"Are you sure about this?" Joyner asked, "You know we won't come back once we leave."
"We know," Tina Pho said, answering for both her and her two friends, "We need to be sure. One way or the other, we have to know. If they kill us, so be it. I have more than myself to think about." she said absentmindedly rubbing at her stomach, "I'm not risking everything on maybe and could be. With Luke dead . . . " she trailed off for a moment before shaking her head firmly, "I have to know for sure. I knew I was pregnant before all this happened. For all I know the baby is already dead from whatever it was that brought us here. Leave Spectre to watch, if it makes you feel better. Constantly moving and with no maternal medical knowledge, the risk is too great. I don't have any vitamins for the baby and even if they capture us at least they should probably take care of us."
Tina was a very pretty Vietnamese young woman. She stood four feet, six inches tall. Her hair was long and jet black, hanging down to her hips. Her eyes were brown and adorned with luxuriously long eyelashes. Tina had been studying physics, hoping to be a scientist for NASA. The two people who had volunteered to stay with her were Rachel Dobson and David Belerosa. Rachel was an unusually tall, thin blond woman. Her eyes were bright blue and piercing. She stood six feet tall and was slim as any woman could be without appearing malnourished. By all accounts, she was a striking woman. She had been studying to be a nurse and was quite talented. David was a Hispanic man who stood an average five feet, ten inches tall. His hair was cut short, nearly bald, and his build was healthy athletic. His claim to fame was a mastery of Capoera. He had been at The Complex visiting a friend before one of his international, underground matches.
The three young people had already packed some spare food and tools. With so many recent deaths, there was plenty to spare. They had made their announcement the previous evening just before the group went to sleep. People had exploded into angry shouting and it took the Fellowship a good hour to get them to settle down. Tina, Rachel, and David explained their plan but not the reason for it. The group had eventually given its reluctant acceptance. Every one else had already gone ahead with the main group. Only Hord and Joyner had stayed to bring out the two, as yet unconscious, Unicorns and to talk to Tina, Rachel, and David one last time.
"I don't like this." Hord said hotly, "It's more than just your life you're risking. If it was up to me, you'd be coming with the rest of us weather or not you wanted to."
"Well then it's a good thing everyone else respects me enough to let it go." Tina said, "Besides, someone has to stay here and make sure these two Unicorns don't die before they wake up. That really wouldn't look good."
Hord grumbled under his breath. As a father of twins, children were close to his heart and he was loathe to put any in jeopardy. Without a word, he unbuckled the sword he had taken off the Unicorn he had fought. He gazed at it, his trophy, then offered it to Tina wordlessly.
Tina smiled but shook her head at the Marine's gesture,
"I don't use weapons. I'll carry them for someone else but I don't ever want to think back and remember who I've hurt or killed."
"And what about Rachel and David?" Hord asked, holding the sword out to the other two people.
"Not my thing." Rachel said.
"I only fight as God intended." David said holding up his fists, "Sportsman like."
"Yeah, we've all seen The Princess Bride, I know the quote." Hord said lowering the sword and baldric, "Fine." he said moodily, "I hope things work out for you. I really do. Even if the equinoids don't kill you, until we know for certain they aren't going to use us for experiments, no one else is willing to try what you're doing. Good luck."
Joyner took one last look at the three people who chose to stay. He couldn't decide weather or not they were brave or foolish. He decided that he envied them, 'At least they'll know.'
"We can't leave Masonete or Kaneesha, I'm afraid. The chance of them being attacked is just too great and we need them both." he sighed in resignation, "I'm not a particularly religious man, but . . . go with God."
* * *
Steady Plod and Peach Pit stole a look at the 'language specialist' Princess Celestia had sent while they waited for a runner to bring word that the Humans had left. One of the runners from that morning had reported to the Regimental Commanders that the Humans were preparing to leave. The two of them had, in turn immediately informed Captain Move.
Bold Move had mobilized the Earth Pony and Unicorn Regiments and selected one hundred to move into the Human's abandoned camp as soon as they left. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had departed the previous night but had left a magic Mark and a teleportation circle in the field just in case of an emergency.
Princess Celestia had surprised everypony when she teleported in a tan colored Unicorn mare with a fuchsia mane and tail. She had introduced the mare as Razor Wit and ordered that Razor be present any time the Guard did anything involving Humans. The Princess was very clear to all involved that Razor Wit had no authority to command anypony but that it would be in everypony's best interest to listen to her. She was to be given any and all information regarding the Humans and could dictate who interacted with them and in what way. When Bold Move asked the Princess about Razor Wit, the Alicorn had informed him that Razor was responsible for the peaceful trade agreement Trottingham had with the Diamond Dog city-state that lived nearby. His jaw had dropped when Celestia had added that Razor Wit had done so at the age of seventeen and also spoke literally every language in the world.
Steady Plod and Peach Pit had their command at the ready, without weapons. They figured they wouldn't be needed and their Guards needed all the space they could manage. It would make it easier to retrieve the dead. Peach Pit had argued that some of the dead Humans should be dissected for information. Razor Wit had said that it would gain information but it might also offend the Humans if they ever found out about it. Peach Pit had specified he assumed the Humans had already done the same thing for the same reasons.
"Commander!" a Guard shouted as he came running to the two, "The majority of the Humans have left but there's still three there. I think they mean to stay."
"That is an odd move." Steady Plod said looking to Peach Pit, "Why would they do that?"
"A question I'm curious about myself." Peach Pit said, "It doesn't matter. We need to go in and get our dead. We should just ignore the Humans."
"I'll see to the Humans, Commanders. Just be sure to tell your troops not to engage them." Razor Wit said.
Steady Plod nodded,
"That seems prudent. Best not to risk provoking them."
"There's more sirs," the Guard said, "Two Unicorns are with them."
Peach Pit's eyes narrowed inquisitively,
"What condition are they in?"
"I couldn't tell from the distance, but they are alive." the Guard answered.
"Were you able to identify them?" Steady Plod asked.
"No sir. I was given strict orders not to get within visual distance of the Humans and they are keeping the still alive Unicorns with them." the Guard replied.
"We need to move now." Peach Pit said urgently, "We may be able to save two more Ponies."
"Guards!" Steady Plod yelled loudly, "Move in and spread out behind Commander Pit and I. Quick Trot."
"I won't tell you to leave Ponies to die, but please be careful around the Humans." Razor Wit said firmly.
* * *
Tina, Rachel, and David sat interspersed around the two unconscious Unicorns in a small flat area among the trees marking the location of the massacre. Rachel had lit a small fire and the three were watching a small cauldron boil merrily. They had plopped a cube of seasoned cornmeal into it and the smell of cooking food was making their mouths water. Rachel had already set out every bowl they had.
They were all nervous. Despite her earlier outward confidence Tina was scared. Her mind ran through a thousand possible different scenarios, none were particularly pleasant. She firmly squashed her raging doubts. She was tired of living with all the fear and uncertainty. One way or another she would find out, for sure, weather or not the equinoids meant them harm. Rachel and David had the same notion and the three friends had been discussing the possibility since the massacre. Some had said they were suffering from mental trauma, thankfully one of the Fellowship of Leadership convinced the others that the three friends were stable.
Rachel was on her knees stirring the cauldron while David paced back and forth,
"Sit down Dave. You're making me nervous."
"We might be dying today and this might be our last meal, wouldn't you be nervous?" he countered.
"Nope." Rachel said simply, "There's nothing we can do to stop it. Whatever happens, happens."
"It kind of feels like waiting to die." David said with a nervous chuckle, "Heh, it kind of is if you think about it. Like from the movie Titanic, 'Wait to die, wait to live, to wait for an absolution that would never come.' kind of poetic."
"And now you're rambling." Tina said evenly.
"I'm sorry girls, I'm just nervous. What if . . . " David began.
"No!" Tina barked, as she placed her hands on either side of her head, "No 'what ifs' my mind is having enough of a field day as it is."
*snap*
Three heads whipped in the direction of the noise.
Three young people froze in place, listening.
*shuffle*
Tina swallowed hard, her voice was a whisper,
"They're here a lot faster than I expected." she turned to David and Rachel, "They must have been watching."
"That's not very encouraging Tina!" Rachel whispered back.
"Actually it is." David ventured quietly, "That means they knew where we were and could have attacked at any time but they didn't."
"What should we do?" Rachel asked quietly.
"We sit down and wait." Tina responded, trying to sound calm, "We carry on like everything is normal. If they've come to kill us, I don't want to see it coming."
"Dave you need to sit down first. You don't want to look intimidating." Rachel said, going back to stirring the cauldron.
*crunch*
"Alright." David said.
He slowly lowered himself into a sitting position and crossed his legs. He faced forward and gazed into the fire steadily breathing to calm his nerves. His fists clenched and unclenched as the seconds crawled by. Tina began sweating despite herself. Rachel kept her focus only on the softening cornmeal. Her hands began to shake.
The sounds were getting steadily closer, coming from the direction of the stream, to which Tina's back was facing. The three young adults shifted nervously. From the amount of sound, there had to be at least a dozen of them. David raised his head. The thick bushes and chest high plants swayed from the movement of bodies, but the bushes and shrubs all around were too tall and hid the equinoids from sight perfectly. Rachel's grip on the wooden spoon tightened as the sounds drew ever more near. Tina closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to steady her nerves. Despite her best efforts her lower lip trembled. David turned his gaze to the fire once more, forcing himself to think of how good the seasoned cornmeal would taste, if they lived long enough to eat it.
A loud rustle of leaves signaled the arrival of what had been making such a racket. David was facing Tina and would have had a clear view had he raised his head. He simply couldn't bring himself to do so.
A deep commanding voice spoke loudly just behind Tina,
"Piromane, sevahe dulen quellya Kavim ivt pebun raa tunun." and the rustling increased exponentially.
The three people could clearly hear the clopping steps of the equinoids around them. They could hear them breathing, could hear the sound of their armor shifting as they walked. In their peripheral vision, they could see golden glows surround the two unconscious Unicorns as they were hauled out of sight. Not one of them looked up. No one wanted to take the chance.
A soft feminine voice spoke up behind Tina,
"Xaekavim oom entala raa quellya evanine."
None of the three friends could understand the words but they did not sound harsh. David slowly, reluctantly lifted his eyes to Tina. He could see the vague colors of tan and fuchsia framing his friend. He swallowed hard and shifted his gaze beyond Tina.
There, stood an creamy tan colored Unicorn with fuchsia colored mane and tail. Its eyes seemed to be locked on Tina's back. David took the chance to observe how it acted. Its face was as expressive as any Human's could ever be and that expression was a soft smile. David slowly turned his head and looked around just as Rachel scooped some of the seasoned cornmeal into a bowl and held it out toward the Unicorn.
Tina could feel the equinoid's breath on the back of her neck. Her shoulders shook, she dared not open her eyes. The breath left her neck then a soft clunk next to her caused her to jump in surprise. In a reflexive action, she opened her eyes. Seated not two feet to her left was a Unicorn with a bowl of seasoned cornmeal in front of it.
* * *
"Razor Wit," Steady Plod addressed, "What are you doing?"
The three Humans jumped at the sound of Steady Plod's voice. Razor Wit didn't answer at first. Instead her horn lit up, which made the Humans all tense up instantly. She levitated four sesame rolls from her right saddle bag. She smiled to herself, glad that her 'special rolls' might come in useful. She levitated a sesame roll to each of the Humans then set one on the edge of the bowl one of the Humans had filled and offered her.
"I am observing and participating." Razor Wit said, her voice was soft and even, "This is how I learn. Give me some time and I will have found a way to manage the Humans' cooperation without the need for force or violence."
"I can see from the way they're acting, they are at least nervous around us, and it would gain us nothing to further their poor mental image of us by forcing them to cooperate. Simply put, I need a method of dealing with them and I'm trying to learn one. Would you be opposed to selecting two of your Earth Pony Guards and asking them to join us? The Humans seem to be nervous around magic."
"Sure thing." Steady Plod said with a slight nod, "I'll ask if anypony wants to have a really early lunch. I can't join you. I have to get the bodies and our two injured back to the field." Steady Plod said as he turned and left.
* * *
Rachel was flabbergasted. She hadn't expected one of the new Unicorns to actually accept the bowl, she had honestly made the offer merely out of curiosity. When it, she assumed the Unicorn was a 'she' from the voice, actually accepted the bowl Rachel had almost frozen up with shock.
The Unicorn just lay down, like a dog would, as a dinner guest and had even passed out some sort of bread that suspiciously resembled rolls. The Unicorn had levitated the rolls out of her saddle bags. Rachel, Tina, and David had all flinched at her use of magic, but thus far their fears seemed unfounded. A second equinoid had approached and spoken with the Unicorn. The second one had been missing a horn, but sounded male and was wearing armor. The two spoke in their strange language for a few minutes before the second one disappeared into the bushes and left.
Rachel moved slowly as she passed around bowls of seasoned cornmeal to Tina and David. Two armored equinoids suddenly appeared from behind Tina and without any sort of preamble, lay down as well. The seating pattern was even, with the equinoids lying down between every Human.
"They're separating us." Tina said nervously as she held her bowl.
"It may or may not be intentional. I rather doubt they would sit down to eat with us if they had any ill intentions." David said cautiously.
"Do these two want some food as well?" Rachel wondered.
The Unicorn suddenly reached her head over and gently nudged Rachel's right hand with her nose. Rachel shrieked and pulled her hand away from the Unicorn quickly. David flinched but waited to see what would happen. Tina instantly froze up like a statue. The Unicorn froze too, as did the other two equinoids. No one moved for several long seconds.
* * *
"You scared her civilian." one of the Guards said.
Razor Wit's only movement was her mouth,
"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Corporal." her tone was not particularly warm, "I might have missed it if I were blind and deaf."
"Sorry." the Guard said sheepishly, "Maybe they don't like to be touched?"
"I'll take that into consideration." Razor Wit said, "They can't understand our language, let's find out if they can read expressions."
She slowly pulled her head back, away from Rachel while making an exaggerated face. She had widened her eyes as much as she could, laid back her ears, pouted out her lips, and kept her head low.
* * *
"First they're terrifying, now they're adorable?" Tina asked.
"I think you hurt her feelings." David said, "My dog used to give me the same expression whenever I got mad at him. Give her a scratch behind the ears, that always worked for me."
"I am not scratching her like a dog. They can kill us with ease. I'm not going to go around casually petting a creature that can fry me like a chicken!" Rachel hissed.
Tina slowly raised her hand.
* * *
"Don't move." the vocal Guard said quietly.
"I see it." Razor Wit said eyeing Tina's hand.
Her hand slowly descended onto Razor Wit's head. The mare shuddered silently as Tina began gently scratching around the base of the Unicorn's horn.
The two Guards snickered,
"The civilian's getting a horn job from an alien! I didn't know you liked them THAT exotic!"
"Stay silent." Razor commanded softly but firmly, "This is nonverbal communication, not some sexually deviant quirk, one that doesn't exist by the way. These Human's are demonstrating they understand the concept of empathy and communicating that feeling the only way they know how. You can stay and help or you can go find somepony who will."
Rachel dolled out portions of seasoned cornmeal and handed the first bowl to the Guard laying to her left. The Guard took the lip of the bowl into his teeth and reached his head clear over David's lap as he passed it to the one sitting between David and Tina.
"Guards, follow my lead and introduce yourselves the way I do." Razor said.
* * *
The tan Unicorn moved her head slowly away from Tina's hand then placed her right forehoof against her chest,
"Cinlel Duron."
The normal equinoid sitting between Rachel and David mimicked the Unicorn's motion,
"Telvarout Hemoi."
The normal equinoid sitting between David and Tina then copied the other two,
"Juvd Lewyaq."
* * *
Rachel was the first to say anything but everyone understood,
"They're introducing themselves."
"Isn't it polite to do the same?" David asked.
Before anyone else could do anything, David placed his right hand over his chest,
"David Belerosa."
Rachel went next, imitating David,
"Rachel Dobson."
Tina followed the lead of her two friends,
"Tina Pho." Tina then attempted to remember each of the equinoid's names as she pointed to each in turn, "Cindel Duren?"
The tan unicorn shook her head,
"Cinlel Duron." she slowly pronounced every sound, "Cinlel Duron."
To the three Humans it sounded like, 'Seenlel Dooron'.
Tina pronounced it a second time as she pointed to the Unicorn,
"Cinlel Duron."
The Unicorn smiled and nodded then gestured to Tina,
"Teena Foe?"
The Unicorn pronounced the sounds very slowly, her mouth familiar with the sounds but not used to the order of them.
"Tina Pho." Tina said.
"Tina Pho." the Unicorn parroted, then pointed to Rachel, "Raechel Dobsun?"
Rachel shook her head and was about to correct her but the Unicorn held up her hoof,
"Rachel Dobson?"
Rachel smiled and nodded as the Unicorn turned to David,
"Daveed Varamoorsa?"
"David Belerosa." David corrected.
"Da-vid," she said haltingly, "Be-le-ro-sa. David Belerosa."
David nodded, glad she had gotten his name right so quickly. The tan Unicorn smiled and looked very pleased with herself then turned and continued eating as if everything was over.
The three Humans were puzzled but none of them spoke, thinking it best to imitate her.
* * *
"What about us?" Long Stride asked.
Razor Wit looked up from her bowl,
"Try to get their names right. We need to finish our food and leave randomly. Make it quick, trust me."
"The others should be done with the bodies soon." Soil Listener said as Long Stride butchered David's name in the background.
"Good." Razor said, "In and out, nice and quick and smooth." she turned her attention to the fumbling Earth Pony, "Hurry it up Long Stride. We need to go soon."
The Ponies finished eating quickly, bowed in thanks and just up and left with the rest of the group.
* * *
It was an hour later that three confused Humans finally relaxed enough to stand up. There was no sign of the equinoids anywhere. The dead equinoids were gone, as if they had never been there. They had collected their own and just left.
"Well, we're not dead." David said scratching his head, "I wonder what happened? They just up and left after lunch. Do they not want us or something?"
"Who knows." Rachel said as she hauled the small cauldron toward the stream, "They weren't hostile, that much is certain. The massacre was intentional, but what we just experienced was weirdly friendly. The question is, what do we do now?"
"If they wanted us, they would have taken us. I'm not so sure they want us at all." Tina said, "I have to admit, I'm kind of relieved and kind of disappointed at the same time. Here I was hoping to get some kind of medical care for myself and the baby and they just walk in, have lunch, then leave. It kind of felt like they just didn't care."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," David said, "I almost feel cheated."
"You know what it was," Rachel yelled over suddenly from the stream, "We had built them into something specific and we felt let down when they didn't fit that mold. They were really kind of . . . I don't know, almost normal I suppose, considering they were equinoid alien creatures."
"So what do we do?" David asked.
"It seems to me that we need to find the rest of the group and tell them what happened. Maybe we've all just been stressing over what we don't know and demonizing them because of our own paranoia." Tina said.
"Maybe, or maybe they jes trying to lull yall into a false sense o' security." a new voice spoke up.
Three heads simultaneously toward the new voice as an African-American man stumbled out from behind a tree. It was Mario LeBlanch. He had a blanket wrapped around his middle, rolled down just like everyone else. He also had a sword hanging on a baldric he was wearing as a belt. He had a pair of saddle bags hanging over his shoulders. His hands were empty with his left arm tucked tightly against his side and his right hand over his ribs on the left side.
David instantly mover to stand between Mario and the two women with him,
"What do you want murderer?" he asked harshly.
"Tha's gratitude for ya." Mario said as he crumpled next to the smoldering remains of the fire, "I got myself flash fried by motha' fuckin' lightning helpin' folks the other night an' this is the thanks I get?"
Tina spoke up,
"What did you mean?"
"Exactly what I said girl!" Mario spat back grimacing in pain, "If they wanna find the whole group, you playin' right into they hands . . . hooves, what the fuck ever. They been watchin' yalls camp since the attack an' I'll bet they countin' on yall to lead 'em right back to erebody else."
"So what would you suggest?" Rachel asked, "We lead them off in the wrong direction?"
The condemned man lifted his right arm and pointed grandly to Rachel,
"Girl got a brain after all!" Mario said before he groaned and rocked back and forth, hissing in pain, "Yeah," he gasped, "Lead 'em away from the group. It ain't hard to figure out. That's what I'd do if I wanted to find 'em, but that ain't all. Yall already said it don't make sense an' I'll tell ya why. It ain't the way we seen 'em act so far is it? You know why? 'Cause they want yall to go back an' tell ereone they all nice an' shit. Yall drop yo guard an' they rush in an' kill ereone off."
"I REALLY hate to admit it, but he has a logical point." Rachel said.
"Why should we listen to you?" Tina asked, "You might kill us in our sleep, like you did to Kyle."
Mario started to laugh but ended up coughing and wincing in pain,
"That'd be the stupidest fuckin' thing ever." he said, "I ain't never been against the group. Yeah I killed that racist asshole, but yall didn't see 'im talkin' to himself that night." Mario coughed again, wincing in pain, "Talkin' 'bout killen niggers an' shit! That cat weren't right in the head man! Yeah, I made a mistake! I admit that, Kyle didn't never say he was sorry or wrong or nothin'! He was gonna end up killin' someone that didn't do nothin', so I killed 'im first! I became the fuckin' monster so no one else would have to suffer because o' him! Fuckin' send a monster to kill a monster. Yall wanna make me th' bad guy, go right ahead, but you know I'm right. Yall don't want me, fine I'll leave. Just promise me yall won't go back to the group, an' if yall find it in yo hearts to help a brother out, I wouldn't complain."
Rachel tapped David on the shoulder,
"I don't want him around but what he said makes sense. What if he's actually right?"
Tina shot Rachel a deadpan stare,
"You can't be serious."
"I kind of agree with Rachel. Mario's got a point and it DOES make some sense. I don't want him traveling with us, but maybe it would be worth it." David admitted.
"I cannot believe you two!" Tina hissed, "A murderer comes along after we finally get a good break and have a sign of a chance and you want to listen to a MURDERER? Seriously? Are you kidding me right now? Who are you going to listen to, a murderer or me?"
"I'm a person too yall!" Mario said loudly, "Look, I'll cut ya a deal. I'll lose my sword an' shit. Yall can check my bags an' hands an' erething. Ain't no way I can overpower all three o' yall at the same time." he suddenly gasped in pain, gritting his teeth as he threw his head back, "Look yall," he said panting, "I don't care what the fuck yall do right now, jus' help me out! I can't take this anymore!"
"Fine," Rachel said, "David, keep an eye on him while I try to patch him up."
"Fine, I'm watching you." David said pointing at the young man rocking back and forth on his knees.
"I'm telling you guys this is a bad idea." Tina groaned.
* * *
Razor Wit entered the pavilion tent that had been renamed the Command Center. Bold Move, Steady Plod, Swift Wind, and Peach Pit were all gathered, laying down around a short center table waiting for her. They did not look happy whatsoever.
Razor Wit cantered up to the table and sat down wearing a curious expression,
"What has all of you so sour?" she asked.
"You want to tell us why you asked everypony to just leave the first Humans we have a chance to try communicating with? Communication is supposed to be your specialty. We would have thought you would be the most excited to try talking to them." Peach Pit asked.
"That's easy." Razor said casually, "See this is the same way I managed to arrange trade relations with that Diamond Dog city-state. Find a small group of individuals and just walk in and sit right down like it's the most normal thing in the world. Your actions surprise them, throw them off. It confuses them. Any plans they might have had are unusable. They are forced into a role that is purely reactionary and it forces them to react to you, thus giving you control of the situation without them realizing it. Because you have subtle control they will generally respond favorably and with minimal effort behind your manipulation."
"Shock And Awe!" Swift Wind exclaimed, "You used psychological Shock And Awe!"
Razor Wit smiled,
"Yup." she turned her gaze to Steady Plod, "Did you see those rolls I gave them?"
"Yes, I was wondering why you had them. There is no way you expected to sit down and eat with them at a first meeting." Steady Plod said.
"One of the generally accepted nonverbal signs of friendliness is eating with others, especially food you brought yourself. I had the rolls for that purpose and it seems fortune favored me. I chose rolls for two reasons. First, because bread is edible for nearly every species in the world. The rolls themselves are actually a trick I learned from my Mother, it's a common trick used by parents everywhere. That, leads to the second reason, those rolls are commonly known as 'Foal's Rolls'."
Peach Pit's face lit up exuberantly,
"That's brilliant!" he exclaimed.
Three confused faces met his gaze, so he explained,
"'Foal's Rolls' are special rolls made by bakeries, specifically for parents. The parents feed the roll to their foals and the foals eat them, obviously. The rolls have spell crystals baked into the roll as sugar crystals. The sugar crystals themselves are enchanted and the foals digest the rolls, so the spell ends up flowing through their bodies for . . . a month or so. It's absolutely brilliant!"
"So the Humans you encountered today are going back to the main group, obviously." Bold Move said.
"Not only that, but they'll also tell others about their experience, and there's no need to have Earth Ponies out in the woods risking being spotted while they track the Humans." Steady Plod filled in the last gap.
Razor Wit smiled and winked her left eye,
"Nailed it."
"But what if they don't?" Bold move asked, "They might think what we did was too unusual and decide to go a separate direction."
"That's why I'm going to have somepony show me how to track the Humans. I'll follow the main group myself. If they spot me, I'm not in armor so they're much less likely to consider me a threat. They may well think I'm a local who found them and isn't an enemy. If the three we met today do go and join the main group, I can fall back and wait for them to settle down in a single location then appear at a distance. The three will vouch for me since I was with them. In either case, we have the chance to meet with them peacefully on their terms. They will be more at ease and will be more open to the possibility of letting us help them."
"So, how did you know how many rolls to bring?" Swift Wind asked.
"I didn't know at all, how could I? I just bought a dozen from one of the bakeries in Canterlot." Razor admitted.
"What if you hadn't had enough?" Peach Pit asked.
"I don't know. I guess I would have split them as many ways as I could." the mare shrugged, "I wanted to make sure I ate one myself though. That way if I get lost, you guys can come find me." she levitated out a piece of paper and placed it om the table in front of Peach Pit, "This spell will allow you to locate any signal from the batch of rolls I have."
"But how would we know which signal is yours and which are the Humans?" Steady Plod asked.
Razor shook her head,
"There's no way to tell for sure, but if a Unicorn felt three signals together, it's a good bet that I'm not one."
"You really have an answer for everything don't you?" Peach Pit asked.
"No, it's just that I had already thought of the questions you guys have been asking." Razor replied.
"Wow," Peach Pit said in a dreamy voice, "I think I'm in love."
"Sorry big guy." Razor smiled apologetically, "I'm not ready to settle down. I've got plenty of species to bring together before I think about that. The one I really want to have the chance to interact with is the Human who started all this. He took the chance and searched us out to help his kind. I did that once too and I want the chance to work with him. He managed to get the message that his people needed help, across the language barrier that divides us. He nearly died doing that. He's in critical condition in Canterlot because of an infected, injured foot, multiple skull fractures, and a shattered jaw. I already asked Princess Celestia if I could be assigned to him. I think that together, we have a good chance of finding how to communicate." Razor Wit couldn't hide the excitement in her voice.
"Speaking of the Princess, how do you know her?" Bold Move asked.
"I'm her language tutor." Razor Wit said smoothly, "She wants to learn modern Draconic."
"You're one hay of a tutor ma'am." Steady Plod said.
Razor Wit blushed at the compliment,
"Thanks. So do we have any idea of the identity of the two Unicorns you rescued? They were rushed away the second they arrived."
Swift Wind, Peach Pit, and Steady Plod all looked to Bold Move. None of the Regimental Commanders had knowledge of the identities of the unconscious Guards they brought in.
Bold Move nodded solemnly,
"Corporal Quick Spell and Lieutenant Proud Hoof."
"PROUD HOOF!" Peach Pit exclaimed angrily, "How did he live? I saw him take three hits from my own maul that would have liquefied a normal pony."
"I don't know, but his spine was broken. He has no use of his hind legs. The damage was so extensive that even a spell won't fix it. Proud Hoof will never use his hind legs again. As for Quick Spell, the damage to his spine was much less extensive. The blow he received damaged only a tiny portion of his spinal chord. He can't walk right now, but the Medics said they have a good chance of healing the damage completely. He'll need some physical therapy but he should be alright." Bold Move said.
Swift Wind shook his head,
"How could Proud Hoof have lived when so many others died? It's not fair."
"What about the Humans who died?" Bold Move asked, "What were the causes of death and how many perished?"
"Seventy." Peach Pit said, "We scanned every buried corpse with magic. The causes of death range from blood loss to trauma and shock from third degree burns to severed heads. It must have been horrible for the victims." he sighed and continued, "Sixty three were adults.Thirty five males and twenty eight females, seven of which were with foal, very earliest stages though. One of our medics said each one carried a seventy five percent chance of natural, spontaneous abortion. Even so, the laws are very clear about pregnant females."
Swift Wind shot into the air shaking with rage,
"Foals!? They not only murdered adults but pregnant females!"
"Stand down Swift." Steady Plod said evenly, "I feel the same way but what has been done, is done." he turned his attention back to Bold Move, "Princess Luna said they would serve one months for every dead Human, correct?"
Peach Pit nodded,
"Any foal is covered by law from the very moment of conception, so yes, seventy. That means seventy months and thus seven years."
"Yikes." Steady Plod said, "Living like that for twenty four hours a day, thirty six or thirty seven days a month, three hundred and sixty five days a year . . . dang. That's a long sentence."
"It's less than they deserve!" Swift Wind said, "Especially for murdering unborn foals!"
"This makes the situation much more complex." Bold Move said.
Razor Wit nodded,
"Indeed. With so many females pregnant the care of foals is absolute priority. Do any of you know the gestation period of Humans?"
Four heads shook silently,
"Let's assume it is the same length of time as our own then. The first three months or so won't matter but after that point proper care and nutrition become much more important. It seems that we now have a time limit for obtaining the Human's trust."
"And how long is that?" Swift Wind asked.
Bold Move blinked and twitched the corner of his mouth at an itch,
"Three months."