Stick of Truth: The Equestrian Chronicles
Chapter Six: Snowy Range
Why some minotaurs chose to live deep within the Frozen North could be anyone’s guess. Most ponies and other species chose to live in more preferable climates towards the south. Even the Crystal Empire was located not far into the southern half of Frozen North. The small minotaur village that Elder Greybeard and his group were taking Stan to was the northernmost settlement under Equestria’s influence. It was located right at the edge of the explored region at the base of mountain range that acted as the northern border of Equestria which only covered the southern half of the Frozen North.
What lay beyond the mountain rage was a mystery and one would be insane to go forth in such a dangerous journey. Throughout the years some very brave or foolish minotaurs had set forth to explore that mysterious half of the Frozen North. It could be assured that their finds and discoveries would amaze those that listened, except only a few ever returned sane enough to tell the tale that is if they ever returned at all.
The only thing that was known about the northern half of the Frozen North was that it was truly indeed frozen. It was in a permanent state of winter and filled with dangers that made the frost worms and frostwolves the least of your concerns. That brings us back to the question on why minotaurs would chose to reside in such a dangerous place. The answer was simple: They don’t. To be more specific, most minotaurs don’t permanently live in the Frozen North but rather live there temporarily or seasonally according to how much work was available. Most of them went back to their respective homes during the winter when it was too dangerous to keep the mines open.
The mountain range and surrounding area was filled with precious resources and boasted a large supply of rare metals just ready to be mined. It was believed that it was because of these mountains that the ancient unicorn tribes founded their city in the area and built the first mines using earth pony labor. The mines were later abandoned as winter’s grasp took over the area and the windigoes roamed the land. It is for this reason that the unicorns chose to build their new capital next to another resourced filled mountains. The mines they built can still be found underneath Canterlot.
Eventually winter’s grasp receded from the old homelands and it was relatively safe to once again to open the old mines. Many of the old settlements were in ruins and were unfit to occupy once again. Instead the ponies decided to build a new city that would be unlike any other, a city that would also the crown jewel and sight to behold. From the northern mountains came the foundation of the Crystal City. The early Crystal City was the most prosperous cities of all of Equestria and flourished for nearly two centuries. Such was their power and wealth that they declared their sovereignty as a city-state and became the Crystal Empire. Yet it was not to last as once again did winter’s grasp took the land as it was cursed by a pony named Sombra.
After the fall of the Crystal Empire, Princess Celestia was reluctant to maintain the northern mines open. As generations passed, knowledge Crystal Empire and the rest of the north faded away and were unknown except by a select few. It wasn’t until eighty years before the return of Nightmare Moon did Celestia choose to have an expedition north to rediscover and open the mines. It took nearly ten years to build the Northern Railroad and a few more to establish the mining settlements. Celestia had other interest in the Frozen North other than increased income. One of the first projects she had was the construction of a stronghold with a guard to keep order among the miners; the other project was the construction an observation tower that would notify her of the reappearance of the Crystal Empire.
♕----------♕
Location: Frozen North
Stan quickly noticed the temperature change when he entered the remote village. Seeing his surprised face, Elder Greybeard spoke up. “Ah, I guess you have never seen an enchantment such as this before?”
Stan just shrugged; he didn’t want to argue with the people that gave him shelter. Even if they are freaky cultists obsessed with bulls.
“As you can feel, this village is protected from the cold by an enchantment powered by the great bonfire at the center. As long as the fire is lit, the village is kept warm and shielded from the cold winds...” the elder minotaur kept talking but Stan quickly stopped listening
They approached they bonfire that the elder was talking about. There around the fire were around six minotaurs dancing and chanting nonsense. When the dancers saw the Stan and the group, they quickly stopped and gave the elder a quick salute. “Grand Elder Greybeard,” one of them said, “Is there a task for us to do?”
“No,” responded the Grand Elder, “Just continue with your dancing and chanting nonsense.”
“But why?” protested another of the dancers.
“Yeah,” said another, “Why do we have to dance around the bonfire? The fire is fueled by peat, we only need one or two bulls to keep watch over it. Why do we have to keep dancing like idiots around it?
“Because shut up that’s why,” barked Greybeard, “Now do you have any other questions? Then get back to your fruity little dance, and I’d better hear some fine gibberish when I get back.”
The dancers groaned in protest but resumed dancing around the fire pit. Some of Stan’s escorts dispersed back into the village as Stan followed Greybeard on a small tour of the settlement. A few of the important buildings were built of brick or stones. The majority of the living quarters consisted of wooden longhouses that housed ten minotaurs at a time. At the eastern side of the settlement was an enormous building that acted like an arena. Stan could see a large crowd of minotaurs flexing their muscles and lifting massive weights.
“Ah, I see you’ve spotted our arena,” chucked Elder Greybeard. “Of course it’s not that hard to miss, being the largest building in our humble village. Those young bulls do enjoy their competitions. ‘Work hard, play harder’, they say. You’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the games later; right now we have a lot to talk about.”
They arrived to village hall and stopped. It was pale blue brick building that held a few offices and a courtroom (Greybeard was the judge). Next the blue buildn was a boarding platform to a ropeway. There were minotaurs attaching resource filled carts and removing empty ones from the lift. “We are going to the watchtower and fort located near the top of the tallest mountain of this range,” the elder explained. “Our scholar lives up there, says that he prefers the sound of the harsh winds than to the rowdiness of the village. I don’t blame him.” They sat inside the passenger cart and began traveling up the one of the four ropeways.
“Hey,” said Greybeard nonchalantly as he relaxed in his seat, “If you want to, we can zipline down on our way back.”
Stan instantly replied with a quick and forceful, “No! Please for the love of God, NO!”
♕----------♕
Location: Ponyville
“This is my house!” Dinky exclaimed with a wide grin as the adventures stopped in front of modest one story house. The New Kid could feel and warm and comfy feeling emitting from. The house was fairly well maintained, though the front door and windows seemed like they had been replaced on several occasions. After bravely rescuing the young maiden from the clutches of the dreaded bullies, Dinky had invited our heroes to her home for a glass of milk and muffins.
While Dinky and the crusaders went straight towards the kitchen, the New Kid lingered back and walked at his own pace. When he arrived at the kitchen a few seconds after the crusaders he had already managed to pocket a few unguarded trinkets and bits.
You have lost Karma.
He felt an odd sensation as he was stashing away his loot. It was like there some strange force was watching over and judging him based on his actions. The New Kid quickly dismissed that thought, it was stupid. He was a hero after all. All he had to do was a few good deeds and some quests and his Karma would remain good.
“Wait, isn't that...?” he heard Sweetie Belle voice coming from the kitchen.
“Yeah I think it is,” responded Apple Bloom. The New Kid entered the kitchen to see that she was point at table. On top of the table was one of the missing packages lying there waiting to be delivered.
“Leave it to mom to lose something in plain sight,” said Dinky with a deep sigh as buried her face into her hooves.
QUEST PROGRESS
“Special Delivery”
Packages Found 3/5
♕----------♕
Location: Frozen North, along the mountain border
When Stan got off the cart, he was immediately bitchslapped with a icy burst of wind. The climate was even colder and more intense up the mountains. “Well, let’s get moving,” grunted Elder Greybeard as he clung tightly to his cloak, “You don’t want to freeze your balls off do you?”
They walked along a twisted and rocky path further up to well built fort made of stone. The fortress had the same protective enchantment as the small village below. Stan saw a massive fire pit but instead of having a group of minotaurs dancing around the bonfire, there was only a single minotaur next to a cart full of peat standing vigilant overlooking the fire. The main centerpiece was a massive and thick tower rising above with a dome roof on top. At its base were two storage buildings filled with goods and supplies.
“Welcome to Fort Snowy Range,” Elder Greybeard said as he led Stan through another boring tour. They reached the top of the tower where a blue minotaur was overlooking the other side of the mountain range through a pair of massive binoculars. Greybeard coughed to grab his attention, “Iron Will, I have brought the Albino One so you can take it from here.”
With that said, the elder left the observation room. It was a circular room with tables full or charts, maps, various tools, and a few scattered books scattered here and there. Iron Will stood still as he observed Stan for a moment before turning around and began polishing the pair of binoculars he was holding. “You are not really an albino, are you?” he asked as he continued to polish various telescopes located on the balcony surrounding the room.
“No,” Stan responded. He noticed that the room had no window or doors to the balcony but rather various open archways. The room was rather pleasant and he couldn’t feel any of the harsh winds though he could hear it. After a quick search he saw a small fireplace lit with the same ‘magic’ fire he saw bellow at the village and fort. It looked like ordinary fire but upon closer observation, he noticed that it gave different colored sparks. Some were blue, others green, and few of them pink; overall it looked quite gay.
“You’re not even a minotaur either, well then the prophecy be damned,” said Iron Will more to himself than to Stan. “Damn it, it’s hard to tell from the distance, could have sworn that you were an albino minotaur. The junk we got here is outdated to be honest. Should tell those cheapskate fools from above to upgrade our equipment. But no, now that the Crystal Empire is back they have higher priority.” Iron Will grunted and began to pace back and forth, “Well I can’t really complain being that, the Crystal Empire just reappeared recently and they need to be brought up to date more than we do. Now that we have a trade agreement with the Crystal Empire, it means that we don’t have to travel far anymore to reach the nearest trading hub.” The minotaur paused and stared at Stan as if he just noticed him for the first time. “Oh where are my manners, Iron Will is my name and when I’m not acting ambassador to the Crystal Empire, being a watchguard is my game. So who and what are you?”
“I am Stan,” he introduced himself. “I am a warrior, or maybe ranger, or something. I’m still not really decided. I proudly serve the High Elf King.”
“Elf King?” asked Iron Will. “Never heard of it. Tell me, what brings out here, where are you from?”
“I come from the forests of Larnion. But I am now a in the service of the High Elf King and the Elven Kingdom. As for why I am here, it was it was some weird portal that brought me here. You see, I was about the kick the crap out of the human army and the Fat Wizard King when all of sudden there were these strange lights and then I’m here.”
“Did you say ‘human’?” asked Iron Will with great interest.
“Yeah, the humans of Kupa Keep, They reside in the lands of Zaron and are our arch rivals. Their leader is a fat piece of shit.”
Iron will chucked at the last statement, “The scholar is going have a field day with you.” He walked towards a binocular stand pointing north and said, “Come here and take a look.”
Stan stepped out to the balcony. He saw the wind and bits of snow collide against the invisible barrier, giving a pale ghostly look. He peeked inside the binocular and glanced over the mountains. The land below had an eerie feel to it, Stan felt unexplainable shivers as he continued to glance through the binoculars. “I can’t see anything but snow,” he told Iron Will. The frozen land below did appear to be barren but the minotaurs long knew that the land was quite deceitful.
“Well looks can be deceiving,” said Iron Will. “What you are looking at is one of the most dangerous places in the world. Some poor schmuck can travel what seems to an empty field and then end up as lunch for a pack of frostwolves in less than a minute. What else do you see?”
“Nothing,” Stan responded as he took his eyes off the binoculars, “I can’t see anything, there’s a whole bunch of thick fog down below.
Iron Will looked down to observer, the thick grey unnatural fog had returned. “Yeah, that happens. We don’t know much about that fog other than its unpredictable. It just appears out of nowhere and then goes away. Sometimes it’s only there for a few seconds, sometimes it can last days. Only one fool has ever been trapped inside of one and lived to tell us what it’s like. All he said was it was dark and cold and he could hear voices. All he said was the voices talking about eternal night some other nonsense like that.” He walked to another binocular stand pointing south, “But enough about that. Here, have a look through this one.”
Stan peeked in and saw the opposite of what he had seen earlier. The white snow on the ground gradually reduced the farther he looked. He saw railroad tracks heading from a settlement below heading out to some kind of settlement shining in the distance. In the center of the city that seemed to be made out of crystal.
“That’s the Crystal Empire,” explained Iron Will, “Hard to believe that it only reappeared a few years ago.”
The door to the room slammed opened as and tall beefy muscle-bound minotaur walked into the room. He glanced at Stan and Iron Will before he chuckled, “I know that this job is easy Iron Will, and we don’t do much but sit on our lazy bums all day. But that doesn't mean you can take your boyfriend out sightseeing.”
“Shut up Stone Wall,” growled Iron Will, “You want pick a fight with Iron Will?”
“No need to have a stick up your ass,” said Stone Wall, “It’s my shift now, well unless you want to continue. I can give you two some privacy if you want.” With a cheeky smile he headed out the room.
“Get your lazy ass back here and do your damn job fool!” Iron Will ran and quickly had Stone Wall locked in full nelson. “Now apologize or I shall penalize, starting with your face with my fist!”
“Fine, just get your filthy hands off me!” protested Stone Wall. “I’m sorry, okay?”
“It’ll have to do,” Iron Will gave a deep grunt of indignation and released Stone Wall.
“I’m sorry that you’re a stupid son of a bull!” shouted Stone Wall as he gave a gut punch, “You shouldn’t have let your guard down.”
Stan watched as the two minotaurs wrestled as they exchanged punches and kicks in between grapples. It was disappointing really; the minotaurs did not know the ways of fighting or even real wrestling. Stan moved out of their path as Iron Will shoved Stone wall against a table. There was a loud clatter as the equipment on the table was knocked off and smashed against the floor.
With a loud bang was the door knocked off its hinges as a rather irritated minotaur rushed into the room. “Okay, what’s with all the damned noise?!” he shouted. The new minotaur had a wild appearance to him; he was tan with a black bushy beard that was beginning to gray. Part of his right ear was missing and he had tattoos running down his arms. The tattooed minotaur spotted the two fighting minotaurs and hurried to separate the two. “Okay knock it off, knock it off you two,” he scolded them. The minotaurs did not listen, Stone Wall was preoccupied with holding Iron Will in a headlock. “Well if you are going to act like bitches,” the tattooed minotaur grumbled, “I guess I’ll treat you like one.”
*Smack!*
Iron Will and Stone Wall yelped as they nursed their cheeks. The tattooed minotaur walked towards a flipped table and picked up a broken brass telescope. “As you can see, shit like this is exactly why we can’t have nice things!” he barked. “You ask why we don’t get shiny new equipment. Because most of our damned budget goes to maintenance and repair work!” He tossed the broken telescope to Iron Will, “Take this to the scholar for repairs.” Iron Will grumbled as he caught the telescope.
“Before you leave,” the tattooed minotaur continued, “I want you to know that you're going to be on fire watch duty for two weeks.”
“What!” protested Iron Will indignantly, “You can’t be serious!”
“Oh I’m serious,” said Greybeard coldly, “I don’t care if you two beat the crap out of each other but do it during your own leisure not when you're under my fucking watch. What you do when you’re off duty is your own damn businesses, so if you have a bone to pick with someone, do it then! Preferably in the arena,” he growled, “that’s why it’s there!”
He then turned to face Stone Wall who had a wide grin on his face enjoying Iron Will’s punishment. “What are you laughing at?” barked the tattooed minotaur, “While Iron Will busy making a fool out of himself down below, you are going take over his shift.” He then pointed at the door that had been knocked over, “You can start by having that fixed.”
The tattooed minotaur then noticed Stan for the first time, “Who are you?” he asked.
“He’s the ‘Albino Minotaur’ that was spotted today,” said Iron Will.
“You must think I’m stupid or something,” growled the tattooed minotaur. “Clearly it’s neither an albino nor a minotaur. Make that three weeks on fire watch of insulting my intelligence!” He then said to Stan, “It’s a shame we couldn’t meet under better circumstances, but I’m Major Bush Greybeard.” He then added in a deadpan voice after seeing Stan’s expression, “Elder Greybeard is my uncle.”
“Well then, I am Sta-“but Stan didn’t get to finish his introduction.
“Look, I don’t have time to talk,” Major Greybeard interrupted, “I have reports to send and things to do. I’m in charge of maintaining order in this region and I’m also in charge of this fort. Mostly it’s just dealing with reports and paperwork, but occasionally I have to deal with shit like this.” He glared at Iron Will and Stone Wall yet again. “Well I must be going now, I have to patch things up with Canterlot after my dumb uncle sent false reports about bad omens and an oncoming evil.”
“I shouldn’t let him hang out with the scholar. That old nut is mental I swear.” Major Greybeard whispered in a low growl. With that he hopped over the broken door gave a final instruction to Stone Wall on fixing the door and left.
“Well Stan, I guess I should take you to see the scholar now.” said Iron Will in awkward voice.
Stan followed Iron Will down the tower now feeling extremely bored. “Is there a way out of here?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” responded Iron Will.
“You know,” said Stan irritated, “Is there a way to get far away from here?”
“Oh yeah,” said Iron Will, he then pointed out more things that Stan could care less about, “Well to answer your question Stan, the only safe way to travel to and from here is the train. The train station is located at Sun Village which is accessible through the ropeways. In fact the ropeways are connected to all the mining settlements in this area. There’s the Lunar Mining Village, Camp Coal, Crystal Camp, Ore Town, and Goldminer Village (that’s the one Elder Greybeard is in charge of).”
They arrived at the door of the scholar’s study. Iron Will knocked on the door to which a voice replied, “Come in.”
The scholar was an ancient pale lilac unicorn. He had an aged grey beard and mane that appeared to be unkempt for a quite a while. He was wearing a thick pair of military glasses and was busy reading a chart. “So what can I do for you?” he said in a high pitched raspy voice.
“I have a telescope that needs repairs,” said Iron Will.
“What?” said the scholar with raised eyebrows, “Again? This like the third time you brought a broken instrument this month.” He lifted the telescope with his magic and began to examine it. “You broke some parts and others are too damaged to fix. But it’s nothing that I can’t manage. So is the telescope the only piece of business you have here?”
“Nope, I also have the ‘Albino One’ that you predicted would arrive.”
The scholar adjusted his glasses and then began to give Iron Will a look of indignation, “I know I have poor eyesight but that doesn’t mean I’m blind. I see no one else other than you Iron Will.”
Iron Will turned around to see that Stan was not there. Unknown to him, Stan was already halfway down the ropeway at the moment heading towards Sun Village. “I swear he was here a moment ago,” he said weakly.
“Albino One,” chortled the scholar, “What good will an albino do? I mean they have bad eyesight and a more prone to illnesses. Hardly the heroic type I must say.”
“Hey, you’re the one that told me about the Albino One in the first place. You kept saying something about how he would defeat the great evil that looms in the distance,” said Iron Will defensively.
“Really?” said the scholar dismissively, “Must have been when I was stargazing. You know I like to burn the herbs when I’m stargazing.” Iron Will saw that he was pointing at a glass pipe located on a shelf.
With a grunt Iron Will left the room. “I really hate this job,” he grumbled to himself, “I shouldn’t have stopped giving seminars.”
♕----------♕
Location: Ponyville
The New Kid and the Crusaders were once again resuming on their quest after resting at the home of fair maiden Dinky. Now they were patrolling the streets of Ponyville keeping their eyes wide open for any sign of the ever elusive packages.
“Any sign of them?” asked Scootaloo in tone that was indicating that she was getting bored.
“Calm down Scoots,” said an irritated Apple Bloom, “We’ve only been at for an hour, maybe hour n’ half.”
“Fine,” said Scootaloo, “But next time we get in a battle, I want to take Apple Bloom’s place.”
“What?!” shouted Apple Bloom in outrage. “Why don’t you take Sweetie Belle’s place, she has the lowest health and strength among all of us!”
“Hey, I’m not weak!” shouted Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah, but Sweetie Belle is a glass cannon thing,” said Scootaloo while ignoring Sweetie Belle’s comment, “She may have a weak defense and low health but she can deal massive damage, you on the other hoof can’t even perform your ability!”
“I’m not weak!” shouted Sweetie Belle again but the other crusaders did not seem to hear her.
“But Sweetie Belle is the slowest one out of all of us,” argued Apple Bloom.
“Maybe,” Scootaloo responded now facing Apple Bloom straight at the eye, “But she gets a speed bonus while casting spells. So while she may be slow to react and give a physical attack, she can quickly cast spells that deal a big chunk of damage. I just think it’s my turn to take your place in battle because so far you’re the least effective member.”
“What da’ ya mean?!” roared an outraged Apple Bloom. She was getting in defensive stance.
“What I mean is that you can’t even perform your first ability right,” said Scootaloo. “I mean that’s why I should take your place, you’re not ready yet.”
Apple Bloom glared at Scootaloo, the two fillies were now nose to nose staring at each other. Before either could make a move they would regret Apple Bloom felt something warm on her shoulder. It was the New Kid; he had his hand firmly placed on Apple Bloom’s shoulder. Apple Bloom felt a warm sensation traveled through her cheeks and quickly turned away. “Fine, Scootaloo can take my place,” she said softly. She then said in a much louder tone, “But that means that we are going to take turns and rotate after battles!”
The New Kid nodded in agreement and once Apple Bloom understood she relaxed.
“Why do we have to battle in a party of three?” she asked, “Who came up with these dumb rules?”
The New Kid merely shrugged. In truth, he never did question the rules of the game. Why he was only allowed one buddy at a time while fighting groups of enemies more than twice their number and size was beyond him. Discord must have changed the rules or something when he took control of the Stick. But what he changed was beyond him, he had no idea where Discord went with Butters.
Scootaloo took a deep breath and apologized to Apple Bloom, to which she also replied with an apology. With that problem solved, the New Kid and the crusaders continued on the quest to find the rest of the missing packages.
“I’m not slow!” screamed an irritated Sweetie Belle. There was a pause as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shared forced smiles.
“Of course not Sweetie Belle. So uh… eh,” said Apple Bloom trying to dismiss the awkwardness of the situation and away from a blushing Sweetie Belle, “Uh, so what’s your ability Scootaloo?”
“Oh it’s called ‘Slay the Giant’; first I ram the enemy with my scooter,” explained Scootaloo making swishing movements with her front hooves. “Once the enemy is knocked over I use my mighty sling and clunk them in the head with a stone.” She pulled out a pouch that contained various frilly socks of many different colors. “Now I have use for these.”
“I remember those,” said Sweetie Belle as she examined the socks, “It was a few years ago when Princess Luna came back. Once some newspaper printed that Princess Luna liked socks, everypony went crazy over them. Rarity wouldn’t stop complaining about why it wasn’t dresses instead.”
After searching the park and woods, the crusaders decided to try out the marketplace. When they arrived there the marketplace was filled with activity, it wasn’t crowded nor were there lot ponies. There were maybe around forty or fifty ponies shopping, chatting, or socializing. They went to the Apple Family’s stand where Big Mac had finished a sale of a basket of apples. After managing to finish the paperwork ahead of time, he decided to set up the apple stand for some afternoon sales.
"Hiya big brother!" greeted Apple Bloom with a wide grin.
"Eeyup." replied red farm pony. Big McIntosh was refilling the display with more apples.
"We are on a quest to find Derpy's missing packages, have you seen any?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Nope." said Big Mac.
"Ah drats," said Apple Bloom deflating a little, "Well I'm not giving up yet, and we’ll find them packages!"
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh turned then stared at the New Kid who also returned a stare of his own. Few shall ever comprehend the magnitude of the conversation that those two had without saying a single word.
"This is the New Kid," said Scootaloo, "Well that's not his name, and come to think of it, I don't really know his name." Yet her words went ignored by Big Mac who was now having an intense philosophical discussion with the New Kid.
"I thought his name was Douchebag," said Sweetie Belle.
"Of course his name is not Douchebag!" shouted Apple Bloom. "Um, what's a douchebag?"
Normally Big McIntosh would have scolded the fillies for such language but he was distracted with his conversation with the New Kid to notice. It's rare to find an intellectual that spoke his language.
"Eeyup." he grunted at the end of the discussion.
The Kid merely blinked.
Friend Request
7. Big McIntosh
The crusaders explored rest of the marketplace asking vendors and shoppers alike if they had seen Derpy or missing packages. To their disappointment, none of them had. They were about to give up on their search when they heard a loud noise coming from a nearby stand.
“No! Stay back you foul beings!” screamed a voice followed by the noise of a vase being smashed into bits. “No, not the petunias! It took me forever to get those to grow just right!” There was loud scream the followed the sound of another vase shattering.
The New Kid and the Crusader rushed towards the commotion and saw that this part of the marketplace was a mess. Some of the market stands were knocked down. There were produce scattered all over and in the middle of the street there was a pink earth pony with a green mane crying as she cuddled the remains of her petunias while other one was comforting her.
“They’re the flower ponies,” said Apple Bloom. “The one crying is Daisy, the pink one with the yellow mane next to her is Lily and the yellow one over there shouting is Rose.”
Rose was standing next to a flipped table and was indeed screaming at something. “Come back here, you no good hooligans! How dare commit such acts of horror! How dare you deflower us! How dare you!”
“What’s going on Miss Rose?” asked Sweetie Belle, making sure to maintain a safe distance from the screaming mare.
“It’s them!” screamed Rose as she pointed at something with her hoof. The New Kid saw that it was a gang of bunnies; each of them was wearing a coat or jacket. Some of them had headbands others were wearing bandanas and a few of them had sunglasses. They were making rude gestures at the flower ponies before running off and vanishing from sight.
“What in Equestria was that?” Scootaloo asked what the others were thinking.
“Where did they get those clothes?” asked Sweetie Belle, “I’m pretty sure that’s not one Rarity’s designs.
“Musta’ been Fluttershy,” said Apple Bloom. “Applejack said once that Fluttershy knows a bit about clothes making. Maybe she made those outfits?”
“But why?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Yes,” said Rose, “Why? I thought that Fluttershy was good with animals, then why is there gang of bunnies running loose and wrecking things? And who are you?” she asked once she noticed the New Kid.
“Oh this is the New Kid,” said Apple Bloom, “He’s an adventurer that likes to help ponies out.”
“Oh really then,” said Rose observing the New kid closely, “Well then, why don’t you go to Fluttershy and get to the bottom of this? It would really nice if to put up a flower stand without having our flowers being trampled on or eaten. Could you do us this one favor and stop that gang of bunnies from destroying our flowers please?”
The New Kid sighed internally, he knew he had no choice when it came to these things. That didn’t meant he liked going on errands and fixing other’s problems. Sure some quests were fun and others were not as much. But at long as he got reward in the end it didn’t matter much.
QUEST ADDED
“Furry Little Problems”
Objective: Talk to Fluttershy about the misbehaving bunnies
“Hey!” said an irritated Scootaloo, “We haven’t even finished our first quest and now we have another one to do?”
♕----------♕
Location: Canterlot Royal Institute for Guidance and Rehabilitation (CRIGAR)
Silver Star woke up with a throbbing pain on the back of her head. The flickering of the light stung her eyes as she tried to her balance. She gave a deep groan and began to observe her surroundings. Lying a few feet away from her was the strange creature from earlier still asleep. She was locked in a dim cell and she could tell that the cell door had and advance enchantment on it. Even if she knew how to break the enchantment, she couldn’t because one glance at a mirror revealed that she had a magic inhibitor on her horn. Magic inhibitors are rings that are used to control dangerous unicorns, pacify magic surges, and occasional bondage. Since Silver Star agreed that what happened during college should stay at college, she knew that it wasn't the latter.
“This is a miscarriage of justice!” she roared through the cell bars. “Let me out of here you bloody fools. You damn well know I’m innocent!” She gave the door a hard buck to which the enchantment responded with an electric shock. “Captain Asepsis you bastard, you know that that the Princesses will have your hide once they figure out that you are abusing your powers!”
Silver Star was engulfed with a pale blue aura and was tossed across the cell. She gave a yelp of pain as she slid down the wall. She heard cackles and hoots coming down the hall. The ragged and rather ugly unicorns appeared in front of her cell. Behind them was the one unicorn that she wanted to tear apart, Captain Asepsis of the Royal Guard. “Oh I believe that I am well within my powers. I shall uphold my duties as the protector of the citizens of Canterlot.”
“Citizens of Canterlot?” screamed Silver Star, “Citizens of Canterlot? Since when did you care about the Citizens of Canterlot? You always turn a blind eye to their pleas!”
“I care about the true citizens of Canterlot!” growled Captain Asepsis. “Don’t you understand that you stupid filly? Canterlot was founded by unicorns—for unicorns. I intend to restore this city to its former glory.”
“You speak of treason!” Silver Star shouted so loudly that she was surprised that the strange creature didn’t wake up from all the noise. “I never did like you and I have no bloody idea why they made you the new captain. How did they let a git like you become captain?”
Captain Asepsis’ eyes narrowed and were filled with loathing. “I would suggest,” he muttered, “That you best learn your place; because once our plan is set to motion, things will be changing around here. Riffraff like your won’t be tolerated.”
Silver Star buried her face into her hooves, they were a bit sore and the marks from cuffs were still visible. "Were you dropped as a foal? Are you really that mental are you are just stubborn? There are so many flaw with your plan I don't even know where your start. How exactly are you going to ‘restore’ Canterlot while also antagonizing at least two thirds of Equestria? Not to mention that you have to face not one but four princesses, all which I'm sure can easily take you down."
“I am taking calculated risks you stupid mare!” hissed the captain. “Before the princesses it was the duty of the unicorns to raise and lower the sun. The princesses may be powerful, but they are neither immortal nor omnipotent. Celestia was defeated by the changeling queen and did you now see the state of fear she was in when Tirek broke free?” He dragged Silver Star along the cell until she was floating in front of him.
“Yeah, and what good job you did to resolve those problems.” murmured Silver Star.
“We have nothing more to talk about,” Captain Asepsis snarled, “You just couldn’t follow orders like an obedient pup and now we have to put you down.” The two guards besides the captain gave a twisted smile that went ignored by the captain. “Your death is scheduled for tonight at midnight, but being the generous pony that I am, I decided to let you have a final request. So what would it be?”
“I would like a large bucket of popcorn,” said Silver Star, “Also I would like a lawn chair. So when this whole ordeal falls apart and smacks you across the face, I want a front row seat.”
Captain Asepsis gave a loud roar as he lit his horn. Silver Star felt a choking sensation and felt her breath shorten as she was levitated off the floor. It was the air was being squeezed from her and no matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to breath. The captain gave a deformed smile with a crooked grin as he strangled Silver Star, who was now turning purple from the lack of air. Deciding that she had enough, he flung her as hard as he could, straight to the concrete wall. There was a mighty thud from the impact and very thin cracks began to form on the wall. Captain Asepsis relished hearing the moans of pain coming from Silver Star. Feeling much better, he turned around and left with this two guards by his side.
“You know she does have a point,” said one of the two guards once they were walking down a hallway, “How do we know that this whole thing is going to work?”
Captain Asepsis glared at him for a few seconds and then continued walking on. Seeing that the captain wasn’t going to answer his question the guard decided to catch up to him. Once he caught up to him, the captain quickly turned around and smacked the guard across the face with the back of his hoof, “Shut up and don’t ask any questions! My plan is absolutely flawless.” He glared at the two guards, “So are you going stick with my plan or do you two idiots also want popcorn and a lawn chair?”
“Popcorn sounds nice,” said the guard nursing his cheek.
“Could really use a lawn chair,” responded the other guard.
Silver Star chuckled as she heard the captain’s screams as he dismissed the guards, traveling away from her cell. She couldn’t move much as her body was aching and throbbing with pain, she was sure that her right side was covered in bruises. “Totally…worth…it,” gasped Silver Star in between breaths. ”You’ll get…what’s coming… arsehole,” she muttered before passing out from the pain.
After Captain Asepsis left the prison, he was interrupted from his destination by another messenger. He was breathing heavily and had a face of urgency. “What is it this time?” Captain Asepsis rudely greeted the messenger.
“Captain,” said the messenger nervously, he was huffing quite a bit. “We have captured another of those stranger creatures.”
“And what does it matter to me?” barked the irritated captain. He had more important things to do and was rather looking forward to a relaxing afternoon. “Do whatever you want with the creature. Kill it or lock it up, It’s none of my concern.
“But Captain there’s something different about this one,” the messenger kept insisting “There’s something about her that I just can’t the words to describe. You have to see her for yourself.”
“Fine,” grumbled the captain, “Take me to the creature.”
Captain Asepsis followed the guard to where room where the creature was. Then when the captain saw her, he couldn’t believe it. Never before had he laid his eyes on such a sight. “Oh my,” he stuttered, “Sh-she she’s so…Kawaii!”