First Choices
Proofread by TehSporkBandit
”So what’re we gonna’ do with ‘em?" Applejack quietly asks again, likely prompted by Fluttershy and her concern for the captured Gremlins. The pragmatic Apple hadn't seen fit to question interrogation, but everything else is left up to chance. In fact, nopony had really discussed it until Fluttershy brought it up. Of course, as you chew on your lip and think of a response, Applejack turns her attention up to the stairs and perks her ears up. She'd only spoken in hushed tones, so as to avoid spoiling any so-called 'technique' that Rainbow Dash and Pinkie concocted. Muffled voices still drift down from the loft; the interrogation must be ongoing.
You finally summon up an answer, one that will doubtlessly be unsatisfying, “ I don’t know. But we need to get some information out of them. Are the other Unicorns alive, where-”
“Where they’re keepin’ Twilight hold up at and how many of ‘em there are. I remember." Her sage nod professes attentiveness. Applejack had tied them up, but it is up to the incorrigible duo of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie to extract information from them.
“Ladies and gentlecolts of the jury, we see here two wormy-squirmy Gremlins who know a whole lot more than they’re telling us. And so we revert to issue A… ahem, did you take Twilight?!" There is a thin venomous hiss in response.
Pinkie murmurs quietly to herself as a meaty thump heralds Rainbow's more venomous voice, “If you bite, I bite, and I'm better at it than you.”
Pinkie's quiet musings seem detached from the whole situation, “Shoot, I thought that would work for sure." Rainbow Dash only sighs, discontent in her abject frustration.
“They’re not having much luck, are they?" Fluttershy stands and sets her forehooves on the window sill to look outside at the whitewashed wastelands behind the settlement.
Your tracks have already been completely obliterated by the howling winds and rasping snow outside. It’s a stark contrast to the single rickety window overlooking the courtyard where several dimmed lights shine out from lower stories of other buildings hemming in the desolate cobblestone paved village. The Pegasus has been a lookout for the past thirty minutes. So far, nothing moved and your few occasional glimpses outside had only caught a glimpse of a tower rising up out of the mist, a wind-blasted square of barren flagstone with a single tall statue of a great warrior with an upraised sword, and the flat stones of various other two story dwellings that felt lifeless and abandoned.
The weather hasn’t eased up. The roofing timbers groan ominously as the harsh winds scours all trace of life and civility in a serpentine drift of purest white. Thankfully, the fire chases away some of the torpid chill, though the pangs of cold in your feet and extremities warn you not to be complacent. It is still dangerous outside.
“What do ya reckon Pinkie needed them paints fer?" Applejack rubs her chin and glances your way.
“I don’t know. She’s a good artist, but I don’t see how that’ll be of any use." You catch yourself before simply emulating Applejack in stroking your chin. It really isn’t going to help anyway, Pinkie is a mare of mystery. A nascent plan slowly germinates in your mind as a concept begins to begins to bloom into something resembling a plan. There is a way that Pinkie's artistic talents might yield some very real advantages.
“Is somethin’ on yer mind, pardner?" Narrowing her eyes and letting a small smirk spread across her muzzle, she had to have seen your pensive expression. Applejack rather swiftly makes her way over as if to say 'whatever it is, I'll help' as she stands in front of you.
“Yeah, I’m going to see what I can get out of that thing upstairs. I might be able to put a scare into them.” You ponder that for a moment or two, letting the ideas congeal into something more tangible.
“What’re ya plannin’ on doin’, exactly?" Applejack’s curious streak is still there, but a lofted brow betrays the tentative reservation in those bright emerald eyes. With a vague twist of unease filtering into her voice she asks, “Do you need anythin’?”
“I don’t know yet, AJ. Right now, I really don’t know."
“The snow is starting to ease up a little." Fluttershy’s observation carries with it a tense shudder that runs down her spine. The window of opportunity is closing, and you are positive Rainbow Dash’s and Pinkie’s method of interrogation wasn’t yielding results.
Quickly searching around, you find your axe and pack before slipping over towards the alcove in the secluded and cool side of the building. “AJ, Fluttershy, just get ready to go as soon as we get what we need out of them. I think this will take a little finessing. If Ulf has been dealing with them, Rainbow Dash’s snorting isn’t going to scare them into giving anything up.” You hurry off up the steps and give the pair a simple wave to say 'stay put'.
Taking the stairs in leaps and bounds, you emerge into the relative gloom at the edge of the upstairs storeroom. Instead of being greeted by two bound Gremlins sitting on the floor, a very different audience stares at you with unblinking apathy.
A spotlight made up of three firefly lamps marks the interrogation area where the two Gremlins had been tied up and seated back to back. Pinkie looms over them, standing on her hind hooves with her forelegs crossed, while her prismatic Pegasus partner lingers a few feet away, letting out a recalcitrant sigh. But that wasn't what was strange; in the shadows beyond the ring of lights is a 'jury' of sorts.
A veritable courtroom made up of painted pony portraits has been set up in silent judgment of the two Gremlins neatly bound in the center of the room. The raw, stretched parchment is painted with an almost cartoonish face of a glowering pony, other portraits mirror expressions of shock as they hold their hooves up to their muzzles as if to whisper to the other pictures. Pinkie sweeps her hoof out to them as if to catch the attention of the inanimate audience.
“Pinkie?” You start, but your words die in your throat the moment the Gremlin looks over at you. It flashes a shiver of fear for a moment, then its gaze hardens into a snarl before snorting in defiance. The second quivers and shakes like a leaf in a storm, its head bent down and lips moving in an incoherent babble held back as it paws the crinkled rag on its lap. It looks like the scrap of cloth was given to it as a tissue.
Your confident stride and flexing grip on the axe is enough to shake that haughty defiance from the one resistant Gremlin. Pinkie's stern facade cracks for a moment as she waves you over, “Ah, my associate at Pinkie Pie ‘n Dash legal services is here to give his expert opinion. A bit of a surprise, I had you in the crowd as an adviser, isn’t that right?” Dash’s glance upwards kills her frustration as it boils over into genuine confusion. However, when directed to a grey and brown earth-pony portrait with a caricature low brow and scrunched eyes, it gets just as puzzling for you.
Despite the difficulty, you ignore both the strange picture that looks almost like a pony Marlin Brando with a Groucho Marx mustache and Pinkie pie herself. Instead, you share a covert wink with Rainbow who straightens her spine and flashes a Cheshire grin. It's enough for you to start circling the Gremlin. It twists and turns, trying to keep you visible at all times, and as it switches sides, you prowl into and out of the darkness at the unlit edges of the room Already, the other has caught sight of you, seated and bound as they are, it mews pitifully. Tears pour down freely from its red rimmed eyes and it firmly avoids locking eyes with you, though its long, pointed ears seem to twist and track your every movement. Finally, you spot something of interest: it is a large bucket of red paint with a large brush dipped into it up to the handle. It has to be there because of the portraits and, hopefully, it isn’t as dry as dust.
“Has he told you anything?” You keep your voice low in a bass growl, hoping it doesn’t crack and that you don’t have to fake an even lower register.
“Not really. He said a few not-so-nice things about my mom. I mean, he could be right, she is an old grey mare, but she was never all that flabby or disappointed. At least, I hope not.” while dropping to all fours, she shoots a glance over towards Rainbow Dash for some confirmation, “I mean, that would be pretty terrible. But we left on good terms and e-”
“You, Gremlin. I’ve got one question for you.” Your interruption silences Pinkie as you approach the defiant creature. It juts its jaw out at you and bears its teeth, but its chest flutters more and more arhythmically with every step you take.
“I’m not going to sssay anything to you, Cryssstal Eyess..." as you produce the sharpened axe blade and hold it up in front of its eyes, the Gremlin's facade crumbles like a house of cards. It leans back and pulls its face away from the glinting metal surface and starts breathing far more deeply.
Crouching down in front of it, you narrow your eyes and smile at it while letting the pale lantern light reflect off the menacing weapon's edge, “How many Gremlins does it take to tell me a name?” You slowly grasp the ragged scrap of cloth from the mewling creature's lap.
Pinkie’s pensive pondering produces a loud ‘hmmm’ as she scratches her chin. “Is thiiiis a trick question? Rightly? Rightly, is this a trick-”
“One.” Grasping its long pointed ears, it yowls as you force the material in its mouth and shove it face first into the ground. It can’t look back as you shove the creature to the floor, overturning the chair it was in and watching it writhe and squirm.
You stride over to the other creature and wind up, “Rightly?!” Pinkie’s voice jumps an octave, “W-what are you doing with that axe?” The Pegasus quickly reaches forward to grasp the tensing Earth-pony and holds her back despite squirming with a mounting discomfort. “Just listen, liiiisten, no-no-no, we ca…” you take a quick breath and wind up. Even as Pinkie struggles, Rainbow keeps her pinned. The terrified Gremlin’s eyes simply roll up into the back of its head as the proverbial sword of Damocles hovers over its head. Going limp, it slumps down with a thump and lies senselessly on the baseboards.
So far it’s going according to plan.
“Suga’cube?! Uh, is everythin’ alright up there?” Applejack’s apprehensive voice creeps up the stairwell.
Holding up a hand, you press a finger to your mouth as you stride forward to fetch one of the canvases. Taking one of Pinkie’s portraits as well as the paint, you put the stretched hide against the insulating tundra cotton and quickly splash some of the paint on it. It's crude, more of a vegetable dye than a more familiar house paint, but thankfully the smell isn't as pronounced. Maybe you would get away with this after all. With the canvas dripping in the runny crimson you wind up, and strike it with the axe. The less satisfying sound still works as the razor sharp axe embeds itself into the cotton bale, spattering your face and the front of your coat as well. Wrenching it out with a grunt, you head back to the senseless Gremlin and pour the rest of the paint around it.
“Well, that’s one thing down, and now we have one more. The nice thing is, I saw a few more of your kind in the house next door. So, really, I don’t need you, you’re here just for my convenience.”
Channeling Jack Bauer, or maybe Batman, is about the only way this is going to work as you slam the 'bloody' axe down in front of the creature. A terrified squeek tears itself from the creature's throat as you slam the weapon into the floorboards. Its eyes widen, "So, first of all, I’m going to ask a question, and you’re going to give me an answer. If you don’t, well, I’ll let you use your imagination and then I’ll use mine. Deal?”
It gets a dumb nod from the Gremlin; silence is all that comes from the pair of ponies in your company. This is outside of their experience, glancing up at their faces, even Rainbow Dash, who knows about it, is wide-eyed and looking at you. Pinkie’s mouth gapes wide open.
Maybe this is a bit too far?
Already your heart sinks in your chest, but you can't stop short now. You have to make this count.
“Where are those Unicorns?”
“C-cassstle.” It draws back away from you like you had recoiled from the Timberwolf.
“That little whistle sounds like a nice little kettle. I could smash a tea kettle pretty easily, and you wouldn’t want me to think about breaking things, would you?” You tilt its chin up, causing it to gulp and nervously shake its head, “Don’t you lie to me. Where in the castle are they? And are they all alive?”
Its breathing rapidly speeds up until it's nothing more than ragged gasps and breathless whines. The Gremlin's hyperventilating sends shivers through it and a whooping cough from its throat as you snap your fingers, causing it to look straight into your eyes. “Where in the castle? Are they all alive?” Every word is punctuated by as much gravity as you can invest into such a simple question.
It nods rapidly, “Y-yesss, all alive, all five of them. All alive, in the north wing at the s-sssummit room. All taken care of, I ssswear!”
You don’t nod; it is a conscious effort to appear unimpressed. “How do you know?”
“I f-feed them, we all do, rotation, every day! I s-s-swear!” It keeps pulling away while glancing over its shoulder. Each ragged breath betrays its anxiety as it can't see any details, but it can feel the senseless weight of the other Gremlin and watch as it ostensibly sees the pool of blood. Its nose has to be weak enough, or its brain too scrambled to pick up on anything but the colour and fear its own mind invested it with. That is what you had counted on.
“How many of you are there and how can we get in the castle? Is the winged Unicorn okay?” Your voice grabs its attention once more.
“T-two hundred s-ssseventy, none but the Carrion Lordsss are allowed inssside. Winged… Aesssir, of courssse. Yesss, yess, the Aesssir will reign when the day of renewal arrivesss.” The Gremlin’s bob and muted unintelligible speech makes it quite clearly a prayer. But a prayer to home? Much of what it said sounds almost religious. You file that away for later and ask the obvious.
“What’s an Aesir? Where is she?” You pull the jabbering Gremlin up, face to face.
“L-like their weakening Celessstia, but greater, much greater. The great one, now here, before an apoth… apothe…” it simpers, fumbling for the word, as if part of a barely understood catechism. “In the throne room, always in the throne room, with her attendant, and the Hetja, Ulf the Red.”
“How do we get in…” something else slowly bubbles to the surface of your memory as you fight to recall the details. “And what is Muninn?” The crouch is starting to burn, but it was giving you good answers. Fear is a powerful tool, the creature is far too afraid to lie to you.
“There isss none for your kind, the chosssen kind. Corax. None but the great door. The winged one…” his stiff nod toward Rainbow Dash is obvious, “Can go to the high avery. Without flight, there isss only the door. The Muninn are the holy Raven-kin who carry word back to the Hetja, he-hero, the one called Ulf.”
It makes sense, but you have one last question, “Where are your docks for the sky vessels?”
“Aesssir, forgive me.” It scrunches its eyes closed and takes a deep breath, “To the eassst, along the mountain pathsss.”
“Thank you." You quickly slip the gag back up and inside its mouth before yanking the axe free of the floorboards.
Turning around, both ponies are in shock and now a third is waiting at the top of the stairs. The bright green eyes are a swirling myriad of confusion and uncertainty. Even Rainbow’s once solidly smarmy expression is dull as she looks at you again, searching, much like the day Princess Luna had arrived and spoken of their tasks. Rainbow is searching once more, hoping you aren’t the same as Ulf.
You had been harsh, far too harsh for the likes of ponies. It leaves a vaguely hollow feeling lingering in your breast.
Don't look at me like that, you weren’t getting anywhere! It was necessary.
It was necessary. Faint pangs of indignation rise in your chest as their eyes lock on you. But you could at least draw some measure of comfort from that. “Come on. We’ve got to get three things, Rarity, Twilight, and a way out-”
Pinkie doesn't make a move, instead, she shivers once and takes a nerving breath, “Red.”
You loft a brow as the pass phrase challenge echoes through your mind. Pinkie's face is surprisingly calm and devoid of smile or that bounce of nervous energy. No, all that greets you is a slightly chilly stare from ice blue eyes. “Uh, scarf?” Is it a joke?
Pinkie mutely nods and turns towards the staircase, “Just checking something. Never mind.” She plods down the steps and disappears without a backwards glance.
“Well, and the other ponies here, too, right?” Rainbow pips up quickly.
“Of course, if we can.”
“If?” Applejack cocks her head towards you as you quickly wipe off the drying paint onto the cotton bales.
“Sure, Twilight and Rarity come first. It sounds like we still have time. Rainbow Dash, you and Pinkie go hijack us a cloud barge. You heard him, it’s up on the east path at the docks.” Given her impulsive nature, it would probably be best if Rainbow Dash was well away from any source that would make her jumpy or hasty. Likewise, the bellicose Pinkie should stay clear for much the same reason.
But it is still a castle. And if the castle was built with Gremlins in mind, you need to know how they think. Fluttershy should be able to help with flight and psychology if she doesn’t freeze up; Applejack's still considerable strength would be just as useful for her no-holds-barred insight. Plus, she's as dependable as anypony alive. Looking to them all, they stare straight back at you while milling about uncomfortably.
“H-hang on, why can't-” Rainbow starts but is swiftly stymied when Applejack’s hoof slips across her muzzle.
“Okay, if yer sure that’ll be the right choice, ah’ll go along with it.”
Still, they are far more quiet than before. Looking over again, you spot that strange Earth-pony portrait, the tan and grey one with that slight grin, “Who was that one?”
“Oh, nopony…” Pinkie bites her lip as her voice trails off into oblivion.
“Alright, then let's get going. We storm the front gate, head to the throne room, then the north wing. There’s bound to be windows we can access. It’s bound to be easier helping one pony along than five. From there, Fluttershy will give you a signal, you come and pick us up. This shouldn’t take more than an hour.”
♣
You had endured weeks of cold weather, it should have been normal by now, but this unnatural wind still cuts like a butcher's knife. It numbs your fingers and stings your face, whipping the rasping flakes like a scarf of frost around your neck. The winds had picked up when the snow fall slackened, creating a chest high band of sandpaper-like snow ripped from the drifts by the howling dirge. The billowing sheets that skiff along the ground could have obscured a pony, and, for that matter, they did.
Applejack and Fluttershy trail behind you, a hoof up over their eyes while taking the trek across the edge of the courtyard one step at a time. Rainbow and Pinkie trudgel alongside as you pass cold grey dwellings with the dilapidated slate roofs. New Trondheim is still a primitive ruin. But here the path splits to the right, a small retaining wall winds up a twisting trail that looks to be little more than a protected goat path.
“Hey, what is the signal?!” Rainbow bellows over the thin, straining wind.
“You’ll know it when you see it. Just keep a lookout for the windows up there.” You point towards the castle, seeing the vague outlines of the monolithic edifice. However, as you search, you can see the vague ribs of buttresses and supports, but there were no windows to be seen through the gloom. The lofty spires and towering turrets stretch skyward like a needle.
“And what if we can’t see it?” Rainbow protests as she stares up at you through layers of uncomfortable cloth and an impromptu visor made from scarves. “You said an hour, we’ll see if we can figure that thing out and get in within half an hour, then. See, your plan, not mine! I just want this to work!” She flings a foreleg up in resignation and shakes her head. It is as if to say ‘I wash my hooves of this’.
“If ya tip off any of them Gremlins, they’ll be on us like flies on a honey waggon.” Applejack’s voice rises only enough to cut through the slackened breath of the wind. The discomforting aura affects everypony alike, causing the whole party to stop.
“I thought you were the most loyal pony in Equestria? You don’t have to like it, but damn it, Dash, just do it! We don’t have time, and if you’re worried about not getting the glory, then you can tell everypony that you did it when we get back.” A quiver runs down her spine as you say it.
The indignant Pegasus puffs her chest out, “Why you smu-”
“Rainbow!” Pinkie’s interjection cuts everything short. “We gotta’ go look at our ride, promise, it’ll be fun. You can be captain Dash the magnificent again and I’ll be first mate Pinkie Pie.” She throws up a quick salute and ends with quickly grasping Rainbow’s tail.
It is enough to get the Pegasus to stamp her forehoof down before she harshly prods it into your stomach. Your breath leaves you in a rushing cloud and an unpleasant ‘oomph’. “One hour, not a second more. Starting now.” With a final snort that leaves rising steam trailing off into the open air, she turns quickly and gallops up off the path.
“Rainbow Dash? Rainbow?! Wait up, you have longer legs than me!” Despite the protestation, Pinkie tears off up the pathway and is lost to the thinning haze of snow as well. It there was a difference in speed, you aren't sure you could spot it.
“You sure that was smart? Rainbow didn’t seem to like that none, and she can get ornery.” Applejack quietly murmurs while trotting on the spot to keep her hooves from freezing.
“I’m only sure that we need to get Twilight and Rarity out of there now. Without question, it has to be done. We’ll never get another chance.”
“T-there’s somepony at the window up there!” Fluttershy’s nervous echo drifts over the courtyard as you gaze up just long enough to see a flash of red material disappear from a tall window overlooking the square.
“I didn’t see them, what did they look like? Unicorn?” Perhaps that was the case, but ahead of you lay an alleyway between a pair of three-story buildings, then a short causeway flanked by that same retaining wall and unlit brazers. The wind quickly dies as you hurry across the naked causeway towards a narrow flight of stairs leading to a great oaken door. The breeze is swiftly replaced by an even colder chill as if exhaled by the castle itself.
“No, no, I think he might have been like you.”
If that’s you, Ulf, I’ve brought your damned axe back.
“A troll?” You stare up at the now empty window.
“No, like you.” Fluttershy insists. Looking back at her, you open your mouth… she knows. She probably always had, but she didn’t question it, she respected it, and the unsure hiccup had been the only reason why it was ever brought up.
Gazing over at Applejack, she just keeps staring as well. No, she hadn’t been tricked either, you had been the only one foolish enough to believe that it worked. “Well, come on, then. We’ll get them, get out, and deal with him.”
“If we have to.” Applejack adds and gallops along beside you.
“Of course. If we have to..." reaching the tall arched door, you spot the iron ring handles. Each loop rests in the mouth of a brazen Unicorn decoration. The door opens with a weary creak and you swiftly slip inside.