//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Beyond the Portal II: Flames of War // by Firestar463 //------------------------------// “ … And so you can clearly see why building an inn here would be far superior to constructing a lumber mill.” Kyle sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, barely resisting the urge to reach over the table and slap the buffoon who stood across from him. For two hours now he had sat and listened to this man ramble on and on about the benefits of having an inn stationed in his garrison rather than a lumber mill. And to be fair, a lot of his points were perfectly valid. Just not valid enough. “Your arguments have been noted,” he began, barely able to keep his voice steady. “But bear in mind that Ponyville is less than fifteen minutes away. An inn here would be redundant when any traveller could head into town and rest there. Meanwhile, we’re still constructing our fort here, and we need all the wood we can get.” “But sir, think about -” “Enough.” Though his voice did not increase in volume, it reverberated harshly through the room. “We are not building an inn here. We need resources, not extra relaxation. You are dismissed.” The man in front of him scowled, but offered no further argument. “Yes sir,” he mumbled, giving a half-assed salute before turning and walking away. The door slammed closed behind him, leaving Kyle alone at his desk. “Finally,” he groaned, sliding down slightly in his seat. He had been back in Equestria for only a couple of days, and already the stresses of managing his own garrison were beginning to catch up to him. He had thought that managing the army camp the month prior had been difficult, but this - building a permanent outpost from the ground up - this was tiring, even if he wasn’t the one actually building it. He knew that managing it once everything was set up would be far less effort, but for now, the tasks before him were never-ending, and oftentimes both conflicting and vitally important. His men, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy their work. Perhaps it was the sense of ease that permeated the air of this world, or perhaps it was the excitement of building the first Alliance structure in Equus, but the workers and foremen and architects all threw themselves at their work with vigour. Thankfully, this made Kyle’s job a bit easier, as he very rarely had to deal with worker morale. The men had even come up with a name for the garrison - Ironwall. And of course, there were plenty of upsides to his new position. His garrison was only a few minutes away from Ponyville, so the friends he had made had dropped in to visit him several times already. Even Princess Celestia had stopped by the day before to see how progress on the garrison was coming. She had assured him that stone for the final walls was being procured even as they spoke, but until then they had had to make do with wooden walls. Scootaloo, too, had been by to visit nearly every day after school. Though Kyle was often busy managing Ironwall, the two had found time to continue their training. With the Sha threat over, Kyle had toned back their combat training significantly, focusing instead on the core principles of being a monk - self-control, not allowing emotions to control actions, and serenity even under stress. Kyle had to admit, he had slacked a bit with her in these areas before, but now he was beginning to patch the holes in her training. And in his own training as well. His realization during his battle with the Sha of Hatred - that he had never truly controlled himself, but merely learned to shove his emotions temporarily aside - had shaken him for a time, but now he was determined to re-learn. He studied and trained just as hard as his apprentice, and though he still had not rid himself of his old habits, he was certain that he would soon enough. A knock at the door drew Kyle from his musings. He opened one eye and glared irritably at the source of the offending noise, hoping that whoever was interrupting his peace would go away. Alas, his hopes were dashed by a second knock, louder this time. He sighed and pushed himself upright in his chair, setting his face in a neutral expression. “Enter,” he called out. The door swung open to reveal a short, female Gnome. Kyle’s irritation melted away as Filwin Springfizzle stepped in, clutching a clipboard in one hand and a pencil in the other. Though slightly taller than most Gnomes, Filwin still only came up to Kyle’s waist. Her pink hair was tied back in its usual pigtails, and her green eyes were hidden behind the goggles she always wore. She handled many of the day-to-day operations around Ironwall, greatly easing the workload on him. Good-humored but at the same time hard-working and efficient, Kyle had instantly taken a liking to Filwin as she had helped him set up the garrison, and he had quickly named her his prime assistant. “Ah, Filwin, come in, come in,” he called out, ushering her into his office. The Gnome smiled a knowing smile and closed the door behind her as she stepped into the room. She scrambled up into the chair on the other side of the desk and placed her clipboard down on the desk. “How can I help you?” “Just the daily progress report, sir,” Filwin announced. She slid the clipboard over to him, and he picked it up to bring it to eye-level. “Along with a few - ah, other things.” “Just a second,” Kyle murmured as he gazed down at the progress report. The southern wall, which stood between Ironwall and the Everfree Forest, was nearly complete, and would likely be finished by the end of the day. Construction on the barracks was underway, though it would likely take a while yet for them to be inhabitable. Three other plots of land had been set aside for future buildings - one of them, he already knew, for a lumber mill - while construction on the third of his three small research stations had been completed. Strangely, there was no report on either the other two small buildings. Kyle flipped to the second page of the report. A small smile crept across his face as he read the reports his men had filed on their missions out in the field. So far, they had managed to take down a Manticore that had been creeping around the outskirts of the forest near Ironwall, and begun harvesting some timber from the designated locations that Celestia had given to them. It wasn’t much, but it was a solid start. “Excellent. Thanks Filwin,” he said as he set the clipboard back down on the desk. “Now, what were these ‘other things’ that you mentioned?” “Well firstly, I assume you noticed the engineering works and enchanter’s study both lacked a report there,” the Gnome began. Kyle nodded in response. “Well, there isn’t much to report from them. They’re both busy with their current researches, but otherwise nothing worth noting on a report.” “However, there was something else,” she continued. “A few of the guards have reported seeing a large, serpentine creature sneaking around at night. They say it resembled a Cloud Serpent, but… well, strange, for lack of a better word.” “How so?” Kyle asked, leaning forward. “According to one report, its limbs seemed mismatched,” FIlwin explained. “Another said it had two mismatched horns.” A flash of recognition ran through Kyle, and he grimaced slightly. “I’m… guessing you know about this, sir?” Filwin asked. “Yeah, I know what they’re talking about,” Kyle murmured. “His name is Discord. Very powerful creature of pure chaos. Not exactly good, not exactly bad. He helped us in our war against the Sha. If they see him again, he’s to be treated as an ally, but also with caution. I don’t think he’ll give us any real trouble, but he’s known to cause mischief wherever he goes.” “I’ll pass on the message, sir.” “Was there anything else?” “Just a personal suggestion sir, but you might want to take a look at the progress yourself,” Filwin commented. She glanced around and leaned in close, standing on her chair to reach over the desk. “I know how much you hate being stuck in a stuffy old office like this. Go out and get some fresh air.” This brought a grin to his face. “An excellent idea,” he agreed. “Just let me finish these last few papers and I think I’ll call it a day.” Filwin grinned as well as she lowered herself down from the chair. “Any instructions for the foremen, sir?” she asked. “One of those medium-sized plots of land should be reserved for a lumber mill,” Kyle replied, pulling a small stack of papers in front of himself. “We’re gonna need the wood badly, and any excess can go back home for the war effort. Other than that, no further instructions.” “Got it.” Filwin grabbed her clipboard and pencil off of the desk and turned away. She stepped out of the office and closed the door behind her, leaving Kyle alone once more. Kyle turned his attention to the stack of papers in front of him. The top one made him groan in dread. “Command wants another update?” he muttered under his breath. “I just sent them one last night!” Still, if the commanders back in Stormwind wanted an update, he had to provide one. He reached over for his mug of coffee, which had helped to stave off the brisk autumn air for the past hour or so. Now, however, it was barely lukewarm. He quickly drained the mug of its contents and picked up his pen, ready to rid himself of this load of paperwork Thankfully, the progress report didn’t take him too long. It ended up essentially becoming a summary of the update that Filwin had provided him, along with the usual requests for more rations and other supplies. He set his pen aside and sighed as he set the report off to the other side of his desk, making a mental note to send it off to Stormwind when he returned. For now, however, the office seemed far too cramped and claustrophobic for his liking. He pulled a leather jacket over himself before throwing the door to his office open. He closed it behind him and followed the hallway, soon emerging outside of the town hall. Filwin’s report, he noted, had barely done justice to the amount of progress that had been made. The wall standing between Ironwall and the forest looked essentially done, with only a few pieces of scaffold remaining to indicate that it was not yet fully complete. Most of the other walls were taking shape as well, though a few were still nothing more than hastily-erected wooden barricades. The barracks were well underway, and Kyle could begin to see the interior of the building beginning to take shape as he wandered past it. As he wandered through the garrison, many of the workers stopped to salute or greet him, and he in turn would greet them. They had all heard of his adventures in Equus, heard of his battle with the Sha, heard of his brush with death. They respected him, and he in turn respected their dedication to their work. Still, after the fiftieth “Greetings, commander” (Or was it the hundredth? He had lost count), he had begun to tire of the formalities. A quick word with the watchman on duty, and Kyle was walking away from his garrison, leaving it and the work behind. Instead, he turned his feet towards Ponyville. Within minutes, he found himself walking down the familiar streets. Here, too, the passerby greeted him. But their greetings were less formal and more friendly, as one would greet a neighbor rather than a superior officer. He found himself smiling as he passed Sugarcube Corner, and his mouth watered slightly as he smelled the delicious scent of fresh-baked pastries. But rather than stop for a bite to eat, Kyle decided to at least accomplish something of use while he was in town. He abruptly turned off of the main street, and soon found himself in front of the library. He raised his hand and knocked before turning the knob and entering. “Hello?” a voice called out from upstairs as he shut the door behind him. A very familiar voice, one which brought a smile to Kyle’s face. Seconds later, a purple head poked itself out from around the corner next to the stairs. “Kyle!” Twilight exclaimed. She nearly tripped over herself in her haste to run down the stairs. “How are you doing?” “I’m doing well, thanks for asking,” Kyle smiled. “And you?” “Same as always. What are you doing here? I thought you were busy with your garrison.” “I found a bit of time to slip away,” Kyle replied with a chuckle. “So what’s the news from Azeroth?” Twilight asked. “Nothing much. We found out what happened to Garrosh though.” Kyle found his smile turn slightly bitter. “The Warchief before him, Thrall, challenged him to the Mak’gora - the duel of honor. To the death.” “Oh my.” Twilight’s eyes went wide. “And Garrosh is the one that started this whole mess on Draenor, right?” “One of the pair, yes. He’s also caused plenty of suffering on Azeroth on his own. So the two fought in one-on-one combat. Garrosh was the stronger warrior, but Thrall is a Shaman. He summoned the elements, and killed Garrosh. He’s finally dead.” “I never thought I’d approve of the killing of another sentient creature...” Twilight began slowly. “But if what you say about Garrosh is true… then I suppose it was for the best.” “Yep. Now it’s just a matter of cleaning up the mess he made. Easier said than done though.” Kyle plopped himself down onto one of the couches in the middle of the library, situated in front of a crackling fireplace. “So what about you?” he asked. “How’re things going here in Ponyville?” “Quiet,” Twilight replied. She chuckled lightly. “A nice change of pace, if you ask me.” “Agreed,” Kyle nodded. “Let’s hope they stay that way.” “Twilight!” Another voice called from upstairs. Kyle looked towards the stairwell just in time to see a short, purple figure rush past him. Spike paused in front of Twilight, holding a bound scroll in his claws. “It’s a letter from Princess Celestia,” he explained. “And it sounds urgent.” Kyle and Twilight exchanged a glance. “... Or not.” he sighed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The corridors were far emptier than she had remembered them. Before, they had been filled with a mass of bodies, jostling to get past each other, Now, only a few scattered individuals wandered here and there, many with distant, vacant expressions glazing over their faces. Not that that was surprising. Not after what they had been through. Yxia pushed the door to her throne room open and stepped inside. Even the massive room, usually empty, somehow felt far less inviting than it had before Chrysalis’s takeover. Even now, nearly a month afterwards, Yxia could still sense the foul taint of the Sha’s twisted energies. Though she suspected that they were harmless by this point, their mere presence this long after the defeat of the source spoke volumes about how deeply their corruption had spread into the hive. Still, things were better today than they had been even last week. She had sent a silent prayer of thanks (though to whom she didn’t know) as she found security all across Equestria loosen. No doubt the work of Twilight and Kyle. She knew that they would have suggested to Princess Celestia to relax the anti-Changeling measures that had been so stringently enforced during Chrysalis’s reign. Now, her infiltrators had once again rooted themselves into cities all across Equestria. Many had wanted to continue Chrysalis’s work, but Yxia had made it clear - they were not to start another campaign against the Ponies. Instead, the infiltrators were ordered to gather as much love as possible to feed the Empire, which had been slowly dying of starvation. Her subjects were now satiated, and no longer hungered constantly. Their supply of love had begun to fill up once more. Compared to the previous Empress, this was a time of great bounty, and most of her Changelings seemed to acknowledge this. But that didn’t mean that all were content. Already, three warriors had stepped forward to challenge her to a duel to the death. All three of them had been young upstarts, whose first battle had been the conflict against the Alliance army outside of Hive Regali. None of them had lasted more than a minute against the battle-hardened Empress, and the head of her most recent opponent was still mounted upon a spike next to her throne. Still, others voiced their displeasure in less direct means. They had been Chrysalis’s biggest supporters, those who had joined the false empress out of choice rather than coercion. Much of Yxia’s energy was spent keeping these malcontents in line and preventing them from instigating another rebellion. Yxia sat heavily upon her throne and let out a great sigh. How she longed to simply retire to her quarters and sleep. But alas, her day was not yet complete. A sheet of parchment rested upon the arm of her chair, and she levitated it in front of her face to read it. As she read the hastily scrawled note, her expression became far more focused. She glanced around the throne room before igniting the parchment, incinerating it and the message upon it. She hopped back off of her throne and exited the room once more, turning back up the hallway which she had just travelled down A few moments later, and Yxia was standing before another set of double doors. Two Changelings stood guard outside, with a third awaiting her arrival. “Empress,” the Changeling greeted her with a bow. “What is this about, commander?” Yxia asked. She still found the transition from a common Changeling to a Queen jarring - her voice had finally changed the week before, becoming similar to Chrysalis’s but with a distinctly higher pitch. “As my message stated, an intruder was found in the Hive,” the commander began. “A strange creature we have not seen before. We found him wandering through the halls. He did not attempt to hide or flee, and did not resist capture. He did not say how he located our hive, or what his purposes are. He demanded only that he meet with you.” “Did he say what about?” “No, Empress. I’m sorry, but he refused to speak any further.” Yxia frowned. “Double the patrols,” she instructed. “I don’t want another intruder getting in here while we’re still so vulnerable. In the meantime, I’ll see what this creature wants and deal with it accordingly.” “Yes, Empress.” The commander saluted once more and galloped away. Yxia watched as he rounded the corner before turning her attention back to the doors in front of her. “Guards, remain out here. Nothing comes in, and nothing comes out without me.” The guards saluted as well, and one opened the door to allow Yxia inside, closing it behind her. The room was completely barren save for a simple wooden chair in the center. A single, glowing crystal protruded from the ceiling, illuminating the figure sitting in the chair. Yxia noted that the creature, though covered from head to hoof in a long flowing robe, was bipedal, similar to Kyle. However, it clearly was not a Human - it seemed far too hunched over and too tall.. Besides which, the commander had said he had never seen a creature like this before, and he had clearly encountered Humans in the past. “You have requested my presence, intruder,” Yxia began, keeping her voice even yet with the threat of punishment heavy upon her words. “State your business.” The creature slowly raised its arm up towards its face. It’s robe fell down, revealing three thick, blue fingers. The fingers wrapped themselves around the hood which concealed its face. Slowly the hood was lowered, revealing a sharp, angled face; bright-green hair tied up into multiple braids; and a pair of sharp fangs jutting from its lower jaw. One of its tusks had been pierced, and a golden ring inserted through it. But most unnerving of all were his eyes, which glowed a deep, blood red. The creature looked up at Yxia with its deep red eyes and stared directly at her. For a long moment, neither side spoke, simply staring at each other in a battle of wills. Finally, the strange creature smirked slightly. Slowly, it opened its mouth. “Greetin’s, mon.”