.” She said with a sneer.
“Well, what can I say? I’m a sucker for mares in need.” I said with a shrug.
“In need?” Nightmare Moon asked, tilting her head.
“Well, either depressed and crying, or just *in need*” I said, adding a little extra voice on the last part.
“Oh” she said simply.
“Yeah, oh.”
“Well, we thank thee outmost for thine interruption, but now onto matters at hand. We assume that thee has the element of earth, and have taken contact with poor Meerow?” she asked.
“Yeah, but I could’ve used the information about Meerow, or at least that he was crazy.”
“’Tis not be his fault that he is mad, for he had no other choice.”
“What choice?”
“He was cast away and broken by the very ponies that he once called friends, and was forced to eat Discord’s Blood to survive.”
I flinched. “Discord’s Blood?”
“Yes, we think that we were quite clear.”
“But… isn’t Discord locked into a stone?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Yes, but he left behind hideous creations before we, Celestia and we, captured him. We had wounded him in battle, and his blood ran down into the ruins of Everfree Castle, leaving behind his most foul creation.”
“Which is?”
“A rare type of flower that only grows in the depths of the ruins. They have both positive and negative effects on a person’s mind. And sadly, he has gotten the worst of it all.”
“And why is that?” I asked.
“Because, while the flower boosts ones magical power, increasing their mana pool significantly, it also drives one mad. And that’s from the first two to three flowers… Meerow has been living on them for six months.” Nightmare Moon, who now looked a little less intimidating and demonical, and instead looked… extraordinarily beautiful. This must be the other side… this must be Luna. I snapped back into reality when she continued to speak. “Well, along with insects and other nutrients.”
“Uh huh…” I simply agreed while being weirdly hexed by her looks. Her smooth silver plated dark blue dress, matched with her curves, oh hot *dayum!* them curves! And those matched with those breasts… have to be d-cups. And that skin… it looks, must feel like, smooth silk. And then we have the hair. That flowing, star filled hair that floats around in the air even without wind. To say that she is beautiful would be an understatement. Oh, looks like I got sidetracked, hehe…
“…Giant sea serpent that guards it. And that’s all, now run along!” she chirped. Chirped! But it feels like I missed something very important. But I bet it was worth it!
****
I woke to the most disturbing scene I have ever woken up to since I studied with that old jewelcrafter. Meerow was crouching above me, staring me straight into my eyes. His eyes were bloodshot, and slightly worn out, probably because of the flowers. But that didn’t excuse the psychotic look he was giving me.
“Good morning” I said.
“What’s so perticularily good about this morning? It just like any other morning, and every other morning just as gray and boring like the next one. So what gives this morning the special treatment? That hardly seems fair to the other mornings!” he exclaimed, adapting a more serious look.
“I was wishing you a good morning, but it seems like you don’t want it…”
“Oh.” He now looked confused. “Can someone wish someone else a good morning? What sorcery be this!?” he shouted.
“It’s a normal morning greeting! There is nothing magical about it!” I exclaimed.
Meerow leaned in closely. “Are you sure?” he whispered.
“Yes!” I shouted.
“Shhhh! Not so loud!” he whispered.
“Why are we whispering?” I asked the crazy stallion.
Meerow leaned in even closer, his mouth very close to my ear. “Because the stones might me listening” he whispered softly.
“Oh for the love of!” I shouted as I got up, only to have my head crash into the cave roof. It hurt. Badly.
“Watch out, the roof is quite low in this stone cursed place.” Meerow warned.
“Oh, no shit, I hadn’t a fucking clue!” I shouted at him. Crashing ones head into a cave roof brings out the worst in people.
“Shh, there’s children present!” Meerow hissed.
I turned around to see Daisy slowly rising up from her bedroll, apparently very tired.
“What time is it?” she asked tiredly, scratching her eyes.
Now that is a good question. I walked toward the exit, only to end up falling to my doom.
*Thump*
That. Hurt. Apparently, someone tied my shoelaces when I wasn’t looking… but I was pretty sure they weren’t when I rose up from my bedroll…
“MEEROW!” I yelled.
“Shhh, you’ll wake up the bear!” he spoke in a loud whisper.
“A wha…”
*ROAR*
I rose up, scratched my nose. Further inside the cave I could see stars… moving… oh uh.
“PACK AND RUN!” I shouted as I threw down my bedroll in my wagon, and dragged it out, running for dear life.
The Ursa Minor’s roar was terrifying.
Sure, my powers were awesome, but they were unrefined, not practiced, so they would be pretty useless against something like a ursa minor. One does not simply go up against an ursa minor unprepared.
As we closed in on the exit, Daisy started to pant, not used to sprint for her life. Besides, we never really had a reason to run before.
When we exited the cave, Meerow stopped. A quick halt.
“Meerow, what are you doing!?” I screamed at him. He just smiled.
“Watch” he said with that psychotic smile on his face, and then turned around.
The ursa rushed after us, closing in on the exit. That’s when Meerow yelled out "Taste my lightning, bucker!” and shoot lightning at the ursa, the impact sending it deep back into the cave. The show left Daisy with her jaw open, while I was shocked. i then remembered that he was still high on those damn flowers.
He shrugged “It felt good.” And then he smiled.
That Luna damned smile… now that I think about it, he haven’t really brushed his teeth for a long while. New mission objective, see to that Meerow brushes his teeth.
But well… we should focus on getting the hell out of here.
As I looked around, I noticed how open the forest was, as if we were reaching an exit.
Already that much south, eh?
If we’re lucky, the soldiers haven’t put up wanted posters yet.
“Alrighty then, lets head on to Hoofington and resupply, and then continue.” I said and started dragging my cart towards Hoofington.
*Meanwhile, in the Canterlot Castle Infirmary*
“He’s waking up! Call on princess Celestia, quickly!” some one said with a high voice, sounding female. “Can you open your eyes?” the female voice asked.
I opened my eyes, but closed then as fast again, for they burned like the hellfires of tartarus themselves, blinding me beyond comprehension.
“Damn hospital lights…” I muttered.
“Oh, sorry, let me just get them.” She said hastily.
When the lights lowered, not turned out, just lowered, I finally opened my eyes, looking straight into the eyes of Doctor Blue Cross, the only female doctor I know of. And the interior I was familiar with, it was the infirmary in the palace. What happened? Why was I knocked out?
And then, like a brick flying at mach five straight into my face, the images came back, storming my brain. My head hurt so much that I got a headache. And obviously, the doctor noticed.
“Are you okay? Do need some aspirin?” she asked. I nodded.
She then hurried out of the room without a word, leaving me with my images. I doubt that the aspirin will make the images disappear, but hopefully the headache will calm down.
And just in that moment, a bright, blinding light filled the room. We all know that it is princess Celestia, but right now she was a demon from tartarus coming to shove the brightest of hellfires into my eyes, making me scream, “MY EYES, MY BEAUTIFUL EYES!”
“Why are you screaming Sergeant?” she asked, completely clueless.
“The lights, you daft idiot!” I yelled. I then gulped.
I just yelled at princess Celestia.
I just yelled at the beloved goddess.
Please say that this is some kind of nightmare.
I tried pinching myself. Still there.
I punched myself in my face. Hurt very much. Still there.
It’s not some kind of dream, this is reality. This is reality.
“Damn it” I muttered to myself. “Princess, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you, it’s just, the light took me by surprise.” I apologized.
She just smiled. “No need to apologize, Sergeant Armor. I just thought that teleporting would be the best move, and did not think that you would be in such a sensitive situation.”
“Well… I still shouldn’t have yelled, you couldn’t have known that I’d be sensitive.” I frowned. “Does my sister know?”
“Twilight is not yet aware that you are hospitalized, not before I know more of what happened at the ruins.” She said with a serious face.
So… now I was supposed to tell of what happened that disastrous night? Oh the joy.
“It all started as planned, we came to the ruins and found the collector by the entrance.“ I started.
*Back to le fellowship of the Rod, some hours later on the outskirts of Hoofington*
“Ah, Hoofington! a backwater town with almost nothing to offer in the way of entertainment or any tourist attractions!” I exclaimed.
Well, I wasn’t wrong. Hoofington is one of the towns in Equestria that have fallen on hard times, and the economy isn’t the best, and since nearly no one passes through here since the railroad came, they had to shut down many businesses that people just couldn’t afford to keep. Quite sad, really.
Hoofington.
Sure, it might be a backwater town out on the country side, but it’s the only town where we can resupply until we reach Stableside, where we will commission a ship to take us to the island temple.
“Have you been here before uncle?” Daisy asked me.
“Never, but you tend to hear these things by those who have visited these places.”
For a backwater town, Hoofington is still standing and not looking to bad, although soon enough poverty will hit this place like a brick to the face. The town itself is still in good shape, but that will end soon. If the princess is as benevolent and loving as all ponies tell me she would, no, SHOULD, change things around here, before it all escalates and before the damage becomes permanent. But well, what do I know?
The town center, which is also the market, is still well looking, with a couple of market stalls still standing, but the large empty space between most of them tells that there should be a lot more, or at least were a lot more. The town feels… nice. The aura of the town is an aura of goodwill, happiness… even though they are in decline, people still feel happy and content. That’s pony spirit for you.
As we walked through the town, we noticed several stares, all directed towards us. Was it a mistake to go into town? What if they already had wanted posters? But really, how would they be able to set out wanted posters if they didn’t have any pictures of me?
There’d be no way to identify us if there was an eye witness from then, which would be hard. Well, since Meerow blasted everyone either senseless or near dead… or dead. I mean, some must have died and some lived, but either way, none would be able to be here and have to lie in a hospital. Those damn armors are protected by powerful enchantments that’s supposed to repress hostile energy, but they’re not foolproof. I know, because I was a guard for a day, once in Stalliongrad. A long story for another time…
Anyway, back to reality. It seems like those were only curious stares, since they looked like them, and no one ran for a guard. It seems like we’ll have at least today free before the guards start searching.
The town itself was very… casual. Like a normal town, but a little downtrodden. The buildings were something you could usually find in Trottingham, since Hoofington has some inspirations from there. Suffice to say, it was not at all like Stalliongrad. Stalliongrad was full of brick houses, while Hoofington was full with tree houses, much like Trottingham. Sure, there were a few brick houses, but since bricks weren’t such a large commodity among the rest of Equestria, since the brick factories were located in Stalliongrad, not many towns have brick buildings. Might also be because bricks were invented just five to ten years ago, and it haven’t really spread across the country.
Anyway.
What we were looking for was a shop that could sell us some supplies, and there should be a shop somewhere near the town market, called *Cruster’s, You want it, we have it!*. And according to some rumors I overheard once in my time as a student in Stalliongrad, was that Cruster had a lot, and I mean, a lot of daughters. Not that any of it was bad, it was just weird for one stallion to have so many daughters. Now, I don’t know the exact amount, but lets not worry about that.
Anyway.
The town market was quite empty, might be because it’s still early morning and no one but shopkeepers are up and about this time of day. And thankfully, Crusters You want it, we have it store was opening, or maybe it was already opened… anyway, that means we can leave earlier than expected, which was quite a relief, since I don’t want to attract too much attention, especially if the royal guard decides to put up posters or something.
The shop looked quite… spacy, even from outside, and I could imagine that it was even more spacy inside. The sweet smell of good old oak filled my nostrils when I entered the shop, and it was a sweet and welcoming smell. I closed my eyes and just… filled my nostrils and then breathed out.
*Ahem*
My eyes shut up and tried to locate the source of the sound, and it ended up at some pony behind a counter. It was a mature, little-older-than-your-average-storekeeper pony, with glasses hanging from his neck. As for the shop… let’s just say that it was a little more than spacy. To say spacy would be an understatement. The shop was enormous! It wasn’t a shop, it was a bucking warehouse!
“Be d’ere anythin’ ye be lookin’ fer?” The pony that was obviously Cruster asked.
“Yes, we are looking to resupply our food storage.” I replied.
“An’ what be ye lookin’ too resupply?”
“You know, the average vegetables and vegetarian ingredients.”
“Aye, me know that. That be mer common dan ye think.” He said with a light sigh. “SUNFLOWER, MAPLE, DUSTY!” he suddenly shouted.
“Yes daddy.” Three voices said in perfect symphony somewhere behind us. And as people usually act, we, specifically Me, Daisy and Meerow, no wait, scratch him away, since he was obviously not here anymore. Where in tartarus did he go? Anyway, as we looked back, we heard giggles from above us, and as true as the arrow hit the target, up there were a lot of mares. More specifically, Cruster’s daughters. And let me tell you, they were many. Almost all shapes and sizes, mature and young. Although, the older ones, couldn’t be more than twenty five, looked very appealing…
“Touch me daughters an’ yer a eunuch.”
I gulped, turned back to Cruster and gave him a smile and a nod. He smiled back, knowing that I understood. While the daughters gathered our supplies,I leaned in towards Cruster, and he leaned in towards me.
“Dey be not fer sale.” He said flatly.
“What? no, that’s not what I wanted to ask!” I whispered loudly.
“Oh” was all he said before he leaned in.
I leaned back in and whispered. “No, what I wanted to ask is if you got… meat.”
He just looked casual. “That’s not a problem. My griffin contacts keeps me well stocked, in case there is someone that has such… exotic taste.” He smiled at the last part.
(Oh yeah, think I should explain that a majority, more specifically the whole south Equestria and some stragglers in the north and east, are vegetarians, but then there are the extremists called vegans, because they always had all of their food delivered to them, while the rest of us had to find… inventive ways to find what couldn’t be delivered by wagon, or grown. And that’s when the taste for meat came upon the ones in the north, since after the griffin/pony wars, Stalliongrad and some of the other cities in the north has had a small influence from the griffins that left Gryffonia to live in peace, and with them came the meat. And now meat is an exotic ware from the north, not always looked upon with glee by the local southern population. End of history lesson.)
And with that, he went through a back door that I hadn’t noticed before, closing it behind him. Something was weird though, since there came a small chill from that room. I don’t know if it was just cold in there, or if there is something wrong with the room. Anyway, a minute later Cruster came back, all smiling and in his hands was a large package. A large package.
“This here’s some real quality bacon, all tucked up and packed by the greatest griffin butcher, the imperial butcher.” He said proudly, slowly and carefully placing the large package of divine goodness on the counter, because bacon is the food of gods, and deserving of the best of respect and care. Why, you ask?
Because nothing is ever complete without bacon.
I grabbed the package carefully, slowly lifting it up and cradled it. I took in an deep breath, taking in all the glory of the cold bacon that I held in my arms. “Why is the bacon cold?” I asked Cruster.
“Because it was lying in an experimental freeze room that keeps everything cold, so that they age slower and keeps them eatable for a longer time than usual. And remember, no word of this freezer to anyone, because I don’t want people snoopin’ around dese ‘ere parts, demanding blueprints and what not. Bloody wankers, can’t even make their own ideas.” He replied, with some obvious poison when he mention the last part.
“Don’t worry, as long as this bacon really is imperial bacon, your freezer is safe from the claws of the demonic entities called ‘inventors’.” I said with a smile.
He smiled back and nodded.
The daughters that were assigned to stuff the wagon came in through the door, telling us that the wagon was loaded.
“Well, then it’s just the payment, and I hope you take something more inventive other than bits?” I asked with a smile.
“Well, that’s dependin’ on ‘yere offer, laddie.” He replied.
I put a small pouch on the counter, slowly pushing it in his direction. Cruster slowly pulled the pouch towards him, seemingly suspicious of this whole affair. When he opened the pouch, he gasped. The three daughters ran to his side, trying to calm him down to prevent any sort of cardiac arrest. When they looked in the pouch, they gasped. I sighed and left the store, quite confident that they accepted the payment, and found my wagon filled with all necessary supplies and ready to go. Daisy was leaning on a wooden pillar outside, seemingly bored out of her mind by waiting.
But there was something missing though…
Ah shit.
“MEEROW!” I called out, wondering of where he could’ve possibly wandered off. And I am quite sure that he was in the store not long ago. He came around a corner from an alley, followed by some mare, both looking quite pleased with themselves. The mare entered the store, and Meerow approached me.
“Meerow, where have you been?” I asked him.
“Oh, a bit here and there, in dark places and bright places, where no one has ever dared step foot in thousands of years, seeing things in the darkness that would drive any one insane by just hearing it.”
I sighed. “I asked where you went, not for your life story.”
He rolled his eyes, groaning. And not in the sexy way. “Oh, I’ve just to heaven and back, tainting innocences and purging corrupted influences. Oh, and that mare, Cherry Pop?” he asked, waiting for some kind of answer.
I might regret this. “Yes?”
He smiled. “I popped her cherry.” His smile just grew.
“…”
“What”
He dropped his grin a little. “I popped…” he couldn’t continue due to a fist caressing to his face.
“You bloody idiot! We have to get out of here, before Cruster…” I got interrupted by a *WHAT DID YOU JUST TELL ME!?* from inside the store/warehouse.
“Time to go!” I said as I quickly grabbed my wagon and ran out of the city. I know, it was all Meerows fault, but I wasn’t about to get burned from his fuck up (literarly).
Finally, we were on the road again, onwards towards Stableside. But I seem to get this feeling, that something is going to happen there, good or bad, that I might not like. But who knows? Maybe it will be something I will like, but whatever it is, it will not stop the quest. And that wasn’t an option.
That said, we were outside Stableside now, and somehow just felt like we were getting started. Maybe thinking to oneself might be a perfect way to pass time.
Stableside. It’s just as I remember it. A sinkhole with a modernity complex, saying, that everything that was new, they wanted it.
It was modern in more ways than one, and some aren’t particularly good. Lets just say that there are three parts of town. The bad side, the somewhat normal side and the “good” side. And because Meerow might be a drug addict, we are gonna keep him the blazes away from the bad side of the city.
Why’s it called “the bad side”? take a ghetto, slam it together with a criminal network glued together with a junkie haven. That’s the bad side for you. And nothings being done about it, since the Stableside mentality is “What pony with a brain would go near that place?”, but I think it is because the government is corrupt and being paid off by the criminal network to stop them from kicking in doors. Does the princess know?
No, because her appearance is always in the “good” side of the city. I don’t even know if the “bad city siders” even know how she looks like.
And there might be someone I know that still lives there, depending on if she’s in shit or have moved on to greener pastures.
As we walked down the street of downtown Stableside, Daisy looked amazed by the neon lights (probably imported from Neighpon) that lit up the evening, and would the night when the sun is down. The casinos, bars and different clubs light up, open up and get ready for a wild night. I know I had when I was here last.
You would think that all my time here was a happy go lucky rainbow fart. It wasn’t.
It seems like I drifted a little, for now we stood on the brink to the bad side. I’m not kidding, since we were actually standing on the brink of some light and instant dark and depression. This place brought back bad memories.
“Uncle, what is that place?” I heard Daisy whisper.
“That Daisy” I said, sad voice, “is Tartarus.”
She didn’t speak for the rest of the walk to the hotel.
Said hotel was in the normal side, also called the party quarter, because it’s where all the nightclubs where located. It’s also where I stayed when I lived here years ago, when I was fresh out of Stalliongrads university years, partying the night away.
Our(me and Daisy, Meerow got his own room) room was quite simple, two beds, two nightstands and a bathroom. The one window we had gave us vision over party quarter square, revealing all the different clubs and casinos and bars. It was all nice.
Except for the stone that flew right through the window, hitting me in the head.
I held my head, sitting down on my bed, and cursed.
“************************************************”
Daisy looked unamused. “That’s probably the longest curse I have ever heard.”
“Shut up, you’re not helping!” I replied loudly, still clutching my head.
Daisy picked the rock up and looked at it. “Hey, there’s a message on it!” she said gleefully, as if the thing never hit me in the first place.
I stood up, took the stone and ripped the letter from it. It stunk of cigarette smoke and booze, and a cyclone of nostalgia swept me away. I opened the letter slowly and carefully, as if it was fragile.
And out from it I pulled a card, the back of it turned up to my face, and the front to the floor.
The mark of the card was a bottle, backed by a sword, axe and the mythical horse. There was only one place in the whole of Equestria that the card could be collected from.
I flipped the card, dreading (heh, pun) what I would see. And, as fate would have it, the front showed an ace of spades. And there is only one person in Equestria that let rocks flow through windows, envelope tied to it containing an ace of spades.
(somewhere else)
The mysterious stallion smiled menacingly, the cigarette flicking slightly in his mouth, his mysterious hand containing three aces, missing an ace of spades.