Chapter 10: Translation error. Please try again later.
Trixie placed the unconscious bodies beneath the shadow of a building, and checked how much time she had left. The one with a haemorrhage was going to be awake soon. She couldn’t move quickly and quietly enough to get all of them to her destination in time, so she opted for taking anonymous Pegasus #3 and leaving the rest in a magical perception field, so they remained undiscovered. She decided, for time’s sake, to carry the stallion fire-pony style, and if anyone asked, she was taking him to the hospital to recover.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rainbow Dash sped through the sky, supposing they must have gotten lost on the way to sugar cube corner. There was no evidence of them being there, and no sign of Pinkie. Maybe she has a sense for new ponies in town, Dash thought, as she scanned the streets below. Suddenly she spotted a creature she’d never seen before, neither as an individual nor a species, being accompanied by a chestnut Earth pony and gold-clad unicorn. It was standing on its hind legs, and moving at the same speed as the ponies trotting alongside it. She would have mistaken it for a Diamond dog, but it had no tail and nothing could possibly be that ugly. She decided it must be some kind of ape which some pony shaved and put in a suit for laughs.
Making the connection between the unicorn below and her missing pegasi, Rainbow Dash flew down to greet them. George, who hadn’t really been watching where he was going in order to get lost quickly, was the first to see the blue shape gliding towards them, and alerted his companions in horse code, which was exactly the same as Earth’s Morse code.
“.... . -.-- --. ..- -.-- ... --..-- .-- .... .- - .----. ... - .... .- - ..--..” He asked, squinting to see the figure silhouetted against the moon. “.. -.-. .- -. .----. - --.- ..- .. - . -- .- -.- . .. - --- ..- - --..-- “
“Stop talking like that. Ever since you learned it you’ve been speaking in Horse code for any situation in which haste is preferable in response.” Scolded the Doctor, calculating a translation as he did so, then looking up and continuing “And to answer your question,–“
“It appears to be an adult female Pegasus. But that might be because I’m more experienced at seeing familiar shapes in unfamiliar territory. I feel old now,” Said Golden Shield, cutting him off as he knew horse code fluently and could decode it faster than the doctor. Continuing he said “Well, I decoded a language faster than the doctor. I suppose I consider that an achievement. My life is now complete,”
George shuddered, before saying “-.-- --- ..- -.- -. --- .-- --..-- -.-- --- ..- .-. . -- .. -. -.. -- . --- ..-. .- --. ..- -.-- .. -.- -. . .-- -... .- -.-. -.- .... --- -- . .-.-.- .- .-.. .-- .- -.-- ... ... .- -.-- ... ... - ..- ..-. ..-. .-.. .. -.- . .-..-. .. -.-. --- -. ... .. -.. . .-. - .... .- - .- -. .- -.-. .... .. . ...- . -- . -. - .-..-. .- -. -.. .-..-. -- -.-- .-.. .. ..-. . .. ... -. --- .-- -.-. --- -- .--. .-.. . - . .-..-. .-.-.- .. .-- --- -. -.. . .-. .-- .... . -. .. .----. .-.. .-.. -... . .- -... .-.. . - --- ... . . .... .. -- .- --. .- .. -. .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.-“ seeing the glare from the doctor while it could be seen behind his eyes his mind worked furiously, he sheepishly added “Well, I can see our friend clearly now. Let’s say hello to her,”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, then,” Golden Shield replied, leading the way “Ho! What be your bidding, lass?” He greeted in what he thought was the local dialect.
“Huh? I came down here to see if you guys know a Stallion named ‘Featherback’. Heard of him?” Said Rainbow Dash, assuming that what she heard as an insult was some weird army word.
“Heard of im’? Aye lass, we be knowin’ a bilge rat by that name,” Replied Constantine, assuming that Golden Shield was making a joke, and if he weren’t something to be used as a joke at his expense. “We’ve been sailin’ aimlessly round ‘ere to find the lad,”
“Uhhh…Does that mean you haven’t seen him either? I honestly have no clue what you’re saying,”
Grinning sheepishly, Golden Shield continued “Err, sorry. Just thought shire folk talked like that, and Constantine was making fun of my mistake. No, we came here looking for him when we didn’t receive word from him. Why do you want him?”
Now it was Rainbow’s turn to grin sheepishly “Well, he kinda asked me to do a couple of things for him, and I sorta forgot when I had to stop for one, so I came back to try and find him,” She looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to remember if there had been anything else, before concluding “I think one of them was out cold, so I figured they’d probably go to sugar cube corner, but when I went there, there was no sign,”
“Take me there. They were probably taken captive by enemies of the Republic, and ones with magic no less. I’ll see if I can detect where any was used,” ordered Golden Shield. Seeing and recognising the look of confusion on Rainbow Dash’s face, he explained “Whenever a unicorn uses magic, it leaves a trace. Very simple spells like, for example, levitating a pebble,” He stopped to demonstrate “Leave a weak trace for a short time, maybe an hour for a sensitive horn and a roughly head sized rock. Our friends happen to be quite a bit larger than pebbles, and a simple levitation spell would never hold them. There should be traces detectable to foals for the next week, at least. Furthermore, different unicorns leave a different feeling trace, so I’ll be able to tell you when I find the pony that did it.”
“Right, so what you’re saying is that we could find out who kidnapped them?” Said George, seemingly sticking to common Equestrian for now “Good work, товарищи,” Golden Shield rolled his eyes and they made for the cake shop together, Dash leading the way. Behind them passed a shadow, swooping erratically from house to house unnoticed.
Товарищи(Tovarishchi) = Comrade
Horse code
(Authors notes) Well, I've learned so I'll write these on the morrow. Probably. [next morning]. But I haven't even started on chapter 11, so I'll have to do that some other time. Nothing else to say but fave, rate, comment, subscribe (watch[the little eye button]), and as always, GOODBYE, PEOPLEZ!